So I went out and grabbed two new CDs today, just for the hell of it--Bruce Springsteen's latest, Devils + Dust, and Ben Folds' latest, Songs for Silverman. I've only had a chance to listen to the first three or four tracks on the Folds CD, so I can't really say much about either of them yet. I do like what I've heard so far on Songs for Silverman, and I can't figure out what the review for the OU Daily (who gave the CD a "D" grade) had against it. I mean, I guess if you were looking for the thrashing instrumentation and smirking smartass of the first two Ben Folds Five CDs, you'd be disappointed, but so far it strikes me as a mature, well-crafted release full of beautiful melodies and simple pleasures. Then again, I like mellow music.
But albums are that new Dual Disc format--CD audio on one side, DVD on the other. The benefit of this, apparently, is that they can cram all sorts of goodies on the DVD side--5.1 digital surround mix of the album, interviews, music videos, making of features, etc. Part of me is annoyed by the dual format, because it means you don't get art on the actual disc and there's a good chance of scratching at least one side on accident (since neither side is technically the label side now), but I can see how it has a lot of potential, too. Each of the CDs I grabbed has the 5.1 audio mix on the DVD side, and the Springsteen album has four or five live performances, while the Ben Folds album has several videos, an alternate version, and a making of feature.
Anyway, I'm sure I'll have thoughts on both albums before too long. And just think--next month, we get a new Gorillaz album and a new Wallflowers album.
~chuck
Song of the Moment: Ben Folds, "Bastard"
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1 comment:
They are indeed, apparently. I guess this is the release schedule when a band is just a side project.
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