If you know me, you know I have a love for all things Steely Dan. From that follows a lesser, but pronounced obsession for al things Walter Becker and Donald Fegan. The Nightfly is on my list of all-time favorite albums as well as any pre-reunion Steely Dan album.

After the initial demise of Steely Dan, Donald Fegan continued to make music. The Nightfly definitely had a Gaucho feel to it as well as lesser, but good follow-on albums. Walter Becker also made an album early on called Eleven Tracks of Whack. that made me remember that he was the angrier element of Steely Dan. Quite a nice album way back when that did get some play. Then Walter fell off the musical earth as a solo artist. He owes us nothing, so I don’t begrudge him not being right there with Fegan.

After many years appears Circus Money very much in the same spirit as Eleven Tracks of Whack. Definitely elements of Steely Day and definitely a Walter Becker album. Nothing I’ve listened two on the album belies its origin in Walter Becker’s mind. If you are a Steely Dan completist, you need to have this. If you’re not, I’m not so sure. Yep, it’s a great pop/rock album, but it has elements of Michael McDonald in there. You know, great artist from time gone by that drinks from the adult contemporary fountain of youth. Nothing here is as obvious as that - just a hint of production quality that makes me leery.

Writing this late on a Sunday evening, listening to Circus Money, maybe I’m being too critical and maybe it’s me that’s gone soft and overcompensating. Circus Money is brilliantly produced and recorded as one would expect. If you like Eleven Tracks of Whack it will not surprise you to know that you’ll also like Circus Money. If you’re a classic Steely Dan fan or more of a Donald Fegan fan, maybe not so much.

Wow. I don’t run across and album often where every song gets either four or five stars. Spark Large by Marching Band is one such album. I put a quick review on eMusic that call this a nearly perfect collection of hipster anthems. Lots of syncopation and big chords in a classic chamber pop setting. Not quite as big sounding as, say, XTC, but right there with bands like The Aluminum Group. This is one of those albums that you might not like to admit you like, but I bet you will.

For Your Love opens in as a classic large pop them with a bit of counterpoint going on among some very nice sounds. Gorgeous Behavior picks up from there with some hints of a kind of island sound. Not reggae mind you, but something akin to Jimmy Buffet in a good way.

I cannot get Make Up Artist out of my head. I’ve been singing it for at least a week. Not so much the words, but the underlying tune that works really well and epitomizes what I referred to as a hipster anthem earlier. A bit of everything going on here. The play on Make Up vs Makeup is also a nice touch.

Other reviews I’ve read seem to cite Travel in Time as the top track on Spark Large. As you might have guessed, I prefer Make Up Artist, but both get 5 stars in my book. Travel in Time takes on more of a folk-ballad feel although sticking in the pop setting. This is one song on the album whose lyrics caught me - “I’m learning how to travel in time / to make right the thing things I’ve done wrong.” Classic line keeping in perfect time with the rest of the album.

Other five star tracks are Make no Plans and I Could Never. Make no Plans follows the formula for earlier tracks nicely. However, I Could Never throws in a bit of electronica sounds. Works very nicely and contrasts with what’s going on around it in a nice way. Don’t skip the other tracks as they are at most a half step behind.

I will admit to really hating this band’s name. Don’t get me wrong, I was in plenty of marching bands, so it doesn’t have anything to do with that. It just doesn’t describe anything about the band and evokes nothing when I hear it. I’m deathly afraid that Spark Large isn’t indie enough for the indie crowd and not Britney enough for the radio crowd. Please, give me hope and prove that a brilliant pop album that is just pop music can still make it big. Buy this.

For those fans of Sufjan Stevens floating around and looking for something interesting to listen to, I give you Canopy Glow by Anathallo. Mind you, I’m telling that if you like Sufjan, there’s a solid chance that you’ll like Anathallo. I’m not telling you that Anathallo is the second coming of Sujan. There will be no second coming, so let’s just get that thought out of our heads.

