The album begins with “Give Me an Inch”, a title worked around the phrase “give them an inch and they’ll take a mile” and the intro is pure 70′s strings and flutes, but Jamerson’s excellent bass line and Palmer’s vocal arrangement keep the song from delving into pure schmaltz.

“Work To Make It Work” is a rather fun number that follows, with a propulsive vocal round for an intro before the band drops into pure funk mode with clavinets and horns filling out the arrangement and Palmer putting on his best James Brown impression. Proof in the pudding that all the work Palmer and the band puts here truly does make it work.

“Back in My Arms” returns to the “Give Me an Inch” formula, but again Palmer’s sheer enthusiasm and energy keeps the song lively along with some great guitar work by Paul Barrere and Lowell George anchored by James Jamerson’s deftly plucked bass lines.

“Riverboat” finds Palmer returning to an Allen Toussaint cover while Little Feat is given full reign over the arrangement, the guitars burn, the piano shines and the rhythm section is full of the dynamics that made Little Feat such a great live band, and it’s a welcome change of pace to the record.

“Pressure Drop” comes up next, and boy do Palmer and Little Feat own this cover with warm vocal harmonies and a great off-kilter popping rhythm. Palmer’s vocal talents are on full display here, his talent for propelling a band to get in the zone and having great fun tearing into a cover (the piano solo here is a must), an absolute highlight.

On the original vinyl, “Pressure Drop” ends Side One, and the next track would begin Side Two.

“Here With You Tonight” starts off with a motoring hum of guitar as the arrangement takes off, anchored by a strong horn section and features Palmer’s great vocal work. Little Feat’s guitar section once again shines, the warm production suiting their burning tones perfectly and the pocket drumming and bass interplay is fantastic.

“Trouble” begins with a tuba and piano of all things, but one thing’s for sure in that it’s clearly a Little Feat number but it’s no mistake that Palmer hooked up with this band because their chemistry is fantastic and it’s always fun to follow along with Lowell George’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

“Fine Time” is the album’s steller track (only because “Pressure Drop” is a cover) with a false start and Palmer’s vocal count in starting this absolutely burning groove. While the tempo may be slower, the band matches the intensity of the arrangement on “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley” with every player in top form, like coals on the fire, constantly smoldering,  the organ coming to a peak with a great solo while the funky rhythm section (the drums are a highlight here) never trying to steal the spotlight. It’s truly Palmer’s vocal performance however, that turns this song into a classic, swooping in and out of the arrangement, not only holding down the groove but taking it to new heights. If you loved Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley, this is a must have.

“Which of Us Is The Fool” brings the album to a close, which is really unfortunate because the end of Side One and the beginning of Side Two were really kicking things into high gear and despite the immaculate arrangement here, the return to the smooth sound sounds out of place. Don’t let that detract from the actual song, James Jamerson is in top form here with his indelible bass line leading the way and Palmer’s vocals showcase his ability being able to handle both gritty and soft numbers, even the strings here don’t sound schmaltzy. Despite the initial shock from the change of pace, it’s a great album ender.

Label: Island Records

Release Date: 1976

Run Time: 36:54

Vocals: 9.5/10

Production: 10/10

Lyrics: 8/10

Overall: 9.2/10

Top Tracks: 

Work to Make It Work- Robert Palmer

Pressure Drop- Robert Palmer

Here With You Tonight- Robert Palmer

Fine Time- Robert Palmer

Other Notes:

Despite the missteps in the overall album cohesion, “Riverboat” to “Fine Time” present Robert Palmer and company as a band at their best, the energy apparent, and the glowing production really makes these songs stand out, even on computer speakers. It’s also great to see James Jamerson getting credit for once, especially on an album outside of Motown (The much maligned Motown band gets a great profile in Standing in the Shadows of Motown, which chronicles how Berry Gordy wouldn’t give the band credit on arrangements and didn’t allow the band to play on outside labels).

Pressure Drop is where we really start to see Palmer’s eclectic try to mesh together on an album, but to his credit only “Back in My Arms”  (due to the lyrical content) really falls victim to the schmaltz (and just barely) that typifies the arrangements on “Give Me an Inch” and “Which Of Us Is The Fool”. It also begs the question what if Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley and Pressure Drop had been more successful?(Some People Can Do What They Like would follow, but would prove to be the nail in the coffin after little financial success) Sadly it’s little more than a footnote now as Palmer would be transformed by “Bad Case of Loving You”, “Simply Irresistible”, and “Addicted To Love” none of which would feature a band as talented as The Meters or Little Feat (Though Double Fun‘s “Every Kinda People” would be an under-looked Robert Palmer highlight). Yet Pressure Drop still remains as proof of a great band in action.

Album Credits:

Unfortunately, the liner notes are not nearly as specific in terms of song to song but never the less:

Give Me An Inch

(Palmer)

Work To Make It Work

(Palmer)

Back in My Arms 

(Palmer)

Riverboat

(Toussaint)

Pressure Drop

(Hibbert)

Here With You Tonight

(Palmer/Gage)

Trouble

(Lowell George)

Fine Time

(Palmer)

Which of Us is the Fool

(Palmer)

Produced by: Steve Smith

Engineered and mixed by: Phil Brown

Guitar: Paul Barrere and Lowell George

Bass: Kenny Gradney and James Jamerson

Drums: Richie Hayward and Ed Greene

Keyboards: Bill Payne

Clavinet: Jean Rousseau and Gordon Dewitte

Congas: Sam Clayton and Ed Greene

Percussion: Richie Hayward, Ed Greene and Robert Palmer

Strings: Gene Page

Horns: Muscle Shoals Horns, Mel Collins, Mongezi Feza and Ray Allen

Voices:  Paul Barrere, Sam Clayton, Richie Hayward, Vicki Brown, Robert Palmer and Fran Tate

Harp: David Snell

Flageolet: Mongezi Feza

Banjo: Joe Brown

Harmonica: Steve York

Tuba: Martin Frye

One of the most amazing facts of stumbling upon his 1974 release Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley is the fact that this little known expat managed to lock down both The Meters and members of Little Feat, along with session greats like Cornell Dupree and Bernard Purdie to back him through an extraordinarily funky trip down NOLA inspired, hot-laced grooves. Palmer oozes charisma, and he makes clear right away that he is an excellent interpreter of other’s songs, feeling comfortable handling everything from Little Feat drug odes to Allen Toussaint R&B, mixing in his own songs with nary a change of pace.

The album begins with “The Trilogy”, the three song sequence of “Sailing Shoes”, “Hey Julia”, and “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley”. To say that this is the highlight of the album is both an understatement and an overstatement (because the album is so good overall). The groove utterly smokes, building to a crescendo in the midst of the title track.

“Sailing Shoes” begins the album with some funky guitar and keyboard work, along with George Porter Jr. and Zig Modeliste of the Meters propelling the slow burn rhythm.  Palmer’s vocals twist and burn with intensity that is every bit Lowell George’s equal and the interplay between vocalist and band is tremendous, before they segue into the vocally driven “Hey Julia”.

“Hey Julia” is a Palmer original, and despite being recorded in an entirely different studio with an entirely different band, the song is the glue between “Sailing” and “Sneakin’ ” complete with a funky bassline and marimba interplay (played by Palmer himself) along with some dissonant harmonies that just work.

“Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley” is an absolute must hear, and not just for the seamless transition back to the Meters and Lowell George backed band, but for the vocal workout that Palmer puts into this Toussaint cover.  Palmer completely owns this track, his vocal coaxes and growls propelling the band to stratospheric energy and dynamic interplay.  Anyone who is a fan of music should listen to this song, it’s one of the few things Phish did right in bringing attention to a whole new world of fans, but they will never match this groove.

After any song as phenominal as “Sneakin’ ” there’s bound to be a let down whether or not the song quality goes down, so “Get Outside” is maligned by trying to follow such a high energy song, despite its best intentions. “Outside” tries to take the album in a different direction, a slow interloping bass groove with some great piano flourishes and backing vocals.

“Blackmail” is the underlooked highlight on the album, a piece cowritten by Palmer and Lowell George, which has George’s lyrical fingerprints over it.  The NOLA horns is a nice touch, along with the barrelhouse piano, and its a complete change of pace from “Get Outside” in the best way, despite having a pretty much identical band lineup.

“How Much Fun” would forgive you if you thought it was Little Feat playing backing band to this Robert Palmer written number, but again it’s The Meters laying down the groove on this jovial, bouncing number that features a flagfolet of all things in its off beat groove. Another highlight among many on this album.

“From A Whisper To A Scream” returns Palmer and co. to an Allen Toussaint cover and the band really reigns it in here, the drumming is front and center and tight in the pocket, while Lowell George lays down some really nice fill work with his legendary slide sound picking up the rises and falls of the arrangement.

“Through It All There’s You” surprised me when I found out it was written by Palmer, a solid funk groove that stretches out for 12 minutes, featuring Palmer laying down his smoothest vocal on the whole album, along with laying down some rhythm guitar.  ”Through It All” even features Steven Winwood assisting on the piano, but the groove that Bernard Purdie lays down on the drums deserves to be among the greatest funk grooves laid down in history.

Final Notes:

The album as a whole features great production with a distinct warm sound, a testament to all of the people involved on making the album, even with the different studios (one in New Orleans, one in NYC, and one in Nassau) and different players involved, the album keeps a consistent mood and proves that Palmer had a talent that was sadly slept on by the public for many years.

Label: Island Records

Release Date: 1974

Run Time: 35:24

Vocals: 9/10

Lyrics: 9/10

Production: 10/10

Overall Rating: 9.3/10

Top Tracks: All of the Above, but especially “The Trilogy”

Sailing Shoes- Robert Palmer

Hey Julia- Robert Palmer

Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley- Robert Palmer

Album Credits:

Sailing Shoes:

(Lowell George)

George Porter, Jr., bass

 Leo Neocentelli, guitar

 Lowell George, guitar

Art Neville, keyboards

Zig Modeliste, drums

Robert Palmer & Vicki Brown, backing vocals

The Meters, rhythm section

Hey Julia:

(Robert Palmer)

Robert Palmer, bass, marimbas & percussion

Jim Mullen, guitar

Robert Palmer & Vicki Brown, backing vocals

Jody Brown, percussion

Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley:

(Allen Toussaint)

The Meters, rhythm section

Lowell George, guitars

Steve York, harmonica

Jody Brown, percussion

Robert Palmer, backing vocals

Get Outside:

(Robert Palmer)

Richard Tee, piano

Bernard Purdie, drums

Cornell Dupree, guitars

Lowell George, guitars

Gordon Edwards, bass

Gaspar Lawal, percussion

Mel Collins, horns

Vicki Brown, backing vocals

Blackmail:

(Robert Palmer & Lowell George)

Richard Tee, piano

Bernard Purdie, drums

Cornell Dupree, guitars

Richard Parfitt, guitars

Gordon Edwards, bass

How Much Fun:

(Robert Palmer)

The Meters, rhythm section

Lowell George, guitar

Mongezi, flagfolet

Jody Brown, percussion

From A Whisper To A Scream: 

(Allen Toussaint)

The Meters, rhythm section

Lowell George, guitar

Chris Stainton, piano

Through It All There’s You:

(Robert Palmer)

Bernard Purdie, drums

Gordon Edwards, bass

Richard Tee, organ

Onaje, electric piano

Steve Winwood, piano

Cornell Dupree, guitar

Robert Palmer, rhythm guitar & harmonies

Mel Collins, horns

Mongezi, horns

Gaspar Lawal, percussion

Jack Vance, strings

Just in time for everybody to tuck in to the most lazy and food filled day of the year. As always the tracks are all free downloads, but support these wonderful artists if you can.

Man Who Lives Forever (Rollo & Grady Session)- Lord Huron

Lord Huron has been a band that is constantly defying my expectations, they’re due out for a well deserved full length album this coming year and if Man Who Lives Forever is any indication of where their sound is going, look for them to be all over the indie airwaves next year.

Man Who Lives Forever- Lord Huron

Song to Sing When I’m Lonely- John Frusciante

Possibly the greatest talent to emerge from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante has shown that he’s no one trick pony and a masterful songwriter in his own right, Song To Sing When I’m Lonely is one of my favorites, starting with a melody right out of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Song To Sing When I’m Lonely- John Frusciante

Fletcher- Blitzen Trapper

Blitzen Trapper have the new Americana sound locked down on their most recent full length, American Goldwing. Think of it as Wilco with a little more drawl and optimism.  Not many bands these days can write a narrative as compelling as this Portland group.

Fletcher- Blitzen Trapper

Coeur D’Alene- The Head and The Heart

Critics of The Head and the Heart stated that their debut album was filled with derivative sounds of Americana, on “Coeur D’Alene”  all they can note is a perfectly crafted pop song.

Coeur D’Alene- The Head and The Heart

I Stopped Missing You Today- Stone Darlings

Stone Darling is an all-girl group that single-handedly defies the label.

I Stopped Missing You Today- Stone Darling

More Than Muscle- Luke Temple

Quite possibly my favorite song of 2011 with its off-kilter rhythms and technicolor arrangements, Temple lures you in with the first few notes and by the time his charming lilt comes into the fore there’s no letting go.

More than Muscle- Luke Temple

Handwriting- White Denim

White Denim is one of those bands that can make prodigious skill seem par for the course for their songwriting, “Handwriting” being an intriguing guitar run through that makes you wonder how they’re playing what they’re playing and can still mold it into a conventional song form.  The pedal steel puts a nice touch.

Handwriting- White Denim

Freeze Out- Snorri Helgason

If not the best thing to come out of Iceland, by far he is the most underrated. Sure his name might never be commonplace in pop music but he is as well deserving as any singer-songwriter out there right now.

Freeze Out- Snorri Helgason

The Only Way- Gotye

Gotye shows the creative intensity that we used to expect out of Beck, but this Australian troubadour proves his equal and more through his clever approach at arrangements and his chameleon vocals.

The Only Way- Gotye

Livin’ In The Jungle- Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears seem intent on bringing R&B back to what it once was, the hard propulsive blues that brought the Black Keys into prominence with Brothers only with more of a funky kick and a wicked horn section.

Livin’ in the Jungle – Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

I’ll Walk Away- James Hunter

James Hunter wowed Van Morrison with his debut Believe What I Say even getting the man himself to duet on a couple tracks with him, if Sam Cooke had managed to live to old age this croon might be what we were in for.

