Be Here Early: Choice Album Releases Reviewed 9-9-16 – 9-15-16

Perfect Illusion (single) – Lady Gaga – With Mark Ronson and Bloodpop (who produced “Sorry” and more off Bieber’s Purpose)handling the production, and that bloke from Tame Impala responsible for the hook, this is Gaga’s best song since “Telephone”. The complaint might be that Gaga is no longer cutting edge, but the truth is she never was, and as pop product 2016 goes, it is first rate. Her voice is better than ever, and if the song just hit the sweet spot a little sharper, it would be among her greats – A-

Aim – M.I.A. – I love everything M.I.A. has ever done, including the Wikileeks mixtape and including her live performances. But if this had been the follow up to Kaya, she would have lived up to her world conquering capabilities. M.I.A. as poppy as possible and still rhyming Devon with Yemen – A

Skeleton Tree – Nick Cave – If you can get past the horror, what you have is an orchestrated, relentless beauty in the face of horror. “Distant Sky” is a uniquely perfect organ slow sweet sadness, spiritual in nature if not in intention, and typical of the way in which Cave’s relentless gloom over the years, is put into use to detail not the story of, but the moments of pure tragedy – A

Jack White Acoustic recordings 1998 – 2016 – Jack White, the White Stripes, the Raconteurs – A career retrospective by other means, which means it is great during mid-period White Stripes and solo White 2012, and not great elsewhere. You’d hink something somewhere was being revealed, but musically, he made the right decisions and an acoustic “Hotel Yorba” is fun but finite and typical– B+

Live At The Hollywood Bowl – The Beatles – There is that old semi-boot live in Germany, there is the nid-70s release of this album never to return, and there is the live on the roof tracks off Let It Be and that’s it for live Beatles. I loved the first iteration of Hollywood Bowl, and prefer this. It is the cleanest sound you’ll get and it is proof that even deafened by the screams, they sounded fine and both John and Paul could really sing. The actual album is a little strange, “Long Tall Sally” was the end of the concert but then it circles back for some bonus tracks. It takes you out of the dream of being there. Both Paul and John are as witty, charming and sweet natured as you could hope for. More than history, less than an important addition to the canon, it’s the Beatles, they are live, what’s not to like? – A