Dead Can Dance & Metric - Episode 99

 



listen to more samples and get Anastasis here



[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c58_EdU9UtI&w=560&h=315]
Listen to more samples and get Synthetica here

Leading ladies make lasting impressions with new releases

A parade of talented ladies score exceptionally high marks thanks to their latest releases representing winning styles from across the musical universe. 

 

Artist: Aimee Mann

Album: Charmer (SuperEgo Records)

You might be interested in buying this if you like: Beth Orton, Cat Power

Tell me more: No contemporary artist writes songs quite like Aimee Mann. On her newly-issued album "Charmer," the singer-songwriter offers up her literate observations via melodic and haunting songs that go down like vintage power-pop classics while boasting rich sonic colors and lyrical insights that artfully reveal themselves a little bit more with each subsequent listen.

Retro '80s sounds permeate the cool neo-New Wave "Gamma Ray." The undeniable "Labrador" is as catchy as any song released this year but attains even more ground with Mann's emotive soprano conveying the song's honest look at romantic betrayal.

On "Living a Lie," she shares lead vocals with the Shins' James Mercer, their voices forming another magical point on a potent and powerful album.

 

Listen to samples and get Charmer here

 

Artist: Susanna Hoffs

Album: Someday (Baroque Folk)  

You might be interested in buying this if you like: Petula Clark, Jackie DeShannon, Dusty Springfield, The Bangles

Tell me more: A musical love letter to the 1960s, Susanna Hoffs' shimmering solo release "Someday" recalls the classic recordings of Petula Clark and Jackie DeShannon. Produced by the Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Vonda Shepard, Ron Sexsmith), "Someday" is no mere experiment in retro music making. The collection of Hoffs-penned material tackles real world emotion (the breezy "One Day" and wistful "Holding My Breath") and pulls experiences from her own life together into an enthralling collection of 10 songs that clock in at around 31 minutes. "All I Need" is as confessional as any song issued this year, while "Raining" recalls some of those amazing Jimmy Webb compositions recorded by Glen Campbell ("By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston") in the late '60s. "Someday" is one of those timeless sets that demands to be played front to back, and over and over. 

 

Listen to more samples and get Someday here

 

Artist: Sara Watkins

Album: Sun Midnight Sun (Nonesuch Records) 

You might be interested in buying this if you like: Sixpence None the Richer, Sheryl Crow, Nickel Creek

Tell me more: Like Brandi Carlile, Sara Watkins is a singer-songwriter not afraid to mix intelligent song craft and honest emotion in order to mine exciting new territory in the Americana genre. On her sophomore solo effort "Sun Midnight Sun," there is tuneful straight-forward material (the sing-along styled "You and Me" and "When It Pleases You"), bittersweet ballads ("Be There"), several fiddle-anchored instrumental tracks ("The Foothills," "The Ward Accord") and even edgy roots rock (a revised take on the Everly Brothers' classic "You're the One I Love" featuring Fiona Apple).

Perhaps the biggest surprise on the wonderful disc is the traditional "Impossible" that sounds as if it were plucked out of another times, but is firmly in step with the wonderful world that producer Blake Mills and Watkins have constructed across the album. 

 

Listen to more samples and get Sun Midnight Sun here

 

Artist: Shemekia Copeland

Album: 33 1/3 (Telarc International/Concord Music Group) 

You might be interested in buying this if you like: Bettye LaVette, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt

Tell me more: Blues is a genre where great artists are allowed to emerge on the scene, and over time, build solid careers based on strong recordings as well as via impressive appearances at legendary clubs and big outdoor festivals. At only 33, Shemekia Copeland is already a leading force in the blues world and one of the genre's leading proponents. The singer has already performed in the White House (sharing a bill with Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger and B.B. King) and was proclaimed "Queen of the Blues" at the Chicago Blues Festival in 2011. On the aptly-titled "33 1/3" (her age at the release of the album), the Harlem, New York native is clearly in a league all of her own; her voice belts out forcefully on the Chicago blues rocker "Lemon Pie" and on the soulful ballad "A Woman," while her spellbinding cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and buoyant take on Sam Cooke's "Ain't That Good News" showcase her full-fledged interpretive skills.

