BOB DYLAN "BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME"

GENRE(S): Rock - Folk - Blues

PREAMBLE - Part II of my continual series: Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Coming in at #31, this LP took Dylan in a new direction and ostensibly got him rejected by the very Folk community that elevated him to stardom.

LOOK - 1966: Bob Dylan and his Manager's wife, Sally Gorssman, are photographed by Daniel Kramer. With fisheye lens in hand, Kramer captures a time capsule. Surrounded by the records that inspired him (Robert Johnson and The Impressions to name two), a Fallout Shelter sign, and an January's issue of Time Magazine (L.B.J. on the cover) we peer straight into the social heart of America at the time.

LISTEN - Ditching the acoustic guitar on half the tracks, Bringing It All Back Home delivers a lighting bolt of electricity. First, "Subterranea Homesic Blues" kicks in the door startling the living daylights out of any Beatnik folk enthusiast. But before you ditch the black turtle neck and red wine and head off to the backwoods Rock Jamboree, Dylan reminds us of his thoughtful side with "She Belongs To Me". By the time "Maggie's Farm" (Chain Gang rock 'n' roll) and "Outlaw Blues" (dirty swampy blues) comes around you start to wonder when you'll hear an acoustic guitar take center stage.

Cryptic, string of conscience lyrics are masterfully interwoven in with the first half of the record's schizophrenic sounds-cape, but the second half brings it all back home (sorry, I couldn't resist). "Mr. Tambourine Man", a staple found on any Bob Dylan hits mix, leads the path for songs we've come to expect. The record's curtain call "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", a heartbreaking final bow song, brings us to our final conclusion: Bob Dylan is just as comfortable behind an electric as behind an acoustic.

SPEAK - Dressed in a Mod black suite and cufflinks (a present from Joan Baez), Dylan, always the elusive character, has a look on his face making us wonder what's on his mind. We assume Bob Dylan always has, or had, an askew view of the world, that's just one element we've lumped in with his mystique. Does this album cover reveal to us how Dylan's perception of things funnels through to him, or is this just what happens to you when you stare too long at Mr. Zimmerman?

www.bobdylan.com

ALBUM GRAD - B+

ALBUM ARTWORK - B

DO WE HAVE A FIT? YES

BRAND NEW "DAISY"

GENRE(S): Rock - Alternative - Hardcore

PREAMBLE - I've seen undesigned before but haven't crossed something this bare in a greatwhile.

LOOK - Has a picture ever wound up on your camera that you don't remember taking? Or, better yet: has a picture you've taken and forgotten suddenly reveal what was hidden in the dark; maybe that photograph accidentally snapped while on a cold damp camping trip? My imagination has run away with this image. There's something sinister about catching a woodland predator (with major red-eye) on film. I'm not a fan of San Serifs (Helvetica junkie present), but the centered type only lends to the "No Concept" concept.

LISTEN - 2006: Brand New gave us their most ambitious release, God And The Devil Are Raging Inside Me. It was the final nail in the coffin of any Emo clichés Brand New was unwillingly tired of garnering. Its follow-up now has the band teetering on a fine line between a personal experiment and unconventional for the sake of being unconventional.

Jesse Lacey, frontman and principle songwriter let the reigns loose, sharing more song and lyric writing responsibilities with Lead Guitarist, Vin Accardi. Lacey's well known long, poetic, diary-like lyrics have swept away making way for more obscure, or straight forward similes leaving songs feeling uninspired. On God And The Devil Are Raging Inside Me, Lacey made every heart-wrenching vocal seem effortless without lack of heart. On Daisy Lacey's vocals comes off not so effortless and are massively outweighed by distorted noise.

Daisy starts off with a scratchy recording of an old gospel hymn, "On Life's Highway", which is then rudely/perfectly interrupted by the lead track "Vices", by far the best song on the record. Lung-shredding vocals, buzzing bass, and wailing guitars, "Vices" sets the stage for every other track to come. Unfortunately, midway through the album, the formula starts to ware out its listener; getting noisy at every opportunity causing distortion to become a novelty,taking center stage, veering the spotlight away from everything else. Ultimately this record is a condensed version of GATDARIM which leaves it feeling, like most of its songs, incomplete.