I`ll Walk Away- James Hunter

Million Dollar Bill- Dawes

When it hits me that she’s gone/  I think i’ll run for president/ Get my face put on the million dollar bill/ So when these rich men that she wants/ Show her ways they can’t take care of her/ I’ll have found a way to be there with her still

Within the opening of “Million Dollar Bill” Taylor Goldsmith managed to portray the sadness, jealousy, and ultimately love that’s still present when your lover has left you. Proof why he’s one of the greatest songwriters of his generation.

Million Dollar Bill- Dawes

I Found You- Alabama Shakes

Otis Redding reincarnated in girl form, no other description should be necessary.

I Found You- Alabama Shakes

Soulless- Fake Problems

Who said people couldn’t write upbeat rock songs anymore.

Soulless- Fake Problems

Big Man- Boy & Bear

It wouldn’t be the farthest stretch to compare this band with Mumford & Sons, but that would greatly undermine the talent present in this group, the lyrics and vocals alone on this song should guarantee them recognition for album of the year (and yes, the rest of the album is fine too).

Big Man- Boy & Bear
From The Start- Tiger Waves

For the acoustic guitars and the rolling drum fills that propel this song along and the endearing harmonies that go along with it. Who couldn’t like a band called Tiger Waves? And you call yourselves American.

From The Start- Tiger Waves

The Understanding- Jones Street Station

No matter how many incarnations there was and will always be of tight harmonies and acoustic fingerpicking, it will always sound good, and Jones Street Station isn’t about to change that. But they certainly liven the arrangement up to great success.

The Understanding- Jones Street Station

Mighty- Lord Huron

The yearning for discovery and the search for happiness and the unknown all bottled up into one song, but it’s more than a song, it’s a whole world.

Mighty- Lord Huron

“Of all the strangers you’re the strangest that I’ve seen.”

Truth be told, I hadn’t heard much of Lord Huron before this year, despite their two EP’s being released the year before; Into the Sun and Mighty respectively.  However I had the pleasure of hearing them live at the Middle East in Cambridge and walked away awestruck by the potency of their music and lyrical interplay.  Although they opened for Givers, a great band in their own right, anybody who was listening could reckon that Lord Huron stole the show.

Their music is something akin to Manifest Destiny, with vocals suiting the expansive uncharted landscapes and their instrumentation both American and otherworldly.  It would be easy to say that Lord Huron evokes bands like Fleet Foxes with their vocal charms and large atmospheres but it would be a disservice to both to bother comparing the two.  Rather their music transcends archetypes and melodrama, laudable in its own right for the sheer listenability of their work.

It might be important to note that both the EP’s, though Lord Huron is a full band live, were recorded by the lead singer himself Ben Schneider, but it’s to his credit that he doesn’t turn the story down a comparative path to Bon Iver’s famous trip out to a cabin in Wisconsin.  Although Schneider also hails from the Great Lake region (Michigan) his songwriting isn’t crafted out of an experience of heartbreak, but in the American experience itself, harkening back to the questions of identity and primitivism that few musicians have dared to explore.

Music at its most pure is an escape from the everyday life, inviting the listener to lose oneself in the world that is crafted by the musicians alone and it is in this regard that Lord Huron excels. A discerning ear can pick out the individual instruments in any of their songs (a pedal steel here, a ukelele there, a mandolin at another) but its the cohesion of these disparate elements that makes it work.

Lord Huron is the muse for the wandering mind.  Music that’s perfect for sunrise and sunsets and long drives, for the broad realization that spring is upon us and the hope of new life.  If Ralph Waldo Emerson had a favorite band, Lord Huron would surely be it.  Their craft evokes not only the natural environment but human kind in that natural environment, unchained from the bonds of modern society.

Mighty- Lord Huron

Into The Sun- Lord Huron

The Stranger- Lord Huron

It’s strange to realize that the album, or LP (whichever suits your preference) has once again taken a back seat to the single.  Thanks to the internet’s ability to grant us instant gratification, most listeners no longer have the patience to sit through an album.  iTunes and other per-MP3 vendors are in part responsible for this, as it’s a much cheaper deal to buy a single song for a dollar than a whole album for 10 or more.

But what of the exceptions? The listeners who do still crave a full album experience? It’s for them that I chose Big Echo, an album whose first 4 tracks are absolutely stellar as stand alone numbers, while the remaining tracks work more as a cohesive unit, one that rewards repeated listens.

First things first: The Morning Benders area band out of the Berkeley area of California who hit the scene in 2008 with a roots rock debut called Talking Through Tin Cans. It was an album dominated by simple no-frills production and quick hooks on the likes of “Damnit Anna” and “Waiting For A War,” and the overall effect was one of a 60’s pop production with most numbers shy from straying over the 3:00 mark.  Their talent for good old fashioned melody was evident, but nothing on the album registered beyond the point of simple enjoyment.

A Bedroom Covers later (an album which consisted of eclectic handpicked tracks ranging from the 50′s-90′s, produced in a bedroom) The Morning Benders’ second album, Big Echo, emerged out of nowhere in March 2010, an inauspicious release date. In fact, Big Echo’s largest marketing campaign was in viral form: a beautiful live version of the lead track “Excuses” done by the LaBlogotheque-esque music blog   Yrs Truly.

Big Echo starts with the aforementioned “Excuses,” a song that band leader Chris Chu indebted to Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound production. He pulls it off beautifully: from the scratching of vinyl intro to the smoldering tympanis and piano flourishes to the bombastic transformation into a classic 50′s chord progression with occasional Etta James “At Last” violin to the bittersweet vocals coming full circle about a past relationship. The bridge is a awe-striking vocal round that builds into a crescendo from all sides that takes the song to its swirling finish.

The second track, ”Promises,” probably owes the most to the album’s co-producer, Chris Taylor (of the band Grizzly Bear). With its shimmering production and vocal harmonies and its dynamic changes of tempo, it’s not a long stretch to compare “Promises” to Grizzly Bear’s hit “Two Weeks. It’s to the Morning Benders credit that they don’t sound derivative, thanks in part to Chris Chu taking a clever approach to his vocals by layering a low and high octave together.

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Meanwhile track 3, “Wet Cement,” takes the album into a slower turn. It’s a beautiful bass-driven number with compressed piano and slow-strum plucked guitar chords, and it finds Chris Chu in his high falsetto. The track has an utterly hypnotic feel with great meandering guitar leads that could have come out of Paul McCartney’s Ram. Certainly, it’s an album highlight.

“Cold War” fits the instant gratification mold, a radio ready single that comes in just under the 2:00 mark and features a chord progression that grabs you from the start.  But the track is really a testament to the Benders’ focus on production with booming tympani work and a golden acoustic guitar sound, highlighted by glockenspiel. It’s one of those perfect summery over-too-soon numbers that bears up to looping.

Track 4, “Pleasure Sighs,” is a departure from its predecessors. With its slow pace and hypnotic vocal and guitar interplay, it’s a number equally fitting to the dreamy sounds of Dark Side of the Moon and the late 60′s psychedelia of Abbey Road, a grandiose epic number that completely changes the direction of the album.

Track 5, “Hand Me Downs,” starts out with an utterly creepy twinkling of pianos before a rhythmic propulsion of drums and guitars take over. Here is where you notice the great drum-work that has been the framework behind every song. Drummer Julian Harmon isn’t exactly on the tip of the tongues of those who rank great modern drummers, but he should be. “Hand Me Downs” has its hands full of sonic tricks, from layered vocals to hard hitting guitars drifting off into reverbial bliss and Chris Chu alternating his vocals from aggressive to ethereal.

