Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl
By Van Morrison, 2009
Ever since I can remember reading “rock journalism” three albums (as they were called) reigned on most respected journalists’ all time best type polls: Derek and the Dominoes’ Layla and other Assorted Love Songs, The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street and Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks. I have come to completely agree with their collective wisdom in deeming these all time classics (I never understood their strange fascination with Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica though; I disagree on that one.) In any case, it is over forty years since the seminal, jazzy, reflective, literate, brooding, celebratory song cycle masterpiece known as Astral Weeks was released by Van Morrison. Can he still do these songs justice in a live format? The short answer is a resounding “Yes!”
Van’s rich Belfast voice inhabits these songs with passion as he stretches them out, drops in some scatting and new inflections and generally brings them alive for the lucky audience at the Hollywood Bowl. The recording is excellent with no crowd histrionics (I could have done without the voice from the stage calling out his name between the encore break but it’s a minor quibble.) and a rich balance of acoustic guitar, brushes, string bass that compliments Van’s inimitable voice. Hearing songs like Cyprus Avenue, Ballerina and Madame George played with such soulful, focused intensity and joy is wonderful to behold.
I’ve listened to this recording numerous times in a variety of settings and conditions and it always gives me satisfaction, which can’t be said for a lot of live recordings. Like the original recording – I just don’t get tired of it. Very well done indeed.
- Phil
The Long Fall Back to Earth
by Jars of Clay
5 stars…but it takes a while to get there
When I first heard the latest album from Jars of Clay, I kinda didn’t know what to think about it. It was a complete departure from their normal sound with all the electronic music and whatnot. I’ve been a Jars fan since high school and this album was disappointing in that it didn’t sound like them…at first. However, I kept the CD in my car and as it spun through I began to really listen to the songs. Eventually I found the Jars of Clay I love. If you only listen to two tracks, make sure you hear #9 (Boys) and #10 (Hero). The title track’s pretty good as well. The soul of the music was always in this album…it just took me a little longer to find it.
- Amanda
The Song is You
by Arthur Phillips
In the past, I’ve read quite a few books by musicians, about musicians, or about music in general and none of them have ever quite done what I wanted them to. I can’t really describe what I’m looking for, being a musician myself, but this one has come the closest of any of them. Here’s a brief sample of what I mean:
A piece of music’s conquest of you is not likely to occur the first time you hear it, though it is possible that the aptly named “hook” might barb your ear on it’s first pass. More commonly, the assailant is slightly familiar and has leveraged that familiarity to gain access to the crisscrossed wiring of your interior life. And then there is a possession, a mutual possession, for just as you take the song as part of you and your history, it is claiming dominion for itself, planting fluttering eighth notes in your heart.
So anyway, our main character, Julian, is a music aficionado who always seems to be listening to his iPod. He has 8,146 songs at his disposal – ready for any occasion. One night, he’s out walking in New York and happens upon a new band with an inspiring young Irish singer. The girl is magnetic and Julian is immediately drawn to her and her music. Most of the book tells the story of how their lives intersect – or you know – don’t.
- Amanda
Flavors of Entanglement
By Alanis Morrissette, 2008
2 1/2 of 5 stars
Alanis Morissette’s best album will always be Jagged Little Pill. Most artists achieve this musical perfection on their 2nd or 3rd release. It must be extremely difficult to top one’s self, but she continues to write songs and put out new records. Morissette’s songwriting is at its best when she has a broken heart, and there are 2 stellar tracks on “Flavors of Entanglement” to prove it: “Not as We” and “Torch.” The rest of the tracks are OK, but often too wordy and hard to understand, as well as the production making her sound a bit too much like Evanescence. Still, Flavors is worth a couple repeats in your stereo. It will grow on you.
- Crystal
“Cult,” from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:
5a: a great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement or work (as a film or book).†
For each of these bands, there exists a rabid following somewhere waiting for the next record or a bootleg to turn up. And for every kid who’s ever picked up a guitar, there exists something mysterious in finding a record that connects with this primal urgency to hear something so fresh. So next time you’re browsing the CDs and see something strange, give it a spin, you might uncover something that was never lost. Remember after all – it’s free!
Enjoy: Cult Bands
†Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. Merriam-Webster, Inc. Springfield, MA, USA. 2003.
How to Kill a Rock Star
by Tiffanie DeBartolo
This book is chic-lit for the rock n roll girl…
Eliza moves to New York to write for a music mag. She rooms with budding “Rock God” Paul Hudson, the singer and songwriter for Bananafish. Eliza’s brother happens to play bass for Paul’s band, and knows Paul’s history with women. He warns Paul to stay away from his sister. But the roommates are instantly attracted – and a romance ensues.
Filled with sexy, dramatic, edgy situations, Tiffanie Debartolo’s sophomore effort does not disappoint if you’re looking for a quirky romance. Add the realistic look at a young band’s struggle to rise above the evils of the music industry and you feel like you’re inside an episode of VH1’s Behind the Music.
If you like HTKARS, try DeBartolo’s 1st book God-Shaped Hole, which she dedicated to the late, great Jeff Buckley.
-Crystal
Comments (0) 
