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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September 23, 2008
New CD Album Releases, 9-23-2008: Kings of Leon, Jackson Browne, David Gilmour, Otis Redding Only by the Night is the fourth album by the Kings of Leon. Broadly, they have become less of the American South and more sonically shooting for a huge U2 sound as they become a big international act.
KOL have produced at least a couple of outstanding songs. I first heard them when "Holy Roller Novacaine" came blaring out of redneck Shane Vendrell's SUV on The Shield in 2004. That song is awesome, and still their best song. Also, on their last album they had one of the best songs of 2007.
Much as I like Caleb Followill's voice and the general sound though, their songwriting is mostly pretty weak. I eagerly anticipated their performance on SNL last week, but there just wasn't anything memorable at all about the underlying compositions. I'm listening to the album now as I write. I like the general sound, but can't remember a thing about any of the specific songs even a minute after hearing them.
Time the Conqueror is the first new album from Jackson Browne in six years. On at least the minimal basis of listening to the Amazon samples of all the songs, I'm not hearing anything even vaguely mistakable for a hook. I generally think of him as a long has-been, but I note that this CD is rated as high as #4 currently at Amazon. He obviously has a substantial loyal fan base, even without significant radio play.
Rhino has updated expanded re-releases of the old Sire albums from The Replacements. I was a music addled college boy in the 80s, so I was certainly the target market for this much-hyped band. I remember these album titles, and I know that I made some effort to listen to them. Thing is that this band just sucked on pretty much every level. I cannot remember even one Replacements song - and that surely ain't from lack of TRYING to like them. They were just not distinctive compositionally, or in instrumental skills or orchestration. Why was it that anybody ever thought this crap was anything?
On a nicer closing note, new Christmas albums are hitting the deck to deck the halls from Spyro Gyra and the Little River Band.
Here's the listing of this week's new album releases, courtesy AMG:
Cold War Kids Loyalty to Loyalty Downtown Indie Rock
Kings of Leon Only by the Night RCA Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Rock
Jenny Lewis Acid Tongue Warner Bros. Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Americana, Alternative Country-Rock
Mogwai The Hawk Is Howling Matador Experimental Rock, Indie Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental
Plain White T's Big Bad World Hollywood Alternative Pop/Rock, Punk-Pop
Jon Langford/Kat Ex Katjonband Carrot Top Alternative Country-Rock
Lenka Lenka Epic Alternative Pop/Rock, Chamber Pop
Little River Band We Call It Christmas CbuJ Pop/Rock, Soft Rock, Adult Contemporary
Kenny Loggins How About Now BMG Pop/Rock, Adult Contemporary, Contemporary Country
Demi Lovato Don't Forget Hollywood Teen Pop, Dance-Pop
McCarthy Trenching Calamity Drenching Team Love Alternative Country-Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
Nicola Melville Melville's Dozen Innova Contemporary Piano Music
Michna Magic Monday Ghostly International Left-Field Hip-Hop, Indie Electronic
Bette Midler Jackpot: The Best Bette Rhino Adult Contemporary, Pop/Rock
Monkey Journey to the West XL Experimental Rock, Original Score, Alternative Pop/Rock
Nagisa Ni Te Yosuga Jagjaguwar Indie Pop, Neo-Psychedelia
Graham Nash Songs for Beginners [CD/DVD] Atlantic Folk-Rock, Soft Rock, Country-Rock
John Oates 1000 Miles of Life Doyle Kos DK.E Pop/Rock, Adult Contemporary
David Oistrakh David Oistrakh: The Complete Recordings EMI Classics Orchestral & Chamber Music Featuring Violin
Old Crow Medicine Show Tennessee Pusher Nettwerk Neo-Traditional Folk, Jug Band, String Bands, Americana, Contemporary Folk
Original Soundtrack Sex and the City, Vol. 2: More Music New Line Film Music, Soundtracks, Pop/Rock, Urban, Dance-Pop
Lee "Scratch" Perry Scratch Came, Scratch Saw, Scratch Conquered Megawave Contemporary Reggae
Otis Redding Live in London and Paris Stax Deep Soul, Southern Soul, Soul, Memphis Soul
The Replacements All Shook Down [Expanded Edition] Sire/Reprise/Rhino American Underground, College Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Hard Rock, Rock & Roll, Singer/Songwriter
The Replacements Don't Tell a Soul [Expanded Edition] Sire/Reprise/Rhino American Underground, College Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
The Replacements Pleased to Meet Me [Expanded Edition] Sire/Rhino American Underground, College Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Hard Rock, Rock & Roll
The Tony Rich Project Exist Hidden Beach Contemporary R&B, Urban
Cliff Richard They Said It Wouldn't Last: My 50 Years in Music EMD Int'l Early British Pop/Rock, Teen Idol, Pop/Rock, Pop, Rock & Roll
Max Richter 24 Postcards in Full Colour Fat Cat Electronica, Classical
Randy Rogers Randy Rogers Band Mercury Contemporary Country
Only by the Night is the fourth album by the Kings of Leon. Broadly, they have become less of the American South and more sonically shooting for a huge U2 sound as they become a big international act.
Time the Conqueror is the first new album from Jackson Browne in six years. On at least the minimal basis of listening to the Amazon samples of all the songs, I'm not hearing anything even vaguely mistakable for a hook. I generally think of him as a long has-been, but I note that this CD is rated as high as #4 currently at Amazon. He obviously has a substantial loyal fan base, even without significant radio play.
Kings of Leon
Jackson Browne
