Tuesday, March 31, 2009

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Coltrane, Gainsbourg, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Mono & more!

v/a NIGERIA 70: The Definitive Story of 1970s Funk Lagos 2xCD
*** BACK IN PRINT! "A definitive look at funky Lagos during the 1970s over 2CDs, digging into the Nigerian archives, from Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade and Sir Victor Uwaifo & many unsung heroes."

v/a TREACLE TOFFEE WORLD: Further Pop Psych Sounds From The Apple Era 1967-1969 CD
*** "'Treacle Toffee World' completes the exploration of the catalogue of the Beatles' Apple Music Publishing company. Eighteen new and very rare tracks from Fire, Sands, Grapefruit, Peter Huckstep, Gallagher & Lyle, Iveys, Denis Couldry, 23rd Turnoff, and Legay."

LEONARD COHEN Live In London 2xCD
*** "Live In London fully captures and recreates the extraordinary show from that 2008 tour that earned Cohen more than 80 five-star reviews for his performances."

JOHN COLTRANE Ascension CD
JOHN COLTRANE The John Coltrane Quartet Plays... CD
JOHN COLTRANE Meditations CD
JOHN COLTRANE Kulu Se Mama CD
*** BACK IN PRINT! "Newly remastered from the original tapes!"

THE DREAM Love Vs. Money CD
*** "The new album from Grammy singer-songwriter." Feat. MARIAH CAREY and KANYE WEST.

THE FLATLANDERS Hills & Valleys CD
*** "Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock pooled their diverse, yet complimentary songwriting talents to co-write their first album in 5 years."

SERGE GAINSBOURG Histoire De Melody Nelson CD
*** RECOMMENDED "SERGE GAINSBOURG is no stranger to sexual proclivities, and with his 1971 Histoire De Melody Nelson he shared an erotic tale as seductive today as the day it was released. With help from actress, amour, and inspiration JANE BIRKIN, arranger/conductor and co-conspirator JEAN-CLAUDE VANNIER (L'Enfant Assassins Des Mouches), not to mention a tight hand picked crew of top shelf UK session musicians, Histoire De Melody Nelson is often cited as Gainsbourg's master work, an essential album for the discerning music lover."

GOMEZ A New Tide CD
*** This band's new album is already included in Amazon lists for 'Best Prog-Rock Drummer' and 'Dare I Say... The Best Album's of the Last 10 Years.' NOT BAD.

PJ HARVEY & JOHN PARISH A Woman A Man Walked By CD
*** "A 'mischievous, deadly serious, elegant and poetic, and possessed of a brutal power: it is doubtful that you will hear a record as brimming with creative brio and musical invention this year'."

DIANA KRALL Quiet Nights CD
*** "An intimate recording of ballads and bossa novas from the team that brought you her best-selling 'The Look of Love.'"

LOTUS PLAZA The Floodlight Collecting LP / CD
*** "LOCKETT PUNDT’s (DEERHUNTER) first full-length is an expansive meditation on the modern history of the pop song with an obvious appreciation for the atmospheric vocal harmonies of the ‘50s, the Brill Building writers of the ‘60s, and the sounds of the early ‘80s postpunk UK scene."

MONO Hymn To The Immortal Wind CD
*** "MONO's fifth album is naturally majestic, with Mono’s trademark wall of noise crashing beautifully against the largest chamber orchestra the band has ever enlisted. The instrumentation is vast, incorporating strings, flutes, organ, piano, glockenspiel and tympani into their standard face-melting setup."

PETER BJORN & JOHN Living Thing CD
*** "A delightfully off-kilter riposte, a jaunty flying-V in the faces of people who thought they'd had the band all figured out, treated vocals, anthemic singalongs. The album walks a tightrope of melody and mayhem."

ROYKSOPP Junior CD
*** "The hotly anticipated new album from the technopera geniuses." Feat. LYKKE LI, Karen Dreijer-Andersson (THE KNIFE, FEVER RAY), and ANNELI DREKKER.

ARTHUR RUSSELL The Sleeping Bag Sessions 2xLP / CD
*** "In 1981 Arthur Russell & Will Socolav set up Sleeping Bag Records, releasing classic NYC records -- DINOSAUR L, FELIX, CLANDESTINE, and INDIAN OCEAN. The album is again very experimental, and makes occasional uneasy listening but the same magic is very much in evidence."

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM Black Cascade CD
*** "Black Cascade wholly transcends the limitations of the black metal label to be reborn as an entity entirely unto themselves. This record is an analog monolith that does credit to an intricately layered and ever-shifting psychedelic soundscape churning beneath the unrelenting blast beats and tremolo guitar."

YEAH YEAH YEAHS It's Blitz CD
*** "It's Blitz! signals both a glance backward and a step forward. Zinner's vintage Arp--the same model used on records by The Cars, Joy Division, and Kraftwerk--contributes atmospheric washes, disco wiggles, and New Wave melodrama."