Anathema - Weather Systems

Release Date: April 16, 2012
Label: Kscope


Let me tell you about Anathema.  They are a British prog rock band that started off playing doom metal.  Their past alone is probably enough to turn off most prospective listeners ("you want me to check out a doom metal band???), and their present is enough to turn off most doom metal fans, so they are in an interesting position, as far as niche is concerned.

I first heard Anathema several years ago, when I was in my prog metal phase.  The record I heard was A Natural Disaster, which surprised me with its overall mellowness and delicacy.  There really isn't anything metal about Anathema anymore.  I more recently heard We're Here Because We're Here, which I wasn't totally impressed with, despite its relative popularity.  Nevertheless, when I saw that Weather Systems was due, I went ahead and ordered the vinyl.

After a few listens, I was floored.  This might be even better than A Natural Disaster.  The record starts off with a split track, "Untouchables," with a hard first half and a more delicate second half.  This is followed by another pair of songs that flow into each other, "The Gathering of the Clouds," and "Lightning Song."  "Gathering" is a fine specimen of layered vocals and effective buildup, and by the time it climaxes and segues into "Lightning Song," it is difficult to resist the urge to start pumping your fists.

Another highlight is "The Storm Before the Calm," which features one of my favorite prog tropes: tearing down the song after a few verses, and building it back up again with more grandeur than before.

Really, this whole record is solid.  So solid that I decided to purchase the surround sound edition, which I had the chance to spin for the first time today.  The sound is more crisp, with more separation between the concrete musical instruments and more abstract atmospheric elements.  The layered vocal parts especially shine; in "The Gathering of the Clouds," I heard vocal lines I hadn't heard even after a dozen or so listens.

If you're a prog rock or art rock fan, check this out.  If you're not... Well, there still might be cuts you really like.  This music is really difficult to categorize.

★★★★

The Ghost of Eastside Records

Talk about a score.

I got a tip about a new record store in the Phoenix area.  It is called Ghost of Eastside Records, and seems to have risen from the dust of the old Eastside Records that used to be located in Downtown Tempe.  I heard about their great selection, and their great prices, so I decided to check them out.

I was blown away by their selection...and their prices.

Some of the purchases almost felt like I was stealing from them:
Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard - One Fast Move or I'm Gone - $9 ($18+ on discogs)
Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne - $11 ($22+ on discogs)
Rolling Stones - Goat's Head Soup - $5 ($10+ on discogs)
REM - Out of Time - $7.50 (not sure which pressing I have, but the US one is $40 on discogs)
REM - Fables of the Reconstruction - $13 ($35 on discogs)
Pink Mountaintops - Axis of Evol - $5 ($10 on ebay and discogs)
The Jayhawks - s/t (the bunkhouse album) - $5 ($10+ on discogs)
Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama - $5 ($18+ on discogs)
Neil Young - Le Noise - $18.50 ($60+ on discogs and ebay)

I realize the advertised price of something is not always its true value, but that's about $80 for nine albums that would cost about $225 on the internet (if you don't look too hard).

So, whoever it is who runs the new Ghost of Eastside Records... I don't know how you can offer me these records at these prices and stay in business, but I salute you, and I hope you keep it up.

#4: Punch Brothers - Antifogmatic

Release Year: 2010

This is a controversial album for a top 5 pick: it is relatively unfamiliar to most, and, being just a year and a half old, has not withstood the test of time.  I didn't like it at first; it took me three or four listens before it really grabbed me... But once it did, it just started getting better and better.

Antifogmatic is an album not like any other.  It strictly adheres to a five-piece traditional bluegrass instrumentation, yet there is nothing traditional about it.  It was made by five of the most talented musicians on their respective instruments, yet it doesn't sound like they are overplaying.  It is musically diverse, with influences as broad as classical, bluegrass, and rock.

Punch Brothers are one of the most exciting bands in music right now.  There is nobody else who is doing what they are; they have managed to take a traditional music genre and move it into the next generation.

