// Category Archive for: Music Reviews

Iggy Pop, Roadkill Rising . . . The Bootleg Collection: 1977 – 2009

By Less Lee Moore

Who is the target audience for Roadkill Rising, Shout! Factory‘s four-disc “official” Iggy Pop bootleg collection? Fans get excited about concert albums; diehards and lifers hoard bootlegs like those suffering from OCD. Certainly the latter will be thrilled by the improved quality of these remastered bootlegs.

However, trying to determine if Roadkill Rising will appeal to non-Iggy Pop fans is an exercise in futility. I can’t imagine not being a fan of Iggy Pop so I am incapable of thinking like one.

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Booker T & The MGs, McLemore Avenue

By Matt Keeley

Look, you’re busy, I know that. If you don’t feel like reading this whole thing, just read the next sentence, and you’ll know the truth:

McLemore Avenue by Booker T & The MGs is a fucking amazing album.
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Sloan, The Double Cross

By Jemiah Jefferson

Canadian four-piece Sloan is one of the world’s most enduring cult-item bands (for everyone living outside Canada, that is; in the wily north, Sloan has been a ubiquitous source of pride for a large part of their twenty-year history). There’s a reason for this continued affection, slavishly on display at any of their raucous, friendly live shows: Sloan is a known quantity, and all ten of their albums lie on the spectrum between pretty damn good and iconically brilliant.
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The Definitive Miles Davis on Prestige

By Magda Underdown-DuBois

For the most part, I tend to be attracted to bluesy lyrics that grip my gut and pull me involuntarily into sound and words. Instrumental jazz, like classical music, usually blends into background for me. Yet, I was introduced to the trumpeter/band leader Miles Davis by a dear ex-housemate, whose taste for adventure extends from Frank Zappa to Hot Chip. With that recommendation in mind, I committed to the experience of a two-disc set—The Definitive Miles Davis on Prestige.
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Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs, No Help Coming

By Danny R. Phillips

Country music as a genre, in my self-deluded opinion, has been on a downward, pop-infused shit spiral since the 1990s Garth Brooks era, culminating in the current supremacy of Carrie “Screech” Underwood and Taylor “Let’s Go To The Mall” Swift.

I feared all was lost, that the world would be contented with pop songs passed off as country because they contain one of the following things: a fiddle, a steel guitar, or the word “y’all.” Then I heard Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs latest release No Help Coming. Rejoice traditionalists; this record is for you.
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The Definitive Bill Evans on Riverside and Fantasy

By Paul Casey

“I believe that all people are in possession, of what might be called a universal musical mind. Any true music speaks with this universal mind, to the universal mind in all people. The understanding that results will vary, only insofar as people have or have not been conditioned to the various styles of music, in which the universal mind speaks. Consequently, often some effort and exposure is necessary in order to understand some of the music coming from a different period or a different culture, than that to which the listener has been conditioned.

I do not agree that the layman’s opinion is less of a valid judgment of music than that of the professional musician. In fact, I would often rely more on the judgment of a sensitive layman than that of a professional, since the professional, because of his constant involvement in the mechanics of music, must fight to preserve the naivety that the layman already possesses.”
—Bill Evans

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Foo Fighters, Wasting Light

By Danny R. Phillips

I’ll say it right now: In my opinion, the last few Foo Fighters records have not been, shall we say, stellar. And I will add that I stopped buying them after There Is Nothing Left To Lose, my personal belief being it exposed two things that threw a monkey wrench (sorry, corny song reference there) into the works.
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Iggy & The Stooges, Raw Power Live

By Less Lee Moore

Raw Power, the last official Stooges record, was originally released in 1973 and has been the subject of conflict ever since (amongst the band and its fans), due to the various remixed and reissued versions. This live album, recorded in September 2010 at the All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in New York is a great interpretation of Raw Power and completely free of any polemic politics. There are some minor changes: the track list is slightly rearranged and “I Got A Right” is added on at the end, but nothing could ever change the incredible spirit of these songs. Raw Power is the perfect description of not just The Stooges, but Iggy Pop himself.

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The Kills, Blood Pressures

By Paul Casey

In a rock band, the lead singer is perhaps the most important element in lending identity and credibility. A distinctive, forceful voice can knock people down quicker than even the most distorted guitar. The Kills‘ new album Blood Pressures, while enjoyable, suffers from Alison Mosshart’s inability to adequately fill her role as front person.

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Invisible Hand, S/T

By Less Lee Moore

At first the name Invisible Hand conjured images of some kind of Scooby Doo villain. Discovering that the lead singer and songwriter is named “Adam Smith” (yes, his real name) made me laugh; hearing the band’s music did, too. Invisible Hand isn’t a joke band, though they are clever, both musically and lyrically. They’re also incredibly fun and addictive.

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