When Thanksgiving is over, the tryptophan is about to give you the best dreams. Let these exclusives be the splendor of your dreams. Just like the spirits that visit you as you slumber peacefully, they emerge from both familiar and unknown sites. Yet, they all speak the same language: the 12 notes between A and G.
THE HEAVY HITTERS
OLIVIA RODRIGO - Guts: Spilled [2LP] (Republic) // In a sleek purple package, Olivia Rodrigo gives the entire song series that comprises her six-Grammy nominated sophomore album. "Obsessed" was co-written by St. Vincent, and "So American" is only included on this album.
BILLIE EILISH - Hit Me Hard and Soft (Isolated Vocals) [LP] (Darkroom/Interscope) // With her album still lodged in the Top 10 and a worldwide tour wowing audiences, Billie Eilish offers a rare glimpse beneath the dense layers of production that she and FINNEAS employed on her most mature and danceable album yet. Just like its inverted album cover, listening to Billie's multiple vocal tracks on their own is like enjoying one of the best records of 2024 — inside out.
NOAH KAHAN - Town Hall (Stick Season Collaborations) [TIGERS EYE LP] (Republic) // Grammy-nominated for Best New Artist, Noah Kahan's "Stick Season" is the gift that keeps giving. "Town Hall" separates all the duets from his deluxe triple-LP version. Now you can own hit duets from Kahan with Post Malone ("Dial Drunk") and Hozier ("Northern Exposures") as well as songs from Sam Fender, Brandi Carlile, Gracie Abrams and ...
KACEY MUSGRAVES - Deeper Into the Well [GREEN 2LP] (MCA Nashville) // It has been quite the trip since 2018's ebullient "Golden Hour" changed Kacey Musgraves' fortunes and life. Six years later, the lessons learned from relationships and personal growth took precedence on 2024's stunner "Deeper Well." While it was not a "country" album (the gatekeepers shut her out), its streamlined folk/pop produced a pair of her best songs yet in "The Architect" and the Top 10 AAA hit "Cardinal." "Deeper Into the Well" adds seven cuts that did not make the album and a 20-minute "woodland" experience.
THE BEATLES - "I Want To Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There" [7"] (Capitol) // To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Beatles conquest (and the US mono reissues), their breakthrough 1964 single is being repressed in its original form with its original cover. Let Beatlemania return!
GRATEFUL DEAD - Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5.5.77 [4LP BOX] (Rhino) // The troubled mid-'70s run of the Dead in studios may have failed to yield their long-sought breakthrough to AOR/rock radio. However, their success with touring and the growing mass of Deadheads flocking to live shows starting in 1977 would make their career. Just two days before the historic Cornell show, the Dead sprinted through their favorites including what is often touted as the best live version ever of "Peggy-O." Also look out for live albums from The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, The Allman Brothers Band and Jerry Garcia Band.
MF DOOM - Operation: Doomsday [GOLD 2LP/LONGBOX CD/2CS] (Rhymesayers) // Perhaps the greatest modern rapper, MF DOOM has enjoyed a renaissance since his passing in 2020. (More on that in S. H. Fernando's new biography). His groundbreaking style of multiple internal rhymes, wrapping verses around each other, and production that was glued together by cartoon/anime samples was far ahead of its time. 25 years later, "Operation: Doomsday" is back in this special pressing across all three formats.
YES - Fragile Outtakes [LP] (Atlantic) // The beginning of Yes was a revolving door of great musicians. As the band pounds its way through select covers and begins to write originals (as a group), singular voices start to appear. The key additions took place in 1971. The finesse of Steve Howe replaces guitarist Peter Banks. After refusing to play electronic keyboards, Tony Kaye is shown the door in favor of session man Rick Wakeman (David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and Cat Stevens' "Morning Has Broken"). For their most ambitious song cycle yet, Wakeman's flavor leads to the bare-bones versions of "Roundabout" and "Heart of the Sunrise" emerging on day one. With these early versions and outtakes, you can actually hear how Yes' writing takes shape around their giving (and taking) freedom. Five members in a musical democracy.
DJO - Decide [LTD PIC DISC] (DJO/The Orchard) // Outside of his acting gigs on "Stranger Things" and "Fargo," Joe Keery exercises his fascination for '80s power/synth pop as Djo (pron. "Joe.") After his track "End of Beginning" rode a wave of TikTok success to chart success, "Decide" reappears in this very limited (only 2000 made) edition with two bonus tracks.
