The BEST REMASTERS / REISSUES of 2010

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By Chris Moore:

The BEST REMASTERS / REISSUES of 2010

This category isn’t  populated by music technically from 2010, but it belongs here all the same.  After all, with all the unsatisfactory, unimpressive remasters and reissues that are being released every year, it’s important to salute the solid ones.

Number one hails form the ever-impressive — and ever-overpriced — “Deluxe Edition” series.  As with the DE treatment of the Blue Album, Pinkerton is dressed up with gorgeous multi-fold packaging and accented with a booklet that includes a note from Rivers dating back to 1996, handwritten lyrics to the core songs on the album, an essay by insider Karl Koch, and a veritable scrapbook of pictures and memorabilia in between.  The music itself is quirky, dissonant at turns, and harmonically pleasing at others.  The only criticism to be leveled at the plentiful bonus tracks is the repetition.  I mean, I love “Pink Triangle” as much as the next guy — probably more — but are five versions really necessary?

The next two on the list are Clutch re-releases.  True to form, Clutch is not simply going through the motions here.  The packaging for both are beautiful recreations of the originals with nice accents added.  The live DVD with Robot Hive/Exodus was a nice touch for fans like myself who will buy their CDs but not necessarily spring for other releases, like their recent live DVD.  There are few booklets so thoughtfully produced as that with From Beale St. to Oblivion, and I can’t imagine any lover of albums and packaging not appreciating this one.

The Fables of the Reconstruction box is indisputably one of the coolest packaging designs of the year, though it would have been preferable to downsize the poster in favor of a longer essay with more insight into the making of the album, etc.  The bonus tracks — the so-called Athens demos — will surely thrill longtime fans fascinated by the songs in their rough forms, though to my unseasoned ear the demos don’t sound all that different from the final studio versions.

The final addition here comes with a caveat.  The four Badfinger remasters are excellent candidates for receiving more attention from modern music listeners, and the packaging comes through in terms of adding several bonus tracks and liner notes that are more than sufficient to outline the context, either forgotten or unknown to those purchasing these albums.  And the remasters are significant, adding volume that was simply impossible on the original CD versions.  However, as a good friend pointed out, there is something lost when the reverb falls away from the drums and the other aural artifacts of their early seventies production disappears.

The honorable mentions are included here, as I’m uncertain of where else to place them.  The ever-excellent Bootleg Series should go without saying.  Even a non-fan could appreciate the rich experience that is to be had by listening to and reading one of these releases, this being the ninth installment.  The other mention is for Bruce Springsteen’s The Promise, a double-album of unreleased tracks from the Darkness on the Edge of Town sessions.  The packaging is beautiful and the music, particularly for the Springsteen fans out there, is comparable to stumbling upon buried treasure.

Be sure to check back tomorrow, and then Thursday and Friday for the best lists yet: the Best Songs and the Best Albums of 2010!

1)  Pinkerton – Weezer

2)  Robot Hive/Exodus – Clutch

3)  From Beale St. to Oblivion – Clutch

4)  Fables of the Reconstruction – R.E.M.

5)  The Badfinger remasters (Magic Christian Music; No Dice; Straight Up; Ass)

Honorable Mention:

The Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos (1962-1964) – Bob Dylan

The Promise – Bruce Springsteen

“Christmas Vacation” by Jim Fusco – FREE mp3 Download – Day 2 of 14

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to Day 2 of Jim Fusco’s Rock’n’Roll Christmas!  I think you’ll all agree that getting a brand-new recording of a Christmas song you can download for FREE is MUCH better than getting a couple of turtle doves.  I mean, what do you even feed those things??

Today’s song is a unique one- it’s a cover of Mavis Staples’ “Christmas Vacation” that she recorded for the movie, “Christmas Vacation”, one of the absolute classics.  In fact, we just had our yearly watching of this movie the other night with our friends Bob and Sue.  Of course I have the high-definition Blu-Ray version.  I just had to see Clark Griswold fall off that ladder in glorious HD!

I actually noticed that Mavis Staples sings a different final verse in the version that begins the movie.  I chose to go with the version from the soundtrack, which is the one I’ve been listening to for about ten years now.  Over at WCJM Free Internet Radio, we actually named our final Christmas show after the movie and featured this song!

