Blog | Music: Mixed Media Online

Reissues, previously unreleased live concerts, DVDs and related releases are really starting to pour in during the early stages of the biggest music release season of the year. The following are some early candidates for must-have gets.

The Universal labels continue to be one of the reissue leaders in terms of the quality and quantity of releases. First up is The Very Best of Don Henley (Geffen) from Don Henley. This is the first solo best-of spanning all three labels Henley has recorded for as a solo artist. There is also a bonus DVD, which includes six videos and four rare soundtrack recordings in DVD-audio quality. Few artists have had the level of solo success that Henley has had after being in one of the biggest groups of all time and this collection is a testament to Henley’s mammoth solo career.

R.E.M’s original Chronic Town EP and full-length debut album Murmur have often gotten the most attention from early die-hard fans, but the group’s second album, 1984’s Reckoning, solidified the group’s place as more than critic’s darlings. A new Deluxe Edition of Reckoning (I.R.S./A&M) includes the original album on one disc and a bonus disc of a live concert recorded at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago in 1984 and broadcast over WXRT-FM. The concert’s sometime shambling pace, off-kilter rhythms, bum notes and out-of-tune vocals are what make this recording so charming. For all the beauty of the group’s albums, the members were young punk rockers at heart in their early days and this live disc captures that magic.

Universal has also just issued two previously unreleased live radio broadcasts from the BBC: Steve Earle Live at the BBC (MCA), which features performances from 1987, recorded at Manchester, England and most of the disc from 1989, recorded at the Town & Country Club in London and, from B.B. King, Live at the BBC (Geffen), which primarily features recordings spanning 1978 through 1991, from various venues, including the “The Thrill Is Gone” from both the Hammersmith Odeon in 1978 and an in-studio performance from 1989 with Andy Kershaw.

Soulive is celebrating its tenth anniversary in a big way. Up Here (Royal Family) is the group’s followup to No Place Like Soul and includes a bonus DVD recorded live at the Blue Note club in Tokyo. The band has also just issued the iTunes exclusive Live In San Francisco, which is yet another live album from the band who has issued over 10 “Instant Live” recordings.

Two DVDs not to be missed are The Mama Cass Television Program from Infinity, which features rare television appearances from Joni Mitchell and others and the cult favorite, My Dinner with Jimi, which in faux documentary fashion chronicles the night in London in 1967 on which the Turtles met the cream of British music aristocracy.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is celebrating its 25th anniversary with two benefit shows at Madison Square Garden on October 29th and October 30th at 7:30pm. The lineup for the first night so far includes Stevie Wonder; Simon & Garfunkel; Bruce Springsteen; Sting; Paul Simon; James Taylor; Jackson Browne; Little Richard; Crosby, Stills & Nash and friends; Bonnie Raitt; Smokey Robinson; Art Garfunkel; and Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. The second night features Eric Clapton, U2, Metallica, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jeff Beck and Van Morrison. Given that the Edge appears in the new film It Might Get Loud and that Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck will be playing together in London in February, don’t be surprised if the second night features Jimmy Page showing up and jamming with Clapton, Beck and the Edge from U2. Keep your fingers crossed.

Pete Yorn - Back & Fourth and Breaking Up

This has been quite a year for Pete Yorn. He had released three albums prior to this year, with his last one in 2006. Now he has two new albums out. Back & Fourth (Columbia) is his breakthrough solo studio release. With the help of executive producer Rick Rubin, Yorn has made a lush and ornate, yet edgy singer-songwriter tour-de-force album that is easily one of the best albums of the year. Yorn has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, but this new album is a powerful, confident outing that solidifies his place in music. He has also made an album with actress Scarlett Johansson entitled Break Up (Atco/Rhino). Johansson has already recorded one album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, which featured covers of Tom Waits songs. This collaboration with Yorn again shows Johansson to be more than just an actress trying her hand at music. The two together have come up with a unified concept album that, given the subject matter, never wallows in misery or melancholy. While not as immediately accessible as Yorn’s solo album, it is an excellent album.

Dave Matthews Takes A Sad Song And Makes It Better
Dave Matthews Band
Jones Beach, July 22, 2009

The new Dave Matthews Band album, Big Whiskey and GrooGrux King, and the tour supporting it could have easily been a somber affair. Reeling from the tragic death of the group’s sax player, LeRoi Moore, in August of 2008, the group soldiered on to complete the recording of its latest album. While many thought the album was named solely as a tribute to the late Moore, the name is actually a nickname that Moore shared with the band’s drummer, Carter Beauford.

