The Early Bird: Top New Recordings 12-18-20 – 12-24-12 Reviewed
A quiet week despite a coupla major releases. McCartney IIII already reviewed (here) is a story of isolation and also an artistic statement about how to enjoy your life come what may (Grade: B+), the Fully Recovered Vol. 2 A True Groove Compilation was reviewed by Alyson Camus (here)with plenty of highlights, like the first volume where Marla Mase stole it with “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick,” she steals it with “Satellite Of Love” and Touchy Feely’s insanely great T-Rex meets the Boss “Badlands” is, in its own way, as great as David Bowie’s “Let’s Spend The Night Together” (Grade: A-). Frank Sinatra’s Reprise Rarities (Vol. 1) is insanely great, deep album cuts and B Sides from 1961 – 1974, though quite why they included “Come Fly With Me” I don’t know, the standard is about as great as possible (Grade: A). Eminem adds an entire album on Music To Be Murdered By – Side B (Deluxe Edition), and it is what we want from Eminem, meaning it is Shady not Marshall Mathews. Great to hear Juice WRLD on “Godzilla” (Grade: B+). Daft Punk do it their way, so if they want to return after seven years with a deluxe re-release of their 2010 soundtrack TRON: Legacy – The Complete Edition (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), so be it; lovely incidental music adding synths and electronica to orchestral maneuvers (Grade: B).
Over at singles, Van Morrison wrote a blues belter for Eric Clapton “Stand And Deliver” with a sweet instrumental break (Grade: B), the Chairlift lead singer Caroline Polachek went solo and sounded just as good on 2019’s Pang, and her new single “Breathless” is an even busy mix of tune and electronica (Grade: A-). A who’s who joins Ringo Starr on the Diane Warren composed “Here’s To The Nights” with Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Finneas, Sheryl Crow, Chris Stapleton, Lenny Kravitz, Ben Harper, Dave Grohl, Jenny Lewis Corinne Bailey Rae, Eric Burton, and Yola. As songs go, it completely sucks, this is what A.I. will come up with one of these days (D+). There is a 2020 mix of “All Things Must Pass” and the George Harrison title track remains one of his greatest songs (Grade: A). I went to see PJ Harvey on the Is This Desire tour on 1999, I was so sad that she had given up the guitar that made her so great four years prior on the To Bring You My Love tour. I still loved the album from one end to the other, and the demo of “The Wind” is a guitar and voice skeletal reworking (Grade: A). Kanye find Hudson Mohawke is a Scottish DJ and on “What U Need” is a majorly soul off dance track (Grade: B+).
Finally, I missed The LBGTQ friendly “The Prom” off Broadway and I haven’t seen it on Netflix yet, and if their idea of wit is rhyming thespian with lesbian maybe I won’t bother… let’s hope an industry with a huge gay contingent can do better with homosexuality one of these days, a musical “Angels In America” might be fun (Grade: B-)
Breathless – Caroline Polachek – A-
TRON: Legacy – The Complete Edition (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – Daft Punk – B
Stand and Deliver – Eric Clapton, Van Morrison – B
Music To Be Murdered By – Side B (Deluxe Edition) – Eminem – B+
Reprise Rarities (Vol. 1) – Frank Sinatra – A
All Things Must Pass – 2020 Mix – George Harrison – A
What U Need – Hudson Mohawke – B+
The Wind – Demo – PJ Harvey – A
McCartney II – Paul McCartney – B+
Here’s To The Nights – Ringo Starr – D+
The Prom (Music from the Netflix Film) – The Cast of Netflix’s Film The Prom – B-
Fully Recovered, Vol 2: A True Groove Compilation – Various Artists – A-