Anathallo has the same acoustic sophistication of Sufjan, but it is more jangley with fewer natural sounds. I’d also throw in that time signatures and rhythmic dissonance that have a dominant role in albums like Illinoise are not present in Canopy Glow. But there is this nice feel that definitely evokes thoughts of Sufjan Stevens.

I guess I’m saying that Anathallo ain’t Sufjan, but it’s still darn nice and provides a taste of sophisticated pop that I really enjoy. Have fun with this one.

With Moonshine, Dave Douglas and friends have made a modern jazz classic in the mold of the great 70’s fusion bands of Jon McClaughlin, Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul. It is rare to hear this kind of album in today’s environment and even more rare to hear it done so well. Like the great albums of the 70’s, Moonshine is just enough outside to challenge sensibilities, but not so far outside to be unapproachable. Throw in the Hammond B-3, Fender Rhodes, and electric guitars and you have a faithful reproduction of those bygone days.

All the tracks save one got 4 or 5 iTunes stars from me, which is quite rare. Moonshine and Married Life are my favorite tracks. Although Tough makes me dig out my old Mahavishnu albums. Married Life could have come off of any of those great albums. Although Douglas is the featured soloist, this is most definitely an ensemble effort all the way around.

I mentioned Chick Corea in my comparisons for this album, but I think McClaughlin and Zawinul are better comparisons. I think the Fender Rhodes makes me think of Corea. However, the song structure and performance style definitely lean more towards the edgy sound of the Mahavishnu Orchestra with a trumpet thrown in of course.

I wonder what the traditionalists are going to do with this album. I remember the howls when Bill Frissell won Downbeat’s album of the year with Nashville, although that album definitely leaned country. Leaning electric isn’t quite as sinful I suppose. Regardless, jazz eats it’s young and although Douglas is far from young, I’m curious to see how this album is received.

With the craze surrounding Amy Winehouse, other similar artists like Erin Bode and Eleni Mandell are getting some good publicity. Sia is definitely in that group. If you enjoy Amy, I think you’ll enjoy Sia. Maybe even a bit more and you don’t have to deal with the constant personal drama. Just a quick shout out for Some People Have Real Problems. The opening track, Little Black Sandals, is one of the highlight tracks for me and is on my best-of CDs I play in the car. But, Sia doesn’t go wrong anywhere on the album. Death By Chocolate is also a fantastic song. Anyone with a song called Academia is going to get a listen from me...

Fleet Foxes was all the rage on the music blogs I read, so I decided to give them a shot. Tough to live up to all the hype. Well, virtually impossible to live up to all the hype. They do a pretty nice job of it though.

Sun It Rises starts with what sounds like gospel harmonies, quickly transitioning into an odd little Irish romp with Beach Boys harmonies mixed in. No kidding and it actually works nicely, although I’m not quite sure how.

White Winter Hymnal starts with a nice kind of 60’s kind of boy band harmonies. Something like the Righteous Brothers or the Kingston Trio. You get the picture. Ragged Wood continues along the same lines with a song that Glen Campbell might have done, but again with these rich, thick vocal harmonies with tons of reverb for good measure.

Tiger Mountain Peasant Song gets rid of the vocal harmonies and replaces them with a nice acoustic guitar, keeping the vocal style consistent. Quiet Houses follows and goes right back to the same big, slow harmonies with falsetto working above the melody.

You get the picture. The album does not vary much from its core theme, but it is excellent for what it is. The remaining songs are nice with the closing track, Oliver James, being exceptionally good.

Does Fleet Foxes live up to the hype? Pretty much and I am definitely a fan. I don’t think they are revolutionary like Broken Social Scene or Sufjan Stevens, but they are a wonderful indie band. As comes out throughout my comments, Fleet Foxes uses huge vocal harmonies and tons of reverb. They are not a twee band (at least in my mind), but do have a sugary, kind of lazy sound that pushes them in that direction.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. A brass band? Is this like John Philip Sousa stuff or what? Youngblood Brass Band is not most definitely not what I traditionally think of when I hear the term brass band. Think about the horn section of your favorite horn band, through in a tuba for good measure, hip-hop vocals and a sort of drum corps percussion section. Piss them off and you have Youngblood. No John Philip Sousa here, but I’m at a loss to explain exactly what it is and I would love to see it live.