SPEAK - Musically, Brand New has gotten harsher and darker... long strides forward from their debut, Your Favorite Weapon, that had them lumped together with such acts as New Found Glory. These Long Islanders have easily broken away from the Mall Emo Empire they helped erect, and did it on their own terms; love them for that. But here Brand New decide to cause a scene instead of gracefully bowing out of their Emo Royalty status.

www.fightoffyourdemons.com

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ALBUM GRADE - C+

ALBUM ARTWORK - C

DO WE HAVE A FIT? YES

THE BEATLES "YESTERDAY AND TODAY"

GENRE(S): Rock 'n' Roll - Folk - Pop

PREAMBLE - The second of my new continual series reviews: Most Controversial Album Covers Of All Time.

LOOK - Early 1966, a little tired of the usual photo shoot, The Beatles teamed up with conceptual photographer Robert Whitaker. What resulted: this image of the Fab Four dressed in butcher smocks draped in raw meat and plastic baby-doll parts. Being musician, and ultimately artists themselves, The Beatles were intrigued by the avant-garde. The photograph was chosen for the cover of their next Capital Records release in the States; bad idea! Conservative American parents, who already weren't too fond of these Mop Tops having influence over their kids, felt they had gone too far.

Result: every single copy of the album was recalled, pulled from record store shelves all across the U.S. and Canada. But not before the few (thousands, really) fortunate fans who were able to purchase this now rare printing. Capital Records in turn took back the records and printed a new, more appropriate album cover that could be pasted onto the front of the existing jacket. This is becoming even more of a rarity than its predecessor.

Above: below the butcher album cover is a picture of the altered album jacket (notice the looks of disgust on the boys faces, especially John's; not too happy about having to reshoot). Look to the right of the open trunk, you can actually see the shape of Ringo's turtle neck showing through the white paper. CLICK ON THE ALBUM COVER FOR A BETTER VIEW.

LISTEN - In the early to mid 60's there were American Releases and UK Releases for our favorite artists, such as The Bealtes. These two types of releases differed. In the case of Yesterday And Today, left over songs from the U.S. Rubber Soul, the U.K. Help!, and a few extra singles were jumbled together. Why would they do this, you ask. Simple; the more songs Capital trimmed from U.K. releases, the more extra songs they had laying around, enabling them to conjure up more American releases, and thus make more money.

SPEAK - Yesterday And Today isn't an official album released by The Beatles in their native U.K., there for just a "butchered" smash-up version of Rubber Soul and Help!. John, Paul, George and Ringo were known for their cheeky humor. Their infamous beef-laid album cover was more than likely them trying to make "The Suits" sweat. Truly, you'll enjoy listening to this because, lets face it, it's The Beatles, but you'll be happier sticking to the U.K. releases.

www.thebeatles.com

ALBUM GRADE - C

ALBUM ARTWORK (Butchered) - A

ALBUM ARTWORK (Trunk) - C

DO WE HAVE A FIT? YES (B) & NEUTRAL (T)

PHOENIX "WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX"

GENRE(S): Rock - Indie - Synth Pop

PREAMBLE - Screen Printed look + The Indie Music Scene = a match made in heaven. How long before the mainstream catches on and ruins it? It might already be happening in your neighborhood!

LOOK - Not sure what Screen Printing is? Thank the Lord for Wikipedia. In layman's terms: it's a use of stencils and paint to create graphics, usually on t-shirts, but SP has stretched its tentacles into anything and everything worthy of print and type (you can literally screen print almost anything). In its technique: the simpler the shape on your stencil the easier it will be to make your mark on any product, hence the large bold colorful shapes on this album. SP has an abundance of Graphic Designers across the globe making a killing with their art, posters especially (see gigposters.com). The hand-made quality has appealed to many (yours truly included), and has struck a chord most of all with the Indie Music Scene, not surprisingly. Prepare yourself to see this look more and more when you walk into your local record store.

LISTEN - Phoenix isn't anything if not fun to listen to. Constantly steering away from the beat-box-acoustic sound they coined with Alphabetical, Phoenix heads more towards a candy-coated Dance Rock sound. Flat double tracked-sounding vocals and a bouncy beat, "1901" is a quintessential song for any turn of the new century Disco.

WAM is a great example of a "Rock" band not relying on the power of the guitar, co-opting its ambiance capabilities instead of using it to drive their songs, in turn giving just as much weight to every other instrument in their set. Thomas Mars' dry, sometimes falsetto, vocals mixed with thoughtful soft electronic keyboards adds the right touch of glamour to this record. Phoenix is aimed to please ad certainly hits the bulls-eye. Yet, the novelty of their sound tends to wear thin about 3 quarters through the record.

SPEAK - What's with European bands not singing in their native tongue? Maybe I should look into it some more. One thing I've come to know is most Europeans seem to know more than one language, as apposed to us Americans who get frustrated when crossed with someone of different nationality whom we can't communicate with.

If Phoenix was an inanimate object I would say they are a pastel colored candy necklace: it's always with you, is a comfort to have, and the color might run off on to your neck. There is nothing overly forceful here, or explosive for that matter, Phoenix is just a joy to listen to.

www.wearephoenix.com

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ALBUM GRAD - B-

ALBUM ARTWORK - C

DO WE HAVE A FIT? NEUTRAL

KINGS OF LEON "ONLY BY THE NIGHT"

GENRE(S): Rock - Alternative

PREAMBLE - Mainstream Rock by any other name is Kings Of Leon.

LOOK - An Abstract Art representation of a Cock Fight seems to be what we have here; fairly suited for this Nashville quartet. All-American boys making All-American Rockish-type music (kinda sorta)... you have to appeal to your American Heartland audience as well you're hipster demo', I guess. I wasn't aware they had any Urban Outfitters' in Tennessee; that just might be my West Coast Cultural Biases channeling through. This digital-type-topped Warshak-Test-Like image is "cool", that's a fact.

LISTEN - Kings Of Leon started off as a Southern answer to The Strokes. That sound is still represented sparsely ("sparsely" is being generous) on this record. "Sex On Fire" has that bouncy quality craved when at the club dancing to Post Punk bands with jean jackets and unwashed hair.

I will have to hand it to KOL, when they find a killer guitar riff they sure know how to milk it and churn it in to anthem-worthy butter. Are they simply trying to grease us up with songs that will give you no choice but to pump your fist in the air to?

On "I Want You" we get, what is, the only honest vocal delivery from Anthony "Caleb" Followill (but still not devoid of the overused echo effect). You get your one upbeat "hit" song ("Sex On Fire") that is worthy of the Repeat Button. Everything else is fodder not worth a $42 dollar ticket.

SPEAK - It doesn't matter how many vests you own, how tight your jeans are, or how much vintage shopping you do, the soul is in the music... or so I thought. This record tells me something different. Slap on the hipster label and head out on the road. "What you see is what you get" is how the saying goes, correct? The opposite is true with Kings Of Leon. I don't SEE what the big flame-fanning is all about, and what I seem to GET is another Rock Band with an abundance of stadium anthems with plenty of oven-baked soul to go around (we get one of these about every five years or so). No fear, it's all wrapped up in this "cool", "hip" little package; but this one doesn't deliver on what it portrays.

www.kingsofleon.com

www.myspace.com/kingsofleon

ALBUM GRADE - D

ALBUM ARTWORK - C

DO WE HAVE A FIT? NO

WEEZER "PINKERTON"

GENRE(S): Power Pop - Rock- Emo - LO-FI

PREAMBLE - You've never experienced Madame Butterfly like this!

LOOK - Kambara Yoru no Yuki ("Night Snow at Kambara"): a print by Japanese artist Hiroshige is featured on the cover of this exuberantly honest and nerdy album. Those of you who are rightfully obsessed with Weezer know that its Harvard-educated Front Man, Rivers Cuomo, has quite the affinity (either healthy or unhealthy) for Japanese culture; in this case interpreted through Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly. Think I'm kidding? Remove the the CD tray from the jewel case, behind you'll find a map titled "Isola Della Farfalla e Penisola Di Cane" (Italian: "Island of the Butterfly and Peninsula of Dog"). On the edge of your CD you'll see the lyrics for the Opera written in its original Italian. Finally, the album shares its name with MB's cold, heartless character Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton.

LISTEN - These songs were conceived during Cuomo's first, yet, lonely year at Harvard and after painful leg surgery, thus written in a way that would enable him not to move while playing guitar. Result: the rawest, yet simplest, and most lively record Weezer has ever produced. From the opening feedback, thudding bass, and wobbly synthesizer on "Tired Of sex", to the single bass drum and acoustic guitar on "Butterfly", you know this is a self-produced effort.

Over the years Weezer has gained and retained a reputation for being an ironic farce of a band. Truthfully there's much more beneath the surface than just argyle sweaters and horn-rimmed glasses. Channeling all his frustration through the concept of Madame Butterfly, Rivers' razor-sharp witty delivery mixed with the ear-shredding sound of do-it-yourself recording makes this all come off as a comedy, when it really isn't, but it might be. Genius!

SPEAK - My voice is still sore from singing along to "El Scorcho" in my car yesterday. Clocking in at just under thirty-five minutes, this Album can be spun back to back quite a few times before you get home from work (I live in Los Angeles, it takes about an hour to get anywhere). Surely you'll be singing out loud like me: "I'll bring home the turkey if you bring home the bacon!".

Pinkerton is the best look we've ever gotten at what Rivers Cuomo is really like, or, was like: lonely, depressed, socially awkward, Japanese obsessed geek; the most un-rock-star-like rock star you'll ever meet. Now go into your closet, your desk drawer, or wherever you've stashed your copy of Pinkerton (since you've more than likely forgotten about it) give "The Blue Album" a rest and enjoy listening to Rivers purge his insides all over the place.

www.weezer.com

ALBUM GRADE: A

ALBUM ARTWORK: B+

DO WE HAVE A FIT: YES

JENNY LEWIS "ACID TONGUE"

GENRE(S): Indie - Folk - Soul

PREAMBLE - Rilo Kiley's Fem Fatale strips off the polish.

LOOK: "Handmade" is the name of the game: when are we gonna get over this overused look in the do-it-yourself music scene? No stranger to this look, I've been guilty of making things look older than they actually are, or outdated (which make them look retro, so in turn makes them cool). This album is not a blueprint to those who are familiar with the same old Photoshop tricks though. It has one thing working for it... It looks un-designed. Trust me when I say: designing something to look un-designed is insert your own expletive here difficult!

LISTEN: Coming off the glitz and glamour of Rilo Kiley's "Under The Black Light", Jenny Lewis takes a Back To Basics approach, perhaps in the spirit of great bare-bones efforts such as The Beatles' "Lit It Be", while taking to heart such quotables as, "It doesn't make it mo' better when you add more junk" (John Fogerty). Unafraid to explore the boundaries of heartland rock, folk, soul, and blues, Miss Lewis can contort her voice from howls to croons. Appropriately titled "Acid Tongue" this second album (see Rabbit Fur Coat) confirms what we've known all along: Though Jenny Lewis' exterior comes off as sugar-n-spice, if you cross her she'll cut you, watch you bleed, and then write a song about it.

