Tag Archives: music review

as chosen by Jim Dwyer (co-owner of Encore Records, Ann Arbor, Michigan)

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Well, 2021 was, for me, in many ways less stressful than its predecessor. Others found it to be as bad or worse, and I certainly wouldn’t argue against that position. Indeed, no matter how you see it, we’re living in strange times. 

Thankfully, a number of excellent musical offerings were released in 2021. They help to keep us sane and as balanced as we can hope to be in such times. In addition to the general prospect of hearing some uplifting and re-energizing music this past year, I also hope everyone you love has been able to get their vaccines, I truly do. 

This list will be unusual in that so much of the very good music made available via recordings this year is stuff from years past that has never been released before, or if so only in the most limited fashion. 

Does this make them “old” or “new” music? If a tree fell in the forest, and no one heard it, but someone recorded it, and then we heard it later, did it make a…oh, you know what I mean. So, I’m going to treat these as new releases rather than reissues, of which there were also an excellent bounty this year. (That’s a separate list, so, see below.)

But first, what new records did I play most frequently over the last 12 months?

Top New Releases for 2021:

• Prince, Welcome 2 America , (Paisley Park)
• Various Artists, Two Synths, A Guitar (and) a Drum Machine: Post Punk Dance , (Soul Jazz)
• The Stranglers, Dark Matters, (Coursegood Limited)
• Can, Live in Brighton 1975 , (Spoon/Mute)
• Elvis Costello, Spanish Model, (Universal Music)
• La Femme, Paradigmes , (Disque Pointu)
• RVDS, Moods & Dances 2021, (Bureau B) 
• Sissi Rada, Nano Diamond, (Kryptox)
• Dr. Lonnie Smith, Breathe, (Blue Note)
• Marianne Faithful (with Warren Ellis), She Walks in Beauty , (Panta Rei / BMG)

Reissues:

• George Harrison, All Things Must Pass, (Apple/Capitol)
• The Beatles, Let It Be , (Apple)
• Elvis Costello, Armed Forces Box Set (Universal Music)
• Jethro Tull, Benefit , (Chrysalis)
• Sun Ra, Lanquidity , (Soul Strut)
• David Bowie, Brilliant Adventure (Parlophone)
• Susuma Yokota, Symbol , (Skintone/P-Vine)
• Bryan Ferry, Boys & Girls, (Virgin)
• Echo & The Bunnymen, Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine, Ocean Rain (Warner)
• Laraaji, Flow Goes the Universe, (All Saints)

Best Singles:

• 3D RDN remix of “Deep Deep Pain” from McCartney III Imagined , (Capitol)
• Elvis Costello & Iggy Pop, “No Flag” (Concord Records)

Honorable Mentions:

• Menahan Street Band, The Exciting Sounds of…, (Dunham/Daptone)
• Arundel, In Bach Vol. 2 , (Infine)
• Paul McCartney, III Imagined , (Capitol)
• Karen Black, Dreaming of You (1971-1976), (Anthology Recordings)
• The Bug, Fire , (Ninja Tune)

1. It’s easy to forget, because he was so cool, that Prince was a very calculating dude. He took risks, and knew how to look ahead, in his career. Arguably the closest there could ever be to an American Bowie, Prince was easily the most talented American musical artist of my lifetime. To lose him in the same year that saw David Bowie and Maurice White exit life’s stage was truly devastating for many of us. 

With this in mind, his prescience from beyond the grave doesn’t surprise me, but it does thrill me. Welcome 2 America could have been made last month, though it’s been shelved since 2010. For those who write off Prince’s late work (let’s say, everything after 1997, twenty years into his thirty eight year run!) are cheating themselves out of much that is groovy, funky and fun. (I encourage revisiting 2015’s sorely under-rated Hit & Run Phase 1 & 2, and going backwards from there, up to where you dropped off the Princewagon.)

The music of Welcome 2 America itself is chill funk groove, interspersed with radio-bait poppers. Some might liken the vibe to that of an Erykah Badu record, for sake of an ahistorical comparison. W2A is, by turns, both contemplative and uplifting. For those of us who crave the sounds of 70s radio-soul, you may find here plentiful examples of Prince’s midwifery, shaping 70s style vibe-jams with 21st century sensibilities & production qualities.

America’s ongoing difficulties in allowing itself to come to terms with the irrefutable legacies of racial inequity and social injustice are much of the reason that the lyrics seem to be about what was happening in 2020/21. That Prince had things to say in 2010 that are still relevant now seven years later shouldn’t surprise us. That said, the jams here are solid – – there are four or five tracks here as good as anything this Artist ever gave us. Prince may be gone now, but don’t you want to hear what he still has to give?

