MATT'S MUSIC REPORT

Recent Releases of Note

• George Harrison - Living in the Material World [official book]
• John Hiatt - Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns
• Indigo Girls - Beauty Queen Sister
• Jayhawks - Mockingbird Time
• Allison Krauss & Union Station - Paper Airplane
• Julian Lennon - Everything Changes
• The Lonely Island - Turtleneck & Chain
• Nick Lowe - The Old Magic
• Paul McCartney - McCartney [reissue; 2-CD or 2-CD/1-DVD w/book]
• Paul McCartney - McCartney II [reissue; 2-CD or 3-CD/1-DVD w/book]
• Paul McCartney - Run Devil Run [reissue, no bonus tracks]
• Paul McCartney - Driving Rain [reissue, no bonus tracks]
• Paul McCartney - Ocean's Kingdom [Macca composed ballet]
• Mike + the Mechanics - The Road
• Morgan/Tandy - Earthrise [reissue; Tandy was keyboardist for E.L.O]
• Willie Nelson - The Scientist [iTunes single]
• Randy Newman - Songbook volume 2
• Stevie Nicks - In Your Dreams
• Queen - first 5 albums remastered/reissued with bonus tracks
• Roy Orbison - The Complete Sun Sessions
• Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
• Paul Simon - first 4 albums reissued; identical to 2004 box set reissues
• Paul Simon - Live Rhymin' [reissue; remastered with bonus tracks]
• Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water: 40th Anniversary Edition [CD/DVD]
• They Might Be Giants - Join Us
• KT Tunstall - Don't You (Forget About Me) [charity single]
• Loudon Wainwright III - 40 Odd Years [4-CD/1-DVD box set]
• Wilco - The Whole Love
• "Weird Al" Yankovic - Alpocalypse
• "Weird Al" Yankovic - The Alpocalypse Tour [DVD]
• Neil Young - A Treasure
• various [Jeff Lynne/Ringo Starr/Stevie Nicks/Brian Wilson] - Listen to Me: Buddy Holly
• various [Bob Dylan] - The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams
• various [Wilco/Elvis Costello/CSN] - MusiCares Tribute to Neil Young [DVD]
• various - O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack [2-disc reissue]
• various [Paul McCartney/Nick Lowe] - Rave On: Buddy Holly

Upcoming New Releases

• Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions [11/1] [2-CD]
• George Harrison - Living in the Material World [TBA] [DVD]
• William Shatner - Seeking Major Tom [10/11]
• Paul Simon - Songwriter [10/24]
• Joe Walsh - TBA [early 2012]
• various - The Bridge School Concerts 25th Anniversary Edition [10/24] [3-DVD or 2-CD]

On Tour in the Tri-State

• Bangles - Indianapolis [10/9]
• Adrian Belew - Covington [10/6]; Indianapolis [10/27]
• Chicago - Louisville [12/7]
• Iris Dement - Kent [1/6]
• Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart - Madison [1/22]
• Kathy Griffin - Cleveland [10/23]
• Herman's Hermits - Newport [10/14]; Marion [1/13]
• John Hiatt - Cincinnati [10/7]
• Jayhawks - Athens [10/9]; Nelsonville [10/11]; Bloomington [10/12]; Louisville [10/14]
• Huey Lewis & the News - Newark [10/23]
• Manhattan Transfer - Carmel [12/3]
• Willie Nelson - Akron [10/18]; Richmond, KY [10/19]
• Maura O'Connell - Cleveland [10/14]
• Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Bloomington [10/13]; Louisville [11/6]
• Paul Simon - Columbus [11/19]; Bloomington [11/20]; Cincinnati [11/22]; Akron [11/23]
• Franki Valli - Belterra [10/15]
• Joe Walsh - Cleveland [10/26]; Cincinnati [10/27]

Reviews

Randy Newman - The Randy Newman Songbook volume 2 - I'm a Randy Newman fan. This year I fulfilled a dream by seeing him live in concert. But I don't get the point of this project. I understand that he's showcasing his songwriting by just using voice and piano, but these versions aren't that different from the originals. In fact, I'd say Newman is most known for his voice and piano. It's not like his albums have been overproduced. A nice listen, but something of pointless exercise.

Join Us - They Might Be Giants - I'm a loyal fan. If I like an artist, I generally stick with them, buying their new releases sight unheard. I was like that with TMBG, but after 1996's "Factory Showroom", it's been touch and go. I've enjoyed their children's songs, but avoided their rock albums. This most recent was billed as something of a return to form, to their alt-rock heroics of the "Flood" era. That it may be. It might be good, but I'm having a hard time getting into it. Thus the birth of my pet theory that there may be a finite amount of They Might Be Giants to be enjoyed. That after the first 10 years, you kind of have all you need. I hope I'm wrong and there are surprises to come. They just don't come in "Join Us."

And now, guest reviewer Jim Bates -
Neil Young - A Treasure - One of the nice things about live Neil Young is that it will strip away the artifice of Neil’s current project and return to a sound that is just pure Neil. In his latest Archives release, Neil returns to his 1980s International Harvester days. While it could be argued that there isn’t that much of a difference between "Harvest" and "Old Ways," at times it seemed like Neil was just posing as a country singer. With "A Treasure," Neil sounds like country-rock Neil with a kickass country band backing him up. Yes, there is banjo. pedal steel and fiddle, but it is clearly Neil Young...not some guy who sounds like Neil Young trying to hang with Waylon Jennings.

The album opens with the unreleased “Amber Jean,” a simple paean to his daughter. Other songs appearing on an album for the first time include the slashing “Grey Riders,” “Nothing is Perfect,” a wild west song about telephones “Let Your Finger Do The Walking,” and the ‘80s live standard “Soul of a Woman.” Also included is a rare Neil Young cover of “It Might Have Been.” The only "Old Ways" entries are “Bound For Glory,” much better with a full Neil Young vocal, and “Get Back to the Country,” which features some tasty banjo work by Anthony Crawford. We also get, for the first time, Neil singing his Buffalo Springfield standard “Flying on the Ground is Wrong” and Harvest’s “Are You Ready For The Country.” Finally, how can you not love an album with not one, but two songs from "Re-ac-tor"? “Motor City” sounds a little silly today with its 'Buy Detroit' theme, but it's still big fun, and “South Pacific” sounds great in this arrangement.

Overall, this is a great album. While I have no idea what the general opinion was in the mid-'80s...and I guess not so great, as Geffen Records sued Neil over his "Old Ways" album...in 2011 it sounds like just another brick in the wall of Neil Young.

P.S.: Please Neil, don’t make us buy this disc again when you get around to the 80s Archives box set! I’m still pissed and disappointed with Archives I for that reason.