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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All original content on MoreThings.com copyright 2008 Albert Barger or the respective authors
August 07, 2007
New Album Releases, 8-7-2007: Peter Case, Billy Joe Shaver, Public Enemy There are several interesting possibilities this week, but I can specifically recommend Peter Case's new album Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John. "24 Hours" begins the album with a song that will certainly be on the best of list at the end of the year. This song has some of the best hooks Case has conjured up in awhile, as well as his usual literate lyrics. Besides that though, this song also has the benefit of guest Richard Thompson on guitar and vocals, which really makes this a proper record.
Interestingly though, Thompson's contribution of vocal harmonies on "24 Hours" did even more to benefit the song than his fancy guitar. Thompson's guitar playing is certainly a nice bonus, but Peter Case himself is actually a pretty fair picker. He's mostly got the fancy pickin' covered. But that second voice was really critical in the mix.
Billy Joe Shaver is Everybody's Brother. This album seems to be interested in spiritual themes, with Jesus specifically mentioned by name in three of the songs. This includes "You Just Can't Beat Jesus Christ," a duet with Johnny Cash rescued from an old demo. The album was produced by John Jr. I'd be real interested to hear what kind of Jesus songs are coming out of the guy who kicked my ass with "Jesus Christ Is Still the King" just two years ago. I'm particularly interested in that according to this article, Mr Shaver seems to think that the ghost of Johnny actually helped him write the 7 minute epic title song "Everybody's Brother."
Harry Shearer has a new album of Songs Pointed and Pointless. There are not many comedians as musical as Mr Shearer. I'm skeptical about overtly comic records. I so don't care to hear repeatedly about Adam Sandler's red sweatshirt. But Shearer was part of the brain trust for Spinal Tap and the Folksmen. That's another level of art. This might would deserve a listen, then.
For an album called Camp Meeting, I would have expected that Bruce Hornsby was making a gospel album. Turns out that he's going jazz, and fairly hardcore at that. He's taking a stab at Coltrane's "Giant Steps." He's also doing Thelonious Monk's "Straight, No Chaser."
James Brown The Singles, Vol. 3: 1964-1965 sounds like something a fellow would need to hear. These 40 songs on two CDs seem to suggest as many as 20 singles in two years. While these are from roughly the peak of his creative power, I know no more than a half dozen of these songs. This sounds intriguing.
I'm not familiar with these recordings, but my eye was caught by a five CD set of early Chet Atkins, and for under $30. The Early Years 1946-1957 sounds pretty interesting.
Public Enemy has a new album, How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???. Now, they once managed to make one good album, and maybe a couple of worthwhile singles. But, predictably, they years ago devolved into cheesy agit-prop. This dumbass album title pretty well lays out their shtick. Public Enemy are, of course, paragons of soul. You know they are, cause they're black and they're "mad" - though all that mad is an increasingly obvious contrivance.
The PE problem is summed up in this Amazon product description obviously written by some record company flack
Public Enemy's been pioneers in combining verbal acumen with technological advances, performance artistry and theatricality, thematic integrity and artistic control. In an era where mega-national corporations dominate the marketplace and many rappers prefer being popular to being relevant, Public Enemy remain vibrant and topical. They've also forged and maintained a creative legacy that has a timeless quality, yet gives listeners intricate and compelling slices of life from the various eras in which these songs were conceived. They are not entertainers or performers but scribes and commentators providing insight and information through rhymes and music that has uplifted and still inspires legions of fans.
Well no, they are NOT scribes and commentators, or are so only incidentally. They are, theoretically, musicians. They're making and selling songs, not writing newspaper stories. But in all that gushing PR verbiage, it doesn't even occur to them to say anything about PE being musicians, much less songwriters. That lack of interest in musicianship is the main problem with Public Enemy, and the main reason they don't sell. Those still inspired legions of fans have lifted the album to #4,232 on the Amazon sales chart.
By the way, there's a simple answer to the titular question of this album: Write some real songs.
