Just like in years past, we will be choosing our favorite albums of the year, a few that were underwhelming, our favorite live shows, and highlight some fantastic archive releases, all of which will be posted over the next few days.
Today we are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc) with the Best Album Art Work of 2024.
The biggest gripe RtBE has with digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work.
Sure there may be great album art out there but seeing it on a screen, on Spotify or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP or even a CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc.
Thankfully the rise of vinyl is helping this dilemma but it is still not enough. The hours we spent staring, actually holding, examining tons of covers while listening to music can't be adequately recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds. You are connected to album in a more physical way; things were deeper, more evocative...Anyways...
It is of Mdou Moctar's newest album, Funeral for Justice.
RtBE have been fans of the band since they started and have reviewed all of their albums and seen them live. They made our best of list in 2021 and also topped our album art list the same year.
This is more of the same goodness, from the album art to the even better music. Look for it on many year end lists this year as well.
Just like in years past, we will be choosing our favorite albums of the year, a few that were underwhelming, our favorite live shows, and highlight some fantastic archive releases, all of which will be posted over the next few days.
Today we are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc) with the Best Album Art Work of 2023.
The biggest gripe RtBE has with digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work.
Sure there may be great album art out there but seeing it on a screen, on Spotify or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP or even a CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc.
Thankfully the rise of vinyl is helping this dilemma but it is still not enough. The hours we spent staring, actually holding, examining tons of covers while listening to music can't be adequately recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds. You are connected to album in a more physical way; things were deeper, more evocative...Anyways...
Dave's Picks 46: Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, California 9/9/72
**** out of *****
It is really hard to find a bad Grateful Dead show from 1972. Almost every night saw the band "on" and some nights found them soaring to the highest peaks of their history. Dave's Picks 46 goes to one of the strongest months of that heavily toured year, September, and delivers; 9/9/72 from the Hollywood Palladium.
The band, Jerry Garcia – lead guitar, vocals Bob Weir – rhythm guitar, vocals Phil Lesh – bass guitar, vocals Bill Kreutzmann – drums Keith Godchaux – keyboards Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals, were clicking on a very high level and the sound on this release from all involved, is pristine. If anything, the vocals are pushed a bit too far in front so slightly missed notes or harmonies standout more than on old tapes. It is really amazing the work Dave Lemieux and his team put into cleaning up the sound, and the unreal job Owsley Stanley did originally recording this show.
This night begins with a fairly tame, yet professionally delivered first set, par for the course for September '72. Opening and closing with Chuck Berry covers, in-between showcasing a gorgeous "Sugaree" that has a deep bass, "Tennessee Jed" with nice guitar work from Jerry and an average "Bird Song" that, even when not the set highlight, is always welcomed. Speaking of set highlights, that would easily be "Playin' In The Band", the group kicks in from there and the tune really seems to spark the inventive playing and energy for the rest of the night.
The second set starts with an excellent version of the classic pairing "China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider" and Godchaux's keys, along with Garcia's inventive guitar lines (especially over the second half) shines bright throughout. Keith's playing also highlights a cool version of "Friend of the Devil", a song that the band didn't always deliver in the live setting. The CD aspect of Dave's Picks can be frustrating as disk 2 contains the end of the show, but reprogramming it is a must for this night as Disk 3 (the middle of the second set) is where the magic truly happens.
The raw and semi bluesy "He's Gone" starts the proceedings with languid playing from all involved before segueing into an top notch version of "Truckin'" that features weeping, bended notes from Garcia. The tempo kicks up for the song which rambles on winningly before dropping into a brief "Drums" segment before "The Other One" begins.
While the show has been 'solid to pretty good' at this point, "The Other One" presented here is worth the price of this release alone. It captures everything that makes the Dead special in the thirty five minute run time as it begins with wild, blazing energy before moving to tripped out spacey noise/free form playing. Things then shift towards melodic and sweet sounds at the end of the journey; in a year full of amazing versions of this song, this one needs to be heard and ranked accordingly.
"Stella Blue" is a blissful way to come down from that adventure and "El Paso" is oddly placed by Weir, but fine. The show wraps with a high energy version of "Casey Jones" and an even better spin through "Sugar Magnolias" which features Donna Jean and Weir yelling out their sunshine day dreams.
An upbeat "One More Saturday Night" wraps it up and while not as amazing as other nights this month (9/3, 9/21, 9/24) Dave's Picks 46 certainly holds it's own and with this outstanding version of "The Other One", it a must own for Deadheads.
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Support the artists and peep some video below (not official audio from Dave's 46):
Just like in years past, we will be choosing our favorite albums of the year, a few that were underwhelming, our favorite live shows, and highlight some fantastic archive releases, all of which will be posted over the next few days.
