It’s Rhino Black History Month New Vinyl Thursday at The Vinyl Underground at 7th Heaven. Check out this week’s list of new vinyl arrivals:
2Pac – All Eyez On Me
Andrew Cyrille – Lebroba
Ari Lennox – Shea Butter Baby
Arlo Parks – Collapsed In Sunbeams
Weekly Review:
Barry Gibb – Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers’ Soundtrack [180 gram Vinyl]
Black Sabbath – Vol. 4 (Super Deluxe Edition)
Bob Marley – Songs of Freedom: The Island Years
Weekly Review:
For decades, Bob Marley fans haven’t had much middle ground between Legend, a 14-track greatest hits
collection, and picking away at the reggae legend’s albums. Released in conjunction with what would
have been Marley’s 75th birthday, Songs of Freedom aims to correct this problem.
Nearly all the songs from Legend are here, although some are present in a slightly different form. This
isn’t a bad thing – “Jamming,” “Exodus,” “One Love” and “Could You Be Loved” are here in their 12-inch
single mixes, extending the groove for an extra minute or so. An alternate mix of “Is This Love” tastefully
adds horns to this already upbeat song.
The album cuts on Songs of Freedom are nearly as essential as the hits, and fill in more of Marley’s
portrait. “No More Trouble” and “War” show Marley’s militant, social justice side. Marley’s spiritual side
is seen in “Forever Loving Jah” and “Rastaman Live Up.” The song “Natural Mystic” combines these
elements.
Bob Marley has been gone for nearly as long as he was alive, but his music continues to resonate and
remain vital and vibrant. If you’re wanting to go deeper than legend but aren’t sure you want to tackle
Marley’s vast catalog, Songs of Freedom is the perfect place to turn.-Joel Francis
Bob Marley – Legend
Beastie Boys – Licensed To Ill
Black Pumas – Black Pumas
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Bob Dylan – John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline
Weekly Review:
Part of Bob Dylan’s multigenerational brilliance is that he zigged while everyone else zagged. After
earning the tag “voice of a generation” as an acoustic folk singer, Dylan went electric and delivered
three of the greatest albums of all time in a little over a year. Then – silence. The Beatles dropped Sgt.
Pepper’s, psychedelic music emanated from Haight-Ashbury and the Summer of Love happened. Still
nothing from Dylan.
Finally, at the end of 1967, after 18 months of seclusion, Dylan released John Wesley Harding. The
album is a quiet, reflective, country-influenced collection of acoustic songs that bore no resemblance to
what was happening in the current musical landscape and didn’t sound much like anything Dylan had
done before, either. The songs are straightforward and direct and sometimes leave you humming their
melodies after they’ve ended. At a dozen songs and just under 40 minutes, there isn’t a bad number in
the bunch, but a few stand out: “The Wicked Messenger,” “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,” “Drifter’s Escape,”
I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine” and, of course, “All Along the Watchtower,” which couldn’t sound more
different from Jimi Hendrix’ hit interpretation.
If John Wesley Harding hinted at country music, Dylan’s next album, Nashville Skyline, embraced it.
Recorded in Music City, where Dylan also cut Blonde on Blonde, Dylan duets with Johnny Cash and
recorded with some of the city’s finest studio players, including Charlie Daniels. None of the songs
address the election of Richard Nixon or the violence at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago
the year before. Instead, Dylan sings mostly about love, lust and regret. Several of Nashville Skyline’s 10
tracks number among Dylan’s finest: “Lay Lady Lay,” “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You,” “I Threw It
All Away” and “To Be Alone with you.”
