Unhappy with the slicker approach of Setting Sons, the Jam got back to basics, using the direct, economic playing of All Mod Cons and "Going Underground," the simply brilliant single which preceded Sound Affects by a few months. Thematically, though, Paul Weller explored a more indirect path, leaving behind (for the most part) the story-song narratives in favor of more abstract dealings in spirituality and perception - the approach stemming from his recent readings of Blake and Shelley (who was quoted on the sleeve), but more specifically Geoffrey Ash, whose Camelot and the Vision of Albion made a strong impression. Musically, Weller drew upon Revolver-era Beatles as a primary source (the bassline on "Start," which comes directly from "Taxman," being the most obvious occurrence), incorporating the occasional odd sound and echoed vocal, which implied psychedelia without succumbing to its excesses…
Atlantics' guitarist Martin Cilia's new CD ventures far afield from the surf sounds of Oz's principal progenitors of the aquatic sound. While this is not at all surf, it sure is good! Superb playing (you expected that, of course) is matched with really good arranging and writing. The Odd One Out is a fine release…
On his album „Odd Wisdom“, drummer Diego Piñera, together with a stellar cast of musicians, united the groove and vibe ot three different worlds: The percussive variety of his Latin-American origin, the urge for constant renewal of his current home Berlin and the energy of the metropolis New York City where the music was recorded. And with saxophonist Donny McCaslin, guitarist Ben Monder and bassist Scott Colley, three representatives of the top of current US-American jazz join Piñera and form an absorbing exchance of extraordinary enegry, sound, complexity and suspense.
Collecting the Cars' first five albums into one set, this collection features many of the band's essential songs, including "Just What I Needed," "Moving in Stereo," "You're All I've Got Tonight," and "Drive." For anyone interested in purchasing the bulk of the band's output in one fell swoop, this set offers an easy option.
BGO's 2015 two-fer pairs two mid-'70s albums from Jerry Lee Lewis – 1974's I-40 Country and 1975's Odd Man In – on a single CD. Jerry Lee Lewis didn't get much of a boost out of his 1973 return to rock & roll – a revival arriving on two separate LPs, one recorded in England (The Session) and one back home (Southern Roots) – so he slid back to country, scoring a hit with "Sometimes a Memory Ain't Enough" from the album of the same name. I-40 Country arrived a year later, easing into stores in 1974 under the guise of a truck-driving country LP. While these 11 songs do sound good on the open road, none of them are about big rigs or highways, nor do they roll along to a Bakersfield beat. No, they're straight-ahead barroom weepers punctuated by the very occasional novelty – so occasional, it doesn't extend beyond "Alcohol of Fame."