Track 6, “Mason Jar,” once again picks up the trippy Dark Side of The Moon vibe, though this time with more of a Radiohead meld, via a cleanly picked guitar line paired with an eerie backdrop of rising and falling synths. Spot-on instrumentation adds to the song’s prickly texture.

Track 7, “All Day Day Light,” serves almost as a respite from the heavy songs that followed “Cold War.” It’s the most by-the-numbers type of rocker that you’ll find on the album, and wakes up the listener with its bright guitar work, reverbed handclaps and upbeat drums

Track 8, “Stitches,” may be the most unheralded song on the album, and the most deceptively beautiful. Its dynamics transition seamlessly from a whisper to a shout and completely surround the listener by the song’s finale

Big Echo‘s final track,”Sleeping In,” isn’t your typical rock number. It’s built around more of Chu’s amazing vocal layering which I’d say is some of the most rewarding since The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds.

So Why Did I Chose Big Echo?

After discovering The Morning Benders from their first LP, it was hard for me to imagine that their sound would evolve so dramatically without any typical sophmore slump drop-off. Ye,t as different as the two albums sound, Big Echo maintains the melodic hooks that were so promising on Talking Through Tin Cans and expands on them, with production that continues to fascinate after repeated listens.

The overral cohesiveness of an album, not just thematically, but sonically, plays an important and undervalued role in today’s music. The Beatles were more aware than most in what separates the good from the great. Not only can one identify a Beatles’ number almost immediately, but also the album that it belongs on and the sequence surrounding it. This sense of place is really what should define an album and The Morning Benders pull it off in spades.

To their credit, while each track is related to its brothers, Big Echo‘s production is never repetitive. Instead, we’re invited into the world of each individual song, from the bittersweet “Excuses” to the explosive pop of “Cold War” all the way to the mesmerizing vocals of “Sleeping In” without forgetting the importance of melody throughout.

Content too is important, and while Big Echo has the overarching theme of the rise and fall of relationships, it’s done in a rather abstract and refreshing way, with deceptively simple lines that range from outright sexual (“You tried to taste me/And I took my tongue to the southern tip of your body”) to cynical (“Stuck in a mason jar/ where I sealed up my heart/I take it out once a week/ to donate to charity”) to cleverly allegorical (“Cold War” refers to the narrator’s wish to keep a lovers’ quarrel from getting out of hand).  At 10 songs, Big Echo‘s brevity (clocking in at a little under 40 minutes) allowed me to come back again and again, without feeling the need to skip around songs and both it’s title and artwork draw a parallel to the music.

And yet most importantly, The Morning Benders seem content to challenge themselves, they could have easily gotten away with another Talking Through Tin Cans soundalike, but their progress has proven that they are an exciting band to follow in the years to come.  To me, Big Echo is a modern day Pet Sounds where the  overall melodic structure won me over and at no time did the “pocket symphony” production drive me away. Chris Chu and company have produced an album that builds upon the past as well as moves towards the future, if Big Echo is indeed their Pet Sounds, I can’t wait to hear their Sgt. Pepper.

Ratings Score:

Production Values: 5/5

Vocals: 4.5/5

Instrumentation: 4.5/5

Lyrics: 4/5

Repeated Listening: 5/5

Overall score: 9.2/10

It’s been a while but Art of The Mixtape is back in action with a mixtape for these good old summer days whether its lying on a beach, grilling dinner, or just relaxing in your own home, these grooves should put you in the perfect mood for the summer months.  This mixtape features classics from artists like George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Bob Marley, and Miles Davis, as well as some artists you may not have heard of. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the tunes.

I Dig Love- George Harrison

Because the world needs more of the rock and roll, secular digging George Harrison.

I Dig Love- George Harrison

Fragile Bird- City and Colour

Because the crunchy guitar keyboard combo, and those vocals.

Fragile Bird- City and Colour

Jesus Flag American Fish- Cuckoo Chaos

Because sometimes westernized polyrhythms are a good thing.

Jesus Flag American Fish- Cuckoo Chaos

Can’t You Tell- Vetiver

Because everybody needs a little instant sunlight.

Can’t You Tell- Vetiver

Hangover Days- Jason Collett

Because who can’t identify with the nostalgia for no cares in the world.

Hangover Days- Jason Collett

Lawyers, Guns And Money- Warren Zevon

Because it might as well be the theme song of the United States.

Lawyers, Guns And Money- Warren Zevon

Ain’t Good Enough For You- Bruce Springsteen

Because even songs he didn’t put on albums are better than most artists careers.

Ain’t Good Enough For You- Bruce Springsteen

Hotel Room in Casablanca- Ezra Furman and the Harpoons

Because who doesn’t want to hear a new Dylan.

Hotel Room In Casablanca- Ezra Furman and the Harpoons

Sailing Shoes- Robert Palmer

Because we all need to hear Robert Palmer’s actual talent.

Sailing Shoes- Robert Palmer

Down In the Valley- The Head and the Heart

Because no matter how many beautiful acoustic songs get made, theres always another one.

Down in the Valley- The Head and the Heart

Black Eyed Suzy- Justin Townes Earle

Because that voice, and because he might just be the new Johnny Cash.

Black Eyed Suzy- Justin Townes Earle

Everything Will Be Alright- Matt Wertz

Because it has a whistling solo, and you probably haven’t heard it yet.

Everything Will Be Alright- Matt Wertz

Anna Freud- The National

Because sometimes two chords a good song makes.

Anna Freud- The National

Consolation Prizes- Phoenix

Because this is just as good as their most recent (and more famous) album.

Consolation Prizes- Phoenix

Maybe Baby (Buddy Holly Cover)- Justin Townes Earle

Because that upstroke guitar, and because those vocals may as well be the American Lennon with their hoarse grit.

Maybe Baby (Buddy Holly Cover)- Justin Townes Earle

Lay of the Last Survivor- Okkervil River

Because who knew you could sound so mournful with a beat-track.

Lay Of The Last Survivor- Okkervil River

Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson- Rober Plant & Allison Krauss

Because it shouldn’t work but it does.

Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Is This Love?- Bob Marley

Because Kaya is better than Exodus.

Is This Love?- Bob Marley

Women, Wine And Song- Umphrey’s McGee

Because that harmonica, and the fact that Huey Lewis is playing it.

Women, Wine And Song- Umphrey’s McGee

Keys- White Denim

Because you don’t need to be drugged out at a summer concert to sound like the Grateful Dead.

Keys- White Denim

Up Up Up- Givers

Because that guitar riff.

Up Up Up- Givers

Coming Back To A Man- Dawes

Because Taylor Goldsmith writes some of the best couplets in rock and roll today

Coming Back To A Man- Dawes

It’ll All Work Out- Blake Mills

Because of the lyrics, and because Break Mirrors is every bit as good as For Emma, Forever Ago.

It’ll All Work Out- Blake Mills

It Never Happened- The National

Because Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers is full of songs like this, and because The National could have been a great alt-country band.

It Never Happened- The National

Skin It Back- Little Feat

Because Little Feat is underrated, and that riff is spectacular.

Skin It Back- Little Feat

It Could Happen To You- Miles Davis

Because it’s Miles.

It Could Happen To You- Miles Davis

I’m Gonna Love You Too (Buddy Holly Cover)- Jenny O.

Because there aren’t enough girls covering Buddy Holly these days.

