| The
Crossing - July 2006 Edition
Alright...for starters, Happy
4th of July everyone!! We all know how this works: it’s hot, it’s humid,
it’s sweaty, it’s dusty, it’s long and hot
Summer days and nights and
we wouldn’t have it any other way. Summer is made for music. Summer, actually,
is made for “live” music. So, your mission, and you may have already chosen
it, is to get yourself out to some sort of “live” music event while this
Summer rolls on... Bring a friend, bring a loved one, bring an entire army
of friends and loved ones, throw caution to the wind and Rock like no-one
has rocked before! Barbeque, throw a frisbee, light off some fireworks
(be careful!), perhaps go white water rafting! Okay, perhaps not. Anyhow,
enjoy yourselves and this season of live music!
ARTISTS of the MONTH:
You’d think things would
slow down over the Summer right?...not a chance! We’ve got the Three Amigos
this month...Tom, John and Will. Who are these characters? Let’s take a
look...
Tom Petty - Releasing July
25th is the long anticipated new album from everybody’s favorite Southern
uncle. Yes, “Highway Companion” is here. Along for the ride on this disc
are principal players: Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and fellow
Traveling Wilbury and Electric Light Orchestra main dude, Jeff Lynne. This
trio, along with Tom, formed the nucleus of Petty’s major seller “Full
Moon Fever” back in 1989. That album spawned ‘Free Fallin’’, as well as
a few other major hits. Petty’s last three albums, while generally
pretty solid, have been,
how should we say, less radio ready and/or listener friendly. With the
return of Jeff Lynne to the fold, I’m expecting this new album to be more
listener friendly and fall somewhere in between the sounds of “Full Moon
Fever” with a more modern production sound and the 1994 album “Wildflowers”.
But, following up with 2002’s “The Last DJ”, it will probably have a more
mature slant to the songwriting. No matter how it turns out, Summers are
always better with new music from Tom Petty!
John Gorka - This was kind
of a surprise...didn’t know this would come so soon. New Jersey native
John Gorka releases his 10th album on July 11th and it’s called “Writing
In The Margins”. If you’re not familiar with Mr. Gorka, he’s got a warm
and pleasant baritone voice that is one of his calling cards. His other
calling card is, he often writes with a lot of humor and wordplay even
while addressing serious themes. He’s definitely got a sly and wry wit
about him. For sheer likeability, I put him right up with Pierce Pettis
even though they don’t really sound alike and approach their folk craft
from different ways. A good starting place to hear John Gorka is on his
2001 album “The Company You Keep”. He’s in a pretty good and whimsical
mood on that one, while other times he can be a bit more melancholy,
while never being morose.
John Gorka is a highly likeable folk songwriter who deserves a bigger audience.
With his last two albums, I’d even go so far as to say he’s on a high water
mark right now which I’m confident will continue with the new album. Nanci
Griffith and Lucy Kaplansky guest on “Writing In The Margins” out July
11th.
Will Kimbrough - I first
saw Will Kimbrough in, I think, 2003 opening for Bill Mallonee. I was instantly
taken in by his imagery rich songwriting and his easy-going stage demeanor.
He’s releasing his 3rd album under his own name on the 25th of July and
it’s entitled “Americanitis”. He’s also got a collection of rarities too
entitled “Godsend”. Will has been in bands since the mid/late 80’s and
once fronted Will & The Bushmen and the Bis-Quits. He’s also done a
fair share of production work and guest work, showing up on
albums by Kate Campbell,
Rodney Crowell and Todd Snider, among others. He has a strong writing style
that often transports you to various times and places. Apparently the new
album has 17 tracks on it and it covers a lot of ground on the state of
the nation and what it’s like to live in the States these days all with
a trademark whimsical look. A good starting place to hear Will is on his
first album under his own name entitled simply “This”. It came out in 2000
and I still listen to it all the time.
