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
January 27, 2009
New CD Album Releases, 1-27-2009: Bruce Springsteen, Kylie Minogue, Paul McCartney Look, as far as the music business goes, Bruce Springsteen is one of the biggest corporate whores going. You know it, I know, and the American people know it. The Seeger album was an extraordinary and commercially hopeless piece of art - unique in his catalogue. Other than that, it's been all downhill since Darkness 30 odd years ago. The music has become horribly homogenized Springsteen industrial strength music food product, with lots of cheesy off the shelf Woody Guthrie self-mythologizing shtick.
The new Working on a Dream has been criticized as being a disconnected set of workmanlike crafted songs, hurried along to be out in time for his big Superbowl halftime show coming up in a few days. The big industrial strength roll out of this trips the triggers of some folks who are real invested in his big cheesy personnae.
But it's really just as well, so far as I'm concerned - never having bought all the shtick in the first place. Everybody's trying to put some political spin on it - with Springsteen's encouragement - some BS about a reflection of the optimism of the new Obama era. The good thing is that this is just pure marketing BS, and such dumbassery has little or nothing to do with what's on the actual album. It was that cheap grasping for Deep Meaning that so badly made me want to stick that horrible exploitative 9/11 album up The Boss's ass.
The actual new album Working on a Dream is not going to make anybody forget Born to Run, but it's more listenable to my ears than anything Springsteen's been involved with in the last 15 or 20 years, again excepting Seeger. This album is halfway listenable - way better than Springsteen's recent average. Maybe it's just that he's put his efforts here mostly into composition rather than concocting political/sociological BS.
Most of all, this whole album is at least minimally justified by one fairly outstanding song, the epic eight minute opening track "Outlaw Pete." For starters, this thing's pretty catchy. I'm wandering around singing pieces of it, which is my surest sign that he's got something.
He's been called out in some quarters for nicking a bit of the big Kiss disco hit "I Was Made For Loving You." But this is a textbook example of GOOD nicking. He's used just one bit of instrumental hook, dropped into a whole different emotional and musical context. It's not the main point of the song, and not enough to be really a ripoff. It's really interesting and worthwhile thinking through how this little disco lick cleverly becomes part of a Western epic.
I don't know how "profound" this big ol' epic exactly is, but it's got at least a halfway distinctive melody and some good dynamics. Plus, I like some of the early imagery of the three month old Pete in his diapers and bare feet holding up his first bank. At six months old, he'd done three months in jail. It's almost in Paul Bunyon territory there. This song will likely end up on my 2009 records list.
Beyond the 800 pound corporate gorilla, there's an album of Kylie Minogue remixes, Boombox. If you're into such things, this has a lot of first-time-on-an-album rarities, including the Kylie/New Order mash-up "Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of Head".
Amoeba's Secret is a four song live EP from Paul MCartney, from a small show promoting Memory Almost Full. It has two songs from there ["Only Mama Knows" and "That Was Me"] plus "C Moon" and "I Saw Her Standing There."
