Short Attention Span Record Reviews, Before The List Edition

ANDERSON .PAAK – Oxnard
Dr. Dre executive produces, Kendrick Lamar guests, so .Paak is officially G-Funk/hip-hop royalty now. (7)

CHRIS CORNELL – Chris Cornell
Comprehensive posthumous 4-disc box set featuring tracks by Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog, Audioslave, his solo career, rarities and 11 unreleased tracks proving that this guy’s voice was the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll weapon. A must-have even if you already own most of this stuff. (9)

CONCEPTION – My Dark Symphony
Well we don’t really have Queensryche anymore, do we? (7)

DAN REED NETWORK – Origins
Four new songs and four old hits re-recorded live in the studio by a band once described as “Bon Jovi meets Prince”, but here sounds more like “Chic meets King’s X”. (7)

JD McPHERSON – Socks
Fun Christmas-themed rockabilly originals by McPherson will surely bring a smile to your face. (7)

LARKIN POE – Venom & Faith
This is not your father’s blues record, it’s a wild stomp through the muddy banks of the Mississippi river with Dr Martens on. (9)

LAURA JANE GRACE & THE DEVOURING MOTHERS – Bought to Rot
Against Me! leader’s side project releases fantastic album combining her day’s job’s emotional punk with 70’s Bowie/Reed glam rock elements and her complicated personal life. Funny and devastating at the same time. (8)

MUSE – Simulation Theory
In case you ever wondered what would’ve happened if Giorgio Moroder had produced a Queen album between “The Game” and “Hot Space”. (7)

NEMANJA RADULOVIC – Baika
Classical music for people who don’t listen to classical music, Serbian star violinist takes us on a wonderful Eastern-flavored journey featuring compositions by Khachaturian, Rimsky-Korsakov etc. (8)

REO SPEEDWAGON – The Early Years 1971-1977
I have a soft spot for these guys and this 8-disc box set is a treasure for all classic rock fans – the band’s first 6 studio albums, some of them hard to find, plus 1977’s double live. Forget the 80’s ballads, this is the meat ‘n’ potatoes rock you cannot not love. (8)

SMITHEREENS – Covers
Vastly underrated and presumably sadly missed since Pat DiNizio’s death, The Smithereens’ likely swan song has the power-pop quartet covering its favorite songs. Previously available on iTunes, first time on CD, plays like the coolest jukebox ever. (8)

Short Attention Span Record Reviews, November 2018

BLACKBERRY SMOKE – The Southern Ground Sessions
Acoustic versions of five songs off their last album “Find A Light”, plus a cover of Tom Petty’s “You Got Lucky”. Amanda Shires guests. Fans will love this. (7)

DEAD CAN DANCE – Dionysus
A worthy addition to this great band’s discography, closer to 1998’s “Spiritchaser” than to any of their other albums. Oh, and it’s a concept album. (8)

DR. FEELGOOD – Live At The BBC
Legendary pub rockers in early-career live recording that just saw the light of day. It does capture their manic on-stage energy but if you’re a Dr. Feelgood newbie you’re probably better off checking out “Stupidity” first, their legendary hit live album recorded a couple of years down the road in 1976. (7) 

JULIA HOLTER – Aviary
The beautiful orchestral chamber pop of 2015’s excellent “Have You In My Wilderness” gives way to an impressionistic, complex, cacophonous 90-minute epic representation of the chaotic world we live in. An album much easier to admire than to actually enjoy. (7)

MARIANNE FAITHFULL – Negative Capability
She’s lived the fullest life possible and now at 71 she releases an album of meditations on death, eerily reminiscent of Leonard Cohen’s swan song. It’s fantastic, but the main reason I’m reviewing it is to point out that Warrior Soul’s Kory Clarke has always sounded EXACTLY like Faithfull. (8)

MAVERICKS – Hey! It’s Christmas!
Eight originals and a couple of covers on a very happy-sounding Christmas album blending country, swing, rockabilly and latin music, this will definitely put you in a festive mood. (7)

PISTOL ANNIES – Interstate Gospel
Top-notch songwriting, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes both at the same time. These ladies just released the finest country record of 2018. (9)

RODNEY CROWELL – Christmas Everywhere
This is not a happy Christmas album like the one by the Mavericks. This is a realistic Christmas album by one of country music’s lesser known true heroes, starring dysfunctional couples, depressed loners and drunken idiot relatives. (7)

STEVEN WILSON – Home Invasion: In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall
145 minutes of Steven Wilson live with a great track listing and amazing sound quality from the guy who, whether you like it or not, singlehandedly keeps progressive rock alive in the 21st century. (8)

THE OCEAN – Phanerozoic I: Paleozoic
Like a prog Neurosis but with a degree in Paleontology and less facial hair. (7)

TY SEGALL – Fudge Sandwich
Garage rocker covers an eclectic bunch of his favorite songs (War, Spencer Davis Group, John Lennon, Funkadelic, Neil Young, Gong, Amon Duul II etc.) and truly makes them his own. (8)

WARREL DANE – Shadow Work
Closer to the Nevermore sound than anyone would’ve hope for but it’s not the same without Jeff Loomis, is it? (7)

WHITEY MORGAN & THE 78’S – Hard Times And White Lines
Whitey Morgan sounds like he was born in a roadhouse, or at least like he'll die in one. (7)