Get it or forget it – Venus X and Asmara, Buddy Guy, Danny Sandock, Ben Caplan, Palberta

Getting closer to the weekend.  Hope these five new releases will get you in the proper mood.  Enjoy.

Artist Name:  Venus X and Asmara

Album Name:  Trouble in Paradise:  Putaria Maxima Vol. 2

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  EDM

Track Listing:  Mix-tape

Publicist:  Worldwide Friendly Society

Review:  This is the first mix tape we have reviewed, and it is not at all what we expected.  It mixes rap, dance, dembow and R&B among other genres from all the ghettos of the world.  According to the press release, “Here is part two, a political statement, full of the sinister and sexual energy that rules the world. We aim to offend everyone.”  They should consider their mission a success.

Recommendation:  Unless you like depressing and degrading rap music, you should Forget this one.

Artist Name:  Buddy Guy

Album Name:  The Blues is Alive and Well

Label:  Silvertone/RCA Records

Genre:  Blues

Track Listing:  1.  A few Good Years; 2.  Guilty as Charged; 3.  Cognac (ft. Jeff Beck & Keith Richards); 4.  The Blues is Alive and Well; 5.  Bad Day; 6.  Blue no More (ft. James Bay); 7.  Whiskey for Sale; 8.  You did the Crime (ft. Mick Jagger); 9.  Old Fashioned; 10.  When my day Comes; 11.  Nine Below Zero; 12.  Ooh Daddy; 13.  Somebody up There; 14.  End of the Line; 15.  Milking Muther for Ya

Publicist:  Blind Raccoon

Review:  Buddy Guy is a living legend.  He is poised to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association at their annual festival in September, and is also a multi-Grammy Award winning blues icon and recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.  For this album, he borrows some rock and roll legends, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck and James Bay to make a statement that is crystal clear and absolutely true – “The Blues is Alive and Well.”  Even though he is 81 years old, he has never been sharper or better, and this album will easily be remembered as one of his best.  Even though he is by no means an indie artist, it would be a crime to pass on the opportunity to review this one.

Recommendation:  Make no mistake – you must add this one to your collection.  Get it today!

Artist Name:  Danny Sandock

Album Name:  Throwin’ me for a Loop

Label:  Aardvark Records

Genre:  Folk Rock/Blues

Track Listing:  1.  Throwin’ me for a Loop; 2.  Miss ya Baby Blues; 3.  Sycamore Canyon Mentality; 4.  Passin’ the Buck; 5.  In the Tabloids; 6.  Splitsville U.S. of A.; 7.  TMI; 8.  Hitch-Hiker; 9.  Sick of This City; 10.  Mixed Emotions; 11.  Broken Promised; 12.  Ol’ Stompin’ Grounds

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  With a sound somewhere between Jimmy Buffet and the Beach Boys, Danny Sandock turns in a splendid job on his fifth CD.  He doesn’t have the best voice, but it is real and unrefined.  The true stars of his music are his amazing melodies and lyrics, and the way he blends it all together to create these amazing summer songs that are perfect for driving down the PCH with the windows (or top) down, or just relaxing by the bonfire at the beach on a cool summer night.  Really love the harmonies, and the bodacious harmonica on “Sycamore Canyon Mentality” and “Passin’ the Buck,” which also shows his Americana influence.

Recommendation:  Definitely give this one a listen.  It is well worth it.

Artist Name:  Ben Caplan

Album Name:  Old Stock

Label:  Rhyme & Reason

Genre:  Broadway Musical Soundtrack

Track Listing:  1.  Traveller’s Curse; 2. You’ve Arrived; 3.  Intermezzo 1; 4.  Truth Doesn’t Live in a Book; 5.  Od Yishama; 6.  The Happy People; 7.  Minimum Intervals; 8.  Widow Bride; 9.  Intermezzo 2; 10.  Plough that Shit; 11.  Lullaby; 12.  Fledgling; 13.  What Love can Heartbreak Allow?

Publicist:  The Syndicate

Review:  Ben Caplan worked with playwright Hannah Moscovitch and director/co-writer Christian Barry to create Old Stock:  A Refugee Love Story, in which Caplan played the lead.  After opening in Halifax, Nova Scotia and having a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the show spent seven weeks off-Broadway.  Caplan has converted the musical score to a concert version, which is contained in this CD.  Caplan’s voice is one of the strongest we have ever heard, and he makes the transition from the stage to CD look easy.  Grab a glass of wine, put this CD on, and enjoy the beauty of the play without being there.

Recommendation:  If you love Broadway shows, you will love this one.  Definitely Get it.

Artist Name:  Palberta

Album Name:  Roach Goin’ Down

Label:  Wharf Cat Records

Genre:  Punk

Track Listing:  1.  Surfing with Berry; 2.  Roach Goin’ Down; 3.  In my Fame – Jug!; 4.  Pixels; 5.  Cherry Baby; 6.  Big box Inn; 7.  Cross it Out; 8.  I Have found the Ego; 9.  #1 Fill; 10.  Ink of Truth; 11.  From Lamp to Lamp; 12.  Sound of the Beat; 13.  Ziddy; 14.  Big Time; 15.  Jaws’ Return; 16.  Gimme Everything you got Girl; 17.  Momentous Space-Up; 18.  Palberta; 19.  Fake-Out; 20.  Come Again; 21.  Rich Boy; 22.  Heaven to Rock n’ Roll

Publicist:  Promo Juke Box

Review:  This one is definitely not your parents’ punk music, but a sound for a different, more hyper-active generation.  The disc contains 22 short tunes, with heavy instrumentation and frentic vocals.  It is not an easy listen, and probably not the type of album you put on repeat.  However, it is clearly a work that took time to create, and something you definitely should listen to from start to finish.

Recommendation:  If you love punk, you might like this one.  To the rest of us, just Forget it.