Aside from the Three Amigos,
(Artists sites for all three at the very bottom of this page.) don’t kid
yourself, there’s new music from Bruce
Cockburn, Thom Yorke, Soul
Asylum, Golden Smog and Edie Brickell and the New (not so new) Bohemians.
And, would the Summer be
complete without a new album
from the Red Rocker: Sammy Hagar? I think not. ;-)
Look carefully...there are
gems hidden throughout...
Recently released and not
mentioned in last edition:
* Bill Mallonee - “Permafrost” (Bill’s 17th album.)
* Don Peris - “Go When The Morning Shineth” (Guitarist of The Innocence
Mission.)
* Kevn Kinney - “Comin’ Round Again” (Drivin N Cryin frontman’s 6th solo
album.)
* Andrew Osenga - “The Morning” (Member of Caedmon’s Call.)
* Soul Asylum - “Stand Up and Be Strong” (EP.)
* Miles Of Wire - “Can You Feel It?”
* Eisenbraun & The Geiger Counter - “10 Radio Singles & A Murder
Ballad” (Check out www.joeeisenbraun.com)
* Jack Logan - “Orthodox Garage”
* Jeff Elbel & Ping - “Eleventh Hour Storybook”
* John Gorka - “Pure John Gorka” (Best of.)
* Michael Hedges - “Pure Michael Hedges” (Best of.)
* Megan Reilly - “Let Your Ghost Go”
* David Crowder - “B Collision”
* Jonah Smith - “Jonah Smith”
* Billy Tallent - “II”
* Sleeping At Last - “Keep No Score”
* Underoath - “Define The Great Line”
* Fighting Instinct - “Fighting Instinct”
* Jeff Scott Soto - “Essential Ballads”
* Hacienda Brothers - “What’s Wrong With Right”
* The Sunny Sweeney Band - “Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame”
* James Luther Dickinson - “Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger”
* The Bottle Rockets - “Live in Heilbronn, Germany” (2 CD set.)
* India.Arie - “Testimony Volume 1”
* Bjork - “Surrounded” (7 dualdisc boxset.)
* Bruce Dickinson - “Anthology” (3 DVD set.)
* Eight Below - DVD
* Cache - DVD
* Find Me Guilty - DVD
* Dave Chapelle’s Block Party - DVD
7/4
* Johnny Cash - “American V: A Hundred Highways”
* Alice Peacock - “Who I Am”
* Peter Gammons - “Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old”
* Rise Against - “The Sufferer and the Witness”
* Various Artists - “Roots & Branches” (Johnny Cash covers.)
* The 77’s - “77’s” (2 DVD set.)
* The Matador - DVD
* The Libertine - DVD
* Stoned - DVD
7/11
* John Gorka - “Writing In The Margins” (His 10th album.)
* Thom Yorke - “The Eraser” (Frontman for Radiohead.)
* Soul Asylum - “The Silver Lining”
* Greg Graffin - “Cold As the Clay” (Bad Religion frontman goes Americana.)
* Ramblin’ Jack Elliott - “I Stand Alone”
* Muse - “Black Holes and Revelations”
* Seether - “One Cold Night” (w/DVD.)
* Format - “Dog Problems”
* Matt Keating - “Summer Tonight”
* Freedy Johnston - “Live at McCabe’s Guitar Shop”
* Ani Difranco - “Reprieve”
* The Loud Family - “What If It Works?”
* Jen Chapin - “Ready”
* Cheyenne Kimball - “The Day Has Come”
* John Flynn - “Two Wolves”
* Johnny Dowd - “Cruel Words”
* Chris Knight - “Enough Rope”
* Chris Stills - “When The Pain Dies Down - Live”
* Steve Earle - “Live at Montreux ‘05” (Acoustic concert!)
* Shooting Star - “Circles” (Import; Kansas City quintet’s 8th album.)
* Jesus & Mary Chain - 5 dualdisc reissues.
* Third Eye Blind - “Greatest Hits” (w/DVD.)
