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Geof’s New Music: 28 Sep - 4 Oct 2008

Well, uh, you see … it’s been kinda crazy for me the last couple weeks, so I just … didn’t get to the music. But now I have …

George Strait’s Strait From the Heart.
Nirvana’s From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah.
5 Sep 1993 [Copenhagen, Denmark] concert bootleg of Uncle Tupelo. 1993-09-05: Cafe Rust, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Wilco’s Summerteeth Demos. Summerteeth Demos.
17 Dec 2005 [Cincinnati, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-12-17: The Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2005-12-17: The Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, OH, USA (disc 2).
17 Mar 2006 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2006-03-17: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN, USA (disc 1) and 2006-03-17: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN, USA (disc 2).
25 Aug 2008 [Hollywood, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Radiohead. 2008-08-25: Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, CA, USA (disc 1) and 2008-08-25: Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, CA, USA (disc 2).

The last week of music was above average:

The Velvet Underground’s VU. Poppy and melodic, but still definitely a VU record. Three stars.
George Strait’s Strait Country. It’s classic early 1980s country music—you either like it or you don’t. I do, but that’s because I love George Strait’s voice. Two-and-a-half stars.
6 Dec 2002 [Long Beach, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Iron & Wine. I think Sam Beam’s career arc is similar to Elliott Smith’s, and that’s high praise from me. This is an early bootleg, and it reminds me a lot of old Elliott boots. Three stars.
1 Sep 2007 [Lexington, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. I had heard very good things about this show, and it does not disappoint. Four stars.
9 Oct 2007 [Milwaukee, WI, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. A quite-solid recording, as you’d expect from Jerry Eaglebarger. Four stars.
19 Dec 2007 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Ben Folds. The mics aren’t up to the room [and I've recorded in there, so I know], but it sounds like it’s probably a stealth rig. Two stars.
24 Aug 2008 [Hollywood, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Radiohead. Solid, but unspectacular. I’ve never really heard a great recording from the Hollywood Bowl, probably because it’s a damn hard place to record without some SBD access. Three stars.

Posted September 28th, 2008 in Musiclogging. Tagged: George Strait, Nirvana, Over the Rhine, Radiohead, Uncle Tupelo, wilco.

Geof’s New Music: 14-20 Sep 2008

I’ve worked through a lot of the music backlog, so I’m gonna drop back to two-and-five this week…

Last week:

Feist’s Open Season. I’m a sucker for remixes because they are new ways to hear familiar tracks. Plus, a couple of these are stripped-down, acoustic affairs, which show of Leslie Feist’s greatest asset—her voice. Four stars.
Alejandro Escovedo’s Real Animal. I think I’m beginning to see what all the fuss is about … I like it a lot. This is a big sounding record, solidly out of a roots rock tradition but with a pleasing amount of crunchiness to catch the ear of a more modern listener. Four stars.
The Velvet Underground’s eponymous album. A solid little record. It’s clear what era that VU records come from, but they’re great representatives of that time. Three stars.
15 Jun 2006 [Northampton, MA, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Another fine OtR show. Four stars.
24 Jun 2007 [Northampton, MA, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. It’s kinda hard to tell that this is a bootleg, which I guess is a credit to the mics. Would that I had the bones to drop on those. The recording is quite clear, to the point that you’d have no idea that you were at an outdoor concert. If I have any complaint, it’s that there’s not much bass, but I bet that’s probably a function of the capsule set. Four stars.
29 Jun 2007 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Sandra McCracken, Derek Webb, and Bleu. Not my best recording, to be sure, but I was using my backup recording device. Three stars, but only because of the musicianship and the fact that Sandra played two songs off of Red Balloon.
6 Aug 2008 [Boston, MA, USA] concert bootleg of Gnarls Barkley. I am of two minds about using binaural mics for bootleg recordings: I don’t think they’re generally up to it, but sometimes, they’re the only thing that you can get past security. I just find that they make the whole thing sound too flat. As such, this gets just three stars.

Posted September 14th, 2008 in Musiclogging. Tagged: Ben Folds, George Strait, Iron & Wine, Over the Rhine, Radiohead, The Velvet Underground, wilco.

Geof’s New Music: 10-16 Aug 2008

This week is a mix of old and new: old studio releases [all at least a decade old], and new bootlegs [all from 2008].

Last week:

Iron and Wine’s The Shepherd’s Dog. I hadn’t really, really loved any of Sam Beam’s previous work; this, however, sparkles. Four-and-a-half stars.
Gnarls Barkley’s The Odd Couple. Fan-damn-tastic. Four stars.
Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. Three stars. [I blame listening to Girl Talk on getting this.]
8 Nov 1992 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Uncle Tupelo. A surprisingly good recording, given the age. Three-and-a-half stars.
16 Mar 2007 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Your standard kick-ass OtR@CST show. Four stars.
15 May 2008 [St. Louis, MO, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. Three stars. Solid but unspectacular.
3 Jun 2008 [Paris, France] concert bootleg of Feist. It’s a bit treble-y and feels weak, but it has good crowd capture, which to me is something that you want [because, otherwise, it's a one-off rendition of songs you've heard before; this is why I'm not the biggest fan of soundboards]. Two-and-a-half stars.