Gift guide: 10 albums for the music lover on your list
Black Friday – a day-long shopping carnival to officially kick off the holiday shopping season or a plunge into the darkest recesses of the retail netherworld?
Why choose? Simplify your life. Give music.
Be it on vinyl, through downloads (legally, mind you) or on the never-say-die CD, it remains a gift that is sure to please, providing you know what sounds to look for.
That’s where this list comes in.
Here are 10 critic’s picks of the newly released recordings – from pop to country to soul and beyond.
There are sounds here for most any taste. Hopefully, this lightens the tone and load of Black Friday a little.
Beck: ‘Hyperspace’
You never know where you will land with Beck. On “Hyperspace,” will the orchestrally reflective balladeer of “Sea Change” or the big beat pop star of “Odelay” be at work? The answer is, curiously, a little of both. Lyrically, there is a meditative feel akin to 2014’s Grammy-winning “Morning Phase” brewing under the tunes, but the music is awash in an ocean of synths that sails Beck to new shores.
Leonard Cohen: ‘Thanks for the Dance’
Though barely half an hour long, “Thanks for the Dance” presents us with a fascinating posthumous encore from Cohen, which was produced (and in several cases, completed) by son Adam. The temperament ranges from the poetic reach of “The Goal” to the unashamedly erotic “The Night in Santiago” to the whimsical eulogistic title tune. “Thanks for the dance. It was hell, it was swell, it was fun.”
Kelsey Waldon ‘White Noise/White Lines’
One of the fall’s most undeniably authentic country records comes from one of Kentucky’s own. On “White Noise/White Lines,” Waldon lights up her Ballard County roots like a Christmas tree with a song montage that even includes a phone message of support from her dad without getting unduly sentimental. John Prine obviously liked what he heard. He made Waldon the first signee to his Oh Boy label in 15 years.
Terence Blanchard: ‘Harriet’ (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Having scored over 20 film projects for Spike Lee, jazz trumpeter Blanchard illuminates Kasi Lemmons’ new bio-drama of Harriet Tubman with a fascinating blend of string/ percussion vignettes and vintage spirituals, topping it all with the elegiac “Goodbye Song” featuring “Harriet” star Cynthia Erivo. Though he proved his Hollywood worth decades ago, “Harriet” is a career milestone.
Bob Dylan: ‘Travelin’ Thru: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 15 - 1967-69’
What has become a yearly dig into the Dylan archives has produced a lean, three-disc package that highlights an underappreciated two-year period that produced the steadfast folk gem “John Wesley Harding” and the refreshingly loose country classic “Nashville Skyline.” But the real treat here is a full disc of rehearsal-like performances with Johnny Cash. Hearing two such artistic intellects at play is pure joy.
Wilco: ‘Ode to Joy’
A quarter century on, nearly half of that with its current six-man lineup, Wilco continues to make engaging, even enlightening music. “Ode to Joy” is a sumptuous listen that seems fashioned for the purply dusk of a winter evening. Singer/founder Jeff Tweedy sings with a whispered solemnity while drummer (and University of Kentucky alum) Glenn Kotche plays with spacious subtlety. Beautiful stuff.
The Bad Plus: ‘Activate Infinity’
The Bad Plus continues the second phase of its remarkable career with a sophomore album featuring pianist Orrin Evans. His entry two years ago marked a more pronounced trio sound that matures nicely on “Active Infinity.” Evans plays with patient but flexible lyricism while drummer Dave King continues to manipulate currents of grooves that alternate between boppish glee and beat-friendly pop.
Various Artists: ‘Come on Up to the House: Women Sing Waits’
A set of 12 Tom Waits classics interpreted by a stylistically far-reaching roster of female artists is one of the more refreshing releases of the season. The riches are abundant. Patty Griffin offers a haunting piano/strings reading of “Ruby’s Arms,” Rosanne Cash injects “Time” with scholarly folk reflection and Iris Dement turns “House Where Nobody Lives” into a portrait of harrowing country abandonment.
‘Jimi Hendrix: Songs for Groovy Children - The Fillmore East Concerts’
The five CD, eight LP “Songs for Groovy Children” chronicles all of the concerts by a post-Experience, post-Woodstock Hendrix that gave us the 1970 “Band of Gypsys” album. New bassist Billy Cox (who Hendrix met, oddly enough, at Fort Campbell nearly a decade earlier when both served in the Army) expands the sound, but it’s still the fireball guitarwork that amazes most.
The Mavericks: ’Play the Hits’
By “hits,” the Mavericks mean those of other acts, not their own. To commemorate its 30th anniversary, Raul Malo and company bring a series of predominantly country staples to decidedly non-country environments. The Waylon Jennings classic “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way,” for instance, becomes a brassy party piece that bleeds into a South-of-the-Border snippet of Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright.” Alright, indeed.