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Everything Broad Ripple HomearrowRandom Ripplings Homearrow2006 02 24arrowColumn

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Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v03n04)
Rick On The Records - by Rick Zeigler
posted: Feb. 24, 2006

Rick on the Records header

This being my first column for the estimable Broad Ripple Gazette, I want to review just a few of the hundreds of worthwhile CD releases that came out last year that you may have missed. "Hundreds," you say? Yes, it's true. While tens of thousands of the releases that came out last year were certifiably mediocre (or worse), musicians continue to put out the good stuff, though it often flies under the radar. You can think of this as my "Top 20" for 2005 (although they aren't listed in any particular order). Part 1 (1-10)
1.MY MORNING JACKET-Z
With laid-back anthems, hints of psychedelia, big guitar riffs, and soaring vocals, these boys leave behind the Neil Young comparisons on their 4th effort and enter their own rocking realm.
2. SPOON-Gimme Fiction
Indie-rock at its absolute finest. Very spare instrumentation, yet with every note precisely placed and with beautifully constructed songs, Spoon offer up superior melodic rock and roll.
3. THELONIUS MONK & JOHN COLTRANE-At Carnegie Hall
Long-rumored to exist, the tapes of this radio broadcast finally surfaced last year to the justifiably ecstatic cries of jazz aficionados everywhere. With Monk at the height of his powers and Coltrane just beginning to stretch his avant-garde muscles, this recording unites the two titans in a riveting set of standards and originals.
4. Various Artists-Son Cubano
Horns, percussion, and lots of piano add up to Cuban dance heaven on this varied CD of cuts primarily from the sixties and seventies.
5. LOW-The Great Destroyer
Merging beautiful male/female harmonies with slow-motion rock-outs and large dollops of fuzzed-out guitar proves irresistible on the latest from this long-running combo. Heavier and louder than their past releases but no less compelling.
6. RYAN ADAMS-29
His third release of 2005 also turned out to be his best and, in my opinion, his finest work to date. Always a sure hand lyrically, this disc finds Adams largely abandoning traditional verse-chorus-verse songwriting to follow wherever his melodies may lead. This man is one of the true artists around today and is in the prime of his career.
7. SNOOKS EAGLIN-New Orleans Street Singer
A reissue from the early 1960s showcases some the finest acoustic guitar playing ever, encompassing blues, jazz, rock, flamenco, and just about anything else you can think of. One of the finest releases Smithsonian-Folkways has ever put forth.
8. HAMMOCK-Kenotic
Sort of ambient, but with a rock pulse underneath, this CD will put you into a state of hypnotic bliss.
9. FOUR TET-Everything Ecstatic
With an unbelievably accomplished meld of live instrumentation (fantastic drumming!) with samples and loops, Four Tet produces a techno masterpiece.
10. SUFJAN STEVENS-Illinoise
Multi-instrumentalist Stevens says he's going to put out a CD "documenting" each of the 50 states. Even if he never gets beyond the first two ("Michigan" preceded this one), he has still delivered more of musical worth than most of his contemporaries. Taking a skewed-pop approach to his songs and employing a widely varied instrumental palette (from simple guitar & vocals, to strings & woodwind-led orchestral passages), Stevens is one-of-a kind.



Rick Zeigler, along with his wife, Jeanne, owns Indy CD and Vinyl at 806 Broad Ripple Avenue. Back in his musician days, his band opened for the likes of U2, XTC, Gang Of Four, The Pretenders, Los Lobos, and, um, Flock Of Seagulls, among others. You can read all of Rick's reviews at www.indycdandvinyl.com. Email your music questions and comments to rick@BroadRippleGazette.com




rick@broadripplegazette.com
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