xo for the Holidays Volume II

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Well, now that it’s November, the holidays are looming. Get ready to be inundated with soulless advertising and hassled by over-zealous crowds. But it’s not all bad. There’s kids getting excited and the Salvation Army on the corner and Thanksgiving dinner and Midnight Mass…and this year’s xo for the Holidays comp! Unlike most things this time of year, this one… Read more »

Review: Creedence Clearwater Revival-The Singles Collection

Label: Concord Music Released: November 3, 2009 Of the 30 tracks that make up the two CDs of CCR’s The Singles Collection, over half are songs we all know like the back of our hands. However, unlike a traditional greatest hits collection, this one includes all the b-sides as well. Sure, some had two sides that were popular enough to… Read more »

Review: Mighty High – Drops a Deuce

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Label: self-released Released: October 12, 2009 True to the form they set with last year’s full-length, In Drug City, Mighty High’s new EP is nothing if not unabashedly fun. This 7″ EP features two songs that waste nothing (except perhaps brain cells). “Cable TV Eye” is full-on stoner paranoia propelled by riffs they learned from hard rock leaning punk bands… Read more »

Review: Elin Palmer – Postcards

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Label: Suburban Home Released: October 23, 2009 When I think of an album that tells a story, I tend to think of concept albums where the story often takes precedence over the music, resulting in weak, but often needed filler. Elin Palmer’s Postcard has a very narrative nature to it, but in a far different way than a concept album… Read more »

Review: Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats – Meet the Meatbats

Label: Warrior Records Released: September 15, 2009 Fans of Chad Smith’s other endeavors, the funk/punk of Red Hot Chili Peppers and the generic hard rock of Chickenfoot, will find his Bombastic Meatbats project to be a surprise to say the least. It owes more to 70s fusion artists John McLaughlin and Herbie Hancock and jazz-oriented prog than it does to… Read more »

DVD: Blue Cheer Rocks Europe

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Label: Rainman Records Released: June 26, 2009 There’s a handful of bands out there whose influence has been felt far and wide decades after they made their mark, yet they never enjoyed significant commercial success. The Velvet Underground comes to mind. So does Nick Drake. There are others, but in heavy rock circles, one of these bands rises above all… Read more »

DVD: Jethro Tull – Live at Madison Square Garden 1978

Label: Virgin/EMI Released: October 20, 2009 Jethro Tull live in 1978? Haven’t we already heard that? The ill-timed Bursting Out was from European dates of the same tour and that immediately begs the question, of all the live Tull recordings sitting in the vaults, why release yet another form the Heavy Horses tour? Depending on your feelings about progressive rock,… Read more »

Review: Balance and Composure – Only Boundaries

Label: No Sleep Records Released: August 11, 2009 I love when a record is really busy, but doesn’t get lost in the busyness. On the four song Only Boundaries, Balance and Composure fully live up to their name, balancing intricacies with listenable sensibility and remaining composed while the music swirls. “I Can’t Do This Alone” combines a tribal rhythm with… Read more »