Dr. Dog: Fate

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Contents: The breeze — Hang on — The old days — Army of ancients — The rabbit, the bat, and the reindeer — The ark — From — 100 years — Uncovering the old — The beach — My friend. "Music written and recorded by Dr. Dog."
Personnel: (from their website) "DR. DOG is: TAXI: lead woof+mud distortion guitar, vocals [Scott McMicken] TABLES: finger bass, vocals [Toby Leaman] TEXT: keyboardings, some guitar and singing [Zach Miller] TIME: trapset, harmonies, vehicle maintenance [Juston Stens] THANKS: full grip chords, young voice, interning [Frank McElroy]." Also Dan Scofield, Janka Perniss, Tommy Bindle, Steve Duffy, Kimbal Brown, John Pettit, Heather Fortune, and others.
Sample lyrics: "Are you moving much too fast? And the good times just don't last? If you're always on the go, make an angel in the snow, and freeze …" (from "The Breeze").
Wired wrote: "This Philly quintet's got a PhD in '60s psychedelic rock (which may explain why Lou Reed loves 'em)" ("Music: Sound Off," 7/08, p. 66).

Robert Pollard: Robert Pollard Is Off to Business

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Contents: The original heart — The blondes — 1 years old — Gratification to concrete — No one but I — Weatherman and skin goddess — Confessions of a teenage jerk-off — To the path! — Western centipede — Wealth and hell being.
Sample lyrics: "The years have gone by / Without you / Without me …" ("Original Heart").
Stripwax wrote in the New Haven Advocate: "[Ivan:] Do you know who I'd like to be when I grow up Natasha? [Natasha:] Who? [Ivan:] Robert Pollard! He's like a song-creating force of nature! The music of Guided by Voices and his solo work are like the fallen snow after a blizzard … an overwhelming and difficult to navigate mass of rock and roll! But Pollard's songs, upon closer inspection, each hold their own unique intricacies … just like individual snowflakes, some are less perfect than others, but his persistence is awe-inspiring! Someday I hope to blanket the earth with my own snowstorm of song! [Natasha:] Only Ivan could get me to think about the importance of a sturdy snowplow on the first day of summer …" (6/12/08, p. 47).

George Strait: Troubadour

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Contents: Troubadour — It was me — Brothers of the highway — River of love — House of Cash (with Patty Loveless) — I saw God today — Give me more time — When you're in love — Make her fall in love with me song — West Texas town (with Dean Dillon) — House with no doors — If heartaches were horses.
Notable lyrics: "The first thing I noticed / Were there were no doors in the plans / He said, 'If you build this for me / Then when she comes back / She'll never be able to leave me again.'"
Randy Vest wrote in People: "For 27 years George Strait has succeeded in country music by turning out solid, well-produced albums with a mix of hook-laden honky-tonkers, sensitive ballads and Texas two-steppers. This is no exception. As usual, some of the strongest material is cowritten by Dean Dillon, who duets with Strait on 'West Texas Town,' a delightful, fiddle-laced slice of western swing. The troubadour also gets a welcome assist from Patty Loveless. … Strait infuses it all with a laid-back delivery that is seemingly effortless" (4/14/08, p. 42).

Radiohead: In Rainbows

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Contents: 15 step — Bodysnatchers — Nude — Weird fishes/Arpeggi — All I need — Faust Arp — Reckoner — House of cards — Jigsaw falling into place — Videotape. Recorded Feb. 2005-June 2007; originally released in an online format in 2007.
Personnel: Radiohead (Colin Greenwood, Philip Selway, Ed O'Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Thom Yorke) ; with the Millennia Ensemble.
Artist website: http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/
Sample lyrics: "You used to be alright / What happened? / Did the cat get your tongue? / Did your string come undone? / One by one / in procession / it comes to us all / it's as soft as your pillow / You used to be alright / What happened / et cetera et cetera / fads for whatever / 15 steps then a sheer drop / How come I end up where I started? / How come I end up where I went wrong? / Won't take my eyes off the ball again / You reel me out then / you cut the string" ("15 Step").

Melissa Errico: Lullabies & Wildflowers

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Contents: Mockingbird (traditional, arr. Rob Mathes) — Hushabye (arr. Mathes) — Since you asked (Judy Collins) — The wind says shhh (Mike Errico) — Gentle child (lyrics by Melissa Errico, melody based on "Berceuse a Jesse" by Chucho Valdez) — Someone to watch over me (George and Ira Gershwin) — Gartan mother's lullaby (arr. Mathes) — Rockabye baby (arr. Mathes) — Wildflowers (Tom Petty) — A child is born (Thad Jones) — Tiny sparrow (arr. Mathes) — Goodnight (John Lennon & Paul McCartney) — Walking happy (Sammy Cahn).
From Ms. Errico's lyrics for "Gentle Child": "My baby I hold you so closely to me / My child, gentle child / I feel your breath so sweet upon my face / My heart next to yours / The day is ended so much that is new for you / For us / So much to come / So let us dream together / My baby rest / I will always be here / The night / The night holds us in its arms. …"
People wrote: "Both new moms and their babies can chill out to Errico's sweet sounds" ("Mother's Day Music Gift Guide," 5/5/08, p. 49).

My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges

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Contents: Evil urges — Touch me I'm going to scream pt. 1 — Highly suspicious — I'm amazed — Thank you too! — Sec walkin — Two halves — Librarian — Look at you — Aluminum park — Remnants — Smokin from shootin — Touch me I'm going to scream pt. 2 — Good intentions.
Personnel: "Jim James as 'Cap'n Goodies,' Two Tone Tommy as 'Nature vs. Nurture Ty,' Patrick Hallahan as 'Tex Message,' Carl Broemel as 'Snowy Bramble,' Bo Koster as 'Christopher B. Honey.'"
People wrote: "MMJ clearly had the urge to get soulful on their fifth studio album. The smooth-grooving title tune, one of many standout cuts, evokes shades of early Hall & Oates — at least until they break into a midsong jam — while the danceable 'Highly Suspicious,' with its jerky rhythms, finds them bringing the funk. On both of these tracks, lead singer Jim James adopts a falsetto that owes much more to R&B than rock. But folk, country and psychedelic sounds also figure into the eclectic, multilayered mix" ("Alt-Rock: My Morning Jacket," 6/16/08, p. 44).

George Perle: A Retrospective (1958-2004)

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Bernard Holland wrote in the New York Times: "George Perle, who turns 93 next month, is a rare survivor of a disappearing movement. … His atonal compositions, 12 of which are collected in a two-CD retrospective on the Bridge label, are like well-cut jewelry: small enough to hold in the hand, diamond hard yet smooth to the touch, and shining with reflecting light. … The Nine Bagatelles for piano (played in the CD set by Horacio Gutiérrez), from 1999, and the Serenade No. 3 for piano and chamber orchestra (with Richard Goode and Gerard Schwarz conducting the Music Today Ensemble), from 1983, both have Mr. Perle’s trademark love for brief, elegant, highly energized phrases separated by marked pauses. Cleanliness and light are present: Art Deco streamlining replaces Edwardian overdecoration. If Mr. Perle is a jeweler, he is also an architect, and you can think of these pieces as buildings. We admire them for clear thinking and precision. … It is interesting that Mr. Perle’s take on 12-tone music flourished just as space travel was coming along" ("Rocketing to Inner Space, Defying Tonality," 4/20/08).

The Hold Steady: Stay Positive

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Eric R. Danton wrote in his Hartford Courant blog Sound Check: "Part of what made the Hold Steady's third album so powerful was that at age 35, singer and lyricist Craig Finn clearly was still in touch with what it means to be 17 and trying to make sense of being in love. It felt incredibly real on 'Boys and Girls in America,' but no one stays 17 forever. The Hold Steady's fourth and latest album, 'Stay Positive' (Vagrant), is Finn's stab at capturing what comes next — a coming to terms with the post-scene scene, where life goes on, friends scatter and love is messier and more complicated than seems fair. For all that, though, 'Stay Positive' is an optimistic record that continues Finn's search for a sense of place. His characters here are bound by the communal power of rock 'n' roll, finding redemption in a muscular blend of fist-pumping guitar riffs and propulsive piano. 'We're gonna build something this summer,' Finn promises on the battering-ram opener 'Constructive Summer.' It's a mission statement, but like all mission statements, it's sometimes overlooked in the tumult that follows …" ("CD Review," 7/14/08).