John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline are recommended for all fans of alt-country and
roots/Americana music. There’s not much of a stretch from Son Volt or the Avett Brothers back to these
albums. If you really want to dig deep into this period of Dylan’s catalog, check out Travelin’ Thru. Part
of Dylan’s Bootleg Series, the collection presents the rest of the Cash/Dylan duets, alternate takes and
live performances.-Joel Francis
Cannonball Adderley – Somethin Else
Carlos Santana & Alice Coltrane – Illuminations
Carole King – Tapestry [150 gram Vinyl]
Childish Gambino – Awaken My Love
Childish Gambino – Camp
Cigarettes After Sex – Cigarettes After Sex
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – New Fragility
Common – A Beautiful Revolution Pt 1
The Cranberries – Dreams: The Collection
The Creation – We Are Paintermen [140 gram Vinyl]
Curtis Mayfield – Roots (Orange Vinyl, Rhino Black History Month)
Curtis Mayfield – There’s No Place Like America (Blue Vinyl, Rhino Black History Month)
Depeche Mode – Music for the Masses [180 gram Vinyl]
Dio – Evil or Divine: Live In New York City
Dio – Holy Diver Live
Donny Hathaway – A Donny Hathaway Collection (Purple Vinyl, Rhino Black History Month)
Dr Hook – Gold [140 gram Vinyl]
Eminem – The Eminem Show
Fine Young Cannibals – The Raw and the Cooked
Weekly Review:
Although they are best remembered for the No. 1 hit “She Drives Me Crazy,” the Fine Young Cannibals
aren’t a one-hit wonder. In fact, another track from the same album also hit No. 1, while a third song
landed just outside the Top 10.
The Cannibals second album, The Raw and the Cooked, is much better than you remember. “Good
Thing,” the other No. 1 hit, is built on a driving Motown guitar line that recalls “Leavin’ Here” (and the
original “Tainted Love”). “I’m Not Satisfied” is another hot slab of soul with a great B3 organ solo on the
outro. The catchy “Don’t Look Back” peaked at No. 11. The trio even turns the Buzzcock’s “Ever Fallen in
Love” into a blue-eyed soul number, which is either intriguing or apostacy, depending on your
perspective.
Sure, The Raw and the Cooked is slathered in ‘80s production, but so are the War on Drugs and the
Purple Rain soundtrack and no one is throwing those out. Give the Fine Young Cannibals a second
chance – you’ll be glad you did.-Joel Francis
Foo Fighters – Medicine at Midnight
Weekly Review:
After 10 albums and 25 years, the Foo Fighters aren’t quite AC/DC or the Ramones when it comes to
turning in variants of the same album each time, but they also don’t stray far from their meat-and-
potatoes hard rock sound.
The album opens with “Making a Fire,” which features the muscular rock sound we’ve come to expect
from the band with a na na na pop chorus that feels forced and out of place. The energetic title song is
the closest the album gets to Dave Grohl’s description of the record as “our ‘Let’s Dance.’” The blues
guitar solo at the end of the song recalls Stevie Ray Vaughan’s finer moments with David Bowie.
“Waiting on a War” and “Love Dies Young” are two standouts that should live in every fan’s best-of
playlist.
There are a few twists along the way, like the minimalist “Shame” and the Lemmy Kilmister tribute “No
Son of Mine.” The slinky “Cloudspotter” recalls Grohl’s work with Queens of the Stone Age.
For the dedicated, Medicine at Midnight’s nine tunes are guaranteed to sound great in the stadium or
arena whenever the band can get back to touring and to lift your spirits at home in the meantime.-Joel Francis
Goat Girls – On All Fours
Golden Earring – Switch [180 gram Vinyl]
Gorillaz – Demon Days
Gorillaz – Humanz
Greg Graffin – American Lesion
H.E.R. – H.E.R.
Jewel – Pieces Of You (25th Anniversary Edition 4 LP)
Jimi Hendrix – Band Of Gypsys
Jimi Hendrix – Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix [150 gram Vinyl]
Joe Henderson – Page One
J Mascis – Martin Plus Me
Weekly Review:
As the frontman and guitarist for Dinosaur Jr, J Mascis is usually known for very loud, very electric guitar
solos. Recorded on Mascis’ 1995 tour, Martin Plus Me finds the singer working sans band, on acoustic
guitar.
