08/24/07
CREATIVE SERVICE CO
MARY KATHRYN/Dreams & visions: A new branch of Christian music seems to embrace a spiritual sound that doesn’t hit you over the head with Jebus stuff and Mary Kathryn seems to be at the fore of this movement. Working with a different crew than on previous albums, she reshapes and freshens her sound to keep it on the cutting edge of this sound. Pulling in her vision of world beat, this multi textured “New Thought” music is a must for the seeker in need of new sounds. Quite different and sure to take the spiritualist to new sonic places they’ll find quite enjoyable.
7190 (Rhythm House)
RAVEN
JOHN HAMMOND/Source Point-I’m Satisfied: It was a good day for the blues. Hammond had graduated from Vanguard to Columbia under his own power and he dropped some fine electric blues in short order. Both of those albums are featured here with the only listenable tracks from the Triumvirate album with him, Bloomfield and Dr. John kicking it out in a blues supergroup that wasn’t to be. The market might not have been ready for these two sets, but Hammond and the young, white blues audience were ready for each other and they had a fine time together. Amped up in the blues rock style of the early 70’s, these sets were a head and shoulders above much of the rest of the pack. White boys with the blues that don’t relate to shoegazing will relate to these sets today. Hot stuff.
255
RHINO
TRAVELING WILBURYS/Collection: You paid what for this on Ebay, Chachi? Ha ha, the record biz got you again. Nobody can argue with you for liking this stuff to pay so much for it while it was off the market, but did you really think they couldn’t just make more, in a cool digipak, with a cool dvd? Gathering the two albums, called Vol. 1 and Vol. 3 along with a dvd of the superstars in action, as well as previously unissued bonus tracks, you get a full on Wilbury experience. You got those on the originals on Ebay too, right? Recorded back when superstars were allowed to have fun on the side, legends playing with heroes made for quite an offbeat busman’s holiday. Anyone who’s a fan of any of the gang individually will want to have this and plug the hole in their collection that mere mortals allowed to stay open in the face of geek prices.
79982
TWO FOR THE SHOW MEDIA
DONNY McCASLIN/In Pursuit: With a resume that includes Gary Burton, Steps Ahead, Maria Schneider, Dave Douglas, Pat Metheny, Danilo Perez, Luciana Souza, The Mingus Band and so many others either as a group member or a sideman, this sax man should be accepted on face value without even cracking open the shrink wrap. If you do want to open the wrapper, you will be rewarded with some killer blowing by one of the hottest, smartest sax man blowing today. This is a solid set that is muscular and wide ranging mixing improv and composition with high energy and smarts. Contemporary jazz fans that haven’t experienced McCaslin yet are in for a great, ear opening surprise that will reward them over and over. Hot.
1169 (Sunnyside)
DVD SUPPLEMENT
SHOUT! FACTORY
SHAKESPEARE WAS A BIG GEORGE JONES FAN: It’s not enough that he wrote or recorded some of the most important country records of the last 50 years, he was keeping home movies while he was doing it much more fun than reading a book about it all, this is how it all happened. The man who started his own record company in the 70’s so he could use the profits to build a rocket to fly to the moon, Waylon’s brother in law certainly has mind like no others. There’s been a lot of great music oriented films to come along the festival circuit/dvd circuit lately, but this is one of the most winning of the batch. He’s recorded everyone from Elvis to U2 so he’s got something to say of interest to almost everyone. (Let me be the first to call him the anti-Tom Dowd). More of an outlaw than many he recorded, Cowboy Jack Clement is an American original and here’s the document he made of the journey in real time. A real gas for real music fans.
10566
Volume 30/Number 297
August 24, 2007
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
(c)2007 Midwest Record