Jimmy Giuffre 3: 1961

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Ben Ratliff wrote in the New York Times: "Jimmy Giuffre, the adventurous clarinetist, composer and arranger whose 50-year journey through jazz led him from writing the Woody Herman anthem 'Four Brothers' … to striking experimental orchestral works, died on Thursday. … From the mid-’50s on, Mr. Giuffre taught music, initially at the Lenox School of Jazz. … It was at Lenox that Mr. Giuffre first encountered Ornette Coleman, a scholarship student at the school, in 1959. Mr. Giuffre was knocked sideways by Mr. Coleman’s conviction and freedom and had a sort of ecstatic transformation. … The result was the moody, overlapping improvisations with no fixed key or tempo that characterize the playing of his trio with Paul Bley on piano and Steve Swallow on bass, heard on the ECM reissues '1961' and 'Free Fall.' This trio lasted for less than two years. … But when '1961,' a pairing of trio albums, was reissued in 1992, it was greeted with awe by some younger musicians and critics for its prescience about the post-1960s jazz landscape. The album received a five-star rating in Down Beat" (4/26/08).

Teddy Thompson: A Piece of What You Need

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Eric R. Danton wrote in his Hartford Courant blog Sound Check: "His musical pedigree couldn't be any more impressive, but lineage only takes you so far before you have to stand on your own merits. Teddy Thompson — son of folk-rock icons Richard and Linda Thompson — more than lives up to the family name on his latest solo effort. … Thompson's fourth album … expands his singer-songwriter vibe into a broader, sophisticated pop sound built around airy, sometimes bold arrangements from producer Marius de Vries. … He's a confident singer who radiates low-key charm, and he has a knack for sounding both pensive and wry. 'My standards are slipping day by day/I'll sleep with anyone who gets in my way,' he sings, playing the cad on opening song 'The Things I Do.' His melodies are subtle, but don't confuse his restraint with detachment — these songs sound deeply felt. Thompson repents a breakup on 'Don't Know What I Was Thinking' … and offers loving reassurance on 'One of These Days,' a fast shuffle packed with a riot of horns, stinging guitar leads and barrelhouse piano vamps" ("CD Review," 6/19/08).

David Murray & Black Saint Quartet: Sacred Ground

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Contents: Sacred ground (ft. Cassandra Wilson; 8:52) — Transitions (12:04) — Pierce City (9:05) — Banished (5:46) — Believe in love (10:41) — Family reunion (7:19) — Prophet of doom (ft. Cassandra Wilson; 11:20). All songs by D. Murray except tracks 1, 7 by I. Reed / D. Murray.
Personnel: David Murray, tenor sax, bass clarinet; Cassandra Wilson, vocal; Lafayette Gilchrist, piano; Ray Drummond, bass; Andrew Cyrille, drums.
The New Yorker wrote: "The saxophonist David Murray, a former titan of the early-eighties jazz scene, is aging gracefully; his album from last year, 'Sacred Ground,' recalls the strength of his early work. His Black Saint Quartet … features the pianist Lafayette Gilchrist …" (5/5/08).
From the notes by Ishmael Reed: "In 1976, the legendary World Saxophone Quartet came into being. It consisted of Oliver Lake, Hamiet Bluiett, Julius Hemphill, and David. David could have remained in New York City, wallowed in fame. … But he knew that those who controlled the pathways to success would never concede to what they consider impudence. …"

Kelley Stoltz: Circular Sounds

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Jeffrey Petrin wrote in Play: "The City by the Bay has a long and rich history of musical genius — artists such as Sly & The Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and of course, the Grateful Dead all got their start there. … Another artist from Frisco creating quite a buzz these days is Kelley Stoltz. Stoltz's latest album for Sub Pop, Circular Sounds, finds the troubadour at his artistic finest. … In what has become the norm for Stoltz, another record means another new sound. 'This one has more straightforward guitar jams,' Stoltz explains in a press release. … Abandoning his bedroom for the first time in favor of a studio, the album is a lot crisper and more driving. It also incorporates more styles, as the work on his latest seems to be, in part, an homage to the Detroit Garage Rock scene (Perhaps it's no coincidence — Stoltz was born and grew up in Michigan.) A chameleon of sorts, Stoltz's ever-changing sound does have one thing that remains fluid throughout his body of work — the man has simply never put out anything other than great records" ("Listen: Kelley Stoltz," 4/2/08, p. 15).