I hope you enjoy tonight’s song.  I think I did a pretty good job of recreating the sound without going too late-80s (like the original).  This was a fun one to do and really stretched out my vocal chords.  And you KNOW I did it in the original key. 🙂  Take care, everyone, and come back tomorrow for Day 3!

“Broken” (Jack Johnson Cover music video)

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For Jack Johnson chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

The best part about contributing to this blog is that, every so often, all the pieces fall together at just the right time.  For example, I still have the remnants of a cough that just doesn’t seem to want to leave me entirely, yet I really wanted to record a new video for tonight.  Meanwhile, over the weekend, I was listening to Jack Johnson on shuffle when this song — “Broken” from his Sing-a-Longs and Lullabies from Curious George soundtrack CD — and immediately felt the urge to learn and record it.

Fortunately, the register is fairly low and the chords are very simple, so this was a joy to lay down as a session.

Of course, every cover song music video is not without its challenges when it involves me…

The only difficult aspect of this song is that, although I’ve heard it dozens of times and could sing along to the chorus in my sleep, I really don’t know the verse.  Thus, I put “Broken” on repeat in my car on the way home.  After listening to it seven or eight times straight, I didn’t seem to be much closer to nailing the lyrics.  Still, I soldiered on — I typed up the lyrics from the booklet and practiced a few times to the music.  Finally, I practiced a few times on my own before I hit the “record” button.

And, a few takes later, you have a session to watch!

The reason I was listening to Jack Johnson in the first place was that Mike showed Jim and I his copy of En Concert, the new live CD/DVD, this past Thursday at wrestling.  Based on my disappointment at his last record, I hadn’t purchased the CD myself, but Mike had nothing but great things to say about it, so it’s only a matter of time before I find my way back to the “J” section of my local Newbury Comics store…

Speaking of new music, I am wildly curious about tomorrow’s new Weezer release.  The title alone has caused some controversy.  Based on a recommendation from The Office actor Rainn Wilson (who plays Dwight Schrute), Rivers Cuomo and company titled their latest studio album Raditude.  I’ve heard the first track, “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” and it may be cheesy, but it sounds great and it’s fun to listen to.  That being said, the other titles on the album alone are enough to make one question what Raditude will be like — tracks like “I’m Your Daddy” and “Girl Got Hot.”

All I will say for now is that The Red Album seemed very weird at first, and it quickly grew on me.  I was just listening to it this weekend, in fact, and realizing that it is truly one of my favorite Weezer releases.  I can’t imagine that this new album will be up to that level, but I have promised myself that I will reserve judgment until after I’ve heard it a few times.  Based on their incredible catalog alone, Weezer really does deserve the benefit of the doubt.

More on that next time…

And that about does it for me, at least for now.  This week is crazy for me, as my grades are due this Friday.  In addition, I have meetings today and now Thursday, a full day of professional development (i.e. no time to grade) tomorrow, and I’m monitoring the selling of tickets at the drama production on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Add in some wrestling on Thursday night and a whole lot a gradin’ goin’ on, and I’ve got one busy week!  I am looking forward to the weekend, as I’ll be completing a swap with my former student Geoff — some Ben Folds for some Tom Waits.  It’s bound to give me some more interesting listening and perhaps some more interesting Laptop Sessions songs…

See you next session!

“Santa’s Beard” by Jim Fusco – FREE mp3 Download! – Day 13 of 14

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By Jim Fusco:

Let’s pretend for a moment that it’s still Friday night, shall we? 🙂

Day 13 is here and I’ve got my last Christmas cover song for you!  It’s a tune I’ve been singing to my 4-month old son since he was born.  For some reason, I got it in my head that he would like it, so I started singing it to him.  Now, it seems like he recognizes it and likes to hear it.  So, I may sing it year-round!

“Santa’s Beard” by the Beach Boys is one of those songs you’ve probably heard in passing here and there over the years.  It’s a cute tune and I really like the vocals, as always.  This ended up being one of the hardest songs to record because of the awesome walking bass line in it.  What a project!  It really took me a long time to get that down, but now that I did, it’s pretty spot-on to the original, if I do say so myself.

Enjoy “Santa’s Beard” and remember to download all of the rest of the Christmas songs.  I’ll be back shortly with the last song in Jim Fusco’s 14 Days of Rock’n’Roll Christmas 2015!