Bruce Springsteen - Letter To You: '... you just need to turn it up really loud on a long, fast drive through a heartbroken summer night to hear Springsteen for the damaged hero he is. But that ensemble euphoria does work best live, when the bass is rattling through the blood and bones of hundreds of collected humans. The live recording of this record really helps deliver that communal feeling. They feel so present and close that listeners might feel they’re violating the pandemic rules. They rollick through the “Janey Needs a Shooter” and the Dylanesque “Song for Orphans”, both of which Springsteen wrote back in 1973. But it’s the new material that really catches fire. The band blaze through “Ghosts” and “Last Man Standing”, with “House of a Thousand Guitars” soaring above the lot. Driven by the supple rise and fall of a hymnal piano melody, the song is a commentary on songwriting. Springsteen, who’s been wonderfully frank about his lifelong struggle with depression, expresses solidarity with other writers “bitter and bored” who “wake in search of the lost chord”. As the champion of the working Americans who’ve been sold out by the Trump presidency, he delivers a verse on “the criminal clown” who has “stolen the throne”. But he offers the communion of music as a way to rise above and beyond material misery.'
Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways: '“I sing the songs of experience like William Blake,” Bob Dylan growls, introducing his 39th epistle on the follies, frustrations and secret strengths of a species at war with itself, “I’ve got no apologies to make.” He’s the rebel poet, approaching twilight, laying out generations of hard-earned wisdoms with no punches pulled and no regrets. At 79, following a trio of covers albums of American standards largely associated with Sinatra, you might expect Dylan to make a world-worn and contemplative sort of record, but one that had little left to say. Instead, with ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’, he’s produced arguably his grandest poetic statement yet, a sweeping panorama of culture, history and philosophy peering back through assassinations, world wars, the births of nations, crusades and Biblical myths in order to plot his place in the great eternal scheme. Rough? Perhaps, but it certainly has the warmth and lustre of the intimate and home-made. And rowdy? Dylan’s sure been rowdier ... Instead he requires of his band just a series of soft and simple canvasses, woven largely from gentle spiritual, lustrous country, Southern blues or gothic Americana – often resembling enclosed, traditionally structured atmospheres rather than songs – onto which he can project his sprawling literary visions of death, degradation and the horrors of history.'
Deacon Blue - City Of Love: 'They continue to conjure anthems that celebrate love, work, faith, hope, going out, and coming home ... we find Ricky Ross writing from a more personal – and maybe more vulnerable – viewpoint than before. City of Love seeks out the quiet moments, far from the bombast. From the solace of shared candle-light (the glorious, Fleetwood Mac-invoking 'In Our Room') to the solitude of nature (the gospel-rock of 'A Walk In The Woods'), it is poignant, pensive, yet never maudlin. If 'Intervals' stunning, astral pop reminds us of the ticking clock ('so little time'), then the swoon-inducing soul of 'Come On In' urges us to make the most of our days, and nights.'
Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension: Stevens 'felt inspired to create a whole record that examined the world he was living in, questioning it when it felt wrong and “exterminating all bullshit“. The sprawling results of this personal interrogation, which play out over a glitchy 80 minutes, serve as a powerful dissection of modern humanity. Filled with universal anguish and anxieties, ‘The Ascension’ ... takes a weary look at the outside world and out comes a deep sigh ... anxious instrumentals echo the album’s uneasy outlook and fear of the future, and when they combine forces it often makes for an astonishing listen. The world is pretty shitty at the moment and it’s easy to feel helpless, but as the horror show that is 2020 continues to rumble on, ‘The Ascension’ is yet another ample soundtrack to rage-dance to.'
Gregory Porter - All Rise: 'It’s not all just about that great voice. Gregory Porter also has a mighty generosity of spirit, plus empathy, warmth and optimism. And he has gathered a superb team around him to make a strong album with plenty of scale and depth ... All these contributions weave around Porter himself and strengthen what he does. The singer has written of “Revival Song”, written in memory of Freddie Gray, the 25-year old who died in police custody in Baliimore in 2015: “It’s about finding your source of strength to bring you back to seeing who you truly are so that you can be restored to the giant that you are.” That is what Gregory Porter, with help from some fine musicians has achieved with All Rise in 2020.'
Michael McDermott - What In The World: 'Chicago born McDermott’s poetic reflections on the parlous predicament of American politics and humanity in general always repay closer investigation, and “What in the World..” must rank as his most compelling offering to date. The Dylanesque title track points an accusing finger at the inhumanities perpetrated by the Trump regime via a tumbling flood of memorable lyrical images, contrasting beautifully with the much more low key charms of “Positively Central Park” and “New York,Texas,” a subdued gem strongly reminiscent of “Nebraska” era Springsteen at his brilliant best.'
Bill Fay - Countless Branches - 'Countless Branches is the third of Fay's later-period albums, following Life Is People (2012) and Who Is the Sender? (2015). It might just be the best, too. It's palatable and concise, comprising ten tracks with bonuses pushing the total to 17. An incorrigible grouch might bridle at these guileless, gently philosophical songs, but they're delivered with such obvious sincerity that the rest of us will be charmed. As ever, Fay focuses on the search for meaning and substance in everyday life.'
Buddy & Judy Miller - 'Breakdown on 20th Avenue South': '... out of the ashes of loss, abandonment and melancholy, the songwriter has emerged like a phoenix for the sizzling Breakdown on 20th Ave. South (New West Records), the couple’s first duet record since 2009’s Written in Chalk. As much a testament to faith and forgiveness as it is a pulsating chronicle of a marriage beset by physical and emotional challenges, the album, which takes its name from the Music Row-adjacent street on which the couple resides in Nashville, ranks among the year’s finest.'
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Fay - Filled With Wonder Once Again.
No comments:
Post a Comment