The Lonely Goatherd Blog And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats - Matthew 25:32
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Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
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July 31, 2007
New Album Releases, 7-31-2007: Born Again Floozies, Dave Davies, Bratz soundtrack BEST SONGS OF 2007 The grooviest new album in the land comes from the wicked Born Again Floozies. They've just released their first full length CD, 7 Deadly Sinners. It was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini. My personal fave rave here is "Drivin' by the Penitentiary," a note of gratitude to a cruel prison warden. Here's a LIVE PERFORMANCE on YouTube, and here's a free mp3. "In my youth, my suffering I tried to escape, but religion said 'no, no, keep on suffering. That's the way you know you're saved."
These Floozies lean toward humor in their act, as evidenced by their name and song titles like "If You Were Dead You'd Be Home Now." There's willful humor even just in the basic instrumental lineup of guitar, tuba and dual tap dancers. Dr Demento fans should definitely be giving this act a listen. On the other hand, some folk are Not Amused.
Funny Floozies they may be, but the playing is obviously no joke. Head Floozie Joey Welch is rapidly developing a national reputation for his unique personal guitar style, which involves a lot of tapping rather than picking. Certainly, anyone with a strong interest in real guitar playing needs to hear this band. The instrumental "Walking" that concludes the album would be a particularly good example of his style.
Plus, there's no special humor point in perfectly serious songs like the featured single "As I Lay Dying." There's obviously serious compositional thought and effort in even the more humor oriented material, and they also excel in the groove department. The album sounds pretty good on a first listen, and only gets better the more you listen and pick up on the careful nuance.
Neither rain, nor sleet, nor even an ugly stroke in 2004 can stop 60 year old Dave Davies from putting out his album, Fractured Mindz. Such things can work either way, but illness appears to have stoked rather than damped his creative drive. I've seen good reviews for this.
There's now a live action musical Bratz movie based on the dolls, and of course a soundtrack. I'm sure it will be socially required listening for all tweener girls.
Here's the complete list of this week's major new releases, courtesy AMG:
Born Again Floozies 7 Deadly Sinners Triple R Pure Pop for Now People
Common Finding Forever Geffen Midwest Rap, Alternative Rap, Hip-Hop
Sean Kingston Sean Kingston Epic Contemporary R&B, Pop-Rap, Urban, Southern Rap
1990s Cookies Rough Trade Indie Rock
Josh Rouse Country Mouse City House Bedroom Classics Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
Stevie Barr with Friends Along the Crooked Road Arhoolie Contemporary Bluegrass, Neo-Traditionalist Country, Bluegrass, Traditional Bluegrass, Old-Timey, Contemporary Folk
Luka Bloom Tribe Cooking Vinyl Alternative Folk, Contemporary Folk, Singer/Songwriter, Urban Folk, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
David Bowie Glass Spider [2CD/1DVD] Virgin Album Rock, Pop/Rock, Prog-Rock/Art Rock
Tammy Cochran Where I Am Shanachie Country-Pop, Contemporary Country
Dave Davies Fractured Mindz Koch Album Rock, Hard Rock
Derailers Under the Influence of Buck Palo Duro Alternative Country, Honky Tonk, Country-Rock
Dr. Hook Greatest Hooks Capitol/EMI AM Pop, Pop/Rock, Soft Rock, Country-Rock
Dave Douglas Quintet Live at the Jazz Standard Koch Post-Bop
Chris Duarte Blue Velocity Blues Bureau Blues-Rock, Modern Electric Blues, Modern Electric Texas Blues
Entombed Serpent Saints Candlelight Scandinavian Metal, Heavy Metal, Death Metal/Black Metal
Ella Fitzgerald Love Letters from Ella Concord Jazz/Starbucks Entert Vocal Jazz, Traditional Pop, Standards, Swing, Ballads, Bop, Classic Female Blues
G. Love & Special Sauce A Year and a Night with G. Love and Special Sauce Brushfire Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Rap, Blues-Rock
Robert Gordon/Chris Spedding It's Now or Never Rykodisc Rockabilly Revival
Guru Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the Future 7 Grand Jazz-Rap, Hip-Hop
Heinz Just Like Eddie: The Heinz Anthology Castle Early British Pop/Rock, British Invasion
Charlie Hunter Trio Mistico Fantasy Jazz-Rock, Soul-Jazz, Post-Bop, Fusion, Acid Jazz
Ives String Quartet Quincy Porter: String Quartets Nos. 1-4 Naxos Modern Works for String Quartet
Kidz Bop Kids Kidz Bop, Vol. 12 Razor & Tie Sing-Along, Pop/Rock, Teen Pop
Yo-Yo Ma New Impossibilities Sony Classical Modern Chamber Music
Sir Charles MacKerras Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel Chandos Post-Romantic Opera
Mandisa True Beauty EMI Contemporary Gospel
Naked Eyes Fumbling with the Covers Oglio Pop/Rock
Odense Symphony Orchestra Herman D. Koppel: Concertos Dacapo Modern Concertos
Oh No Dr. No's Oxperiment Stones Throw Left-Field Hip-Hop, Alternative Rap
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (members of) Daniel S. Godfrey: Wrinkled Moon Koch International Contemporary Chamber Music
Original Soundtrack Bratz Geffen Teen Pop, Soundtracks, Dance-Pop
Original Soundtrack Hot Rod Sony Legacy Vocal Pop, Original Score, Soundtracks, Hard Rock, Pop/Rock
Polly Paulusma Fingers & Thumbs One Little Indian Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
Placebo Extended Play '07 Virgin/EMI Neo-Glam, Britpop, Alternative Pop/Rock
Elvis Presley Elvis: Viva Las Vegas SONY/BMG Pop/Rock, Rock & Roll, Pop
The Raspberries Live on Sunset Strip Rykodisc Pop/Rock, Power Pop
Johnny Rivers & His L.A. Boogie Band Last Boogie in Paris [Expanded Edition] Shout Factory Pop/Rock
Shivaree Tainted Love: Mating Calls & Fight Songs Zoe Alternative Pop/Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Neo-Traditional Folk
Soulive No Place Like Soul Stax Jam Bands, Jazz-Funk, Soul-Jazz, Acid Jazz
Various Artists Down Home Saturday Night Smithsonian/Folkways Traditional Cajun, Appalachian Folk, Folksongs, Americana, String Bands, Bluegrass, Country-Folk, Country Blues, Conjunto, Tex-Mex, Western Swing, Traditional Folk, Zydeco, Traditional Country, Old-Timey, Traditional Bluegrass, Acoustic Blues
Various Artists Real Life Permanent Dreams: A Cornucopia of British Psychedlia 1965-1970 Castle British Psychedelia, Psychedelic Pop, Pop/Rock
Various Artists Sound Traditions: Get in Line Brother Rural Rhythm Bluegrass-Gospel, Bluegrass, Traditional Bluegrass