The Lonely Goatherd Blog And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats - Matthew 25:32
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Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
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To explicitly state the obvious, these external links go to interesting and provocative websites, but they speak for themselves. I don't necessarily agree with anything they say - especially that no-goodnik Richard Marcus.
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All original content on MoreThings.com copyright 2008 Albert Barger or the respective authors
December 11, 2007
New Album Releases, 12-11-2007: Wu Tang Clan, Bow Wow & Omarion, Pink Floyd box There are but a dozen or so shopping days until Christmas, but there are at least a couple of fairly high profile new releases. The Great Debaters sounds like a classy, ambitious movie. About half of the original recordings for the soundtrack album feature the under appreciated Sharon Jones singing among other things "Up Above My Head." So that would probably be the top likely new album on which one might wish to take a blind flier.
The biggest name release is probably the Wu Tang Clan. 8 Diagrams is the first Wu Tang album in six years. It's their first album since the death of the infamous Ol' Dirty Bastard.
"The Heart Gently Weeps" features Erykah Badu, and is being promoted as supposedly the first song ever with a Beatles sample. That's certainly not true though, starting with the Beastie Boys on Paul's Boutique way back in 1989. From the samples circulating, this sounds like typical tuneless rapping over a lame loop of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Ms Badu has some talent. I might be interested in what kind of r&b cover she might would conjure up on her own, but just a line or two of chorus under some tuneless verbiage don't mean squat.
I know that Wu Tang are highly rated in some quarters, the greatest hip hop act ever or some such. But as far as I can tell on the basis of admittedly limited listening over the years, this reputation is pretty much totally based on non-musical factors, ie they're from the street and such what. Did this band at some point write an actual memorable song and I just missed it?
Face Off is a collaboration between singer Omarion and rapper Bow Wow. The only thing I can remember from either of these fellows is that Omarion had that big hit song that was apparently about having a bad bellyache, "O." Hopefully the poor fellow located a nice soothing bottle of Pepto Bismal after that recording, and is feeling better now.
Despite being a 16 CD box set, Oh by the Way from Pink Floyd in fact looks like the kind of afterthought suggested by the title. It does contain the entirety of their studio catalog, all 14 albums - including two double albums. So that'd be kinda nice if you have a groovy young nephew who doesn't have any of this.
But that's it for music on this set. It's got Pink Floyd coasters and some other nic nac type of stuff, but absolutely no rarities or b-sides or anything. For $230+ retail price, I would expect bonus material - and for the damned thing to be delivered by a full-service hooker.
Here's the complete list of this week's major new album releases, courtesy AMG:
Bow Wow & Omarion Face Off Columbia Pop-Rap, Urban
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers Hard Bop [Bonus Tracks] Mosaic Hard Bop
Victoria Bond Menotti: The Old Maid and the Thief Albany Modern Opera
Mars Bonfire Faster Than the Speed of Life Fallout Psychedelic Pop, Hard Rock
Ruby Braff Hi Fi Salute to Bunny Mosaic Select New Orleans Jazz, Swing
Jie Chen Chinese Piano Favorites Naxos Chinese Music for Piano
The-Dream Lovehate Def Jam Contemporary R&B, Urban
Art Farmer The Time and the Place/The Lost Concert Mosaic Singles Hard Bop, Cool
Slide Hampton Drum Suite Mosaic Singles Hard Bop, Bop
Woody Herman Woody's Winners [Bonus Tracks] Mosaic Singles Swing, Big Band
Huelgas Ensemble La Quinta essentia Harmonia Mundi Renaissance Vocal Music
Charles Lloyd Of Course, Of Course Mosaic Singles Early Creative, Post-Bop
Dave Matthews Live at Piedmont Park RCA Jam Bands, American Trad Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Rossen Milanov The Tortoise and the Hare and Other Tales Bridge Children's Music for Orchestra & Narration
John O'Donnell Christmas to Candlemas Tall Poppies Christmas Choral Music
Original Soundtrack The Great Debaters [Original Soundtrack] Atlantic / Wea Original Score, Soundtracks
Pink Floyd Oh by the Way Capitol Album Rock, Psychedelic, Prog-Rock/Art Rock
Paul Potts One Chance Sony/Columbia Classical Crossover, Pop Idol, Opera
Radiohead Radiohead Box Set Capitol Alternative Pop/Rock, Experimental Rock
Buddy Rich Rich in London Mosaic Singles Big Band, Mainstream Jazz, Swing, Modern Big Band, Bop
The Rolling Stones Rolled Gold+: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones Universal British Blues, Rock & Roll, Pop/Rock, Hard Rock, British Psychedelia, Psychedelic, British Invasion, Pop, Blues-Rock
Sevendust Retrospective, Vol. 2 7Brothers Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Industrial Metal
Beanie Sigel The Solution Roc-A-Fella Gangsta Rap, Hardcore Rap, East Coast Rap, Hip-Hop