The album opens with March and gives you the impression that you just bought a drum corps album - tight snares doing a nice intro. Then something goes haywire and hip-hop vocals appear from nowhere. Really good hop-hop vocals. Then the trumpets start screaming and a sax kicks in. Never veering far from this underlying drum line. What’s the tuba doing here? What a fantastic way to open a very eclectic album.

Nuclear Summer opens with a nice trombone solo, again with very subtle hip-hop vocals. Things are going nicely, then this kind of just barely latin things starts and goes away. Now were at a typical hip-hop line, but for some reason it really works for me. Usually I’m moving on, but this really works. Listen to the words.

Waiver is a nice romp that starts like something from a modern big-band. More on that later. Excellent song that works wonderfully and shows of some of the more subtle aspects of Youngblood. Subtle is relative by the way...

JEM starts as what could be a modern big-band chart. Mournful trumpets with additional brass layering in. Gorgeous chords here The line grows more and more sophisticated and I have visions of the Kenton Big Band or Maria Schneider. Then it ends and immediately segues into a hip-hip reel called Dead Man Stomping that again works for me. The tuba is a nice touch again.

But You Can’t Run opens in a way that causes me to wonder what the percussion section of this band looks like. It really sounds like something from a drum corps. However, there are things going on that are definitely done with a drum kit elsewhere on the album. Regardless, But You Can’t Run is just a great latin style band number.

Then there is Thanks, which takes us directly towards what you might think a brass band would be. An amazingly good brass band with a drum kit. After all of the wanderings of this album, somehow Thanks works as a closing song. Sort of a thank you for coming along for the ride.

I am suddenly a huge fan. If this is the future of spoken word music, count me in. If you’re not a fan of hip-hop (and I am definitely not) you need to check this out.

I recently downloaded Chelsea Diaries from Dead Heart Bloom based on a Pitchfork review. I wasn’t at all familiar with the group, but the eMusic sound clips revealed a nice pop group that seemed to have promise. Pretty short album with only 8 tracks, but one that I’ve grown to like very much.

I don’t know if it is intentional or not, but I can’t help think Beatles when I listen to this album. Particularly during the first song. Something about the harmonies and sound that gives me the Beatles feel. Not that creepie, ‘oh my god they’re trying to be the Beatles’ feel, but the feeling you get when it works well.

Opening track is Who Will You Love, but chorus line it comes from is ‘Who will you love when you’re gone’. Kind of changes the feel of the song right away. Wonderful track that could have easily been on Revolver. Same with the second track, Chelsea Song #2. Definitely a different feel, but still in that Beatles rock think going. Should add that they have a keyboard, even though the fab four did not, but it still has the feel.

After a couple of very nice, but nondescript tracks (that I never skip) comes the next jewel, a ballad called Someday Soon Our Time Will Come. Beautiful vocals over an acoustic guitar. Nothing more complex than that, but the vocals are gorgeous. I’d buy the entire album for this track alone.

Wish It Well continues in the same vein, staying in what I would call an alt country kind of feel. eMusic tags the entire album as Rock, but who knows what that actually means.

Bottom line is I really love this album. I don’t know how much staying power it will have in my library, but I will definitely include it on my exported playlist at work. Buy and enjoy.

What to do with Lambchop. If I had to pick a favorite band right now, Lambchop would most definitely be in the discussion. For the life of me, I have no idea how to classify them. Growling vocals, lightly thumped guitar, tinges of alt country and lounge music. Frequently quiet, never boring. Lambchop’s latest, OH (ohio), continues in the same vein as earlier albums that seem to make it onto my playlists constantly. As with many it takes a listen or two to loosen up, but it certainly sings if you make a commitment.