Today we are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc) with the Best Album Art Work of 2022.
The biggest gripe RtBE has with digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work.
Sure there may be great album art out there but seeing it on a screen, on Spotify or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP or even a CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc.
Thankfully the rise of vinyl is helping this dilemma but it is still not enough. The hours we spent staring, actually holding, examining tons of covers while listening to music can't be adequately recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds. You were connected to album in a more physical way; things were deeper, more evocative...Anyways...
We kick off our Year in Review section of 2021 with the first feature in the Best of... area, Album Art. Like in years past we will be choosing our favorite albums of the year, a few that were underwhelming and our favorite live shows, all posted in the next few days.
Today we are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc) with the Best Album Art Work of 2021.
The biggest gripe RtBE has with digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work.
Sure there may be great album art out there but seeing it on a screen, in iTunes or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP cover or even a CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc. Thankfully the rise of vinyl is helping this dilemma but it is still not enough. The hours we spent staring, actually holding, examining tons of covers while listening to music can't be adequately recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds. You were connected to album in a more physical way; things were deeper, more evocative...Anyways...
We kick off our Year in Review section of 2020 with a favorite feature in the Best of... area, Album Art. Like in years past we will be choosing our Favorite Albums of the Year, a few that were underwhelming and our favorite live shows.
Today we are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc) with the Best Album Art Work of 2020.
The biggest gripe RtBE has with digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work.
Sure there may be great album art out there but seeing it on a screen, in iTunes or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP cover or even a CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc. Thankfully the rise of vinyl is helping this dilemma but it is still not enough. The hours we spent staring, actually holding, examining tons of covers while listening to music can't be adequately recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds. You were connected to album in a more physical way; things were deeper, more evocative...Anyways...
The spoken word album was an interesting one to review because it ties to her book of poetry and photos titled Car Ma. Mosshart is an artist who works in multiple mediums, she even released videos for these offerings after the release of the book and album.
With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can.
Today we highlight: New Bedford Art Museum with Marissa Paternoster
One of RtBE's Personal Favorite artists Marissa Paternoster will be chatting with the New Bedford Art Museum tonight at 6pm:
You may only know her as the amazing guitarist and front woman of Screaming Females and her solo work Noun (both of which made our best of the previous decade) but Miss Paternoster is also a very accomplished artist. RtBE forgot to ask her about her art work when we interviewed her way back in 2010 but she will talk about her art tonight.
To get ready for that talk let's rock, "Outerspace" from her solo project Noun.
We kick off our Year in Review section of 2019 with a favorite feature in the Best of... area, Album Art. Like in years past we will be choosing our Best Albums of the Year, a few we were underwhelmed with and our favorite show. Today we are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc). We are going to support the creative minds behind the Best Album Art Work of 2019.
The biggest gripe RtBE has with digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work.
Sure there may be great artists out there but seeing it on a screen, in iTunes or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP cover or even a CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc. Thankfully the rise of vinyl is helping this dilemma but it is still not enough. The hours we spent staring, actually holding, examining tons of covers while listening to music can't be adequately recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds. You were connected to album in a more physical way; things were deeper, more evocative...Anyways...
We kick off our Year in Review section of 2018 with a favorite feature in the Best of... area, Album Art. Like in years past we will be choosing our Best Albums of the Year, a few we were underwhelmed with and our favorite show. Today we are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc). We are going to support the creative minds behind the Best Album Art Work of 2018.
The biggest gripe RtBE has with digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work.
Sure there may be great artists out there but seeing it on a screen, in iTunes or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP cover or even a CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc. Thankfully the rise of vinyl is helping this dilemma but it is still not enough. The hours we spent staring, actually holding, examining tons of covers while listening to music can not be adequately recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds. You were connected to album in a more physical way, things were deeper, more evocative...Anyways...
The newest studio release from the psych/stoner/metal outfit is a huge change for the power trio. For the first time in the band's career Earthless has moved from the instrumental realm to songs with *gulp* actual vocals. Out of Black Heaven's six songs, four feature Isaiah Mitchell singing, something he hasn't done since the band covered Groundhog's "Cherry Red" back in 2007.
Mitchell's vocals properly recall late bluesy hard rock 70's titans most instantly comparable to Black Sabbath,Deep Purple or Mountain, with not as much vocal range or firepower, but Mitchell presents himself favorably. Opener "Gifted By the Wind" is a groove statement track with nature influenced lyrics while both "End To End" and "Electric Flame" deal with post apocalyptic landscapes and the end of the human race. The lyrics for "Sudden End" are grounded in a sadder reality as Mitchell finished up his guitar parts while watch Netflix's 13 Reasons Why and the next morning Chris Cornell committed suicide, lending the song it's hefty lyrical weight.
