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APRIA
STEVE SHAPIRO-PAT BERGESON/Backward Compatible: A guitar/vibe duo with a snazzy vocalist and a bunch of A list pals is well crafted formula for a jazz flavored date powered by cool originals and well chosen covers. Not much to say here except check it out. There’s a lot of low key professionalism that simply makes it look easy. The kind of comfy recording you want around as a pal, it comes in real handy when you need the mood lightened.
139326
BLIND RACCOON
PAUL MARK & the Van Dorens/Blood & Treasure: Here’s the latest from a road warrior that’s been working the back 40 for more than a decade, hasn’t worn out his welcome and seems to be one of those poppas that loves his work. A New Yorker with a taste for recording in Memphis to soak up and add that extra vibe, this is a party animal that won’t break your china or throw up on your rug but will have the joint jumping as well as the house rocking. Raucous Americana, this is a high octane romp for aging party animals that remember the way it was. Hot.
5901 (Radiation) www.paulmark.com
OLD MILL
ROB MOSHER’S STORYTIME/The Tortoise: Mosher is a newcomer that’s going to take some time to figure out. He plays like a geek that has spent too much time honking away in his bedroom but he’s too well traveled for that to be real. A sonic throwback to the days of jazz as art, Mosher makes sly references to all the classic players and composers that have influenced him along the way, all of which can be proud that’s he’s a whole lot more than a wannabe. Engaging ensemble work from a cat that knows how to swing grants from the arts councils, this is a lion that getting his breath together for a real blow yet to come. The kind of stuff that makes you want to be first on your block.
233
ROCK PAPER SCISSORS
MAX RAABE & Palast Orchester/Heute Nachte Oder Nie: So some guy you never heard of is doing stuff from 80 years ago and selling out Carnegie Hall, issuing double cds of the event. What’s up? This cat turns the whole original cabaret vibe on it’s head recreating the whole Weimar Republic thing and making this more than an exercise in nostalgia. Doing this for 20 years over there, this could be the new hipster underground thing over here, a return to stylized glam that goes over the top but without uber flamboyance. Anyone that still has a sense of wonder about expanding their musical horizons is sure to get a big kick out of this extravaganza.
78952 (SPV)
TELARC
YOLANDA KONDONASSIS/Air: As we head into meeting her 14th date for Telarc, we’ve yet to meet a Kondonassis date we didn’t like. A powerful enough player that she can carry entire dates on her own, this time out she gets some coloration from flute and strings and you come away with the knowledge that she knows how to work and play well with others. On a program of Debussy and Takemitsu, she covers both ends nicely unifying the times and cultures both composers lived in for a cohesive program. A proper crossover date that should be required listening for yuppies everywhere.
80694
DVD SUPPLEMENT
SHOUT! FACTORY
JOHNNY CASH/Christmas Special 1978 (10069); Christmas Special 1979 (10070): If you can’t make it home for Christmas, why not go back 30 years and spend some time with the Man in Black, his family and friends? Two more entries from his tv life are out this year as he’s helped out by Kris & Rita, his kids, Tom T. Hall, Steve Martin and Andy Kaufman (?). Available singly and as part of a box set covering more years, these two hearth warmers were well produced holiday specials that surpassed the jive factor that spices too many of these kinds of efforts. You really have to be a grinch if you don’t like these; being a country music fan not required.
Volume 31/Number 339
October 4, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record
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