Moby-Go: The Very Best of Moby
V2 In the liner notes for this Christmas-ready career-retrospective disc, Moby writes he’s baffled he’s had a career at all, claiming he’s “just a weird bald guy who makes music in his bedroom.” While that’s true, he’s also the one who helped propel electronica from club-only marginalization into a viable art form. Say what you…
Oasis-Stop the Clocks
Epic If there were ever a better argument for Oasis being a singles band, “Stop the Clocks” pretty definitively would prove that Liam and Noel Gallagher are much more adept at penning three minutes of brilliance than whole albums. “Stop the Clocks” is a band-curated glance backward at what could be charitably described as…
The Byrds-There is a Season
Columbia/Legacy If ever a band merited two box sets, it would be The Byrds. In under a decade, the band pioneered what has collectively become known as Americana: folk rock, psychedelia, country rock and, eventually their through influence, alt-country. “There Is a Season” improves on the first box set (now out-of-print) by giving a…
The Hold Steady-Boys and Girls in America
Vagrant Who knew that tales of drug-addled teens could be so operatic? The Hold Steady’s “Boys and Girls in America” is a blistering rock ‘n’ roll album that merges the storytelling of Bruce Springsteen, the riffs of Thin Lizzy and the bleary-eyed stomp of the Replacements. The album title references Jack Kerouac’s “On the…
Lady Sovereign-Public Warning
Def Jam Lady Sovereign (Lady Sov if you’re nasty; Louise Harman if you’re her parents) arrives on American shores behind a mountain of hype taller than she is. Pint-sized but big-mouthed, this latest British hip-hop export is the newest face in Jay-Z’s galaxy of petite female stars (oh, whither Rihanna?)’ a foul, verbally agile hybrid…
Sarah McLachlan-Wintersong
Arista Sarah McLachlan is slowly, steadily turning herself into a reliable brand; you know exactly what you’re getting when you pick up the latest album. Which is to say, said album will be stuffed with the same damn thing you’ve heard countless times before. “Wintersong,” McLachlan’s crack at a holiday-themed disc, cribs a track from…
