With countless albums released over a 12-month period and more attention typically paid to the younger acts, it’s easy to miss good titles made by those who have been in the biz longer than 15 years. With that in mind, here are some studio, compilation and live efforts that deserve a second look.
Before After
(RCA/Epic/Sony Legacy)
Everyone knows Daryl Hall and John Oates, the most
successful duo in pop music history. But Hall’s diverse solo material hasn’t
always received its due props. Before After - his first solo
retrospective spanning 1980’s Sacred Songs through 2011’s Laughing Down
Crying - does a fine job at rectifying that. The 30 songs across two CDs
were compiled and sequenced non-chronologically by Hall. The liner notes include
a solo career recap, full credits and selected lyric spotlights. Hall notched eight
top 40 hits at Adult Contemporary radio and the bulk of them are included.
Some of the impressive crop of musicians Hall has worked
with on these tunes include Robert Fripp (producer of Sacred Songs), Eurythmics’
Dave Stewart (co-producer of Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine), The
Fixx’s Jamie West-Oram, Pretenders’ Robbie McIntosh, The Heartbreakers’ Steve Ferrone
and Deacon Blue’s Lorraine McIntosh.
Highlights include the ebullient “Dreamtime,” bright
blue-eyed soul of “Foolish Pride,” the smooth R&B in "Can’t Stop Dreaming,”
earworm “Talking to You,” a Bowie-esque (think “TVC-15”) “Sacred Songs” and atmospheric soul of “Right as Rain.”
Six of the eight performances off Live from Daryl’s House – Hall's 2007 web series that become a long-running cable TV show and is now a
concert venue, are worth the purchase price alone. Among these are a stunningly
spare cover of “Here Comes the Rain Again” alongside Stewart, “Can We Still Be
Friends” with Todd Rundgren, a laid-back version of Ruby & the Romantics’ “Our
Day Will Come” and the acoustic guitar-driven take on the Gladys Knight &
the Pips-popularized “Neither One of Us.”
Diamond Star Halos
(UMe)
Taking its title from the T-Rex hit “Bang a Gong (Get it On),”
the first Def Lep album in 6 ½ years (and 12th overall) features 15
tracks that clock in just over an hour. While there are subtle Middle Eastern
touches and orchestration, Diamond Star Halos
shows the veteran British band hasn’t lost the knack for crafting infectious
rockers (“Kick,” “SOS Emergency,” “Gimme a Kiss That Rocks”). Alison Krauss, fresh
off her ‘21 collaborative album with Robert Plant, provides guest vocals on the
smoldering power ballad “This Guitar” and smooth “Lifeless.” She meshes well
with front man Joe Elliott, who wisely doesn’t overcompensate with his singing
on the track or the rest of the album. David Bowie pianist Mike
Garson also adds his magic to a pair of songs.
Live at the House of Blues Hollywood 9/25/01
(Smile/Liberation Hall)
In 1979, The Knack had the biggest song of the year with “My Sharona,” a power pop classic. Over the following decades, the band would split and reform a few times. By 2001, they had put out two terrific studio albums (Zoom, Normal as the Next Guy) in three years.
A few weeks after the 9/11 tragedy, most people still weren’t in the mood to attend concerts. But The Knack – then including the founding trio of singer/guitarist Doug Fieger, lead guitarist Berton Averre and bassist Prescott Niles – soldiered on with a Sunset Strip gig. The result was an energetic sounding 70-minute, 18-song performance.
Previously
unreleased, Live at the House of Blues Hollywood 9/25/01 has great live sound and interesting behind-the-scenes liner notes by label president
Tony Valenziano, who introduced the group onstage that night. Highlights
include the jangly “Can I Borrow a Kiss,” fast-paced “Good Girls Don’t,” simmering
rocker “One Day at a Time,” “Harder on You,” a nearly 10-minute cover medley of
The Champs’ “Tequila” and The Doors’ “Break on Through,” an extended tribal “My
Sharona” and encore of The Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville.”
