These two early-‘70s albums (doubled up on a single CD that still clocks in at less than an hour) mark some of Jones’ earliest work with producer Billy Sherrill. It’s countrypolitan at its most stylized and extravagant, with swirling strings and goopy backing vocals embracing the country legend at almost every turn. The albums were released within seven months of each other in 1972/73, so there isn’t much distinction between them. Sherrill piles on the hick-sophisticate arrangements, top songwriters like Tom T. Hall and Spooner Oldham contribute songs, and Jones sings the hell out of them. The title tunes of each album and Nothing Ever Hurts Me’s “What My Woman Can’t Do” were country hits, but almost everything here soaks in the elegant sounds of the era --
One of the best movies of the decade gets the deluxe treatment in this three-disc set that includes more than five hours of extras, including behind-the-scenes features and a Q&A with the Coen brothers. There’s also a digital copy, so you can put it on your iPod and enjoy Javier Bardem’s awesome haircut anywhere.
CD
Beastie Boys: Check Your Head
(Capitol/EMI)
Hot on the heels of the excellent Paul’s Boutique reissue a couple months back, the Boys’ most varied album – some hardcore here, some hip-hop there, a little lite-funk noodling over there – expands with b-sides and remixes. It still smokes, especially fan faves like “So What’cha Want” and “Pass the Mic,” which now sound even more enveloped in a weedy haze.
CD
Chuck Berry: You Never Can Tell/The Complete Chess Masters 1960-1966
(Hip-O Select)
After serving as one of rock’s main architects in the ’50s, guitar hero Berry ran into a few snags during the first part of the ’60s (including a jail stint). But this four-disc, 108-song box shows that he was still plugged in. There are some great songs here (including “No Particular Place to Go” and “You Never Can Tell”), including 20 never-before-released tracks.
VIDEO
Slumdog Millionaire
(Twentieth Century Fox)
Danny Boyle’s Oscar-hogging movie about a poor Indian boy who makes good looks fantastic on Blu-ray, where it steeps in the despair (and occasional hope) of a generation of slum kids. Extras include deleted scenes and discerning commentary by Boyle. But the ringer is the film itself, one of the decade’s best.
BOOK
Ultimate Hendrix: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Live Concerts and Sessions
(Backbeat)
Writer John McDermott – along with Hendrix producer Eddie Kramer and bassist Billy Cox – attempts to pull together the late guitarist’s many sessions and concerts. It’s a fan’s dream, chronicling set lists, studio tracks and television appearances, going way back to Hendrix’s earliest gigs with the Isley Brothers to his final concert. --Michael Gallucci
For years, Ben Harper has dutifully played the role of laid-back, new-age hippie for glassy-eyed jam-band fans. His two-disc 2006 release, Both Sides of the Gun, was an ambitious song cycle that threw some grit into his usually refined mix. The Austinmusicians who played on Gun return as the Relentless7 for White Lies for Dark Times, a plugged-in, blister-popping album that stands as the most electric in Harper’s 15-year career. On opener “Number With No Name,” he rolls out a stomping blues as his new trio bashes away behind him. And that’s pretty much how things play out; listen to the way everyone plows through “Shimmer & Shine” or the way Harper’s impassioned voice cracks on “Lay There & Hate Me.” White Lies for Dark Times is still a jam-band record, but instead of winding 15-minute solos, it’s stuffed with three-and-a-half-minute songs based on another fan favorite: volume. -- Michael Gallucci
This power-pop supergroup – made up of Hanson’s Taylor Hanson, Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger, Smashing Pumpkins’ James Iha and Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos – sticks pretty close to the genre’s conventions. There are lots of extra-chewy hooks, super-sweet harmonies and songs about how good or bad their girls treat them. It’s all very 1976, with “woah-oh-woah-oh” choruses and fuzzy guitars leading the way. These vets definitely know their stuff (we still get a kick out of “MMMBop,” and nobody writes retro better than Schlesinger), but Tinted Windows too often sound like a rusty – but well-crafted -- time capsule. Only the simmering ballad “Dead Serious” has something new to say. --Michael Gallucci
Fall Out Boy are almost all grown up. Their fourth album, Folie à Deux, sounds like an actual album, not just a collection of songs thrown together by a restless young band. The four members have settled into their various roles within their group. And tabloid magnet and occasional penis flasher Pete Wentz even became a dad recently.
