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First Look |
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[February 28, 2006] Heading to the record store? Here's what's new.
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By : Staff
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Here's a quick look at a handful of new albums, as well as a list of the rest of the stuff that's supposed to hit shelves this week:
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 Albert Ayler
Spirits Rejoice
ESP Disk U.S.
An important document in the development of Albert Ayler, this 1965 date records the saxophonist live at New York's Judson Hall with a large ensemble. Featuring Don Ayler (the saxophonist's brother) on trumpet, Henry Grimes and Gary Peacock on bass and even Call Cobbs on harpsichord (for the moment-of-respite "Angels"), Spirits Rejoice has the added feature of being one of the few albums to team Ayler with another saxophonist, alto player Charles Tyler. Subsequently, each musician plays with rambunctious energy and probing focus, an excellent adventure for the adventurous. ~Dan Nishimoto
ESP Disk US Web site
 Elvis Costello Live with the Metropole Orkest
My Flame Burns Blue
Deutsche Grammaphon
Recorded live in The Hague at the 2004 North Sea Jazz Festival, My Flame Burns Blue (Costello's fourth release for classical label Deutsche Grammaphon) finds the buttoned-up "Little Hands of Concrete" casing his guitars in favor of Gershwin-steeped sophistication and big-band reverberations (courtesy the Netherlands' Metropole Orkest). Tackling rearranged material from throughout his career ("Clubland," "Watching the Detectives," "God Give Me Strength") as well as newly recorded works, My Flame Burns Blue is bespoke Costello for fans of his recent cosmopolitan — some say "bloodless" — affairs Painted From Memory and North. A contextually questionable line from Costello's militant-minded classic "Oliver's Army" ties it up with string: "There's no danger, it's a professional career." ~Adam Brent Houghtaling
Elvis Costello Web site
Deutsche Grammaphon Web site
 Hawthorne Heights
If Only You Were Lonely
Victory Records
Challenging the notion of market saturation, If Only You Were Lonely is the sophomore release from emo/pop-punk outfit Hawthorne Heights. The quintet tinkers with the Sum 41/Good Charlotte formula of dour, teenage lamentations by adding a keyboard and a sunnier disposition. ~Jonathan Easley
Hawthorne Heights Web site
Victory Records Web site
Videos and MP3s
 Jel
Soft Money
Anticon
The Anticon emcee and producer returns with his fifth LP of undie boom-bap. The album title and songs such as "To Buy a Car," "Soft Money, Dry Bones" and "WMD" suggest a belated political critique. However, the remainder of Soft Money maintains a broader perspective. Employing a wide sample palette and extensive collaborations, including Dosh, Steffi Bohm (Ms. John Soda), Pedestrian, Odd Nosdam and Fog’s Andrew Broder, Jel stretches out noticeably. His first single, "WMD," is highlighted by an appearance from Wise Intelligent. ~
Dan Nishimoto
Jel Web site
Anticon Web site
 Kid Rock
Live Trucker
Atlantic
Some folks would call Kid Rock one bad mother trucker. Others would just call him bad. Depending on your persuasion, you'll be excited or horrified to know that the Devil Without a Cause is about to unload aural documentation of his live gigs, recorded at various Michigan shows between 2000 and 2004. Diggy diggy diggy said the boogie said up jump the boogie, indeed. ~Mike Legat
Kid Rock Web site
Atlantic Records Web site
 The Legendary K.O. (K-Otix)
48 Seasons
Ethos
