| The
Crossing
Dear Musical Youth,
Whether you’re aged 5, 50,
or 150, we are ALL children bathed in the sunlight of rock ‘n roll. And
with that knowledge, you can bet it’s time for just one thing.....yes,
you guessed it.....a third installment of what can only be known as The
Crossing. Nobody can
possibly keep up with the
amount of rock ‘n roll that is coming out these days, but if you wanted
to, this list of goods might help you out! We all devoured and are still
devouring and for some, yet to devour Dear Life by Bill Mallonee
last month (damn, that’s a good album!) and this month we’ve got another
artist who deserves special attention: Pierce Pettis and his new album
“Great Big World”. So here we are....just sit back and relax and
hold tight, you won’t want to miss anything.....grab a Coca~Cola,
perhaps a cream soda.........anyhow,
grab your favorite beverage.... It’s time for another edition of The Crossing:
ARTIST of the MONTH:
Pierce Pettis - “Great Big
World” (Available August 3rd, Pierce’s 7th album, 8th if you include the
impossible-to-find “Moments” album. Obtain a copy at http://www.compassrecords.com.)
Recently released (most at
the end of July) and not mentioned in last issue:
Old 97’s - “Drag It Up” (first
album in four years, not including Rhett Miller’s solo album.)
Over The Rhine - “Changes
Come” (live album from the Ohio tour....be sure to check out their website.)
Joni Mitchell - “Beginning
Of Survival” (an anthology handpicked by Ms. Mitchell herself.)
Maria McKee - “Live In Hamburg”
Todd Snider - “East Nashville
Skyline”
Paul Weller - “Bottle” (import)
J.J. Cale - “To Tulsa And
Back”
Luka Bloom - “Before Sleep
Comes” (Quiet, nine song mix of covers and originals.)
The Waterboys - “This Is
The Sea” (remaster w/bonus disc of rarities and demos)
The Alarm - “In The Poppy
Fields”
Caedmon’s Call - “Chronicles
1992-2004” (best-of featuring studio and live tracks with two new songs.
This came
out back in April, but you
may have missed it...I sure did.)
Queensryche - “The Art Of
Live” (recorded live on the Tribe tour)
Metal Church - “Weight Of
The World” (band reformed with a new singer.)
Megadeth - Their first eight
albums all remastered and overhauled with bonus tracks by Dave Mustaine
himself.
Cary Hudson - “Cool Breeze”
(second solo album from the former Blue Mountain singer/guitarist.)
Tragically Hip - “In Between
Evolution”
Blues Traveler - “Live On
The Rocks” (recorded at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Colorado.)
Widespread Panic - “Uber
Cobra”
Red Hot Chili Peppers -
“Live In Hyde Park” (import)
Pearl Jam - “Live at Benaroya
Hall” (an October 2003 show)
Fleetwood Mac - “Live In
Boston” (2 DVD’s and 1 CD.)
Heart - “Jupiter’s Darling”
(a return to their early
Led Zeppelin inspired sound.)
The Hives - “Tyrannosaurus
Hives”
Tanya Donnelly - “Whiskey
Tango Ghosts”
K.D. Lang - “Hymns Of The
49th Parallel” (singer covers fellow Canadians Neil Young, Leonard Cohen,
Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn, etc.)
Eva Cassidy - “Wonderful
World” (an anthology)
Ollabelle - “Ollabelle”
(a six person New York City based band that plays rural, American roots
music....helmed by Amy Helm, daughter of Levon Helm of The Band.)
Jimmy Cliff - “Black Magic”
(features guests Sting, Annie Lennox and the late Joe Strummer.)
Stan Ridgway - “Snakebite:
Blacktop Ballads and Fugitive Songs” (former Wall Of Voodoo singer.)
Faces - “Five Guys Walk
Into A Bar” (Box Set; Rod Stewart’s old band.)
The Notorious Cherry Bombs
- “The Notorious Cherry Bombs” (a collaboration between country maestros
Rodney Crowell, Vince Gill, Tony Brown and Richard Bennett.)
Terri Clark - “Greatest
Hits”
Dwight Yoakam - “Very Best
Of Dwight Yoakam”
The Rembrandts - “Choice
Picks” (re-recorded favorites handpicked by the fans including one new
song and featuring both founding members Phil Solem and Danny Wilde.)
Brian Setzer Orchestra -
“Ultimate Collection” (2 CD live set featuring solo and Stray Cats material.)
The Kinks - “Village Green
Preservation Society” (3 CD reissue w/stereo version, mono version and
demos and rarities.)
Plus, a tribute to the songs
of Alejandro Escovedo -
“Por Vida” (a 2 CD set including
artists Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Cowboy Junkies, The Jayhawks and
Charlie
Sexton, etc.)
8/3
Pierce Pettis - “Great Big World” (in case you missedit!)
