new releases

the main purpose of this site – letting you know about albums i have discovered that need attention

bob dylan 1965-1966 the cutting edge

volume 12 of bob’s always reliable bootleg series focuses on the incredible 14 month period surrounding the recording of three of his best albums – bringing it all back home, highway 61 revisited, and blonde on blonde. it is arguably one of the highest creative streaks for any musical artist ever, and this compilation does a great job of chronicling the whole affair. there are actually three versions of this – the 2 disc ‘best of’ version, a 6 disc option that comes with 2 books (one being a track listing with extensive liner notes, the second being a great collection of photographs), and the third is only available through his website, an 18 disc tour de force that has every single track. the casual bob fan will find great value in the 2 disc version, both in the material and the very reasonable price. i opted for the 6 disc deluxe version, due in large part to the fact that this my favorite period of his career, and i just had to have it.

the significance of this period on pop culture includes two parallel strands. the first is his evolution as a lyricist from the greenwich village folk singer to the stream of consciousness beat poet style of cascading imagery. the second is his decision to break from the ranks of the traditionalists and incorporate the use of a band, and more importantly, introduce the element of electrical guitars to the recordings. it was during this period that he famously went electric at the newport folk festival, and began touring with the hawks, later to be known as the band. this compilation seeks to explore the mechanics behind the process, as well as to shed light on the evolution of the artistry and the creative process. it does this in two ways. the first is to provide alternative takes on songs from those three albums, plus feature outtakes that never made it on one of the finished albums. the second way is to use the sequence of multiple takes on a song to show how it developed, both musically and lyrically, in the studio. ‘visions of johanna’ gets 5 takes here, all with the band, with various changes to the key and tempo, and they never quite get it right. bob scraps it and doesn’t approach the song again until he gets to nashville months later with a bunch of local session musicians and does it in one take. disc three is entirely comprised of 20 different attempts at ‘like a rolling stone’. throughout the collection he is constantly changing lyrics, musicians, studios and producers to get it to sound like it does in his head.

i was already in awe of his output during this time, but i am so much more impressed now that i have thoroughly digested this. very informative, and a pleasure to listen to, especially the 2 disc version.

rhett miller ‘the traveler’

this is a great release from the frontman for the old 97’s, a band i have have recently been enamored with. in my opinion rhett’s vocals are one of the more distinctive and authentic voices you will hear from the americana movement. he is backed here by black prairie, which is to a large degree the decemberists without colin meloy. there is also a small dosage of peter buck, of r.e.m. fame. solid songwriting, great arrangements, and heartfelt production. it has been in and out of my rotation for about four months.

iron and wine archive series volume one

this is an interesting release, one that die hard iron and wine fans have been clamoring for recently. It is comprised of sixteen tracks recorded on a four track recorder in his bedroom at the beginning of sam beam’s career. His signature style, namely his half whispered duets with himself, on top of a sparse acoustic blend of guitars, is definitely in play here. it is not hard to envision him writing and playing these songs around the house, as they are full of images of the typical snippets you might see laying around the house all day – birds, weather, trees, and domestic conversations punctuate the lyrics. these tracks are the ones that weren’t used for his debut album, and have been traded by enthusiasts for years. not the first release i would send the inquisitive fan to that is not familiar with his work, but is it a good pickup for someone like me who has been a fan for years. iron and wine is playing at the pilgrimage festival this weekend, and i am sure i will be right up close, as i have never seen him before.

lord huron, strange trails

this is a new band for me. i think i found them on my amazon ‘recommended’ list. just took a flyer on them based on the comments section. a little hard to describe (which is often a good trait in my book), so i will begin by taking a stab at who i think might be their influences. on many tracks there is a western feel to it, and there is a little bit of calexico and dawes. good twangy guitars, solid vocals, both of those enhanced by a reverb thing reminiscent of my morning jacket. i hear some nebraska era springsteen, and maybe some buddy holly. this is their sophomore effort, to the best of my knowledge, and i got hooked. i listened to it straight through three times, and only took it out of the rotation because i just got a big batch of new releases and had to move on. there really isn’t a bad song on the whole thing, and i will come back to it. found their first release and have it on order. stay tuned.

wilco

wilco has been around about twenty years now, and they marked this anniversary by releasing two compilations. one was simply a 2 cd greatest hits, which is a good introduction if you aren’t that familiar with them. but if you are like me and a great admirer of the group and pretty much have everything they have ever released, then it was not very interesting. the companion release, alpha mike foxtrot, is pretty much indispensable if you are a wilco devotee. a 4 cd package with almost 80 songs, it is also a bargain at about $30. the booklet that comes with the box has great insights into the evolution of the band by recording industry executives and members of the group. on top of that, founding member jeff tweedy describes the circumstances of each cut. there is live material, alternate versions of previously released (‘handshake drugs’, for instance), and items that never made it out of the studio, like the hilarious ‘bob dylan’s 49th beard’.

if after reading the booklet you feel the need to explore more of their history, i highly recommend getting a documentary called ‘i am trying to break your heart’. it chronicles the making of ‘yankee hotel foxtrot’, a very important yet volatile period of the band. an extemely candid look at the studio process, then getting bumped from their label right before release, and the firing of jay bennett from the band.

their brand new release, ‘star wars’, is another solid addition to their studio work. my guess is that ‘random name generator’ will be a staple of their live shows, and ‘you satellite’ has a very lou reed feel to it, and would not be out of place on an early velvet underground album. plus you can download the whole thing for free.

going to see them soon at the pilgrimage festival in nashville.