{"id":7813,"date":"2015-05-14T05:30:36","date_gmt":"2015-05-14T09:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=7813"},"modified":"2015-05-14T05:30:36","modified_gmt":"2015-05-14T09:30:36","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-for-may-2015-part-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2015\/05\/14\/hundred-word-reviews-for-may-2015-part-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred Word Reviews for May 2015, Part 9"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today&#8217;s roundup of capsule reviews focuses on reissues or previously-unreleased material by acts who came to prominence (or something approaching it) in the 1980s or later.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/old97_rhome.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"280\" vspace=\"20\" \/><\/center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B00NWFE56A&amp;asins=B00NWFE56A&amp;linkId=OB3DVJQ22OWK7W5Z&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Old 97&#8217;s \u2013 <\/strong><em><strong>Hitchhike to Rhome<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\nIn the 1950s, country and rock&#8217;n&#8217;roll were sometimes hard to discern form one another. Then they split into to two very different styles, only occasionally re-intersecting. By my count, country rock has had three periods of resurgence. The first centered around <strong>The Byrds<\/strong>. The second happened during the 1980s (<a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=5704\"><strong>Lone Justice<\/strong><\/a> etc.). And the third \u2013 which could be said to have influenced Americana \u2013 took place in the 1990s and featured Austin&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=5127\">Old 97&#8217;s<\/a> as its exemplar. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?tag=omnivore-recordings\">Omnivore Recordings<\/a> continues its intelligent digging into the past with this expanded (2cd) set built around the band&#8217;s excellent 1994 debut LP.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/willie_nile.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"280\" vspace=\"20\" \/><\/center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B00BV33NGI&amp;asins=B00BV33NGI&amp;linkId=YPR7EK3BWOGUKIN3&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Willie Nile \u2013 <\/strong><em><strong>The Bottom Line Archive<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\nOne of the observations made about 1960s rock is that owing to a glut of great acts, many very good ones fell through the cracks and languished in obscurity. Good point, but it happened in other decades, too. When I saw <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=3265\"><strong>The Who<\/strong><\/a> on their mini-tour of the USA in 1980, Willie Nile was the opener. He never did quite make the big time, but he gigged pretty hard. Disc One features a great show from that same year. A second disc documents a 2000 show. Nile&#8217;s \u201cVagabond Moon\u201d is a highlight of both. Nile sounds not unlike <strong>Roger McGuinn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/gametheory_rn.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"280\" vspace=\"20\" \/><\/center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B00SM3M2EY&amp;asins=B00SM3M2EY&amp;linkId=VG4CCGJPUT67SHZN&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Game Theory \u2013 <em>Real Nighttime<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nAmong fans of the band, 1985&#8217;s <em>Real Nighttime<\/em> is generally considered their best album. With improved songwriting and excellent signature production from <strong>Mitch Easter<\/strong>, <em>Real Nighttime<\/em> is a great improvement over already-very-good earlier albums. As I&#8217;ve noted before, to my ears Game Theory often sound a bit like <strong>Let&#8217;s Active<\/strong> crossed with <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=4286\"><strong>The Three O&#8217;clock<\/strong><\/a> and <strong>Sneakers<\/strong>; based on this album I&#8217;d add <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=4110\"><strong>R.E.M.<\/strong><\/a>,the <strong>Bangles<\/strong> and maybe even a bit of <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=192\"><strong>Hoodoo Gurus <\/strong><\/a>to that list. Great company to be in, I&#8217;d say. The reissue features the original 12-track album plus thirteen bonus tracks, most of which are previously unreleased.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/camper_roman.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"280\" vspace=\"20\" \/><\/center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B00R9O4XI0&amp;asins=B00R9O4XI0&amp;linkId=YLTZLI2N3EY6WV3M&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Camper Van Beethoven \u2013 <\/strong><em><strong>New Roman Times<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\nThis one&#8217;s a bit of a head-scratcher. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=5313\">Camper Van Beethoven<\/a> enjoyed their heyday in the second half of the 1980s, a time during which they were that decade&#8217;s answer to <strong>Kaleidoscope<\/strong> (not that many asked the question). After folding in 1989, they reunited with an idiosyncratic \u201ccover album\u201d of <strong>Fleetwood Mac<\/strong>&#8216;s <em>Tusk<\/em>. Only then did they release 2004&#8217;s <em>New Roman Times<\/em>. It&#8217;s a strong return to form, and was released on the tiny indie Pitch-A-Tent label. It&#8217;s still available, and Amazon has used copies for 1\u00a2. But Omnivore has seen fit to reissue the album, now with four bonus tracks.<\/p>\n<p><center><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/mike_mechanics.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"280\" vspace=\"20\" \/><\/center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; padding: 10px; width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ss&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=musoscribe-20&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=B00IER1JJ2&amp;asins=B00IER1JJ2&amp;linkId=RAYMKN747FUN34VT&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mike + the Mechanics \u2013 <\/strong><em><strong>Living Years<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=5751\"><strong>Phil Collins<\/strong><\/a> took breaks from his gig with <strong>Genesis<\/strong>, venturing out to make popular solo albums. It was only reasonable that his bandmates would make similar moves. Guitarist <strong>Mike Rutherford<\/strong> had success of his own with Mike + The Mechanics. Their second album <em>Living Years<\/em> (1988) was a big seller thanks to the haunting title track, and led to successful touring that continued on and off into 2004. The group&#8217;s lineup featured mainstay vocalists <strong>Paul Young<\/strong> and <strong>Paul Carrack<\/strong> (Young died in 2000). This reissue adds a disc full of live tracks and a studio remake of the title tune.<\/p>\n<p>Still more to come.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/the_musoscribe\">Follow \u201cthe_musoscribe\u201d on <\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/the_musoscribe\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/icon_twitter_small.jpg\" alt=\"\" name=\"graphics3\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" align=\"BOTTOM\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/the_musoscribe\"> Twitter<\/a> and get notified<br \/>\nwhen new features, reviews and essays are published.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today&#8217;s roundup of capsule reviews focuses on reissues or previously-unreleased material by acts who came to prominence (or something approaching it) in the 1980s or later. Old 97&#8217;s \u2013 Hitchhike [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,49,51,55,62,64,65],"tags":[390,455,875,1473,1479,1618,1622,2382],"class_list":["post-7813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-country","category-new-release","category-pop","category-powerpop","category-rawk","category-reissue","category-review","tag-bottom-line-archive","tag-camper-van-beethoven","tag-game-theory","tag-mike-the-mechanics","tag-mike-rutherford","tag-old-97s","tag-omnivore-recordings","tag-willie-nile","cat-20-id","cat-49-id","cat-51-id","cat-55-id","cat-62-id","cat-64-id","cat-65-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7813\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}