#GreatAlbums1950s

I'm starting a new series of #1950s albums with a list of sixty classics cued up to go. As always, I'm open to suggestions from the worlds of #RockAndRoll #Jazz #CountryAndWestern #Folk #RhythmAndBlues #TraditionalPop , etc.

Post your faves in the comments. Cheers.

#MusicReviews #50sMusic #Albums #LP

#NewReleases - #Orbital - #OpticalDelusion (2023-02-17). Orbital brings their distinctive warmth and grit back to the fore on this solid set of electronic dance and groove. Standouts include “Are You Alive?,” enlivened by Penelope Styles sugarcoated vocals, and the contrasting “Dirty Rat,” a grinding attitude buster fronted by angry minimalists Sleaford Mods. 34 years after breakthrough “Chime,” Orbital keep returning in solid form to shake the house.
#MusicReviews, #Pop, #Electronica

#NewReleases - #Paramore - #ThisIsWhy (2023-02-17). Veterans at this point, Paramore show no signs of losing their bright energy and wistful stomp. “This Is Why” leads the new LP off with a bang, and 10 tracks later you’re still cracking eggs harder than normal against the Formica (assuming it’s breakfast time – my time for new releases, but I digress). I’ve been spinning this so often, I’m about to start charging Hayley Williams rent. #GreatAlbums, #MusicReviews, #Rock, #Alternative, #IndieRock

#NewReleases - #RonSexsmith - #TheVivianLine (2023-02-17). Ron isn’t the type to reinvent anything (least of all himself), but the quality of his songs never fades – as this engaging batch of country-themed tunes proves. I hear echoes of The Kinks in their Muswell Hillbilly phase (“A Barn Conversion” is a dead ringer). But Sexsmith has been around long enough to be nobody’s simulacrum, and he keeps all his flower boxes lined up nicely.
#GreatAlbums, #MusicReviews, #PopMusic, #SingerSongwriter

#NewReleases - #Cinephonic - #Visions (2023-02-17). The second release from this Ottawa Souljazz offshoot finds Pierre Chrétien and friends delving back into classic cinema chillout, with some good guitar work and an overall feel that’s like pomo jazz combined with Ninjatune dark vibes – plus touches of Doorsy psych from the Vox Conti on “Le Combat.” Find it on Bandcamp and go for vinyl: Cinephonic (bandcamp.com).
#GreatAlbums, #MusicReviews, #Jazz, #Cinematic

#NewReleases - #BradMehldau - #YourMotherShouldKnow (2023-02-17). There have been Beatles jazz tributes before, but most descend into the schmalz already suggested by some of Macca’s lighter tunes. Mehldau’s is different, breaking out the melodic possibilities in thornier tunes like “I Am the Walrus” and “She Said, She Said.” The live solo ambience makes this feel like the Koln Concert updated, and there’s a surprise “Life on Mars” encore at the end.
#GreatAlbums, #MusicReviews, #Jazz, #Beatles

#NewReleases - #AndyShauf - #Norm (2023-02-10). Emitt Rhodes for the Pitchfork crowd, or Ron Sexsmith on too much Valium – both meant as compliments. Shauf makes languid ballads with bit of Abbey Road guitar squawk to offset the vanilla blues. It’s the right thing to spin on Sunday, when he/ she/ they are gone and you’re wondering what comes next. I only wish that, like Emitt and Ron, Shauf would add less “norm,” a little more grit.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Alternative, #Indie

#NewReleases - #AoifeODonovan - #TheApathySessions (2023-01-27). This twofer expands O’Donovan’s Grammy-nominated Age of Apathy (2022) with a second disc as solid as the first. O’Donovan plies the mist between modern folk (think: Alison Krauss) and postmodern pop (think: Weyes Blood), rarely announcing her intentions until you let the songs sink in for a bit. The cover of Bill Callaghan’s (SMOG) “Drover” on the second disc is captivating.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Folk, #Americana

#NewReleases - #AoifeODonovan - #TheApathySessions (2023-01-27). This twofer expands O’Donovan’s Grammy-nominated Age of Apathy (2022) with a second disc as solid as the first. O’Donovan plies the mist between modern folk (think: Alison Krauss) and postmodern pop (think: Weyes Blood), rarely announcing her intentions until you let the songs sink in for a bit. The cover of Bill Callaghan’s (SMOG) “Drover” on the second disc is captivating.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Folk, #Americana