It was simply time, says guitarist Joe Trohman. After seven years of playing emo poster boys and slapping totally irrelevant and wordy titles onto their songs (don’t worry, there are still some on Folie à Deux – see “Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet”), Fall Out Boy are turning into, gulp, men.
“A lot of our other records were growing pains,” says Trohman. “We wanted to do more this time. We got hyper-collaborative, and we got a little grandiose with the layering and experiments.”
Fall Out Boy started work on Folie à Deux last year, right around the same time they started taking themselves a little more seriously. Their last album, 2007’s Infinity on High, debuted at No. 1. It was three years since their breakout record, From Under the Cork Tree, which included the hit “Sugar, We’re Goin Down.” Brandishing their newfound maturity like a tube of eyeliner, they went into the studio with a plan. Sort of.
“We’re getting more and more in love with going into the studio and layering,” says Trohman. “ There’s so much going on in the songs. Some of them have 100 tracks. Then we get out of the studio and go, ‘Oh, shit. How are we gonna play this song live?’”
The album’s centerpiece, “What a Catch, Donnie,” is built around a series of cameos. Elvis Costello, Cobra Starship’s Gabe Saporta, Gym Class Heroes’ Travis McCoy, Panic at the Disco’s Brendon Urie and the Academy Is …’s William Beckett all join in on a swelling chorus of Fall Out Boy’s greatest hits, including “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” and “Thnks fr th Mmrs.” “It’s so much more comfortable playing with your band,” says Trohman. “But we loved doing this. We’re not sure if Elvis Costello is a fan. He said he was. Regardless if he likes our music, he’s on our record.”
Infinity’s top-of-the-charts showing gave the group some leverage with their record company, their fans and themselves. No longer content to be that band pop-punk-bashers despise (“We’re well-loved, but we’re also well-hated,” says Trohman), they – individually and together – expanded.
Singer Patrick Stump turned out to be a dedicated hip-hop head, collaborating with Timbaland, Lupe Fiasco and the Roots. He also produced a bunch of compatible artists (Gym Class Heroes, Cobra Starship, the Hush Sound) and some not-so-compatible ones (he worked on parts of Fiasco’s last album). He also writes reviews for Rolling Stone.
Trohman, who grew up in South Russell in GeaugaCounty, geeked out, feeding his action-figure habit and immersing himself in Queen records. (“Brian May is out of control,” he says. “I tried to rip some of that off in my own I’m-not-a-virtuoso way.”) Drummer Andy Hurley, a vegan who’s pretty sure the world will end sooner than later, just chilled.
And then there’s Wentz, the mascara-lined focal point of Fall Out Boy. Everyone is familiar with his name, his face and his hair. But how many people realize he’s the band’s bass player? “It’s the older-woman syndrome,” says Trohman. “They know who Pete Wentz is, but they don’t know what Pete Wentz does.”
Between the release of Infinity on High and Folie à Deux, Wentz opened a club, starred in a couple TV shows (including One Tree Hill and CSI: NY), hosted an MTV program, maintained his record label (Decaydance, home to the Academy Is …, Gym Class Heroes and Panic at the Disco, among others), got married to Ashley Simpson and had a son.
There’s tons more where that came from. “I’ve been friends with Pete since I was a kid,” says Trohman. “He was just a younger Pete. He’s always been a Type-A personality, he’s always been a magnetic person. So this is no surprise. The rest of us are introverted enough to say, ‘Hey, do you wanna put yourself out there? Because we’d just like to play music.’ He shines at that stuff.
