Pretty Girl – Fabric Presents Pretty Girl: The low-key start reminds me of Kolsch’s contribution to this series, and she nods to some classic genres before opening up the intensity halfway through the set. This is another reminder of how different every record in this series is, and how I never know what to expect with each one.
Jacqueline du Pré – 5 Legendary Recordings (box set): I stumbled on this five-record set for dirt cheap and played almost the whole thing this week. She is my favorite cellist and possibly my favorite classical musician. This is an exceptional set, I only wish it had her recordings of the first two Bach cello suites (though I seem to be in a minority of people who love her recordings of these pieces).
Rosé – Rosie: This is a perfectly fine example of a post-Taylor “woman with a broken heart” pop record, but nothing about the writing or performances stands out. I’m glad I listened once but I doubt I’ll go back for seconds.
Grateful Dead – Saint of Circumstance 6/17/1991 (East Rutherford NJ): I was in a bad mood over the weekend and I didn’t want to be in that mood. The joy of “Eyes of the World” as an opener for this show totally broke my mood.
Old friends who made it into rotation this week: Carlita: Fabric Presents Carlita; Maribou State: Fabric Presents Maribou State; Khruangbin: Mordechai;
Record store finds this week: Where to start? Bob and I took a road trip and hit five record shops in Delaware. The fact that I walked away with only 12 records is miraculous. My haul went from silly and fun (a 12” single of Paula Abdul “Straight Up” with mixes by Marley Marl and Kevin Saunderson) to some things I’ve been seeking for awhile (Richard and Linda Thompson’s “Shoot Out the Lights” and Bob Mould’s Workbook).