Midpoint
(BMG)
The third solo album by Keane front man Tom Chaplin is a sparse,
reflective effort filled with comforting songs. Several of them are piano-based
and spotlight his gorgeous aching voice like never before. Ethan Johns (Paul
McCartney, Kaiser Chiefs) produced, while the British singer co-wrote all 13
tracks, including two with Aqualung. Standouts include “Gonna Run,” with mild
orchestration, the airy “Blackhole,” a soaring “Panoramic Eyes” containing a lovely
circuitous piano melody and the appealingly upbeat “Gravitational,” which could’ve easily appeared on a past Keane release.
Day by Day
(Benowen)
Day by Day, Timothy B. Schmit’s solid first solo
effort in six years, found the bassist/singer of Eagles and Poco fame recruit some
heavy hitting guests. The wonderful CSN-styled opener “Simple Man” features unmistakable
Lindsey Buckingham guitarwork and harmonies from Matt Jardine of the Beach Boys
and Brian Wilson touring bands. “The Next Rainbow” is a sinewy rocker
punctuated by brass. A winsome “Heartbeat” evokes Schmit’s signature Eagles hit “I Can’t Tell You Why.”
The accordion accented “Grinding Stone” is a tribute to
Native Americans with John McFee (Doobie Brothers) on fiddle and John Fogerty
and Jackson Browne adding supple chorus backing vocals. An appealing “Taste
Like Candy,” about life not always being perfect, has soulful female vocals, orchestration,
swelling organ courtesy of Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
and bluesy Kenny Wayne Shepherd guitar snatches. Legendary drummer Jim Keltner
contributes to the old school rock of “Conflicted.”
Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios
(BMG)
Back in 2006, Rufus Wainwright deftly performed a pair of tribute concerts to Judy Garland with a full orchestra at Carnegie Hall to much acclaim and then put out a live album culled from them.
A decade and a half later, Wainwright entered Hollywood’s
famous Capitol Studios to do pared-down jazzy arrangements of a dozen songs
that were a mainstay in Garland’s show repertoire. Rufus Does Judy was
initially presented as a virtual livestream concert event as Wainwright sang for
an audience of one: Renée Zellweger, who won a Best Actress Oscar for her Garland
portrayal in 2019’s Judy. Here, Kristin Chenoweth turns up to duet on a counterpoint
medley of “Happy Days are Here Again/Get Happy.” Other splendid renditions include
Great American Songbook standards like “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Puttin’ on
The Ritz” and “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”
Wings on My Shoes
(Edlo/Soundly)
Nashville journeyman Hoge has recorded solo and with bands since
2001. But the past decade has seen his profile increase through songwriting. Eli
Young Band topped the country chart in 2012 with his co-write “Even if it
Breaks Your Heart.” Lady A, Wanda Jackson, the Wild Feathers, Chayce Beckham,
and Brendan Benson have all recorded his tunes in recent years. Sheryl Crow guested
on Hoge’s 2017 album Anchors. Wings on My Shoes, one of the best indie Americana
albums of ’22, is chock full of affecting songs about relationships, spirituality,
death and more. Fans of Rhett Miller, Steve Earle and Jack Ingram should find something
to savor on Wings.
Mercury Blues
(Independent Project)
Before Grant Lee Buffalo arrived in the early 1990s to enchant college and alt-rock radio listeners with such songs as “Mockingbirds,” “Fuzzy” and “Honey Don’t Think,” its three members spent time in the hazy, jarring alternative band Shiva Burlesque.
Sophomore album Mercury Blues bears touchstones of
fellow California groups Concrete Blonde and Camper Van Beethoven as well as
Echo and the Bunnymen. Grant-Lee Phillips handles lead vocals on the haunting “Cherry
Orchard,” but the bulk of the singing is handled by Jeffrey Clark. Featuring prodigious
use of cello, standouts include the Lou Reed-styled “Sparrow Song,” wiry rocker
“Sick Friend” and the insistent, moody “Chrome Halo,” where Clark and Phillips
trade off.
The new remastered 2CD version has fresh artwork, archival
photos, detailed liner notes by Rolling Stone’s David Fricke and a handcrafted
design package on CD and vinyl. Disc 2, titled Skullduggery, includes 10
previously unreleased demos. Purchase physical and digital through independentprojectrecords.com.
This article originally appeared at rockcellarmagazine.com.
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