We're just now getting to our first "quarterly" roundup of the year. Must've been busy. Luckily, our business is listening to and reading about music, which we did a lot of to come up with this list of recent favorites. ALBUMS
The Black Crowes, "Warpaint" -- After a six-year hiatus, a few lineup changes and one high-profile divorce, feuding brothers Chris and Rich Robinson somehow, as if on cue, crafted a powerful comeback album when they needed it most. Chris' vocals sound more soulful and intent than ever before in such world-weary numbers as "Oh Josephine" and "Evergreen." Rich kicks out the jams with new sideman Luther Dickinson (of North Mississippi Allstars fame) to create this year's most exciting guitar-rock album. (C.R.)
Emmylou Harris, "All I Intended to Be" (Nonesuch) -- The country goddess' first album in five years superbly summarizes the later years of her brilliant career. Produced by early collaborator (and her second ex-husband) Brian Ahern, this is quiet, deep, minimalist music. A mandolin here, a pedal steel guitar there, plenty of acoustic guitar, harmony vocals by Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Buddy Miller, Karen Brooks and the McGarrigle Sisters. "Intended" is serious listening -- soulful stuff like the best of Johnny Cash's final solo albums. (J.B.)
My Morning Jacket, "Evil Urges" -- Definitely not the landmark effort that this Kentucky-reared rock-band-on-the-verge should have made (2003's "It Still Moves" stands as its definitive disc), this jumbled, frazzled effort still has its moments of glory. Its most straightforward rockers -- including the anthemic "I'm Amazed" and the all-gusto "Aluminum Park" -- are its best. (C.R.)
The Black Kids, "Wizard of Ahhs" -- If you're going to make cutesy, insatiably catchy indie-pop, keep it short and sweet. That's the lesson of this coed Florida band's charming, MySpace-buoyed four-song debut, anchored by the standout "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" and featuring Cure-like giddiness and Smiths-style glibness. (C.R.)
R.E.M., "Accelerate" (Warner Bros.) -- There is a short list of veterans who make important music after they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Add the godfathers of alt-rock to that list. After hearing eight of these songs in concert last month, I'm even more convinced of the greatness of this album. Thoughtful, provocative, political, with raging vocals and roaring guitars. Turn it up. (J.B.)
Lupe Fiasco, "The Cool" -- OK, Lupe, we get it: You are the coolest, oolest one. Now if only the Chicago rap star could get Twin Cities radio stations to spin different, better songs off his thoroughly entertaining second album. (C.R.)
BOOKS
"The James Brown Reader: 50 Years of Writing About the Godfather of Soul," edited by Nelson George and Alan Leeds (Plume, $17) -- He may have been a simple country boy, but he grew up to be a complicated man, as these 41 pieces -- articles, liner notes, essays -- illustrate. Entries range from a 1959 Variety review at the Apollo Theater to a report about his 2006 funeral by Leeds, an Edina resident and former Brown employee and friend of nearly 40 years. Other contributors include Chuck D, Ben Fong-Torres, Robert Palmer and Robert Christgau. With so many voices from diverse sources over 47 years, this is a fascinating way to paint a portrait of a hard-to-understand musical and cultural icon. (J.B.)
"Touch Me, I'm Sick: The 52 Creepiest Love Songs You've Ever Heard" by Tom Reynolds (Chicago Review, $12.95) -- This comedian/critic/author/musician will make you laugh (and occasionally gross you out) as he tries to explain why Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight," John Mayer's "Your Body Is a Wonderland" and Julie London's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" are creepy. Some songs are too obscure, but you'll LOL when Reynolds analyzes Coverdale-Page's "Pride and Joy" via a series of (faux) letters from Robert Plant to Jimmy Page. (J.B.)
"Willie Nelson: An Epic Life," by Joe Nick Patoski (Little Brown, $27.99) -- Longtime Texas Monthly writer Patoski finally has delivered a proper "outsider" biography with insider connections. Patoski delves into many of the myths behind the legend, like when his first wife sewed Nelson up drunk in the bedsheet to beat him. This epic-sized book also offers plenty of deserved musical insight and explains that whole complicated IRS mess. In other words, it has many of the details that went up in smoke in Nelson's own tomes. (C.R.)
Jon Bream 612-673-1719 Chris Riemenschneider 612-673-4658
