Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Mirror Traffic

Tempting though it may be, Mirror Traffic is not quite Stephen Malkmus' response to the 2010 reunion of Pavement. Malkmus and the Jicks entered the studio with Beck prior to Pavement’s international 2010 tour, so any passing similarities Mirror Traffic may have to Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain aren’t a reflection of his ‘90s band bleeding back into the Jicks but perhaps an indication that he was now ready to scale back the thick guitar haze of the 2000s and return to easy elegance. Certainly, the Jicks rage and roar -- “Senator” stutters from riff to solo, “Tune Grief” gallops along headstrong -- but the winding jams have been cut away so the brief blasts of sonic ballast are one of the many colors on an album with a rather large palette. Beck doesn’t clutter the record with unnecessary textures but encourages Malkmus and the Jicks to take detours, so Mirror Traffic winds up playing something like a focused update on Wowee Zowee. Unlike Face the Truth, a similarly kaleidoscopic pop album, there’s a casualness to Mirror Traffic that is immensely appealing: when the summer psychedelia of “Tigers” gives way to the folky pluckings of “No One Is (As I Are Be)” or when the loping guitar pileup of “Forever 28” slides into “All Over Gently”'s country-rock by way of the Velvet Underground, Malkmus never calls attention to his tonal or stylistic shifts -- it all just rolls along lazily yet with purpose. For as relaxed as Mirror Traffic is, there is real structure to the songs and clarity to the production, two things that turn it into Malkmus’ most satisfying solo album to date.
1 Tigers Malkmus 2:24
2 No One Is (As I Are Be) Malkmus 3:58
3 Senator Malkmus 4:25
4 Brain Gallop Malkmus 5:02
5 Jumblegloss Malkmus 1:13
6 Asking Price Malkmus 2:41
7 Stick Figures in Love Malkmus 3:45
8 Spazz Malkmus 2:38
9 Long Hard Book Malkmus 2:48
10 Share the Red Malkmus 5:19
11 Tune Grief Malkmus 2:19
12 Forever 28 Malkmus 3:35
13 All Over Gently Malkmus 3:10
14 Fall Away Malkmus 2:18
15 Gorgeous Georgie Malkmus 5:00
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Santo & Johnny - The Best of Santo & Johnny

Best remembered for their instrumental guitar classic "Sleepwalk," brothers Santo and Johnny Farina were born and raised in Brooklyn. Inspired by the country music he heard on the radio, Santo adopted the steel guitar as a teen, and at age 14 he formed an instrumental trio, soon after writing his first original songs. In time he began teaching his younger sibling Johnny to play standard electric guitar, and they started performing as a duo. Santo & Johnny debuted in 1959 with "Sleepwalk" for the tiny Brooklyn label Trinity Records, a hauntingly atmospheric instrumental they'd composed with the aid of their mother. The single became a major local favorite and was then licensed to the Canadian-American imprint, where it topped the Billboard pop charts in August of that year.

Santo & Johnny soon issued their self-titled debut LP, also notching a hit with their follow-up single "Teardrops"; however, the duo's popularity quickly slid, although they issued five more albums for Canadian-American -- among them 1960's Encore and 1963's Offshore -- before the company dissolved in 1965. Two years later the siblings signed to Imperial to release The Brilliant Guitar Sounds of Santo & Johnny; three other efforts followed before Imperial, too, closed in 1968. More popular internationally than at home, Santo & Johnny continued to record well into the following decade, typically landing on little-known Italian labels; the duo finally disbanded in 1976, with Santo continuing on as a solo act.
Review
by Andrew Hamilton
This features "Sleepwalk" and others by the twosome who carved a niche for themselves by bending notes like rubber bands. Mellow mood music that will fit many sets and situations. Besides many originals, they also delight on popular tunes like "A Thousand Miles Away," "Over the Rainbow," and "Crying in the Chapel."
Tracks



1 Sleepwalk Farina, Farina, Farina 2:21
2 All Night Diner Farina, Farina, Farina 1:56
3 Tear Drop Farina, Farina, Farina 2:07
4 Caravan [Stereo] Ellington, Mills, Tizol 2:34
5 Summertime [Stereo] Gershwin, Gershwin, Heyward 2:47
6 Lazy Day [Stereo] Farina, Farina, Farina 2:25
7 Anna [Stereo] Giordano 2:50
8 Twistin' Bells Farina, Farina, Farina 2:19
9 Bulls-Eye Farina, Farina, Farina 2:18
10 Hop Scotch Farina, Farina, Farina 1:55
11 Theme from Come September Darin 1:53
12 I'll Remember (In the Still of the Night) [Stereo] Parris 2:17
13 A Thousand Miles Away Miller, Sheppard 2:55
14 Over the Rainbow [Stereo] Arlen, Harburg 2:07
15 Crying in the Chapel [Stereo] Glenn 2:08
16 Venus [Stereo] Marshall 2:14
17 School Days [Stereo] Berry 2:44
18 You Belong to Me [Stereo] King, Price, Stewart 2:08
19 Deep Purple [Stereo] DeRose, Parish 2:40
20 Blue Moon [Stereo] Hart, Rodgers 2:00
21 Dream Lover [Stereo] Darin 1:47
22 Save the Last Dance for Me [Stereo] Pomus, Shuman 2:53
23 Canadian Sunset [Stereo] Gimbel, Heywood 2:20
24 Tenderly [Stereo] Gross, Lawrence 2:32

