1. April 2014
Things You Can Buy Today 1 April 2014
Click Album Title for More Info…
Toadies – ‘Rubberneck‘ (20th Anniversary Reissue)
“There’s a certain uneasiness to the Toadies,” says Vaden Todd Lewis, succinctly and accurately describing his band—quite a trick. The Texas band is, at its core, just a raw, commanding rock band. Imagine an ebony sphere with a corona that radiates impossibly darker, and a brilliant circular sliver of light around that. It’s nebulous, but strangely distinct—and, shall we say incorrect. Or, as Lewis says, “wrong.”
“Things are done a little askew [in the Toadies],” he says, searching for the right words. “There’s just something wrong with it that’s just really cool… and unique in a slightly uncomfortable way.”
This sick, twisted essence was first exemplified on the band’s 1994 debut, Rubberneck (Interscope). An intense, swirling vortex of guitar rock built around Lewis’s “wrong” songs and abstract lyrics—like the smash single “Possum Kingdom,” subject to as much speculation as what’s in the Pulp Fiction briefcase, it rocketed to platinum status on the strength of that and two other singles, “Tyler” and “Away.” – From Toadies Bio (Kirkland Records)
Band Of Skulls – ‘Himalayan‘
“For those who’ve been paying attention to Band Of Skulls’ work to date, there’ll be nothing surprising about album number three. ‘Himalayan’ tracks a similar blues-rock template to that followed on their earlier records: plenty of crunch, plenty of grind, lots of swinging hair and the odd moment of introspection…It could be a recipe for a plod through something formulaic. Thankfully, ‘Himalayan’ doesn’t come over like that.” – Tim Lee (DIY)
Leon Russell – ‘Life Journey‘
“After a five-decade career as a master songwriter, performer and session player for acts including Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys, Leon Russell had largely faded into obscurity before collaborating with Elton John on 2010’s The Union. John urged Russell to keep the momentum going with Life Journey (out April 1st), a new album featuring several standards, including material by Robert Johnson, Hoagy Carmichael and Billy Joel. “This is a record of my musical journey through this life,” Russell writes in the liner notes. “It reflects pieces of things that I have done and things I never did.” – Patrick Doyle (Yahoo! Music)
“Well I don’t really think of myself in the third person. To me, it’s a different point of view. I’m happy to have a job. I play a little, write a little, perform some, it’s not like it’s an engineered, well-manufactured plan or anything. I just do what I do.” – Leon Russell (Interview w/ Mike Ragogna Huffingtonpost.com)
Check Out Leon Doing Fever At Billboard HERE!
Also Pick up Elton John & Leon Russell’s The Union (2010)
Who Wants to Pay Rent When There Are So Many Great Albums to Buy….
NOTE: Not a single one of the other writers we excerpted from nor their web-spots are associated with Global Texan Chronicles. Click the links for more on’em. Tada!