Tales from the CD Changer, 1Q09


Yeah, I’m still a hardcopy CD consumer for a couple of pretty good reasons–first, professionally mastered Red Book spec CDs remain much higher in audio resolution than all commercial compressed audio files, second I actually have more physical storage space than I have digital storage space (at least for digital files of sufficient size as to maintain acceptable audio quality), finally I don’t do a lot of mobile music listening and when I do it’s in my car which has a CD changer but no input jack for  and MP3 player.

So, here are the new CDs that have been in heavy rotation in the Chervokas family Toyota Highlander Hybrid during the first quarter of 2009:

1. Morrissey - Years of Refusal
There are two kinds of rock fans–those who get Morrissey and those who don’t. Most folks who fall into the “don’t get him” camp follow The New York Timeswho, in the 1980s, characterized The Smiths as part of a new genre of  “mope rock”–naval gazing, self-absorbed whining. Of course that characterization failed to account for The Smiths’ hard rocking rhythm section and Johnny Marr’s gossamer rhythm-as-lead guitar orchestration. It also failed to account for something that has become even more apparent in Morrissey’s work as the English singer has aged–self-effacing humor.

Even with the Smiths a “mope rock” anthem, like Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now carried as much humor as maudlin self-hate (I was looking for a job and then I found a job/and heaven knows I’m miserable now). It was the ambiguous love-hate relationship Morrissey had with himself, at least in song, that in part made his lyrics fresh and interesting.  These days Morrissey can be straight-up hilarious. There are lines on Morrissey’s latest solo album that had me laughing out loud, especially the lyrics to the album’s first single All You Need Is Me.

Morrissey’s solo career has never matched his best work with the Smiths, and even at its best–this album, or 2004’s You Are the Quarry–Morrissey’s post-Smiths collaborators never deliver the musical inventiveness of Morrissey-Marr collaborations. But Years of Refusal is destined for my year-end best-of list, and it rocks. Inspirational verse of 2009: Diazepam…that’s Valium…tamazpam…lithium/ECT…HRT…How long must I stay on this stuff?

2. Ian McLagan & the Bump Band - Never Say Never
Ex-Faces keyboard player McLaganhas been living in Austin, TX for the last decade or so making strong music few people notice nationally, but this album, written and recorded after the death of McLagan’s wife in 2007 is not only profoundly moving but just plain sounds great–old school rock and soul, spacious and open, played by a band with feel to die for, given wider release last month by 00:02:59 Records. Great album. Goes down like water.

3. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
Isbellwas always my favorite songwriter/guitarist in the Drive-By Truckers when that group had a 3-man front. Now on his second post-Truckers solo album, Isbell has built this one around the sound of a new band–one that grooves gently, mixes acoustic and electric timbres, and, frankly, at first sounded underwhelming. But after a couple of listens this country tonk collection of mostly break up songs has really grown on me, most especially the late night barroom waltz, Cigarettes and Wine. Isbell’s the real deal.

4. Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel - Willie & the Wheel
Austin mainstays Willie Nelson–one of the last living connections to first generation Western Swing–and Asleep at the Wheel–the western swing revivalists–finally make the album they’ve been threatening to make together since the early 1970s when the late great Jerry Wexler first proposed it. Willie and the Wheel is a beautiful little thing made with love that probably would have sounded radical in 1972. Now it sounds warm and comfortable like slipping on an old shoe. Fits great though.

5. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks Live
Cyrus Avenue Revisited: The Belfast Cowboy’s live revival of his polymorphously perverse Proustian jazz-folk 1968 masterpiece is a fine listen, better still were the live performances at the Paramount and Beacon Theaters in NY in February and March. The Hollywood Bowl CD was recorded with minimal rehearsal but the band has grown into the performances of these songs since as witnessed by the NYC shows, digging in to summon something transcendent and spiritual. Van’s been audio and video taping these performances, perhaps later we’ll see get to hear a best of Astral Weeks live collection.

6. Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
I know I’m pretty much the only one who likes Springsteen’s latest disk. No, I’m not going to make the argument that it’s the equal of Nebraska or Darkness… or Born to Run or the Wild, the Innocent…. But I do think that like Woody Allen, Springsteen is so good at what he does that its seeming effortlessness invites us to take the skill and craft for granted.

 

 

Possibly Related Classroom Projects From DonorsChoose.org Powered by Social Actions

Information and Links

Join the fray by commenting, tracking what others have to say, or linking to it from your blog.

Information
April 10th, 2009
Comments
Feeds and Links
Comment Feed
From This Author
Del.icio.us
Digg
Technorati
Categories
Best of 2009
Music

Other Posts
Kirk Douglas’ Inner Issur
Nobody’s weakness

Readers

Shop newcritics

Featured books:


Viewing 16 Comments

 

Trackbacks

(Trackback URL)

close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus