CDs and Downloads by Michael Buffalo Smith
Bruce Springsteen continues to amaze and as- tound with the release of High Hopes (Colum- bia), a new stu- dio album that came as a bit of a surprise to fans and pretty much everyone else. Appar- ently, The Boss had a lot of in- complete songs
that he felt the need to finish writing, as well as a handful that had appeared on record live but had never been given their due studio renditions. Songs like the powerful “American Skin (41 Shots.)” Of course the album is brim- ming with contributions from Bruce’s new best friend, Rage Against The Machine gui- tarist Tom Morello, who has actually filled in for Steve Van Zandt on some tour dates. Morello has his own, rather heavy style, and while everything in my gut tells me the pair- ing shouldn’t work, it does work. It works very well. The two duet on a rocked up re- make of Springsteen’s “Ghost of Tom Joad,” and Morello burns up the fret board on the album’s title track opener, as well as “Just Like Fire Would” and others. It’s a power soaked, seriously good album. Highly recom- mended.... The Duane Allman Skydog An- thology boxed set, previously released in a limited edition collectors set, has been reis-
sued by Rounder Records. Of course, it doesn’t include the cool collector’s swag that came with the original, and it shouldn’t. The fans who shelled out the bucks for a collec- tor’s item deserve to have a true collector’s item. That being said, the reissue is a beauti- ful piece in and of itself, and includes the original history and liner notes book (quite nice) and most importantly, all of the music. All seven discs worth. `Duane’s daughter Gal- adrielle really did an outstanding job. A sheer joy…Layla Zoe is simply one of my favorite blues singers, and her new album The Lily (Cable Car) is yet another standout release. For this one, the Canadian blues queen headed to Germany to work with Henrik Freischlader, an uber-talented human being who not only produced the album, but also played almost all of the instruments on it. From the outset of the acapella gospel of “Glory, Hallelujah” that opens the set, Layla’s unmistakable gritty voice soars to heights un- dreamed of by many singers. And let’s not forget that Zoe is also an amazing lyricist. Her words speak volumes, and the musical back- ing provided by Freischlader is the icing on the proverbial cake. “Father,” one of the album’s true standout tracks is a perfect ex- ample of Zoe’s writing capability. While the entire set is a step above greatness, the nearly ten-minute title track “The Lily” packs a punch Ali would be impressed with. Sure it’s a song about death, and yes, it will bring tears to your eyes more than likely. But isn’t that what all great music does? It moves us. Con- sider me moved... The Rolling Stones Beg- gars Banquet (Abkco) has been given a new life in a 45th Anniversary vinyl edition. The classic from 1968 was the band’s last with founding member Brian Jones, and features the classics “Sympathy for the Devil,” and
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