Record Reviews
📝 2096 reviews| Artist | Title | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Siebel | Woodsmoke And Oranges | |
| Paul Siebel | Woodsmoke and Oranges - Jack-Knife Gypsy | <P>Jac Holzman's (of Elektra Records) assessment of Paul Siebel proved right: Siebel really didn't have the ambition necessary to make it in show business. That, however, didn't mean he couldn't make a great album, so Elektra matched the songsmith with producer Peter K. Siegel and turned them loose in the studio. With a shoestring budget, the two men gathered a handful of fine musicians — including guitarist David Bromberg, violinist Richard Greene, and steel guitarist Weldon Myrick — to record ten Siebel originals quickly. Despite, or because of, the small budget and lack of time, Siebel and company crafted an incredible record that still sounds vibrant 30 years after the fact. Woodsmoke and Oranges begins with three gems, the up-tempo "She Made Me Lose My Blues," the jazzy "Miss Cherry Lane," and the road song "Nashville Again." Everything works in harmony here — Siebel's songs, the vocals, and the sparkling, multi-layered arrangements. In fact, throughout the album, the arrangements seem to push the singer forward to deliver taut, heartfelt performances. The slower ballads equal the upbeat material, with nods going to "Louise" and "Long Afternoons." Like John Prine, Siebel is a singer/songwriter who has serious things on his mind, but doesn't forget to write memorable melodies to accompany the words. Although he'd never outdo his work on Woodsmoke and Oranges, few artists ever craft an album this good.</P><P>— <B>Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.</B></P><HR><p>The first record may have drawn listeners for the opportunity to hear Siebel originals of songs they knew from elsewhere. This record does not have that same kind of pull but is every bit as good. His strong sense of melody and storytelling style paved the way for such current songwriters as Butch Hancock and Robert Earl Keen.</p>— <b>Jim Worbois</b> |
| Paul Siebel | Jacknife Gypsy | |
| Patrick Simmons | So Wrong | |
| Paul Simon | Paul Simon | |
| Paul Simon | Paul Simon | <p>If any musical justification were needed for the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel, it could be found on this striking collection, Paul Simon's post-split debut. From the opening cut, "Mother and Child Reunion" (a Top Ten hit), Simon, who had snuck several subtle musical explorations into the generally conservative S&G sound, broke free, heralding the rise of reggae with an exuberant track recorded in Jamaica for a song about death. From there, it was off to Paris for a track in South American style and a rambling story of a fisherman's son, "Duncan" (which made the singles chart). But most of the album had a low-key feel, with Simon on acoustic guitar backed by only a few trusted associates (among them Joe Osborn, Larry Knechtel, David Spinozza, Mike Manieri, Ron Carter, and Hal Blaine, along with such guests as Stefan Grossman, Airto Moreira, and Stephane Grappelli), singing a group of informal, intimate, funny, and closely observed songs (among them the lively Top 40 hit "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"). It was miles removed from the big, stately ballad style of Bridge Over Troubled Water and signaled that Simon was a versatile songwriter as well as an expressive singer with a much broader range of musical interests than he had previously demonstrated. You didn't miss Art Garfunkel on Paul Simon, not only because Simon didn't write Garfunkel-like showcases for himself, but because the songs he did write showed off his own, more varied musical strengths. [In 2004, Warner Strategic Marketing reissued Simon's studio albums as remastered editions with bonus tracks, packaged in a cardboard digipack. The remastering on Paul Simon is particularly startling — it's crystal clear, yet warm, easily the best-sounding version of this album yet pressed. The three previously unreleased bonus tracks on Paul Simon are also revelatory, containing a demo of "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" with a different verse and a radically different version of "Duncan," which contains a different narrative than the final version. The third bonus track is an alternate version of "Paranoia Blues" that is more relaxed and laid-back than the album version.]</p><p>— <strong>William Ruhlmann</strong></p> |
| Paul Simon | Paul Simon | |
| Paul Simon | One Trick Pony | |
| Paul Simon | The Rhythm Of The Saints | |