Bill Frisell: Richter 858

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Ben Ratliff wrote in the New York Times: "Bill Frisell wrote some string quartet music for a CD to accompany a book of Gerhard Richter paintings in 2002. The paintings were all called '858,' so Mr. Frisell used the same title for his eight pieces and for the band itself. These works — played by Mr. Frisell on electric guitar, Jenny Scheinman on violin, Eyvind Kang on viola and Hank Roberts on cello — weren’t tunes so much as gestures: slow or frenetic, based on short figures. Looking at the wide, heavy paint-slicks on the canvases and thinking of music, he tried for something more sublime, dense and basically classical than what he’s associated with. The group outlived the project. Mr. Frisell has cultivated it onstage a bit since then, and the 858 Quartet has grown out of its original purpose into something else. At the Village Vanguard on Tuesday, the band played a wickedly beautiful first set of the week. … After a beginning of long, slow chords, with Mr. Frisell electronically setting up guitar loops — it sounded like a small slice from the Richter project — some blues harmony emerged. …" ("Painting Outside …," 4/17/08).

The Breeders: Mountain Battles

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Kevin O'Donnell wrote in the Village Voice: "Kim Deal wants you to know that she's still a sentient being. 'I can feeeeeeeeel it!' she howls over and over on 'Overglazed,' the opening track on the first Breeders disc in six years. It's a hair-raising statement, and something totally unexpected from someone who hasn't been doing all that well these past few years: She's been dumped by a major label. … But that's how Mountain Battles starts: two minutes of our comeback kid joyfully shouting those four life-affirming words over unbridled, Keith Moon–style drumming and the sexiest guitar riff this side of the band's breakthrough hit, 'Cannonball.' In many ways, what follows is the perfect distillation of the Breeders' catalog … 'Overglazed' whips itself into a hurricane like 1992's 'Safari,' 'Walk It Off' swaggers sideways like 'Tipp City,' and 'Night of Joy' mines the spooky girl-group pop that Kim experimented with on 2002's Title TK. … Kim's sister Kelley takes lead vocals on the perfectly lovely Mexican ballad 'Regalame Esta Noche'" ("Reviews: The New Deals," 4/9-15/08, p. 110).

Nina Simone: To Love Somebody and Here Comes the Sun

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Liz Phair wrote in the New York Times Book Review: "Freddie Mercury once said, 'I want it all and I want it now.' This appetite might aptly be called the rock ’n’ roll disease, and Dean Wareham seems to have caught it. Or is in recovery. Or is somewhere along the road. Part confessional, part unsentimental career diary, Wareham’s 'Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance' reads like good courtroom testimony: to the point, but peppered with juicy and unsolicited asides. Dominick Dunne would make sure his seat was saved before excusing himself to use the restroom. Wareham is a respected cultural figure who cut a wide swath through the ’90s independent music scene both in America and in Europe. … Wareham recalls a passion for music at a very young age, when he formed definitive opinions about records before he was even old enough to date: 'My father ... brought home Nina Simone’s ‘Here Comes the Sun,’ wherein Nina covers George Harrison and Bob Dylan and the Bee Gees, and delivers what I consider to be the greatest recorded version of ‘My Way’" ("Frontman," 4/6/08).

