All Good Things Review

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All Good Things is an awesome album that has been long overdue as far as I'm concerned. This album has something for everyone, and if you like eclectic music this is the first truly cross cultural hip hop album since The Fugees dropped The Score. While the fugees are clearly a more rap-centric group at that point, Pacha Massive's ecclectic mix definitely deserves comparison to them. It's that good.
Pacha Massive was on my mind long before they had an official album on the market. I run in a lot of different musical circles, especially in NY city. And this duo definitely has had a reputation for bringing originality to their own brand of Latin fusion. Normally I don't even like the word "Latin" but in this case this applies. This is a great blend between European, South American, African and American music styles.
Pacha Massive easily switch between singing and rapping in English and Spanish. They do that while mixing beats and music including trip-hop, Latin, hip-hop and techno beats as well as every musical influence you can name. Yet the combination of all these things is so smooth that I believe some may mistake it for "pop." If they get the attention they deserve it may become "pop."
"Don't Let Go" is a laid back track, but a great introduction to a fantastic album,. The rhythm and beat are well laid down and the chorus is very catchy. The Spanish rap on this track is also good and lends to an overall chill atmosphere. This is not the kind of mind-blowing rap that some are producing these days. But to repeat, I think this rap is intentionally laid back to not overpower the chill vibe of the song.
"Oye Mira," "All Good Things," and "Pachangueando" are probably most representative of this album as a whole and feature Maia on lead vocals, just like the title track. The whole album has a very chill vibe to it, but there is still a nice mix of styles in these songs. Some songs like "De pies a la cabeza," "Only You" and "Take it easy" showcase the male vocal half of this group. But still, it's the overall vibe that matters most on this album. And the vibe is great.

The songs on this album only get better as you listen to them more. Each one is a self contained piece that will make you wonder why more music like this doesn't get made.
This is music for those who are into latin fusion and have eclectic tastes. Speaking Spanish is by no means a prerequisite to enjoying this, but it will definitely aid your enjoyment. :)
I hope you give this album a try.
Enjoy!


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Washington Square Serenade (DIG) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's been 3 years since Steve Earle released a new studio album. In that time, George W. Bush has been reelected, Steve got married again to the beautiful Allison Moorer, and he packed up his Nashville paraphernalia and moved to the city. New York City, to be exact. In fact, if you don't already know it, Steve now resides on the same block so famously pictorially memorialized on the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, and it's very clear from listening to him that he takes the spirit of Greenwich Village very seriously and very much to his corazón.
With all that in mind, Steve's new gift to music is Washington Square Serenade, an album of 11 originals and 1 cover. Recorded in the famed Electric Lady studios, the album is different from his others by default, because as he says right in the bonus disc's interviews, he now "tests positive for ProTools." This is immediately apparent from the album's beginning, which has drum beats and samples throughout the 12 tracks. If you can get past the beats, you've got a pretty darn good album ahead of you.
The album begins with Steve's farewell to Nashville, "Tennessee Blues." Personally, I think the acoustic-only version is better (more on that later), but the lyrics are downright beautiful--"Blue dog on my floorboard, redhead by my side, cross the mighty Hudson River to the New York City side. Redhead by my side, boys, sweetest thing I've found. Goodbye, Guitar Town"--and a perfect goodbye to the place he used to call home. Next comes "Down Here Below," a mostly spoken-word song about the resident NYC red-tailed hawk Pale Male that is very reminiscent of the Drive-By Truckers' "A World of Hurt." Steve's voice is hypnotizing on it. "Satellite Radio" is probably one of the more hip-hop influenced tracks on the album, and the ProTools influence is very obvious on it. Steve sings about a radio DJ wondering about his prospects on satellite radio. Fairly catchy, but nothing too mind-blowing here. The fourth song is the first single off the album, "City of Immigrants." Steve performed it on the Late Show last month and it includes backing by the Brazilian group Forro In The Dark. This is Steve's non-aggressive answer to Lou Dobbs' views on immigration, and once it grows on you, the song is quite good.
