So you may have noticed that last week we did not kick off the music releases of 2014. Being that it is holiday season and most artists are either relaxing or finishing up their tours, we decided to bypass the two albums and combine them into today's article. Make it worth your while to check out the site today.
So despite 2014 only being 6 days prior, both Peter Gabriel and The Eagles had some new stuff for pick up. Well I wouldn't say new stuff exactly, but more of new compilation albums/box sets. Especially since The Eagles box set is from 14 years ago. Basically just changing the package and presto!
January 7th, 2014:
(Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back and I'll Scratch Yours)
In 2010, Peter Gabriel released an album of covers called "Scratch My Back," featuring his take on songs by Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Lou Reed and others, and intended to follow it with an album of those artists covering his songs. Well, it took nearly four years to gather what he needed to keep his promise, but much of "And I'll Scratch Yours" (Real World) is certainly worth the wait.
It's that combination of a new artist's work and Gabriel's original ideas that makes "And I'll Scratch Yours" so interesting, though some of the compilation's artists do well by simply moving the songs to the artistic ground they normally mine. -Newsday
(The Eagles - Selected Works: 1972-1999)
The relative sonic neglect suffered by the Eagles' catalog was the fault of the band's consistent success -- with the original albums and hits collections still selling year after year, why bother to upgrade? Finally, however, longtime Eagles producer Bill Szymczyk remastered their albums in 1999, and the band put together a box set. Including most of their hits (the exception is "Seven Bridges Road") and lots of album tracks, the four-CD set regroups the Eagles' material into three categories: "The Early Days," which consists of 13 tracks from their first four albums; "The Ballads"; and "The Fast Lane," i.e., rhythm songs. The fourth disc is drawn from their millennium concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. While their early albums balanced the contributions of their members, "The Early Days" is dominated by Glenn Frey and Don Henley; that means a few worthy efforts are missing, but the selection is generally good. "The Ballads" is a straightforward collection of popular slow songs. Along with their more uptempo hits, "The Fast Lane" contains what little unreleased material there is, but anyone hoping for greatness is going to be disappointed. the Eagles have gone out of their way in "The Millennium Concert" to perform songs out of their usual repertoire, including several solo hits and both sides of their 1978 seasonal single, "Please Come Home for Christmas" and "Funky New Year." Much of this is minor or atypical material, but at least the unusually animated band members were trying (though it sounds like there was plenty of studio overdubbing). The overall result is a nearly four-hour collection that is something of a hodgepodge. There are enough rarities to bait the hook for hardcore Eagles fans, but not really satisfy them, and casual fans will probably be better off with the two single-disc hits collections. -All Music
The we have this week's releases which are sure to get the release dates back in full swing. Its a fine blend of tunes as we see a highly anticipated Bruce Springsteen album hitting shelves, as well as metal releases Lionheart and De La Tierra. Than jumping on the other side of the spectrum, we see some new material from long time electronica duo The Crystal Method as they drop their self titled album. It's been 5+ years since a release from the group.
All of this makes for a great work (or vacation) week in which you can grab a few of these albums, chill out and for a few minutes forget the outside world. Be sure to show some love to the artists you like by purchasing their physical copies via local record shop or online retailer. If digital is more your thing, then there are sources for that avenue as well. Cheers!
January 14th, 2014:
(Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes)
Almost by definition, High Hopes is an uneven album, but that doesn't make it an inferior one. From a substantially reworked version of his 1995 song "The Ghost of Tom Joad" to a beautiful cover of "Dream Baby Dream" by the '70s New York avant-punk band Suicide, there's a sprawl to this material that's not going to be a non-stop pleasure for all the different kinds of fans Springsteen has. But as a demonstration of his range, his thoughtfulness and his ongoing enthusiasm to take in the entire 60-plus years of rock 'n' roll, High Hopes suggests a vitality, an undimmed eagerness, that makes you want to follow Springsteen wherever he may go. -NPR
The Crystal Method is not a comprehensive listening album, but it’s not meant to be. The more accessible numbers are bunched up in the last third, while the chunk before works best in its birth setting: the dance floor. That’s where The Crystal Method is going to shine, appealing both to fans who grew up with the two and those who weren’t yet born when the duo formed. -AV Club
When looking objectively at the album as a whole, it is clear that Fading West is a step in a new direction for Switchfoot. Like any other album they have released post-Beautiful-Letdown, the band is honest with where they are at, and they invite the listener along for the ride - like it or not. It is obvious that the band has been doing a lot of surfing, as well as a lot of reflection of who they are as musicians, husbands, fathers, and as a band; the record is a product of their self-realizations and stands as a mission statement of the band thematically. Thus, Fading West is not a finish line, but a new beginning – and although the title Fading West may refer to something setting and coming to a close, never before have they seemed so replenished and revived. -Sputnik Music
(De La Tierra - De La Tierra)
*No reviews as of yet
(Lionheart - Welcome To The West Coast)
*No reviews as of yet
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