Mason Jennings, In the Ever (Brushfire)
Mason Jennings' move to Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records was sort of an obvious one, seeing as how they're both laidback singer/songwriters from Hawaii.
Moving to Brushfire will give him exposure, much the same way being on the soundtrack to Bob Dylan biopic stew I'm Not There did last fall. Those little tastes of Jennings — who now resides in Minnesota, Dylan's home state — were lip-synched in the film by Christian Bale's Dylanesque character.
For a man who claims his favorite band is Led Zeppelin, he sounds nothing like it there. The I'm Not There tracks put him in a Johnson-like light, but a voice that doesn't have the relaxed vibe of a day at the beach.
Johnson drops by to help out on "I Love You and Buddha, Too," a song said to represent Jennings' thoughts on religion.
Time will tell if he's more than a Johnson soundalike protege, but I'm curious to see if he has more in him than a pair of empassioned Dylan covers.
If I Were Really Rich ...
— Foxboro Hot Tubs, Stop, Drop and Roll!!! (Reprise) — Green Day side project arrives in compact disc format.
— Scarlett Johansson, Anywhere I Lay My Head (Rhino) — Recently engaged movie star packages collection of Tom Waits covers with lone original. One guarantee without having heard a note — her voice will be smoother than Waits'.
— Mudhoney, The Lucky Ones (Sub Pop) — Perpetually overshadowed Seattle grunge/alternative band delivers its ninth album and third since returning to Sub Pop.
— Orchestra Baobab, Made in Dakar (Nonesuch) — One of Senegal's finest music exports, the band's album delivered last fall in merry old England arrives across the pond.
Others
— Another Black Day, Another Black Day (Beiler Bros.)
— Billy Boy Arnold, Billy Boy Arnold Sings Sonny Boy (Electro-Fi)
— The Black Lungs, Send Flowers (Dine Alone)
— Bun B, II Trill (Rap-a-Lot)
— James Carter, Present Tense (Emarcy)
— The Dresden Dolls, No, Virginia ... [B-sides compilation] (Roadrunner)
— The Explorers Club, Freedom Wind (Dead Oceans)
— Felix da Housecat, Global Underground: Milan (Global Underground)
— Flobots, Fight With Tools (Republic)
— Judy Garland, Judy Takes Broadway! With Friends [Re-issue, bonus tracks] (Savoy Jazz)
— Julianne Hough, Julianne Hough (Mercury Nashville)
— Joan of Arc, Boo! Human (Polyvinyl)
— George Jones, George Jones: The Hits — Then Till Now (Time Life)
— William Joseph, Beyond (Warner Bros.)
— Kings X, XV (Inside/Out)
— Sonny Landreth, From the Reach (Landfall)
— Jesse McCartney, Departure (Hollywood)
— John McLaughlin, Floating Point (Abstract Logix)
— Pat Metheny, Tokyo Day Trip [Live EP] (Nonesuch)
— Mudhoney, Superfuzz Bigmuff [Deluxe edition] (Sub Pop)
— The National, Skin a Night & The Virginia EP [DVD w/CD] (Beggar's Banquet)
— Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Greatest Hits [Bonus track] (Geffen)
— Donna Summer, Crayons (Burgundy)
— 3 Doors Down, 3 Doors Down (Republic)
— The Wedding Present, El Rey (Manifesto)
— John Williams, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Soundtrack score] (Concord)
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