To Be Continued...

You've probably noticed a distinct lack of activity on this blog in the past week or so. I think it's been a long time coming, frankly. I honestly haven't had a whole lot of "me time" lately, with my actual day job getting busier, and now the fact that one of my recent posts has disappeared -- and that Google/Blogger are apparently not at all eager to help us users who've lost posts retrieve them -- has understandably made me a bit less excited about blogging lately.

And then there's the "epiphany" I had earlier this week. I was listening to music on my iPod one day ... and I stopped thinking about what I might say on my blog about it, and just let my mind go. What happened next was ... I enjoyed it! That's something that has been missing in my life lately: the simple joy I get from listening to music. As much a "labor of love" as this blog has been, its emphasis has slowly been shifting from the "love" part to the "labor" part. Now I'm not saying that I need to be paid to enjoy writing about music, but I don't have to tell you that the job that pays the bills comes first. (If there's anyone out there who wants to make writing about music a paying job for me, then by all means let's talk!!)

Let me make one thing clear right off the bat: I'm not shutting down this blog altogether. I don't know what's going to happen with it, but I know I'll be scaling it back significantly. At the moment, I'm leaning toward either a monthly audio podcast or a once-a-month "digest" entry (four or five shorter reviews in one post). I have to say it's been fun, and I've sure made a nice long go of it -- 200 posts in about a year and a half is nothing to sneeze at -- but now I realize why quite a few bloggers out there post somewhat sporadically. I guess I'll be joining them in that regard. But have no fear, 'cause I'll be back, sooner or later....

Tal Bachman

NOTE: It appears that Blogger (or someone else...???) has waited until what was supposed to be my 200th post to delete one of my recent posts, thus making this the 199th post. I'm hoping it magically reappears (indeed, I suspect it's a malfunction, 'cause when I went to edit this post, it opened the original "scheduled" version of it instead of the one that was already posted), but in case it doesn't, does anybody remember what it was...?

TAL BACHMAN
"TAL BACHMAN"
(Columbia, 1999)


"I Wonder"


The son of Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive alumnus Randy Bachman struck gold with the phenomenally successful single, "She's So High" (covered by, amongst others, Norwegian Idol Kurt Nilsen), but it was such an overexposed song that Tal Bachman has ended up being viewed by many as a "one-hit wonder". It's a shame, really, since his self-titled debut album had so much more to offer.

Bachman's distinctive voice, gritty or smooth depending on what fits the mood, suits these mostly upbeat, guitar-rock songs well: there's a harmonica-spiked, swaggering blues rocker ("You Don't Know What It's Like"); intimate, '70s-AM-radio acoustic ballads ("Beside You", "You're My Everything"); a pomp-laden pop track reminiscent of Supertramp and Elton John ("Romanticide"), and a mid-tempo, synth-organ-accented tune that defies easy reference ("Strong Enough").

Having a guy like Bob Rock as the album's producer makes its radio-friendliness an almost foregone conclusion, but he and Bachman aren't afraid to scuff the sheen with a little bit of sandpaper in order to give the songs a depth and relatability that a less-skilled producer might have forsaken in the interest of more album sales.

I have to wonder if the somewhat bleak-looking album cover (much darker than the contents of the album turn out to be) might have detracted from its sales -- not that it was a "flop" by any means, but I don't think it sold as well as it should have. I also wonder if lower-than-expected album sales might have been the reason he waited five years before putting out his next CD. I tend to find this disc in bargain bins quite often ... it seems to be a rather unappreciated album that deserves to be heard by everyone.

Josh Hoge

JOSH HOGE
"EVERYTHING SHE WAS"
(Blackledge, 2008)


"Addicted"


I hadn't even heard of Josh Hoge until about a week ago. Right after I did, I hopped over to Amazon and listened to the audio clips. Fairly confident I'd enjoy it, I put it on my mental "to buy" list. What I didn't know until today (managed to pick up the CD at a local shop yesterday) was how bowled over I was going to be -- those clips didn't do the songs justice.

When Josh Hoge says he "can be country or city" on the barnstorming "Take It Or Leave It" (featuring roots rocker Marc Broussard), he means it -- that track could tear up the contemporary country charts as much as the rock charts. But Hoge can also be R&B ("Beautiful Distraction"), soul ("Keeps Getting Better"), acoustic-singer-songwriter ("Shadow"), and blues (the scrumptious duet "Space" with Caitlin Crosby).

A guy this versatile and this good is all but guaranteed a long recording career. Silly as it might sound, I think we need to thank Epic Records for dropping this guy from their roster before recording his debut album, 'cause I bet it wouldn't have sounded half as good coming from a major label. Of course, even "half as good" in this case would still have been great, but Epic's loss is turning out to be our gain.

