August Recap

Top Five Performances
1. Lauryn Hill- Kauffman Stadium
My review.
2. Jupiter & Okwess- 1900 Building
My Instagram clip.
3. Mary J. Blige- Starlight Theatre
My review.
4. Brian Scarborough Quintet- RecordBar
My review.
5. Zakk Sabbath- Midland theater
My Instagram clip.

Top Five Albums
1. Raphael Saadiq- Jimmy Lee
Soul exorcism.
2. P.P. Arnold- The New Adventures of…
My review.
3. Shannon Lay- August
My review.
4. Brockhampton- Ginger
Pray right.
5. Merlin- The Mortal
Dark magic.

Top Five Songs
1. Mike and the Moonpies- “Cheap Silver”
That high and lonesome sound.
2. Rapsody featuring D’Angelo and GZA- “Ibtihaj”
Trying to catch a wave.
3. Pusha T featuring Kash Doll- “Sociopath”
Charcuteries.
4. Channel Tres- “Raw Power”
As in Iggy.
5. PJ Morton featuring Jazmine Sullivan- “Built For Love”
An homage to Donny and Roberta.

I conducted the same exercise in July, June, May, April, March, February and January.

(Original image of Jupiter & Okwess by There Stands the Glass.)

B.B. Luvs P.P.

What in the wild, wild imagination of Phil Spector is going on?  The unaccountably exceptional new album by P.P. Arnold- yes, that P.P. Arnold- is one of the most intensely pleasurable albums I’ve heard in ages.  Although I was familiar with the 72-year-old’s affiliation with the Rolling Stones and the Small Faces, I hadn’t heard an Arnold song in years.  The New Adventures of… should be nothing more than a nostalgic curiosity.  Yet every song hits home.  Most tracks, including the opening selection “Baby Blue”, are soulful love letters to a simpler time.  But there’s also funky disco, ornate pop and an absolutely bonkers rendering of Bob Dylan’s “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie.”  As Bob and P.P. put it, “that's what you need man, and you need it bad.”


---
I reviewed Lauryn Hill’s concert at Kauffman Stadium for The Kansas City Star.

---
I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

---
I address the inherent challenge of honoring the past while embracing the present at Plastic Sax.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)