I’m Gonna Love You Too(Buddy Holly Cover)- Jenny O.

It’s been quite a while since I last put something up on this here blog but now that school is over and summer is here, well lets just say there won’t be weeks in between posts anymore (I hope).  In celebration of being done and having free time once again, here is a good old mixtape chock full of music you might not have heard, and if you have you should listen again. As always, all the music here is free to download with the hopes that you go out and support these artists. The full mix after the jump.

Es-So- tUnE-yArDs

Music will never be a fixed commodity, well let me qualify that, there may be periods where music is all along similar lines but every so often someone comes along and changes the game. Merill Garbus’s tUnE-yArDs does just that, incorporating loops upon loops to create pop songs with a modern hook, think of Es-So as MGMT meets Dirty Projectors on a funk bender, enjoyable to the very end.

Es-So- tUnE-yArDs

The Desperate Man- Black Keys

The Desperate Man comes off of the fantastic Rubber Factory LP which was recorded in none other than an abandoned Rubber factory and features some of the best acidic blues this side of Jimi Hendrix.  The interplay here between Auerbach (guitar) and Carney (drums) is fantastic with arguably more swagger than any White Stripes record.  While the Black Keys have since taken off, Rubber Factory stands as their most cohesive effort.

The Desperate Man- The Black Keys

If I Wanted Someone- Dawes

This Laurel Canyon outfit successfully manages to capture the area’s golden output from the 70′s, and this number from their upcoming LP has hints of Neil Young’s finest melodies with great harmonies.

If I Wanted Someone- Dawes

(I Can’t Seem To) Make You Mine- The Clientele

This dreamy reverb soaked number sways with a beautiful intensity of tremoloed guitars and slow strings with a lead vocal reminiscent of The Monkees, perfect for those minutes before sleep, or a late-night wandering drive.

(I Can’t Seem To) Make You Mine- The Clientele

Sick Priest Learns to Last Forever- Destroyer

Don’t be scared off by the name, Destroyer is no heavy metal outfit, rather this number off of the Destroyers Rubies LP gives the sense of what a super group of CSNY and Hunky Dory era David Bowie might sound like if they came together for an album.

Sick Priest Learns To Last Forever- Destroyer

Go On, Say It- Blind Pilot

Portland based Blind Pilot cultivates a Shins meets Sea Changes era Beck type of sound on Go On, Say It, a subtle acoustic number with some wonderful backing strings and some very well placed vibraphone, definitely a song that sticks in your head.

Go On, Say It- Blind Pilot

Swim Club- Cave Singers

The Seattle based Cave Singers create a campfire friendly number off of No Witch featuring a jaunty acoustic guitar line with some interesting backing elements.

Swim Club- Cave Singers

Lolita- Throw Me The Statue

This is a song you just have to hear, from the intro it’s not all that it seems and it turns into a very catchy happy go lucky melody.

Lolita- Throw Me The Statue

Baby Says- The Kills

With an intro that’s equally indebted to the 80′s with it’s pounding drums and 00′s indie with it’s grungy guitar hook, Baby Says turns into a beautiful work of boy-girl harmony, hauntingly beautiful.

Baby Says- The Kills

Dye The World- Smith Westerns

A song that stands toe to toe with the best of T. Rex’s 70′s glam rock and The Flaming Lips 2000′s psychedelia.

Dye the World- Smith Westerns

The Drying of the Lawns- The Tallest Man On Earth

Off of his newest LP The Wild Hunt, The Drying of the Lawns is a bucolic number in every sense of the word, from the lo-fi finger picked acoustic to the nature theme in the lyrics, a love story that turns the old phrase of watching the grass grow on its head.

The Drying of the Lawns- The Tallest Man On Earth

Model Son- The Heavenly States

Be on the lookout for this band to make it big in this upcoming year, Model Son is a endearingly catchy number off of their newest LP, Oui Camera Oui replete with handclaps, bright acoustic guitar melodies, swirling harmonies, bouncy organs and catchy lead vocals and a great hook for the chorus.

Model Son- The Heavenly States

St. James Infirmiry- Hugh Laurie

I was a bit cautious when I heard that the comedian/dramatic actor and star of House, Hugh Laurie, was coming out with an album. He sticks to a well worn blues cover here, but the piano-playing (by Laurie) is fantastic and the arrangement builds into something that would make old Bourbon Street proud.

St. James Infirmary- Hugh Laurie

Grain of Salt- The Morning Benders

This song had been making its way across the interweb recently after lead singer Chris Chu decided to go through old unreleased material and this number dates back to the end of the Talking Out of Tin Cans sessions, but was well deserving to be put on the album.

Grain of Salt- The Morning Benders

Watching the Detectives- Elvis Costello

Even from his debut, Elvis Costello, the punky nerd proved to be quite the lyricist. In this reggae send up Costello brings his lyrics to another level in a meta-twist of a song that is about someone watching someone watch the detectives (tv soap operas in Britain) soon this seemingly mundane song turns into the audience partaking in the watching a woman be killed by an unknown stalker. Plus the riff is great and the drum work is probably some of the best reggae drumming ever put on record.

Watching The Detectives- Elvis Costello

Do You Believe In Destiny- The Fresh & Onlys

The lead guitar on here is played to understated perfection in this reverb drenched number with a classic chord progression.

Do You Believe in Destiny- The Fresh & Onlys

Drover- Bill Callahan

Callahan is one of those artists who immediately draws the listeners attention with his arresting baritone.  Bill and his guitar take front and center in this recording while the backing instrumentation provide a landscape for his forlorn cattle driver.

Drover- Bill Callahan

Goin’ Home- Dan Auerbach

Off of his solo debut, Keep It Hid, Auerbach proves to be a wholly different songwriting animal, using completely analog methods to record his LP, Goin’ Home showcases a subtle beauty that proves him to be one of the best songwriters of his generation.

Goin’ Home- Dan Auerbach

Something (cover)- Pete Willett

Adding in a recording of waves crashing the shores of some isolated beach, this lo-fi demo turns into a breathtaking cover of a song that Frank Sinatra would call the greatest love song ever made.

Something (cover)- Pete Willett

Music is at its best when it is at it’s most universal, when it taps you on the shoulder as if to say “I’ve been there too”, It bonds with you and opens your eyes, a friend that never leaves, and you become encapsulated by a sensation to which all other senses have never known.  Better than any other media, music teaches us how to love, how to express it, how to feel it, how to long for it and miss it when it’s gone. Theres a reason why love continues to be the most popular subject in songwriting, it is one of the most essential building blocks of humanity, a universal feeling.

Heartbreak, it seems, brings out the best in musicians, and perhaps none were touched more than Frank Sinatra and Tom Waits, whose albums In the Wee Small Hours, and The Heart of Saturday Night both take this universal feeling to a whole new level, in their music they make it breathe, cast a lingering darkness in the air, and place the heart in the creaks and aches of their vocals.

In every sense of the word, In The Wee Small Hours is a masterpiece of musical interpretation, an album that found Frank Sinatra reinvigorated from his previously doomed career. Capitol Records had taken a chance on the no longer perfect voice of Ol’ Blue Eyes and matched it with a dynamic young arranger in Nelson Riddle who had won over Sinatra’s respect with his beautiful big band arrangement of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”, If Sinatra was Lennon, Riddle was his McCartney.  In The Wee Small Hours found Frank Sinatra at a turbulent time in his life, his musical style no longer filled music halls nor dominated the musical charts, his once glorious tenor had deepened, his voice no longer as smooth as it once was, and he had just lost the girl of his dreams, Ava Gardener.

