Review: Three Day Weekend CD Reviews!

I can’t remember a Memorial Day when there have been so many good albums out – or at least, albums that I like.  OK then: albums that are fairly universally acclaimed.  How’s that?  Anyway, let’s go through a handful of new ones then at the end of this post I’ll recap the best albums released so far this year.

Anders Osborne is a transplant from Sweden who settled in New Orleans in 1985 and since then has released albums of increasing quality.  American Patchwork, his first record for venerated blues label Alligator Records, is a sensational collection of tuneful blues/rock with heaping helpings of Osborne’s sizzling guitar work.  Osborne has a soulful voice and it’s showcased to perfection on “Echoes Of My Sins” and “Acapulco.”  You get some rockin’ guitar on “On The Road To Charlie Parker” and so on – this album is a powerful statement of purpose that can be a great starting point for Anders Osborne.  His backing band is sharp – Galactic’s Stanton Moore is the drummer and producer – and Osborne’s songs are an apt metaphor for his reborn adopted home city.  I love this album, and upon first listen I think you will too.

MP3: “Echoes Of My Sins” by Anders Osborne

YouTube: Anders Osborne doing a live in-store at New Orleans’ Louisiana Music Factory

Review: More New Stuff!

It’s not yet the summer, but the new albums are coming pretty hot and heavy now.  Let’s take a listen to a few new sets that have come out recently.

Peter Frampton might have been a bit of a fluke as a platinum-selling superstar in the 1970s, but he’s always been a pretty decent singer/songwriter and an outstanding guitarist.  The veteran rocker’s newest, Thank You Mr. Churchill, is a strong album that showcases the strengths that Frampton always had, even back to his days in Humble Pie.  Anywhere you want to jump in, the music rocks and the 60-year-old rocker sounds as great as he did way back in his teeny-bop-rock days.  If there were any justice in the world – and if such a thing as rock radio still existed – songs like “I’m Due A You” and “Asleep At The Wheel” would rule AM and FM.  This is a pretty good record – if you still like basic rock and roll, this one’s for you.

MP3: “I’m Due A You” by Peter Frampton

I suppose it’s appropriate that the platinum darling Dixie Chicks are going on tour this summer with the Eagles.  They don’t have a new album but Court Yard Hounds, featuring sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison under the name Court Yard Hounds, ought to give the trio a bit of new material to road-test.  Robison takes lead vocal duties on this effort, and for the most part she sounds like a sleepy Sheryl Crow.  Come to think of it, the songs kinda sound like that too.  Oh, this is pleasant enough but nothing really sticks in the ear like those one or two little time bombs that the Chicks plant on each of their records.  Highlights are probably “The Coast,” with a breezy Fleetwood Mac-like lope; “It Didn’t Make A Sound,” with some nice pickin’; and “See You In The Spring,” a welcome duet with Jakob Dylan.

MP3: “The Coast” by Court Yard Hounds

Tears, Lies and Alibis, the eleventh studio album from Shelby Lynne, is a solid affirmation of this singer’s unique talents.  Lynne is a Southern soul gal with a honky-tonk heart, and this album has a relaxed vibe that would perfectly accompany a late-night reverie.  “Alibi” is a breathtaking bit of blue-eyed soul, while “Old #7” sounds like a classic country jukebox weeper.  Very nice!

MP3: “Alibi” by Shelby Lynne

Graham Parker has been around since the punk days, but on Imaginary Television he’s mellow and personal.   Of course, for Parker “mellow” is a highly relative term: “Broken Skin” is tougher than its jangly acoustic setting would lead you to believe.  Like Peter Frampton, Parker always was a solid talent and this new album is a worthy showcase for this great artist.

MP3: “Broken Skin” by Graham Parker