AMERICAN BEAUTY was an instant classic when it was first released November of 1970. It is among the most satisfying and enduring of the Grateful Dead’s studio recordings, expanding as it does on the engaging mix of country, blues, and folk materials they first coined earlier in the year with WORKINGMAN’S DEAD.
The musical vision of the Dead is more sharply focused on AMERICAN BEAUTY–from the serene reflection and compassion of the opening “Box Of Rain” and the earthy mysticism of “Ripple,” to the sensual rock of “Sugar Magnolia” and the anthemic proto-boogie of the closing “Truckin’.” But then, every tune on AMERICAN BEAUTY has attained a classic resonance, both from decades of steady airplay, and the way the Dead seemed to continually revive these popular standards for their concert repertoire.
Also available with WORKINGMAN’S DEAD on one cassette.

To the Sea, the fifth studio album from surfer/songwriter Jack Johnson, features 13 new tracks, all of which are destined to become the official summer 2010 soundtrack for collegiate volleyball games, post-graduation car wash fundraisers, and spontaneous beach blanket siestas everywhere.

It is fitting that ten seconds into Blitzen Trapper’s fifth full-length record, front man Eric Earley utters that most sacred of rock ‘n’ roll tropes: “For to love is to leave or to run like a rollin’ stone.” As is the case with just about every musician or band that has employed the Blues’ greatest simile – Muddy Waters, Hank Williams, Van Morrison, The Temptations, The Rolling Stones – Blitzen Trapper is unabashed in its embrace of tradition.
Over the course of their four full-length albums to date, including their revelatory 2008 Sub Pop release Furr, the Portland band has already made that much clear. And, Earley’s considerable poetic talents and his band’s hard-earned chops have gained them a growing international audience.
During two distant and brief breaks from the band’s near-incessant touring for Furr – one in January 2009 and the other in January 2010 – Earley and a few of his bandmates entered the attic studio of the lauded Portland musician and studio engineer Mike Coykendall (Bright Eyes, M Ward, She & Him). The heart of Destroyer of the Void, though, is still found in Earley’s meticulous songwriting. Here he is firmly in storyteller mode, expanding on the mythical world he created on Furr, creating a truly original American soundtrack.

Set List is the first Frames’ release under the Irish roustabouts’ domestic distribution deal with Anti, in preparation for a proper studio full-length. It makes sense, the live album release — the Frames have always made their name on-stage, and Set List will disappoint neither the ardent fan nor curious newcomer. Glen Hansard is a frontman of the beaded, bloody sweat variety, and his mates never get tired of amping the emotion with heart tingling wails of guitar and shrill fiddle. The crowd never tires of it, either — they shout along with the righteous rock release of “Revelate,” hesitate in hushed anticipation for the nearly nine-minute novella “Santa Maria,” and coo like contented schoolchildren during the subtle rushes of “Lay Me Down.” Hansard proves to be a storyteller of the classic Irish variety, all unassuming humor and prescient asides. His lengthy intro to “What Happens When the Heart Just Stops” (from 2001’s For the Birds) is roundabout hilarious, and he lets it fade perfectly into some scattered opening chords before building the song to an absolutely elegiac moment of release. The rambling, deadpan folk-pop of “Rent Day Blues” offers a bit of a reprieve from this sort of soul-baring, but that’s only to set up a pair of screeching hymns in “Pavement Tune” and “The Stars Are Underground.” As the Frames are criminally underappreciated in the States, Set List can’t quite avoid the patches of second-generation staleness that almost always taint live albums. In other words, you had to be there. But it still substantiates the Frames’ reputation for punctuating passion with peels of feedback, making it recommended listening for the initiated and novice alike. ~ Johnny Loftus

This special limited edition release of THICK AS A BRICK – 25TH ANNIVERSARY contains one previously unreleased live track and interviews with Ian Anderson, Martin Barre and Jeffrey Hammond.
This edition of THICK AS A BRICK contains a bonus live track and interview.
While never as high-minded or technically facile as the likes of Yes or ELP, Tull began incorporating complex time changes, sophisticated harmonic structures, and highly developed lyrical themes on THICK AS A BRICK, the realization of the artistic growth begun on AQUALUNG. It is here that Tull finally bursts into full-blown prog-rock mode. While AQUALUNG was a group of discrete compositions united by a theme, THICK AS A BRICK consists of one extended piece that occupies the length of the album.
Lyrically, Anderson’s intentions are a bit obscure here, but the sophisticated arrangements and virtuoso performances are enough to carry the show. John Evan’s piano and organ are at the heart of this complex piece, which moves through an endless succession of tempos, moods, and modes in a manner similar to vintage Genesis or the aforementioned Yes, but with a grittier edge. Most importantly, the whole things flows in a cohesive fashion. THICK AS A BRICK demands close attention, but rewards the same handsomely.

