Album Review: St. Paul & the Broken Bones- Half the City

At the advent of the CD revolution I set out to build a comprehensive library of classic soul.  Each week I'd diligently purchase a title by the likes of Percy Sledge, Al Green, James Carr and Joe Tex. I scrimped and saved to acquire pricey box sets compiling the works of James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Stax Records.

I also made seeing the giants a top priority.  I took in multiple performances by the likes of Charles Brown, Solomon Burke, Bobby Bland, Etta James, Isaac Hayes, Marvin Sease, Ike Turner and James Brown.

My obsession has a downside.  I've never managed to muster the same level of enthusiasm as my peers for soul revivalists like Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.  A lot of these new acts are undeniably great, but when Millie Jackson, Jimmy Scott, Bobby Womack, Charlie Wilson and Bobby Rush are still out there doing it, it's hard for me to get worked into a lather by expert mimics.

That said, I'm smitten by Half City, the new release by St. Paul & the Broken Bones.  The throwback approach of the Alabama-based band works largely because vocalist Paul Janeway doesn't try to be what he's not.  He's obviously obsessed with Otis Redding, but much like the late, great Eddie Hinton, he's not an embarrassing parodist. 

St. Paul & the Broken Bones merit their prestigious position in my collection between the Staple Singers and the Stylistics.


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I reviewed a concert by Slayer, Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies.

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I contributed to a feature on Dominique Sanders for KCUR's Up To Date.

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Tech N9ne's Strangeulation by the the numbers: the album topped Billboard's rap, R&B and hip-hop charts last week and landed at #5 on the Top 200.

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I hadn't realized that the Dan Conn Collection at the Marr Sound Archives existed until a link posted by There Stands the Glass reader BGO led me to the discovery.  Dan, a former co-worker, introduced me to the music of artists ranging from Red Garland to Doc Watson.

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Here's another nice video feature on Radkey.

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Anyone who likes vintage Approach and Miles Bonny will love the new video for "Chief".

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The ninth episode of the second season of the KC Cypher Series is not worth your time.

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The highlight of Dolly Parton's charming Blue Smoke is a cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right."  RIYL: Silver Dollar City, Elvis Presley, America.

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If Outkast and Kelis aren't booked in Kansas City prior to the festival, I may travel to St. Louis in September for Loufest.

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I innocently hit "play" on the Juilliard String Quartet's Elliott Carter: The Five String Quartets on a recent afternoon.  After several interruptions, I finished the epic cycle five hours later.  It's stunning. 

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From a purely sonic perspective, Michael Jackson's Xscape is an extraordinary achievement.  Tracks like "Blue Gangsta" sound as if they were recorded last month.  M.J.'s original demos are also worth a listen.

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I'm hardly a Black Keys fanboy, but I suspect Dan Auerbach's production of Nikki Lane's All or Nothin' is responsible for the album's excellence.  RIYL: Whiskeytown, something borrowed, Rosanne Cash.

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Love in da club.  Troy Ave's BSB Vol. 4 is RIYL: 50 Cent, prison, Wu-Tang Clan.

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Back On the Controls, ostensibly a new album by Lee "Scratch" Perry, baffles me.  RIYL: eternity, Mad Professor, confusion.

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Lantlôs' Melting Sun isn't quite as good as many reviews would have you believe.  RIYL: Deftones, dreaming out loud, Isis.

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Jody Stephens of Big Star is featured in a segment of "What's In My Bag."

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Joe Louis Walker is challenging Buddy Guy for the title of the most vital blues veteran of 2014 on Hornet's Nest.

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CNN aired a 15-minute documentary about Clipse.

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My cousin is in fine form on Virtuoso Rossini Arias.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: The Mosh Lives Tour at Aftershock

As I stood in line outside the men's room at Aftershock on Saturday, I witnessed a group of strangers bonding over their military service.  Enlisted men with close-cropped hair swapped literal and figurative war stories with shaggy veterans.  The encounter made me proud to be a metal fan. 

I paid $20 to bang my head and push and shove the other members of the capacity audience of 450.  Emmure headlined a six-band bill that also featured Volumes, Thy Art Is Murder, Gideon, Sworn In and On The Shoulders Of Giants.

