The Dean Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Nothing on the new Van yet. But, who really gives a rat's ass what McPaper thinks?: http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews...listen-up_x.htm David Gilmour, On an Island (* * ) The island is Bore-a Bore-a. If only Pink Floyd's veteran singer/guitarist would unleash his considerable talents and ambitions on less tedious and isolated musical outposts. His third album on his own, following 1978's self-titled solo debut and 1984's About Face, is more human and earthbound than some of Pink Floyd's sonic screeds, but he loses opportunities to connect in songs that meander, choke on layers of ethereal noise or never jell at all. The standouts are the uncluttered, acoustic Smile and the grabby rocker This Heaven, a handy showcase for Gilmour's liquid and hypnotic guitar lines. Too much of the rest feels like it was fed through a sci-fi sound-effects machine and then smothered in New Age fog. Gilmour could use a trip back to mainland songcraft. —Edna Gundersen Donald Fagen,Morph the Cat (* * *) Fagen's third solo album, and first in 13 years, completes an informal trilogy that includes the frisky ambitions of 1981's Nightfly and the midlife inventory of 1993's Kamakiriad. This time the Steely Dan co-founder dwells on mortality and various impending doom scenarios, but he never abandons the upbeat soul-jazz grooves and sardonic views that make his music wickedly appealing. Amusing yet haunted, Morph skips from a sexy airport pat-down in Security Joan to love's escapist comforts in The Great Pagoda of Funn, then retreats into Mary Shut the Garden Door, a paranoid yarn that could be about an alien invasion or homeland insecurity. Fagen's powerful fusion of darkness and wry intelligence beautifully serves his imagined chat with Ray Charles' ghost in What I Do, the deadly vignettes of Brite Nitegown and the creepy title track, in which a threat that "oozes down the heating duct ... and seeps out through the wall" is clearly not a friendly feline. Fagen, on the other hand, is one cool cat. —Gundersen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 That clears it up for me ! What did they say ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Well, you've got to be in the right mood for the new Gilmour... I wouldn't play it on the drive in to work. But I find it so far to be very relaxing... good late night album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 My favorite slag off of any album was from Cream magazine, back in the late 1970's. Reviewing Paul McCartney's "London Town" record, they wrote one sentence review: "Biggest flop by a major act since the book of Genesis" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catholic Guilt Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 I often take the reviews of USA today to heart in picking my music. Did they say Spinal Tap's album "Shark Sandwich" should be titled "sh-- Sandwich?" BTW if you log on the Donaldfagen.com you can listen to the entire album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Nothing on the new Van yet. But, who really gives a rat's ass what McPaper thinks?: 621659[/snapback] Ask and ye shall receive, Deano... Review - "Pay the Devil" Van Morrison, "Pay the Devil" (Lost Highway). Well, you've just gotta chuckle. One of the finest country music records to see release in more than a decade was recorded, not on Nashville's Music Row by an American southerner, but in Ireland by a Belfast-born soul singer who has never even visited Music City. "Pay the Devil" proves that country music is not the sole province of dudes in tight pants and cowboy hats. He's a soul singer, but what makes this record so remarkable is the ease with which he embraces tunes written by or associated with a laundry list of country's greatest artists - Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, George Jones, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris and Conway Twitty among them. Van throws in three of his own tunes, and one each from Big Joe Turner and Louis Armstrong. Throughout, Morrison avoids sounding like he's attempting to force himself into a sequined suit that doesn't fit. He uses his usual backing band, not Nashville session cats, and brings both blues and soul to bear on these country classics. "Pay the Devil's" nearest kin is "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music," the brilliant crossover album recorded by Ray Charles in 1962. Like Charles, Morrison makes the music his own, not just blurring the perceived lines between idioms, but frankly obliterating them. (Jeff Miers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duey Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Who gives a flying fudge what the reviewers think...about ANYTHING? Their opinion is no different then mine or yours...just one individuals slant. I like the album very very much. It's mellow...jeez, deal with it. Do I wish that Dave had done some songs where he tore it up a little...sure. But then again, that's not the kind of album this is. I've been listening to it pretty much nonstop for two days now...and in doing so I've really been able to appreciate the subtleties and nuances within each song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted March 9, 2006 Author Share Posted March 9, 2006 I often take the reviews of USA today to heart in picking my music. Did they say Spinal Tap's album "Shark Sandwich" should be titled "sh-- Sandwich?" BTW if you log on the Donaldfagen.com you can listen to the entire album. 621890[/snapback] Only the first 3 songs (low fi) and 30 second samples of the rest on donaldfagen.com. The low-fi really doesn't do the songs justice. The album has GREAT sound and it makes a real difference for Fagen/SD music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted March 9, 2006 Author Share Posted March 9, 2006 Ask and ye shall receive, Deano... Review - "Pay the Devil" Van Morrison, "Pay the Devil" (Lost Highway). Well, you've just gotta chuckle. One of the finest country music records to see release in more than a decade was recorded, not on Nashville's Music Row by an American southerner, but in Ireland by a Belfast-born soul singer who has never even visited Music City. "Pay the Devil" proves that country music is not the sole province of dudes in tight pants and cowboy hats. He's a soul singer, but what makes this record so remarkable is the ease with which he embraces tunes written by or associated with a laundry list of country's greatest artists - Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, George Jones, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris and Conway Twitty among them. Van throws in three of his own tunes, and one each from Big Joe Turner and Louis Armstrong. Throughout, Morrison avoids sounding like he's attempting to force himself into a sequined suit that doesn't fit. He uses his usual backing band, not Nashville session cats, and brings both blues and soul to bear on these country classics. "Pay the Devil's" nearest kin is "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music," the brilliant crossover album recorded by Ray Charles in 1962. Like Charles, Morrison makes the music his own, not just blurring the perceived lines between idioms, but frankly obliterating them. (Jeff Miers) 621931[/snapback] Outstanding. Thanks. All the reviews I've seen for Van's new on have been good (no USA Today yet...unless it's in todays). I have the album and it's great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted March 9, 2006 Author Share Posted March 9, 2006 Preview of new Fagen (Morph the Cat) with some commentary by Donald. From XM radio: http://www.refreshingbeverage.com/FagenXM.mp3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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