The Dark Stranger (2015)

The Grateful Dead - The Best of The Grateful Dead (2015) [2CD] {Rhino}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 999 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 380 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 273 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Rhino / Warner | 081227955984
Rock / Psychedelic / Folk Rock / Jam Band

Only the second major career-spanning retrospective of the Dead, The Best of the Grateful Dead – released in the spring of 2015, just before a series of farewell shows in the summer – takes advantage of the extra disc 2003's The Very Best of Grateful Dead lacked. Weighing in at 32 tracks – a full 16 cuts longer than Very Best – The Best of the Grateful Dead also follows a strict chronological sequence, so it takes a little while for the psychedelic haze to lift and the Dead to settle into the rangy, rootsy groove that characterized so much of their existence – right around "St. Stephen" and "China Cat Sunflower," both from 1969's Aoxomoxoa. From there, many – but by no means all – of the group's warhorses are marched out, all in their studio incarnations.

Jimmy LaFave’s rich, effusive vocals command attention and when the Austin, Texas-based singer pairs them with the right material, wonderful music results. That’s what happens on nearly every track on his self-produced latest album. LaFave—whose voice reminds me at times of the great Michael Fracasso’s—brings out every bit of melancholy in Neil Young’s “Journey through the Past” and serves up a soulful, anthemic reading of Bob Dylan’s classic “Queen Jane Approximately.” (LaFave is no stranger to Dylan covers: a 1999 retrospective includes a dozen of Bob’s songs and 2007’s Cimarron Manifesto features a reading of “Not Dark Yet” that nearly equals the spellbinding original.)

Robert Earl Keen - Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions (2015) {Dualtone Records 80302-01685-27}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 321 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 123 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 19 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Dualtone Music | 80302-01685-27
Bluegrass / Country / Country Folk / Folk / Progressive Country / Americana

Robert Earl Keen has been playing the Texas singer/songwriter circuit for over three decades, and as a guy who often favors the acoustic side of the country and Americana music scenes, it's no kind of surprise that he's crossed paths with the bluegrass music community, and it certainly makes sense that he's a fan. What is a bit of a surprise is not that Keen has decided to cut a bluegrass album, but that the respected tunesmith has chosen to make it a collection of covers rather than writing a new set of songs.

Only the second major career-spanning retrospective of the Dead, The Best of the Grateful Dead - released in the spring of 2015, just before a series of farewell shows in the summer - takes advantage of the extra disc 2003's The Very Best of Grateful Dead lacked. Weighing in at 32 tracks - a full 16 cuts longer than Very Best - The Best of the Grateful Dead also follows a strict chronological sequence, so it takes a little while for the psychedelic haze to lift and the Dead to settle into the rangy, rootsy groove that characterized so much of their existence - right around "St. Stephen" and "China Cat Sunflower," both from 1969's Aoxomoxoa. From there, many - but by no means all - of the group's warhorses are marched out, all in their studio incarnations…

Duran Duran personified new wave for much of the mainstream audience. And for good reason. Duran Duran's reputation was built through music videos, which accentuated their fashion-model looks and glamorous sense of style. Without music videos, it's likely that their pop-funk – described by the group as the Sex Pistols-meet-Chic – would never have made them international pop stars…