New Releases for 6/13

Busta Rhymes
The Big Bang
Interscope

Busta Rhymes drops his latest, The Big Bang, on June 13th. The Brooklyn native has been signed to Dr. Dre’s label, Aftermath. The label change seems like it’s about more than just business — this is a whole different sound for Busta. The hyper-fast rapping and crazed club beats still pop up here and there, but mostly it’s a much slower album, with more introspective lyrics than anything he’s done before. There’s a ton of guest appearances by some of the best in the business: Eminem in “I’ll Hurt You”, Q-Tip in “For The Nasty”, Redman in “Get High Doin’ It”, Raekwon & Rah Digga in “Coke Dealings”. “In The Ghetto” is a high point; it has that smooth underground vibe, thanks to DJ Green Lantern and “Where’s Your Money” has what might be the last appearance of Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

Sonic Youth
Rather Ripped
Geffen Records

Sonic Youth’s newest comes out the same day. Rather Ripped brings back the powerful, experimental sound that made them famous. Noisy and symphonic, the album takes career highlights and puts them all on one album - and does it without making them repeat themselves. “Incinerate” features some of the sunniest, poppiest guitar melodies Sonic Youth have ever done. The band gets weird and spacey with “Rats,” touch on catchy pop-rock with “Do You Believe In Rapture?” and closes out with the droning, darkly powerful “Or.” Twenty years back, this band turned rock music inside out — and if Rather Ripped is any indication, they’ve got a few ideas on how to do it again.

Regina Spektor
Begin to Hope
Sire/WEA

The Bronx gave us Regina Spektor, and Regina Spektor gives us a new album. Her last one, Soviet Kitsch, got a lot of positive press and a large hipster following. Her newest is called Begin To Hope and delivers more of the great folky, cabaret-style ballads that grabbed so many music fans looking for something different. The arrangements are unusual but they’re beautiful, and they showcase her unique and powerful voice. The music is quiet but moving and powerful. “20 Years of Snow” is another of the beautiful piano ballads that made her popular, but she branches out with with cute and forceful story-songs like “Field Below” and “Hotel Room.” The songs are intricate, clever and touching, with off-kilter arrangements that help Spektor’s voice create waves of emotion. Spektor’s music will enthrall listeners.

The Replacements
Don’t You Know Who I Think I Was?: The Best of The Replacements
Rhino Records/WEA

Busta Rhymes, Sonic Youth and Regina Spektor are all New York-based, but let’s leave the 5 boros for a minute. Another of the great alt-rock groups is dropping something: Straight outta Minneapolis comes The Replacements’ Best-of, Don’t You Know Who I Think I Was? It collects all the songs that made them influential — classic hard rock tunes like “Kiss Me On The Bus”, “Left of The Dial,” “Can’t Hardly Wait” and “Alex Chilton”. The collection shows off the group’s mix of hard-hitting guitars and pop composition. They had a raw edge, but showed more respect for melody and harmony than most other bands in the Twin Cities punk scene they started in. The band was legendary for their drunken live set, where they often forgot lyrics and chords, sometimes even inviting fans to jump on stage to sing & play. The wild stage act was a blast, but made it difficult to appreciate the genuine songwriting skills they showed on their albums, but now fans can get some of their best moments on one disc. It also features two previously unreleased songs.

Billy Joel
12 Gardens Live
Columbia/Sony

Coming back to the New York area, Long Island’s Billy Joel is putting out a new live album. 12 Gardens Live is a 2-CD collection of Joel’s historic Madison Square Garden shows. It’s got over 2 hours of the most popular Billy Joel songs, covering two decades’ worth of hit tunes. Over the course of 30 songs, you’ll hear Joel put his heart into the songs that made him famous enough to marry Christie Brinkley. They’re all here, from “Angry Young Man” and “Allentown”, to “Downeaster Alexa” and “We Didn’t Start The Fire” - plus the classic singalong about buddies in Vietnam, “Goodnight Saigon”, beautifully and dramatically done. Hearing it performed with a stadium full of people singing along might give you goosebumps.

This entry was posted by A.Rehak on Monday, June 12th, 2006 at 9:29 am