“We’re four different dudes who get into four different styles of music at times,” he concludes. “We were being grumpy dudes the other day, and we sat down and said, ‘We’re still friends, right?’ Then we realized, Holy shit, we’re still friends and we still like each other. How many bands can say that?”--Michael Gallucci
Like fuzzy new-school noise-rockers No Age and Times New Viking, the San Diego-based Crocodiles wield distortion pedals like paintbrushes. On its debut album Summer of Hate, the duo turns its fragmented but surprisingly tuneful punk songs into a snappy, scruffy art project with guitars. Elegiac opener “Screaming Chrome”’s 48 seconds of droning serenity soon give way to the Jesus and Mary Chain’s honey-slathered buzz saws on “I Wanna Kill.” For the next half hour, Crocodiles amp their lo-fi assault with vibrating riffs, sludgy reverb and cryptic musings (if you can make out the words -- the vocals on the dirge-like “Sleeping With the Lord” are barely perceptible). It all comes and goes quickly: Summer of Hate clocks in at less than 34 minutes, capping with a shot of wobbly feedback that spills all over the sonic canvas. --Michael Gallucci
Throw up those devil horns! The first album in almost 20 years by Dio-era Black Sabbath (Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice) doesn’t show any signs of aging. The guys still mess around with musical black magic (dig that horned beast on the cover!) and songs about evil, black Bibles, rock ‘n’ angels and eating cannibals. And Dio still sounds like he’s having a devilishly good time unleashing his banshee howls on children and virgins. But with songs that drag on for six-plus minutes and the poky riffs’ sluggish crunch, The Devil You Know often comes off like a lazy Sunday afternoon for Satan. There’s plenty of lines like “Here’s another spell/It can take me straight to hell/And I feel I’m getting closer to my home” to incite the faithful and 14-year-old boys, but Heaven & Hell take their good ol’ time getting to the apocalypse. --Michael Gallucci
The recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees are totally tuned into the hit videogame franchise (for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii). So turn it up loud and get ready to shred something fierce on more than 30 Metallica songs, plus a couple dozen others by likeminded artists. Best of all, hook up your World Tour drums and mic for a jam session with pals.
VIDEOGAME
The Godfather II
(EA)
This follow-up (for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC) brings Michael Corleone and family into Scarface territory – Miami. As head of a crime syndicate, you’re counted on to make shrewd moves and kick major ass. Like the movie it’s based on, the game features rich narrative and plenty of strategizing. But in the end, it’s all about getting’ Benjamins … at any cost.
TV
Iron Man: Armored Adventures
(Nicktoons)
Last year’s live-action movie was a surprise hit. This new animated series (premiering at 7 p.m. Friday) builds on all that restless energy, knocking superhero Tony Stark back to his teen years. That leaves plenty of Spidey-style moments of juggling power with irresponsibility. And unlike other recent Marvel toons, this one looks great.
VIDEO
The Matrix 10th Anniversary Blu-ray Book
(Warner)
One of the best science-fiction movies ever made celebrates its first decade with a cool new package that crams in tons of extras. The movie itself looks stunning in hi-def -- you can’t help but think that maybe the Wachowski brothers knew Blu-ray was on the horizon. The extras include everything from various commentary tracks to white-rabbit-following features.
VIDEO
Never Say Never Again Collector’s Edition
(Twentieth Century Fox)
This 1983 James Bond adventure features Sean Connery in his last performance as the super spy. It’s also his first time in Bond’s tux in a dozen years. Plus, it’s a remake of Thunderball that’s not considered an official part of the 007 canon. Whew! But it’s still a thrill, especially in this new Blu-ray set, which includes a smattering of informative extras. --Michael Gallucci
Four years after the blah Playing the Angel, Depeche Mode’s latest album returns the veteran synth-poppers to the gloomy playground that encouraged their best work. Sounds of the Universe sounds like vintage Depeche Mode – cold, soulless and robotic -- but without the hooks. There are plenty of moody ruminations and nifty sonic textures, yet there aren’t many actual songs. Universe wants to be a new-millennium Violator, but without a “Personal Jesus” or “Enjoy the Silence” driving it, the album just sorta hangs around, waiting for something to pull it along. It doesn’t help that Dave Gahan sounds bored throughout. Apparently, singing my-life-is-so-hollow songs like “Hole to Feed,” “Fragile Tension” and “In Sympathy” doesn’t do much for him anymore. Only the skulking “Wrong” sparks the old energy circuits, pulsating with familiar synth burps and whirs. Mostly, though, it’s a pretty lifeless Universe. --Michael Gallucci
Sixto Rodriguez is the centerpiece of one of rock’s all-time fascinating stories. It spans four decades, four continents, two albums and at least three generations of music fans. Yet you probably never heard of him.
