Looks like the dog days of summer have arrived early, because there are very few releases of note this week. Let’s jump right into it.
Beck-Modern Guilt: Beck switches it up on his first album in two years, installing Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley) into the producer’s chair. On paper, the two seem like a perfect fit, and the album has gotten pretty good advance notice. Then again, do you remember any Beck album that didn’t get good reviews? Critically, he’s as much of a sure bet as any artist out there.
http://www.modernguilt.com/
Alison Moyet-The Turn/Yaz-In Your Room: Our very own Paul wrote a column a couple of weeks back on British synth-pop duo Yaz and their return to the concert stage a quarter-century after their split. In order to commemorate that tour, we have “In Your Room”, an exhaustive box set containing basically every note the two played and sung together. Yaz’s vocalist, Alison Moyet, also sees the U.S. release of her latest album, “The Turn”, which was released in the U.K. last October.
http://www.yazooinfo.com/
Billy Joel-“The Stranger: Legacy Edition”: “The Stranger”‘s probably Billy Joel’s best-loved album, with hits like “Only the Good Die Young”, “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)”, the title track, and “Just the Way You Are”. This thirtieth anniversary edition of the hit album is remastered and comes in two versions: one adds a second disc from a Carnegie Hall concert, while another includes the concert and a DVD from the old British musical variety show “The Old Grey Whistle Test”.
http://www.billyjoel.com/
Um…after that? Crickets, pretty much. Strokes frontman Albert Hammond Jr. releases his second solo album, entitled “Como Te Llama?”, and there are a couple of interesting collaborative efforts out today: one from Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis (there’s a joke in there somewhere that I can’t quite figure out), and the other from Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. “Country Sings Disney” finds the likes of Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley tackling some of the Mouse’s favorite songs, while in the “curiosities” section, there’s a new album from Devin Lima of former C-List boy banders LFO. Yay!!
Enjoy that Beck CD!!
A full list of releases can be found here: http://www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm
