The latest album by Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings is only 3.99
The Record Store Day Exclusive: Soul Time (a collection of rarities and non album tracks). is available today at the the Amazom Mp3 store for just 3.99
So far this collection only appears to be available on CD as a more expensive import. There are private sellers on Amazon who are selling the vinyl version starting at 8.99 and up .
Not a holiday season goes by without countless artists from all corners of the musical universe throwing their sonic Santa hats into the ring. This year is no different, with the far-flung likes of She & Him, Matt Wertz, Jim Brickman and Michael Bublé having released Christmas albums.
If you’re planning a Christmas shindig or just wrapping presents over the coming week, the titles below should provide a worthy soundtrack.
Artist: Matt Wertz
Title: Snow Globe
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Matt Nathanson, John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, Jon McLaughlin
Tell Me More: Since the early 2000s, this Missouri native has put out several albums – both independently and on major labels, while landing high profile soundtrack slots in films and TV shows. His breezy adult contemporary pop/rock always goes down easy and Snow Globe (Provident/Essential) is no exception. Half are holiday standards (a sleek and jazzy “White Christmas” features frequent collaborator/touring partner Dave Barnes; the instrumental “Christmastime is Here” by Vince Guaraldi).
On a low-key “Tennessee Christmas,” the singer/guitarist goes into hushed vocal mode with an assist by its songwriter, Amy Grant. Wertz’s originals are all impressive, especially the finger-snapping, banjo-filled title track, smooth and romantic “Christmas in the City” and horn-laden R&B of “Wake Up, Wake Up.”
-George A. Paul
Get Snow Globe (Right now only 6.99)!
Artist: Hawk Nelson
Title: Christmas
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Relient K, MxPx, New Found Glory, early blink-182
Tell Me More: In recent years, Hawk Nelson has been a regular presence on Air 1 radio stations and Contemporary Christian Music festivals around the U.S. – including FishFest in Irvine, Calif., where I once was impressed by their supercharged performance. Now the fresh-faced Canadian punk/pop group has unleashed Christmas through BEC Records.
Speeding by in 15 minutes, the fun and refreshing 7-song holiday EP doesn’t wear out its welcome. “Joy to the World” starts a capella, then turns into pure comedy as lead singer Jason Dunn tries to outdo his band mates with a rebel yell. Bonus points go to the guys for not always tackling the obvious, like the strident “Here We Come A-Wassailing” and cowpunk of “Up on the Housetop.”
-George A. Paul
Get Hawk Nelson Here – Right now only $6.10!
Artist: Matthew West
Title: The Heart of Christmas
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Shawn Mullins, Chris Tomlin, previous West releases
Tell Me More: Best known for Christian AC radio chart toppers “More,” “You Are Everything” and “The Motions,” West has been putting out albums since the late ‘90s. The gregarious singer/songwriter’s The Heart of Christmas (Sparrow) is religious in nature, but doesn’t get too heavy in that realm. Musically eclectic, the songs range from classic big band (“Jingle Bells”), Dixieland-meets-gospel (“O Come, All Ye Faithful) and endearing soul (“Come On Christmas”).
West penned seven of the 12 tracks here and his usual poignant storytelling really comes to the fore (an emotional, folk-leaning “One Last Christmas,” based on the true story of a boy dying of Leukemia; acoustic guitar-based ballad “Leaving Heaven,” featuring Vince Gill’s warm pipes). That country superstar’s wife Amy Grant – boy, she sure got around this year – guests on “Give This Christmas Away.” Keeping with the family-friendly vibe, one of West’s young daughters sings briefly on a hidden final track.
-George A. Paul
Get In The Heart Of Christmas (right now only 8.99)!
Artist: Michael Bublé
Title: Christmas
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Harry Connick Jr., Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, other Bublé albums or his 2003 holiday EP, Let it Snow
Tell Me More: Before becoming a household name, Bublé was inspired to pursue a career as a pop/jazz singer after continuously listening to an old Bing Crosby Christmas album. So it’s no surprise that the Canadian crooner finally did a full-length holiday collection of his own.
Christmas (Reprise) assembles 14 classics and one original (“Cold December Night”) that recalls “Haven’t Me You Yet.” London swing vocal trio The Puppini Sisters and the musicians bring an Andrews Sisters-meets-Hot-Club-of-Cowtown vibe to “Jingle Bells,” while Naturally 7 add doo wop to a peppy “White Christmas,” featuring Shania Twain. Bublé even goes international: there’s a reverent “Ave Maria” with choir and a duet in Spanish with Mexican superstar Thalia.