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Bruce Springsteen - The River

Imbedded within the double-disc running time of The River is a single-disc album that follows up on the themes and sound of Darkness on the Edge of Town -- wide-screen, midtempo rock and stories of the disillusionment of working-class life and the conflicts within families. In these songs, which include the title track, "Independence Day," and "Point Blank," Bruce Springsteen's world-view is just as dire as it had become on Darkness, but less judgmental. "Independence Day," for example, is a father-and-son ballad that has little of the anger of its hard rock counterpart on Darkness, "Adam Raised a Cain." Springsteen's heroes again seek to overcome their crushing troubles through defiance and by driving around, and though "The River" repeats the soured love theme of "Racing in the Street," he also posits romance as a possible escape, sometimes combining it with one of the other solutions, as on the eight-plus-minute "Drive All Night." But there is also another album lurking within The River, and it is a more lighthearted pop/rock collection of short, sometimes humorous songs like "Sherry Darling" and "I'm a Rocker." At times Springsteen combines elements of the two, as on "Out in the Street," perhaps the album's quintessential song, a catchy, uptempo number that sounds like something from the early '60s and echoes the theme of the Vogues' 1966 hit "Five O'Clock World." "Hungry Heart," which became Springsteen's first Top Ten hit, combines a rollicking musical track with a more sober lyrical theme that emphasizes longing over disappointment. But a better guide to Springsteen's development are the songs "Stolen Car" and the album-closing "Wreck on the Highway," gentle, moody ballads imbued with a sense of hopelessness that anticipate his next record, Nebraska.

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Erroll Garner - Contrasts

It was a typical recording session for pianist Erroll Garner. With his regular trio of the period (bassist Wyatt Ruther and drummer Fats Heard) plus Candido, Garner recorded 24 songs (all first takes) on July 27, 1954. 13 of the pieces are on this 1998 CD reissue, including the earliest recorded version of his big hit "Misty." Other highlights include "I've Got the World on a String," a lengthy "7-11 Jump," "There's a Small Hotel" and "I've Got to Be a Rugcutter." Erroll Garner never recorded an uninspired solo, and this CD is as good a place as any to explore his joyful music.



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Erroll Garner - Concert by the Sea

Concert by the Sea was arguably the finest record pianist Erroll Garner ever made, and he made many -- a few outstanding -- good recordings. But this live recording (September 19, 1955) with his trio (Eddie Calhoun, bass; Denzil Best, drums) presented a typical Garner program; it was a mixture of originals, show biz, and pop standards delivered with his unique delivery and enthusiasm. The rhythms and brilliant use of tension and release were perfectly captured. And while for many jazz listeners, Garner's deliberate structures were too orchestrated, there was an equal spontaneity in the propulsion of these orchestrations that swung as well as anything.

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Psychedelic Guitar Circus

1 On Broadway Leiber, Mann, Stoller, Weil 3:05
2 She Caught the Katy Mahal, Rachell 3:10
3 Skil Trik Mandel 4:15
4 Mizrab/India Coltrane, Szabo 3:15
5 Jumpin' at Shadows Bennett 4:45
6 West Coast Salegy Kaiser 6:15
7 The Wayback Machine Kimock 5:35
8 Bues for Sun Ra/InterstellarOverdrive Barrett, Kaiser, Kimock, Mason… 12:20
9 Up from the Skies Hendrix 4:55
10 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) Lennon, McCartney 3:05
11 The Serpent Mandel 5:20
12 Sandy the Pelican Adams, Kaiser, Shock, Wold 4:25
13 Teardrop Farina 4:30

Henry Kaiser Guitar
Steve Kimock Guitar
Harvey Mandel Guitar
Freddie Roulette Guitar

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T-Bone Walker - Born to Be No Good

With his mix of rough and soft, hot and cool, T-Bone Walker was the prototype for electric guitar slingers everywhere, and while his generally urbane and decidedly jazz approach to playing often gets lost in the T-Bone legend, the fact remains that he was one sweet guitarist. This collection, which concentrates on his earliest 1946-1948 sides for Black & White Records, exhibits a solid case for Walker's historic placement in the lexicon of electric guitar, and although he seldom really cuts loose on these tracks, when he does, the sparks fly with elegant tension. For all his skill, Walker worked in a fairly narrow window, and hearing several of his songs in a row can make them all kind of melt and merge together, so casual listeners should be ready for that. But Walker rewards careful listening. Standing at the junction of blues, jazz and R&B, he brought a little something to all these genres, and with "Stormy Monday" (the original 1947 version is included here), he gave the world a bona fide classic.


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Lightnin' Hopkins -Texas Blues

Recorded between 1961 and 1969, Texas Blues gets to the essence of Lightnin' Hopkins' music, delivering a fine sampling of his guitar work as well as the superior sense of humor which sends cuts like "Bald Headed Woman" and "Meet You at the Chicken Shack" over the top.

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