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HIP-O SELECT.COM (www.hip-oselect.com)
SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & THE ASBURY JUKES/The Jukes: Not too long ago, Johnny was kvetching on the net that you might as well take every opportunity to steal his music on line since the labels weren’t making it available and he wasn’t getting paid for it anyway. On the net, everybody is watching, including the labels. Some of us think his first was the best, but this one was the best seller and now it’s back in hard copy. With a heavy reliance on his sidekick’s pen and Barry Beckett’s production bringing home New Jersey by way of Alabama, Southside firmly shrugged off being The Boss’s alter ego and went for his own gold. If you’re too young to remember, this is what classic bar band rock was all about. Still a high octane good time, this is one of those sets that make you want the night not to end.
10023 (Mercury)
NILS LOFGREN: With his first official solo album, Lofgren kicked off his role in rock as one of the great underachievers. Never one to shy away, he just never broke through under his own name despite hanging around with such stellar springboards as Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen who finally realized the diminutive power plant was a valuable employee. With paeans to the Stones, smart energetic rock and party vibes to spare, you have to wonder why the Chicago date to promote this album only drew 19 sales and had to be cancelled. No one said this was going to be fair. A great slice of 70’s rock that’s fine to have back in print.
9732 (A&M)
MARVIN GAYE/At the Copa: One of those mysterious things from the Motown vaults, a live album that was prepped and never released. It was from the you-had-to-be-there part of the 60’s when top flight soul singers like Gaye, Jackie Wilson and others had to record at the Copa and sing stuff like “Just in Time”, “Shadow of Your Smile” and other great tunes that just weren’t associated with soul. Yeah, you had to be there. Gaye showed he had what it took to cross over and be Perry Como if he wanted but Barry Gordy wasn’t having it. Certainly a wonderful Northern Soul anomaly, it gives the hard core Gaye fan a real 360 on their man.
3629 (Motown) limited edition
ROUNDER
CLAIRE LYNCH/Crowd Favorites: A best of collection with a few new tracks added in, everybody toasts label mate Alison Krauss but Lynch is no warmed over chopped liver when it comes to hitting the bluegrass/back porch/down home circuit herself. Long a standard bearer of progressive moves, this multi-talented heavy hitter has long known how to turn it up a notch and this collection drawn from her Rounder glories is nothing but high spots. A fine introduction if you’re one of the ones that is long overdue in getting one.
Volume 30/Number 352
October 18, 2007
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2007 Midwest Record
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