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Editor, Michael James McGonigal, associates of amazon.com,bn,tower,cdnow

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PREVIOUS REVIEWS

    POSTED 31 JULY 2001

    One CD that we eagerly anticipate, "Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth" is the first de facto His Name Is Alive release in 10 years. It's not only a totally great CD but it's a complete change of direction for Warren Defever's mostly one-man band. Dropping much of the ethereal art rock that characterizes HNIA's early recordings, these funky and stripped-down postmodern soul songs are essentially vehicles for the sensuous and hypnotic singing of gospel diva Lovetta Pippen. It's a fascinating, gorgeous, and genre-spanning disc.
    Read more
    ...available here.

    NEW AND NOTABLE

    "Damn That DJ Made My Day" Richard Humpty Vission Our price: $14.99 | You save: $2.98
    ...available here.
    Richard Humpty Vission's style of DJ'ing is, above all else, fast. It's amped-up house music spun by an octopus with eight hands dropping needles on a relentless barrage of vinyl. On last year's "Shut the F*** Up and Dance," Vission squeezed 54 songs into a single disc and somehow made it all flow; his latest, "Damn That DJ Made My Day," pulls back just a notch, blowing through 34 tunes in less than an hour. It's the ultimate upper, an energetic, chaotic freakout session for those particularly long nights of wild youth.

    "Wonder Wonder" Edith Frost Our price: $14.22 | You save: $0.75
    ...available here.
    Have you ever heard Edith Frost? She's this exceptionally talented singer-songwriter who's been quietly working in Chicago for years. Her subtle, idiosyncratic songs explore the netherworld between alt-country and indie rock; we think her new album, "Wonder Wonder," lives up to its name. The production alone, courtesy of rising star Rian Murphy, is vibrant, inventive, and warm, with touches of Van Dyk Parks-ish whimsy. Melancholy melodies have rarely sounded so... melodic.

    "Just a Song of Old Kentucky, Vol. 2" Monroe Brothers Our price: $14.49 | You save: $1.48
    ...available here.
    Before Bill Monroe made his name as the chief architect of the driving, high-lonesome bluegrass sound, he and his brother Charlie made a landmark series of wonderful close-harmony duets of old-time and gospel songs. "Just a Song of Old Kentucky," the second volume of the Monroe Brothers' collected recordings, has fewer sacred songs but no less drive and spark, and it ought to please hardcore fans and newcomers alike.
    "Hot Shots II" Beta Band Our price: $12.99 | You save: $3.98
    ...available here.
    While their new record, "Hot Shots II," may not quite reach the stoned-slacker bliss-pop standards set by the Beta Band's deservedly lauded early recordings, it has many moments of cracked charm that will certainly please fans of this inventive Scottish crew of musical miscreants.

    "Bait & Switch" Andre Williams Our price: $14.49 | You save: $1.48
    ...available here.
    On "Bait and Switch," the great, underrated soul singer Andre Williams plays raunchy rhythm and blues like he invented it, which he sort of did. Williams speaks with authority on the autobiographical "Soul Brother in Heaven and Hell": "If you stick it in / You gotta take it out / Everybody knows what life is about." Cool collaborations like those with Ronnie Spector and Robert Quine invigorate Williams, accelerate the pace, and push him to further extremes. And, as anyone who has heard his records with the Sadies and Jon Spencer knows, he revels in it! Sassy, boozy, and yes, extremely fun, "Bait and Switch" is the perfect accompaniment to your next outdoor barbecue party.

    "Braille Night" Ida Our price: $14.22 | You save: $0.75
    ...available here.
    Is slow, sad, and beautiful your thing? Do the Rain Parade, Low, Nick Drake, Rainer Maria, Joni Mitchell, Magnetic Fields, and Dirty Three comprise your ideal rainy-day soundtrack? Then we are certain you'll be down with the Brooklyn-based band Ida. Their new collection, "The Braille Night" (recorded at the same time as "Will You Find Me"), brims with lush and heavenly pop music.

