Skip to content

Standard Reader

Goatless

Goatless

@johneckman.com

Music, Veganism, Travel

0Readers

35Posts

19d agoLast active

David Gray, Mutineers, 2014 on IHT Records

Not sure when I first discovered David Gray—it sort of feels like he's always been there, but I know there must have been a moment I first heard him. Might have been "Babylon" of off 1998's "White Ladder." This was his tenth full-length album, produced by Andy Barlow who also handled programming. Wonderful collection representing...

Aretha Franklin, Who’s Zoomin’ Who?, 1985 on Arista

From the 90s (Mazzy Star) back to the 80s: Aretha Franklin's very eighties Who's Zoomin' Who?. She actually put out a number of albums in the 80s, but this is the only one I remember. Look at the glorious 80s neon fashion on that cover. The man on the inner sleeve is Franklin's father, The...

Mazzy Star, Among My Swan, 1996 on Capitol

This was Mazzy Star's third album out in 1996 on Capitol. (I posted their sophomore album in the last few weeks: So Tonight That I Might See). It would be their last album until a re-formed Mazzy Star put out 2013's Seasons of Your Day on their own label. It was produced by Hope Sandoval...

U2, Songs of Surrender, 2023 on Island

This album features re-recordings of U2's own songs, re-interpreted from their 2023 vantage point. It was something of an accompanying record to Bono's memoir (Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story) and the AppleTV documentary Bono: Stories of Surrender. The vinyl editions (2 x LP) only have 16 songs, where some of the other editions had more...

The Decemberists, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, 2015 on Capitol

Seventh studio album from Portland Oregon's The Decemberists. The album was a bit of a return to the band following a hiatus of a couple of years after The King is Dead. So many great songs here, many of which get stuck in your head for weeks. My favorite is maybe a toss-up between "Carolina...

Lake Street Dive, Obviously, 2021 on Nonesuch

This was the seventh album from Boston's own Lake Street Dive (formed at the New England Conservatory) and the third on Nonesuch. It was originally due to come out earlier but got delayed by Covid and such. Rachael Price is such a powerhouse vocalist it can almost be overwhelming at times, but I like their...

BostonJoe Nino-Hernes

U2, How to Re-assemble an Atomic Bomb, 2024 on Island

Let's see if the title gets flagged by the bots. This was the "shadow album" released alongside the 20th anniversary edition of How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb and features songs from the sessions for that album. Basically any U2 vinyl I don't already have (or don't need an upgrade copy) is on my wantlist,...

Mazzy Star, She Hangs Brightly, 1990 on Capitol

Debut album from Mazzy Star, fronted by Hope Sandoval and founded by David Roback (originally as Opal before changing singers). If you only know them from "Fade Into You" (which is a fantastic song, of course) it is worth going back to this debut album (as well as their third LP Among My Swan). This...

JD McPherson, The Warm Covers LP, 2023 on New West Records

McPherson toured with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on the Raise the Roof tour (we saw them in Boston). Great roots rock / Americana from New West Records. As the name suggests this is a covers album, the material on which was originally released on two EPs: one in 2014 (The Warm Covers EP) on...

Adele, 25, 2015 on Columbia / XL Recordings

The inescapable Adele's third studio album (in between 21 and 25 she put out a Live at Royal Albert Hall album) named like the previous for her age at time of writing & recording. This was the one that starts with "Hello"—if I were an album reviewer my review might have been "Adele had me...

Various Artists, The Harder They Come, 1972 on Mango

This was the soundtrack to a film of the same name, released in the UK in 1972 and in the US in 1973. Although Jimmy Cliff's name is above the title, and he has six of the twelve tracks (though 2 have double versions on the LP_, there's also two Maytals tracks and one Desmond...

Bonnie Raitt, Nick of Time, 1989 on Capitol

Although this was Bonnie Raitt's big commercial breakthrough—and maybe where I first heard her?—it was actually her tenth studio album. (Later I'd find her back catalogue which has much to recommend in it). It was also her first on Capitol, having been dropped by Warner Bros. It was produced by Don Was (future Blue Note...