2. Every few years, a Various Artists compilation comes along in which every single track featured makes you want to hear more from the groups you didn’t already know about. For example, Dance Craze, The Best of Ralph Records, and of course the soundtrack to Repo-Man.

Comprised of cuts from still active regional ensembles, the selection is ear-grabbing and entirely engaging throughout. Hard to pick favorite tracks here, so much strong work, but an added pleasure to see our friend (and fellow Peter Dale acolyte) Tad Mullinex offer up one of the best numbers here, as Charles Manier. 

Hooky, dancy, pulsing; as backward as forward looking, these tracks are each quite different from one another, yet compiled together they feel like fellows well met and hale, as the old saying goes. Strangely conspicuous in their absence from such a compilation however are Detroit’s Adult., and though there are probably legitimate reasons for such an omission, I’d like to hear them. Nevertheless, when playing this record in the store, someone would always ask, “What is this?” – – always a sign of a strong record.

3. Last year was a harsh one for Stranglers fans, with the Covid-related passing of their keyboard/synthesizer wizard Dave Greenfield. His unique style stood out in so many ways, and he was a defining element of their signature sound. Though the group lost a step when Hugh Cornwell left many years ago, they rebounded admirably, if not always memorably. I was very pleased, grateful even, that this new record should be so strong. Indeed, it’s maybe their best since Hugh left. 

In any event, it represents Dave Greenfield’s last recorded work, and with his passing, as well as the retirement of original drummer Jet Black in 2015, Dark Matters will likely stand as the final record by these punk/pop stalwarts. That is to say, I hope that J.J. Burnel has another record or two in him, but as the last man standing under the banner of The Stranglers, it’s never gonna be the same. The record is explicitly aware of this, even addressing it in a few of the songs.

So, while it’s a little bittersweet to wave a sort of goodbye to one of the groups that pulled me into the world of newer, edgier rock groups back in 1979/80, I’m so happy that, if so, they will have gone out on a good one. Indeed, “No Mans Land” is as good as anything on the first three records, and both “This Song” & “If Something’s Gonna Kill Me (It might as well be love)” might well have been hit singles, given any kind of exposure or “radio play” (remember that?) at all. 

Thanks, J.J. – – for seeing this through!

4. And there are to be more, and more of these live performance releases! Though I’ve named Live in Brighton as the pick for the list, late spring gave us also Live in Stuttgart, thus totaling twelve LP sides this year alone, of previously unheard live performances by Can, from just after Damo’s departure. As such, there isn’t much in the way of vocals here but the grooves are, as usual, mesmeric. There was never, before or since, a rock band as fluid in improvisation as Can. As an added plus: as I sit and absorb these jams in the comfort of my own home, I can slap on some live Roxy Music after this, and recreate in small facsimile one of my most favorite double bill listings in rock history. 

5. If like me you were unsure if this particular project made any sense, take this baby out for a test-drive before you walk away from it. It’s not only a fresh new take on an album you’ve heard a thousand times before, but it rubs your face in just how good the playing of The Attractions was, and shows to excellent effect the wealth of brilliant material that Costello/McManus was, forgive the expression, pumping out at this time. 

In a way, it’s like like hearing Om Kolthum wailing and moaning – – you don’t need to understand Arabic to grasp the emotion and heartache she gives voice to. Spanish Model, for a non-Spanish speaker, allows you to hear another voice occupy the raging passion that you know so well: you don’t need to know what she’s saying to know what the song says.  These songs are little mini-dramas, the dramatic monologue as frantic yet articulate tantrum. De-emphasizing “lyrics as meaning” allows you to hear the emotional content of the song in a new and different way.

I’m not able to understand, speak or read in Spanish, so it has fallen to my wife to note that these songs are not word for word translations, but utilize instead linguistically appropriate expressions and colloquialisms to good effect. 

And while I’m unlikely to track down any recordings by these guest vocalists, doing their own songs, there will be listeners that do take that approach. Likewise, these singers all have young fans of their own no doubt, some of whom I suspect are about to fall ass over tea-kettle into the discovery of Elvis Costello’s brilliant catalogue going back, well, for quite a nice hunk of time now.

6. La Femme have such a distinctive sound (think ‘Blonde Redhead play Ennio Morricone with Jane Birkin’), and one that I dig so thoroughly, that anytime they release a record I’m going to have to consider it a contender for a year end list. While this one runs a little thinner at the back end than the previous release (the superb Mystere), it’s still an entertaining and enjoyable record. The cover is super cool too, and not in any way pornographic (as their cover art sometimes trends.) I’m still grumbling about their show at St. Andrew’s in Detroit that I had to miss back in 2019. Wonder if I’m ever going to get that chance again. Well, here’s hoping! 