Then:
In 1969, Rodriguez (he makes music under his surname only) recorded Cold Fact – an album of Dylan-like ruminations on sex, drugs and America at the end of the ’60s – in his native Detroit. It was released a year later and quickly forgotten. A couple years later, he released Coming From Reality, which also bombed. Then Rodriguez (already a shadowy figure who played gigs with his back to the audience and was prone to erratic behavior, on and offstage) disappeared.
In the late ’70s, South Africans began scooping up used copies of Cold Fact and Coming From Reality from record stores. So did Australians and New Zealanders. Rodriguez briefly re-emerged for a tour of Australia. Then he disappeared again.
In 1996, a writer penned a story about Rodriguez, who was doing blue-collar work in Detroit. The singer-songwriter learned that he was a multi-platinum star in South Africa, where young listeners heard liberation in his rebel music about sex and drugs and politics. He toured and sold out South African venues. Then he disappeared again.
Now:
Last year, Light in the Attic, an indie label based in Seattle, reissued Cold Fact. It became one of 2008’s most drooled-over records. Hipsters all over the world rejoiced over the shaky-voiced Rodriguez’s songs, some of which feature post-hippie funk grooves bubbling beneath the surface. Rodriguez really had no idea what his producers were doing with his original spare arrangements, which basically consisted of him and his acoustic guitar.
Now, the 66-year-old Rodriguez is preparing to take his music on the road, for the first time in almost 40 years. He’s scheduled only a dozen or so U.S. dates, before heading over to Europe for festival season.
He’s quick to talk about his records (Coming From Reality is being reissued in a couple weeks), his tour and his band (which is made up of fellow Detroit musicians). Rodriguez will even tell you the story about how the record company folded after his albums came out (“The guy who started it became chairman of Motown Records for five years,” he says. “There were a lot of changes going on”).
But ask him about what happened – why he just disappeared for all those years – and he brings the subject around to his old producer. Press for details about where he was and what he did, and he lets out a nervous laugh.
“It’s a different world,” he sighs. “Music is another world almost. It’s a hard business, and there are no guarantees in music.
Everybody who’s slept in a van knows the story. You try, but you can only do so much.”
He’s comfortable with his sudden fame in what he calls the “global underground.” He gushes over Pitchfork (which gave the Cold Fact reissue a glowing review and pretty much jumpstarted the U.S.-hipsters bandwagon) and the Internet (“it’s a different arena now”). But ask him how he feels about the delayed acceptance of his music, and he talks about the “American creative inventiveness.”
In a way, Rodriguez is still living in 1970. He’s still evasive when it comes to his work. He maneuvers around questions about writing songs during those lost years and about giving up his music. “I’ve always written, but I never put pen to paper,” he says, somewhat cryptically. “I tried [recording] a couple things, but it wasn’t me.”
He’s happy, though, and he wants everybody to plug into his peace-and-love vibe. “The thing is,” he begins and then pauses. “Be kind, man.”
Rodriguez still lives in Detroit. That’s where he lived when he made his records; that’s where he’s been all these years. He’s still a huge fan, he says, going to clubs and listening to new artists whenever he can. And he’s excited about playing his music again.
So is he writing new songs?
“I’m going to be [touring] until October.”
What about after the tours are over, after he returns from Europe later this year? What’s he going to do? The only music he ever recorded has already been reissued. Will Rodriguez, 40 years after he recorded his debut album, start writing and recording again?