WHITNEY HOUSTON - "Love Is"/Live in South Africa [LP] (Legacy) // "The Voice" continues to transcend generations despite her small catalog (seven studio albums from 1985-2009). This newly discovered track is paired with four songs from a 1994 show in South Africa. The performance made history as Houston was the first major artist to play after the election of Nelson Mandela as President.
DARK HORSES & CRITICAL FAVES
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: THE MOVIE [YELLOW LP] (Legacy) // Never before released on wax, the "Spongebob" movie soundtrack is a veritable feast of early 2000s indie pop. The Flaming Lips and even Prince Paul proved themselves to be game to make their music more accessible for children. James Mercer and The Shins temper their clever guitar pop for high harmonies, and surprisingly Ween delivers a track that is a future classic for them in "Ocean Man." Outside of the boundary-stretching (for its time) Electroclash of Electrocute (the very B-52's "Bikini Bottom"), and the slightly menacing Motörhead, Wilco continues to be the biggest winner with the glowing, almost punk-y punch of "Just a Kid."
Various Artists - THE SOUL AND SONGS OF YOUNG CURTIS MAYFIELD [2LP] (Craft Recordings) // As one of The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield was responsible for writing and producing their hits (1961's "Gypsy Woman") as well as solo smashes for fellow Impression Jerry "The Ice Man" Butler ("He Will Break Your Heart") and more. His Chicago years as producer/songwriter/arranger are chronicled here with rare Impressions singles from the early '60s, as well as works with Butler, Gene Chandler and Greenwood-born Betty Everett.
THE CARL STALLING PROJECT [RED/BLUE 2LP] (Sire/London/Rhino) // Warner Brothers' famous Merrie Melodies were the original MTV music videos. Plots, characters and a story were all used to align your attention with the latest songs that Warner Publishing was ready to place in parlors nationwide. In the hands of the skillful arranger Carl Stalling, many of these cues, themes and pieces you hear are more animated than the film they were paired with. His composition gets us through the Great Depression (with a wonderfully balanced mixture of themes reflecting a life being lived without so many necessities and a life still worth savoring — especially in the cinema dreamworld) into the post-war industrial '50s. As the album escalates in quality, it also feels more like progress and the triumph of industry. In hindsight, cartoons were that. In Stalling's golden age, the cartoons no longer needed to sell a new song or artist — they were overwhelming entertainment that made the Looney Tunes characters iconic.
JAZZ SABBATH - The 1968 Tapes [CLEAR LP w/CD] (Blacklake) // One of the most successful "surprise" albums from RSD/RSDBF was this solo piano/jazz version of the songs of Black Sabbath. A trio led by Milton Keynes (aka Adam Wakeman, touring member of the later years of Sabbath) tackles their greatest hits including "Electric Funeral" and "War Pigs." While this feels different as the third album reveals them to be a group, any version of Sabbath is welcome and appropriate for Black Friday. Other more METAL releases include Sunn O))), Asking Alexandria, Lacuna Coil, Lamb of God, Wolves In The Throne Room and more.
EMILY REMLER - Live at the 4 Queens (1985-1988) [3LP] (Resonance) // Jazz guitarist Emily Remler was Jersey-born and Berklee-educated before she found her way down to New Orleans to perfect her Wes Montgomery-style guitar work. In 1985, Remler was awarded Downbeat's Guitarist of the Year and played shows in Las Vegas. Sadly, her recording career slowed down and she died of heart failure in 1990. For the first time in 34 years, you hear how hard Remler could swing. These live shows unearthed by Jazz Detective Zev Feldman paint a vivid picture of her natural talent and control of her sound. With very few effects (and a deeper sound than most), Remler erupts on her guitar like George Benson ("Cisco") before cooling down. Unlike other Jazz musicians in the '80s, Remler stays close to tradition making certain that her versions of Tadd Dameron, Miles and Coltrane — above all — swing. Black Friday has a host of fantastic jazz releases in store for you including Bill Evans, Charles Tolliver, Sun Ra, Sahib Shihab, Cecil Taylor and more.
B.B.KING - In France: Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival [2LP] (Resonance) // Another prize from the Jazz Detective Zev Feldman is Itta Bena's legendary B.B. King, caught live in the mid-'70s at a festival. While the blues may have been swept away by disco and soul in America, it (along with jazz) flourished overseas. King and his seven-piece band get to stretch out on versions of favorites like "Sweet Black Angel" and the cover of "It's Only a Matter of Time." Center stage with Lucille by his side, King is at the peak of his vocal power. Then when he brings his beloved guitar up to "sing" — she always delivers. There are also excellent classic blues releases on the way from Charley Patton, John Lee Hooker and more.
