New Music Reviews - 11/22/2011 - Michael Jackson, Calexico, and Kate Bush

Calexico Selections from Road Atlas 1998-2011 - The indie rock/alternative country band from Tuscon, Arizona releases a selection of songs previously only available from albums sold at their live concerts.  The songs from this disc are culled from a set of twelve vinyl albums titled Road Atlas that collects the tour-only CDs you could only previously get when the band performed live. Most of the tracks are from studio recordings although there are a couple of songs recorded live as well. 

I'm not the biggest expert on Calexico's past albums, but from what I can determine there's only one track ("Crystal Frontier") that was previously included on a past album and the version on this release is the so-called 'original version.'  Most of the tracks are tinged with a country music slant which shouldn't be a surprise to people that have listened to the band before although there are a handful of tracks that feature a funkier side of the band than I've heard previously, at least on this consistent a basis over a single album.

Overall, there are sixteen tracks in total on the disc with about a half dozen of the tracks being purely instrumental.  It's a well diverse selection of songs from the band that covers the different moods they typically display on an album with folk pop vocals commonly mixing with country music influenced melodies.  This disc makes for a worthy introduction to the band to the uninitiated and is solid pickup for longer term fans that probably didn't purchase all twelve discs that were only available at the live shows. 

Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "All the Pretty Horses" [sample it below], "Lost in Space" and "Crystal Frontier (Original version)"

Michael Jackson Immortal - This is the second release to posthumously bear the King of Pop's name since his untimely death.  How is it he's become more prolific at releasing albums since he passed away than he was in the last decade of his life?  Ah, good ol' corporate greed.  This is actually an album of remixed and recombined songs to accompany the new Cirque de Soleil show about the beloved gloved one.  The songs were redesigned by producer Kevin Antunes (Justin Timberlake, Rihanna) although there seems to be less remixing on this album than you can find on Cirque de Soleil's previous albums' of tribute shows on the Beatles and on Elvis.  Most of the remixes/reworkings are above average although there are a few like the "Beat It/State of Shock" reworking that fails on multiple levels.  Overall, Immortal makes for a decent remixed Best of album for the King of Pop although there's not enough in terms of new sounds or new songs to entice longtime fans to purchase this release unless they want a memento to accompany seeing the show. 

Score: 6/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Man in the Mirror (Immortal version)" and "Can You Feel It/Don't Stop Til You Get Enough (Immortal Megamix)" [sample it below]

Kate Bush 50 Words For Snow - The prolific British chanteuse of "Running Up That Hill" releases her second album this year and tenth studio album overall.  This is also her second album to be released on her self-created label, Fish People.  There are only seven tracks total on this album lasting over 60-minutes so the tracks run on the lengthy side.  It's an extremely somber and mellow disc from Bush with the tracks exhibiting lengthy, morose piano refrains and somber vocal tracks.  Not that one would expect up tempo songs on a concept album about walking in the snow but there's about as much life to be found on this album as can be found during a blizzard on the Alaskan plains in the middle of January.  Even normally buoyant guests vocalists like Elton John and Stephen Fry fail to bring any to life the album.  It's an extremely somnambulistic disc that I couldn't get into at all that had me wanting to take a nap about two or three tracks in.  One of the most disappointing releases of the year to date.

Score: 2/10
Song(s) to Sample: none