Abbey Lincoln:

In the upside down year of 1961 (not until 6009 will that happen again), the Kennedy era began, Washington D.C. residents finally got the right to vote in presidential elections thanks to the 23rd amendment to the constitution, and the civil rights movement was in its most activist period, with sit-ins staged throughout the south at public places and freedom riders traveling on buses to force the de-segregation of bus terminals as mandated by federal law.

“The greatest LP ever recorded in England” gushed The Lama Review (http://www.lysergia.com/LamaReviews/lamaMain.htm) a website dedicated to psychedelic music. “…the best middle Eastern acid folk album ever recorded,” sayeth MOJO. “An oblique masterpiece…” according to Record Collector.



What\\'s that you say? You know a lot of music but you\\'ve never heard of COB or its album Moyshe McStiff and the Tartan Lancers of the Sacred Heart?

There\\'s an outlaw tune, a tough-chick-struts-her-stuff tune, one about breakup and regret and other familiar subjects, and Kathleen Edwards and her band express it with edgy, pedal steel drenched country roots-rock that has probably already worn familiar pathways through the musical synapses of your mind, but on her sophomore effort, Kathleen Edwards proves she\\'s got the goods to go for the long haul.

American Decca\\'s inept handling of The Who (and to a lesser degree the band\\'s inability to produce frothy pop fare) prevented The Who from breaking in the Unites States until Tommy --and even then it was the pure force of the music and the nascent FM “underground radio” scene that spelled success, with little help from the label.

It seems strange that someone who doesn’t even want to be part of this generation has become the voice of it. Jack White could care less about reality TV, George Bush, or the Boston Red Sox. Jack lives in a bygone era where Orson Welles and Rita Heyworth are the new stars, and Robert Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, and Dolly Parton represent the avant-garde.

Spoon returns with a more stripped down, rhythmic groove-of-a-set compared to the more heavily produced and subtle Kill the Moonlight.

Drummer Jim Eno almost steals the show here with his sinewy, behind-the-beat slams and songwriter/guitarist Britt Daniel almost lets him get away with it by giving him space and volume in the mix, but listen behind the beat and around the corner and you'll hear multi-instrumentalist Daniel's jagged edges and crunchy fills littering the musical landscape.

This record reminds me of the first Talking Heads album, \\'77 The music kicks in a stilted sort of way; the front man is more weird than powerful, but draws skillfully on the music for his punch, so that his oddball catchphrases (many of them about everyday things like cities, buildings, and doing a good job, lending a certain Richard Scarry earnestness) are driven into your head. He doesn\\'t exactly chant, but it feels like he does. The album is actually more “good” than it is “fun to listen to”-I keep having to make myself put it on.

No sound enhancement, whether it\\'s SACD or 45rpm half-speed mastering will solve the problem of Patricia Barber\\'s brand of torchy, “modern cool,” if you don\\'t go for it in the first place. I dig it, your reaction may be different.



Mo-Fi has issued the back catalog on SACD and now the 45rpm boxes are coming, with this one about to be released (as of June, 2005), whileNightclub and Café Blue are already available.

Record collectors are demented and sad-- obsessive- compulsive freaks that only have one thing on their minds; the next record they need. You see, "want" is only for the completely normal and well adjusted individual who went to the mall to pick up U2's latest but came home happily instead with a totally rippin' new shirt from Old Navy. Lucky shit- bet he even has a girlfriend and a cool car.