Never is new music more needed or more appreciated than when you have to take a road trip. Here's a review of the new stuff I had on my highway trip this week: 1. The Holmes Brothers/ Simple Truths - smooth funky, funky smooth. Like the Neville Brothers, Subdudes or Taj Mahal but without quite the vocal prescence of those. A must see bar band. 3/5 2. Solomon Burke/Don't give Up On Me - I'm glad somebody is still making stright out soul music. Maybe not the best soul album I've ever heard but a good effort. A whiter Wilson Pickett or a blacker Lou Rawls. 3.5/5 3. Gorillaz/Gorillaz - I don't claim to know much about popular radiobands like NickleBlink but this is a 'super group' of some of todays musicians doing some experimental music. I liked it and found it very interesting, sorta Circ De' Solei meets Pink Floyd. 3.5/5 4. The New Pornographers/Electric Version - I was liking the music but about 7 songs in all the vocals started sounding like The Chipmonks. 2.5/5 5. The BoDeans/Resolution - Great country tinged rock with Everly Brothers vocals. Perfect road music. 4/5 6. Storyville/Dog Years - Yea it's old but I had never listened to the whole thing straight through. You know you listen to Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton and it doesn't sound like they are doing anything special but they end up in bands that make some of the best Texas music of all time. 4.5/5 7. Steve Winwood/About Time - The last couple of Stevie albums sounded like they had no soul, just studio produced, over mixed blandness.But this 2003 effort puts him with a Brazilian band that puts the heat back in Stevies sound. 4.5/5 8. Los Lobos/The Ride - On this Cd the chameleon that is Los Lobos takes on the role of 'the best studio band in the world' They support their guest artist in a way that would produce the best song on the artist solo Cd. Every song (well there is always one wierd one on a Los Lobos Cd) is killer. 5/5 9. Kings Of Leon/Youth and Young Manhhod - Wow, where'd did these guys come from? It's like the Velvet Underground had kids and raised them in the South. 5/5 Enjoy! m
I agree with that. I sure do miss that band. Malford Milligan can really sing and "There's a Light" is a powerfully hopeful song.