John Mayer’s sixth studio album, Paradise Valley picks up where last year’s Born and Raised left off, and that’s a very good thing.
Mayer has settled into a country folk groove that suits him perfectly. His delicate guitar work and pretty melodies are tailor made for this back porch acoustic vibe. And he’s writing some of the best songs of his career.
The latest installment of Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series (the tenth) is, at first glance, a bit of a head-scratcher.
Titled Another Self Portrait, it’s a collection of tracks recorded mostly for 1970’s Self Portrait, the album widely considered Dylan’s worst. That was the record that prompted critic Greil Marcus to start his infamous Rolling Stone review with the words “What is this shit?”
It’s been three years since Belle & Sebastian’s last full-length album, Write About Love, so I’ve been itching to hear news of a future release.
So imagine my surprise when an email newsletter from Amoeba Records (remember them?) mentioned new music from the Scottish septet.
It turned out to be not a new album but a compilation of B-sides and assorted odds and ends from the past decade. Hey, good enough.
I tend to buy new music in bunches. I suppose that’s because studios tend to time releases around particular periods, though apart from the holidays I’m not sure how that makes much sense.
At any rate, I’ve purchased five albums in the past week, a nice round number for SOTD purposes. I’ll feature one track from each this week.
Here’s a rare uptempo song from Elliott Smith — it’s downright hard rock by his standards. This isn’t a favorite of mine because I do prefer the pretty stuff (95% of his catalog) but it isn’t bad.
I came across an interview with Smith in which he explains the lyrics and reveals that even this seemingly upbeat track was colored by the depression that ultimately led to his suicide.