    "Can Our Love..." Tindersticks Our price: $12.99 | You save: $3.98
    ...available here.
    The fifth studio album from a band that has spanned nearly a decade, "Can Our Love..." is another achingly tender but far less ornate effort by the Tindersticks. If you're a fan of Palace, Belle and Sebastian, Leonard Cohen, PJ Harvey, the Flaming Lips, Cat Power, and Fred Neil, then this is a CD for you.

    ALTERNATIVE ROCK SPOTLIGHT

    "The Essential Radio Birdman (1974-1978)" Radio Birdman Our price: $15.19 | You save: $0.80
    ...available here.
    Have you ever heard the great Australian proto-punk band Radio Birdman, whose power-chord-heavy, snarling, and tightly woven tunes have caused the pulses of record collectors the world over to soar dangerously high? Sub Pop has compiled all the essential tunes from their first two albums and thrown in a few rare live tracks to boot on the truthfully titled collection "The Essential Radio Birdman (1974-1978)."
    Read more http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005LOPY/ncdn">...available here.

    RECOMMENDED

    "White Blood Cells" White Stripes Our price: $11.97
    ...available here.
    A customer from Clinton, South Carolina, recommends "White Blood Cells" by the White Stripes: "After two great records, this coulda been White Stripes' major-label debut. Instead, Jack and his sister stayed with the one that brung 'em and turned out this beauty. Some might complain that the Stripes have smoothed out the edges a tad, but that's just nit-picking. The passion is still the same, the tunes have hooks like Mike Tyson, and your feet can't fight the feeling."
    Read more
    ...available here.

    FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOADS

    The Ramones are the Beatles of punk rock. Their music sounds as fresh today as it did when they debuted over 20 years ago, and not a single pop-punk band since has surpassed their brilliance. Download a handful of Ramones tracks, including four rare demos.
    Go to download
    ...available here.

    POSTED 12 JULY 2001

    "White Blood Cells" White Stripes
    ...available here.
    Why are the White Stripes, a stripped-down blues-punk duo from Detroit, on everyone's lips as "the next big thing?" Singer-guitarist Jack White and his standup-drumming ex-wife Meg sure look great in their color-coordinated red-and-white outfits, but their music is the true source of the freakouts. Their new album, "White Blood Cells," bursts with terrific pop songs that combine sancitified blues and dirty punk rock, all delivered with garage-band grace.

    "Avalon Blues: A Tribute to the Music of Mississippi John Hurt" Harper, et al
    ...available here.
    The exquisite country-blues and finger-picked guitar bliss that Mississippi John Hurt doled out in his 73 years of life has influenced and charmed entire generations of roots-music lovers. "Avalon Blues," a Hurt tribute album featuring Chris Smither, Steve Earle, Dave Alvin, and Taj Mahal, is a vital and compelling testament to that fact. Tapping into the old master's timeless melodies and dignified disposition, this varied cast succeeds by showing that Hurt's music was both essential and utterly universal.

    "Ovalcommers" Oval
    ...available here.
    Markus Popp, the German laptop musician and software developer who is the wizard behind Oval's digital curtain, is fond of slinging heavy theory about the meaning of that work. But you don't need to know any of that stuff to get a kick out of his latest disc, Ovalcommers. Popp sculpts static and complexly textured tones into crunching riffs and delicate melodies, then sets them to beats fashioned from skipping CDs.

    "Storm Still Rages" Rhonda Vincent
    ...available here.
    Rhonda Vincent, the International Bluegrass Music Association's reigning Female Vocalist of the Year, has returned with the superb "Storm Still Rages," which showcases her vocal prowess across a balance of new songs and covers of classic country and bluegrass material.

    "Cold Vein" Cannibal Ox
    ...available here.
    With Company Flow's El-P at the production helm, it's no surprise that New York's Cannibal Ox have put out a challenging, dissonant rap album. Though it makes for uneasy listening, "The Cold Vein" is also one of the most interesting and apocalyptic albums to come out of the Big Apple in a while. MCs Vast and Vordul mix grimy street commentary with vivid surrealism, injecting El-P's lumbering, eerie production with more vividness.

