Ever wonder what the Creative Loafing music team listens to on Mondays to get us through the day? Here’s this week’s selections.
– Wanda Jackson, The Party Ain't Over (2011)
Brand new release from the Queen of Rockabilly herself, the always feisty and raucous Wanda Jackson. With the help of White Stripe Jack White, Wanda's new disc is a mixed bag of covers and some new originals. Dipping into the catalogs of Bob Dylan, Amy Winehouse and Eddie Cochran, Wanda proves she's as vital and frisky as ever. Her trademark high-pitched growl hasn't lost an iota of spunk and the clever arrangements and crunchy guitars that Mr. White has doused this disc with make it sound as contemporary as it does classic. Often referred to as the "female Elvis," Jackson proves that her place in rock 'n' roll history is well deserved and that she can still rock! A fun and sassy disc that should appeal to audiences of all ages. Hopefully, White's role in revitalizing Wanda's career will be as commercially and critically successful as his outstanding work on Country music legend Loretta Lynn's 2004 comeback album, Van Lear Rose.
Deborah – The Bright Light Social Hour, The Bright Light Social Hour (2010)
I should've listened when Leilani first mentioned this album a while back because it is absolutely phenomenal. These guys brought some high energy and rocked the hell out of their free show at The Hub; a perfect venue for their deliciously grimy funk rock. Named "Best Indie Band" at the 2010 Austin Music Awards, this is a foursome that you should definitely not miss if you're heading to SXSW. Favorites include the heavily My Morning Jacket influenced "Garden of the Gods" followed immediately by "Rhubarb Jam" with it's blazing guitar lead-in. I have to say though, the entire album is full of totally solid tracks. Highly recommended.
Joel – Pantera, Cowboys From Hell (2010 deluxe re-issue; originally released in 1990)
I don’t think I listened to this album in its entirety since high school, but I’m enjoying it. Pantera’s classic major label debut gets a slight, but necessary volume boost due to the “loudness war” of the digital age. Dimebag Darrell’s crisper and crunchier guitar cuts through an occasionally muddy, yet still mostly improved mix. The remaster didn’t do the “Domination” outro any favors, but “Cemetery Gates” remains one of the greatest metal songs ever recorded. Bonus material on the three-disc version includes some sloppy live material and demos, with one previously unreleased (for a reason) studio track, “The Will To Survive,” that I wish I could un-hear.
This article appears in Jan 27 – Feb 2, 2011.