This is not to say that this was Frank’s one girl, surely he had many, as well as a wife and children previously.  Yet Gardner proved to be a challenge that not even Frank could handle, this was a woman who had everything, Sinatra wasn’t accustomed to being in a relationship where someone had equal power and less reason to need him.  Being dumped found Sinatra feeling something he had never felt before, lost.  To express his emotions, Sinatra came out with what can be regarded the first concept album in music, choosing songs that were related on theme and looking to keep an overall mood and sound specific to the album, the year was 1954, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band would come out 12 years after.

Picture yourself in a world of dimly lit streets, with a soft pattering rain, people slowly walking out of bars after last call, a lonely figure silently walking aimlessly, as if deep in a dream. In the film that is Sinatra’s In The Wee Small Hours this is the opening scene.  Frank begins with the title song, a ballad that was specifically written for the album, a brooding cinematic song, washing the world away with its blue melody, sweeping strings showing only the dimmest of streetlights as Frank sings with a weary sigh “In the wee small hours————–of the morning———–while the whole wide world is fast asleep——–you lie awake and think about the girl——-and never ever think of counting sheep” The album continues its story with fantastic scenes of those heartbroken blues; “Mood Indigo”

“You ain’t been blue, no no no, you ain’t been blue till you’ve had that mood indigo, that feeling goes stealin down to my shoes, while i sit and sigh, go long blue, always get that mood indigo, since my baby said goodbye”

“Glad To Be Unhappy”

“Look at yourself, if you had a sense of humor you would laugh to beat the band, Look at yourself do you still believe the rumor that romance is simply grand”

“I Get Along Without You Very Well”

“I get along without you very well, Of course, I do, Except when soft rains fall, And drip from leaves, Then I recall, The thrill of being sheltered in your arms, Of course, I do, But I get along without you very well”

“Deep in a Dream”

“The smoke makes a stairway for you to descend; You come to my arms, may this bliss never end, For we love anew just as we used to do, When I’m deep in a dream of you., Then from the ceiling, sweet music comes stealing; We glide through a lover’s refrain, you’re so appealing, That I’m soon revealing my love for you over again. My cigarette burns me, I wake with a start;My hand isn’t hurt, but there’s pain in my heart.”

“I See Your Face Before Me”

“It doesn’t matter where you are, I can see how fair you are, I close my eyes and there you are, Always, If you could share the magic, Yes, if you could see me too, There would be nothing tragic, In all my dreams of you, Would that my love could haunt you so, Knowing I want you so, I can’t erase your beautiful face before me”

“Can’t We Be Friends”

“I took each word she said as gospel truth the way a silly little child would. I can’t excuse it on the grounds of youth, I was no babe in the wild, wild wood. She didn’t mean it, I should have seen it, but now it’s too late.”

“When Your Lover Has Gone”

When you’re alone, who cares for starlit skies, When you’re alone, the magic moonlight dies, At break of dawn, there is no sunrise, When your lover has gone

“What Is This Thing Called Love”

What is this thing called love, This funny thing called love, Just who can solve its mystery, Why should it make a fool of me?

“Last Night When We Were Young”

Today the world is old, You flew away and time grew cold, Where is that star that shone so bright, Ages ago last night? To think that spring had depended, On merely this: a look, a kiss, To think that something so splendid, Could slip away in one little daybreak

“I’ll Be Around”

Good-bye old friend, And if you find a love like mine, Just now and then, Drop me a line to say that you’re fine, And when things go wrong
Perhaps you’ll see, You’re meant for me, So I’ll be around when he’s gone.

“Ill Wind”

Go ill wind, go away, skies are oh so gray, Around my neighborhood, and that ain’t good, You’re only misleadin’ the sunshine I’m needin’,
ain’t that a shame, It’s so hard to keep up with troubles that creep up, From out of nowhere, when love’s to blame.

“It Never Entered My Mind”

Once you warned me that if you scorned me, I’d say a lonely prayer again, And wish that you were there again, To get into my hair again, It never entered my mind.

“Dancing on the Ceiling”

At night I creep in bed, And never sleep in bed, But look above in the air, And to my greatest joy, my love is there, She dances overhead, On the ceiling near my bed, In my sight, All through the night, I try to hide in vain, Underneath my counterpane, But there’s my love, up there above.

“I’ll Never Be The Same”

I’ll never be the same, stars have lost their meaning for me, I’ll never be the same, nothing’s what it once used to be, And when the sun-birds that sing tell me it’s spring, I can’t believe their song, once love was king, but kings can be wrong, I’ll never be the same, there is such an ache in my heart. Never be the same, since we’re apart.

“This Love of Mine”

I cry my heart out it’s bound to break, Since nothing matters, let it break. I ask the sun and the moon, The stars that shine, What’s to become of it, this love of mine

This is an album entirely devoted to the night, to those lost hours between midnight and sunrise that only seem to exist when you’re most unhappy, moody and forlorn, Riddle and Sinatra combine to make  a fantastic concept album, Frank’s voice is the central character and his mind is the plot. When he  comes around to “Dancing On The Ceiling”, you really believe “the miracle” that lies above him.

It would seem that you couldn’t find artists more dissimilar than Frank Sinatra and Tom Waits in musical style.  Frank was a professional, a polished performer who could interpret others song-craft as if his own, and shape it at will, while Tom Waits stayed in the limelight, featuring unmatched colorful prose, and a unique voice that in earlier years could sing the hell out of a song. Fittingly, Tom Waits would crown In the Wee Small Hours his favorite album.

His debut, Closing Time, had garnered him attention from fellow Californian songwriters, (Most famously The Eagles, who would take “Ol’ 55″ and find success in a pretty faithful interpretation of the original) but it was on The Heart of Saturday Night that Tom Waits would reach his creative peak, creating a whiskey-soaked narrative for the weekend, introspective, beautiful, but not as melancholy as Frank’s ruminations on the deep night. Whereas In The Wee Small Hours was coated with blue strings and dimly lit streets, The Heart of Saturday Night still has signs of life, twinkling lights with a seedy underbelly, a man coming to terms with the limitations of middle class.

A bourbon laced piano clutches the opener “New Coat of Paint” with the charming feeling of being a few drinks into your night.

Let’s put a new coat of paint on this lonesome old town, Set ‘em up, we’ll be knockin’ em down. You wear a dress, baby, and I’ll wear a tie.  We’ll laugh at that old bloodshot moon in that burgundy sky

Yet the upbeat feeling seems fleeting, when a few drinks later, Waits sinks into a slow ballad a la not knowing what you got til it’s gone in “San Diego Serenade, with mournful backing strings and a sobering piano.

I never saw the east coast ’til I move to the west, I never saw the moonlight until it shone off your breast, I never saw your heart ’til someone tried to steal, tried to steal it away, I never saw your tears until they rolled down your face.

“Semi Suite” happens to be my favorite on the album, featuring a slow swagger of a jazzy arrangement, bolstered by some nice brass, Waits seems at his most inspired mood here, his voice dangling and weaving with the feeling of the song, an ode to the forgotten woman who’s faithful to her truck driver partner, it’s never clear how deep their relationship goes, but thats the beauty of it.