Standout tracks:

• Don't Need No
• You Are
• This Is The Song (Good Luck)

#6: Jeff Buckley - Grace

Release Year: 1994

Jeff Buckley's father, Tim, was a successful folk musician who lived a reckless life, characterized by frequent substance abuse, which ended at a relatively young age.  Jeff Buckley was a successful rock musician who lived quite the opposite lifestyle, without any substance abuse issues...and he did at a relatively young age.

I sometimes wonder if Grace would have quite the impact it has now, had Jeff gone on to record more music.  But that is purely academic; the fact of the matter is, this album is spectacular.  His style is unique, and his voice is strong and passionate.

Buckley's rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is nothing short of moving.  If you include a cover song on your studio album, you better make sure you contribute something, and Jeff answered that in spades.

We'll never know what Jeff Buckley would have recorded had he not drowned, but with just this one album, he made an indelible entry into music history.

Standout tracks:

• Hallelujah
• Eternal Life
• Grace

#7: Josh Ritter - The Animal Years

Release Year: 2006

Josh Ritter has always been a great lyricist, and a great folk storyteller.  Here, though, the lyrics are more pessimistic than anything else he has written, and it gives his music a whole new touch.  The tone is set right away with "Girl In The War," a song that is about the feeling of helplessness one must feel when he has a girl who has been deployed to Iraq, but can also be about the helplessness you feel when you are simply unable to heft the object of your devotion, whatever that may be.

The great thing about this album is that the lyrics work on multiple levels.

Contained herein is Ritter's best lyrical work to date, the sprawling "Thin Blue Flame."  Over the course of its nine plus minutes, this song evolves from cynicism to anger, and finally to resign and reconciliation.  And the tone and intensity of the music matches that of the lyrics throughout.  This is one of my favorite songs.

There is a reason none other than Stephen King gave this album the honor of being his favorite album of 2006.

#11: Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Release Year: 1969

Neil Young's second album, and first with Crazy Horse, is a true masterpiece.  Crazy Horse was one of the loudest bands of the time, and provided a perfect vehicle for Neil's songwriting ability.

It's really difficult to beat an album with both "Down By The River" and "Cowgirl In The Sand," two of the best rock songs written by anybody, ever.  Neil has written several lengthy rock songs ("Words," "Last Dance," "Cortez the Killer," "Like A Hurricane," "Shots," at least four songs from Ragged Glory, "Change Your Mind," "Scenery," "Ordinary People," and "No Hidden Path," just to name a few), but the two on this album are his very best.

This is the album that turned me into a Neil Young fan.  The first Neil records I had heard were Harvest, Harvest Moon, and After the Gold Rush, two of which are Young's most successful albums, but it is this one that converted me.

#13: Trampled By Turtles - Palomino

Release Year: 2010

This is an album that I initially thought was OK... And then I heard it again, and liked it more.  And heard it yet another time, and like it even more.  Each time I listen to it, it gets better.

You see, there aren't really any other albums like this.  The Duluth quintet faithfully adheres to the use of acoustic instruments, yet this is one of the most intense, energetic albums I have in my possession.  This is speedgrass, thrashgrass, or whatever you want to call it... Folk music played at a frenetic pace.

Even though they have a very standard instrumentation, they have a sound that is all their own.  Tim Saxhaug's acoustic bass guitar and Dave Simonett's alternative vocals and songwriting style make this unlike anything else that I'm aware of.  And that gets this album an A+ in my book.

Standout tracks:

• Wait So Long
• Victory
• New Orleans
• Help You

• 
  

#16: Lost In The Trees - All Alone in an Empty House

Release Year: 2010

Here's one you may not have heard of.  In 2006, Ari Picker was in an indie folk/rock band in North Carolina called The Never.  He left the band to attend Berklee School of Music, and learned orchestra/film scoring.  Using that knowledge, he started the band Lost In The Trees, which I usually describe as a heavily-orchestrated folk band (actually, I wouldn't call it a band... they're really more a throng).

