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Sept. 21, 2005

Maroon 5 - Live: Friday the 13th - Sony/BMG
They might be busy working on their sophomore album, but Maroon 5 haven’t forgotten about their fans with their latest while-u-wait release.  Complete with accompanying DVD extras, the audio portion of the disc also includes the previously unreleased original “Wasted Years” and a cover of Oasis’ “Hello.” The DVD portion was directed by Russell Thomas, known for his work with Bjork and Coldplay, and includes interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and live performance photos, while the disc itself includes tunes “She Will Be Loved,” “This Love,” “Sunday Morning,” “Harder to Breathe,” “Wasted Years,” and “Shiver.”  The whole package makes a great Maroon 5 souvenir for Maroon 5 fans.  

The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang - Virgin Records
It’s a little up-and-down - as could be expected from many of the life changes the members of the Stones have gone through in the past couple of years - but overall, this disc might be some of the best music the Stones have put out in quite awhile.  There’s plenty of energy here, from the funky “Rain Fall Down” to the zippy “Sweet Neo Con,” the dangerous-sounding “Oh No, Not You Again,” and “Driving Too Fast,” and it charges along with the Stones’ regular bluesy-rock influences that they’ve somehow managed to update for the 21st century.  It’s relevant and aggressive, and will most likely make both Stones fans and fans of AOR radio quite happy.  Oh, yeah, and that harmonica playing is pretty snazzy, too, Mick.  

Our Lady Peace - Healthy in Paranoid Times - Sony Music
Recorded in exactly 1,165 days - according to Healthy..’s copious (and quite interesting) liner notes - OLP’s latest reflects singer Raine Maida’s newfound interest in overseas charity War Child, as many of the songs tackle thought-provoking subject matter and sounds reminiscent of U2’s more urgent tracks.  Dense with guitar work and sing-along-friendly lyrics, the songs here may be fairly basic in melody and rock approach, but sometimes basic is what works best - on, for instance, the album’s first single, “Where Are You,” which catches the ear and won’t let go.  It’s not that OLP haven’t been emotional in the past, but this album seems to bring that to the forefront, and it’s an approach that suits the band well.

 Bob Dylan - No Direction Home: The Soundtrack - Columbia/Legacy
 The fifth release in Dylan’s Bootleg series, and the soundtrack to the recent Martin Scorsese Dylan documentary, this double set is sequenced in order and gifts the listener with over two dozen rare recordings that further expand the journey that the prolific singer-songwriter took from 1956 onward.  You’ll hear some Dylan tunes that you know - “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Masters of War,” and “Maggie’s Farm,” for instance - but you’ll also be treated to some alternate takes and sounds that you probably haven’t been privy to before, such as an alternate take of “Visions of Johanna” and a different version of “She Belongs To Me.”  This is both a great collection for Dylan aficionados, and a good Dylan introduction for the uninitiated.