Well you hate those diesels rollin, And those Friday nights out bowlin’, When he’s off for a twelve hour lay over night, You wish you had a dollar, For every time he hollered, That he’s leavin’, And he’s never comin’ back, But the curtain-laced billow, And his hands on your pillow, And his trousers are hangin’ on the chair, You’re lyin’ through your pain, babe, But you’re gonna tell him he’s your man, And you ain’t got the courage to leave, He tells you that you’re on his mind, You’re the only one he’s ever gonna find, It’s kind-a special, understands his complicated soul…But the only place a man can breathe, And collect his thoughts is, Midnight and flyin’ away on the road.

“Shiver Me Timbers” is Tom Waits returning the favor to the Eagles in this “Desperado” flavored ballad, featuring some beautiful intertwined guitar/piano play, but Wait’s is no one trick pony, and he includes two central characters from two preeminent writers of the late 19th and early 20th century, Jack London and Herman Melville in his tribute to losing oneself amongst the sea

But my heart’s in the wind, Where the clouds are like headlines, On a new front page sky, My tears are salt water, And the moon’s full and high, And I know Martin Eden’s, Gonna be proud of me, And many before me, Who’ve been called by the sea, To be up in the crow’s nest, Singin’ my say, Shiver me Timbers, ’Cause I’m a-sailin’ away, And the fog’s liftin’, And the sand’s shiftin’, I’m driftin’ on out, Ol’ Captain Ahab, He ain’t got nothin’ on me, now. So swallow me, don’t follow me, I’m trav’lin’ alone, Blue water’s my daughter, ’n I’m gonna skip like a stone

“Diamonds on My Windshield”

About his album of the night, Waits stated it was “…a comprehensive study of a number of aspects of this search for the center of Saturday night, which Jack Kerouac relentlessly chased from one end of this country to the other, and I’ve attempted to scoop up a few diamonds of this magic that I see” and certainly here Waits is at his most beat-poetic, with a upright bass and light drum work providing the only framework for his words, the main instrument on this track.

There’s a Duster trying to change my tune, He’s pulling up fast on the right, Rolling restlessly by a twenty-four hour moon, And a Wisconsin hiker with a cue-ball head, He’s wishing he was home in a Wisconsin bed, But there’s fifteen feet of snow in the east, Colder than a welldigger’s ass, And it’s colder than a welldigger’s ass, Oceanside, it ends the ride with San Clemente coming up, Those Sunday desperadoes slip by and cruise with a dry back, And the orange drive-in, the neon billin’, And the theatre’s fillin’ to the brim, With slave girls and a hot spurn bucket full of sin, Metropolitan area with interchange and connections, Fly-by-nights from Riverside, And out of state plates running a little late

“(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night”

The idea of “looking for the heart of Saturday night” came directly from Visions of Cody, in which Kerouac’s eponymous hero was “hurrying for the big traffic, – ever more exciting, all of it pouring into town – Saturday night.‘- Barney Hoskyns (Lowside Of The Road: A Life Of Tom Waits) Complete with the sounds of movement and car horns, Waits turns a yearning search into heartfelt song, taking the listener barrelin’ down that ubiquitous boulevard with him.

Well, you gassed her up, behind the wheel, With your arm around your sweet one in your Oldsmobile, Barrelin’ down the boulevard, You’re lookin’ for the heart of Saturday night, And you got paid on Friday, your pockets are jinglin’, Then you see the lights and you get all tinglin’, Cause you’re cruisin’ with a six, You’re lookin’ for the heart of Saturday night

“Fumblin’ with the Blues”

Waits brings things back to old time basics on this one, a stylized 40′s blues complete with beautiful clarinet playing and great jazz guitar as the night makes Waits’ characters all the more desperate to find someone to love, as the narrator croons and broods:

You know the ladies I’ve been seeing off and on, Well they spend your love and then they’re gone, You can’t be lovin’ someone who is savage and cruel, Take your love and then they leave on out of town, no they do, Well now fallin’ in love is such a breeze, But its standin’ up that’s so hard for me, I wanna squeeze you but I’m scared to death I’d break your back, You know your perfume well it won’t let me be

“Please Call Me Baby”

Much like Frank Sinatra’s narrators in In The Wee Small Hours, Waits too begins to ruminate on lost love, however Waits doesn’t lament like a victim recognizing that there’s a little bit of good and evil in all of us.

I admit that I ain’t no angel, I admit that I ain’t no saint, I’m selfish and I’m cruel but you’re blind, If I exorcise my devils, Well my angels may leave too, When they leave they’re so hard to find, Please call me, baby, wherever you are, It’s too cold to be out walking in the streets, We do crazy things when we’re wounded, everyone’s a bit insane, I don’t want you catching your death of cold, out walking in the rain.

“Depot Depot”

A simple song of sitting at the modern day crossroads, the Greyhound Bus Terminal. True talent shines in those who can take the most mundane aspects of everyday life and create a work of art.

Depot, depot, what am I doing here?, Depot, depot, what am I doing here?, I ain’t coming, I ain’t going, My confusion is showing
And outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue, I’m gonna paint myself blue, At the depot, I watch the taxis pull up and idle, I can’t claim title to a single memory, You offered me a key, Cause opportunity don’t knock, Has no tongue as you cannot talk, You’re gonna shuffle when you walk, At the depot

“Drunk On The Moon”

Waits paints another personal portrait here about his times living in Denver, Colorado, and a street near his hotel called  “Larimer Street. Larimer being just full of a lot of ghosts down there on Larimer Street shopping for images in the trash cans – boy, that’s old Kerouac and Cassady stomping grounds. It’s really changed quite a bit. They put up what’s called Larimer Square now which is kind of like a contemporary little boutique sort of shopping centre. It looks awful ridiculous cause right across the street is some real bona fide serious winos – right out in front of a place called the Gin Mill, another place called the Terminal Bar. Terminal Bar is a block away from the Santa Fe train depot so they called it the Terminal Bar but they had no idea that like 20 years later the place’d be filling up with terminal cases. This is called Drunk On The Moon, there’s all different kinds of moons – silver slipper moons and there’s cue ball moons and there’s buttery cue ball moons and moons that are all melted off to one side and this is about a muscatel moon…”- Tom Waits (1975)

Tight-slack clad girls on the graveyard shift, ’Neath the cement stroll, catch the midnight drift, Cigar chewing Charlie in that newspaper nest, Grifting hot horse tips on who’s running the best, And I’m blinded by the neon, Don’t try and change my tune, Cause I thought I heard a saxophone, I’m drunk on the moon

“The Ghosts of Saturday Night (After Hours at Napoleone’s Pizza House)”

Waits sums up his night with a reflection on his younger years when he used to work at a pizza joint in San Diego, again bringing the mundane aspects of humanity to life with visceral color, observing the loneliness of the people around him.

A cab combs the snake, tryin’ to rake in that last night’s fare, And a solitary sailor, who spends the facts of his life like small change on strangers, paws his inside P-coat pocket for a welcome twenty-five cents, and the last bent butt from a package of Kents, as he dreams of a waitress with Maxwell House eyes, and marmalade thighs with scrambled yellow hair, Her rhinestone-studded moniker says “Irene”, as she wipes the wisps of dishwater blonde from her eyes

Both Sinatra and Waits bring light to these forlorn hours of the night, the forgotten characters that parade the streets, the lament of knowing what you’ve lost and can never find again, the aimless search for meaning, for hope, and the strange feelings that the darkness provides. Cinematic and seedy, mournful and lustful, these albums belong in a category that few belong, perfect portraits for where humanity is at its most lost.