“That would be a good idea,” he laughs. “But I can only do it one day at a time.” --Michael Gallucci
The super freak himself stars in more than 25 videos and TV appearances dating back to 1978. Best are pre-MTV appearances on late-night programs like Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert and DinahShore’s daytime chat show. The old-school music videos – for “Give It to Me Baby,” “Super Freak” and other funk classics – are pretty cool too.
CD
Ray Charles: Genius: The Ultimate Collection
(Concord)
There are tons of Ray Charles anthologies out there. The latest collects 21 songs from his long, storied career, spanning his ’50s through ’70s output. That means there’s plenty of classics here, including “I Got a Woman,” “What’d I Say” and “Georgia on My Mind.” A box set (like the excellent Genius & Soul) offers more history, but this hits-filled disc is a solid primer.
CD
Pearl Jam: Ten: Deluxe Edition
(Epic/Legacy)
Before they took on Ticketmaster and started making records nobody listened to, these Seattle rock giants ruled the world. Four versions of their still-powerful debut are available; go for this three-disc set, which includes the original 1991 album, a new remix and a DVDMTV Unplugged performance. “Alive,” indeed. featuring the band’s explosive 1992
VIDEO
The Princess Bride
(MGM)
Rob Reiner’s fractured fairy tale from 1987 tweaks the genre the same way his Spinal Tap messed with rock ‘n’ roll movie conventions. This new Blu-ray release celebrates the film’s splendid set pieces, highlighting the colorful tale of a prince, a princess and a boozy swashbuckler. Bonuses include commentary and a behind-the-scenes feature.
BOOK
Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957-1973
(Chicago Review)
Clinton Heylin dissects 300 of Dylan’s best-known tunes, starting with “Song to Brigit,” which Dylan supposedly penned when he was 15. It’s an exhaustive look at one of the 20thcentury’s best and prolific songwriters. Heylin pinpoints the literary and biblical references in Dylan’s songs and uncovers tons of info about these timeless tracks. --Michael Gallucci
Neil Young has made some weird records – Trans’ robo-slop, the ersatz rockabilly of Everybody’s Rockin’. So Fork in the Road – which is all about his 1959 Lincoln Continental hybrid – isn’t totally out there. But it is weird. And filled with the same nondescript sludgy riffs that form the basis of most of his albums over the past decade, it isn’t all that memorable either. This is a road record, but a new-age road record. “Taking a trip across the U.S.A./Gonna see a lotta people along the way,” Young sings on opener “When Worlds Collide.” But Fork in the Road isn’t so much about traveling our wide-open nation as it is about how freakin’ awesome Young’s custom ride is. “Fill ’er up!” goes the chorus of “Fuel Line.” “Cough up the bucks” he intones in another song (about your gas-hogging car, not his). And “Just Singing a Song” is followed by “won’t change the world.” Apparently you have to drive a vintage vehicle that’s environmentally friendly too. --Michael Gallucci
The Grand Theft Auto franchise comes to the Nintendo DS in all of its head-blasting, bitch-slapping glory. The gameplay is basically the same (you tussle with cops,you steal cars, you put caps in the asses of anyone who gets in your way), only it’s set in Chinatown this time. It’s one of the most adult videogames ever made for the DS … and one of the best.
CD
Amadou & Mariam: Welcome to Mali
(Because/Nonesuch)
This African couple’s follow-up to their 2005 breakthrough follows a similar pattern: sprightly played Afro-pop, gorgeous singing and Manu Chao’s punchy production. Welcome to Mali isn’t as raw as its predecessor, but the melodies are more focused and the songs are more buoyant. It’s a musical voyage that takes them from Paris to London to back home again.
VIDEO
Bolt
(Walt Disney)
This animated hit about a pampered Hollywood dog who gets lost on the mean streets of New York has a breakout star in Rhino, a hamster with aplastic ball that serves as a home, vehicle and weapon. Best of all, the three-disc Blu-ray set comes with a DVD copy and a digital version of the movie you can throw on your iPod.
