New Release Round-Up 02-05-21

Aaron Lee Tasjan - Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! - New West Records
Every now and then an artist comes along who makes you remember why you started listening to albums in the first place: Aaron Lee Tasjan is that artist. With his off-center charm and restless creative dazzle, he makes music with conviction that has its roots in rock’s murky past, armed with an arsenal of songs that spill over with humor, intelligence, irony, and at times prophecy. He updates the idea of androgyny but dispels the emotional and social ambiguity with lyrics that reflect his own geographic and artistic wanderings. Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! is 11 songs. The man who began the album, is not the same man who completed it, transformed both by the experiences that inspired the songs and crafting them. This is not anxious music for anxious times, but rather music as an antidote for anxious times. It is the sound of the future arriving.

John Mayall - The First Generation 1965-1974 - Snapper UK / Madfish
There are box sets and then there are BOX SETS. John Mayall’s The First Generation 1965-1974 set sits firmly in the latter category, being substantial both in the artefacts contained within and the superb music it encompasses. The first set of this size to be released documenting John Mayall’s early years sees not only all albums from his much lauded formative career, but also unreleased tracks aplenty. Featuring Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel, Blue Mitchell, Jon Mark and many more outstanding musicians, this mammoth package contains 35 CDs, a beautiful hardback book and much more. Not for nothing did Mayall earn the moniker ‘Godfather of the British Blues’. For a short but compelling time in the 60s and 70s he recognised raw talent, took it in, nurtured it, and everyone thrived and benefitted as a result. Many of the best musicians of the period passed through the hallowed ranks of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. All are on show here in a stunning set crammed with musical highlights.

Teenage Wrist - Earth Is A Black Hole - Epitaph
The world may seem like a pretty strange place right now, but if nothing else that’s forced us into realizing that being human is a shared experience. That sentiment lies at the core of Earth Is A Black Hole, the second full-length from the Los Angeles rock act Teenage Wrist. The album also marks the group’s first release as a duo, with guitarist Marshall Gallagher stepping up as frontman, and longtime drummer Anthony Salazar backing him up in spectacular fashion. Gallagher explains. “I wanted to keep this band going and we didn’t know exactly what that would look like, so I wrote two songs and demoed them myself to see if everyone was still on board.” Those songs turned out to be the jangly power ballad “Yellowbelly” and spacey rocker “Wear U Down”—and with that, a new era of Teenage Wrist was born. The artistic liberation of this lineup change, coupled with the past two years the band spent touring alongside genre-smashing acts such as Thrice, allowed Teenage Wrist to expand on the shoegazing sound that helped establish them as one of the most exciting rock bands around today. From lush, guitar-driven songs like “High Again” to the atmospheric ambience of “Stella” and syncopated aggression of “Earth Is A Black Hole,“—most evidently on the swirling anthem “Silverspoon,“— Earth Is A Black Hole sees the band shifting their songwriting focus to a more modern sound that showcases the limitless potential of the band.

The Band - Stage Fright: 50th Anniversary - Capitol
Stage Fright is the third studio album by Canadian American group The Band, released on August 17, 1970. Engineered by Todd Rundgren and Glyn Johns, it features two of the group's best-known songs, "The Shape I'm In" and "Stage Fright", both of which showcased inspired lead vocal performances (by Richard Manuel and Rick Danko, respectively) and became staples in the group's live shows. Product Suite • Super Deluxe Box • 5.1 surround and hi-res stereo mix of album (by Bob Clearmountain) + new bonus tracks + previously unreleased Royal Albert Hall (1970) performance on Blu-ray • CD of new stereo mix album + new bonus tracks and unreleased Calgary hotel demo tracks CD of the Royal Albert Hall performance (stereo) • LP of main album new stereo mix (180gram, 33rpm) • 7” reproduction of original “Time To Kill” b/w “The Shape I’m In” Capitol single (Spanish pressing) Photo booklet with new notes by Robbie Robertson and a reprinting of the original 1970 Robert Hilburn Los Angeles Times album review

Loretta Lynn - Coal Miner's Daughter - MCA Nashville
Loretta Lynn introduced the world to a crucial aspect of American life that was rarely acknowledged when she released her 1970 autobiographical album, Coal Miner's Daughter. Already a country star with chart-topping singles, this title track, led a string of #1 hits and became her first recording inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall Of Fame. In addition, she was among a notable list of singer/songwriters who brought a woman’s perspective to country music. Celebrating 50 years.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER - STILL DREAMING - UMe
'STILL DREAMING' is the first Japanese album from TOMORROW X TOGETHER. The 10 tracks are comprised of Japanese versions of 6 of the group's Korean hits, plus 2 new instrumental tracks, a brand new Japanese original song, "Force," and their Japanese hit "Everlasting Shine:" The album is now available on CD and includes a lyric booklet filled with sunset-time photos. The first press also includes 1 of 5 randomly selected photo cards.