It’s Gorillaz New Vinyl Thursday at The Vinyl Underground at 7th Heaven. Check out this week’s list of new vinyl arrivals:
Andrew White – Fonk Update
Anais Mitchell – Hadestown (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Art Pepper – Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section (Contemporary Acoustic Sound Series)
Arcs – Electrophonic Chronic (Indie Exclusive, Clear Vinyl, Limited Edition)
Al Green – Greatest Hits (180 Gram Vinyl)
ABBA – Gold: Greatest Hits
A Tribe Called Quest – Midnight Marauders
A Tribe Called Quest – Anthology
Amyl and The Sniffers- Amyl and the Sniffers
The Birthday Party – Hee-Haw (140 Gram Vinyl, Red, Black, White)
Bruce Springsteen – Only The Strong Survive (Indie Exclusive, Orange Colored Vinyl, Gatefold LP Jacket, Poster)
The Beatles – Abbey Road Anniversary (1LP)
The Beatles – Let It Be (Special Edition)
The Beatles – 1
Cage the Elephant – Cage the Elephant
Church – Starfish
The Cars – Candy-O (Clear Vinyl, 140 Gram Vinyl, Brick & Mortar Exclusive)
The Cars – Heartbeat City (Expanded Version)
Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1
Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 2
Coldplay – Viva La Vida Or Death and All His Friends
The Cramps – Big Beat from Badsville
Death Grips – No Love Deep Web (Indie Exclusive, Limited Edition, Colored Vinyl, Clear Vinyl, Anniversary Edition)
The Doors – Strange Days (180 Gram Vinyl, Reissue)
Deftones – White Pony (Indie Exclusive, Deluxe Edition, Anniversary Edition)
David Bowie – Hunky Dory (180 Gram Vinyl)
Eric Church – The Outsiders (Blue Colored Vinyl)
Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War
Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh
Erykah Badu – Worldwide Underground (Purple Colored Vinyl)
Everclear – Very Best Of (Pink, Blue Colored Vinyl)
Etta James – Hits (180 Gram Vinyl, Gatefold LP Jacket)
Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac
Gil Scott-Heron – Pieces of a Man
Greta Van Fleet – The Battle At Garden’s Gate (Indie Exclusive, Colored Vinyl, White)
Gorillaz – Cracker Island (Indie Exclusive, Purple Colored Vinyl)
Gorillaz – Gorillaz
Godsmack – Lighting Up The Sky
Hootie & the Blowfish – Cracked Rear View
J. Cole – KOD (Gatefold LP Jacket)
John Coltrane – Love Supreme – (Black & Orange Marble Colored Vinyl)
Jimi Hendrix – Are You Experienced
Jay-Z – The Blueprint
Kiss – Kissworld: The Best Of Kiss (140 Gram Vinyl)
Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (10th Anniversary Edition, Clear Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)
Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Kraftwerk – Man Machine (Limited Edition, Remastered)
Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin 2 (180 Gram Vinyl, Remastered)
Lil Yachty – Let’s Start Here
Lauryn Hill- Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
MF Doom – Nehruviandoom (Digital Download Card)
MF Doom – MM…Food (Green, Pink Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)
Madvillain – Madvillainy
Mazzy Star – So Tonight That I Might See
My Morning Jacket – Z (Purple Colored Vinyl, Limited Edition, 180 Gram Vinyl, Reissue)
Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (Mono)
N.W.A. – Greatest Hits (Bonus Track, Remastered)
N.W.A.- Straight Outta Compton
Neutral Milk Hotel – The Collected Works Of Neutral Milk Hotel (Boxed Set, Poster, Postcard, Reissue)
Ockham’s Blazer – Ockham’s Blazer (Indie Exclusive, Digital Download Card)
Okonski – Magnolia – Cream Swirl (Colored Vinyl)
Paramore – This Is Why
Paramore – Riot! (FBR 25th Anniversary Edition, Silver Colored Vinyl)
Pixies – Doolittle (180 Gram Vinyl)
Phoebe Bridgers – Stranger In The Alps
Run the Jewels – Run The Jewels (Orange Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive, Poster)
Run the Jewels – Run The Jewels 3 (Gold Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive, Gatefold LP Jacket)
Run the Jewels – RTJ4
Shinedown – Leave A Whisper (Blue Clear Vinyl Colored Vinyl)
Samara Joy – Linger Awhile
Weekly Review:
Samara Joy’s self-titled debut earned her the best new artist award from Jazz Times magazine in 2021. Now Joy is back with her second album, this time on Verve, the storied jazz label that was home to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone.
Joy has clearly been studying these influences. Linger Awhile includes songs associated with Sarah Vaughan (opening track “Can’t Get Out of This Mood”), Nancy Wilson (“Guess Who I Saw Today”) and Fitzgerald (“Misty”). Wisely, Joy doesn’t try to compete with any of these singers. Joy’s voice is warm and familiar with impressive range. Landing somewhere between Vaughan and Fitzgerald’s styles, Joy can swoop down and hit the low notes, then soar into the upper register without breaking a sweat.
The quartet backing Joy deserve credit for the album’s success as well. Guitarist Pasquale Grasso receives a featured credit on three tracks. His spry fretwork provides a nice counterpoint to Joy’s nimble voice. Pianist Ben Paterson, bassist David Wong and drummer Kenny Washington help make well-worn numbers “Round Midnight,” “I’m Confessin’ (That I Love You)” and “Someone to Watch Over Me” feel fresh and lively.
Since it’s release last fall, Linger Awhile picked up a Grammy for best jazz vocal album and Joy earned the best new artist Grammy. While Linger Awhile doesn’t cut any new ground, it is delightful to hear Joy revive the classic jazz vocalist form in a way unseen since Norah Jones, 20 years ago. It will be fascinating to see where she takes it from here. -Joel Francis
Supergrass – In It For The Money (180 Gram Vinyl, Colored Vinyl, Turquoise, With Bonus 12″, White)
Sleep – Dopesmoker
Weekly Reviews
The list of rumors surrounding Sleep’s album Dopesmoker (originally titled Jerusalem) are nearly as long as it’s over hour long single track running time.
Released in 1999 by The Music Cartel and the latter by Tee Pee Records in 2003, the concept was recorded in 1996 for Sleep’s label at the time, London Records.
Unhappy with the finished product, London rejected the album and refused to release it. As a result the band would soon unravel.
A number of unauthorized bootleg releases of Dopesmoker would surface over the years, garnering praise from fans and critics earning it a high-water mark in both the stoner metal and doom metal genres.
It turns out the process of writing Dopesmoker was not easy. The song was written and practiced at sound checks, motel rooms and in friends’ houses.
Sleep guitarist Matt Pike said the process was long and that they were “working on [the song] for like four years. We also had two other songs that were working on that were really long, too—like 15 and 20 minutes. But we never recorded them.”
Bass player Al Cisneros stated that smoking cannabis was important to the song’s creative process: “I was really dependent on the space I got into when I was using it, and some of the lyrics are about that…The line, ‘Drop out of life [with bong in hand],’ was kind of a creed at that point.” I recall seeing an early press photo for the band in the mid 90’s that prove this statement to be true.
The band was ready to record in 1995 but the process was delayed as they were still contracted with Earache.
Cisneros said that there was “about a year and half of legal wrangling between their managers and lawyers at Earache” and that Earache owner Digby Pearson “waited to make the most prime conditions for himself before he let [Sleep’s] contract [go].”
Rumor has it, along with an area of strategically placed microphones, “…part of the record’s unique sound was due to custom-built amps designed to be so loud, no one from the band was capable of going into the same room as them.”
Naturally this is not an album for everyone. But this is a great opportunity to snag a piece of Stoner rock history on vinyl.
Aside from the impressive commitment to weed culture, slowed down, fuzz tone, bass minimalism on display here I think there’s deeper level of consciousness that this album operates on.
Perhaps it’s message is: “Let’s see how much we can slow down time and savor every juicy second of it while we’re here.” Check it out! -Major Matt
Steely Dan – Can’t Buy A Thrill (180 Gram Vinyl)
Tennis – POLLEN (Indie Exclusive)
Weekly Review:
Pollen, the sixth album from husband-and-wife indie rock duo Tennis, is the pair’s most radio-friendly album to date.
The piano chords that set up opening track “Forbidden Doors” are soon paired with a catchy synthesizer part that hints at the album’s dancefloor potential. “Let’s Make a Mistake Tonight” makes good on that promise with a pulsing groove and shimmering melody.
While the synthesizer plays a prominent role on Pollen – the song “Gibraltar” even makes a talk-box guitar sound like another synth – Patrick Riley hasn’t abandoned his guitar. The contrast of strummed acoustic guitar against programmed drums makes “Glorietta” feel like a Garbage demo. The piano chords on “Paper” give the song a lounge vibe. Closing track “Pillow for a Could” is built around a fingerpicked acoustic guitar as delicate as the song’s title.
“Never Been Wrong” wins the award for most catchy and most funny song on the album. The arrangement is built on power pop guitars that wouldn’t be out of place on a New Pornographer’s album. Alaina Moore earnestly asks “How can I suffer through another sunset? It’s like doing needle point with a hatchet.” And that’s before she starts singing in Latin.
Over the course of their dozen-plus year career, Tennis have reliably delivered tidy little indie albums filled with big emotions. It’s nice to hear them hop up to the big screen for Pollen. -Joel Francis
Tyler Childers – Country Squire (150 Gram Vinyl, Gatefold LP Jacket, Download Insert)
Tyler The Creator – Flower Boy (150 Gram Vinyl, Gatefold LP Jacket)
Wilson Pickett – It’s Too Late (Indie Exclusive, Cream Colored Vinyl, Anniversary Edition) Weekly Review
Weekly Review:
Soul singer Wilson Pickett’s debut album has been released under a variety of titles over the years. This 60th anniversary pressing aims to simplify things by presenting the album under the original title, It’s Too Late, with the original track listing.
Pickett had scored hits with the gospel group the Violinaires and the R&B group the Falcons, when he stepped out alone. It’s Too Late opens with the smoldering ballad “If You Need Me.” Solomon Burke’s sound-alike cover was the bigger single that year, but Pickett’s version made enough of an impression to convince the Rolling Stones and Tom Jones to cut their interpretations.
You can hear the producers trying to figure out what to do with Pickett’s powerful voice on It’s Too Late. The single “I Can’t Stop” and album track “I’m Gonna Love You” have a Motown feel. The title track – another single – finds Pickett working in a similar groove as James Brown and the Famous Flames. The horn chart on “Baby Call Me” points the way to Pickett’s future success, but the song is still very much in Brown’s mode.
It’s Too Late did well enough to convince Atlantic Records to buy Pickett’s contract from the tiny Double L label. Working with a bigger budget and better producers, Pickett hit his stride on Atlantic, delivering “In the Midnight Hour,” “Land of 1,000 Dances” and “Mustang Sally” and cementing his legacy. But It’s Too Late provides an interesting glimpse at the formation of an already towering talent. -Joel Francis
Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World
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