Staff Picks for November 2011
November 30, 2011
Featuring all of his Columbia albums from 1977's Rosewood to 1981's United (and a bonus disc from live at Stepping Stones), this collection showcases trumpeter Woody Shaw's unique mix of modal jazz, fusion, and avant-garde improvisation. Not only a must-hear for Shaw fans, but required listening for fans of forward-thinking post-bop.
November 29, 2011
There is a grace and beauty imprinted in Halstead's music (from Slowdive to Mojave 3) that comes through strong and clear on his first solo album. The tender "Two Stones in My Pocket" should be a centerpiece of your next Songs of Autumn mixtape.
November 28, 2011
These 20 tracks, from the vaults of the Little Darlin' label, highlight both the rockabilly screamers and honky tonk weepers that Joe Poovey easily switched between throughout his four decades of playing and writing music.
November 27, 2011
The ex-Wall of Voodoo vocalist's second studio outing is a masterpiece of clever, poignant and occasionally hysterical vaudevillian vitriol that decimates with ornate, rock and roll fury.
November 26, 2011
Quickspace resides in a little-traveled part of '90s indie-rock that deserves revisiting. Precious Falling, the band's second album, has everything from joyfully noisy indie-pop to filmic instrumentals, all delivered with an off-handed charm that just adds to their cool.
November 25, 2011
Of all the live solo concerts Keith Jarrett has recorded, it is perhaps Rio that represents his greatest achievement with the form. Recorded only months before release, Jarrett's improvisation is full of emotion, fire and completely imagination that could only come from a musician who was totally "inside" the moment of creation.
November 24, 2011
Whisperingly sweet and indie charming, Know by Heart is a terrific introdution to this underrated band. Their minimal approach to the songs allow the textures and hooks to stand alone, inching their way across the turntable, through the needle and into your heart.
November 23, 2011
The last of six recordings between jazz drum legend Steve Reid and Fourtet's Kieran Hebden also features Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafson performing fiery, hypnotic versions of tunes from the former pair's recordings as well as a new group improvisation.
November 22, 2011
This undervalued songwriter/singer wrote the material that became Marvin Gaye's I Want You. Gaye wanted these songs for the follow-up, but Ware kept them and recorded another one of 1976's finest and silkiest soul albums, featuring "Body Heat" -- originally recorded for Quincy Jones' similarly-titled 1974 album.
November 21, 2011
Various Artists
Sometimes, label sampler meets label roster in their prime. Such is the case with Mad Decent, Vol. 1, a kinetic, cutting-edge, and entirely awesome overview of DJ/producer Diplo’s label.
November 20, 2011
April March started off as a yé-yé girl but by the time of Triggers she was a full-on chanteuse, imbuing the wonderfully crafted, autumnal chamber pop with a well-earned warmth and tenderness that suited Bertrand Burgalot's arrangements perfectly.
November 19, 2011
Nick Curran moved from rockabilly to rockin' blues on his 2000 solo-debut Fixin' Your Head. With a voice reminiscent of legendary shouter Lloyd Price and a guitar style that matches the wide-open lines of T-Bone Walker with the manic energy of AC/DC's Malcolm Young, Curran re-defined the standard of retro-rock.
November 18, 2011
Elegant, androgynous and icy, Anna Calvi cites influences like Edith Piaf, Debussy and Captain Beefheart, wears flamenco pants, counts Brian Eno as a huge fan, and wields her guitar like a Versace-designed broadsword. Her eponymous debut was nominated for the 2011's Mercury Prize."
November 17, 2011
Every now and then, I put on the album just to hear "Cherry Tulips." The rest is good, sweet indie pop played and sung with style and grace, but this song is pure emotional rescue that kills/heals me every time I hear it.
November 16, 2011
The news that sludge-rock queen Jennifer Herrema is back with a new band, Black Bananas, serves as a reminder of just how addictive her brand of gritty yet catchy music is. Western Xterminator – which features the song that serves as her new act’s namesake – is still good dirty fun, especially on “Money Will Roll Right In.”
November 15, 2011
Mixing equal parts Earth and My Bloody Valentine, True Widow's epically titled second album is where shuddering guitars and ethereal atmospherics collide to create rumbling serenity.
November 14, 2011
The best two-trombone pairing in jazz history, J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding, produces a set of melodic standards, with help from Bill Evans on piano.
November 13, 2011
When the Czechoslovakian shoegazers took all the guitar noise and harsh dynamics out of their sound, only the beautiful trails of sound were left, making Free-D (Original Soundtrack) an unsung ambient classic of its time.
![Unpacking My Library [17 Track]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0001603998/front/400/p8RluyTqz4-46tsEGJKeg5hUoDg0hsvx4F4sL4oO-nA=.jpg)
November 12, 2011
Aden guitarist Kevin Barker explores his country and folk influences with side project Currituck County, channeling Bert Jansch and John Fahey to deliver mature, often melancholy songs propelled by his fluid finger-picked guitar and intimate vocals.
November 11, 2011
Blind Willie McTell recorded these 17 tracks for RCA Victor between 1927 and 1932. This revelatory material, especially "Dark Night Blues," and "Stole Rider Blues," is recommended to anyone not familiar with the prewar blues master of the 12-string guitar.
November 10, 2011
The late, great Heavy D let us know he had an Island heart way back in ’91 when his version of “Now That We Found Love” combined new jack swing and reggae. What you might have missed is his all-reggae effort Vibes, a great Wyclef-like album he released in 2008.
November 9, 2011
This two-disc set collects the Meters' entire Josie catalog, including all three LPs, the A- and B-sides of four singles, four tracks billed to Art Neville & the Meters, and two tracks attributed to Cyril Neville & the Meters. The end result is a joyous survey of this stellar band’s earliest recordings.
November 8, 2011
Packed with buzzing garage-punk guitars and just the right amount of playful mischievousness, Be Your Own Pet's self-titled album is a manic stampede of youthful exuberance that's sure get any day rocking.
November 6, 2011
Miranda Lambert delivers her richest record yet, highlighted by the soulful single "Baggage Claim."
November 5, 2011
Anders Parker's Varnaline plunges into a thick and reverb-laden world on Sweet Life, a crisp wintry album that feels like the evening in the Northern woods…only with a wall of lush, crunching guitars.
November 4, 2011
Memphis' 2011 album Here Comes a City is superbly crafted album of '80s-influenced late-afternoon jangle pop. As melodically compelling as it is lyrically melancholy, the album is full of catchy, endlessly evocative and personal songs that draw you in deeper with repeated listens.
November 3, 2011
Shouty, hooky indie pop never goes out of style, at least not for me, and Shrag showed they can shout and hook with the best of them (Love is All, Comet Gain) on their uniformly excellent 2010 album.
November 2, 2011
There are much better LL albums, but because of “Buckin’ Em Down”, “Funkadelic Relic”, and the superb “Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings”, this one is a personal favorite. Plus, LL makes a MF Doom ref, yo: “I know a kid named K, he's a MD.”
November 1, 2011
In the spirit of his cult-classic 1968 album The Transformed Man, William Shatner once again delivers a collection of is-he-joking-or-not spoken word takes on well-known pop songs. At times hilarious and unexpectedly moving, the album reveals the 81-year-old icon to be a master of his own satirical legend.