Album Review: Mercury Rev- Bobbie Gentry’s ‘The Delta Sweete’ Revisited

Even though it’s precisely the type of album my dad would have imposed on me when I was a kid, I’d never heard Bobbie Gentry’s 1968 song cycle The Delta Sweete until this week.  It’s absolutely bonkers!  Bobbie Gentry’s ‘The Delta Sweete’ Revisited, Mercury Rev’s exquisite interpretation of the album, is far less loopy.  Yet even as the guest vocalists including Beth Orton, Hope Sandoval, Phoebe Bridgers, Norah Jones and Lucinda Williams attempt to ratchet back the weirdness, their languid contributions are still wondrously eerie.  These creepy bedtime lullabies are the stuff of lurid Southern gothic nightmares.


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Peter Tork of the Monkees has died.

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The soul artist Jackie Shane has died.

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Kofi Burbridge, a longtime associate of Derek Trucks, has died.

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Yuck!  The circa-1985 mainstream rock production on Gary Clark Jr.’s This Land is a dealbreaker.  The bluesman’s new songs sound as if they’re intended to played alongside the Firm’s “Radioactive” and Eric Clapton’s “Forever Man.”  RIYL: corporate rock, Foreigner, groupthink.

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I don’t intend to listen to Angel Bat David’s The Oracle again, but I admire every aspect of her lo-fi sound collage.  RIYL: truth, International Anthem, Tape Op magazine.

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I expected Chris Potter’s Circuits to be a contender for my album of the year.  Boy, am I ever disappointed.  At first blush, the saxophonist’s collaboration with keyboardist James Francies, bassist Linley Marthe and drummer Eric Harland seems substantially less than the sum of its formidable parts.

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If I were king of the world, I’d mandate that the four best selections on Alicia Olatuja’s lovely Intuition: Songs from the Minds of Women dominate the pop charts for the remainder of the year.  RIYL: Kandace Springs, tastefulness, Lizz Wright.

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Cochemea Gastelum’s All My Relations is a righteous jam.  RIYL: Kamasi Washington, motion, Herbie Mann.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Céu- Tropix

Summer has arrived.  I first felt the supremely relaxed sensation that I associate with the combination of sunburn, sangria and a refreshing evening breeze when I encountered ”Perfume do Invisível”, the opening track of Céu's Tropix.  She mixes campy lounge music with contemporary electronic grooves on the intoxicating new album.  Tropix sounds as if Seu Jorge, Beck and Elis Regina passed out on inflatable rafts in the same Brazilian swimming pool.


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I reviewed Matt Otto’s Soliloquy for KCUR.  There’s a corresponding audio feature at the link that doubles as a case study in Asperger syndrome.

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I wrote an extended preview of Gary Clark Jr.’s concert at the Uptown Theater.

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My review of a concert by Pablo Ziegler’s Quartet for New Tango is posted at Plastic Sax.

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Gato Barbieri has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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For the Imperfect, For The Dilligent, the latest effort from the Kansas City duo BLKFLANL, is RIYL: J Dilla, backpacks, Madlib.

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Have I no shame?  I’m horrified by my affection for Babymetal’s Metal Resistance.  Here’s ”Karate”.

(Original image of Concón by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Leon Russell- Life Journey

A handful of late-career documents by great artists including Charlie Rich's Pictures and Paintings, Solomon Burke's Don't Give Up On Me, Chet Baker's Let's Get Lost and Johnny Cash's American Recordings are among my favorite albums.  Leon Russell seems to have had those recordings on his mind during the sessions for his new Life Journey.  There's no thrill of the new in hearing Russell groan through "Georgia," "That Lucky Old Sun" and "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good," but the tracks seem definitive.  Life Journey is the Russell album that is likely to stay in my rotation for the remainder of my life.

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Welcome to the roots edition of There Stands the Glass.  It's against my instincts to segregate genres, but I feel as if I've been neglecting folk, blues and country at this site.  It's time to make amends.

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The Kansas City Star published a nice remembrance of the late accordionist Don Lipovac.

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Rodney Crowell is in top form on Tarpaper Sky.  RIYL: Townes Van Zandt, giants among us, Johnny Cash.

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The highlight of Carlene Carter's decent Carter Girl is a duet with Willie Nelson on "Troublesome Waters."  The album is RIYL: Patty Loveless, the way things used to be, Rodney Crowell.

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It's shocking to hear Eli Paperboy Reed mimicking the pop sound of Bruno Mars on Nights Like This.  I can't decide if it's the most disappointing album of the year or a daring change of direction.  RIYL: Justin Timberlake, bad advice, Jersey Boys.

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Robert Cray's In My Soul is exceptionally solid.  RIYL: Junior Parker, consistency, Lowell Fulson.

