Billy Bragg – Talking With the Taxman About Poetry (Yep Roc)
It’s a good time for Yep Roc’s reissues of Bragg’s first three LPs and covers mini-LP, the most overtly political records of his career. I have long thought the likes of “Help Save the Youth of America” on this 1986 third LP were unfairly and shortsightedly bashed by smug U.S. rock critics at the time, who vastly preferred his ace love songs instead; I’m doubly convinced of that now, in these days of Bush II. He told you some of our cites would burn in the future if we remained complacent about our gluttonous consumerism and ostrich indifferent to some of our government’s actions and policies around the world and at home. Well, bits of two of our cities did indeed burn in 2001, including my own, and another one flooded in 2005—while half of us don’t even bother to vote let alone pay close attention. I thought he was right then, and said so, and he’s looking pretty good on that song now, isn’t he? Anyway, agree or disagree, the man could write great catchy tunes, too, and his work deserves praise and plays for that alone, let alone the lyrical substance. And if you hate the politics, well… Play the love songs…
Lightnin’ Hopkins – The Best of (Columbia/Legacy/Sony)
Putting aside the blatantly misleading title, at 20 songs and 56 minutes, Hello Central is nevertheless a lengthy look at bluesman Hopkins’s early 1950-1951 work, in his distinctive, most personal and affecting style—especially his slooow, shivering, man-alone-and-down stuff. When he sings, with his words simple, his tone full of understated anguish, and backed up by forlorn chords (“Oh lordy lord, it hurts me so bad for us to part” on “Worried Blues”) time stops for me as my heart aches along with him.
Jim Noir – Tower of Love (My Dad U.K.)
Pretty good singer/songwriter folk-pop debut from this unknown guy. Check it out.
Fairfield Parlour – From Home to Home (Repertoire U.K.)
I’m rediscovering this 2004 reissue. Famed British psychedelic band KALEIDOSCOPE got fed up after the commercial failure of their two still-venerated LPs for the Fontana label, 1967’s Tangerine Dream and 1969’s Faintly Blowing (both reissued in 1987 and again in 1998). So, they changed both their name, to Fairfield Parlour, and their label, to Fontana offshoot Vertigo. This long out-of-print 1970 LP was their only one for Vertigo, and man, does it still sound fresh today! Several songs, such as “In My Box” and “Soldier of the Flesh” (which includes a transfixing psych-freakout middle section), reference their prior Beatlesque experimental pop, and several others (plus, especially, “Soldier of the Flesh”) are sliced from the distinctive early BEE GEES mold that originally inspired them.
Leaving Trains – original lineup live recording on KXLU, April 8, 2005
Singer FALLING JAMES MORELAND sent me a CD of this radio broadcast. I was a huge fan of this original lineup in the early ‘80s, and knew every song off their first two LPs by heart (so much so that ended up in the band for a few weeks for a U.S. tour in 1986, joining them at a Maxwells show I’d gone to watch and ended up playing instead, because the drummer had walked out the night before in D.C.). I’m sorry that Moreland and the HOFER brothers bass and guitar tandem couldn’t get along on this second go-round, and this lineup have stopped again (the band continues with a modern lineup), because this broadcast shows they still had it in spades on “Always Between Wars” (so true), “Kinette” and “10 Generations.” Anyone who saw this great band last year in San Fran and L.A. were lucky, lucky, lucky!!! If I hadn’t seen it twice in L.A. in 1983 and 1984, I’d be kicking myself for sure…
Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit (Matador)
This must be my favorite 2006 LP so far, seeing as how it’s been on my five-disc changer pretty much continuously over the month I’ve had it. In fact, I’m playing it right now as I type—the lovely “Dress Up in You.” Another wonderful record from these folks for sure. Now that it is out this week, see for yourself!!!
Last Burning Embers –
Lessons in Redemption (Pink Frost/Big Takeover)
My own band’s record on my own label in my Top 10? Not impressive? Well, it’s an honest Top 10, and I’ve been wearing this out this week. I hadn’t heard this album in a while, and like a lot of people do with their own work, I’d started to think maybe it wasn’t really that good or it was just OK. Now that I can listen to it like I had nothing to do with it, I’m actually surprised by how exciting it sounds. The two guys who engineered and co-produced it with us were just plain fantastic, and my friend DAVE BUROKAS wrote and sang some pretty amazing songs, it seems—and I think the WIPERS cover is just fabulous! Yes, I’m flabbergasted. Haven’t stopped playing it since!!! You want to hear for yourself? There’s free downloads at http://www.lastburningembers.com/lbe_sounds.htm and the Wipers song is one of them. I hope some people buy this CD that we put so much work into. I’m glad to say, with this new rediscovery, I’m actually intensely proud of it!!!! And that means a lot to me. (Note, you can even get one free if you buy four back issues at http://store.yahoo.com/bigtakeover as part of our 25th anniversary sale!!! Or you can buy it there, too.)
Black Market Baby – Coulda… Shoulda… Woulda; The Black Market Baby Collection (Dr. Strange)
I’m still playing this great CD by these way too overlooked early 1980s D.C. pulverizing punk greats. Even though I saw them a good half-dozen times then and raved about them a good deal in our early issues, is it possible even I underrated them? Man, this stuff feels even more powerful now when there’s so few like them. Did I mention how great “Gunpoint Affection” and “Downward Christian Soldiers” were last week? This week I’m obsessing on “White Boy Funeral” and “Killing Time,” which somehow excite me even more now than they did in those heady days…
Nada Surf – live at Mercury Lounge, February 7
The local trio was in a good mood at this unadvertised, sold-out warm-up show for yet another national tour, joking with the crowd like they were playing a house party. The good-natured quips and comfort-level smiles led to speedy, onrushing, often good-natured power-pop tunes. And the audience singing along on the best of their career-best new fourth LP The Weight is a Gift songs “What is Your Secret”, “Always Love,” and “Do It Again” was solid evidence that a good thing is getting better.
Mission of Burma – live at Bowery Ballroom, February 10
The new songs from their forthcoming LP sounded pretty cool, and for putting up with such a lot of unfamiliar material, we were rewarded with a blistering succession at the end of “Revolver,” “Max Ernst,” “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate,” “The Ballad of Johnny Burma,” and, with soundman/veteran BOB WESTON taking over on bass and vocals, a hot-foot closing cover of WIRE’s “Dot Dash”!