Their 2007 record Time Taunts Me is brilliant, but All Alone in an Empty House takes his fine mashup of folk and classical and adds an extra dash of focus.  The result is phenomenal.

There is something really interesting about the juxtaposition of detailed, highly organized orchestra scores, and his somewhat frail, and sometimes almost chaotic, vocal style.  It can safely be stated that there is nothing else that is anything like this.  Picker has a truly novel idea here, a talented group of musicians surrounding him, and the talent to put it all together; this is one of the most exciting new musical projects I've heard in some time.  Let's hope they can garner enough support to keep it going for some time.

Standout tracks:

• Song for the Painter
• Fireplace
• A Room where your Paintings Hang 

#19: Josh Ritter - So Runs The World Away

Release Year: 2010

After a slight misstep in The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (though by no means a bad album), Josh Ritter returned with his most musically mature and diverse album yet, So Runs The World Away.  This record is upbeat, ethereal, and atmospheric.

Here we see Josh at his most poetic.  Songs like "The Curse," "Orbital," and "Rattling Locks" exemplify what makes Josh Ritter my favorite lyricist ever.

The highlight of this record is the dreary, seven minute track "Another New World."  It would be difficult to find a better showcase of tone than this.  It's rare enough that an author effectively employs a dark, chilling tone in words alone; Ritter does not only that, but projects that same tone into the music itself.  Indeed, two of my favorite moments this year were Punch Brothers covering this song.

Standout tracks:

• Another New World
• Southern Pacifica
• Lark
• Orbital 

#20: Abigail Washburn - City of Refuge

Release Year: 2011

I don't know what it is about this album that makes it so great.  The first few times I heard it, I thought it nothing special, but said I'd buy it if I saw it on vinyl.  At Telluride Bluegrass, I saw a vinyl copy at the merch tent, and I'm a man of my word.

It helped that I saw her perform several times at the festival.  It was during her live set that her music really clicked with me, and I found myself enjoying her set more than almost any other.  I listened to the album a few more times in the ensuing weeks, and I was hooked.

Washburn plays the banjo, but this isn't bluegrass.  It's more folk than anything else.  The music is rich and textured, and her warm voice perfectly complements her lush songs.  There's really nothing else out there that combines the same influences she pulls from, making this one of the more unique records in my collection.

Standout tracks:

• Divine Bell
• Burn Thru
• Chains
• Last Train 

New Release: Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning

Release Date: September 26, 2011
Label:  KScope

Having received my much-awaited Grace For Drowning vinyl and deluxe edition mail orders, and allowing a few listens to set in, I feel compelled to provide my thoughts on this excellent new record.  Steven Wilson is the lead singer, songwriter, producer, and creative genius behind the progressive rock/metal band Porcupine Tree, and has been involved with many other projects (as both musician, producer, and general sound expert), including Blackfield, Opeth, and, notably, the new 40th anniversary King Crimson remasters.  It is the latter project that clearly had the most influence over the outcome of his new sophomore solo record.

I shall break this up into a few broad attributes.

Packaging

Grace For Drowning vinyl edition

I bought both the vinyl and the deluxe blu-ray edition.  The vinyl is a standard double gatefold, with printed sleeves and 180g black vinyl.  This is what I listened to first, and it is an impressive package, but not any more so than similar vinyl releases.

The deluxe edition, running at a cool $80 plus shipping, is truly impressive.  This version comes with both discs of Grace For Drowning, and bonus disc with demos and outtakes, and a blu-ray disc containing 5.1 and stereo mixes of the album, videos, a couple of bonus tracks, photos, and handwritten lyrics.  I haven't had a chance to watch all of the videos, but the ones I've seen do songs justice, and fit their dark mood, as is typical of Lasse Hoile-directed videos.

Grace For Drowning deluxe edition

The deluxe edition is housed in a 120-page hardcover book, whose cover is fitted with embossed denim.  They certainly did not skimp on quality here.  The book's 120 pages - yes, there are really 120 pages - are photos that I'm assuming are thematic, interspersed with lyrics and reproductions of handwritten notes.  I don't know where all these photos came from, but it looks like almost as much work could have been put into the design of this edition as the music itself.  Steven Wilson considers the album artwork to be, along with the actual music, one of the critical components of an album, and this album artwork is as breathtaking as any I've seen.