Neil Young’s sequel to 1972’s HARVEST found him reuniting with the Stray Gators and inviting along a few other famous friends. Unlike Crazy Horse’s sonic bludgeoning, the Gators’ light playing featured ethereal-sounding pedal steel and harmonies that caressed like a gentle lover. This was the perfect compliment for Young’s songwriting, which was fueled by romantic notions of courtship and deep thought. Young and Nicolette Larson harmonized and became the lovers of “You and Me,” whereas Jack Nitzsche’s string arrangements made for a nice contrast in “Such a Woman,” a bold-faced declaration of love. Other insights into the normally cranky iconoclast’s sentimental side include the delicate touch of the title track, which leaves an image of slow-dancing in a dark corner. Fast approaching 50, Neil Young also used HARVEST MOON to reflect back on his life, particularly in the biographical “One of These Days,” and “From Hank to Hendrix,” a twangy sequel to “My My, Hey Hey (Out of The Blue).” Young also continued his commitment to the environment by including both a protest against man’s destruction of nature (”War of Man”) and a live tribute to the forest and jungles recorded at a Portland, Oregon performance that included sounds of the Brazilian rainforest (”Natural Beauty.”)

Flight of the Conchords is a Grammy Award-winning folk, pop & comedy band composed of Kiwi’s Bret Mackenzie & Jemaine Clement.The group uses a combination of witty observation, characterisation and acoustic guitars to work the audience.
Their first major international success came at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where they received rave reviews and built up a solid fan base. In due course, they made a series of adverts for Phones4U in the UK, a radio series for the BBC and, now, a self-titled American TV series commissioned by HBO.
Live performances on David Lettermans Late Show & Late Night With Conan O Brian have gained them a worldwide cult following.
The HBO Television sitcom, also called Flight of the Conchords premiered in the USA in June 2007. The series revolves around the pair as they try to achieve success in NYC as a band and try to develop an American fan base.
In February 2008, the band won the Grammy for best comedy album for their six-track CDEP The Distant Future (also on Subpop/Stomp)
Produced by Mickey Petralia (Beck ,Midnight Vultures, Ladytron) in Los Angeles, New York and Wellington, the album features fully fleshed-out and professionally recorded versions of Flight of the Conchords concert and television favorites. Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement’s trademark acoustic guitars lead the blitz, backed by a diverse array of instrumentation and production technique.
These 15 songs pay homage to Pet Shop Boys, censorship, Marvin Gaye, sexism, Shabba Ranks, and backhanded compliments. Features popular tracks Business Time, Most Beautiful Girl in the Room & Hiphopopotamus.

Ever since Mumford & Sons entered onto the British folk stage in 2007, they have been garnering positive acclaim on the albums they have released. Their latest compilation of songs, entitled Sigh No More, represents yet another step in Mumford & Sons’ artistic evolution. People have described the Mumford & Sons sound as a folksy blend of rustic pop that has been influenced by Wild Beasts, Noah & The Whale, Bat for Lashes, and The Twilight Sad.

Marcus Mumford’s voice dominates the new album with its gravelly nature and soulful depth. The lyrical themes resonate with those who approach love with an almost spiritual zeal. Mumford describes “a love that will no longer betray or dismay you, it will set you free/make you more like the man you were meant to be.” Mumford delivers their message with such sincerity and conviction that they will undoubtedly draw the listener in and present him or her with a powerful musical experience.

“A White Blank Page” is one of Sigh No More’s weightiest pieces. Mumford & Sons conjure up the image of a man imagining writing a letter to someone now beyond his reach. The vocals are filled with a tense blend of anger and sorrow, underscored by instrumentals led by dramatic violins and quick bursts of piano. The trumpet playing in “Winter Winds” is hauntingly melodious and deserves particular attention and accolade.

Hailing from Hampshire, England, singer songwriter Laura Marling utilises her talent for poetic lyricism and striking melodies to form pop songs of the highest order. Marling’s gentle acoustic picking technique compliments the subjects close to her heart – it’s easy to feel from her tender British voice that she is singing from experience. ‘I Speak Because I Can’ is a darker record than 2008’s debut ‘Alas, I Cannot Swim’, taking further influence from traditional folk, although Marling’s modern charm remains.

So Runs the World Away, the fifth studio album from bookish, Idaho-born troubadour Josh Ritter, unfolds like a Flannery O’Connor, Jim Jarmusch, and Mark Twain road trip. Equally steeped in Southern and Midwest Gothic Americana, the son of a pair of neuroscientists has crafted his most unique collection of songs to date, borrowing characters from mythology, literature, and world history and letting them run wild in the increasingly adventurous, neo-traditional folk style that his become his forte over the last decade. The elegiac, slow-burn opener “Change of Time” sets the stage, lamenting “battered hulls and broken hardships/leviathan and lonely” before visiting a 1000-year-old Egyptian pharaoh on the deck of a steamship on his way to New York in “Curses.” The voyage continues by train on “Southern Pacifica,” descends into bluesy, Tom Waits-ian solipsism on “Rattling Locks,” and culminates in So Runs the World Away’s brilliant mid-album centerpiece, “Folk Bloodbath,” which pits some of the murder ballad’s biggest names (Louis Collins, Delia, and Stagger Lee) against each other with predictable results. Standout cuts in the second half include the verdant, bouncy “Lark,” the stoic, John Jacob Niles-inspired “See How Man Was Made,” and the spirited, quasi-spiritual/science rocker “Orbital,” resulting in a typically fine batch of new folk standards and a high-water mark for an artist already used to paddling around on oceans too deep and vast for modern cartography. ~ James Christopher Monger