Wolfgang strutz. - Wolfgang sings, Hymns. (2012)

This came in telling me nothing more than it was a redoing of church hymnals in a lo-fi freak folk style, which the submitter said reminded him of "the singing flowers in Disney's Alice in Wonderland!" Well, that is a mouthful to grasp on its own, it sent my mind spiraling off into all sorts of tangets. Most notable of them is my boss at the bookstore I'm now employed at in Detroit where I've a boss that's a self-described holy roller that doesn't preach. What she does do is walk about the shop humming gospels and saying the sole lyric "Jesus" every few seconds. Needless to say it is distractingly strange practice. Moreover, makes me wonder very much if she's ever learned any other words to the song. Now people do odd things, but I've a hard time imagining this is really kosher even in the conservative parts of the midwest, right? To each their own though.

So basically, this is everything that my boss's gospel performance isn't is the best way. It is charmingly warm and sweet while still maintain enough of the songs to be nostalgic. And holy shit is it right to bring up this crazy flowers from Alice's adventure, for it does seem like Disney's big dick would have been all up in these vocals, yet maybe not so in the finely done instrumentation. For real though, the reinterpretation of these songs is so fantastically done it has resulted in a solid half-dozen consecutive listenings on my part, esepcially loving the versions of "Nobody Know the Trouble I've Seen,""Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Morning Has Broken." So I apologize for my vulgar manner of speaking, but I immediately told my old buddy Bebop, "put down your dick and look up to the sky, I got something to listen to."

To be had here:
Wolfgang strutz. - Wolfgang sings, Hymns.

Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison (1968) & At San Quentin (1969)

Having somewhat brunt myself out on trying to consume new music from submissions and that I sought of my own accord, it is sometimes nice to go back to familiar albums to reset. Johnny Cash has long been among the artists I use to clear my head and reassess why I bother after overwhelming my eardrums. As I am sure many people did, I grew up listening to Johnny Cash on my parents' vinyl records. I'll always remember a summer afternoon when my father got out his copy of Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison and simply said something to the effect of, "Country music sucks but I like Johnny Cash." The couple of albums he cut in the late 60s in California's Folsom and San Quentin prisons are among the very best work he ever produced. Functioning similar to a pair of "best of" albums, the tracks are favorites that he knew would please the prisoners and the record buying public alike. What really makes the albums extraordinary is hearing the howls and applause of the the inmates along with Cash's snide commentary aimed at the penitentiaries. Both are truly intimate and engaging and one of the few things that can make me jealous of those unfortunate souls stuck in the 1960s Californian correctional system. Finally, Cash is one of the few people I'll abide preaching the word of God at me and love it, as those inmates must've if their reactions are any indication.

To be had here:




At Folsom Prison [192 kbps]












At San Quentin [192 kbps]

The Almighty Defenders - The Almighty Defenders (2009)

Earlier this month I shared King Khan & the Shrines, so I won't give the story on who he is again. I will tell you that he and his current bandmate, Mark Sultan who is BBQ in the King Khan and BBQ Show, have been up to some collaborating. In this case with the members of the Black Lips while holing up with Khan in Berlin. Basically a garage rock jam session branded as a band. Though I think it was fully recorded it the studio, it has the roughness of a live recording. This is made all the better in that a main source of inspiration seems to be gospel, which is naturally meant to be preformed live. It certainly possesses a feeling of nostalgic reflection on the earlier period of rock music, when the influence of soul and gospel were readily apparent. This album isn't as fast-paced and jazzy as Khan's work with the shrines, but does feel very close to the most recent album with BBQ.

To be had here:
The Almighty Defenders - The Almighty Defenders [192 kbps]