Music and Recording Reviews

The Violent Femmes: Hallowed Ground, 40th Anniversary Reissue
Craft Recordings (auditioned as LP). 1984/2024. Mark Van Hecke, prod.; John Tanner, Warren Bruleigh, engs.
Performance ****
Sonics *****

The Violent Femmes have long been known for their groundbreaking work in the post-punk and alt-country genres. This seminal record, first released in 1984, has long been celebrated for its inherent innovation, exploring American roots music through the lens of traditional folk influences and their own band's distinctive style. Here the band was joined by banjo virtuoso Tony Trischka on "Country Death Song" and "It's Gonna Rain," and avant-garde saxophonist John Zorn on "Black Girls," both of whom added distinctive layers to the record's otherwise sparse and often stark audio environment.

The album's lyrics delve into themes of faith, redemption, and existential contemplation which departed from the more straightforward pop sound of the band's debut. The record's unique lyrical approach and haunting melodies created a deeply introspective and immersive listening experience that intrigued—and initially divided—listeners, including the band members themselves.

It has been mastered from the original stereo tapes (AAA) and features standout tracks such as the live staple "Country Death Song," "Never Tell," the atmospheric "I Hear the Rain," the Lou Reed–inspired "Sweet Misery Blues" and "Jesus Walking on the Water." The new sonic look it's been given cleans up the overall production and pulls things closer to the listener without losing any of what made its original "Deliverance-like" approach to hillbilly music so eerie. John Zorn's sax part enjoys a particular kind of shining and makes the album feel more of the moment. That said, it still at times has the feel of a demo and not a true studio release. That for fans has always been part of its charm.

The record still stands as a declaration of independence from the popular sounds of that moment.—Ray Chelstowski

Christopher Owens: I Want To Run Barefoot Through Your Hair
True Panther (LP). 2024. Christopher Owens, Doug Boehm, Ariel Rechtshaid, Jacob Portrait, prods.; Dave Cooley, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics *****

This is Owens's first album in nine years, following a period of homelessness, personal loss, and recovery. Owens has referred to the album as being about "a journey back to the center of myself," with incredibly candid songs about misery that somehow arrive at a place that is thankful and filled with hope.

Unlike its predecessor, Chrissybaby Forever, this record isn't a jingle-jangle pop rocker. Instead, the first single, "I Think About Heaven," is a mature, atmospheric song that steadily steps forward with conviction and tasty percussive and guitar effects.

It sets the table for the entire record. The second single, the album opener "No Good" follows a similar approach, being rooted in a strong rhythm guitar, with vocals that sit on the side of the song, allowing it to push forward with a rock luster that is more akin to what he became known for when fronting the band Girls.

There is an inherent breeze to this record. On "This Is My Guitar," Owens takes an almost "John Lennon in New York City" approach to a song that is minimal in scope but that skips along like a stone across a Central Park pond.

It is here he charts the exhausting, redemptive process he took to piece his life back together again. This is an ode to the instrument that rescued him from rock bottom. Over a quietly strummed guitar, he sings, "This is my chance, the only chance I've got." He sounds ready to take that chance.

Pay particular attention to the lead guitar parts that, though complex in tone alone, support the emotion of his lyrics with a depth and soulfulness that underscore the pain he openly shares. They help him let go of his past and chart a new tomorrow.—Ray Chelstowski

Iron Maiden: Powerslave (40th Anniversary Edition)
Sanctuary IMPOWER1/BMG – 4099964078947 (LP). 1984/2024. Martin Birch, prod.; Martin Birch, Frank Gibson, engs.; Ade Emsley, Tony Newton, remastering engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½

This year Iron Maiden turns 50. The seminal English metal band has been around so long it has already been 25 years since vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith returned after ill-fated departures. They are still as active as ever and keenly aware of their history.

The album that preceded it was Powerslave, which, in honor of its ruby anniversary, has received a deluxe reissue to close out 2024. That entails 2015 remastered tracks pressed onto vinyl for the first time; vinyl being of the zoetrope variety (under a strobe light or certain phone viewers, "animation" can be seen); a gatefold sleeve with added artwork (not by Derek Riggs) and photographs; and a new essay by founding bassist Steve Harris about the making and significance of the album. This edition is an upgrade from the original LP, primarily for better bass response, the fulcrum upon which the band rests.

Powerslave was Iron Maiden's fifth release but arguably its first major statement (it also produced the massive, 188-date World Slavery Tour). Dickinson, who had replaced original (technically fourth) singer Paul Di'Anno, was two albums in; Nicko McBrain one after coming on board for (again, technically fourth) drummer Clive Burr; and the triumvirate of Harris, Smith, and second guitarist Dave Murray together for over three years.

The album yielded two staple songs, "Aces High" and "2 Minutes to Midnight," in the Top 25 and Top 10, respectively, of songs played live. Yet, "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" and "Back in the Village" were performed a bit back in 1984–'85, and "Flash of the Blade" and "The Duellists" (this author's favorite track) have yet to be heard in concert. Most important is the epic, 13-plus-minute "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," a seminal mark in the group's catalogue and heavy metal history as a whole.—Andrey Henkin

Lucinda Williams: Lucinda Williams Sings the Beatles from Abbey Road
Highway 20 Records H20014LP (LP). 2024. Ray Kennedy, Tom Overby, prods.; Kennedy, Freddie Light, Tommy Bosustow, Nia Clarke, engs.
Performance ***½
Sonics ****

The latest installment, Volume 7, in Williams's Lu's Jukebox in-studio concert series, this session was recorded at Abbey Road with Williams's road band, including guitarists Doug Pettibone and Marc Ford. Launched during the pandemic when Williams and husband/collaborator Tom Overby "started to wonder what in the hell we were going to do to keep from going insane," this series started with music of Tom Petty. Its last volume featured her takes on the music of the Rolling Stones. The process for this Beatles adventure began with rehearsals in Nashville before flying to London to record just prior to embarking on a three-week European tour. Nearly disastrous, this process somehow resulted in tracking 11 songs in two days. Successfully covering the Beatles is not a pursuit for amateurs, and here, with her voice fully recovered from the stroke she suffered in 2020, Williams offers relatively straight covers of Beatles songs.

Her vocalizing, always an acquired taste, is challenged by these familiar tunes. "We were all discovering that once you start peeling apart the layers of those songs, they are much more complicated than they sound," Overby says in the album's liner notes. The band stays mostly in the background, leaving lots of space for Lu to interpret. Her interpretation of "The Long and Winding Road" is faster than the original and surprisingly doesn't linger much. She hits all the high notes in George Harrison's "Something."

A success that again shows what a canny interpreter she can be, the setting influenced the final product. "Sometimes these special places can disappoint," Overby's liner notes note. "You get very excited and then it's over and you ask yourself what the big deal was. But not Abbey Road. It is pure magic."—Robert Baird