Standouts are an ebullient, Phil Spector-styled “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” with rock drummer Josh Freese and guitarist Keith Scott and dramatic “All I Want For Christmas is You,” anchored by the legendary Jim Keltner and a string/horn section arranged by Jon Brion.
-George A. Paul
Get Michael Buble Christmas here
Artist: The Jigsaw Seen
Title: Winterland
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Early Phil Spector productions, Arthur Lee & Love, Nuggets compilations, The Posies
Tell Me More: Members of this L.A.-based underground chamber pop act have collaborated/toured with Rufus Wainwright, David Gray and Maria McKee in the past. Last year, their first new studio album in a decade came out. So this seasonal effort on Vibrophonic Recordings is a quicker-than-usual turnaround.
The lyrics lean toward the melancholy side; the Sixties psychedelia-influenced sound contains bits of mellotron, chamberlain, arp axe (!) and organ (the latter comes courtesy of Dramarama’s Morley Bartnoff). Kinks guitarist Dave Davies adds subtle vocals to Jigsaw Seen’s lone cover: Gordon Lightfoot’s “Circle of Steel.” Elsewhere, the band douses “Christmas Behind Me” in reverb, gives “Candy Cane” is jangly blissful sheen and “Winterland’s Gone” becomes idyllic, colored by flute and clarinet.
-George A. Paul
Artist: She & Him
Title: A Very She & Him Christmas
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Aimee Mann’s 2006 holiday album One More Drifter in the Snow, She & Him’s previous albums
Tell Me More: There is a timeless feel to A Very She & Him Christmas (Merge), a collection that finds Zooey Deschanel (She) and M. Ward (Him) fusing their magical mix of retro pop and modern-day melancholy to tackle more than a dozen Christmas gems. From the breezy western-swing version of “Sleigh Ride” and early ’60s-styled “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” to the sparse “The Christmas Song” and “Silver Bells” (the latter which finds Deschanel’s emotive soprano positioned against her own ukulele work in one of the most original arrangements I’ve ever heard of that song), this is very much an authentic She & Him album. A Very She & Him Christmas, indeed.
-Robert Kinsler
Get A Very She & Him Christmas Here
Artist: Jim Brickman
Title: All Is Calm
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Jim Brickman’s previous albums, instrumental piano music
Tell Me More: There is a simplicity and beauty to pianist Jim Brickman‘s interpretations of some of the holiday’s most loved songs on his ambitious All Is Calm (Somerset), a collection that also features several of his own compositions. Highlights include a tender arrangement of “Gloria In Excelsis Deo” and a lush version of “Away In A Manger” with soaring flute (played by Sam Levine) and distant Celtic vocals courtesy of Erinn Bates that add textures around Brickman’s piano. Whether performing old English carols (“Coventry Carol”), original works (the infectious “Fa La La La La”) or seasonal favorites (“O Come All Ye Faithful”), Brickman’s All Is Calm creates a peaceful mood in tune with those who refuse to get too stressed out by the holiday season.
-Robert Kinsler
Here are more holiday present suggestions for the concert enthusiast on your list…
Artist: Peter Gabriel
Title: New Blood: Live in London
Worth buying: Yes
For fans of: Sting’s orchestral work, David Byrne, Christopher O’Reilly, early Genesis
Tell Me More: On 2010 album Scratch My Back, Gabriel covered Neil Young, David Bowie, Arcade Fire and others with just orchestral backing. Then the prog rock legend gave his own work the classical-music-plus-vocals treatment for the follow up, New Blood. This intriguing companion concert DVD from Eagle Vision/Real World was shot at London ’s HMV Hammersmith Apollo last March.
Gabriel and the New Blood Orchestra’s compelling 22-song show runs nearly 2 ½ hours. In Gabriel’s hands, Scratch selections like “Boy in the Bubble” (Paul Simon) and “Book of Love” (Stephen Merritt) are graceful and his introductions are filled with self-deprecating humor. Highlights include a gorgeous “Washing of the Water” – one of several tunes featuring sweet backing vocals from his daughter Melanie, highly dramatic “Biko,” totally revamped “San Jacinto” (where Gabriel flashes a light into the audience), frantic “Red Rain” (precipitation is projected over the DVD image) and exultant performances of “Solsbury Hill” and “In Your Eyes.” The sound is rich throughout.