Thy Art is Murder, a gnarly Australian band, gave my favorite performance.  Violent songs like "Reign of Darkness" and "The Purest Strain of Hate" almost incited a jubilant riot.  There are worse ways to die than getting trampled in a mosh pit in Merriam, Kansas. 

Tuscaloosa's Gideon was almost as riveting.  Hearing the sweaty dudes in the mosh pit shout along to every hardcore outburst without breaking stride impressed me. 

Volumes, the Los Angeles-based band I had been most excited about seeing, was enormously disappointing.  I was surprised to find that the two vocalists were bros.  I can live with that, but their total frat move antics and the band's thin sound were unacceptable.

When you're sandwiched between Thy Art Is Murder and Emmure, that weak sh*t just doesn't cut it.  After all, "The Key To Keeping the Show Fresh Is… I'm Dead".


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My notes on Regina Carter's performance Sunday at Helzberg Hall are at Plastic Sax.

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Approach's 2013 album Make-Out With Violence is temporarily available as a free download.

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Mac Lethal meets Ellen.

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Gwar's Dave Brockie has died.

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Only Madlib's imaginative production makes Piñata, the bafflingly acclaimed album by Freddie Gibbs, bearable.  Not a fan.  RIYL: Shoutouts to TechN9ne, Jay Rock, Earl Sweatshirt cameos.

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"We Made It", a new track by Jay Z and Jay Electronica, is tone-deaf. 

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My Hank Williams collection was complete- until now.  The Garden Spot Programs, 1950 will be released in May.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original expert photography by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: M.I.A.- Matangi

I've been waiting for Matangi for most of my life.  The concept of "The Music of Tomorrow" has always fascinated me.  But now that it's finally arrived in the form of M.I.A.'s fourth album, I find myself a bit nonplussed.  Her vaguely militant "Life During Wartime"-style stance and synthesis of world pop is meant to be experienced communally.  Listening to Matangi on headphones is all wrong.  Songs like "Attention" need to be felt in a nightclub or concert hall.  Until I locate a willing DJ, I'll have NME's video feature on M.I.A. on repeat.


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In spite of the (deservedly) negative tone of my review, I actually enjoyed last night's concert featuring 2 Chainz, Tech N9ne, Juicy J, Tyga, Rocko and Kidd Kidd. 

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I reviewed Karrin Allyson's new Yuletide Hideaway album at Plastic Sax.

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Reach and Reggie B are featured on "Wrong Girl", a track on Marco Polo's star-laden PA2: The Director's Cut album.

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Here's a video for Approach's "Of a 1,000".  RIYL: 785, wordplay, grainy black-and-white film.

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Evalyn Awake's new single "Red" is RIYL: Chevelle, Trivium, Rev Theory.

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Danny Alexander's essay about attending a recent Del Lords concert is excellent.

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Hey, anyone remember Vinx?  The one-time area resident released Love Never Comes Too Late in April.  RIYL: Seal, Oleta Adams, John Legend.

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The video for Bruce Springsteen's "Dream Baby Dream" is nice.  RIYL: slow motion, Suicide, arena rock.

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The Gospel According to Sam, a compilation of homemade 1963 recordings of Mississippi bluesman Sam Langhorn, was released this week.  RIYL: John Hurt, tape hiss, Furry Lewis.

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John Legend's new album Love in the Future is excellent.  RIYL: Stevie Wonder, luxury brands, Donny Hathaway.

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Here's 17 minutes of Gary Burton and Julian Lage performing in the NPR offices. So good.

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Death Grips has released a free new album.  RIYL: end times, dub, Anonymous.

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Hearing the Biggie remix of Lorde's "Royals" sandwiched between Chris Brown and Drake on the radio makes me giddy.

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Phil, a loyal reader of There Stands the Glass, recommends the Blues Unlimited podcast.

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The video for Mick Turner's "The Bird Catcher" is messed up.  RIYL: the actress Karen Black (really!), the Dirty Three, nightmares.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Janelle Monáe- The Electric Lady

I'm among the dozens of people in my circle of acquaintances who are actively cheering for Janelle Monáe.  Professional music critics, hometown boosters and multi-generational members of the There Stands the Glass compound are among the people hoping that the Wyandotte County native becomes the Prince of the new millennium.   

