The Smiths: The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (Warner Brothers/2017)

The Smiths haven’t really issued any really noteworthy product in many, many years. Johnny Marr remastered the four Smiths studio albums (and four compilation/live albums) in 2012. And The Sound Of The Smiths compilation in 2008. This year marks the first real year that The Smiths have a reissue campaign that will entice all Smiths fans alike.

Later this year the band will reissue The Queen Is Dead package that will include three CDs and one DVD. Earlier this Summer the title track was issued as a 12” and 7” single. And for Record Store Day The Boy With The Thorn In It's Side was released in a limited pressing of 12,000 copies. It's a teaser for the forthcoming box set. The A-Side is a “Demo Mix” of the well-known studio version. And isn't too different. The B-Side “Rubber Ring” is an “Early Drone Studios Version”, which was recorded at Drone Studios and very string-heavy.

Overall a very nice release. Cover star Albert Finney makes yet another appearance in the Smiths cannon. The truly noteworthy thing about this record is the political message that reads; “Trump Will Kill America”, which is etched in the runout groove of side A.

All in all, a wonderful release.

Here's the video review:

Special thanks to: Laurel.

Teenage Fanclub: Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY (10/15/2016)

Scotland's Teenage Fanclub have just released their tenth studio album, Here. Their tour stopped at New York's Bowery Ballroom and I eagerly attended the show. It was my sixth time seeing TFC and second time seeing them at Bowery Ballroom. I'd first seen the band in 1993 at CBGB's. Their sound has changed considerably since then - with each album the band seems to ditch the Big Star/Jesus And Mary Chain influence more and more and they've become closer to being Crosby, Stills & Nashesque.

Norman Blake, Gerard Love & Raymond McGinley still deliver the goods. The band were in good form and their twenty-song set contained plenty of old favorites (including "Star Sign", "The Concept", "Radio" and "About You"). The band started the set off appropriately enough with "Start Again" and closed with their epic debut single "Everything Flows". In between the band played newish and genuinely new material (including the fine new single "I'm In Love").

The subtlety of the band's material is a something of a strength unto-itself, and the understatedness of the songs reveal themselves over-time. Which, if you're unfamiliar with, may not reveal themselves immediately, especially in a live setting. Thankfully for me, I knew all of these songs very well and wasn't clinging to a hope that the band was going to break out into a loud medley of material from their Bandwagonesque album. I was however disappointed that they didn't play "What You Do To Me", "Hang On" and even "Sparky's Dream", but I'll get over this some day.

The dB's: Revolution Of The Mind (Orange Sound Records/2013)

Winston-Salem North Carolina's The dB's were one of the leading-lights of the American Power Pop/Jangle Rock movement of the late 70's/early 80's. In 1988, after ten years and four albums the band called it a day. In 2005 the original line-up reformed to play various shows and in 2011 they released the Picture Sleeve single on their own Orange Sound Records (“The Label With Appeal”) and the Falling Off The Sky album on Bar/None Records in 2012.

Released on Record Store Day in 2013 Revolution Of The Mind (also on Orange Sound Records) is a four-song EP on Orange Vinyl in a limited pressing of 2,000 (and includes a digital download). The EP is basically a four-song distillation of makes the band special. The title-track is a minor-key rocker that features a hypnotic siren-esque lead guitar riff. “Lakefront” is compelling ballad with Mellotron-strings that would've been a lovely addition the most recent full-length album and recalls earlier dB's tracks such as “Nothing Is Wrong” and “From A Window To Screen”. “Orange Squeezer” is a whimsical Chris Stamey composition about a Dan Armstrong compressions pedal. And rounding things out is a live version of “pH Factor” (which first appeared as a the B-side to their 1982 “Neverland” single). “pH Factor, which references song author Peter Holsapple, is a sleepy Raybeats-like surf instrumental. And this is a very-well recorded live version of the song.

The EP is once again, a nice distillation of what makes the dB's a special band (i.e. good songwriting, a thoughtful approach to playing and challenging hooks). The vinyl itself is of nice quality and is on nice Orange Vinyl. All-in-all a nice piece for the dB's fan. And also quite appealing for the uninitiated as well.

Here's the video review: