Richard Manuel - Whispering Pines: Live at the Getaway 1985 (2002)

Singer/songwriter/pianist Richard Manuel never actually made any formal solo recordings apart from his membership in the Band, but this posthumously released album presents a club date he played in Saugerties, NY, less than five months before he committed suicide on March 4, 1986. Manuelaccompanies himself on piano, singing songs from the Band repertoire ("Across the Great Divide," "King Harvest [Has Surely Come]," "I Shall Be Released," "The Shape I'm In," "Chest Fever"), including a couple ("Whispering Pines," "Tears of Rage") on which he has co-songwriting credits. He also demonstrates his major influences by performing music by and associated with Fats Domino ("Grow Too Old") and Ray Charles ("Georgia on My Mind," "You Don't Know Me," "Hard Times"). And he plays a couple of piano instrumentals. He has friends in the audience who sometimes come up and join him, notably fellow Band member Rick Danko, who provides vocal and guitar support on several tracks, and guitarist Jim Weider, who was a member of later configurations of the Band. Manuel's contributions to the Band tended to be overshadowed by other group members, but here, even shortly before his death, he makes a strong impression with his barrelhouse piano work and expressive vocals, emphasizing the loss to music that was soon to come. AMG.

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Ominous Seapods - Econobrain 1995

The Ominous Seapods' debut album was recorded live at Bogie's in the band's hometown of Albany, NY, on January 28, 1994. The indie record sounds like one, and showcases some fine instrumentalism built around largely weak songwriting. (The lyrics and vocals were definitely the band's weakest link in 1994.) One song sounds like a Dana Carvey routine: "I never met those people I didn't know." "Anything Is Possible" showcases one of the problems with Econobrain: The vocals are recorded poorly and are ridiculous: "Anything is possible when you've only been alive for...24 hours." When Dana Monteith takes off on guitar solos, the music reaches its peak. Jamming is definitely the band's forte. But lyrics just get in the way of the jam. The band's alignment with the "gobi" music scene and drugs deflects attention to the lack of cohesion in their songs. Structure and organization mean little to that state of mind. As such, the good guitar work, funky bass, and fun spirit rule supreme. Though the recording of Econobrain is uneven at times, the LP is recommended if you like the Dead orthe Freddy Jones Band. Overall, Econobrain sounds like one long jam without much variation. Sometimes when the singing gives way to soloing, it is unclear if it's been heard somewhere before. The use of piano in "Millworker's Lament" is a nice addition and one of the only variances to the Seapods' early formula. The Ominous Seapods definitely found a popular niche, but, while solid, did little to expand the genre. AMG.

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Toubab Krewe - Toubab Krewe 2006

Blending American and West African influences into a sound all its own, Toubab Krewe has set "a new standard for fusions of rock 'n' roll and West African music" (Afropop Worldwide).

Since forming in 2005, the magnetic instrumental quintet has won a diverse and devoted following at performances everywhere from Bonnaroo to the legendary Festival of the Desert in Essakane, Mali, the most remote festival in the world. The band developed their unique sound over the course of numerous extended trips to Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast, where they immersed themselves in the local culture and studied and performed with luminaries.

But the group has its roots in Asheville, NC, where many of its members were childhood friends and long-term musical collaborators. It was at home in the Appalachians, where the band recorded their sophomore album, Live at the Orange Peel.

Produced by Grammy winning producer Steven Heller (who also produced the band's debut), the new album captures their outstanding 2007-2008 New Year's run. All of the songs are previously unreleased and continue to mix American rock with the West African musical traditions the band fell in love with on their travels. Along the way, they explore the worlds of surf and zydeco, fusing it all together into what the Village Voice describes as "a futuristic, psychedelic, neo-griot frenzy" and Honest Tune hails as "one of the most innovative voices in music today." The new release features col- laborations with legendary spoken word artist Umar Bin Hassan of The Last Poets and fiddler Rayna Gellert of Uncle Earl.

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Arlo Guthrie - The Power of Love 1981

As the 1970s wore on, Arlo Guthrie continued to grow with each subsequent release, wrapping up the decade with what were not only his two most personal albums, but arguably his two best, Amigo andOutlasting the Blues (with the lukewarm live recording One Night between the two). Continuing his longtime association with producer John Pilla, he returned in 1981 with what would be his final studio effort for Warner Bros., Power of Love. As had been the case with the past couple of studio outings,Pilla gives the material more of a pop and rock sheen than Arlo's late-'60s, early-'70s output. But while his production on Amigo had a toughness to it, Pilla often seems to go soft here, as he did on the otherwise terrificOutlasting the Blues. Still, the major difference between Power of Love andOutlasting the Blues is both the number and quality of Guthrie's originals. In the latter half of the '70s, with tunes such as "Victor Jara," "Patriot's Dream," and "Epilogue," he proved himself to be a songwriter whose own output was capable of matching his excellent taste in other people's songs, whereas the pair of self-penned tracks here are average at best. Still, as has been the case throughout his career, Guthrie makes up for the lack of songwriting inspiration with a handful of well-chosen covers -- including Richard Thompson's heavenly crossing "When I Get to the Border," T-Bone Burnett's more recent title cut, Jimmy Webb's "Oklahoma Nights," and David Mallett's "Garden Song," which would become a staple of his live shows, also turning up on his 1982 live collaboration withPete Seeger, Precious Friend. Moments such as these make for a pleasant enough listen, but overall the record lacks the personality of his early- to mid-'70s work, the power and grace of Amigo, or the strong songwriting of Outlasting the Blues, making it a slight disappointment by comparison. Power of Love was reissued by Koch in 2000 as a two-fer along with Outlasting the Blues. AMG.

