GFMorris.com » Jim James

Geof’s New Music: 24-30 Aug 2008

Geof F. Morris — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 22:01:45 +0000

Blind Faith’s eponymous album.
Lenny Kravitz’s It Is Time for a Love Revolution.
Matthew Perryman Jones’s Swallow the Sea, which I’ve been waiting for since … oh, about a half-hour after I first spun Throwing Punches in the Dark.
20 Jul 1995 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 1995-07-20: Dancing in the District, Nashville, TN, USA
20 Apr 2004 [Minneapolis, MN, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward, Jim James, and Conor Oberst. 2004-04-20: Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, USA (disc 1) and 2004-04-20: Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, USA (disc 2).
18 Nov 2006 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2006-11-18: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2006-11-18: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 2).
1 Aug 2008 [Sugar Land, TX, USA] concert bootleg of Andy Gullahorn. 2008-08-01: Andrews Home, Sugar Land, TX, USA (disc 1) and 2008-08-01: Andrews Home, Sugar Land, TX, USA (disc 2).

Last week was very good to my ears:

Nirvana’s Nevermind. Is there an album with a better opening than Nevermind? I mean, it’s a Led Zeppelin-esque tour de force to kick things off. Just fantastic. Four-and-a-half stars.
The Cardigans’ Life. Still definitely in a pop vein, but it’s got a lot more groove behind Nina’s voice musically. Three stars.
Over the Rhine’s Live From Nowhere, Volume Three. Worth the wait, as usual. Four-and-a-half stars. People, this is how you do it: put out a live album every year. Put a couple covers on it. Sell to your hardcore fans directly, and you’ll keep them happy.
16 Jul 2006 [Florence, MA, USA] concert bootleg of The Autumn Defense. I own Birds, Beasts, and Flowers, their half-and-half EP with Hem [because of the latter], but this is the first time I’ve given them a serious listen. I thought BBF was uninspiring for bringing people to Hem, and I think the same can be said for The Autumn Defense—I’ll be checking more out now. Three stars.
17 May 2008 [St. Louis, MO, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. Nothing special. Three stars.
23 Jun 2008 [Santa Monica, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. A solid recording. Three-and-a-half stars.
22 Jul 2008 [San Diego, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Feist. A fantastic recording. Four stars.

Geof’s New Music: 4-10 May 2008

Geof F. Morris — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:06:04 +0000

Last week:

The Weepies’ Hideaway. This one did not grab me the way that Say I Am You did, but I’ve also not given it car/road trip time. I will be correcting that this weekend. Three-and-a-half stars, and I expect that’ll rise.
Carole King’s Tapestry (Legacy Edition). This was a bit of an impulse buy, although it was well-regarded in last month’s Paste. Very much worth my money. Four stars.
18 Feb 1997 [Ottawa, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Wilco. It’s hard to believe that this was recorded onto tape, at least for me. It sounds quite good! Three-and-a-half stars.
26 Aug 2005 [Lexington, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Oh my holy heck. This is a fine, fine, fine recording. If you like Ohio and Drunkard’s Prayer, GRAB IT. Four-and-a-half stars.
15 Mar 2008 [Austin, TX, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward and Jim James. Sadly, during Matt’s solo stuff, the recording is very distant sounding, which is surprising for Church Audio cardioids; must’ve been a hard room to record. I give it three stars.
4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb. I’m happy with how this one came out; I’m giving it four stars only because the songs off of The Ringing Bell really deserve to have a band behind them. I understand why that didn’t happen on this tour, but man … if Derek had been able to have Todd, Garett, Jeff, Josh, and Andrew backing him on these songs … that would have been awesome. Anyhow, some folks would probably like more of the SBD in this mix, but I’m a fan of how a recording actually sounds in a room. For those people, I’ve seeded the SBD and AUD recordings in their uncut forms on IndieRiver; they can do with it what they like.
4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Caedmon’s Call. The longer I think about this, the more I think about re-mastering it. It just could be better. That said, it’s decent. Three-and-a-half stars, mainly because of Andy O’s two killer guitar solos. That kid really can shred.

Geof’s New Music: 27 Apr – 3 May 2008

Geof F. Morris — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:59:03 +0000

Surprisingly, I was able to hold out on listening to The Weepies’ new record until this week, despite having it Tuesday. Discipline, or something.

The Weepies’ Hideaway.
Carole King’s Tapestry (Legacy Edition). You can blame this one on me watching lots of Gilmore Girls episodes.
18 Feb 1997 [Ottawa, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Wilco. 1997-02-18: The Cave, Ottawa, ON, Canada (disc 1) and 1997-02-18: The Cave, Ottawa, ON, Canada (disc 2).
26 Aug 2005 [Lexington, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-08-26: The Dame, Lexington, KY, USA (disc 1) and 2005-08-26: The Dame, Lexington, KY, USA (disc 2).
15 Mar 2008 [Austin, TX, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward and Jim James. 2008-03-15: St. David's Church, Austin, TX, USA and 2008-03-15: St. David's Church, Austin, TX, USA.
4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb. Really happy with the ability to do SBD-AUD matrixes now. 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA.
4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Caedmon’s Call. This one took a lot of work, because my feeds got slightly out of sync from time to time during the set, so I continually had to monitor for sync issues. Worth doing, though. I’ve got some ideas of how I’ll do that better next time. Could’ve spent more time mastering it, too. Ah well. 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA (disc 1) and 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA (disc 2).

Last week was good in the studio spots, meh otherwise:

Deb Talan’s Something Burning. Unlike with her husband, I liked her sophomore release much better. This is good, but the melody is better on the next record. Two-and-a-half stars.
Deb Talan’s A Bird Flies Out. Lots and lots of fun here. Three-and-a-half stars.
11 Jan 1997 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Jeff Tweedy. Pretty standard Tweedy solo fare of that era; nothing special. Two-and-a-half stars. The fun bit for me is the cover of “Thirteen”, which I’m used to hearing Elliott Smith do.
7 Jul 1999 [Stuttgart, Germany] concert bootleg of Wilco. Very meh. Two stars.
12 Aug 2002 [New York, NY, USA] concert bootleg of Coldplay. Sounds thin and reedy. Two-and-a-half stars.
25 Jun 2005 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Good mics, well-implemented. Feels sluggish, but that’s because the performance is slow and muted. Sometimes when OtR goes this way, it’s really cool, like listening to jazz with a good glass of $alcohol [I'd say wine, but I don't drink wine], and sometimes, it’s like this, just a tad too mellow. Three-and-a-half stars.
17 Apr 2006 [Toronto, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. Sadly, an audience rig not up to the task. Two stars.