Adam Salsman [dot] com

Coming later this week, is my work, I swear.

This time around, though, I’m only going to review vinyl. They can be new, I just need to be able to listen to them on vinyl. This should be interesting, right?

The impending Bob Dylan album is reigniting my desire to something more. So watch this space. I will Blow. Your. Mind.

Click to Download (Encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz)
Note: Will post audience bootleg when one appears

Info:
Source: Live FM Broadcast (Y-Rock on WXPN-FM Philadelphia)

01. intro - segment 1
02. Get On Your Boots
03. Magnificient
04. Breathe
05. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
06. Vertigo
07. announcer outro
08. intro segment 2
09. Q & A with audience pt.1
10. Q & A with audience pt.2
11. Q & A with audience pt.3
12. end credits

Total Running Time: 51 min., 57 sec.

Lineage: Sony ST-730ES Stereo Tuner > ESI Juli@ Soundcard > Sony Sound Forge v9.0e @ 16 bit, 44.1 kHz > CDwav v.1.93.3 > FLAC > iTunes (192kbps/44.1khz)

I don’t think a day goes by where I’m not amazed at all the musical connections I’ve made since late in 2005.

Case in point: Ms. Mieka Pauley.

Late in the Summer of 2005, I went with a number of friends to a Jim Boggia concert at the Paradise Lounge. While we snacked and waited for Jim to start, I noticed little yellow cards littered around the joint announcing some gal’s upcoming show. I pocketed one, out of curiosity, and assured myself I would go look on the internets when I got home. I didn’t.

Fast forward some amount of time. I find the yellow card in my bag and decide to take an hour investigating. Found a couple of free (Free and LEGAL!) MP3s and gave them a listen.

“Wow,” is all I had.

I was unable to, at the point, afford or find any albums of hers, and left it at “Hey, at least I got a couple of free tunes.”

Fastforward, AGAIN. Myspace alerts me that Ms. Pauley is attempting to self-fund her album, and is looking for donations. Needless to say, I had my credit card out faster than my gal pal at a shoe sale.

A few months later, the benefits of that donation returned to me many-fold: Elijah Drop Your Gun is a piece of art by someone who has worked long and hard, crafting a cohesive, wonderful collection of songs.

I’m going to start with what I consider the bad of the album, which there is only one point:
It’s too damn short. 11 tracks at just under 41 minutes barely gives me time to fall in love and have an entire relationship with the album. Thankfully, though, front to back, the album’s lack of quantity is made up in quality.

Listening through Elijah you, the listener, pick up two things about Ms. Pauley:

1. She would be (and sound) equally comfortable and amazing in a small venue with an acoustic guitar as she would be in a large rock venue, with full band.
2. There’s an undercurrent of religiosity that doesn’t slap you in the face, but is quietly and proudly embraced.

While I feel the whole album is a gem, tracks to jump on include the lead off track, All the Same Mistakes, Be Like the Man, the quieter, beautiful Devil’s Got My Secret, and the tune caring the lyrics which are the album’s title, Run.

In the end: Elijah’s solid flow, consistency in quality, and excellent production all make it a must listen to for Boston music fans. Mieka’s talent is just

On the web: You can find a number of her concert bootlegs at the Live Music Archive. Might I suggest the 2005 Paradise Lounge concert?

Have I mentioned I love BSG?

I don’t think there’s a whole lot that I can say about season 3’s score that I haven’t said about season 2’s. It’s good music, solid orchestration, blah, blah, blah.

Oh. Wait. This was Season 3. This had the greatest cover song/musical reveal I’ve seen in years.

All Along the Watchtower.

That’s right. In the alternate universe that contains the Battlestar Galactica and all the survivors of the 12 Colonies, someone managed to write the same song Bob Dylan did.

Of course, in our world, Jimi Hendrix took and it made it even better.

In theirs, it just turned on four of the final five Cylons. Not a big difference, sure, but still.

My excitement over the release of the score was almost exclusively wrapped around getting Watchtower in a listenable format. But after listening to the album, as a whole, I found I was ever so slightly disappointed.

When Bear McCreary did things right in the season 3 score, he did them very right. Of course, the converse feels very true, too.

The first 5 tracks, Violence and Variations, The Dance, Battlestar Sonatica, Dirty Hands, and Heeding the Call all do it very right. They convey, better than most, the tone, the energy (or lack there of), and a bit of the scene.

