Album Reviews

John Cale's guitar-fueled, angry yet nostalgic first Island release from 1974 is easily his finest solo effort in my book. It's certainly his most consistently well written and performed record.

Dexter Calling , recorded May, 9th, 1961, just a few days after Gordon’s Blue Note debut session, opens with “Soul Sister,” a “chicken and biscuits” track the tenor saxophonist wrote for the West Coast edition of “The Connection,” which Freddie Redd had scored for the East Coast original. The tune’s slow, bluesy, Southern-tinged melody, played in ¾ waltz-time sounds like something Floridian Cannonball Adderley might have penned though Gordon grew up in Los Angeles, son of a prominent physician who tended to the likes of Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton.

Say what you will about the slick, commercial Nashville sound that’s evolved from the fine “countrypolitan” one developed by Chet Atkins and crew at RCA Studio B back in the ‘60’s, at least they still have great studios, skilled engineers and teams of tasty lick players in Music City, all of which are on display here.

This record makes Scott Walker’s last two bleak outings sound positively festive. Harvey has never been an easy listen throughout her decade plus career. She could be dark, abusive, angry, pained, vulnerable, strong and raw-edged, but she could never be easy and she’s not here, as ghostly and pained a musical figure as you’re likely to encounter on record.

To live as the non-English speaking world experiences our pop music, you might try this record of familiar Leonard Cohen songs sung in Swedish by Jan Erik Lundqvist. So popular are Mr. Lundqvist’s interpretations that he’s put out two volumes. This first one dates from 2002, which Meyer records reissuing it on 180 gram vinyl more recently. Leonard Cohen apparently approves.

This lovely set of intimately arranged and meticulously recorded covers, originally issued in 2000, is precisely the kind of semi-obscure album in need of a quality all-analog reissue.