Crabb Bits:Goldmine, Mavericks, Nancy Sinatra

End of the month and the third straight night of going home on slick roads and a snowstorm that won't go away.  It left about 8 inches of snow the past three days but the temps have been 32 degrees.  But it's still annoying, but not as annoying as Sean Hannity.



You love Nancy Sinatra?  She's still around and taking from time to time. Nope she doesn't look like she used to, she's 72 but I always enjoyed her opinions and tweets.  http://nancysinatra.com/blog/

Record Collector in Iowa City had a visitor come in today: Jonathan Richman, looking for the new MBV perhaps?  Maybe he'll have better luck getting that one, nobody still has the Richard Thompson Electric anywhere.

Jonathan Richman was here for awhile; nicest guy on the planet. He asked what's with this new band MBV. Seriously.

On the subject of the Fleetwood Mac Rumours reissue, my thoughts goes as follows.



I decided not to reup for another year's subscription to Goldmine magazine, which used to be a cutting edge record collector's mag but nowadays is skinnier than Kate Moss and basically paying 35 bucks a year for barely 60 pages for what used to be three times as thick a decade ago isn't cost effective.  Hell, I get more information from the latest edition of Collector's Choice Music, which has twenty more pages than Goldmine.  Plus they relocated from Wisconsin to some place in Florida.  If your a physical collector of cds or albums you're SOL.  Notice the slight change of the less and improved over the used to be great version.
 


Pretty good month for the Crabb Top Ten, over 2400 views despite this being a short month.  The Brains Blog and the 1999 Music Of My Years 1 and 2 in most viewed.  I don't get that.  Moving on.

Farce The Music did a big write up and gushed about the new Mavericks In Time (Valory) CD that I got it on their recommendation.  Their first new album in over ten years shows them going more into Tex Mex rock and country and Raul Malo can still sing, he also oversings a lot too.  At their best (Lies, Back In Your Arms Again) they showed the reason why What A Crying Shame is a classic album and at times they do recall Sir Douglas Quintet.  On the downside, Raul Malo begins to channel Roy Orbinson when Roy goes over the top.  The nadir is the 8 minute (Call Me) When You Get To Heaven, a strange gospel like number that recalls Roy's overblown coda at the end of Crying, but at least Roy didn't waste the last four minutes going through such vocal gymnastics that  Malo does and you're wishing that the damn thing will end after the soul chicks start screaming towards the unrelenting ending. When You Get To Heaven is one reason why I never sought out the rest of the Mavericks Catalog or Raul Malo's solo stuff, he tends to oversing.  Problem number two is that some of the songs are in need of a fadeout to which the band and Niko Bolas let them ride the groove.  Plus it has kinda of a demo feel too.  I'll be happy to hear Raul Malo when he sings in Spanish Come Into Me, but in the case of him and Roy, it's better to hear them in moderation.  I can hear the Los Lobos comparison but what makes Los Lobos better is that they know when to let loose and know when to show restraint. And I'm more inclined to play Los Lobos more than I would of The Mavericks.  In Time is good but it would have been better had they left the overplayed in the can, or at least save them for the expanded edition to which I'm sure the folks at Valory Music will reissue a few months from now should In Time take off.

Grade B-

Pick hits; Come Into Me, Lies

The Mouse N Kat Show can be heard on Radio Buzzd com. They continue to support new music and forgotten bands as well.  Shout out to Diggy And Brittney with much love and appreciation. 

http://www.radiobuzzd.com/RadioBuzzD_2.5/


This just in. KFMH met it's goal of 20,000 dollars to start up their podcast site and a few bucks more. The Plus is coming back, too bad they couldn't go back to the original 99.7 FM Dial.  That would have been much better.