Phosphorescent: To Willie

To Willie is an album long tribute from one very talented singer-songwriter (Matthew Houck) to another. These are the faded memories of honky tonk bars sung from the bottom of a lonely well, a near perfect selection of Willie Nelson tunes representing a broad spectrum of his career dancing on the fingers of a deft arranger and his reverb drenched production. Standing out among these gems is “Can I Sleep In Your Arms” which is treated with all of the warmness and intimacy Phosphorescent can offer. It is as delicate as a snowflake on your fingertip and as strong as the wind outside the windows. Willie did much the same for his hero Lefty Frizell in 1977 with To Lefty, From Willie and it is fitting that the man receive his tribute in turn. This is country music as it is meant to be; fresh, funny, heartbreaking and played with an undying love of the art.

Good for: Lamenting your bourbon soaked memories, or making some new ones.

Sun Kil Moon: Tiny Cities

Sometimes a collection of covers reaches so far beyond its source that it takes on a life of its own and takes you by the hand to the place where it all began. I had never really listened to Modest Mouse until after I heard this record played. You say "Surely you'd heard some Modest Mouse!" I had, but it never really got under my skin the way Sun Kil Moon did.

This collection takes what are now very familiar tunes (Modest Mouse now lives happily on my iPod) and turns them into haunting epics of failure and regret that spin off of steel strings in slow waves, reaching deep inside to turn that knob that keeps you cool about music.

There's something about Mark Kozelak's voice that makes it impossible to keep your distance from him. All the better, I think music is best when experienced directly and that's what this album delivers. This is an old pair of jeans and a dog eared book. These songs are the faded memories of lovers, drifting to the surface on a lazy afternoon. I keep this one right next to my heart along with Iron & Wine, Hope Sandoval, Keren Ann and Elliott Smith.

Good for: Thinking long and hard about the world, looking into mirrors.
Listen to samples at Last.fm!

Easy Star Allstars: Dub Side of the Moon

I can't really think of an album that goes this far into stoned out. I feel like I lose my bones every time I put this on. This is the soundtrack to taking a long slow ride through the solar system riding shotgun with Willie Nelson and a seven foot long purple iguana navigating. There's a lingering smell of that vile green reefer you picked up off a chick near Venus and the stars in the viewport are wavering back and forth to the beats flowing past your face in waves of color.

That's just when the slinking snare of "Us and Them" sidles up with the sax line and smoothes your ride out into a nice seven minute weed nap. It's not so much of a tribute or cover of Dark Side of the Moon as it is a re-imagining of the concept filtered through some damn fine production and performance by NYCs Easy Star artists and friends.

Most tributes are bland redubs and new performances of old material, it takes balls to lay an album like this down. I'll definitely be checking out "Radiodread", a re-interpretation of Radiohead's seminal work, OK Computer by the same group of solid dudes. This platter chills with Spacemonkeys vs. Gorillaz, Niney the Observer, Pink Floyd, Thievery Corporation and the biggest joint you've ever seen in your life in the back of your van.

Good for: Watching the sun go down over the Earth from your personal space station.