Staff
#20-11
Artist: Eagles
Album: Long Road Out of Eden
Gender: Rock/Country
Label: Eagles Recording Company
Release date: October 30, 2007
Buy: Amazon
When the Eagles broke up in 1980 people were not disappointed or at least a big part of them was not; them something funny happened. They began to miss them. Such was the intensity of the cosmic Eagles hunger that the band’s 1971-75 hits collection has become the best-selling U.S. album ever. This record dominated and still dominates the charts with some of the best freshly brewed nostalgia you are going to hear.
Artist: Iron And Wine
Album: The Shepard’s Dog
Gender: Folk
Label: Sub Pop Records
Release date: September 25, 2007
Buy: Amazon
Recovering after an acoustic record is something numerous bands fail to accomplish. In September 2002, Iron and Wine released The Creek Drank the Cradle, a warm, whispered collection of undressed folksongs. Now they have returned; beautiful in the mistery of its half told story, the Dog is banging out warnings and temptations for an eerie feeling of a fantastic record.
Artist: Foo Fighters
Album: Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
Gender: Alternative Rock
Label: RCA
Release date: September 25, 2007
Buy: Amazon
They never intended to make a revolution but at this point in their careers they could should have done something a bit more creative. They get you in the groove and after that there is nothing left. Another fine release from them yet the feeling is that they could have done a lot more than this. They definetly are among the most consistently good acts in rock music today they just need to make a step up to become the iconic band they could be. Hopefully the following record is going to bring this evolution.
Artist: Arctic Monkeys
Album: Favorite Worst Nightmare
Gender: Indie
Label: Domino
Release date: April 18, 2007
Buy: Amazon
A bit heavier and not as immediate, Favorite Worst Nightmare is a slightly lesser record, when compared to their last year massive debut, though by no means a difficult second album. The basic stuff is the same as the debut’s: momentum, alternately fluid and hard-riffing guitars, and Alex Turner’s lithe singalong tunes. A little more levity would have made this album another classic. Still, Arctic Monkeys continue to evolve, turning out a strong batch of thorny songs on Favourite Worst Nightmare.
Artist: Velvet Revolver
Album: Libertad
Gender: Hard Rock
Label: Domino
Release date: July 3, 2007
Buy: Amazon
A bit heavier and not as immediate, Favourite Worst Nightmare is a slightly lesser record, when compared to their last year massive debut, though by no means a difficult second album. The basic stuff is the same as the debut’s: momentum, alternately fluid and hard-riffing guitars, and Alex Turner’s lithe singalong tunes. A little more levity would have made this album another classic. Still, Arctic Monkeys continue to evolve, turning out a strong batch of thorny songs on Favourite Worst Nightmare
Artist: Spoon
Album: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Gender: Indie
Label: Merge
Release date: July 10, 2007
Buy: Amazon
After a rocky start – two so-so records followed by a major-label dumping – Spoon have been on a modest roll for the past half decade, but they’ve now seem to have struck gold with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Fresh and familiar is a consistent hallmark of the Austin band, and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga proves to be no exception. It crackles with Revolver pragmatism and Motown propulsion, and is populated with copious amounts of tambourine and handclaps—the most convivial of all pop-music touchstones and instrumentation
Artist: Bon Jovi
Album: Lost Highway
Gender: Country/Rock
Label: Mercury Nashville
Release date: June 19, 2007
Buy: Amazon
Bon Jovi takes a trip to Nashville for this without in fact leaving New Jersey. It is not as explosive as their previous releases which gives us a sign that they have aged; but fear not for they have aged in a way others could just dream of. The band hasn’t lost any of the huge sing-along choruses that has made Bon Jovi one of the largest stadium rocking bands in the world but they are just at a different stage in their lives where they feel the need to sing something else. For sure this record is begging to be the favorite choice for drivers.
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Album: Magic
Gender: Rock
Label: Columbia Records
Release date: September 25, 2007
Buy: Amazon
A classic album becomes a classic because there’s a Magic ingredient that no-one before hand can create that comes to light as the music touches a subliminal nerve of an entire country or in rare cases, and entire generation. It’s incredible how Springsteen, aged 58, can still rock our world beyond belief, like few artists can, and this is his 15th… Magic is a testament to Bruce Springsteen’s young and creative spirit, a solid album packed with the stories of one man’s view over life.
Artist: Amy Winehouse
Album: Back to Black
Gender: Soul/Jazz
Label: Island
Release date: March 13, 2007
Buy: Amazon
It is hard to say something about the music an artist creates without saying something about the artist himself. We are going to try to do this as there is no point in repeating something the media has already repeated a huge number of times. Gossip aside this release is just fantastic. Nearly every track is good enough to stand on its own as a single. Everyone’s heard the ubiquitous ‘Rehab’, but there’s much more to this album than that (admittedly brilliant) song. She is no Billie Holiday but she gives perspective of even a better release; meanwhile it remains to be seen whether this one is going to defeat the challenge of time and remain as a classic.
Artist: White Stripes
Album: Icky Thump
Gender: Garage Rock/Hard Rock
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Release date: June 15, 2007
Buy: Amazon
The White Stripes appeared to go towards an abrupt end or at least put on hiatus while Jack White gallivanted the globe with the Raconteurs. This in fact is a bit of a resurrection. He is able to get his weird clothes again and return to the great blues he sings and make some back-to-basics rock. Mixing grimy garage-blues, a left-field cover, bizarre spoken-word bits, and shameless Zeppelin and Dylan cues it can stand next to any other record released this year. Probably the tiny things which sound not so good are represented by the straying a bit from their roots and them sounding just as the Racounteurs do sometimes. Not quite as good as their best work White’s strategy worked its rejuvenating magic allowing them to get back on the shelves.