AND FINALLY SEVERAL NEW-ISH ONES
CHARLEY CROCKETT - Visions of Dallas [LP/CD] (Son of Davy/Thirty Tigers/The Orchard) // For his second album of the year, Crockett's "sequel" to the Grammy-nominated "$10 Cowboy" may not be as musically vast as its predecessor — but it does show him stretching his writing. This is his most Townes-ian tour yet with the riveting "Killers of The Flower Moon," the odd attraction of "Avoiding Mirrors," and a pair of well-chosen obscurities in "Trouble & Misery" (from Hoyt Axton) and "Crystal Chandeliers and Burgundy" (from Jack Routh).
HANSEROTH TWINS - Vera [BLUE LP/CD] (Low Country Sound/Elektra) // Best known as backing members of Brandi Carlile's band, Phil and Tim have more in common with Paul and Art ("If Everyone Had Someone Like You"), and Phil and Don ("Remember Me"). While they do use broader instrumentation, their sibling harmony is much more effective on its own with their guitars.
SEAROWS - Flush [PURPLE LP] (Lroe/Believe) // There is power in Alec Duckart's wisp of a voice. Like Sam Beam or even Elliott Smith, Searows' songs are constructed to reveal their fragility and be "warmed" by other instrumentation or harmony as they progress ("End of the World" from last year). On his first EP, the Kentucky native lights up the sadness of his writing with quaint piano figures ("To Be Seen" almost quotes the closing melody of "Martingale," indicating continuity) and a potential Bright Eyes-style quiver/stomp ("Toothache").
and REISSUES TOO?
TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS - The Gennaro Tapes: Live in Edinburgh 1982 [BLUE 3LP] (Third Man) // As if the recent additions to the double vinyl version of the underrated "Long After Dark" simply were not enough ("Keeping Me Alive"), we should have known that a live album was waiting in the wings. Beloved soundman Gennaro Rippo apparently rolled tape on them one hot night in Scotland. The recording snippets sound very raw (so far), but that only means the Heartbreakers in a club setting will be rich with upfront guitar, close harmonies with new member Howie Epstein, and lots of additions from the keyboard genius Benmont Tench.
Various - DAVID HEPWORTH'S MORE DEEP 70s [2LP/4CD BOX] (Edsel/Demon) // When Hepworth's book, "Never A Dull Moment: 1971 - The Year That Rock Exploded" became a fantastic music series for Apple, his excursion into lacing up all of the great singles the '70s had to offer yielded one of the best compilations of 2022 (Sanford Townsend Band, Bobby Charles, Andy Pratt and Mississippi-raised Jesse Winchester cuts are still in rotation). Its sequel goes even further to draw the best music together in the tradition of classic Top 40/AOR radio. Hepworth stretches the boundaries with live Elvis Costello, the Hollies covering Springsteen, and underrated and forgotten geniuses like John Martyn, Mink DeVille and Terry Allen. Why there is even a cut from...
SPARKS - Kimono My House/Propaganda [COLOR and PIC DISC LP] (Island) // The word of the day is iniquitous. It remains grossly unfair that Los Angeles' masterful Mael brothers had to move overseas to find (and maintain) success. After a childhood of the thrill in Hollywood (read "Talent is an Asset" by Daryl Easlea), all of their musical loves converged in Sparks. They were the L.A. scene between the country/rock/psychedelic peak in the '60s and the glam-rock-to-punk-back-to-glam-as-hair-metal shift. Russell's operatics illuminated an artful pop that changed as they did. Poor sales in the US moved them to London to pursue a cult following. The gamble paid off handsomely. "Kimono My House" blended complex pop melodies with almost kitschy lyrics whose subtext could travel back overseas ("This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both of Us" hit #2 in the UK; the jaunty "Amateur Hour" and "Thank God It's Not Christmas" remain favorites.) "Kimono" opened a lot of doors for their return to America, especially given the ongoing early '70s haze of glam rock. However, the Maels had more art on the brain than commerce in making the brilliant "Propaganda" in 1975. Borrowing from Gilbert & Sullivan ("Reinforcements") and introducing satire ("Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth"), Sparks scored a few major TV showings (one introduced by Keith Moon and a sneaky Ringo Starr) but no hits. Muff Winwood's production on both albums looks far ahead to the crystalline late '70s sound that will thrill audiophiles (ahem Dire Straits in 1978). I will always maintain that Russell's soaring soprano came slightly ahead of the operatics of Freddie Mercury, who is also tremendously admired.
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Mik Davis is the record store manager at T-Bones Records & Cafe in Hattiesburg.