The spirit of the album’s ultimately optimistic tone and its general dance-jam groove were sometimes undercut by the tentative start of the show, due to what Matthews said was his “waking up with a frog in my throat.” Playing mellower and more instrumental-based songs early on, the group gave Matthews a chance to slowly work his voice into shape and, as the night wore on, he seemed comfortable uncorking some of his quirky, improvisational vocal-scat histrionics. Sometimes mistakenly lumped in only with the jam-band scene, the group shows on its latest album how adept its members are at writing confident, controlled, hook-laden songs and performing them with concise playing and tight musicianship. Producer Rob Cavallo did an excellent job reigning in the group’s jams and focused on the songs that sometimes can get lost in the jams. In addition, the mix by Chris Lord-Alge, who has worked wonders for the likes of Steve Winwood, mixed some of the opening tracks in a way that makes them truly radio-friendly. The standing room-only crowd, which included actor Richard Gere and his girlfriend Carey Lowell sitting two seats in front of me, was having fun taking pictures, dancing, singing along to every song and generally gooving on the whole “funky” vibe. There are few bands who can sustain the level of intensity and true group playing that DMB can over two hours and 45 minutes, which was how long the show was.

While Moore is certainly missed, the two new horn players add a jazzy improvisation in a way that adds something new and exciting to the group’s sound. Guitarist Tim Reynolds, who has played with the group before both live and on record and has toured as part of a duo with Matthews, really adds some rock muscle to the group. His versatile style at times recalls Earl Slick, who played with David Bowie after Mick Ronson. Reynolds also adds fluttery, wind-chime pure guitar tones to the band’s sound and would probably be a nice fit with the Dead. A great thing about the group is that even with a new album to promote, the members change the set around each night, keeping it fresh for the fans and for themselves. At Jones Beach on the second night, the group performed seven of the 13 songs from the new album. There were also such classics as “Crash (Into Me),” “Jimi Thing,” “Gravedigger” and the closer, “Tripping Billies.” The lyrics to “Tripping Billies” have more meaning now than ever before, with the lines “Eat, drink, and be merry For tomorrow we die” summing up the band’s current state of mind and offering all of us words to live by.

If you attended either of the DMB Jones Beach shows and would like to share your thoughts and/or photos, please submit them below.

Snow Patrol at the Beacon Theatre

Snow Patrol played two nights at the Beacon Theatre. I caught the group’s second show on September 23rd, 2009, and was completely blown away. It appears that we are in one of those rare periods in music where the mainstream seems to be inhabited by some very good music–not a lot, but more than usual. Coldplay is simply the most dominant band in music today and now Snow Patrol, another UK band, may be getting close to even wider popular success than it has already enjoyed. Made up of members originally from Northern Ireland and Scotland who now make Glasgow, Scotland their home, Snow Patrol has gone through many personnel changes since its original formation in 1994. The group released two albums before its latest three American releases, and members of the group have also been involved in a slew of side projects, including spinoff group the Reindeer Section.

It’s amazing that Snow Patrol chose to play relatively intimate concert halls on its latest American tour. After many European festival dates, including stepping in as a headliner to replace Oasis at the V Festival in England in August, the band could easily be playing bigger venues. Add to that the group’s choice to keep the top ticket price to $49, and clearly what you have is a band that is about the music and respecting its fans.

The group’s latest album, A Hundred Million Suns, was the centerpiece of the show and is clearly the group’s best album to date. Although I expected a good show, the group’s energy throughout its performance was amped way up. The musicianship of the group is not to be questioned, as the members have found the perfect balance of guitar-driven pop and a shrewd use of keyboards and effects. The members also clearly love what they do, enjoy each other’s company and have a solid bond with their fans. Lead singer Gary Lightbody is the focus of the group. His nervous passion and vocal performance style are occasionally so intense and heartfelt that he looks as if he is on the verge of tears. While the group primarily plays tracks from its newest release, songs from its last two albums, Eyes Open and Final Straw, still resonate and only get better with age. The group’s performance of “The Lightning Strike” suite, from their latest album, at the end, complete with an animated film, raised the bar above the event’s being a mere concert. If that wasn’t enough, on the group’s current tour, it has borrowed Belle & Sebastian’s drummer, Richard Colburn, who played with the group in its early days and who is also a part of the Reindeer Section. It’s extraordinary how the band maintains such an adventurous sound and cool rock muscle while doing songs that are so unforgettable in their pop tunefulness. Anybody who saw either of the band’s shows should thank their lucky stars, because this is a group with too much appeal, talent and staying power to be able to accommodate its growing legion of fans in small concert halls much longer.