SPEAK: 236 little icon-logo-like images of Lewis adorns the cover; 236. What does it stand for? Beats the hell outa me. I'm not one to delve into possibilities of hidden messages in album artwork. One thing's for certain, Jenny Lewis has a tremendous talent for songwriting, but most of all she retains an amazing ability to tell you stories with her lyrics. Every song a different story. Every song a different side to her. Perhaps 236 is the number of stories she's passed along to us. Most likely not, but it would be nice to imagine.

www.jennylewis.com

www.myspace.com/jennylewismusic

ALBUM GRAD: B

ALBUM COVER: -B

DO WE HAVE A FIT: YES

THE BEACH BOYS "PET SOUNDS"

GENRE(S): Pop

PREAMBLE - The first entry of my soon-to-be continual review series: "Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time". Coming in at #2 is Brian Wilson's unforgettable, unmistakable coming-of-age masterpiece.

LOOK - February 15, 1966 The Beach Boys made their way to The San Di ego Zoo for a photo shoot. The title for their upcoming LP, Pet Sounds, was to be playfully represented and a playful moment was sure caught on film. The band's name and title of the album are nestled above the photograph on a bar of green; this is a hint to me that 1. the designer didn't know where to place the type on the photo itself, or 2. Capital Records stuck to a very common formula of using geometrical shapes of color to place type on (see With The Beatles).

LISTEN - Pet Sounds represents a changing of the guards. The fun-in-the-sun formula that catapulted The Beach Boys into superstardom didn't slip away with the tide but was dragged out to sea by Brian Wilson determined to set the bar even higher. Along side lyricist Tony Asher, Wilson gave us the most heartbreaking display of fading innocence. Much to their discontent the rest of the Boys (Mike, Carl, Dennis & Al) were benched from the writing process and were only employed for their vocal talents, but in turn delivered the richest and most beautiful harmonies to ever be pressed into vinyl.

SPEAK - California sunshine, and surfboards is synonymous with The Beach Boys. 1966 swelled with inspiration and popular musicians on either side of the Atlantic had to put up or shut up. Dylan had gone electric, The Beatles dedicated themselves to more studio time and broke free of the Mersey Beat. The Beach Boys became Men and Wilson, especially, intended not to set foot on the California Coastline. Pet Sounds was the result of one man's revelation into pop music. The album cover itself has become famous (not infamous) but only because of its record's contents. This visionary gem could never be visually captured, not then and certainly not now; who would want that daunting task?

www.thebeachboys.com

ALBUM GRADE: -A

ALBUM ARTWORK: C

DO WE HAVE A FIT?: NEUTRAL

LIMBECK "LIMBECK"

GENRE(S): Indie - Alt Country - Folk - Rock

PREAMBLE - Bears and honey have shared a love affair for many a year. My admiration for Limbeck could never match the stature of a bear's sticky sweet cravings, but even so I'd place Limbeck higher on my list than honey. Word of warning: bias opinions below.

LOOK: On this third LP release we've been presented with a water color...y, colored pencil...ish, illustration of a friendly looking bear reaching out for a beehive. Hanna-Barbarra animation comes to mind. Interpretation: Limbeck is letting us know they've kept true to their outdoorsy, alt-country ways, but have chose to really crank up the sunshine this time around.

LISTEN: Limbeck have come a long way, boy. Starting off, once upon a time, with a somewhat uninspired Indie Emo Rock sound; eventually finding their sound in upbeat alt-country jams perfect for any road trip. With plenty of campfire-type sing-along's in the mix, you'll be clapping in unison and stomping your boots to the rhythm in no time. Nicknamed "The Traveling Limbeck Band" this quartet couldn't fit their handle any better. Chugging away in a van from state to state, from show to show, inspirations are sure to be found at every twist, turn and truck-stop. They bring us those inspirations here and they do it with a smile.

SPEAK: These fellas from Orange County, California are filled with positive energy. Never taking themselves too seriously, their first love is the music they create. Their lightheartedness is a breath of fresh air in an overpopulated Indie World of bands that can get redundantly depressing. You'll have fun listening to Limbeck. You'll be inspired to hit the open road, go camping, or become one with nature. Keep away from beehives.

www.limbeck.net

www.myspace.com/limbeck

ALBUM GRAD: +B

ALBUM COVER: +B

DO WE HAVE A FIT? YES