Album Reviews

Geffen/UMe has just released a new 180g 1LP version of Steely Dan’s sophomore album, July 1973’s Countdown to Ecstasy. Read our intrepid reviewer Mark Smotroff’s take on this new-to-2023 version of Ecstasy and how it compares to an original 1973 black-label copy as well as the album’s vintage quad edition. . .

Steely Dan and UMe have thrown fans of the band’s music some interesting choices when it comes to their current vinyl reissue series. We all know about the pricier, concurrent AAA UHQR editions from Analogue Productions that all have an admittedly steeper entry fee, but the hard reality is many of us can only afford the standard 180g 1LP editions being released under the Geffen/UMe label banner. What’s a budget-minded, audiophile-leaning Steely Dan fan to do? Read Mark Smotroff’s review of the new Geffen/UMe version of Pretzel Logic to see if it’s the right edition for you. . .

With a nod to the Hank Williams tune of the same name (which also was the name of a book Earle authored), this Steve Earle album released last spring is a collection of songs dealing mostly with mortality, keying off of his father’s passing.

Caught in 1972 between The Beatles and Byrds pop/folk undertow and too early to catch the indie rock wave pioneered by bands like REM later in the decade, commercial failure was all but assured for Big Star, aided by what many at the time considered was a bad Memphis, TN based record company roll out with spotty distribution and less than stellar promotion.

Named for a now defunct Northern New Jersey, Route 23 lawn furniture emporium (bought my chaise lounges there!), Fountains of Wayne has been making consistently tuneful and erudite observations about just plain folks since 1996 when they released their eponymous first album on Atlantic Records. The core was then and is now, the delightfully bratty-voiced Chris Collingwood and his multi-instrumental partner Adam Schlesinger.