Under the Wing, Kat’s Sacrifice, Someone to Trust, and Deathbed And Maelstrom all feel like they fall flat. Maybe it’s just that they can’t manage the visual as well, and this makes them weaker in my mind. In any event, these are often missed when listening to the score because they get mentally passed by. Mean, I know, but it’s what happens.

In the end: Bear’s score did exactly what Season 3 did, when it got it right, it got it very right. The rest of the time, it felt lacking. This may just as well be the fault of the story writers. In any event, all the things done wrong on this score are strongly obscured by the many, many things done quite right.

Album of the year? So far, it is my book.

While I cannot lie, and will say that I rallied against Aloud in last year’s WBCN Rock N’ Roll Rumble (mostly because my favouritest local band, Baker, was also in the competition), I cannot deny their talent, skill, and rockitude.

For those who don’t know, Aloud is a four-piece Rock N’ Roll band straight outta Boston, with a little more emphasis on the “rock.” The group consists of Jen (vocals/guitar), Henry (vocals/guitar/being henry), Roy (bass/making stoic poses/silently owning the world), and the other guy (aka Ross, the Drummer. No one ever remembers the drummer. Ok, Except Phil Collins. But he was in Genesis. Or famous for being in Genesis. Either way).

Now. The album. It’s good.

No, that’s not right. It’s great.

No. Still not right. What was it I said? Oh, yeah:

On a final note, I wish to buy dinner for and then make sweet sweet love to Aloud’s new album, Fan the Fury. It’s that good. And better. (from my LJ)

But then I updated that statement to read:

I’d like to update that statement to make sure it reads I’d even be willing to wake up next to said album in the morning and make it breakfast. (from my LJ)

Overzealous Livejournal statements aside, the album is rock solid rock goodness, and thanks to some editing genius, the album maintains a wonderful, cyclical nature.

If I were to pick my favourites, and I’m wont to do, you’d have Sometimes I Feel Like a Vampire, leading off the album, like a bat outta hell (no relation to Meatloaf), the title track, Fan the Fury, the (as I hear it) politically-charged Nero, and then the much softer, but beautiful Hard Up In the 2000s.

Of course, none of those are the song, that for some godsdamned reason, I’ve woken up with stuck in the back of my head for 4 days straight. No, that honor goes to Julie, a track leaning on the weaker side for tunes on the album, but with a painfully catchy hook and wonderful harmonies by Jen & Hen (I’m assuming).

In the end: Boston Rock, I love you. If Aloud isn’t consider local rock pantheon, I don’t know what would be. They’ve got a solid sound, amazing skill, and enough staying power to keep us enthralled for years to come (if they’d like to, that is).

Technorati Tagged: Aloud | 2008 | Boston Music | Best Of

Post Script: I knew the drummer’s name. It was just an opportunity for me to make a big long joke at Phil Collins’s expense. I mean, who wouldn’t want to mock the guy who gave us Sussudio?

I’ll just start off by making a bold statement:

While not being the best of 2007, Kate Nash’s Made of Bricks is most assuredly my favourite and will be so for years to come.

There, I said it.

Take Lily Allen. Please. (Couldn’t resist). Seriously, take Lily Allen, take out some of the attitude and fill it with cute. Take Lily Allen, and add some hotness. Take Lily Allen and make her more awesome. Yes, *more* awesome. And that is Kate Nash.

The album is 12 tracks (well, 13, really, but it’s a SECRET) coming in at 56 minutes. So far so good.

Bricks, sadly starts off on an odd, and perhaps jarring, foot with Play, which is just lots of distorted drum machines and Nash “singing” “I like to play.” It’s not so much bad as, arguably, setting the tone of the album wrong. After that “tune,” however, the album just keeps climbing.

To be honest, with the exception of “Play,” I love the whole damned album. Foundations, Dickhead, Mariella, and Skeleton Song are super favourites in an album of favourites.

In the end: Did you like Lily Allen? You’ll love Kate Nash. Were you iffy on Lily Allen? You’ll love Kate Nash? Did you hate Lily Allen? You might like Kate Nash.

Technorati Tagged: Kate Nash | 2007 | Brit-Pop | Best Of

I’ve been listening to the last 3 albums of Joe Strummer & the Mescalaros, and I can say, with a level of certainty, that they were working toward perfection. The first of the 3 albums, Rock Art & the X-Ray Style I found difficult to get through, and even boring at points, while Streetcore may be close to musical perfection. Sandwiched in between those two albums is Global A Go-Go.