Her potential is tantalizing.  Monáe was riveting both times I've seen her perform.  But her recordings haven't matched her ambition.  To be blunt, Metropolis: Suite One (The Chase) and The ArchAndroid are kind of whack.  I had hoped that with The Electric Lady, released today, Monáe would finally realize her obvious greatness.  Alas, it's not the one. 

The project seems like three different albums.  There's solid funk and R&B, trifling pop and a few eccentric oddities that advance the album's science fiction theme.

The good stuff is really good.  Prince passes the torch to Monáe on the solid "Give 'em What They Love."  And to borrow a phrase from one of my favorite music critics, the single "Q.U.E.E.N." bumps in my whip.  Monáe resembles a true funkateer on title track. The ballad "Primetime" is what I've always wanted to hear from Alicia Keys.

Several songs exude a heavy 1970s vibe.  Monáe goes hard on the old-school R&B of "Ghetto Woman."  The excellent "Victory" sounds so much like Teena Marie that I have to assume it's a deliberate tribute to the late star.  "Can't Live Without Your Love" is a delectable love song.  "Sally Ride" is the only one of three or four James Bond-inspired songs that click with me.

Then there's the failed pop experiments.  The post-Chic disco of "We Were Rock & Roll" could be a Bruno Mars outtake.  Transforming Juicy J's "Bandz a Make Her Dance" into a song of empowerment is a cool idea, but the oppressively cheery jangle of "Dance Apocalyptic" is annoying.  It's one of several tracks that seem tailored to the Fueled By Ramen audience.   The album closer "What An Experience" reminds me of a Sean Kingston ditty.

While it has plenty of convincing moments, The Electric Lady simply isn't the new Dirty Mind, Controversy or 1999.  I reserve the right to revise my opinion after I witness people reacting to the album in a public setting and after I catch Monáe's concert at the Uptown Theater in November.  Until then, I'll be the guy with "Q.U.E.E.N." on repeat.


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I reviewed Johnny Mathis' appearance at the Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Friday and Iron Maiden's show at the Sprint Center on Saturday.

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Lisa Henry's performance Thursday at Kansas City Kansas Community College impressed me.

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John "Juke" Logan has died.

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The Grisly Hand made a music video for "That's Not Affection".

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Approach's Vanilla Brass was posted to Bandcamp on September 5.  RIYL: Mac Lethal, Doomtree, AWOL One.

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Lennon Bone's new EP is titled Call It a Custom.  RIYL: Ha Ha Tonka, the Whigs, Blitzen Trapper.

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Breakfast With Doctor Gonzo, the latest release by Steddy P and DJ Mahf, was released on Tuesday.

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Here's a vlog by the Mills Record Co.

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You can't un-hear Lizzo's "Batches & Cookies".  RIYL: Lazerbeak, Lil Mama, Sister Carol. 

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Gummy Soul remixed Souls of Mischief's album 93 'til Infinity.

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Paul McCartney's "New" put a spell on me.

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ECM provides a sample of Trios, the new album from Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard and Steve Swallow.

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It took me two days to fight my way through Hesitation Marks, the new album from Nine Inch Nails.  I thought it'd never end.  The horns are cool, though.

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Sketches of Ethiopia isn't my favorite Mulatu Astatke album.  Even so, it's wonderful. RIYL: Duke Ellington, life, James Brown.

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"Hi! My name is…"

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The video for Oddarrang's "Self Portrait" makes me wonder if Explosions In the Sky-style impressionism represents the commercial salvation of jazz.

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Roberto Fonseca's Yo was released in Europe last year but wasn't issued here until August 28.  RIYL: Irakere, Gonalo Rubalcaba, Edmar Castaneda.

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Bombino's Tiny Desk Concert doesn't really work for me.

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I'm living for Fito Olivares' return to Kansas City on Sunday, September 15.

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After giving Janelle Monáe a few more tries, I'll listen to the latest releases by Ralph Alessi, Arctic Monkeys, Carla Bley, Body/Head, Ry Cooder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Samantha Fish, Steep Canyon Rangers, Bryn Terfel, Trombone Shorty, 2 Chainz, J Roddy Walston & the Business, Jimmy Webb, The Weeknd and- heaven help me- the Prog Collective.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)