B+ Various artists
Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection
Alligator
One of the great things about samplers is they offer the chance to hear a variety of talent and styles. This two-CD set, the sixth from the respected Chicago-based blues/rock label, cherrypicks 37 tunes from across the label's impressive history. It's a solid collection curated by label founder Bruce Iglauer.
Among many high points: 1973's "Cotton Pickin' Blues" by Son Seals, which was on his label debut. When hearing the intense Seal's incendiary guitar work, it's no surprise he was nicknamed "The bad axe." Shemekia Copeland, daughter of Johnny Clyde Copeland, has emerged as a powerful blues musician in her own right. An expressive, soulful singer, Shemekia Copeland's cover of her dad's "Devil's Hand" is a stunner.
Singer and pianist Marcia Ball was influenced by New Orleans greats Professor Longhair and singer Irma Thomas. "The Tattooed Lady and the Alligator Man" is a lighthearted delight. Blues queen Koko Taylor, known for "Wang Dang Doodle," shines on "Voodoo Woman." Mighty Joe Young seals the deal with some wonderful guitar work.
Other artists include Delbert McClinton, Hound Dog Taylor, Mavis Staples, Albert Collins, Roomful of Blues and The Holmes Brothers.
Hot tracks: all; nothing cold here
-- ELLIS WIDNER
B Switchfoot
Where the Light Shines Through
Vanguard
Switchfoot has switched things up.
The San Diego rockers' latest comes 19 years and 10 albums into their career, which has been built on sturdy, second-generation grunge-ish radio hits like "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move" and a string of Christian rock hits. But it feels like nothing the band has previously offered, a mix of styles and sentiments as varied as any indie-rock critics' darling.
There is a healthy dose of Prince-ly funk guitar on "Float," which singer Jon Foreman initially approaches like Trent Reznor calling for sexy destruction, before channeling a mood similar to the Bruno Mars-Red Hot Chili Peppers Super Bowl collaboration. On the anthemic title track, Foreman moves from Steven Tyler-like interjections to a Chris Martin-ish falsetto, while the band conjures up Beatlesque psychedelia.
Foreman is full-on Coldplay on the lovely "I Won't Let You Go," which even includes chiming guitar and lush string arrangements, as it builds to maximum drama.
The synthy dance pop of "If the House Burns Down Tonight" sits comfortably next to the Beck-ish funk of "Bull in a China Shop" and the Eminem-inspired "Looking for America," which features a strong verse from Lecrae. This unexpected eclecticism fits together because Switchfoot built it that way.
Hot tracks: "Float," "I Won't Let You Go," "Bull in a China Shop"
-- GLENN GAMBOA,
Newsday (TNS)
B Sean McConnell
Sean McConnell
Rounder
Sean McConnell's barely on the senior side of 30, but he's been putting out indie records since he was 15. He's also written songs covered by Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Christina Aguilera.
But his earlier material never touched down with this much force. With his new self-titled album, McConnell unleashes the kind of forward-leaning, acoustic adrenalin rush that picks you up and carries you away. He also slows things down long enough to mix in the occasional gorgeous ballad, but he makes that sound effortless too.
From the vividly autobiographical "Queen of Saint Mary's Choir" to the wistful nostalgia of "Ghost Town," McConnell writes and sings with the polish of a much older soul. On an album with no false notes, he brings can't-be-denied talent to a song cycle built around "sacred moments."
"You held up your hands in the shape of a camera," he sings on "Holy Days," a pulsating psalm to holding back time. "Took a snap shot so you'd always remember the world we knew before it faded away into love's holy days."
But if McConnell is thinking about moments from the past, he's also creating new ones -- and sending a loud signal that he doesn't need others to sing his songs for him anymore.
Hot tracks: "Queen of Saint Mary's Choir," "Holy Days"
-- SCOTT STROUD,
The Associated Press
C+ The Avalanches
Wildflower
Astralwerks
Like Terrence Malick or Guns N' Roses, The Avalanches went away for what seemed like forever, and now their new work faces the challenge of living up to impossible expectations.
Sixteen years ago, the sample-mad Australian production crew released Since I Left You, a plunderphonics masterpiece that built on hundreds of snippets of found sound. It has grown in cult stature as the years have passed, and absence has made the ears grow fonder.
Now, the Down Under mixmasters are finally back -- sample-clearance delays and founding member Robbie Chater's struggles with autoimmune disease were causes of the delay -- and their freewheeling aesthetic is still in place. With contributions from a carefully curated collaborators list that includes Toro Y Moi, Camp Lo, Father John Misty, Jennifer Herrema and, on the more grating than ingratiating "Frankie Sinatra," rappers MF Doom and Danny Brown, there's no shortage of fun to be had.
But at this late date in the digital era, The Avalanches' cut-and-paste technique comes off as more dependably entertaining than musically revelatory. Not nearly as mind-blowing the second time around.
Hot track: "The Noisy Eater," which takes Biz Markie's tale of getting a bowl of Cap'n Crunch and pairs it with a choir of kids singing The Beatles' "Come Together"
-- DAN DELUCA,
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Style on 07/19/2016