Then comes the first love song of the album, "Sparkle and Shine." The song is very simple, very light-hearted, and very beautiful and is definitely a highlight of the album. Unfortunately it is followed by the throwaway track "Come Home to Me." This is a very sub-par Earle ballad that has been done many times before and much better. With the exception of some nice chord structuring during the bridge, this isn't one to get too excited about. "Jericho Road" is another barely-passable track. It's not necessarily bad, but compared to other tracks on the album and other songs that Earle has written, this doesn't do it. Think of the groove to "Telephone Road" from El Corazón (released 10 years ago, coincidentally), and then take out a lot of the fun and energy. This is basically a darker and less-interesting version of that song. "Oxycontin Blues" will immediately draw comparisons to "The Truth" from 2002's Jerusalem album. Combine that feel with the feel of 1996's "CCKMP" and you get the general idea of what this song sounds like as Steve sings about drug addiction (hence the comparison to "CCKMP").
"Red is the Color" takes things up a notch with some great harmonica blowing as Steve sings and yelps over a slow jam. Next come possibly the two finest songs on the album, "Steve's Hammer (for Pete)" and "Days Aren't Long Enough." The former is dedicated to folk pioneer/icon Pete Seeger, and lays Steve's political views right out front for the listener ("When the air don't choke you and the ocean's clean and the kids don't die for gasoline, one of the these days I'm gonna lay this hammer down"). The refrain is extremely catchy, and when it breaks out into a full sing-along chorus, it becomes even more infectious. Plan on turning this one up. The latter track was co-written by Steve and his wife Allison and is one of the most beautiful ballads/duets that Steve has released in the last several albums. It is simply a gorgeous song that is destined to become a classic Earle ballad. Finally, the album ends with Steve's version of Tom Waits' "Way Down in the Hole," which will also be used as the theme for the 5th and final season of The Wire in January. It's not a strong song to end on, as Steve's voice just doesn't really mesh too well with the song itself and the hip-hop-ish groove that he employed for it. A decent cover, but no more than that.
And finally, if you are trying to decide whether or not to buy the deluxe edition with the DVD, here's a breakdown of what you get: extensive interview footage of Steve talking about the album, his past, and the history of Greenwich Village; video footage of Steve discussing Dylan at the site of Dylan's first NYC gig, discussing the beauty and craftsmanship of an old 1966 Gibson guitar at a local music shop (and then jamming a little on the guitar), and discussing the vital importance of Washington Square Park to Greenwich Village; and 3 live acoustic performances of "Tennessee Blues," "City of Immigrants" (with Allison), and "Days Aren't Long Enough" (also with Allison). All told the DVD is about 38 minutes long. I mentioned earlier that I'd come back to the acoustic-only version of "Tennessee Blues." I found that when it was just Steve and an acoustic guitar and nothing else, the song was much more of an effective goodbye. You can judge this for yourself. Is it worth the extra money for you? I bought it, and I'm happy I did. It's worth watching. It's up to you whether that's the kind of thing you'll continue watching in the future or simply set inside its case and never pull out again.
Washington Square Serenade is by no means perfect, but there are enough great songs here to make this a worthy addition to any Earle fan's catalog. I can only hope that it won't be 3 years before he records another album, and that NYC will continue to supply him with inspiration for his musical passions.