Sound
I mentioned that Wilson is hot off his work on King Crimson's 40th Anniversary Editions, and these song truly phenomenal.  The new 5.1 remixes of those albums are largely responsible for my renewed appreciation for Lizard and Islands.  Thus, it is only appropriate for this album to include a 5.1 edition.

The great thing about this is the 5.1 mix doesn't make the album.  It still sounds spectacular in stereo; you don't even really need the 5.1 mix to appreciate the incredible aural experience this album offers.  What the 5.1 mix brings to the table is a little more subtle; Wilson essentially brings you, the listener, into the room by moving atmospheric elements and some vocals to the rear channels.  There is more separation between the sounds.  The blu-ray edition really shines during the quiet parts of the album, when there are but a few instruments, and you are not limited to the dynamic range compressed stereo CDs have.  A perfect example of this is the final track, "Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eye."  You hear Wilson in the center channel, the piano in the rear, guitar chords in the front, some occasional strumming in the rear, and layered background vocals all around you.

Even if you don't buy the $80 deluxe edition, it is still worthwhile to have the blu-ray disc, when can be bought separately for about $15 on Amazon.

The Actual Music
Obviously the music is the most important part of any album, and there is no disappointment in this regard.  Grace For Drowning is far more ambitious than Wilson's debut solo album, Insurgentes, which is sometimes a recipe for trouble.  There is always the risk of coming across as overindulgent, and sometimes music just needs to be simple.

Fortunately, Wilson took a new approach here: he made two separate albums, Deform to Form a Star, which comprises the first disc, and Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eye, which comprises the second disc.  He intended for these albums to be digested separately.  The first, Deform, is more structured, less ambitious, and contains a few beautifully simple songs (e.g., "Postcard").  The disc starts out with the delicate title track, whose vocals are limited to some layered la's.  The second track, "Sectarian," is a wonderfully discordant and rhythmic instrumental.  This starkly contrasts to the Insurgentes, which began with the catchiest song on the album, "Harmony Korine."  The effect here is that after ten minutes of textured music, the soft vocals become far more profound when the track "Deform to Form a Star" begins.

The second disc/album is more abstract and ambitious.  The centerpiece is a very Lizard-esque epic track entitled "Raider II."  The onset of this track seems to give a deliberate nod to Lizard, with its vocal melody and style that is very reminiscent of the beginning of Lizard's first track, "Cirkus."  This influence is noticeable throughout the entire album; for this record, Wilson employed several jazz musicians, and there are saxophone and flute parts scattered about.  Given the fact that Lizard is one of my favorite albums, this is a welcome influence.

The reason I like the way the albums are divided, is that if the whole album is a bit too much for you, you can simply stick to the first sub-album.  This disc alone offers enough depth to keep you occupied for some time.  When you feel like you're done absorbing the first disc, you can then move on to the second.

I don't know where this album will settle after I've had months to digest it, but my initial impression, after three listens, is that it's the best thing I've heard in some time, and it's Wilson's best work, which is a high mark indeed.  

This album, perhaps more than any album I've heard, offers the complete package.  It is pure art in every form.  It has excellent music, great photography, beautiful videos, and amazing sound.  Regardless of whether this is your preferred style of music, you can't help but be amazed by Wilson's ability to put all this together.  





★★★★

#36: Billy Joel - Streetlife Serenade

Release Year: 1974

For some reason, Streetlife Serenade is my favorite Billy Joel album. It doesn't have his most memorable songs, or greatest, songs.  But it seems to me like it has the most soul.  Like it's his most coherent album.

The best song here, and maybe the biggest hit, is "The Entertainer," which was made in response to the record company editing his single "Piano Man," and thereby messing with his art.