If you wandered over to the college side of the radio dial or are plugged into that fancy Internet thing, you may have heard K-Otix's broadside on the Bush administration versus Hurricane Katrina, "George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People" (set to the beat of Kanye's "Golddigger," of course). The Legendary K.O., as the duo from Houston likes to call itself at times, doesn't include that track on 48 Seasons, but Damien Randle and Micah Nickerson do appear on their album cover wearing suits with the presidential seal, so bets are that a few more political diatribes will go with their usual flows. ~Eric Solomon
Audio clips
K-Otix Web site
 Ne-Yo
In My Own Words
Def Jam
Give the kid some space, because the hype may be justified. Before having "So Sick" on the radio for the past three months, Ne-Yo had been heard by millions through his 2004 hit (co-written with Scott Storch) "Let Me Love You," performed by Mario. Having also penned work for Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, B2K and Musiq, he established a healthy reputation as a songwriter. Now, he gets to test his performance potential with his highly anticipated In My Own Words. Bridging the thug and the love, Ne-Yo teams with both the womanizers (Ghostface, Peedi Peedi) and the wooers (Curtis "Sauce" Wilson and Brian "B-Nasty" Reid). Will the whistles go woo? ~Dan Nishimoto
Audio/video
Ne-Yo Web site
Ne-Yo on Def Jam’s Web site
Def Jam Web site
 Nina Simone
Little Girl Blue (Original Recording Remastered)
Fuel 2000
Nina Simone's death in April 2003 has sparked a renewed international interest in her relentlessly uncompromising career. The opening chords of that career can be heard on Little Girl Blue, first released by Bethlehem in 1957 and now remastered with bonus tracks via the Fuel 2000 label. Even on her debut, Simone's singular talent soars as she possesses and reinvents standards such as "Mood Indigo," "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "I Loves You, Porgy," which proved to be her first success. ~Adam Brent Houghtaling
Nina Simone Web site
Fuel 2000 Web site
 Nine Black Alps
Everything Is
Island Records
After releasing the requisite buzz-building EP last year, Manchester's guitar-heavy Sylvia Plath fans finally emerge stateside with their anticipated full-length — and now major-label — debut. After the U.K. release of Everything Is in June, the festival circuit treated them quite well, building them a reputation as a solid live act. Everything Is features “Cosmopolitan” and “Shot Down,” two of the stronger songs from the four-piece’s '05 self-titled EP, alongside ten new tightly wound tracks. ~Kevin Dolak
Streaming audio
E-card
Nine Black Alps Web site
Island Records Web site
 Rhett Miller
The Believer
Verve Forecast
On 2002's The Instigator, Rhett Miller, the prolific frontman of the Old 97's, stepped out on his own and, with help from renowned producer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion, put out an album of straight-ahead rock: tender, literate and raucous at the same time, all driven by his impressive voice and earnest, sincere lyrics. Expect more of the same on his second solo LP: upbeat acoustic rockers with a country-twang edge that, in their simplicity, refuse to be ignored.
~Matt Liebowitz
Rhett Miller Web site (streaming audio)
Old 97s Web site
Al Green: Legendary Hi Albums (Demon)
Al Green: Love & Happiness: The Best Of (Demon)
Alan Jackson: Precious Memories (Arista)
Albert Ayler: Spirits Rejoice (Esp-Disk Us)
Andrea Bocelli: Amor (Universal Latino)
The Average White Band: Shine (JVC Japan)
B.B. King: Golden Legends (Madacy)
Bayside: Acoustic [CD & DVD] (Victory)
Billie Holiday: Golden Legends (Madacy)
Bizzy Bone: Thugs Revenge (Thump)
Bob Marley & The Wailers: One Love (At Studio One) (Heartbeat)
Bob Marley: Golden Legends (Madacy)
Bombay Dub Orchestra: Bombay Dub Orchestra (Six Degrees)
The Brand New Heavies: All About the Funk (Recall)
Bruce Springsteen: Hammersmith Odeon, Live '75 (Sony)
Chamillionaire/Rapid Ric: Whut It Dew: Reloaded (BCD Music Group)
Chris Squire: Fish out of Water (Wounded Bird)
Citay: Citay (Important)
Colossal Yes: Acapulco Roughs (Ba Da Bing!)