Damien Rice - “B-Sides” EP (7 tracks)
Los Lobos - “Ride This” (7 song covers EP)
Gaelic Storm - “How Are We Getting Home?”
REO Speedwagon - “Essentials” (2 CD best of)
Flower Kings - “Adam & Eve” (progressive rock band
from Sweden; their singer Roine Stolt has got an
amazing
voice incidentally.)
8/10
Kate Campbell - “The Portable
K.C.” and “Sing Me Out”
(two albums of re-recorded
versions of her songs
including a few special
guests.)
Kate Campbell - “Songs From
The Levee” (remastered
reissue of her first album.)
Lisa Loeb - “Way It Really
Is”
Alter Bridge - “One Day
Remains” (ex Creed members)
David Crosby and Graham
Nash - “Crosby-Nash”
Sammy Hagar - “Essential
Red Collection”
Richard Marx - “My Own Best
Enemy”
8/17
Bruce Hornsby - “Halcyon
Days”
Talking Heads - “Name Of
This Band Is Talking Heads”
(Live double album, first
time on CD.)
The Presidents Of The United
States Of America - “Love
Everybody”
Saliva - “Survival Of The
Sickest”
Kansas - “Sail On” (Boxset
w/2 CD’s and 1 DVD)
The Who - “Live in Boston”
DVD (filmed in 2003.)
8/24
Steve Earle - “The Revolution
Starts......Now”
Drive By Truckers - “The
Dirty South”
Alan Parsons - “A Valid
Path”
Finn Brothers - “Everyone
Is Here” (Neil & Tim Finn of
Crowded House.)
Richard Shindell - “Vuelta”
Tift Merritt - “Tambourine”
Guided By Voices - “Half
Smiles Of The Decomposed” (the influential, indie band’s last album.)
8/31
Ray Charles - “Genius Loves
Company” (When you’re blind, you can get away with a title like that....features
many special guests. His swan-song album. R.I.P. Ray.)
Bjork - “Medulla”
Asia - “Silent Nation” (Yes,
THAT Asia. w/ bonus DVD)
9/7
The Smithereens - “It Came
From Jersey!” (2 CD best of
anthology includes 39 tracks.)
Christine McVie - “In The
Meantime”
Jill Sobule - “Underdog
Victorious”
9/14
Tears For Fears - “Everybody
Loves A Happy Ending” (features both founding members Roland Orzabal and
Curt Smith)
Megadeth - “The System Has
Failed” (brand new album.)
The Thrills - “Let’s Bottle
Bohemia”
The Datsuns - “Outta Sight/Outta
Mind”
9/21
Buddy Miller - “Universal
United House of Prayer”
Creekdippers - ”Political
Manifest” (Victoria Williams and Mark Olson)
Green Day - “American Idiot”
Clash - “London Calling”
(25th anniversary re-release with a bonus disc and a DVD)
9/28
Leonard Cohen - “Dear Heather”
(all new album)
Also in September...
The Casbah Club - Released
in the UK September 20th,
(North America - October
26th),
a new band featuring J.J.
Gilmour formerly of The
Silencers on vocals and
guitar, Bruce Foxton formerly of The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers on bass,
and Mark Brezicki (drums), Bruce Watson (guitar) and Josh Philips (session
and live keyboardist) all formerly of Big Country; this is a live album
recorded during their April 2004 UK tour and features songs from all of
their former bands.)
King’s X - (live album)
Freedy Johnston
In October?
R.E.M. (October 5th is a
possible date; title not yet known.....permanent new drummer is Bill Rieflin
formerly of Ministry.)
Bruce Springsteen - “1992
In Concert: MTV Plugged” (first time on DVD)
Sixpence None The Richer
- “Best Of”
November?
U2 - (the long awaited, much
anticipated new albumpossibly titled “Vertigo”, maybe titled “Solar”, tentatively
titled “______”)
“Live Aid” Concerts (the
famous famine relief concerts finally released on a 4 DVD set recorded
and filmed in 1985 in both
London and Philadelphia....Nov.
10th is the tentative date.)
LYRIC of the MONTH:
Um, actually, for this month,
I’m gonna substitute the lyric of the month for the liner note of the month.
This passage comes from the man and artist who gave this column its namesake
via his band’s first album: “The Crossing” by Big Country originally released
in
1983. This liner note is
from the 1996 remaster:
“I found I could play this
music and connect the guitar directly to my heart. I found others who could
make the same connection, who could see the music as well as play it. The
sound made pictures. It spread out wide landscapes. Great dramas played
out under its turbulent skies. There was romance and reality, truth and
dare. People being people, no heroes just you and me. Like
it always is. The music
told stories, little stories. Lands were not conquered, treasure was left
in the tombs, the magic was in the everyday. We learned how we are together
and how we come apart. Life happens.”
Stuart Adamson 1958-2001
God bless you Stuart!
....’til next month...
Chris Barlow
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