Tapes 'n Tapes: Walk It Off

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Jeffrey Petrin wrote in Play: "Tapes 'n Tapes made huge waves in the music scene in 2006, when the band released their debut album, The Loon, capturing the hearts and ears of music fans and critics alike. Their mix of jangly pop and skewed rock recalls the early '90s indie scene, drawing comparisons to bands like the Pixies, Pavement and early Modest Mouse. Last week, the band released their sophomore effort, Walk It Off. The album's title, according to Tapes 'n Tapes frontman Josh Grier via press release, came from a night of drinking and talking about the last time a quarterback really got pummeled during a football game. 'When that happens, you just gotta walk it off,' says Grier. 'We all stopped because, in a way, that's what our album's about. …' Walk it off shies away from their earlier work just enough to sound fresh yet familiar. … [T]he opener Le Ruse, with it's spastic fuzzed out guitar work, the plodding ballad Time of Songs as well as the funkin' and rockin' first single Hang Them All, show a band that is developing a sound that is uniquely theirs" ("Worth the Trip," 4/9/08, p. 21).

Kate Royal: Kate Royal

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Allan Kozinn wrote in the New York Times: "The British soprano Kate Royal … has made an endearing recital disc for EMI Classics, devoted to repertory that skirts the borders of the mainstream. On Sunday afternoon Ms. Royal devoted much of her program at the Frick Collection — her first recital there — to showing how ravishing these works can sound. Ms. Royal produces an attractive, fully focused sound, but her most compelling quality as an interpreter is an ability to offset the polished surface of a trained voice with the passion and the sense of collective memory, however illusory, that folk singers bring to their art. Works like Rodrigo’s 'Cuatros Madrigales Amatorios' and Granados’s 'Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruiseñor' demand that balance. Ms. Royal supplied it with a winning naturalness. … She applied a similar interpretive flexibility to more familiar music as well, including … a handful of songs from Canteloube’s 'Chants D’Auvergne.' The French works, like the Spanish songs that opened the recital, let Ms. Royal show off her lower and middle range, where her voice is at its richest" (4/1/08).

Steve Winwood: Nine Lives

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Contents: I'm not drowning — Fly — Raging sea — Dirty city — We're all looking — Hungry man — Secrets — At time we do forget — Other shore. Tracks 1, 4, 5 written by Winwood and [Peter?] Godwin, other tracks by Winwood, Godwin, and Jose Pires de Almeida Neto.
Personnel: Track 1: Winwood, all instruments. Tracks 2-9: Winwood, vocals and Hammond organ on all tracks, also guitar on tracks 4, 5; Jose Pires de Almeida Neto, guitar, tracks 2, 3, 6-9; Richard Bailey, drums; Paul Booth, saxophone, flute and/or whistle, tracks 2, 6-9; Karl Vanden Bossche, percussion; Eric Clapton, guitar solo, track 4; Tim Cansfield, guitar, track 6.
Notable lyrics: "Hot desert wind/ Burning sand/ But this land it is my land/ Wait by the well/ Rain don't come/ River's dry/ Pray for my son/ I'm just one, one more poor hungry man. …"
Chuck Arnold wrote in People: "Winwood feels like jamming on his first studio album since 2003. The result? Nine shape-shifting songs that are meant to be played live. Blind Faith cohort Eric Clapton adds some bluesy grit to 'Dirty City'" ("Music: Quick Cuts," 5/5/08, p. 45).

Voce d'Italia: Arias for Rubini

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Personnel: Juan Diego Flórez, tenor, with the Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia conducted by Roberto Abbado.
Contents: A tribute to the Italian tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini, 1794-1854, comprising arias originally written for him or sung by him: From Il pirata: Nel furor del tempesta; Del disastro; Per te di vane lacrime / Vincenzo Bellini — From Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra: Che intesi! Oh vendetta; Deh! Troncate; Vendicar / Gioacchino Rossini — From Marino Faliero: No, no, d'abbandonarla; Di mia patria; Ma un solo conforto / Gaetano Donizetti — From Il turco in Italia: Intesi: ah! tutto intesi; Se il mio rival / Gioacchino Rossini — From Bianca e Fernando: Tutti siam; Eccomi alfin; All'udir del padre; Degna suora; Odo il tuo pianto / Vincenzo Bellini — From La donna del lago: Pace non trovo; Tu sorda ai miei lamenti; Ah come nascondere / Gioacchino Rossini — From Guglielmo Tell: Non mi lasciare; O muto asil; Vendetta; Corriam / Gioacchino Rossini.