R.E.M. - Reckoning: Deluxe Edition - IRS/A&M
Kristi Kates 6/15/09
R.E.M. continue their series of reissues with a great 25th anniversary deluxe version of their 1984 album, Reckoning, which arrives via IRS. Another two-disc set (like last year’s reissue of the band’s Murmur), the first disc includes the remastered album, with super-clear sound on such tracks as “So. Central Rain” and “Pretty Persuasion,” while the second disc is a live show recorded in Chicago in 1984 at the Aragon Ballroom; that disc features live renditions of eight songs from Reckoning as well as “Driver 8” and “Hyena,” which were new at the time.
James Apollo - Angels We Have Grown Apart - No Alternative
He’s better known overseas than he may be in the U.S., but that doesn’t diminish James Apollo’s talent at all - Americans are just gonna have to catch up with his redolent brand of thoughtful, soulful folk-pop. “Morphine and Wine” blends American jazz with mournful lyrics; a viola serves as the carrying thread throughout the song “It’s Cruel,” with its veering tempo changes; and “Dead Men Weigh More Than Broken Hearts” is perhaps the perfect audio representation of Apollo’s jazzy, melancholy songs and his distinctive, smoky 2 a.m. vocals.
The Smiths -The Sound of the Smiths: The Very Best - Rhino
This deluxe two CD set of The Smiths is quite accurate in its “Best” description; this album really does bring together most of the band’s best tracks from their beginnings in 1981. Morrissey and Johnny Marr’s skills and songwriting complexities stand up even today, whether you’re listening to Smiths classics like “How Soon is Now?” “Girlfriend in a Coma,” or “Panic” - or slightly lesser-known tracks like “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side,” or “Shoplifters of the World Unite,” you’ll hear why The Smiths are still an influential band to plenty of today’s indie-rockers.
LANDy - Eros and Omissions - Apology
LANDy is the pseudonym for actor-slash-musician Adam Goldberg (Friends, Saving Private Ryan), who’s actually been crafting music almost as long as he’s been acting. Goldberg teams up here with the Flaming Lips’ Steven Drozd to arrange and enhance Goldberg’s own songs of love and loss, which he actually began writing way back in 2002. Eighteen songs are included here, from the first single, the quirky-poppy “BFF!” to the piano-riddled “Apology 2,” the more complex “Every Time It’s Over,” and “No One in Particular,” which blends peppy music with saddened lyrics.
Kristi Kates 6/15/09
R.E.M. continue their series of reissues with a great 25th anniversary deluxe version of their 1984 album, Reckoning, which arrives via IRS. Another two-disc set (like last year’s reissue of the band’s Murmur), the first disc includes the remastered album, with super-clear sound on such tracks as “So. Central Rain” and “Pretty Persuasion,” while the second disc is a live show recorded in Chicago in 1984 at the Aragon Ballroom; that disc features live renditions of eight songs from Reckoning as well as “Driver 8” and “Hyena,” which were new at the time.
James Apollo - Angels We Have Grown Apart - No Alternative
He’s better known overseas than he may be in the U.S., but that doesn’t diminish James Apollo’s talent at all - Americans are just gonna have to catch up with his redolent brand of thoughtful, soulful folk-pop. “Morphine and Wine” blends American jazz with mournful lyrics; a viola serves as the carrying thread throughout the song “It’s Cruel,” with its veering tempo changes; and “Dead Men Weigh More Than Broken Hearts” is perhaps the perfect audio representation of Apollo’s jazzy, melancholy songs and his distinctive, smoky 2 a.m. vocals.
The Smiths -The Sound of the Smiths: The Very Best - Rhino
This deluxe two CD set of The Smiths is quite accurate in its “Best” description; this album really does bring together most of the band’s best tracks from their beginnings in 1981. Morrissey and Johnny Marr’s skills and songwriting complexities stand up even today, whether you’re listening to Smiths classics like “How Soon is Now?” “Girlfriend in a Coma,” or “Panic” - or slightly lesser-known tracks like “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side,” or “Shoplifters of the World Unite,” you’ll hear why The Smiths are still an influential band to plenty of today’s indie-rockers.
LANDy - Eros and Omissions - Apology
LANDy is the pseudonym for actor-slash-musician Adam Goldberg (Friends, Saving Private Ryan), who’s actually been crafting music almost as long as he’s been acting. Goldberg teams up here with the Flaming Lips’ Steven Drozd to arrange and enhance Goldberg’s own songs of love and loss, which he actually began writing way back in 2002. Eighteen songs are included here, from the first single, the quirky-poppy “BFF!” to the piano-riddled “Apology 2,” the more complex “Every Time It’s Over,” and “No One in Particular,” which blends peppy music with saddened lyrics.
