There are a lot of summer releases that have hit the shelves since our last edition, so while you’re standing in line waiting for your class schedule, we’re going to try and get through as many as possible. In no particular order…Eminem – Relapse (Aftermath): Like him or not, he’s one of the few guys who not only says what’s on his mind but spits about how he sees the events around him (life/death, personal grief). He has a new album after a five year hiatus.
At first, the 20 tracks really played old; same attitude – same style. I gave it another listen and again appreciated that the guy can really write and has a knockout sense of humor.
That, combined with beats by Dr. Dre, Mark Batson and Eminem himself, makes this an album worth its time. Standouts include “Old Times Sake,” “Déj Vu,” “3 a.m.” and the first single “Crack A Bottle.” It’s a great album that really made me realize how much I missed the guy.
Elvis Costello – Secret, Profane and Sugarcane (Hear Music): I can’t believe how many different genres this guy has tackled during his career: jazz, punk, power-pop, standards and country to name a few.
Acoustic string music, I guess is what you’d call this. There are acoustic guitars, mandolin, fiddle, accordion and no drums. You heard me, an Elvis album without drums.
It’s not really my cup of tea, but anything done well is not a bad thing; hopefully it finds its audience. Call this the step-brother to the T Bone Burnett-produced Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Raising Sand album that won Grammy’s Album of the Year in 2008.
Burnett produces this one, too, so you know it’s good. Standouts include “My All Time Doll,” “Complicated Shadows,” “Sulphur to Sugarcane” and “My Old Time Lover.”
Don Henley – The Very Best of Don Henley (Geffen): It’s one of three greatest hits single disk compilations reviewed here. The 14 tracks offer nothing for either the hard core or casual Henley fan.
These are supposed to remind us why we care about the artist to begin with. It’s usually the tracks between the hits that’s the glue that makes us stick with an artist. This is just the hits, nothing more or less. This set offers you the opportunity to get sick of hearing “Dirty Laundry” all over again.
George Harrison – Let It Roll (Capitol): A notch better than Henley’s by default. On the eve of The Beatles’ catalog getting a September remastering, here comes a concise Harrison compilation.
The 19 tracks have all been previously released, but beware that the three Beatles’ songs here are from his groundbreaking Concert For Bangladesh concert, not the original studio versions. It’s a great booklet though.
The Wallflowers – Collected 1996-2005 (Interscope): A great compilation that includes not only the hits but essential album tracks and unreleased stuff. The Best Buy version offers a bonus DVD of eight videos at no extra cost. If there’s a knock, it’s that their cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” isn’t here; otherwise it is the best compilation of the summer.
Eels – Hombre Lobo (Vagrant): Band leader Mark Oliver Everett has had a pretty busy four years since their last album Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. He’s toured extensively, written a best seller in Things the Grandchildren Should Know: A Memoir, worked on the soundtrack to Yes Man and now these 12 new songs.
This, their seventh album of new material, is another example of the band’s diversity. Witty lyrics and catchy melodies are once again offered by multi-instrumentalist E, Knuckles and Koool G Murder.
“Lilac Breeze” and “Prizefighter” are great, but stuff like “That Look You Give That Guy” and “In My Dreams” are simply brilliant. Others include “Fresh Blood,” “Ordinary Man” and Beginner’s Luck.”
Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (RCA): For me, it’s the biggest disappointment of the summer. The untimely death of any longtime friend is devastating. The loss of saxophonist LeRoi Moore to the DMB is insurmountable.
The album was being recorded at the time of his passing. In fact, the band played a gig the day he died. While it was probably best to work through the tragedy, it sure sounds as if they are severely distracted, which is fully understandable. Sadly, it just doesn’t make for a good record.
Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot (Redline): A throwback to the supergroups of the 1970s, this little four-piece outfit rocks much better than one might think. Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Chris Smith utilize all of their positives and even some of their negatives here to good use.
You get those Satriani technically rich, emotionally poor guitar solos while Hagar’s screaming and Anthony’s struggling to keep up, as Smith is keeping it all in line. Thank goodness they have Andy Johns as producer who somehow caught lightning in a bottle.
Chickenfoot rocks pretty good in an FM radio blasting in your car on a summer day by the lake kind of way. Standouts include “Oh Yea,” “Learning to Fall,” “Soap on a Rope” and “Future in the Past.”
Lenny Kravitz – Let Love Rule 20th Anniversary Edition (Virgin): It is the best re-issue of the summer. Kravitz’s debut was a great one and it has been very well enhanced here. Early mixes, unissued tracks, home demos and live era recordings fill this two-CD set full of goodies.
(Bob Hanson)