Newton Faulkner

NEWTON FAULKNER
"HAND BUILT BY ROBOTS"
(Columbia, 2008)


"All I Got"


I wish I knew what song clip I had listened to a few months back that made me think I wouldn't like this CD, because I'll be damned if I know what it is now. I'm just glad I decided to give this album a second chance, 'cause now there isn't a song on here that I dislike. UK singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner delivers an album that's as whimsical, enjoyable, and hard to categorize as the cover image would suggest.

He is entirely adept at delivering Jason Mraz-ish quasi-rap folk-funk-jazz ("Gone In The Morning", "To The Light"), affecting balladry ("Uncomfortably Slow", "Straight Towards The Sun"), and breezy, wistful pop ("Ageing Superhero", "I Need Something", "People Should Smile More"). Throw in a seemingly random track here and there (a cover of the Massive Attack song "Teardrop", and the acoustic southern-style ditty "She's Got The Time") and you have one of the more enjoyable albums to come along in some time.

Newton Faulkner's voice is a bit gravelly and "earthy", but for some reason it doesn't sound the least bit out-of-place on an album of more lightweight material like this. If you're one of those people who think that "singer-songwriter" equals "boring", this CD is all the proof you need to the contrary.

The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show

various artists
"THE SATURDAY SESSIONS: THE DERMOT O'LEARY SHOW"
(EMI/UK, 2007)


"In Other Words" - Ben Kweller


Not even knowing who Dermot O'Leary was, let alone that he hosts a weekly music show on BBC Radio 2 which features live in-studio performances, of which this album is comprised, I almost didn't give it a second look -- especially since I'm not terribly fond of live albums to begin with. However, had I known that there's no studio audience, and therefore no audience applause to "clutter" the recording, I'd have saved a lot of the time that I wasted hesitating before picking it up. But the roster of artists featured in the track listing was too full of pleasantly familiar names for me to ignore.

This double-disc set, jam-packed with over two and a half hours of rare performances, features a relatively balanced mix of covers (The Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian" performed by The Feeling, and Bat For Lashes performing Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire") and original tunes ("Grace Kelly" by Mika, and Kings of Leon's "On Call"). Fortunately the good tracks (Orson's take on Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" seems like a natural fit, K.T. Tunstall delivers a unique version of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back", and Rufus Wainwright's rendition of "Hallelujah" is gorgeous), outweigh the bad ones (I just didn't care for Willy Mason's strange interpretation of George Michael's "Careless Whisper", and Camera Obscura's version of Abba's "Super Trooper" didn't quite seem to fit either).

This compilation is perfect to pop in on those days when you're just not sure what sort of music you're in the mood to listen to, because it has a little bit of everything. But don't just leave it in the corner as a "last resort" CD, because it deserves better than that. Of the 2-disc and 3-disc import compilations I found in my Virgin Megastore visits back in June, this was the most expensive at about $25 (I managed to find all the other ones for $10 each!), but it was well worth it. It's a times like these when I wish I were living in the UK so I could listen to Dermot O'Leary on a regular basis. I may have to see if I can get Radio 2 on the web....

E.M.D.

E.M.D.
"A STATE OF MIND"
(Sony BMG/Sweden, 2008)


"We Can"


Since I don't normally pay much attention to Swedish pop, I almost missed this one ... and it probably would have slipped past me completely unnoticed, if I hadn't happened upon another blog's coverage of it. Essentially a "Swedish Idol supergroup", E.M.D. consists of Danny Saucedo, Erik Segerstedt (both of whom were finalists in the contest's 2006 season), and Mattias Andréasson (a 2007 finalist).

Swedish pop is usually a little "too pop" for me, but boybands are another matter entirely. (Yeah, I know, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Go figure, eh?) This frankly isn't one of the best boyband albums out there -- a number of its songs are nondescript, if not downright boring -- but then, at the risk of sounding harsh, what can we expect from three also-rans from a TV talent show?

Having said that, though, this album does have its moments. I've always enjoyed "All For Love", the power-ballad made famous by Sting, Bryan Adams, and Rod Stewart, and it's nice to finally hear a version that isn't sung by three old raspy-voiced dudes. You can imagine my giddy delight when I realized that "We Can", another of the cover songs on this album, originally appeared on -- get this -- my favorite CD of 2007! Yes, that's right, they covered Eran James, of all people! Sure, neither of these covers is as good as the original, but they're just fine for me. And then there's "For You", an E.M.D. original which just plain rocks my socks.

So, bottom line: is this album worth getting? It depends. If you totally love boybands, then you won't be disappointed. If you tend to be a bit picky about your boy-pop, then as long as your expectations aren't too lofty, this should be decently enjoyable.