It's the weekend...though these days, it all kind of feels like one long week that's never going to end. In that spirit, I missed a few Roundups, something I never like doing because this is a post that actually gets read. Not by many, but by a few. And a few might as well count as many during a pandemic plagued by internet insanity. Smaller internet connections make them meaningful. Conversations instead of shouting. Coffee shop chatter, the kind of thing we all started using this stuff for in the first place. One way to do that is to share some thoughts about things that intrigue us. Music intrigues me. Enjoy.
Ryan Adams - Wednesdays: Released in December last year, with little or no indication that it was coming, this is the indie artists' first album in three years. After his last album, 2017's Prisoner, Adams had reached new heights of fame and recognition. Though he'd been a indie favorite for decades, he was finally enjoying main stream success. Allegations of some very bad things put a pause to all of that and Ryan disappeared for a few years. He returned quietly with this album, but this album is too much of a masterpiece of sorrow, forgiveness, and ultimately hope, that it's anything but quiet. If nothing else 2020 was a year about truth and honesty. This is one of the documents of that. Absolutely stellar.
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy - Apocalyptic Love: Released in 2012, this was Slash's first pairing with Myles Kennedy and the two of them certainly have chemistry. I'm familiar with some of Myles' solo work, which is solid, but I have to say, the marriage of his voice with Slash's guitar is next level. For a long time, I'd been sort of down on Slash solo efforts, but this feels like a real band effort, and a real exploration of the classic GNR sound. Is it GnR? Nah. But even GnR related is something I can dig.
Ryan Martin - Gimme Some Light: The 2018 album is the debut record from the NY singer songwriter. I'm not sure how I missed this when it came out, but I did. He is the musical descendent of artists like Neil Young, Jackson C. Frank, and Tim Buckley...the musical sibling of contemporaries like Rylee Walker, Ryan Adams, and many others. Those are lofty comparisons, but the promise shown on this record earns them. There is a desperation and a sadness the lies in these songs that makes them timeless.
Gnidrolog - Lady Lake: The second (and last) album from London prog rock band was released in '72, the same year as their first. This is heavy prog rock, and the perhaps one of the few albums that remind me of Jethro Tull in their peak years. The guitar on this is wonderfully heavy, and mixed with the wind instruments, the combination is pretty dynamite. It opens with the epic "I Could Never Be a Solider," and from there establishes itself as one of the lost gems of the genre. "A Dog With No Collar," "Same Dreams," and the title track are also standouts on this fantastic record.
Psyched Up Janis - Vanity: Released in '96, this is one of the earlier singles from the Danish grunge band featuring Sune Rose Wagner who would go on to be part of The Ravonettes. Only two songs, with another two live songs on the flip side, this is brief, but wonderful. There are a handful of 'grunge' bands that never made the big time, and most of them are the better ones of the genre. This reminds me of Michael Pitt's Pagoda and other Nirvana influenced bands that were influenced by tracks like "Something in the Way" and "Hairspray Queen" and not songs that would make them 25 million copy radio friendly unit shifters.
Cannonball Adderly - Know What I Mean?: Released in '62, near the end of his prolific era that began in the mid-50s, this is shows the mellow side of Hard Bob and often slips into cool jazz. This is equal parts Cannonball's alto sax as it is Bill Evans' piano. The two of them play against each so well, and the back and forth is pure beauty. They had both been in the Miles Davis Sextet and their familiarity shows. The give and take is seamless. This is a fantastic album and one that has recently been remastered.
Fatima Dunn - Waiting for Landfall: This album by the one woman orchestra out of Zurich is a soundtrack of original songs. I loved her 2018 Birds and Bones album and was excited to see this. Originally released in 2013, this album was just re-released. This album is even better. It's an eerie chamber folk album with gothic undertones and reminds me of early Holly Miranda. There's a beautiful sadness to her voice, something that I always enjoy and it blends so well with her music that it creates something special. "Cross My Heart," "Hopeless for Infinity," "This World is Not My Home," and the epic "The Mountain" are standouts on this thoroughly enjoyable album.
Elton John - Here and There:
This live album was recorded in '74, side A in London and side B in
NYC. I'm not sure why this hadn't been in my collection, but it was an
oversight that was corrected when I saw if for a few dollars at the
local shop. This era of Elton is some of my favorite work by any artist
and these sets are both fantastic. If I had a concert time machine,
seeing Elton in '74 would be high on my list.