Here's the complete list of this week's major new releases:
The Bird and the Bee Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future Blue Note Indie Pop, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Franz Ferdinand Tonight Domino New Wave/Post-Punk Revival, Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Bruce Springsteen Working on a Dream Columbia Album Rock, Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter
Louis Armstrong Satchmo at Pasadena Verve Mainstream Jazz, New Orleans Jazz, Traditional Pop
Ashford & Simpson The Real Thing Burgundy Soul, Pop-Soul, Smooth Soul, Contemporary R&B
Zuill Bailey Zuill Bailey: Russian Masterpieces for Cello and Orchestra Telarc Romantic & Modern Music for Cello & Orchestra
Gato Barbieri Chapter One: Latin America Verve Latin Jazz, World Fusion, Free Jazz
Ran Blake Driftwoods Tompkins Square Avant-Garde Jazz, Standards, Post-Bop, Ballads
James Brown Singles, Vol. 6: 1969-1970 Hip-O Select Funk, Soul, Blaxploitation
Cappadonna Slang Prostitution Chambermusik Hardcore Rap, East Coast Rap
Peter Cincotti East of Angel Town Sire/ London/Rhino Vocal Jazz, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
Cotton Jones Basket Ride Paranoid Cocoon Suicide Squeeze Alternative Singer/Songwriter
Dälek Gutter Tactics Ipecac Left-Field Hip-Hop, Alternative Rap
Pat DiNizio & Buddy Holly Pat Dinizio/Buddy Holly Koch Pop-Metal, Garage Rock Revival, Rock & Roll
Dry Branch Fire Squad Echoes of the Mountains Rounder Progressive Bluegrass, Appalachian Folk, Old-Timey, Contemporary Bluegrass, String Bands, Traditional Bluegrass
Chris Duarte 396 Blues Bureau Modern Electric Blues
John Frusciante The Empyrean Record Collection Emo, Indie Rock
The Full Blast Black Hole Atavistic Avant-Garde Jazz, Free Jazz, Modern Free
The Green Fields of America The Green Fields of America Compass Traditional Irish Folk, Traditional Celtic, Irish Folk
Pat Green What I'm For BNA Contemporary Country, Pop/Rock, American Trad Rock
Tom Harrell Prana Dance Highnote Post-Bop
Hoobastank For(n)ever Island Post-Grunge, Alternative Pop/Rock
Incredible String Band Tricks of the Senses Hux British Folk-Rock, British Folk, Folk-Rock, Psychedelic
Nickel Eye The Time of the Assassins Rykodisc Indie Rock
Of Montreal An Eluardian Instance (Jon Brion Remix EP) Polyvinyl Indie Pop, Neo-Psychedelia, Club/Dance, Dance-Pop
Mark Olson/Gary Louris Ready for the Flood Hacktone Americana, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Country-Rock
Renee Olstead Skylark Reprise/143 Traditional Pop, Vocal Pop
QUaX Ensemble Cornelius Cardew: Treatise Mode Avant-Garde Chamber Music
Thomas Quasthoff Italian Arias Deutsche Grammophon Classical Opera Arias
Enrico Rava New York Days ECM Post-Bop, Modern Creative
Rihanna Good Girl Gone Bad: The Remixes Def Jam Club/Dance, Dance-Pop, Urban
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Old Money Stones Throw Experimental Rock, Space Rock
Roses Kings Castles Roses Kings Castles Sycamore Club Indie Pop, Indie Rock
Saffire -- The Uppity Blues Women Havin' the Last Word Alligator Modern Acoustic Blues, Folk-Blues
Jamie Saft Black Shabbis Tzadik Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Death Metal/Black Metal
Duncan Sheik Whisper House RCA Victor Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter
Matthew Shipp Harmonic Disorder Thirsty Ear Avant-Garde Jazz
Frank Sinatra Seduction: Sinatra Sings of Love [Deluxe] Rhino Traditional Pop, American Popular Song
Doug Stone Live at Billy Bob's Texas Smith Music Group Neo-Traditionalist Country
Various Artists Grammy Nominees 2009 Rhino Pop Idol, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Contemporary R&B, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Pop, Adult Contemporary
Various Artists Michael Fiday: Same Rivers Different Innova Modern Vocal & Chamber Music
Volcano Suns All-Night Lotus Party [Bonus Tracks] Merge American Underground, Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Post-Hardcore, College Rock
Volcano Suns The Bright Orange Years [Bonus Tracks] Merge American Underground, Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Post-Hardcore, College Rock
Gene Watson Reflections/Should I Come Home Hux Country-Pop, Nashville Sound/Countrypolitan
Tyrone Wells Remain Republic Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Paul Weston A Life in Music: Songwriter, Composer, Arranger JSP Traditional Pop, Mood Music, Instrumental Pop
Katt Williams It's Pimpin' Pimpin' Warner Bros. Observational Humor, Standup Comedy
Bruce Springsteen
