4Play

Dec. 21, 2005

Kate Bush - Aerial - Sony Music

Art-pop singer-songwriter Kate Bush has been out of the loop and off the charts for a while. 12 years, to be exact - which would, in most cases, mean that we wouldn’t hear from her again. But Kate Bush simply works at a careful pace - what began as taking a year off of recording stretched into those 12 years, over which she decided she liked the gentler pace of songwriting that she was doing. That said, this two-disc collection of songs is worth the wait. Bush’s unique vision of enchanting places and situations is back, with songs like the “King of the Mountain,” which ponders where Elvis went, the quirky “Pi,” the piano-enhanced “Mrs. Bartolozzi,” and Bush’s ode to Joan of Arc, “Joanni.” The second disc is a prettily-meandering set of compositions called “A Sky of Honey” that pulls together lush orchestrations, jazz, and more of those experimental sounds and voices Bush is known for. Welcome back, Kate.

Green Day - Bullet in a Bible - Reprise/WEA

What a bargain - not only do you get Green Day’s live concert on CD, you also get a rockin’ bonus DVD with this set, a two-disc extravaganza that charts the punk-pop band as they take on what’s likely to go on register as the biggest tour of their career to date. Filmed in June 2005 in England, the disc chronicles Green Day’s energetic live performances of songs such as “American Idiot,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “Are We The Waiting,” “Jaded,” and “We Are The Champions,” and shows what it was like for the trio to play those songs in front of a whopping 65,000 fans. The DVD also features several documentary pieces that follow the band members around during their off time in various museums and pubs, in which they discuss the details of the making of their American Idiot album. It’s a great pair of discs for Green Day fans old and new.


ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits - Polydor Records

With Madonna championing ABBA by including their sample in her latest single, “Hung Up,” hipsters everywhere who weren’t already clued in are wondering, “so, who is this ABBA, anyway?” Well, long before The Hives and The Cardigans infiltrated the U.S. (and ages before the A-Teens started doing covers of ABBA’s music), ABBA were one of the top bands to come out of Sweden, as evidenced by their long line of hits, nineteen of which are included here - songs you’ve probably heard somewhere but maybe never quite tuned into. These songs, lodged squarely and strangely between disco-camp-pop and musical theater, include the likes of “Dancing Queen,” “The Winner Takes It All,” “Chiquitita,” “Waterloo,” and many more - one listen will challenge you to try and figure out exactly where this quirky group’s appeal lies. The answer’s in your tapping feet.


Wilco - Kicking Television: Live in Chicago - Nonesuch Records

The first official coming-to-you-live release from evasive country-emo-rockers Wilco, this set was mixed by veteran engineer Jim Scott (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews, Johnny Cash) and does a great job of recording the live enthusiasm and clarity of this acclaimed band. Taped in 2005, in front of four nights’ worth of an SRO crowd at Chicago’s Vic Theater, the audience is definitely livin’ it up, too, as evidenced by the various random howls and crashing bottles that can be heard in the background. But it’s okay - that all adds to the disc’s authentic feel on songs like the laid-back “Misunderstood,” new live arrangements of tunes like “Ashes of American Flags” and “A Shot in the Arm,” and various Wilco sing-alongs. This is a quality recording that makes you feel like you were there, too, and that it’s a concert you’re glad you didn’t miss.