Much of the setlist comes from the Dinosaur Jr albums Green Mind and Where Have You Been.
Interestingly, Mascis doesn’t perform any songs from the band’s most recent album, Without a Sound.
It’s surprising how well these songs translate to the acoustic format. They aren’t quite campfire tunes,
but there is a vulnerability and intimacy in these performances not found in their amplified
counterparts.
Mascis throws a couple surprises in the mix as well, reaching all the way back to Dinosaur Jr’s first album
for “Blowin’ It.” A cover of Carly Simon’s “Anticipation” is one of the most tender moments on the
album. The Smiths’ “A Boy with the Thorn in His Side” blends almost unnoticed with Mascis’ originals.
Mascis’ voice and lengthy, ferocious guitar solos have long drawn comparisons to Neil Young. While
Martin Plus Me won’t be mistaken for Harvest, Mascis shows he can hang with the folkie side of Young,
too.-Joel Francis
John Coltrane – Giant Steps
John Prine – Pink Cadillac
John Prine – Storm Windows
Johnny Cash – The Essential Johnny Cash
Joshua Redman – Still Dreaming
Weekly Review:
Lineage and history have always been important in jazz. Even the most creative trailblazers
were quick to acknowledge the giants on whose proverbial shoulders they stood. The
group Old and New Dreams was formed back in 1976 by members of Ornette Coleman’s
band: Dewey Redman (a high school classmate of Coleman’s), Don Cherry, Charlie Haden,
and Ed Blackwell. As the group played a mix of original tunes and Ornette Coleman
compositions, the influence of their former bandleader was strongly felt.
Fast forward about thirty years, and Dewey Redman’s son, Joshua Redman is paying
homage to his father’s group, Old and New Dreams, with his album, Still Dreaming. The
instrumentation is similar to his father’s group, with Redman on tenor saxophone, Ron
Miles on cornet, Scott Colley on bass, and Brian Blade on drums. Just like many of
Coleman’s groups, a piano is noticeably absent in Redman’s lineup for this album. Without
it, there is more space than some of Redman’s other quartets, resulting in the amplification
of the other instruments.
Perhaps the music of Ornette Coleman and his bandmates are unfamiliar, but that should
not be a barrier to this music. Redman’s compositions on Still Dreaming are jerky and
angular, yet bluesy and soulful. Colley’s two compositions are melodic and memorable.
Many of these performances feel intentional (but never over-rehearsed!) with the band
starting, stopping, and phrasing together. This was not merely a blowing session where the
engineer simply reached for the fader after about six or seven minutes.
Much like the artists who influenced it, the music Redman’s quartet makes here is elastic.
Sometimes the melody (head) of the peace can quickly snap into a free-for-all and then
quickly back into focus. From the jittery opening phrase of “New Year,” it’s easy to imagine
Coleman or Redman’s father in the room with the band. Redman’s tenor and Miles’s
coronet are panned hard-right and hard-left, giving the impression that they are playing on
opposite sides of the room as they riff off of one another. And that joy of hearing band
members listen to one another is a big takeaway here, as well as a great way to honor the
music of Old and New Dreams. -Jonathon Smith
Karen Dalton – 1966
Kendrick Lamar – Untitled Unmastered
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Flying Microtonal Banana
The Kinks – Kinks At The Village Green Preservation Society
The London Suede – London Suede [180 gram Vinyl]
Led Zeppelin – Mothership [180 gram Vinyl]
Linda Hill – Lullaby For Linda
Lucero – When You Found Me
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd – Live From Jacksonville At The Florida Theatre
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Second Helping – Live From Jacksonville At The Florida Theatre
Mac Miller – Watching Movies With The Sounds Off
Mark Kozelek – All The Best Issac Hayes
Marvin Gaye – Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye
Michael Jackson – Off The Wall
Michael Jackson – Bad
Miles Davis – Blue Moods
Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue
Miles Davis – Miles In Tokyo [180 gram vinyl]
Miles Davis – The New Miles Davis Quintet
Motorhead – Bomber
My Chemical Romance – Life On The Murder Scene
The Milk Carton Kids – Live From Lincoln Field
The Notorious B.I.G. – Greatest Hits
N.W.A. – Niggaz4Life
Neil Young – Homegrown
Norma Tanega – Walkin’ My Cat Called Dog
Outkast – Stankonia
PJ Harvey – Is This Desire
Paul Bley – Closer
Phil Collins – Face Value
Pixies – Surfer Rosa
Prophets Of Rage – Prophets of Rage [180 gram Vinyl]
Queen – Greatest Hits I
Rage Against The Machine – Renegades [180 gram Vinyl]
Red Garland – Dig It
Roddy Ricch – Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial
The Roots – Things Fall Apart
Scott H. Biram – Fever Dreams
Slint – Breadcrumb Trail/Good Morning Captain
Smashing Pumpkins – Gish
Snoop Dogg – Doggystyle
Suede – See You In The Next Life [180 gram Vinyl]
Thelonious Monk – Complete Prestige 10” Collection Thelonious Monk
Tom Waits – Real Gone
Tommy Bolin – Shake The Devil – The Lost Sessions
Twenty One Pilots – Blurryface
The Velvet Underground – Velvet Underground & Nico
Various Artists – Friday (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Various Artists – Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 [140 gram Vinyl]
Viagra Boys – Welfare Jazz
Weekly Review:
The opening track from the Viagra Boys’ second album starts like it’s being wound from a jukebox, as a
fuzzy bassline gradually falls in with a honking saxophone that recalls Fun House-era Stooges. “I ain’t
nice,” frontman Sebastian Murphy sings, and he has the details to prove it.
Sebastian recently said the band’s new album was inspired by the end of a long-term relationship and
his immature, selfish behavior in it. “I’m never going to be the man you want, baby/I’m a rebel until I
die” he sings on “Toad.” On “Creatures” he admits “we just float around/close to the bottom.”
These confessions are delivered with a sneer, as the Boys’ post-punk, snythy sleaze wraps everything in
over-the-top machismo that sounds both mocking and earnest. This approach grows a bit numbing
despite the album’s concise 40-minute run time.
Welfare Jazz’s final two tracks come out of nowhere. The down-home “To the Country” and a cover of
John Prine’s “In Spite of Ourselves” with Amy Taylor point to another career path on the alt-country
circuit if the band ever wants to go that route.
Ultimately, Welfare Jazz adds several strong numbers that will devastate in concert and builds on the
band’s attempt to parody and skewer American culture without turning into jokes themselves.-Joel Francis
Viagra Boys – Common Sense
Viagra Boys – Street Worms
Weezer – Ok Human
Weekly Review:
Weather Station – Weather Station
Weather Station – Loyalty
The Weeknd – Starboy
The White Stripes – Greatest Hits [150 gram Vinyl]
FLASH SALE!
50% OFF ANY 1 PJ HARVEY LP – Thursday, February 11th ONLY!
Turntables! We got ’em. From starter tables to audiophile, and everything in between, we have you covered. We are honored to once again be carrying a full line up of the award winning, top of their class, made in America, U-turn Orbits! We have all the colors- including the high performance walnut and maple. Get here fast for best selection. Get yours today!
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Here’s where we talk about the virus. We are all freaked out. We are all nervous and anxious. We are OPEN. If you want to come shop in person put on your mask and we will say hello, give you a virtual high five- a virtual hug if we know you that well- and we will keep our distance. We love all of our customers and are glad to keep this little bit of normalcy in these crazy times. With that being said, we will also offer various other ways to get your vinyl fix. We have always shipped music and we will continue to do so. We also offer curbside pick up. Call us, pay, call us when you are outside and we will deliver your freshly sanitized purchase to your car.
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Enjoy the music and we will see you soon. Your loving Vinyl Underground at 7th Heaven staff:
Sherman, Gordon, Cat, Matt, Dylan, Doyle, Heather, Dave and Max
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