Alejandro Escovedo
The Boxing Mirror
(Back Porch/Narada)
For fans of: the Velvet Underground, No Depression
magazine
Over the course of a three-decade career - from his days with
'70s San Francisco punks the Nuns to leading '80s Texas rockers the
True Believers, to his moody, rootsy solo work - Alejandro Escovedo
has established himself as one of the most consistent and revered
talents working in the American underground. But his world came
crashing down in 2003 after he collapsed following a performance in
Phoenix and was diagnosed with a potentially fatal case of
hepatitis C. The next few years saw Escovedo battle the condition
as a group of his musical peers rallied around him, recording the
tribute album Por Vida to help defray his medical costs. Finally
recovering his health, he's spent the past year making a gradual
return to the road and the studio, resulting in this stellar
comeback effort. Produced by longtime friend and former Velvet
Undergrounder John Cale, the 11 tracks here spike Escovedo's
signature brand of melancholy, orchestral Americana with a batch of
atmospheric sounds, electronic touches, and programmed beats.
Lyrically influenced by his recent experiences, the album brims
with haunting, powerful tales of sobriety ("Arizona"), mortality
("I Died a Little Today"), and family ("Evita's Lullaby"). All
told, it's a literate and musically moving song cycle that matches
the depth and resonance of Escovedo's best work. - Bob
Bozorgmehr
Golden Smog
Another Fine Day
(Lost Highway)
For fans of: Ryan Adams, Neil Young
What does it take to get alt-country supergroup Golden Smog back
together following an eight-year silence in studio recordings? A
car. A Corvette, to be exact. According to band member (and Soul
Asylum guitarist) Dan Murphy, a certain Mr. Madonna had a hand in
the reformation as well. "Marc Perlman received a call in an
attempt to get Golden Smog to write a song for a Guy
Ritchie-produced Corvette commercial," Murphy says. As it turns
out, the song recorded for that commercial, simply called
"Corvette," was enough to fuel the desire of the various members -
Gary Louris and Perlman (Jayhawks), Murphy, Kraig Jarrett Johnson
(Run Westy Run), Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) - to adjust their schedules
and complete a full album. A logistical nightmare, to be sure, but
a fulfilling result, as Another Fine Day is the perfect addition to
a roots-rock fan's collection, fitting nicely between the Ryan
Adams and Neil Young CDs.
The combo's third full-length album features 15 tracks that mix
and mesh the different styles of the performers into a smorgasbord
of sound. The title track, as well as the feedback-filled
"Beautiful Mind," resemble Summerteeth-era Wilco, while album
closer "Think about Yourself" sounds like the prototypical Jayhawks
track. Louris and Tweedy double up on the vocals of "Listen Joe," a
sad, acoustic-guitar based number, and a cover of Dave Davies'
"Strangers," before getting deeper in the album and delving into
the past, echoing circa-1965 garage rock on "Frying Pan Eyes."
Recorded over a year in two polar-opposite locales - the south of
Spain and Minneapolis - surprisingly, Another Fine Day's final cuts
don't indicate the piecemeal situation in which they were put
together. Now if only they string together some live dates.
- James Mayfield
Wilson Pickett
The Definitive
Collection
(Rhino/WEA)
For fans of: Al Green, Otis
Redding
The passing of Wilson Pickett from a heart attack this past
January quieted one of R&B's most essential voices at the age
of 65. Although there's no real shortage of Pickett hit sets out
there, Rhino's new two-disc The Definitive Collection is a timely
tribute to the irrepressible grit 'n' gravel-voiced legend.
Replacing the label's now-out-of-print 1992 comp A Man and a Half:
The Best of Wilson Pickett, this new set doesn't dig quite as deep,
but the 30 tracks here neatly capture all the high points of the
Wicked One's career - from his earliest days with gospel vocal
group the Falcons ("I Found a Love") to his early singles ("It's
Too Late") to the peerless sides recorded in Memphis with the Stax
label crew ("In the Midnight Hour"), and later with Alabama's Fame
studio sessioneers ("Mustang Sally"). All newly remastered, the
songs' sound quality (one of the major complaints with A Man and a
Half) is genuinely impressive, adding a new luster to a set of
tunes - among them "Land of a Thousand Dances," "634-5789
(Soulsville U.S.A.)," and "Don't Fight It" - that Pickett turned
into soul standards. - B.B.
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Psychocandy,
Darklands,
Automatic,
Honey's Dead,
Stoned and
Dethroned
(Rhino/Warner)
For fans of: VH1 Classic's The
Alternative
Founded in the mid-’80s, combustible Scottish post-punk outfit the Jesus and Mary Chain never left much of an impression on the charts, but the group has had a pervasive influence on everyone from contemporaries like My Bloody Valentine and the Stone Roses through modern acts like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and the Raveonettes. Led by brothers William and Jim Reid, the band emerged from the morass of fey New Romantic music dominating the British charts with a sound that combined the debauched noir elements of proto-punks like the Velvet Underground and the Stooges with the melodic panache of ’60s pop and girl group auteurs like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. That delicate balance was captured perfectly on the band’s first effort, 1985’s Psychocandy, a landmark of light/dark tension that remains one of rock’s most celebrated debuts. The group followed that with plenty of sibling battles, label conflicts, lineup changes, and three more albums of brilliant feedback-laden rock (a nearly perfect run encompassing 1987’s Darklands, 1989’s Automatic, and 1992’s Honey’s Dead). After an extended break, due partly to the Reids’ bickering, they reemerged in 1994 with the muted, largely acoustic Stoned and Dethroned. They later signed to American indie Sup Pop for 1998’s subpar swan song Munki, and the band called it quits the following year. Each of the remastered discs here comes in DualDisc format and packaged with a trio of DVD video clips. There’s nothing in the way of bonus tracks or unreleased material, but there’s little need for them, as these LPs — a true cornerstone of alternative music — stand on their own. — B.B.