“Blood Donors,” the 20-minute bonus documentary, is comprised of behind the scenes segments, interviews with the singer and conductors about putting the show and arrangements together. Also available in Blu-ray.
What about the packaging? The plastic DVD case slips into an outer cardboard covering, while the 7-page booklet has detailed tour/production credits and multiple color photos of Gabriel and the musicians.
Artist: Placebo
Artist: The B-52’sLooking for that perfect gift for the favorite music fan in your life? Read on friends!
Artist: The Rolling Stones
Title: Some Girls Live in Texas ’78
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this DVD if you like: The Rolling Stones, Gram Parsons, Mick Taylor
Tell Me More: Although The Rolling Stones burst on the scene in the early 1960s and achieved legendary status during the 1980s, I have always believed the band’s greatest work spanned the 10-year-period from 1969 to 1978. The newly-issued Some Girls Live in Texas ’78 captured the band just weeks after the release of their final tour de force, Some Girls.
In a loose and freewheeling performance of 17 songs, singer Mick Jagger and company delivered a blistering set featuring most of the highlights from “Some Girls” (a rowdy “Respectable,” disco-tinged “Miss You” and R&B-flavored “Beast of Burden”), as well as gems such as Chuck Berry‘s “Sweet Little 16″ and rocking versions of the Stones’ own “Brown Sugar” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”
What about the packaging: A colorful and informative 8-page booklet accompanies the concert DVD.
Artist: Deep Purple
Artist: Sigur Rós
Artist: Rory Gallagher
Artist: Ronnie Milsap
Title: Country Again
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Jimmy Wayne, George Jones, Glen Campbell, Charley Pride
Tell Me More: Since Ronnie Milsap‘s music doesn’t get played much on terrestrial radio these days, some people are more apt to recall his recent collaborations with James Otto (“Good Thing’s Gone Bad”) or Trace Adkins (“My First Ride”) than works from the 2000s. Others will immediately recognize the name of this country hitmaker, whose recording career dates back to late ‘60s session work for Elvis Presley.
On Milsap’s first country album in five years, the singer/keyboardist goes “old school.” The result is a comfortable, timeless sound that could’ve easily come out in the 1960s-70s. Milsap still excels at sad ballads (“A Better Word For Love,” “On My Own”), while a few songs recall Owen Bradley’s classic Nashville sound (“Cry Cry Darling,” Bobby Darin’s “You’re the Reason I’m Living”), complete with smooth female backing vocals. There are also fun, uptempo tunes (the brass-filled “Oh Linda,” frisky tone of “Fireworks,” “If You Don’t Want Me To” – also known as “The Freeze,” containing an ‘80s pop vibe a la Robbie Dupree).
Listen to samples and get Country Again here
George A. Paul
Artist: Ricky Skaggs
Title: Country Hits: Bluegrass Style
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: The Grascals, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Skaggs’ 1980s work
Tell Me More: For more than two decades, Ricky Skaggs has been one of the most accomplished practitioners of bluegrass music. So giving his old hits that genre treatment makes perfect sense. A majority of the selections will be familiar to longtime fans, having reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Singles chart. Purists might scoff because the sound isn’t entirely acoustic and doesn’t veer too far from the original arrangements. But longtime band Kentucky Thunder does an excellent job as usual backing up Skaggs, who plays multiple instruments here.
Standouts from the multiple Grammy winner include “Heartbroke” and “Honey (Open That Door)” – among many spotlighting that famous “high lonesome” vocal sound, “Lovin’ Only Me,” featuring extended twangy soloing, “Country Boy,” driven by fast-fingered fretwork and “Cajun Moon.” The piano-led version of Flatt & Scruggs’ Don’t Get Above Your Raising” works well. Gentle closing track “Somebody’s Prayin,’” featuring the Nashville String Ensemble, is more in line with Skaggs’ 2010 gospel effort “Mosaic” though and doesn’t fit the bluegrass mold.
Listen to samples and get Country Hits: Bluegrass Style
George A. Paul
Artist: StyxListen to samples and get Regeneration, Here
Robert Kinsler
Artist: The Red ButtonListen to samples and get As Far As Yesterday Goes Here
Robert Kinsler
