Album Reviews

After collapsing on stage three years ago and nearly dying of complications brought on by Hepatitis C, Austin, Texas based rock and roller Alejandro Escovedo returns with a deeply moving John Cale produced album that reclaims his past musical ferocity, while moving the 55 year old survivor forward into sensitive new musical and lyrical territory.

Long time Decemberist fans will note the return to basics on this set of sturdy, anthemic Colin Meloy penned Celtic-style folk-rock tunes packed with heroic, pseudo-mythical lyrics and mixed time metaphors.

Groups like Fairport Convention, The Incredible String Band, and Pentangle thrived in relative obscurity, even at their peaks. They're probably more appreciated and better known today than they were back in the 1960s. Low, a contemplative, musically soft-spoken trio from Duluth, Minnesota and playing since the early '90s, succeeds today with a similarly small but dedicated following much as those fabled "folk" groups did back then: quality of fans over quantity. Low tours, forms musical alliances with other groups (an EP with Australia's Dirty 3, for instance), and issues records and CDs. The band also sells T-shirts and other merchandise online. Most importantly, Low's thoughtful, enigmatic music is in some ways merits comparison to the now-legendary groups mentioned above.

The latest Sigur Rós album is yet another soundtrack to an imaginary movie you’re asked to create in your own head. The swelling orchestral resolves mostly corral you into thinking goodness and heavenly inspiration with singer "Jonsi"’s high pitched child-like (and sometimes cat-like) vocals sung either in a language of his invention and on some tracks for the first time actual Icelandic, making it easier for your personal invention as you’ll have no idea what he singing about. Not that it matters. The group’s music wears its mostly uplifting emotional heart on its sleeves.

The prolific, smoky-voiced Irish folk/rock singer Eleanor McEvoy has had an almost twenty year recording career, first on major labels, where she enjoyed mainstream success but after getting caught in an excess of red tape, she extricated herself and began recording for independents.  

Previously only available on CD, this double 45 rpm set of classical music sonic spectaculars provides both demonstration quality sound and a fun ride even for those professing to not like classical music, courtesy of a world-renowned orchestra and conductor.

Following a turbulent decade battling personal demons in the 1950s, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon had mostly faded from the jazz scene by the end of that decade; after all, he only recorded three sessions (two of which he led) in the second half of it. By 1961, however, he began a successful relationship with Blue Note that commenced that year with Doin’ Allright. The Los Angeles-native moved back to New York City for the third time, got rediscovered by jazz listeners, and led a quintet on this album that included Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Horace Parlan on piano, George Tucker on Bass, and Al Harewood on drums.