First track, Ohio, is a solid intro if not overly descript. It opens the album nicely in classic Lambchop for, but does not really define what follows.

Second track, Slipped, Dissolved and Loosed, take

Sharing a Gibson with Martin Luther King is a wonderful, uptempo song that’s great regardless of the offbeat title. You’ll definitely hear the alt country sensibilities here.

Please Rise is an interesting change of pace from the classic Lambchop sound. Still the same brooding vocals over barely played guitar. However, there’s some odd kind of Burt Bacharach horns working towards the middle of the song. I don’t recall horns in other Lambchop pieces, but it works very well and I definitely approve.

The next track, Popeye, is my favorite on the album. It represents the biggest departure from classic Lambchop sound, but you’d never guess that by listening to the first minutes. Three minutes in and it’s still classic ballad work. With two minutes left, this rock riff that sounds like it could have come off a Santana album takes off. Really different, but it works well.

Close Up and Personal and the final track, I Believe in You take us back where Lambchop lives and close out the album nicely. I Believe in You is the cover that you think it is and it’s wonderful. Definitely recognizable, but done the classic Lambchop style. I think Willie would definitely approve.

I never got the alt country thing with Lambchop. I get alt country and like it, but never put Lambchop in that bin in the record store. However, listening carefully reveals some country style work, particularly in the lead and rhythm guitar and the way they interplay with the bass. I’ll definitely hear those sounds again on further listen. One thing that think I’d love to hear someday is Bill Frissell on a guest spot with Lambchop. The guitar sounds would seem to be perfectly complimentary.

Bottom line is that if you like Lambchop, you will definitely like OH (ohio). If I had to rank it against my other Lambchop albums, it would come in around second or third behind No You C’mon and It will definitely remain in my standard rotation for quite awhile.

After a 2 month hiatus, I'm back. I discovered that people actually read this thing. Wow. Cool. I'll try harder to stay on top if it...

I'm listening to an album in my new albums list by Adele called 19. It was described to me as Amy Winehouse without the personal issues. I think Adele leans a bit more to the pop side of things, but the description is reasonably apt.

Right now, Right as Rain, one of my 5 star tracks from the album, is playing in the background. Hammond B-3 with a nice Motown pop sound. When the track kicked in, it really grabbed my attention to the extent of an audible "wow" my wife heard upstairs. I'm getting ahead of myself...

The album opens nicely enough with a track called Daydreamer that is quite aptly named. Kind of etherial, contemplate song with Adel in fine form with just a bit of raspy soul in her voice. The song belies the album in some ways as many of the song veer towards soul as the album moves on, but the shear simplicity of Daydreamer perfectly performed got my attention.

Best for Last follows and is neither best or last, but it is quite good and not first. Chasing Pavements maintains the cool, contemplative mood nicely, but then Cold Shoulder kicks in and changes things entirely. Same sound, but hotter with a bit of a dance feel to it. Now 19 really has my attention.

Two of my favorite tracks follow and get 5 stars easily. Crazy for You brings the tempo and drive back down to a kind of alt-country (but not quite) ballad. Beautiful and brings back memories of Skylark from Casandra Wilson's brilliant album. Melt My Heart to Stone is an oddly named track that follows that brings back the strings and bigger sound. I want to say kind of jazzy, but it's more a classic pop sound - pop vintage 1950's. I love that stuff and I'm really loving this album about now.

First Love is next and doesn't grab me as much as the previous two, but it would be hard to do that.

Now comes the aforementioned Right as Rain. More of this brilliant classic pop sound that Adele brings throughout.

The last song I'll mention by name is Make You Feel My Love, bringing the tempo down with only a piano accompaniment. Backing vocals here and there on this one that I've not heard elsewhere.

Adele seems to be fit right into a collection of brilliant female singers on the scene today, singing this soulful classic pop. Leslie Fiest, Neko Case, Amy Winehouse, and my old favorite Holly Cole fall into this category. This music as as good as any I've ever heard. Please go buy it!