DVD
Fountains of Wayne: No Better Place – Live in Chicago
(Shout! Factory)
These power-poppers had a fluke hit a few years back with “Stacy’s Mom.” But there’s so much more to them than that, as this 2005 concert proves. Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood are two of the sharpest and wittiest songwriters working today. Plus, songs like “Hackensack,” “Hey Julie” and “Radiation Vibe” have hooks to spare.
VIDEOGAME
Trivial Pursuit
(EA Play)
The ’80s board game gets a 21st century makeover in this fun outing for the Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. You can play by yourself, but you’ll enjoy the game tons more when you clobber opponents in classic categories like history, entertainment and sports. And unlike the old-school version, “Ralph Kramden” isn’t the answer to every other question. --Michael Gallucci
Pet Shop Boys have been doing their gay Euro-disco thing for almost a quarter century now. On their 10th album, they still sound like sprightly young men. Naturally, the beats have slowed down some and the hooks aren’t as abundant as they were back when the Boys were making great singles in the ’80s, but Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe swathe Yes in layers of royal-sounding synths and rhythmic pop. There’s plenty of intentionally hollow glamour here: On “Beautiful People,” Tennant sings “I want to live like beautiful people” in a detached tone that suggests he’d rather be kicking it at home watching Gossip Girl. And on “Love etc.” -- “You don’t have to be beautiful, but it helps.” The Boys’ drollness courses through Yes’ grooves like their lives depended on it. After all these years, they’re still gloriously bitchy. --Michael Gallucci
On their first album in four years, these Canadian indie-poppers roll out hooks bigger than a hockey rink … which automatically makes them Canada’s most tuneful band. Emily Haines (who’s also a member of the Broken Social Scene collective, but who isn’t?) loads up on the sweet and sour, delivering songs like “Help I’m Alive” and “Gold Guns Girls” with simultaneous pouts and bites. It’s slippery, sexy stuff, propelled by a group that combines crunchy guitar riffs with skittering electronic buzzes. It’s sorta like the Breeders crossed with Garbage, but Canadian. Like many of their countrymen, Metric tend to lose some of their flavor midway. Still, Fantasies is tons more fun than the latest records by Broken Social Scene and Stars. --Michael Gallucci
The best zombie-blasting videogame series ever returns -- now in HD for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. So the undead look even more lifelike when you blow off their heads. This time, the action takes place in Africa. There are also cool multiplayer and co-op modes, so you don’t have to face all the scary parts alone.
DVD
Cadillac Records
(Sony Pictures)
Chess Records was the greatest blues label ever. Chuck Berry, Etta James and Muddy Waters released their best work on Chess. This movie – starring Adrien Brody as founder Leonard Chess -- tells the company’s history. Best of all, there’s plenty of music by Beyoncé (as James), Mos Def (Berry) and others recreating the classics.
VIDEOGAME
MLB 09 The Show
(Sony Computer)
The world’s top baseball sim (for the PlayStation 3) checks in with its best-ever outing. There’s tons of new features this year, including valuable interactive training, a super-intense legend mode and (yay, finally!) a 40-man roster. Plus, game-time analyses of your pitches and swings can help you pull off the mother of all comebacks.
VIDEO
The Silence of the Lambs
(MGM)
One of the best, and creepiest, movies ever made comes to Blu-ray with a disc that intensifies the looming dread (you’ll never want to go into a dark basement again). The extras are almost as good – especially the 20-plus deleted scenes and the making-of docs, which probe the method behind Hannibal Lecter’s madness.
CD
Wild Light: Adult Nights
(StarTime International/Columbia)
Little surprise that this New Hampshire band’s debut sounds like the Arcade Fire – they spent part of 2008 opening for the Canadian collective. But there are other alt-rock reference points too, from R.E.M.-style jangle to Ryan Adams twang. Best: opener “California on My Mind,” whose chorus goes, “Fuck today, fuck San Francisco, fuck California.” -- Michael Gallucci
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