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Spiritualized - Pure Phase 1995

Much of the reason that the Pure Phase album seemed a tad disappointing upon its 1995 release was that the Electric Mainline teaser EP issued over a year earlier was so fantastic -- its three tracks possess an organic vitality and soulful grit that the overly fussy versions reprised on Pure Phasesorely lack. "Good Times" exists at the intersection of cosmic rock & roll and salt-of-the-earth R&B, fusing a chugging, hypnotic guitar riff with backing vocals and horn arrangements channeled from some off-planet franchise of Muscle Shoals Studios. "Lay Back in the Sun" somehow manages to achieve exit velocity despite (or maybe because of) a grinding, circular melody that actually goes nowhere, and the two-part instrumental title cut captures the same arriving-without-traveling zeitgeist.Jason Pierce advises in the liner notes to "play loud 'n' drive fast" -- words worth heeding at all times. AMG.

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Jimbo Mathus - Jimmy The Kid 2009

Jimmy the Kid stands out in Jimbo Mathus' catalog as his first foray into country and country-rock. Recorded in Como, Mississippi during 2006 and 2007, it features members of the Knockdown Society -- who recorded the excellent Knockdown South and Old Scool Hot Wings -- as well asLuther Dickinson and Olga Wilhelmine Munding, among others. Given those two recordings, this is not only a stylistic departure for Mathus (who spent the previous four years with Buddy Guy), but a sonic one, too. The artist co-produced this with Winn McElroy and Justin Showah; the sound is crisp, warm, and clear. Opener "Good Old Time" walks a line between the Rolling Stones' original version of "Dead Flowers" and the hit single by New Riders of the Purple Sage. "Fallen Angel" is a straight-up honky tonk shuffle with a prominent whining pedal steel. Its barroom companion, "Whispering in the Wings," is fueled by a slightly out of tune upright piano, snare drums, and a walking bassline. The title track is an acoustic-electric stroll between folk-blues and country-rock. "Tell It to the Judge," with its twinned slide guitars, has a distinct Southern boogie flair, while "Little Hand, Big Gun" crisscrosses rockabilly with the Memphis garage R&B of Delaney & Bonnie. "I'm Done" is informed equally by the production styles of Dickey Betts' Highway Call and the Grateful Dead's American Beauty. Mathushas an enviable way with a country ballad; the three included here are arguably the best songs in this lot. "Tenn. Walker Mare" may clock in at just over six minutes, but the manner in which he weds pastoral Southern poetry to mountain folk and the Memphis country tradition (as opposed to Nashville's) is breathtaking. "Check Out Time"'s raw fiddle and ringing upright piano finds the lyric framed between them and a lean funky Telecaster and bell-like pedal steel. Set closer "Hiway at Night" echoes early Ray Price, Carl Smith, and Leon Payne in its words, music, and utterance. Jimmy the Kid is not only an excellent first foray into country for Mathus, but one of his finest records, period. AMG.

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Frank Black a.k.a Black Francis - The Dream Is Over 1993

Inverting his stage name from Black Francis to Frank Black, the former Pixies lead singer/songwriter embarked on a solo career after he broke up the band in early 1993; actually, he began recording his solo album before he told the band the news. Working with former Pere Ubu member Eric Drew Feldman, Black occasionally heads into the ferocious post-punk guitar territory that marked such landmark albums asSurfer Rosa and Doolittle, but more frequently he plays up his considerably underrated melodic side. His self-titled 1993 debut album was an adventurous sketchbook of pop styles ranging from surf rock to heavy metal; from Beatlesque pop to new wave. Black's second album, 1994's Teenager of the Year, was a sprawling and diverse album that amplified all the best points of Frank Black. Although it received favorable reviews and had an alternative radio hit with "Headache," it slipped off the charts two weeks after its release. Black parted ways with Elektra and 4AD in early 1995, signing a new record contract with American in the U.S. and Sony in Europe. He released his first album for American and Sony, the hard-rocking The Cult of Ray, in January 1996. The Cult of Ray hardly found the wide audience Black had hoped for, selling considerably less than his two previous efforts.

Though 2007's Bluefinger was a concept album about the life and death of Dutch painter/punk rocker Herman Brood, it featured some of Black's most ferocious rock in years -- so much so, in fact, that it was credited to his Pixies personaBlack Francis. Frank Black returned the following year withThe Seus EP, which preceded the mini-album SVN FNGRS, a set of songs inspired by the Irish legend of Cúchulainn. In 2010 Black, still working under his Black Francis moniker, released the sexually charged NonStopErotik and a five-disc, limited-edition version of his music for the 1920 silent horror movie The Golem, directed by Carl Boese and Paul Wegener. In 2011, a single-disc version of The Golem and a B-sides collection, Abbabubba, arrived.Paley & Francis, a collaboration with longtime friend Reid Paley with contributions from Muscle Shoals aces Spooner Oldham and David Hood, was also released. In 2012, a pair of live releases, Live at the Melkweg and Live in Nijmegen, were released by Bureau B RecordsHe returned to prominence in 2004 with a Pixies reunion, a project that included North American tours that spring and fall; an appearance at the Coachella festival; dates in Europe and the U.K. that summer, including a performance at the T in the Park festival; Pixies, a DVD retrospective; a new best-of collection, Wave of Mutilation: The Best of Pixies; and last but not least, the possibility of a new Pixies album. That fall,Frank Black Francis, a double-disc set of early Pixiesdemos and reinterpretations of Pixies songs by Black andthe Two Pale Boys, arrived in the midst of all this activity. ThePixies reunion tour continued into 2005; that summer, Blackreleased Honeycomb, a collection of songs recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, featuring performances by session greats such as Spooner Oldham, Reggie Young, Anton Fig, and Steve Cropper. He reunited with this crew and added a host of other guest stars for 2006's sprawling double-album Fast Man Raider Man, which he supported with a string of dates opening for Foo Fighters.Early in 1997, American was forced to close briefly as they straightened out their financial problems. Black was lost in the shuffle. He had recorded an album with the Catholics -- essentially just a renamed version of his The Cult of Raysupporting band -- but was unable to release it due to American's problems. Eventually, he wrangled himself free from both American and Sony. Early in 1998, he signed with Play It Again Sam in England, and he released Frank Black and the Catholics that spring. He was left without an American record contract until spinART picked up the album for release in the U.S. in August. Pistolero followed in 1999.Dog in the Sand was issued two years later. In 2002, Black returned with two albums, the ambitiousBlack Letter Days and The Devil's Workshop, a more laid-back effort. Show Me Your Tears, which was inspired by Black's therapy sessions, followed a year later. AMG.

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Sky Sunlight Saxon with Universal Stars Peace Band - Masters of Psychedelia 1984

After the breakup of the seminal psychedelic garage punk band the Seeds in 1969, frontman Sky Saxon (born Richard Marsh) embarked on an erratic solo career in between stints as a mystical guru in Hawaii. Much of his post-Seeds work fit the mold of a curious 1960s relic, a hippie acid casualty with a strong cult following, in the mold of Roky Erickson. Saxon began his career under the name Little Richie Marsh, performing sugary, doo wop-influenced teenage pop in 1962. Changing his name toSky Saxon, he joined two L.A. garage bands, the Soul Rockers and the Electra Fires, before formingthe Seeds in 1965. Saxon continued to record under the Seeds' name following the group's official dissolution in 1969, releasing a series of singles that increasingly reflected a drug-induced separation from reality. Beginning in 1976, the late '70s saw the release of several albums credited to variously named outfits: Sky Sunlight, Sunstar, Sky "Sunlight" Saxon, the Universal Stars Band, Star's New Seeds Band, Sunlight and the New Seeds, and so on. 1983 saw the release of a rarities collection, New Fruit From Old Seeds: The Rare Sky Saxon, Vol. 1 (there never was a planned Vol. 2), which contained material dating back to Saxon's pre-Seeds days. Saxon, who had not produced any new albums since 1978, returned on the U.K. Psycho label in 1984 with Starry Ride, which featured support from Steppenwolf's Mars Bonfire (composer of "Born to Be Wild"), as well as former members of Iron Butterfly and Fraternity of Man. The Saxon/Bonfire collaboration reached full fruition in the group Firewall, who debuted with the album A Groovy Thing in 1986 (Destiny's Childrenfeatures the same songs in a different order). Firewall featured guest appearances from members of such California neo-psychedelic bands as the Dream Syndicate, the Plimsouls, the Droogs, andYard Trauma, demonstrating Saxon's enduring influence and appeal, particularly among that set of musicians. That same year, Saxon recorded a largely unrehearsed live album with Purple Electricity, a one-off project featuring members of Redd Kross and the Primates, entitled Private Party. Firewall returned in 1988 with In Search of Brighter Colors, which was released in the U.S. as World Fantastic, with several rare '80s cuts replacing the former version's weaker tracks. Saxon has since returned to Hawaii. AMG.

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