Count Basie: Golden Legends: Count Basie (Madacy)
Danko Jones: Sleep Is the Enemy (Aquarius)
Dave Brubeck: Last Set at Newport (Collectables)
Dave Edmunds: Get It (Wounded Bird)
Diddy/Felix Da Housecat: I'll Jack You
Dionne Warwick: Golden Legends: Dionne Warwick Live (Madacy)
Dizzy Gillespie: Giants of Jazz (Collectables)
Duke Ellington: Golden Legends: Duke Ellington (Madacy)
El Da Sensei: Unusual (Fatbeats)
Ella Fitzgerald: Ella (Collectables)
Ella Fitzgerald: Things Ain't What They Used to Be (Collectables)
Ella Fitzgerald: Golden Legends: Ella Fitzgerald (Madacy)
Elvis Costello/The Metropole Orkest: My Flame Burns Blue (Deutsche Grammophon)
Elvis Presley: Elvis Country [Strategic Marketing] (Strategic Marketing)
Elvis Presley: Elvis Inspirational (Strategic Marketing)
The Everly Brothers: Golden Legends (Madacy)
Fats Domino: Golden Legends: Fats Domino Live (Madacy)
Hall & Oates: Ecstasy on the Edge (Dynamic Italy)
Hank Williams III: Straight to Hell (Curb)
Hawthorne Heights: If Only You Were Lonely (Victory)
Herbie Hancock: Essential (Sony)
The Honorary Title: Anything Else But the Truth [Expanded] (Doghouse)
James Brown: Golden Legends (Madacy)
Jason Prince: Collection (Klone UK)
Jel: Soft Money (Anticon)
Jerry Lee Lewis: Golden Legends: Jerry Lee Lewis Live (Madacy)
Jessi Colter: Out of the Ashes (Shout! Factory)
Johnny Cash: Golden Legends: Johnny Cash (Madacy)
Keiji Haino: Reveal'd to None as Yet: An Expedience to Utte (Important)
Kenny Rogers: Golden Legends: Kenny Rogers (Madacy)
Kid Rock: Live Trucker (Atlantic / Wea)
Kool & The Gang: Golden Legends: Kool and the Gang Live (Madacy)
Latterman: Turn Up The Punk, We'll Be Singing (Deep Elm)
Lee "Scratch" Perry: Dubstrumentals (Trojan Us)
Lee Ranaldo/Thurston Moore/Nels Cline/Carlos Giffoni: Four Guitars Live (Important)
Lil' Flip: New Beginning, Vol. 3 (BCD Music Group)
Little Richard: Golden Legends: Little Richard Live (Madacy)
Louis Armstrong: Golden Legends (Madacy)
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Gimme Back My Bullets [CD/DVD] (Geffen)
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Family (Hip-O)
The Marshall Tucker Band: Where a Country Boy Belongs (Shout! Factory)
Marvin Gaye: Golden Legends: Marvin Gaye Live (Madacy)
Michel Camilo: Rhapsody in Blue (Telarc)
Ne-Yo: In My Own Words (Def Jam)
Nina Simone: Little Girl Blue [Bonus Tracks] (Fuel 2000)
Omni: Ballyhoo
Original Soundtrack: Ghostbusters (Arista)
Original Soundtrack: Rocky 4 [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] (Volcano)
Patsy Cline: Golden Legends (Madacy)
Percy Sledge: Golden Legends (Madacy)
Ray Charles: Golden Legends (Madacy)
Rhett Miller: Believer (Verve)
Rick James: Wonderful (Collectables)
Santana: Golden Legends: Santana Live (Madacy)
Say Anything: Say Anything Is a Real Boy (J-Records)
The Shangri-Las: Golden Legends: The Shangri-Las (Madacy)
Shirley Horn: Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz Radio Broadcast (Jazz Alliance)
Smoking Popes: At Metro (Victory)
Sugababes: Taller in More Ways (Universal International)
Sun Ra: Concert for the Comet Kohoutek (Esp-Disk Us)
Teddy Pendergrass: Golden Legends (Madacy)
Trae/Z-Ro: Ass**** by Nature (BCD Music Group)
Trae/Z-Ro: Screenz On (BCD Music Group)
The Trammps: Where the Happy People Go (Collectables)
Trespassers William: Having (Nettwerk)
Various Artists: Traveler 06: A Six Degrees Collection (Six Degrees)
Why?: Rubber Traits [EP] (Anticon)
Z-Ro: Gangstafied (BCD Music Group)
ZZ Top: Tres Hombres [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] (Rhino / Wea)
*Release dates may change. E-mail brandon@prefixmag.com with corrections or additions.
Discuss this feature at the Prefix Message Board |
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