Pretty much every song on this album is solid.  The two instrumentals - the thoroughly upbeat piano romp "Root Beer Rag," and the latin-tinged closer "The Mexican Connection" - are two of his best.  It has a few excellent ballads, my favorite being "Roberta."

If you're the "Greatest Hits" type of Billy Joel fan and want to check out one of his albums, this is the first I'd recommend.

Standout tracks:

• The Entertainer
• Roberta
• Streetlife Serenader
• Root Beer Rag 

#40: Neil Young - Freedom

Release Year: 1989

Neil Young has had a very long career, beginning in earnest in the 60s, and continuing today.  I consider Young to be the best songwriter alive, a title that many believe belongs to Mr. Dylan.  His most well-known, and indeed strongest, body of work was from 1969-1979, beginning with Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and ending with Rust Never Sleeps.  Every album in this period is spectacular.  1979's Rust featured an acoustic front side and electric back side, with different versions of "Hey, Hey, My, My" on each side.

The 80s were a very turbulent period, music-wise, for Young.  He started with a seemingly patriotic folk album, then went with a new wave rock/punk album, followed that up with an album where most of the vocals were computerized, then released a rockabilly album, followed by a country album... That only takes us to mid-decade, but you get the picture.  The upshot is that his popularity eroded by 1987, and Life became his least successful album ever.  But then, out of nowhere, emerged Freedom.  This is the album that kicked off the grunge movement, and brought loud, angry rock music to the forefront of the music world.  "Rockin' in the Free World" became his biggest hit in probably a decade.

Neil borrowed the Rust bookend concept with this one: the album begins with an acoustic version of "Rockin' in the Free World," and closes with the more well-known electric version of the same song.  Though this album is known for its angry protest song, it is actually more toned down and folksy than its successor, Ragged Glory.  There is quite a variety of styles here, with several folk tunes, and only a few rockers.

Freedom is Neil's most solid album after 1975, and, despite being released in 1989, one of the most important of the 90s.

Standout tracks:

• Rockin' in the Free World
• Crime In The City (Sixty To Zero Part I) 
• Eldorado 
• Too Far Gone 

#42: The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

Release Year: 2006

There is a lot about I like about The Decemberists... The folk-influenced sound, the melodies, the witty lyrics, and especially their extremely fun live show.  They have the best stage presence of maybe any band I've seen live, much of which could be attributed to Colin Meloy's refusal to take himself too seriously (at both of the shows I've been to, he introduced the song "Dracula's Daughter" as "the very worst song [he] ever wrote").

To really experience this band, you have to see them live, but The Crane Wife best exemplifies what I like about them.  It has several examples of catchy folk-pop songs, as well as two lengthy (by folk-rock standards) epics that give you hints of the more ambitious attempt at a rock opera that would come with The Hazard of Love.

It's really hard to pick a favorite Decemberists album, since none of them seem quite serious enough to be a magnum opus, but this is the one I'd consider the most well-balanced.  It is ambitious enough to make you feel like a lot of thought was put into it, but not serious enough for it to be pretentious.  And it is just well-written, catchy, and diverse.

Standout tracks:

• O Valencia!
• Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)
• Sons and Daughters 
• The Crane Wife 3 

#46: Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson - Waylon & Willie

Release Year: 1978

Sometimes when getting to know people, the question comes up: "Do you listen to country music?"  To that I am often tempted to respond, with a silent jab at what passes for country nowadays, "I listen to country music.  Do you?"

I hate that new crap that passes for country music, and so does the Rolling Stone editor whose comments are pasted on the back of the vinyl edition which I possess: "Some of the stuff that's passing for country these days...is nothing but a disgrace.  The world needs a lot more Waylon & Willie right now and a whole lot less of that other crap."  Yes, I hate what I typically refer to as country pop, which is what most modern country is.

That's not to say "Waylon & Willie" wasn't popular.  It was.  In fact, this came at the height of the outlaw country movement, and it topped the country charts for several months.  But this was legitimate country.