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After an extremely rare three year break from recording, Grammy Award winner Steve Earle is back, with Washington Square Serenade. The album represents a number offirstsfor Steve: his first record for New West Records, his first album produced in New York City (now his home), and his first produced by John King of The Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys) at the legendary Electric Lady Studios. The deluxe CD/DVD version will be available with bonus packaging art plus an exclusive documentary DVD about the inspiration behind the album. The bonus DVD includes 3 acoustic performances, interviews and a walking tour of Greenwich Village with Steve and noted journalist Mark Jacobson.The album will also be available as a Limited Edition 180 gram vinyl record.

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The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter Review

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(More customer reviews)Guitars jangle. A piano ripples incongruously. And that's all the warning you get before "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter" blasts into music so alien to Josh Ritter that you might reasonably think there's been some identity theft here.
On this CD, the lyrics are murky and convoluted; on most of the songs, the music rules. The last time I heard a drummer hit this hard was four decades ago in San Francisco, and that poor speed freak was still flailing when they carried him off. The guitars slash. The string section, to steal a line from one of the songs, is "screaming like horses in a barn burning up." And yet none of it's quite sufficient: "I put a whip to the kick drum/But the music's never loud enough."
I was sufficiently unnerved by "Conquests" to request a sitdown with its creator. In that interview, Josh made it clear why he'd confounded expectations --- because he needed to. For if ever a CD had generated expectations, it was "Animal Years". The public loved it. Critics loved it even more; writers who didn't see Josh Ritter as the next Dylan suggested he just might be the next Springsteen. Can we talk about a burden?
"People start to believe their reviews," Josh told me. "And the last thing I want to be is another Bob Dylan --- I don't want to be anything to him. What's the point? Sure, poetry is super-important to me, but these songs have another character. They're more about being confident that I can do this."
Josh is self-deprecating, so he calls the music on this CD "nerd rock". He's right, in a way; at his shows, pretty young things will never throw thongs at him. Anyway, this CD's too varied to provoke mania --- in addition to the rockers, there are slow songs, a goofball song about lovers in a missile silo, a delicate instrumental and a hearty singalong.
Still, three rockers lead off the CD, with more dotting the sweeter stuff. And it's the rockers that --- cleverly sequenced on your iPod --- last just long enough to make the cardio part of your workout more fun than you ever thought it could be. This is, I can tell you, as useful a CD as anything you'll hear in an aerobics class.
This CD also invites you to play games.
The first is "Name That Tune", for the music liberally quotes rock's greatest hits. I'm no scholar, but I heard snatches of "London Calling" by The Clash. "My Sharona", Paul Simon's "Duncan", "Obladi Oblada" from The Beatles, plus John, plus Paul, The Beach Boys and even the background of the disco hit "Ring My Bell". Can you find those references? Did I miss any?
Another game is Memorable Lines. The first few times you play "Conquests", zingers come at you almost randomly. I found myself, hours after, smiling at the cadence of "I love the way she looks in her underwear" and "The comedy of distance, the tragedy of separation" and --- from the singalong --- "Don't let me into this year with an empty heart." But then, with repeated listening, other lines emerged: "She'll know me by the sound of my longing" and "Each silver lining is a crown of thorns" and "Did you look up at the stars and feel something for the constellations?" And then I saw that there were levels and levels to this CD, and that if you stayed with it long enough, you might just find yourself back in the Ritterland you know, the one where spirituality and romanticism and Josh's signature emotion, generosity, are effortlessly linked.
Many listenings in --- you may not need as many as I did --- "Conquests" inspired me. On this CD, a talented guy takes a flying leap into the unknown, and his experiment turns out to be a total triumph. Makes you want to raise a fist and cheer. And more: It returns you to yourself. It challenges you to bring your warehoused dreams down from the attic, to take some flying leaps of your own.
If "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter" turns out to be, like "Animal Years", the CD of the Year, it's not just because of the brash, self-confident music --- it's equally because, in a dark time, it's a gorgeous, steady light.


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Over the clatter of piano and strum of an electric guitar that opens his fourth studio album, Josh Ritter leaps into rapid-fire lyrics that reference Joan of Arc, Calamity Jane and Florence Nightingale, all of whom seem to be struck together in the belly of a whale. As the follow-up to last year's critically acclaimed album The Animal Years, The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter is his most adventurous, fresh, and freewheeling work to date.

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Live at the Wolf Review

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(More customer reviews)A classically trained musician, Garth Hudson brought his formidable skills and creativity to the world of rock as The Band's keyboard virtuoso, wind player, and arranger. In Live At The Wolf, Garth, on acoustic piano, and his wife, Maud, on voice, show how dazzlingly far their musical horizons now extend. Garth has said that his recent keyboard playing is better than any he did with The Band. His improvisations, showcased here in three original piano pieces and his elegant song accompaniments, seamlessly combine jazz, roots, blues, and classical elements. In "International Medley," Garth adds patriotic tunes to this mix, and in "Concert Hora," he enriches his palette still further by performing a klezmer-like, Romanian folk dance melody on accordion. Amid all these diverse influences, one also senses in Garth's playing rock's sublime essence. Maud Hudson is a singer of flair, passion and wit, who beautifully synchronizes her rich and expressive voice with her husband's most ethereal phrasings. Together, the Hudsons have fashioned a new musical language that incorporates, yet stands apart from, all of the styles they explore.
Garth and Maud use this new language to make each of the album's song selections uniquely their own, from the early gospel "Stand By Me," to the sorrowful jazz standard "Willow Weep For Me," to the rock and roll classic, "Young Blood." They transform the lament for lost love "It Makes No Difference" into a heartfelt ode of remembrance for The Band's Rick Danko, the song's original vocalist. On Garth's impressionistic "Beyond the Breakers" (words by Eric Andersen), they wonderfully blend word and tone images of wind, water, color, and light. "The Weight" attains a sacred dimension when Garth prefaces this Band favorite with a 16th century hymn. Maud's blues original, "You'll Be Thinkin'," packs buoyancy and verve. Her performance of Bob Dylan's "Blind Willie McTell" is stunning, as she speaks, sings, and whispers its words to summon ghosts of Southern slavery. Shining throughout every song are Garth and Maud's consummate artistry, gentleness of spirit, and love of music.
Live At the Wolf commemorates two significant dates. The September 2002 concert that it records was the first at London, Ontario's new Wolf Performance Hall, and also marks the beginning of the Hudsons' career as a performing duo. The CD's 2005 release celebrates Garth and Maud's 25th wedding anniversary.
This album is delightful and inexhaustible. You will never get tired of listening to it. In its understated way, it makes musical history.


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