While the singing is new and an exciting addition to Earthless's arsenal, this group is primarily about the riffs and pummeling rhythm section moving as one; thankfully that has not changed. "Electric Flame" is a monster, scrambling all over the speakers in crushing fashion. The style reigns in the group from their past wandering ways but even the brief instrumental "Volt Rush" has a propulsive energy that jumps out to the forefront.
Drummer Mario Rubalcaba and bassist Mike Eginton have a synergy as the plow ahead with sludgy riffs that never seem to drag, just listen to the kick off of the title track as huge behemoth gets moving. RtBE's personal favorites are still these blistering instrumentals but the bluesy take on heavy "Sudden End" is unique for Earthless as they dip into more conventional sounding riffs and stomps with plenty of room for Mitchell's soloing at over eight minutes.
Earthless long, often sidetracked career has been on the fringes and Black Heaven may push them more into the metal mainstream with its compact blues rock heavy attack. While long time fans may yearn for more expansive jam based offering like the title track, this evolution of the trio is an unexpected and a mostly successful twist.
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Support the band, buy the album and peep some video below:
It is of Yo La Tengo's newest release There's A Riot Going On.
The band took a new route in recording this record and uses a lot of digital loops, backwards tracking and other studio tricks. Very mellow mood piece that has some gorgeous moments, nothing earth shattering, just a pleasant listen. We were between 7 and 8 stars when rating this one, so consider that 7 and a half.
Mention should also be made to the album art, while nothing particularly amazing, it fits the music on it expertly. This kind of matching makes sense from a band who puts a huge amount of thought into all that they release and do.
We kick off our Year in Review section of 2017 with a favorite feature in the Best of... area, Album Art. Like in years past we will be choosing our Best Albums of the Year, a few we were underwhelmed with and our favorite show. Today we are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc). We are going to support the creative minds behind the Best Album Art Work of 2017.
The biggest gripe RtBE has with digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work.
Sure there may be great artists out there but seeing it on a screen, in iTunes or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP cover or even a CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc. Thankfully the rise of vinyl is helping this dilemma but it is still not enough. The hours we spent staring, actually holding, examining tons of covers while listening to music can not be adequately recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds. You were connected to album in a more physical way, things were deeper, more evocative...Anyways...
A new solo disk from half of one of the best hip-hop duos of all time has just been announced as Big Boi promises Boomiverse is 'coming soon'.
The phrase 'Coming Soon' in the hip hop world can be a very misleading term, just look at Tha Carter V, but Big Boi is giving us two new singles tomorrow (4/20) of course. "Mic Jack" which has the odd pairing of Adam Levine and also "Kill Jill" with the more conventional guests Killer Mike and Jeezy.
While we will have to wait til tomorrow for the audio tracks, but their is some amazing artwork for "Kill Jill" posted now.
Hope the song is half as cool as that pic.
We didn't like the last two Big Boi solo records, in fact they made our most disappointing list both times, but we dug Luscious Left Foot(old review system would have had 7 or 8 stars now) and will be excited to check this out, whenever 'coming soon' actually is. Until then peep some of his better solo efforts below:
A jazz quartet from Brookyln, NY Evil Eye deliver some free form jazz on Doin' It All For My Baby. Originally the disk was released in 2007, but it is out of print and the band just recently uploaded it to bandcamp.
The group, Jonathan Moritz- tenor sax, Nate Wooley- trumpet, Mike Pride- drums, vibraphone, percussion, Ken Filiano- bass flow along together exploring space and sound along with various textures and tempos. Opening with "Amhorikkka" is a frenetic opener, with pounding drums and skitter brass showing the band is willing to get after it from the beginning. This track has a punk rock feel with screeches and cymbal smashes while the following "There Certainly Are Not Great Writers" cools things almost to a crawl. These drastic shifts song to song make Doin' It All For My Baby an interesting but never an easy ride.
On "Moore For Mom" the group catches an easy groove before Wooley's Trumpet disintegrates and stops the flow dead. Mortiz sax takes things up and things start progressing again until almost nine minutes of engaging jazz travel. "Mend More Ills" plays with lots of empty space and feels sparse while closer "When We've All Rehearsed Out Separate Parts The Real Thing Will Happen" takes this a step closer and just deals with minimalist drone.
What initially grabbed us was the cool album art, a hippo USA? Sign RtBE up, and while the hippo was created by Elodie Blanchard, the music made by the Brooklyn foursome was worth the adventurous ride, even without the obvious Huey Lewis Jazz cover.
We kick off our Year in Review section of 2016 with a favorite feature in the Best of... area, Album Art. Like in years past we will be choosing our Best Albums of the Year, a few we were underwhelmed with and our favorite show. Today we are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc). We are going to support the creative minds behind the Best Album Art Work of 2016.
