Everything Under The Sun (Jukebox the Ghost, 2010)
(September 7, 2010)
Review:
The follow-up to their outstanding debut (Let Live and Let Ghosts), Everything Under the Sun is a catchy, quirky, and dynamic set of piano rock tracks that strongly establish Jukebox the Ghost as a band able to not only write great songs but also assemble clever, meaningful studio albums.
Top Two Tracks:
“Empire” & “The Popular Thing”
(October 5, 2010)
As I Call You Down (Fistful of Mercy, 2010)
Review:
Unexpectedly soulful, As I Call You Down is the standout acoustic release of the year; together, these three singer/songwriters (Dhani Harrison, Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur) have created some beautiful harmonies and thus developed their own unique sound, borrowing here and there from the Thorns’ playbook (and hopefully picking up the torch that the Thorns dropped after one release back in 2003).
Top Two Tracks:
“Father’s Son” & “Fistful of Mercy”
Bob Dylan's self-titled debut (1962
(March 19, 1962)
Review:
It is difficult to imagine a time when Bob Dylan was not revered as a songwriter, but here is one of the true documents of that time; it is an album that exemplifies young Dylan’s early sound, as he experimented with his influences on some of his first cover song recordings and presented the first two originals he committed to an album (the early, touching gem “Song to Woody” and the raw, poetically humorous “Talkin’ New York”).
Top Two Tracks:
“Song to Woody” & “House of the Risin’ Sun”
Write About Love (Belle and Sebastian, 2010)
(October 11, 2010)
Review:
Belle and Sebastian have certainly made their niche in the middle ground between indie pop quirkiness and sixties quasi-nostalgia — and no one should dispute that they make beautiful music on Write About Love — but too much of it simply fails to get off the ground.
Top Two Tracks:
“Come On Sister” & “I Can See Your Future”