To be honest, I may not have even taken notice of this fairly average album if it weren’t for HBO’s John From Cincinnati and it’s opening theme, which is the first track off this disc, Johnny Appleseed. Which, to be honest, I adore equally for it being a great song and being associated with a great show.

The rest of the album proceeds along with more hits than misses, but those hits are mediocre at best.

Of the 11 tracks (coming in at 73 minutes), Johnny Appleseed, Cool ‘n’ Out, Bhindi Bhagee, and Mega Bottle Ride are the ones that really seem to reach a little higher; seem to want to aspire to more. And, they mostly do.

The last track, Minstrel Boy, is what pushes this album WELL over the hour mark, by being a mostly instrumental composed of drums (of the marching variety) and stringed instruments (sounding mostly in the violin/fiddle area). It’s a beautiful song, but I feel like it doesn’t do much to end cap the record.

In the end: Fans of the Clash will want to continue to follow Strummer’s career, to his penultimate album; fans of Streetcore may be a little let down, but may still get some enjoyment; fans of John from Cincinnati will check in to see what the rest of the album is about.

Technorati Tagged: Joe Strummer | 2001 | Rock | The Clash

People bash on the internet. They really do. But if it weren’t for the intertubes, I would never have found my latest musical crush, Ms. Sara Bareilles.

I don’t really know much about her, to be honest. I’ve been busy, I’ve been lazy, and I just haven’t done my research, shame on me.

All that being said, she’s amazing. A sweet voice, piano-driven music, with jazz, blues, and folk influences. She’s not reinventing the wheel, she’s not blowing us away with some amazing new thing. Sara Bareilles is just enjoyable, delicious pop/rock music.

Did I mention she’s cute? Yeah, there’s that too.

Before the accolades-o’-plenty, there’s one thing that disappoints: The album, all 12 tracks, come in under 50 minutes. Selfishly, at 12 tracks, I have expectations of 55 - 60 minutes.

Anywho, on to the good stuff: The album, all 12 tracks, are fun, playful, easy on the ears, and make you pray you could have one evening with Ms. Bareilles (Dinner only! Not even all that other stuff).

Of the dozen offerings, Love Song, Love on the Rocks, Bottle It Up, and Many the Miles are my favorites. That jazzy/pop style that Norah Jones brought back to mainstream, but in a sleepy way, Sara brings with a pop kick.

In the end: It’s a solid, if short, offering in the “best of 2007″ list of my heart. Not too sweet, not too serious, just good music. And, hell, I even pick up distinct flavourings of Bonnie Raitt. So, you know, that can’t be bad.

Technorati Tagged: Sara Bareilles | 2007 | Pop Rock | Best Of

In recent history, two albums have found their way onto my truly elitist “Desert Island Records” list. Joe Strummer’s Streetcore, and this album, Griffin House’s Lost & Found.

And, yes, it *is* that good.

Remember, “Along time ago in a blog entry far, far away,” I was praising Glen Phillips work while noticeably ignoring Kim Richey and Griffin House? Yeah, I’m still sorry for that. And that’s not an offense against Glen.

Griffin House masterfully crafts beautiful, realistic, emotional songs, all wrapped in his acoustic guitar and bundled up in his wonderful voice.

Does it sound like I’m tripping over myself to give this guy praise? Well, it should. I honestly feel he’s that good, and after having seen him solo and live recently, my feelings were completely confirmed.

Any way, the album. 11 tracks, just shy of an hour. 100% wonderful. Sorry, there I go again.

Outside of saying “the whole album,” some excellent tracks include “Ah Me” (even if it deals with a crumbling relationship, it’s musically brilliant), “Waterfall” (which has found some commercial success, no pun intended, for oral-b), “The Way I Was Made” (a pride-inducing tune which traces his origins back to his grandparents), and “New Day” (which just slowly builds to this beautiful, optimistic ending).

In the end: I could trip over myself for another hour and a half singing this guy’s praise, but I’ll just leave it at “I think most anyone would, could, and should enjoy this album. On repeat.”

On the web: There are a few shows of the Weekly Review Traveling Roadshow (House, Richey, Phillips) on archive.org. This one is the best of them.

Also available are photos from his concert at Harpers Ferry, in Allston, Ma. on my website: Griffin House photos @ AdamSalsman[dot]com.

Technorati Tagged: Griffin House | Acoustic | Desert Island Album | 2004