 The music here is solid, with the highlights being two songs written by another outlaw country stalwart, Kris Kristofferson: "Don't Cuss The Fiddle" and "The Year 2003 Minus 25."  I first fell in love with these tunes when I heard them performed by the lighthearted bluegrass cover trio Keller and the Keels.  This is probably not the greatest country album ever, but it is the one that introduced me to both Jennings and Nelson, and the outlaw country movement in general.  More importantly, it showed me that country music can be enjoyed, if done correctly.

Standout tracks:

• Don't Cuss The Fiddle
• The Year 2003 Minus 25
• The Wurlitzer Prize 

499: Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign

Original Release Year: 1967
Label: Stax

Albert King is someone I had never heard of.  I read up on him, saw that he was an influential blues guitarist, and figured that since MOG didn't have this record, I'd go ahead and purchase the vinyl version.  The copy I purchased is the 1998 reissue on the Sundazed label, and includes two bonus tracks not available on the original record.

King is notable for his style of playing, which involves playing a right-handed guitar left handed (this, of course, sounds very confusing).  Born Under A Bad Sign was considered to have modernized blues, and had a significant influence on the next generation of guitarists.

As far as the music, I really like the playing.  Albert didn't have a voice as powerful as, say, Buddy Guy, but it is still soulful.  The classic bass lines and horn and wind arrangements provide a nice backdrop for King's emotive lead guitar parts, which speak almost as clearly as his voice.  The solos take up just the amount of space; the notes aren't all crammed in there like you sometimes hear when some very technically skilled guitarists play.  In "I Almost Lost My Mind," we are even treated to flute leads during the vocal parts, instead of the standard guitar.

"Personal Manager" contains one of the most emotive guitar solos I've heard in a long time.  This song might as well be a clinic on soloing; I'd strongly recommend listening to this if you're interested in soloing (in any instrument).

King even has enough good taste to put down the guitar completely for his beautiful, somewhat jazzy rendition of Ray Noble's "The Very Thought of You."  Not only does giving the saxophone the lead suit the song well, but it also demonstrates a little diversity.

I'm not particularly educated about blues in general... In fact, I know almost nothing about blues... But I can say, this is some of the best blues I've heard.  It might be there's a whole assortment of better blues albums out there, but at this juncture, I'd say it is a welcome addition to my record collection.

Here's a video of Albert playing "Born Under A Bad Sign." I can't tell for sure, but it looks like he's even playing with an injured finger:


★★★★  

A Visit to Bookmans

I like to visit new purveyors of vinyl records.  I've already perused the selections at Stinkweeds, Hoodlums, Zia, and Rockzone.  Today I decided check out Bookmans in Mesa.

Cool store.  Lots of books, an electronics section, games and puzzles, CDs, and, of course, vinyl records.  I found their selection to be OK, with a few things I haven't seen elsewhere.  The condition of the records seems to be pretty good in general.  They did tend to be a little on the expensive side, with most of the used records going for $4-$6 (rather than the $3 most records sell for at Hoodlums and Zia).

The first record I picked out was King Crimson's Beat.  This is the second album by the band's 80s lineup, and the only King Crimson album I have never owned in some form or other (I have owned some King Crimson albums in multiple forms).  It was selling for $6, but I went for it anyhow.

Next, I looked for Neil Young records, as I am wont to do whenever I visit a record store.  They had Re-Ac-Tor and Comes A Time, both for $6.  I initially picked up both, but decided to show some discipline, and kept only Comes A Time.

I proceeded to look for Creedence Clearwater Revival records, but all they had was the John Fogerty album Centerfield for $4.  I picked it up.

Next, I found Robert Plant's Pictures At Eleven.  I see this album at every single record store I ever visit, and usually multiple copies.  I bought it anyways.  We'll see if there's a reason everybody is apparently trying to get rid of theirs.

Finally, I decided to see if they had a copy of Paul Simon's Graceland.  They did.

For these five records, I paid $24 plus tax, which is a little more than I might pay at Hoodlums, but still reasonable.

I suspect I'll be paying more visits to Bookmans.  Especially considering how many Willie Nelson albums they had.