Gary Young's Hospital
The Grey Album
Omnibus
2004
Rating: 7 heavy eyes out of 10
Many of you are probably having the same reaction to this that I did,
which went something like this: “Gary Young? The Gary Young from Pavement? Plantman? Holy shit!” That
said, this is a decent enough release by someone I had assumed was long gone from the music scene (although
it appears, unknown to me, that he released an album in 2000 as well). Those familiar with his
post-Pavement work of the mid-90’s, this is roughly in that same vein of sound. For everyone else, the closest
touchstone I could come up with is Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, with a bit of mellow psychedelia ala The Radar
Brothers or some such similar outfit, with a bit of silliness thrown in. nothing groundbreaking, but worth
checking out if you happen upon it; additionally, he seems to be playing out a lot lately, and I can only
imagine the live shows are worth a viewing.
Tammy Wynette
The Essential Tammy Wynette
Sony
2004
Rating: 7 old goats out of 10
“The First Lady of Country Music” is what they called her, and this
compendium of her career is here to prove they were right. And although there are many female country singers I enjoy
a bit more, it’s hard to argue with her ability to wrangle some of the best country anthems of all time –
“D-I-V-O-R-C-E”, “Stand by Your Man”, “I Don’t Wanna Play House”, all classics. This is a great starter disc for anyone
wanting to be introduced to Wynette’s music, or as a great mix for the already informed. Yet another quality disc from
Sony’s “The Essential Collection”.
Weezer
Blue Album (Deluxe Edition)
Geffen
2004
Rating: 10 pocket pistols out of 10
I suppose a review of this is sorta silly, really; I figure pretty much
everyone has heard this record at this point, and you’ve already made up your mind about whether you like Weezer
or not. This deluxe edition release is a 2 disc affair, the first being a re-mastered version of the Blue
Album, their debut. It sounds great, but if this is all there was to it, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the purchase.
The hook is in the second disc, which compiles hard to find early tracks, demos, and live material; if
nothing else, having easy access to “Suzanne” and “Mykel and Carli” make this purchase a must for any Weezer fan. For me, this is a perfect record, one of my all-time favorites.
The Von Bondies
Pawn Shoppe Heart
Sire
2004
Rating: 4 moving vans out of 10
I was discussing this album online with an internet friend of mine,
lamenting on how boring this album is. And he said “I've heard the record. Agree that most of the album is a snooze.
That being said, if they put 'C'mon, C'mon' on there seven times in row instead, I'd still listen to it.” That
pretty much sums it up – one great single and a lot of pap.
Viva Voce
The Heat Can Melt Your Brain
Minty Fresh
2004
Rating: 6.5 blindfolded killers out of 10
Looks like husband-and-wife musical pairings are the new
brother-and-sister (perhaps the same thing in some
states, but let’s not go there) - The Arcade Fire, The Rosebuds, The
White Stripes, and now Viva Voce have all shown us that separating your personal work lives are not necessary to
maintain a healthy relationship. This is bedroom pop at its finest – and I don’t just mean stylistically, the
pair actually recorded the album in their bedroom
on a four-track. Their music is a spacy, psychedelic rock sound
with the occasional dancy beat – fans of most Elephant6 groups, Beck, Papas Fritas, and shit, maybe even Air or
Stereolab fans might take a shine to it. Pop bands are a dime a dozen, but it’s only a small handful that are worth paying
attention to. This is one of them.