#NewReleases - #Riverside - #IDEntity (2023-01-20). The title (“ID.Entity”) defies hashtags—an apt signifier of these Polish proggers’ sustained screed against mass technology on tracks like “Big Tech Brother” and “Post-Truth.” I’ll admit to tuning out once Mariusz Duda’s diction gets so clipped it all starts resembling a big ole mansplain. All the same, the band rocks and Kansasy moments, like “The Place Where I Belong,” rattle the Trans Am.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #ProgRock

#NewReleases - #Riverside - #IDEntity (2023-01-20). The title (“ID.Entity”) defies hashtags—an apt signifier of these Polish proggers’ sustained screed against mass technology on tracks like “Big Tech Brother” and “Post-Truth.” I’ll admit to tuning out once Mariusz Duda’s diction gets so clipped it all starts resembling a big ole mansplain. All the same, the band rocks and Kansasy moments, like “The Place Where I Belong,” rattle the Trans Am.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #ProgRock

#NewReleases - #GuidedByVoices - #LaLaLand (2023-01-20). Once the ironic jesters of 90s alt rock, with lo-fi music recorded on 4-track Portastudios, GBV were the band my brother and me rushed from the main stage to the tent at the 95 Reading Festival to catch. Three decades later, it’s the same sound except with normal length songs and an “improved” fidelity. If you're a fan, you'll like it. Now I'm off to spin Alien Lanes (again).
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Rock, #AlternativeRock

#NewReleases - #GuidedByVoices - #LaLaLand (2023-01-20). Once the ironic jesters of 90s alt rock, with lo-fi music recorded on 4-track Portastudios, GBV were the band my brother and me rushed from the main stage to the tent at the 95 Reading Festival to catch. Three decades later, it’s the same sound except with normal length songs and an “improved” fidelity. If you're a fan, you'll like it. Now I'm off to spin Alien Lanes (again).
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Rock, #AlternativeRock

#NewReleases - #GhostWoman - #AnneIf (2023-01-20). Ghost Woman’s second album does the lo-fi boogie with stylistic throwbacks to early Can (“Street Meet”) and 90s Brian Jonestown Massacre (“Anne, If”). Boiler room acoustics, bad edits, and tambourines way up in the mix are all deliberately tossed together to give you that 60s vibe. Leader Evan John Uschenko can write a tune and has his Roger McGuinn/ Ray Davies fixation down pat.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Rock, #AlternativeRock

#NewReleases - #GhostWoman - #AnneIf (2023-01-20). Ghost Woman’s second album does the lo-fi boogie with stylistic throwbacks to early Can (“Street Meet”) and 90s Brian Jonestown Massacre (“Anne, If”). Boiler room acoustics, bad edits, and tambourines way up in the mix are all deliberately tossed together to give you that 60s vibe. Leader Evan John Uschenko can write a tune and has his Roger McGuinn/ Ray Davies fixation down pat.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Rock, #AlternativeRock

#NewReleases - #Katatonia - #SkyVoidOfStars (2023-01-20). Stockholm’s melodic metal kings return with this set of immaculately produced mope anthems, comparable to the sound they’ve been refining since 2001’s The Last Fair Feel Gone Down. I’ll always have time for them, and “Impermanence” and “Colossal Shade” went straight on the playlist, but so much reiteration of similar mood and tempo makes me wonder what they’re trying to achieve at this point.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Metal

#NewReleases - #Katatonia - #SkyVoidOfStars (2023-01-20). Stockholm’s melodic metal kings return with this set of immaculately produced mope anthems, comparable to the sound they’ve been refining since 2001’s The Last Fair Deal Gone Down. I’ll always have time for them, and “Impermanence” and “Colossal Shade” went straight on the playlist, but so much reiteration of similar mood and tempo makes me wonder what they’re trying to achieve at this point.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Metal

#NewReleases - #RyuichiSakamoto - #12 (2023-01-20). From Yellow Magic Orchestra to film music to his extensive solo catalogue, Sakamoto has linked classical music and ambient/ electronica for decades. This new album is the second since his cancer 2014 diagnosis – the beautiful work of a survivor determined to keep the music flowing. Stark piano pieces, such as “20220302,” provide organic interludes between spare electronic meditations.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Classical, #Ambient

#NewReleases - #RyuichiSakamoto - #12 (2023-01-20). From Yellow Magic Orchestra to film music to his extensive solo catalogue, Sakamoto has linked classical music and ambient/ electronica for decades. This new album is the second since his 2014 cancer diagnosis – the beautiful work of a survivor determined to keep the music flowing. Stark piano pieces, such as “20220302,” provide organic interludes between spare electronic meditations.
#GreatAlbums, #Music, #MusicReviews, #Classical, #Ambient

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For those who haven't seen the Great Albums page yet, you can browse any of the following tags for the best in music:

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