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9 Dead Alive, the album by Rodrigo y Gabriela, is extraordinarily quiet.  RIYL: the late Paco de Lucia, NPR, Andres Segovia.

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The sound quality of Chuck E. Weiss' Red Beans & Weiss is atrocious.  And that's just one reason to love it.  RIYL: Hollywood Fats, real deal hipsters, Jimmy Reed.

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Bobby Rush's Decisions is a mixed bag.  Here's a high-quality video for "Another Murder in New Orleans".

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The title of Keb' Mo's Bluesamericana says it all.  RIYL: pandering, James Taylor, pablum.

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The Asylum Street Spankers are just as delightful as ever on The Last Laugh.  RIYL: hootenannies, 8 1/2 Souvenirs, the old Austin.

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Blues man Gary Clark Jr.'s Blak and Blu features contributions from Bilal, Big K.R.I.T., Robert Glasper and Talib Kweli.

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Jeff Black's Folklore is a fine collection of honest songs about subjects that are often extremely difficult.  RIYL: Guy Clark, sincerity, Greg Brown.

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Country star Dierks Bentley splits the difference between bluegrass and pap on Riser.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Brendan Kinsella at Grant Hall

After playing a rendition of Frederic Rzewiski's thorny "The People United Will Never Be Defeated" that lasted for exactly one hour, Brendan Kinsella returned for an encore at Grant Hall on Monday.

"One more time," he joked.

I laughed along with the rest of the audience of about 50.  Funny thing, though- I would have stuck around for another 60 minutes to hear it again.  Kinsella's piano recital was a test of endurance.  And I won.

Kinsella sold me on Rzewiski's political statement, a work I'd never heard.  He also played an additional set of variations by Bach and Justin Writer.


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I reviewed Wednesday's Kings of Leon and Gary Clark, Jr. concert.

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My thoughts on the first volume of Stanley Crouch's biography of Charlie Parker are published at Plastic Sax.

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Charles Love of the Kansas City band Bloodstone has died.  Our paths crossed several times.  He was an old-school gentleman.  Here's a video montage that focuses on his final years.  And I'm still astounded that Bloodstone starred in the film Train Ride To Hollywood.

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Korn is the headliner of the 2014 edition of Rockfest.

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The latest episode of the KC Cypher series gets off to a rough start.  It doesn't get much better.  KD is the best of a sorry bunch.

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Shy Boys released a video for "And I Am Nervous".

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Former Kansas City resident Steve Cardenas is doing really interesting things as a member of Ben Allison's band.  RIYL: Jim Hall, the new thing, John Abercrombie.

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Teddy Dibble has a lot going on online.  Start here, here or here.   (Tip via There Stands the Glass reader Phil.)

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Phil also turned me on to Harold Ousley's obviously seminal "Uncle Funky" from the 1972 album Sweet Double Hipness.

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Well, this is embarrassing.  I'm smitten by Rick Ross' patently offensive new album Mastermind.  The fact that his relentless boasting, sexism and homophobia don't become tiresome makes me question my self esteem.  "Sanctified" features Big Sean, Kanye West and Betty Wright.

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I feel as if I'm the only fan of contemporary hip-hop who's not down with Schoolboy Q.  At its best, the new album Oxymoron resembles a poor man's version of Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city.  At its worst, it sounds like an anemic Odd Future spinoff.  Here's "Break the Bank".

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Kris Bowers' Heroes + Misfits is the kind of album I dream about.  RIYL: Esperanza Spalding, the ideal balance of jazz and R&B, José James.

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"You wanna see a dead body?"  I championed Pusha T's "Numbers On the Boards" last year.  I still love the song, but "Nosetalgia", Pusha T's collaboration with Kendrick Lamar, may be the single best track released in 2013.

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Here's a bracing new rendition of Cursive's "A Gentleman Caller".

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Regina Carter's impeccable Southern Comfort is RIYL: Mark O'Connor, NPR bumper music, Bela Fleck.

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Ume realizes its potential on Monuments.  RIYL: Deafheaven, metallic shards, Joy Formidable.

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The way the lineup of the Big Blues Bender festival is listed reveals just how far the fortunes of a few former stars of the genre have fallen.

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I've publicly denounced modern blues in this space, so my endorsement of Damon Fowler's Sounds of Home  may send shock waves through the There Stands the Glass community.  RIYL: Dickey Betts, alcohol, Little Feat.

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Shirazette Tinnin's Humility: Purity of My Soul is a mixed bag for fans of adventurous R&B-inflected jazz.  Her drumming is great, but the occasionally wacky vocals are a deal-breaker.  RIYL: Tia Fuller, the new freshness, Stevie Wonder.

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Holy Out to Lunch!  Matt Bauder's Nightshades is very nice.  RIYL: Eric Dolphy, 1966 rebooted, Joe Henderson.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)