The Year in Music

See the follow up piece from July 29th's Daily Gambit.

I suppose, to be precise, I should call this the 12 Months in Music. Because I'm totally gonna cover two discs that were released in 2003. But so screw precision, because this is my article, and you all can deal with it.

Unlike my duplicate named colleagues here at SP.com, I've managed to keep my toes in the music world. While I don't listen to the radio nearly as much as the two of them, I still keep on the lookout for new music, and new releases from my favorite artists. This article will cover several examples of both. Let's start with the already purchased section:

Brenda Weiler: Cold Weather

This album, released in 2003, marks another step in the Weiler's evolution from "chick with a guitar" (a la Ani) to simply being a solid pop musician. True, there are still more than a few acoustic songs, but there are also several solid full-band tracks that stand out just as well. There's also a very nice duet with Darren "Kid Dakota" Jackson. (Hey, he introduced himself to me as KD, who am I to change?). This album is also just a little bit darker than her previous release, which also sits very well with me. If you're a fan of a good pop album, this should be a good pickup for you.

Jet: Get Born

I'm sure you've all heard of Jet. If you haven't, I'd be willing to bet you've heard the track Are you gonna be my girl?. Like any band with one ginormous hit song, I was a bit leary of picking this one up. And while ...girl? is the only truly outstanding track, there's plenty more on the album that's pretty good, and they manage to avoid the "every song sounds the same" trap that I was worried about. There are a couple of piano-based songs, and one acoustic guitar number that's particularly good as well. Again, another solid pop outing.

Dream Theater: The Making of Scenes From a Memory

I bought this on a whim, because I tend to like remixes and outtakes, etc. This disc isn't for everyone, but what it did do was remind me what a fantastic album the original is. I think the fact that I listened to it daily in my car from roughly October of 99 to sometime in the summer of 2000 should drive home that point as well. I think that disc for them manages to combine the insane soloing with some solid shorter length songs to the point where it sort of becomes accessible to everyone. Or else that's a knee jerk reaction to their last two discs being 80 minutes and 6 songs. Heh. Either way, this is a very interesting disc for me, but probably not for everyone.

And now, for a brief grey area, a disc that's been released, but that I haven't purchased yet:

Thornley: Come Again
(Watch out for that one - it plays a song automagically, and it's loud.)

This one looks to be just a flat-out solid rock and roll album. It's got at least one member of the solid band, Big Wreck, and Ken Tizzard, former bassist for one of my favorite bands, The Watchmen (more on them later). Based on previous BW offerings, listen to the song that plays on the website, and if you like that, you'll like the disc. I'd promise to review it when I get it... but we all know how much of an empty promise that is.

It's time for the real meat (for me) of this article. Three upcoming discs that I'm quite excited about. Let's take it in chronological order:

Matthew Good: White Light Rock and Roll Review

Release date: June 15th.

If you'll recall, I named Good's last album the best disc of 2003, with plenty of time left to go in the year (and it was a close call, but I stick to it). Having heard a track from the new album already, I'm not expecting anything as fantastic... but at this point, considering that he's put out 5 full albums that I've liked, this purchase is a slam dunk. It looks like this album will have a bit of an edgier guitar to it, which I won't complain about. And unlike my empty promise to review Thornley, I'm guessing you can expect a review of this somewhat soon.

Kevin Moore: Ghost Book

Release date: June 29th.

This one should be interesting as well. KM, master of samples and sounds, does a film soundtrack. I'd be expecting lots of ambient sounds and open spaces... and if you like that sort of thing, you'll love this album. I don't know that I'll totally embrace it myself, but I do know that one of the full songs he lets you preview is good enough for me to buy the disc on its own. You can have a listen here, and if that link doesn't work for some reason, just click on the link above and scroll down...

One last one, I promise:

The Doctor: High Is As High Gets

Release date: August 10th.

Really, really, really excited for this one. The voice of The Watchmen, Danny Greaves, in collaboration with some other guy I hadn't heard of, making a bit harder record. You can listen to their first single on the site... and I for one really like it. I don't know if it's indicative of how the rest of the album will sound. Personally, I'd hope for more of a grab bag of sounds... we'll just have to see. If you'd like to read more background, I suggest checking out the "US" link on the main page. Good little article posted there.

Holy crap, I almost forgot one!

Alter Bridge: One Day Remains

Release date: August 10th.

Essentially this is Creed, with their singer replaced by the otherworldly Myles Kennedy, formerly of The Mayfield Four, one of my other favorite bands. I'm excited to see Myles in anything, since he's had a bad bout of Tinitus (spelling optional) since the last MF4 album, which threatened his hearing. And while I've never been a huge Creed fan, I think much of that was due to their former vocalist, so I think this will be a very good fit overall.

So it looks like August 10th will be a big day for me, and 2004 will be pretty sweet for my music overall. I have to say, I'm excited. That's 8 discs, and for none of it did I have to listen to the radio. Heck, I even found out about Jet on MuchMusic, so that barely counts. Just keep your ears open, folks, there's still good music out there.

-- 06/04/2004