    "World Won't End" Pernice Brothers
    ...available here.
    "World Won't End," the second album by Joe Pernice's bright-eyed, decadent pop band, tackles themes of magnificent love, desperate frustration, and spirit-mangling depression. This is oddly uplifting music, however, with nods to Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, and Big Star. The Pernice Brothers wrap the 11 tracks up in a gorgeous whirl of pedal steel, violin, and cello that's elegant, cathartic, and really nice to listen to when the sun's out.

    "Double Figure" Plaid
    ...available here.
    "Double Figure" took electronica pioneers Plaid three years to make, and it definitely is well worth the wait. This album brims with pleasant melodies, zippy beats, and playful, clattering sounds. They may not exactly be pushing the edge of contemporary sounds the way they have in the past, but who can blame them for wanting to frolic awhile in the fanciful sonic playground they've taken so long to create.

    EDITOR'S CHOICE

    "Soul Strike" Calypso King & The Soul Investigators
    ...available here.
    Do you like your greens with pork, your Hammond with B-3, your chicken chicken-fried, your soul with more soul? Does it take the thick, funky, and brutal instrumental soul of the Meters to really get your mojo working? Then you have to hear Soul Strike! by Calypso King and the Soul Investigators. This booty-bumping, retro ride is the latest release on the fabulously cool Soul Fire label.

    DANCE & DJ SPOTLIGHT

    "Go Plastic" Squarepusher
    ...available here.
    Raised on jazz and informed by electronic music's cracked turntablist edge, Squarepusher, a.k.a. Tom Jenkinson, is continually redefining what the fabric of techno can encompass, pushing the limits of rhythm with manic, jittery arrangements and bizarre musical textures. Sped up and cranked to 11, the new record, "Go Plastic," is a return to the drill & bass sound of his earlier "Big Loada," but it's devoid of easy classification; songs like the quirk-pop single "My Red Hot Car" represent new ground in Jenkinson's particular twisted genius. You'll break something if you try to dance to it, but if you have a good pair of ears and the ability to get excited by innovation, Squarepusher's juiced-up brain twisters can be a revelation.

    OUR CUSTOMERS RECOMMEND

    "Double Nickels on the Dime" Minutemen
    ...available here.
    A customer from Cary, North Carolina, recommends "Double Nickels on the Dime" by the Minutemen: "Nothing escaped the Minutemen's power of observation, from gangster capitalism and overseas intervention to leaky apartment ceilings and the youthful jams of aspiring punks. In the Minutemen's world, heartbreak and humor both held squatter's rights. Make no mistake: D. Boon (guitar), George Hurley (drums), and Mike Watt (bass) were the children of punk. Still, it's almost pointless to categorize Double Nickels because of its stylistic sprawl, its welcoming embrace of pop's idiomatic diversity (there are covers of Steely Dan, Creedence Clearwater and, on the original vinyl, Van Halen), and, of course, its ideological thrust. As Reagan's revolution continued to torch the working class, Boon was killed in an automobile accident at the end of 1985; Double Nickels stands as their finest hour."

    ONE FROM LEFT FIELD

    "Fixed::Context" Labradford
    ...available here.
    The cryptic title of Labradford's sixth album, fixed::context, offers clues about the trio's changing music. The CD's four instrumentals focus on the evocative melodies articulated by Mark Nelson's twangy guitar and the textured keyboard work of Carter Brown. This is solemn, inventive music, the perfect soundtrack for a solitary stroll down damp and deserted streets.

    FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOADS

    "From Dream to Daylight" unwinds slowly, lulling you into a hypnotic state via the interplay between the serene violin playing of Alexander Balanescu and the electronic minimalism of To Rococo Rot and I-Sound. The song is taken from the CD "Music Is a Hungry Ghost."
    Go to download
    ...available here.


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reviews excerpted are copyright © 2001 amazon.com & associate ncdn and CDnow, TowerRecords, Barnes & Nobel associates