7. Real name Richard Von Der Schulenberg, so they say. Hard to describe convincingly, but chill abstract electronic beats. More moods than dances here, though that’s not a complaint. Typical Bureau B deliciosity. Perfect working or writing music for me. I look forward to learning more about the artist, and continued numerous plays of this platter. Viva Bureau B!

8. Okay, so Sissi Rada came from out of the blue and as a recommendation to me from a colleague. The peripheral involvement of Brian Eno and, more astonishingly Lena Platanos (urgent notice to you the reader/listener: Absorb her catalogue as soon as you possibly can) was an added draw. And indeed – – this is just the sort of thing I like: electronic music that’s  wistful, trancey, abstract, dancey, with female vocals and nice samples and effects. 

So who is/are Sissi Rada? Their own Discogs profile details them simply as “Coquettish-electro-doom-pop from classical music nerds.” This might, at the very least, explain the regular harp work that shows up throughout. After starting out as a sort of pop (or poppish) record, side two ends on such a cinematic tone that you feel as though you the listener have drifted away from where you were when you started the record. If I were producing a film, I’d be sending out an offer of soundtrack work to wherever these “classical music nerds” are to be located.

9. First of all, it’s sad that this will be the last album by this gifted artist. I’m partial to organ music in any genre anyways, but among jazz organists, in my estimation, Dr. Lonnie Smith has always rated highly. By measure, his playing is in equal parts soulful, funky, spiritual, rooted, exploratory, whenever it needed to be.

Second of all, it’s fair to say that he goes out at the top of his game. This combo is right up on it, and it sounds great. Bringing Iggy Pop in to guest vocal on three tracks was a superb notion on somebody’s part, but to have him sing Timmy Thomas’s “Why Can’t We Live Together?” was sheer genius. Also, I never realized that I needed to have a record of Iggy singing “Sunshine Superman” before hearing this. Make a mental note to pull this record out and play it for your dinner guests when having a few friends over to the house for an evening is safely back on the social calendar, sometime in the summer of 2022. They’ll truly dig it.

10. Marianne Faithful has had to be tough to survive for quite some time now. The fact that she survived pre-vaccine Covid seemed a miracle. But she is one powerful life force, this Grand Dame. And  She Walks in Beauty has a power unlike any other record on this list. 

The review of this record on Pitchfork wisely noted that “at its best, She Walks at least gestures toward something greater, an unusual merging of lieder and ambient music” but then goes on to grumble that over the four sides, the record feels like an overlong poetry reading. Admittedly, “The Lady of Shallot” runs long (Tennyson in general is a drag ), but Pitchfork misses the point of the content by focusing on the format of its presentation. The lyrical content is so densely compact in these pieces that to try and absorb more than a few poems at a time is not advisable. 

One side at a time, sit down with this recording. Follow along with the text, and savor the actorly skill that she inhabits the language with. Faithfull has always been smarter than people generally expected, and intellectually, knows this material well. I dare say her readings are so well informed with the living of these sentiments, that these performances would make Keats, Byron, etc. themselves weep. She certainly hit me in the gut a couple of times here!

This is one of the very best spoken word recordings in several years. The music beds are awash in texture; understated yet fully supportive of the material they ferry. Highly recommended to romantics and poets of all ages.

Regarding Reissues:

1.Finally, ATMP sounds rich, full, uncluttered and clear. Wealth of alternate takes and the variety therein truly wonderous. George was deep, and the bounty is a real treasure.

2. I wish everyone involved had paid more attention to what Glynn Johns thought!

3. The Armed Forces boxset deserves credit just for the packaging and goodies alone. The wealth of live material and other bonus tracks from this still early, explosively creative phase of Elvis’s career are also noteworthy. This guy will always be The King of the B-Side!

4. Probably my favorite album by this group, it’s the launch pad to more ambitious things just around the corner. The live stuff is lots of fun. Maybe too many mixes of “Teacher” though?

5. Mister Ra at his finest. This record virtually saunters into your room. Dig it!

6. Bowie’s Outside is a late masterpiece, for sure. And Earthling as well as Hours  are entertaining variations on what a Bowie album could be. That said, like me, you probably never realized how strong these other titles were. None of these are your favorite Bowie record, but they all are damn good, and certainly worthy of your re-consideration. 

7. Lovely, electronics with classical musical samples at the structural base. Unique.

8. One of his best solo records, and a big sentimental favorite for me & mine!

9. Something went wrong after these first four albums, but these just happen to be four of the best British rock records of the early 80s. I guess they burned brighter than long.

10. With the Eno-produced Day of Radiance (AKA “Ambient 3”) my most heavily played Laraaji recording over the years. First time on vinyl. The sidelong track that opens this set is worth the price of admission alone. 

– – Jim Dwyer, February 28, 2022.