Album Reviews

Dennis Wilson didn�t sing very well in the conventional sense of the word: his pitch was frequently off, he warbled, his vocal timbre was raspy and calling his range �limited� would be an overstatement.

The notion of Bruce Springsteen releasing a vintage soul and pop covers album this late in his stellar career is not all that surprising, really, if you’ve been following The Boss since the beginning like we have. But does the notion of Only The Strong Survive being a truly good and vital Springsteen album that stands proudly next to the rest of his storied catalog hold sway? Read Mark Smotroff’s review of the 180 2LP edition of Survive to find out if Survive has what it takes on wax. . .

This triple gatefold, double time capsule captures the rapturous July 1st, 1998 Carnegie Hall Concert also filmed by Wim Wenders and released the next year. The music is old. The players were old&#151some in their 80s and ‘90s&#151and some have since passed away, but the old music was fresh to the ears of Americans and others who first heard it thanks to the World Circuit CD produced by Ry Cooder (later issued on vinyl by Classic Records).

Elvis Costello “borrowed” the cover of this album for his Almost Blue (F-Beat XXLP13) but there the resemblance ends, not only between Costello’s countrified Nashville tribute and this one, but between this one and the usual Blue Note fare.

Imagine a world where The Electric Prunes sell-out large arenas with outrageous ticket prices and Don Henley and Glenn Frey are more than happy to honor your request for "Southern Man" at the Barstow Holiday Inn.  Imagine Dr. Byrds And Mr. Hyde selling more copies than Mr. Tambourine Man by a large margin.  Now, imagine hearing a direct and natural link between Black Flag and The Flying Burrito Brothers while defending Meat Puppets II as one of the best country albums ever to anyone who'll listen, and you may just be ready to enter the peculiar world of The Sadies.

You’ll just have to get over the squashed, harmonically truncated and bleached sound that infects much of this musically outstanding album from 2002 (they’ve released more albums since) from this 15 member Canadian collective if you have any hope of enjoying it.