The biggest gripe RtBE has with digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work.
Sure there may be great artists out there but seeing it on a screen, in iTunes or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP cover or even a CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc. Thankfully the rise of vinyl is helping this dilemma but it is still not enough. The hours we spent staring, actually holding, examining tons of covers while listening to music can not be adequately recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds. You were connected to album in a more physical way, things were deeper, more evocative...Anyways...
Let's get right to it. We will talk about a few like, and link to the review of the release (if there is one) then celebrate a winner who wins absolutely nothing but internet praise.
2016 was NOT the best year for album art, don't believe me? Go click through what Fuse picked for the best covers for the first half of the year...yeah, they ALL suck.
Sleigh Bells make the perfect music for an ADD generation,. The Brooklyn duo of Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss have been at this for a while now, putting out noise-pop that at times can be dance-able and huge before instantly becoming incredibly grating and annoying. This trend continues for the duos fourth full length, Jessica Rabbit which pairs scattered riffs, plucky synths, electrobeats and jarring mid bar changes with some powerful singing.
The musical backing from Miller has changed little from the bands debut Treats, perhaps he has softened a tad and stopped trying to shock at every moment but those jarring changes are always going to be part of the Sleigh Bells formula. Opener "It's Just Us Now" quakes and shakes in the most random of moments, if this were back in the CD days listeners may have thought they got a scratched version when the song starts as clipped riffs choke off into pure silence. The track never catches hold, stuttering into an odd huge chorus that is jammed down your ears; unfortunately this track showcases the worst parts of the group. Crescendos come from nowhere, vocals and music don't match, or even sound like they were written for the same song as the track feels eternal at just over three and a half minutes.
However, the band can find magical moments among the chaos and one of those is clearly evident on "I Can't Stand You Anymore". Miller to his credit saves the hair metal riffs, school bell jingles and experimentation to the beginning and end, leaving Krauss to vent over a grooving minimalist R&B beat. Alexis Krauss vocals are confident and the best part of Jessica Rabbit as they blast out of the speakers and grab the listener by the lapels. Here she also harmonizes with herself over some glorious backing vocals adding a deeper dimension to the song with flashes of electro R&B.
Jessica Rabbit as a whole continues this up and down roller coaster ride for Sleigh Bells, who have staked their turf out by this stage in their career. Some tracks soar ("Crucible") some are immensely skippable ("Torn Clean", "Loyal For" "I Know Not To Count On You") most fall in-between ("I Can Only Stare", "Lightning Turns Saw Dust Gold", "Throw Me Down The Stairs", "Unlimited Dark Paths") as the group pushes and pulls with metal edged riffs and pop sensibilities.
Sleigh Bells tension between sonic worlds is their strength but the constant shifting and re-imaging dulls for when the real powerful collaborations are present.
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Some cool album art here, support the band, buy the album and peep some video below:
We kick off our Year in Review section of 2015 with a favorite feature in the Best of...
area, Album Art. Like in years past we will be choosing our Best Albums of the
Year, a few we were underwhelmed with and our favorite show. Today we
are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl
sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc). We are going
to support the creative minds behind the Best Album Art Work of 2015
The biggest gripe RtBE has with
digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved the
last few years) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but
whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work.
Sure
there may be great artists out there but seeing it on a screen, in
iTunes or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP cover or even a
CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc. Thankfully the rise of
vinyl is helping this dilemma but it is still not enough. The hours we
spent
staring at covers while listening to music can not be adequately
recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds...Anyways...
Living in NYC there is never enough time to do everything, plain and simple. One thing RtBE has really dropped the ball on is attending the numerous art gallery openings that literally happen blocks away from us. The last one we attended was for a friend who passed away too soon.
That is changing though as we are making a mid-year resolution to do more of just that and it has started already.
Mosshart is a dynamic front woman and that perspective/unique approach comes through in her artwork as well. One of the things we found interesting is the clear titles written directly into the art and as a lyricist this makes total sense, we dig it.
Forgive this newbie as to not knowing how to properly describe the works or use flowery prose to pontificate on the meaning of pieces (we will save that for the music critiques) but it is safe to say we would have liked the art if we had no idea who Alison was. Vice also did an interview with Mosshart to have her give voice to the pieces and the process.
We felt weird taking pictures of artwork, still a bit unclear on the etiquette of these things, but we took one shot of the magic carpet above and there are a few other sites you can check out for more of her work from this exhibition.
Post event we have to say that we are now fans of both Mosshart's music and her artwork but in the end it really all does feel like one in the same. The exhibit runs until Saturday so if you are in the neighborhood definitely stop by and check it out.