| Sly And The Family Stone | There's A Riot Goin' On | <p>It's easy to write off <i>There's a Riot Goin' On</i> as one of two things — Sly Stone's disgusted social commentary or the beginning of his slow descent into addiction. It's both of these things, of course, but pigeonholing it as either winds up dismissing the album as a whole, since it is so bloody hard to categorize. What's certain is that Riot is unlike any of Sly & the Family Stone's other albums, stripped of the effervescence that flowed through even such politically aware records as <i>Stand!</i>. This is idealism soured, as hope is slowly replaced by cynicism, joy by skepticism, enthusiasm by weariness, sex by pornography, thrills by narcotics. Joy isn't entirely gone — it creeps through the cracks every once and awhile and, more disturbing, Sly revels in his stoned decadence. What makes Riot so remarkable is that it's hard not to get drawn in with him, as you're seduced by the narcotic grooves, seductive vocals slurs, leering electric pianos, and crawling guitars. As the themes surface, it's hard not to nod in agreement, but it's a junkie nod, induced by the comforting coma of the music. And damn if this music isn't funk at its deepest and most impenetrable — this is dense music, nearly impenetrable, but not from its deep grooves, but its utter weariness. Sly's songwriting remains remarkably sharp, but only when he wants to write — the foreboding opener "Luv N' Haight," the scarily resigned "Family Affair," the cracked cynical blues "Time," and "(You Caught Me) Smilin'." Ultimately, the music is the message and while it's dark music, it's not alienating — it's seductive despair, and that's the scariest thing about it. —<b></b> |
| Broderick Smith | Broderick Smith's Big Combo | |
| Broderick Smith | Broderick Smith | |
| Elliot Smith | XO | <p>A year before his major-label debut, XO, was released, it seemed unlikely that Elliott Smith would even be on a major, let alone having his record be one of the more anticipated releases of 1998. He had certainly earned a great deal of critical respect with his low-key, acoustic indie records and was emerging as a respected songwriter, but he hadn't made much of an impression outside of journalists, record collectors, and indie rockers. An Oscar nomination can change things, however. "Miss Misery," one of Smith's elegantly elegiac songs for Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting, unexpectedly earned an Academy Award nomination, and he was immediately thrust into the spotlight. He was reluctant to embrace instant celebrity, yet he didn't refuse a contract with DreamWorks, and he didn't shy away from turning XO into a glorious fruition of his talents. Smith's songs remain intensely introspective, yet the lush, Beatlesque production provides a terrifically charming counterpoint. His sweetly dark melodies are vividly brought to life with the detailed arrangements, and they sell Smith's tormented songs -- it's easy to get caught up in the tunes and the sound of the record, then realize later what the songs are actually about. That's a sign of a good craftsman, and XO proves that not only can Elliott Smith craft a song, but he knows how to make an alluring pop record as well.</p>—<b>Stephen Thomas Erlewine</b> |
| Southside Johnny | This Time It's For Real | |
| Spectrum | Milesago | |
| Spectrum | Part One | <p>Reissue on CD of debut album from 1971 of one of the best Australian psych rock bands. A great example of the latter-'60s psychedelic rock becoming the progressive rock of the early '70s, Melbourne's spectrum was at the forefront of the Australian response. Originally released on Harvest this is a prime example of innovative long roamingprogressive/psychedelic rock along the lines of post-Syd Barrett Pink Floyd or more obscure bands like Secondhand. "Superbody" is a hilariously stoned look at Superman, while "Make Your Stash" is pure underground genius. Contains their Australian number one single "I'll Be Gone" and one other track as a bonus.</p> |
| Spectrum | Milesago | |
| Spectrum | Testimonial | <p>Although there was an attempt to keep the Spectrum and Indelible Murtceps personae separate, there was inevitably some confusion between the two bands, and so the next album was jointly credited to both entities. There was an attempt to keep a demarcation between the two though, each track being assigned to one name or the other, with clear instrumentation and genre differences. Instead of this diversity being a strength, as it was on Milesago, it becomes jarring. The Murtceps numbers are generally straight-forward boogie numbers (with apparently an ear to the success of Daddy Cool - the guitar riff in "Indelible Shuffle" is very reminiscent of their "Hi Honey Ho"), with keyboards restricted to piano. The Spectrum numbers are ponderous mid-tempo numbers with a fuller range of keyboard sounds (courtesy new member John Mills), including the first use of synthesizers, but little of the fire we used to get from Lee Neale - or from anyone else in the band. The best number on the album is the one Murtceps number to break the genre straightjacket imposed on each identity, "Real Meanie". The best of the Spectrum numbers are "I Think I Even Missed The Station" and Ray Arnott's grooving "It Would Be Nice". "Essay In Paranoia", apparently a stage favourite at the time, is the most overtly proggy in it's multiple sections and use of synthesizer.</p><p>—<strong>Simon - Progarchives.com</strong></p> |
| Spectrum | Spectrum | |
| Spectrum | Terminal Buzz |
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