A new feature here on Art of the Mixtape is Small Stack Tuesdays, an ode to those good old 45′s and 78′s from back in the day.  The inaugural edition features a great duet from two unlikely sources as well some great other bands recent releases. Stay tuned and enjoy the music.

1. Representing Memphis (featuring Matt Berninger & Sharon Jones)- Booker T. Jones

Yes indeed, that is the very same Booker T. that led the Stax houseband behind such hits like “Green Onions” and every single track Sam & Dave and Otis Redding ever made. Here, Jones leads the inimitable Sharon Jones and Matt Berninger (of The National) through a soulful melody that truly does represent Memphis.

Representing Memphis (Feat. Matt Berninger Sharon Jones)- Booker T. Jones

2.  Can’t You Tell- Vetiver

This isn’t the same Vetiver that came out with the sweet and breezy “Everyday” last year, rather this is a hazy trip through city streets (Andy Cabic, the head singer/songwriter himself said he wrote this while wandering through San Francisco) think of it as a more mellow MGMT, with a melody thats as equally trippy as it is catchy.

Can’t You Tell- Vetiver

3. Greenleaf- The Generationals

The retro styled band from New Orleans has no intentions on letting up on its simple flavored melodies with its sophomore effort, Actor-Caster. While “Ten-Twenty-Ten” features more of a lively rhythm section, “Greenleaf” is a great piano led number with an arrangement appropriately drenched in sunny reverb and flashes of the bass line from Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness”. Few bands can intermingle retro and modern as well as this duo.

Greenleaf- The Generationals

4. Montezuma- Fleet Foxes

With Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes are back to their bucolic harmonious ways. “Montezuma” is a builder, featuring mostly sparse instrumentation, and great backing vocals.

Montezuma- Fleet Foxes

5. Til The Sun Rips- Woods

Chances are you haven’t heard of the lo-fi Brooklyn band Woods, who produce their music from their own record label Woodsist, and feature an eclectic mix of tape-loops, campfire acoustic folk and blended vocals, definitely a band worth checking out.

Til the Sun Rips- Woods

I had so much fun making the last Campfire Songs Mixtape that I decided to make another one. Both retro and modern with that warm familial feeling that makes a campfire so fun to be around. As always, the mixtape is free but feel free to support all the artists by buying their albums. To download a song just right-click the song link after the description, hope you enjoy.  The full mixtape after the jump.

1. Tomorrow Goes Away- Delta Spirit

Featured on the last post, this little ditty is a great opener to a mix, with its understated beauty and sonic clarity, like watching the sun come up in the early morning.

Tomorrow Goes Away- Delta Spirit

2. Daytime Nighttime Suffering- Wings

For a musical artist so critically maligned after his former group disbanded, McCartney has never heard the tongue lashings over his melodic content, an innate talent that ha put him in the same sentence with the likes of Gershwin and Porter.

Daytime Nighttime Suffering- Wings

3. (You) Got What I Need- Freddie Scott

Long before Biz Markie strained his vocal chords to hit the chorus on his rap adaptation, this little number was a little known soul classic and it still sounds just as good.

(You) Got What I Need- Freddie Scott

4. New Coat- White Denim

“New Coat” came out on a free LP that the ever eclectic White Denim came out with over the summer and it’s probably the finest song I’ve heard in a while with great guitar work and a catchy melody, and some damn good lyrics about love.

New Coat- White Denim

5. Spanish Bombs- The Clash

When I started out on this blog, one of the first album reviews I ever did was on The Clash’s London Calling. What I said then still stands. Spanish Bombs is without a doubt, one of the most beautiful and complete tracks the Clash would ever record.  A recount of the Spanish Civil War in the 30′s, the lyrics are full of affecting imagery.  The chord structure is another great one, almost a subtle hint of London Calling.  The chorus is clever too, mixing in Spanish, (the multi language trick would be something the Clash would visit again in Should I Stay or Should I Go).  The descending guitar line is like something right out of George Harrisons book, emotional and perfect for the track, this is by far among the best songs on the album.

Spanish Bombs- The Clash

6. Love Is No Big Truth- Kings of Convenience

You’ll be hard pressed to find something as beautifully melodic and simply relaxing outside of this Norwegian duo who combine an Simon/Garfunkel harmony with a modern aesthetic.

Love Is No Big Truth- Kings of Convenience

7. Feather Bed- Fruit Bats

This minor dominated melody owes a debt to the Bob Dylan songbook but the vocals are far and above the raspy growl that made Dylan famous and the slow burning lead guitar suits the back drop perfectly.

Feather Bed- Fruit Bats

8. Piledriver Waltz- Alex Turner

Take a little melodic influence from The National, a little vocals from Harry Nilsson and a little pinch of John Lennon styled arrangements and you’ll find yourself listening to this little gem from the Arctic Monkeys frontman.

Piledriver Waltz- Alex Turner

9. Angel- Jack Johnson

He’s never been much for variety, but Jack Johnson has turned simplicity into an art form, his voice always perfect, his lyrics heartfelt, and an arrangement that feels just as at home in your living room as it does in a studio.

Angel- Jack Johnson

10. So Far Around The Bend- The National

Culled from the Dark Was The Night compilation, this number finds The National at their most melodic and downtrodden-ly inspiring.

So Far Around the Bend- The National

11. Ten-Twenty-Ten- The Generationals

The guitar riff sounds like an updated version of “Dancing With Myself” and does a great job capturing the energy of this modern band who combine retro influences and modern approaches in their dynamic duo.

Ten-Twenty-Ten- The Generationals

12. I Was Wrong (Nico Version)- The Morning Benders

The Morning Benders are probably one of the most promising modern acts out there and this little acoustic number comes from their iTunes Live Session EP and showcases their ability to make someone else’s song completely their own. Chu’s vocals are eerily reminiscent of a young Paul Simon and the simple acoustic guitar arrangement suits the mood perfectly.

I Was Wrong (Nico Version)- The Morning Benders

13. Portland- Middle Brother

Riffing from the guitar melody line of “And I Love Her” this little ditty from a supergroup of the main singer-songwriters from the upcoming bands of Deer Tick, Dawes, and Delta Spirit is a nice bucolic melody that endears the listener just as The Beatles did before them.

Portland- Middle Brother

14. Cheers- Blake Mills

Break Mirrors remains above and beyond the best and most understated debut album that came out in 2010 and “Cheers” is a perfect showcase of all Blake Mills talents, arresting vocals, perfect arrangements and a heartbreaking acceptance of the odd twists and turns that life brings.

Cheers- Blake Mills

15. Skinny Genes- Eliza Doolittle

Coming from the same vocal stylings of Amy Winehouse and Lilly Allen before her, Eliza Doolittle actually manages to bring a new dynamic to the fold of modern British songbirds, and is boosted by a great production aesthetic of dusting off old music samples and bringing a whole new life to them.

Skinny Genes- Eliza Doolittle

16. Your Direction- Chief

You won’t find much about this new up and coming band, but their sound is rooted in the classic bands of the 70′s who brought country-styled rock to the mainstream.

Your Direction- Chief

17. I Got You (At The End of the Century)- Wilco

Off of one of Wilco’s finest albums Being There, “I Got You” features some great riff work and a great live energy, a great mixtape ender.

I Got You (At the End of the Century)- Wilco