Kat: Music. It's important. And so many albums are failing me of late. Music doesn't exist in a vacuum and maybe in another time when The Orange Menace wasn't sh**ting on the country and the White House, I could enjoy some of these releases?
The Jonas Brothers. I love them. And I was looking forward to the release of GREETINGS FROM YOUR HOMETOWN. Then I listened to the 14 tracks and meh. It wasn't awful. It just wasn't. Listening, I was back in Montgomery Wards. Remember that retailer? 1981 was winding up and I was getting 3 cassette albums. I was there with a friend to pick up his car. Monkey Wards had an automotive department. And while he was doing that, I went upstairs to the second floor where they had music. A few vinyl albums but mainly cassettes. I was just starting my cassette collection. Didn't like that every audio cassette was locked behind glass. But finally, I found three I thought I might like and one of them was Hall & Oates PRIVATE EYES. I knew the title track, still like the title track, but I hated the album. There were a few good tracks but it was so much filler. I don't understand how Nick, Joe and Kevin couldn't find some stand out tracks among the three of them.
Next up was Sarah McLachlan's BETTER BROKEN. Twelve tracks to make you angry. This isn't SURFACING II. Why is she making music at this point? Her last great album was SURFACING. There's no fire left. These are simple end rhymes that say nothing. Over and over. She had talent but she doesn't seem to want to make another SURFACING despite the fact that is all we want from her. We want her music stripped down and her lyrics haunting. Instead, she keeps serving up this stuff that we keep sending back to the kitchen. BETTER BROKEN is more of the same. The title track is the closest to saying something than any other lyrics on the album. If she can't realize herself that what's she churning out is subpar, is there no one around her who can tell her that?
Then came Taylor Swift.
Her twelfth album is THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL.
And the problem here?
I loved it. And I was thinking about the review I'd write when I was talking to Toni and some other friends who all told me, "Kat, people hate that album." So I looked up reviews and, yeah, they do. Now I've liked some of Taylor's stuff but I've also called out some of her stuff. And disliking one album after another for months now, as I read the reviews of THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL, I started doubting myself. Maybe I was wrong?
I wasn't.
Others may not like it but I think it's the best album Taylor's done to date.
The first eight tracks are pure perfection that work not only as songs but as an album and sequenced and everything. The remaining four are strong songs as well. I'm not high on the sequencing.
Of all the songs, "Ruin The Friendship" is my favorite.
It's my second all time favorite Taylor song, in fact. (My all time favorite? 2017's "New Year's Day.")
THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL is something I've played non-stop since it came out at the start of October and I'm still playing it non-stop.
Chrissie Hynde's new album DUETS SPECIAL is the other new album I can't stop listening to. The duet with Rufus Wainwright "Always On My Mind" is just amazing. Let's start with credit to Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James -- they wrote the classic song. Elvis, the Pet Shop Boys, Susan Boyle, the Stylistics, LeAnn Rimes, Anne Murray, Loretta Lynn, Ryan Adams, Shirley Bassey, Brenda Lee, Julio Iglesias, and especially Willie Nelson are among the many who've done amazing covers of the song. But there's still life in that beloved song and Chrissie and Rufus bring it to life again in their version.
Another often recorded track? "Me and Mrs. Jones." Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert wrote that classic Billy Paul made a hit back in 1972. Since then, the Dramatics, Johnny Mathis, The Three Degrees, Barbara Mason, Freddie Jackson, the Stylistics, Niki Haris and Michael Buble are among the artists who've covered it.
But k.d, lang and Chrissie really own the song in their cover.
With her band the Pretenders, Chrissie covered the 10cc classic "I'm Not In Love" for the soundtrack to the 1993 Demi Moore blockbuster INDECENT PROPOSAL. On her new album, she teams with The Killers' Brandon Flowers to revisit the classic.
13 strong and solid tracks. Her other duet partners? Debbie Harry, Shirley Manson, Mark Lanegan, Lucinda Williams, Dan Auerbach, Dave Gahan, Carleen Anderson, Cat Power, Alan Sparhawk and Julian Lennon.
There's been a number of albums released since Labor Day. Two worth listening to are Taylor Swift's THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL and Chrissie Hynde's new DUETS SPECIAL.