 

Listen to more samples and get 33 1/3 here

Robert Kinsler 2012

CD Reviews Susanna Hoff Someday & Shoes Ignition

Listen to more samples and get Someday here



listen to samples and get Ignition here

Musical veterans return with sterling efforts

Potent live ensemble Dave Matthews Band, legendary Ten Years After frontman Alvin Lee and singer-songwriter Don McLean have all returned with magnificent new albums.



Artist: Dave Matthews Band

Album: Away from the World (Bama Rags Recordings/RCA Records)

You might be interested in buying this if you like: Phish, Steely Dan, the Avett Brothers

Tell me more: Dave Matthews Band’s latest studio album, “Away from the World,” finds the talented ensemble at the top of their collective game. Whether performing straight-forward rock (“Rooftop”), introspective folk-rock (“Broken Things”), funk-rock (“Belly Belly Nice”) or haunting Americana-tinged ballads (“Sweet,” “If Only”), there are simply an endless numbers of colors and textures juxtaposed across the disc. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the standard album features 11 songs, while a deluxe edition of “Away from the World” also features three live tracks.

Listen to samples and get Away From The World Here

Artist: Alvin Lee

Album: Still on the Road to Freedom (Rainman)

You might be interested in buying this if you like: Ten Years After, Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee’s 1973 solo album “On the Road to Freedom”

Tell me more: In August 1969, the legendary Woodstock Festival was held in rural New York with more than 500,000 concertgoers catching sets by seminal acts such as The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Of all the 32 performances delivered over the historic weekend, no single turn was stronger than Ten Years After’s “I’m Going Home” immortalized in the subsequent film and soundtrack, a performance that earned the band immediate superstar status. Although Lee has long since left the band, his mammoth talents as singer, songwriter and – most notably – lead guitarist are showcased on his new solo album “Still on the Road to Freedom.” On the newly-released disc, a conceptual sequel to Lee’s grand 1973 album “On the Road to Freedom,” the artist explores a variety of styles including psychedelic blues (“Midnight Creeper”), traditional blues (“Save My Stuff”), rockabilly (“I’m a Lucky Man”) and gorgeous instrumental guitar work (“Song of the Red Rock Mountain”).
listen to samples and get Still on the Road to Freedom here

Artist: Don McLean

Album: American Troubadour (Time Life)

You might be interested in buying this if you like: James Taylor, Paul Simon, Gordon Lightfoot

Tell me more: Few songs have enjoyed the long-time standing of Don McLean’s timeless 1971 hit “American Pie.” However, McLean has actually had an extensive career writing countless gems in the folk, rock and country genres. On the two-disc “American Troubadour,” McLean’s sweeping approach is heard on a across-the-board collection celebrating his legacy. From a live version of the Buddy Holly gem “Everyday” (recorded live in 1984) to the exquisite “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)” and his heartfelt ballad “And I Love You So” (recorded as a duet with Nanci Griffith) to the country-tinged “Castles in the Air,” the mix of live and studio recordings serves as a perfect audio companion to the authorized documentary “Don McLean: American Troubadour” released on DVD on Sept. 11, 2012. Fans of “American Pie” will love the CD, courtesy of a particularly-strong performance of the opus recorded in Austin, Texas in November 1999.

listen to samples and get Don Mclean: American Troubadour here

Robert Kinsler  2012 

Episode 98 Dave Matthews Band and Lianne La Havas

15]



Listen to more samples and get Away From The World on CD here

Right now you can get the Deluxe version for just a dollar more here



Get the Super Deluxe Limited E0dition CD/DVD here

You can get it on Vinyl here



Listen to more samples and get Is Your Love Big Enough? on CD Here

Get the Mp3 (Deluxe Edition) [+digital booklet] here

find the Vinyl (Expensive Import) version here