* David Gilmour - “David Gilmour” and “About Face” (Reissues.)
* Wilson Pickett - “Definitive Collection”
* Stevie Ray Vaughn - “Live in Tokyo”
* Johnny Cash - “Live in Denmark” (DVD.)
* Pink Floyd - “Pulse” (New date; first time on DVD; live on the Division
Bell tour.)
* Derek Trucks Band - “Songlines Live” (DVD.)
* Basic Instinct 2 - DVD
7/18
* Bruce Cockburn - “Life Short Call Now” (His 29th album!)
* Golden Smog - “Another Fine Day”
* Lisa Germano - “In The Maybe World” (New date.)
* Los Lonely Boys - “Sacred”
* Meat Purveyors - “Someday Soon Things Will Be Much Worse”
* Helmet - “Monochrome”
* Eighteen Visions - “Eighteen Visions”
* Frost - “Milliontown”
* Black Stone Cherry - “Black Stone Cherry”
* Eric Church - “Sinners Like Me”
* Johnny Lee Schell - “Schell Game”
* Scott H. Biram - “Graveyard Shift”
* Ozric Tentacles - “Floor’s Too Far Away”
* Peter Green - “Best of”
* Steve Earle - “Definitive Collection”
* Various Artists - “Where’s Neil When You Need Him?” (Songs inspired by
author Neil Gaiman.)
* The Strokes - “Fortunate Sons of the Darkest Nights” (DVD.)
* Tsotsi - DVD
* ATL - DVD
* Pure - DVD
* The Second Chance - DVD
* She’s The Man - DVD
7/25
* Tom Petty - “Highway Companion” (His 13th album.)
* Will Kimbrough - “Americanitis”
* The Who - “Wire & Glass” (EP.)
* Sammy Hagar - “Livin’ It Up”
* Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - “Stranger Things” (Mrs. Paul Simon
returns.)
* Sufjan Stevens - “Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois album”
* Buck Owens - “Down on the Corner of Love”
* Tim O’Reagan - “Tim O’Reagan” (Jayhawks drummer and occasional singer.)
* Paul Weller - “Catch Flame”
* Randall Bramblett - “Rich Someday”
* Linda Ronstadt & Ann Savoy - “Adieu False Heart”
* Michael Franti & Spearhead - “Yell Fire”
* Old Crow Medicine Show - “Down Home Girl” (3 song Ep.)
* Raul Malo - “You’re Only Lonely”
* The Long Winters - “Putting The Days To Bed”
* Flogging Molly - “Whiskey On a Sunday”
* Gaelic Storm - “Bring Yer Wellies”
* The Drams - “Jubilee Dive”
* The Silversun Pickups - “Carnavas”
* Vienna Teng - “Dreaming Through The Noise”
* Every Move A Picture - “Heart = Weapon”
* All Time Low - “Put Up Or Shut Up” (EP.)
* Scritti Politti - “White Bread, Black Beer”
* Boy Kill Boy - “Civilian”
* Harvey Danger - “Little By Little...”
* Alien Ant Farm - “Up in the Attic”
* Voivod - “Katorz”
* Alice In Chains - “Essential”
* Delbert McClinton - “Live at Austin City Limits” (CD & DVD.)
* Fats Domino - “Live at Austin City Limits” (CD & DVD.)
* Bruce Hornsby - “Intersections 1985-2005” (5 disc boxset w/ DVD.)
* Various Artists - “Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man”
* Various Artists - “Slaying Since 1996” (2 CD’s)
* Final Destination 3 - DVD
* The Benchwarmers - DVD
* Ask The Dust - DVD
8/1
* Nina Gordon - “Breaking Heart Graffiti”
* Charlie Sexton & Shannon McNally - “Southside Sessions”
* Ollabelle - “Riverside Battle Songs”
* Five For Fighting - “Two Lights”
* G. Love - “Lemonade”
* Stone Sour - “Come Whatever May”
* Other Desert Cities - “On The Verge Of Collapsing”
* Journey - 5 remastered reissues
* Poison - 3 remastered reissues
* The Trachtenburg Slideshow Players - “S/T” (DVD.)