Here's the complete list of this week's major new album releases, courtesy AMG:
The Brunettes Structure and Cosmetics Sub Pop Indie Pop
Peter Case Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John Yep Roc College Rock, Contemporary Folk, Folk-Rock, New Wave, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
Kat DeLuna 9 Lives Epic Urban, Club/Dance, Latin Pop
Mirah and Spectratone International Share This Place KLP Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
American Brass Quintet Jewels Summit Music for Brass Quintet
Teodoro Anzellotti Chanson Discrete Winter & Winter Contemporary Music and Baroque Arrangements for Accordion
Chet Atkins The Early Years 1946-1957 JSP Finger-Picked Guitar, Country Boogie, Instrumental Country, Nashville Sound/Countrypolitan, Country-Pop, Traditional Country
Andy and the Bey Sisters 'Round Midnight Prestige Vocal Jazz, Standards, Hard Bop, Soul-Jazz
James Brown The Singles, Vol. 3: 1964-1965 Hip-O Select.Com/Polydor Soul
Billy Burnette/Shawn Camp The Bluegrass Elvises, Vol. 1 Thirty Tigers Contemporary Country, Country-Pop, Country-Rock
Constantine Constantine 6th Place Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Drowning Pool Full Circle Eleven Seven Alternative Metal, Hard Rock, Post-Grunge
Emerson, Lake & Palmer Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends Sanctuary Prog-Rock/Art Rock, Album Rock
Ella Fitzgerald & Billie Holiday At Newport Verve Vocal Jazz, Traditional Pop, Standards, Swing, Ballads, Classic Female Blues, American Popular Song
Ella Fitzgerald Live at the Savoy 1939-40 Hep Vocal Jazz, Traditional Pop, Standards, Swing, Classic Female Blues
Flight of the Conchords The Distant Future Sub Pop Comedy Rock
Robben Ford Truth Concord Modern Electric Blues
Fuel Angels & Devils Epic Post-Grunge, Alternative Metal
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons Banging Down the Doors Minty Fresh Indie Pop, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
Gallon Drunk From the Heart of Town [Bonus Tracks] Sartorial Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Punk Blues
Gallon Drunk Tonite... The Singles Bar [Bonus Tracks] Sartorial Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Punk Blues
Gallon Drunk You, the Night...and the Music [Bonus Tracks] Sartorial Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Punk Blues
Coleman Hawkins At Newport Live Verve Labels Mainstream Jazz, Bop
Billie Holiday Remixed & Reimagined Legacy Vocal Jazz
Bruce Hornsby Camp Meeting Sony Legacy Post-Bop
Alan Jackson 16 Biggest Hits Legacy Neo-Traditionalist Country, New Traditionalist, Contemporary Country
Jennifer Gentle A New Astronomy A Silent Place Neo-Psychedelia, Indie Rock
Jonas Brothers Jonas Brothers Hollywood Pop/Rock, Teen Pop
June Make It Blur Victory Punk-Pop, Alternative Pop/Rock, Emo
Kris Kristofferson 16 Biggest Hits Legacy Outlaw Country, Singer/Songwriter, Progressive Country, Soft Rock, Country-Rock, Traditional Country
Magnolia Electric Co Sojourner So Hood Records Alternative Country-Rock, Indie Rock
Pablo Marquez Musica del Delphin ECM Renaissance Music for Guitar
Marissa Nadler Song 3: Bird on the Water Peacefrog Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Ksenia Nosikova Lera Auerbach: Flight and Fire Profil Contemporary Music for Piano
Okkervil River The Stage Names Jagjaguwar Indie Rock, Folk-Pop
Operator Soulcrusher Atlantic Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Album Rock
Dmitry Sitkovetsky Rodion Shchedrin: Parade a la russe Haenssler Classic Contemporary Chamber Music
Original Soundtrack Superbad [Soundtrack] Lakeshore Film Music, Soundtracks, Funk, Blaxploitation
Oscar Peterson Trio At Newport Live Verve Labels Bop, Mainstream Jazz
Plies The Real Testament Atlantic / Wea Southern Rap, Gangsta Rap
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals This Is Somewhere Hollywood Alternative Country-Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
The Pretty Things Balboa Island Zoho Freakbeat, British Invasion, Rock & Roll, British Blues
Public Enemy How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? Slam Jamz Hip-Hop
David Ruffin Gentleman Ruffin Warner Bros. Motown, Soul
Leon Russell Angel in Disguise MRI Country Boogie, Boogie Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Country-Rock, Blues-Rock, Rock & Roll, R&B
Joe Satriani Surfing with the Alien [CD/DVD] Sony Legacy Guitar Virtuoso, Pop/Rock, Instrumental Rock
Billy Joe Shaver Everybody's Brother Compadre Americana, Outlaw Country, Honky Tonk, Singer/Songwriter, Country-Rock, Progressive Country
Harry Shearer Songs Pointed and Pointless Courgette Satire, Observational Humor
Ralph Stanley Early Classics: The King Recordings Time/Life WEA Bluegrass, Traditional Bluegrass, Bluegrass-Gospel, Contemporary Bluegrass, Appalachian Folk
Various Artists The Best of Newport '57: 50th Anniversary Collection Verve Labels Mainstream Jazz, Jazz Blues, New Orleans Jazz, Classic Jazz, Hard Bop, Post-Bop, Swing, Bop, Big Band
Various Artists Thai Pop Spectacular: 1960s-1980s Sublime Frequencies Asian Pop, Foreign Language Rock
Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat [Bonus Tracks] Shout Soft Rock, Pop, Adult Contemporary
Zap Mama Supermoon Heads Up Worldbeat, World Fusion, Acappella, Afro-Pop, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Billy Joe Shaver is Everybody's Brother. This album seems to be interested in spiritual themes, with Jesus specifically mentioned by name in three of the songs. This includes "You Just Can't Beat Jesus Christ," a duet with Johnny Cash rescued from an old demo. The album was produced by John Jr. I'd be real interested to hear what kind of Jesus songs are coming out of the guy who kicked my ass with "Jesus Christ Is Still the King" just two years ago. I'm particularly interested in that according to 
Chet Atkins The Early Years 1946-1957 JSP
