Comments on: na: okkervil river, magnolia electric

By: mrshl

mrshl — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 05:54:38 +0000

That Old ´97s is a really fun record, and the first one of theirs I ever heard. “Drowning in the Days” is a good one if you´d like to try before you buy, but I remember the whole thing being pretty great.

I say remember because I never actually bought it. A friend of mine played it ALL the time. I´ll be downloading it with the rest of yous.

By: bryan

bryan — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:21:14 +0000

Oh yes, I just saw that Cornelius record this morning and downloaded. Will check it out as soon as I make it through the upcoming Swazak record.

By: todd

todd — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 05:45:51 +0000

*cough* http://17dots.com/2007/07/02/s-s-s-s-studio-oh-oh/

By: marc

marc — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 00:06:11 +0000

New Arrival — Cornelius: Sensuous
http://www.emusic.com/album/Cornelius-Sensuous-MP3-Download/11074051.html

Haven’t given this a listen yet. But his last release on Matador called Point was pretty badass. Crazy electronic programming & noise-pop studio wizardry. Anyone down with this guy? Yancey, Todd, Bryan?

http://s141.photobucket.com/albums/r44/imrickyd/?action=view&current=cad344bf.flv

By: tim

tim — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 12:38:14 +0000

I’m a major CH/Enz/Finn fan, but just as I do for the Finn Bros record at emu and all but a couple of songs on Neil’s One All at emu, I think this one is flat. (Neil’s first solo record and the first Finn Bros record are well worth seeking out though….as of course are the first 4 CH records.) I’m still thrilled to see this one here. It’s also on my Saved for Later list, so I’m open to having my mind changed. Don’t think I will though.

I generally turn to emu because I’m NOT looking for things that sound like classic rock, but two new releases that jumped out at me are from Leon Russell. As PatrikC noted in his review of Angel in Disguise, it’s a return to the sound of his first few records, 35 years ago. Generally speaking, when you see “best since” in a review, it’s safe to dismiss it out of hand as misplaced nostalgia, hope or both. But I like it.

Leon’s A Mighty Flood is an advance release, set for January 1, 2008!!! While not an eternal classic, it’s a pretty interesting gospel record. In fact it struck me how perfectly suited to gospel Leon’s voice and musical style are — he’s actually overdue for something like this. Or five months early, depending on how you look at it.

While I was sampling these two, I came across a Leon release that’s been here for a while that really floored me: Signature Songs, from 2001. It’s Leon playing his you-know-what on solo acoustic piano. The one hesitation I’ve always had about his music is that it tends to be overproduced and have too many layers. This time, of course, you can hear the songs, playing and singing for what they are. I think this one is truly magical.

Since I heartily disagree with the comments posted at those last two records, I’ll swing by and add my own reviews soon. In the meantime, you can check ‘em out with what I think is the right frame of mind.

By: Jens Alfke

Jens Alfke — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 22:56:33 +0000

I didn’t know Peter Case was involved in “Hanging On The Telephone”!

He was also the leader of the Plimsouls, a great L.A. power-pop band, who had one hit: “A Million Miles Away”.

By: yancey

yancey — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:22:17 +0000

I dunno Daniel, but I hope so!

By: Feller

Feller — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:21:47 +0000

The first four songs on the new Okkervil album are better than most of “Black Sheep Boy.” Hopefully the other six songs on there live up to them. Also, don’t sleep on the Chuck Ragan album and “Funk/Soul Revival: Classic Tracks & the New Breed” is the best free download since Hit The Switch gave away their debut on eMusic last summer.

By: Daniel, Esq.

Daniel, Esq. — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:20:43 +0000

The West Coast disc is great. Will eMusic get the full-length follow-up, Yearbook Vol. I?

By: jrn

jrn — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:12:44 +0000

I dl’d that Studio record on a whim a couple months back. Yes, it IS amazingly good. Go get it. It’s one of those things that I probably wouldn’t have heard of nor obtained if it weren’t for emusic (cuz for 6 downloads you might as well just try, right?). And I’ll probably give OR a shot, even though I was (mostly) not that impressed with Black Sheep Boy.