Wanted to be sure I got mine posted before Jay

Bap Kennedy – Part of Steve Earle’s incredible post-prison artistic run was producing this excellent disc.  Simple songs, played at an easygoing pace.  A great companion piece to Earle’s own “Train-A-Comin” which was released a few months prior.  The Jerry Douglas dobro work is phenomenal throughout.  Had long forgotten this one, glad to get reacquainted with it.  4 stars

Buddy Guy – A recent trip to Chicago immersed me in the music of Mr. Guy.  “Rememberin’ Stevie” and the blistering version of “Mustang Sally” are worth 3 stars by itself.  Throw in the title track and a couple of the others, and well, you got something.  The guitar work is sublime, he never plays 5 notes where one will do. The production is a little dated, and he’s trying just too hard to be modern on “Where is the Next one Coming From?” Nonetheless, Guy kicks ass all over the place. 4.5 stars

Scissor Sisters – Opening track sounded like Elton’s coked-up, disco-era stuff which oddly, I like.  But where to begin describing what an absolute, unmitigated piece of shit the rest of this disc is?  Suffice it to say, I felt my testicles shrinking with each passing synthesized note, and by the time the remixes came on at the end, I had an actual period.   .5 stars

Shearwater – The only disc this month that needed repeated listens to form an opinion on.  Really like about half of it, especially the opening and closing cuts, but I like the rest of it a little more every time I listen.  It strikes me as kind of a combination of the last National album with some Pete Townshend solo influence mixed in.  I’m reserving the right to rate it higher down the road; I’m not done with this one yet.  3.5 stars

John Hiatt –Where’s “Perfectly Good Guitar”? Where’s “Slow Turning”, Where’s “Master of Disaster”.  And so on, and so on and so on….. This is not a knock on Alan’s selections.  The fact is, Hiatt’s catalogue is an embarrassment of riches and picking his 20 best songs is a difficult task.  He’s one of the greatest lyricists ever, and sadly underrated performer.  A mix that like any possible Hiatt mix, only scratches the surface of this brilliant artist.

Discussion Question

I do have friends who I share little or nothing in common with musically, but I am not as close to them as the ones who do share a common taste with. I’ve never walked away from a potential friendship over their musical tastes, but I have certainly been less inclined to pursue a few where I knew the person in question disapproved of the type of music I listen to. The grand exception to the rule is my wife, who has absolutely dreadful taste in music, and in fact believes recorded music ceased to be after 1986.