* The Clash - “Rude Boy” (DVD; 1980 tour documentary.)
* V for Vendetta - DVD
* The Shaggy Dog - DVD
8/8
* Gin Blossoms - “Major Lodge Victory” (The Tempe, Arizona quintet returns!)
* Todd Snider - “The Devil You Know”
* Breaking Benjamin - “Phobia”
* Brick - DVD
8/15
* Leigh Nash - “Blue On Blue” (Former frontwoman of Sixpence None The Richer.)
* Pete Yorn - “Nightcrawler”
* Pete Droge - “Under The Waves”
* The Mars Volta - “Amputechture”
* Carrie Rodriguez - “Seven Angels on a Bicycle”
* Elliott Easton - “Change No Change” (Reissue.)
* Benjamin Orr - “The Lace” (Reissue.)
8/22
* Kasey Chambers - “Carnival” (Australian native Kacey’s 4th domestic release.)
* Woven Hand - “Mosaic”
* Starsailor - “On The Outside”
* Primal Scream - “Riot Ciy Blues”
* Lambchop - “Damaged”
* Beth Thornley - “My Glass Eye”
* The Zutons - “Tired of Hanging Around”
* Outkast - “Idlewild”
* REM - “And I Feel Fine: Best of IRS Years” (w/DVD.)
* Various Artists - “Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys”
(2 CD’s/43 songs; Companion to the movie “Pirates of
the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”. Artists include Bono, Sting, Richard
Thompson, Lou Reed, Nick Cave, Andrea Corr, Lucinda
Williams, Rufus Wainwright, etc.)
* Scary Movie 4 - DVD
* Hoot - DVD
* L’enfant - DVD
8/29
* Bob Dylan - “Modern Times”
* The Roots - “Game Theory”
* Old Crow Medicine Show - “Big Iron World”
* Dream Theater - “Score” (3 CD’s/2 DVD’s sold separately.)
* Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World - DVD
* Akeelah & The Bee - DVD
* Take The Lead - DVD
9/5
* Iron Maiden - “A Matter Of Life And Death”
* Audioslave - “Revelations”
9/12
* Bob Seger - “Face The Promise”
* The Barenaked Ladies - “Barenaked Ladies Are Me”
* Everclear - “Welcome To The Drama Club”
* Los Lobos - “The Town and the City”
* Diana Krall - “From This Moment On”
* Richard Buckner - “Meadow”
* Magnolia Electric Co. - “Fading Trails”
* Now It’s Overhead - “Dark Light Daybreak”
* Robert Plant - “Nine Lives” (Post Led Zeppelin boxset; 9 CD’s and 1 DVD.)
* Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope - DVD (These are the very original,
unmodified editions first screened in theaters in 1977,
1980 and 1983.)
* Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - DVD
* Star Wars - Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi - DVD
* The Wild - DVD
9/19
* Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - “Then The Letting Go”
9/26
* Soloman Burke - “Nashville”
LYRICS of the MONTH:
Tom Petty has always had
a knack for writing simple, to the point songs and this proves it:
Take a look at what I’ve got.
I can’t promise you a lot.
But you and me and the road ahead.
I can’t save you from yourself.
You’ve got to want it,
All that’s left is you and me
and the road ahead.
Wherever that wind may blow
Wherever that river rolls
You know I will go with you
Looking over the mountain’s crown
The water roars and tumbles down
Like you and me and the road ahead.
Wherever that wind might blow
Wherever that river rolls
You know I will go with you
Just you and me and the road ahead...
Tom Petty, from the song “You And Me” off the album The Last DJ.
Stay cool and stay safe!!
Chris Barlow
Check out these cool sites too:
http://www.tompetty.com/
http://www.johngorka.com/
http://www.willkimbrough.com/
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