FROM THE DJ'S LISTENING BOOTH: THE ALBUMS OF 2013 PART TWO

1. "PEOPLE, HELL AND ANGELS"
JIMI HENDRIX
Original recordings Produced by Jimi Hendrix
Executive Producer Eddie Kramer, Janie Hendrix, John McDermott
Released March 5, 2013

Just when I thought it impossible for there to be any more music from the late Jimi Hendrix to be unearthed, now arrives the latest posthumous collection of previously unreleased material from the musical visionary and the greatest man to ever hold a guitar. "People, Hell and Angels" is a lovingly executed 12 song set which finds Hendrix in a true exploratory mode as he was just beginning to expand his musical palate from rock and blues to funk, jazz and even incorporating horns, keyboards and strings into his specialized sonic stew. It has been said that when Jimi Hendrix played guitar he never made a mistake. Listen to this album of Hendrix seeking, creating, attempting, sifting and soaring, always soaring, and you can hear the truth within that statement. "People, Hell and Angels" is so good that, while it saddens me to think what he could have accomplished had he lived, I am so thankful that these recordings exist for all of us to marvel and dream once more.

2. "SOUND CITY: REEL TO REAL"
Produced by Butch Vig
Released March 12, 2013

From one of the very best films of 2013, comes one of the year's best albums. Musician/drummer and now Filmmaker Dave Grohl's "Sound City" is an unabashed love letter to the human connection during out increasingly isolated existence in the 21st century. An an example of what happens when human beings congregate in the means of creation, the results are found on this spectacular album which finds Grohl and several of his Foo Fighters bandmates lending their services to the likes of Rick Springfield's whip-crack power pop ("The Man That Never Was"), the swirling punk rock of Lee Ving ("Your Wife Is Calling"), and the roaring reunion with Nirvana bandmates but this time, led by Sir Paul McCartney ("Cut Me Some Slack"). But the album's highest of high points arrives with Stevie Nicks' "You Can't Fix This," which showcases her songwriting and voice at 100% power with a haunting, intense ballad which finds her scouring through the deep closet of her past which is filled with lost, damaged and deceased friends from 1970's excess.    

3. "THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE"

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

Executive Producers: Timbaland & Justin Timberlake

Released March 15, 2013

There was simply no reason in the world for me to purchase a Justin Timberlake album as I was too old for his boy band days and the fat that he simply doesn't make music for me. Or so I thought. My curiosity was piqued due to a few early reviews and believe it or not, I think "The 20/20 Experience" is easily one of the very best albums of 2013. JT came correct with this collection of 10 beautifully sequenced songs which demonstrates that he fully understands the art and artistry of the album experience making this work flawlessly as a start-to-finish journey. 

Beginning with the euphoric Roger Troutman/Zapp influenced pimp strut merged with the wedding march pace of "Pusher Love Girl," continuing onwards through the psychedelic pop of "Strawberry Bubblegum" and "Tunnel Vision," the interstellar slow jam of "Spaceship Coupe," the majestic ballad "Mirrors," and concluding with the hazy, free floating "Blue Ocean Floor," Justin Timberlake, with his musical right hand man Timbaland, has concocted a rapturous love journey that also feels like a tribute to the orchestral augmented skeletal funk of "Parade" era Prince and the revolutionary musical partnership of Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones (what else can "Let The Groove Get In" be but the most affectionate tribute to those two men?). Th rough the elongated jams, extended codas, gorgeous harmonics and Timberlake's supple, soulful vocals at the center, this is one of those albums that can easily play on repeat for days on end and you will not tire of it in the least and I am so excited that this fall, another 10 songs will arrive for all of us. But for now, Justin Timberlake has proven not only that the album is not dead but that pop music does not need to be artless. 

4. "BANKRUPT!"

PHOENIX

Produced by Phoenix and Phillippe Zdar

Released April 19, 2013

With the follow up to their terrific "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" (released May 25, 2009), the French band does not mess with the formula terribly much and this time, that familiarity is definitely not a bad thing at all. "Bankrupt!" is an album completely designed for a glorious Spring day, the very kind that is warm enough to open your car windows and allow the music to have the air with which is can travel valiantly to the masses. The updated New Wave sound provides completely infectious pop bliss on tracks like "S.O.S. In Bel Air," "Entertainment," "Don't," "Oblique" and the slinky "Trying To Be Cool." But Phoenix still finds the time to experiment with some art rock sounds smack dab in the middle of the album with the nearly seven minute title track that would not sound out of place on a Tangerine Dream album. 

5. "PRISONER OF CONSCIOUS"
TALIB KWELI
Executive Producers:
Released May 7, 2013

Hip Hop has been dangerously stagnated for far too long with its cartoon depictions inner city life, violence, sexism, racism and over reliance upon all things "bling." So when Talib Kweli releases new material, it is time to perk our collective ears in his direction. "Prisoner Of Conscious" finds Kweli urging listeners to expand their horizons and musically, he delivers just that with an album that pushes some sonic boundaries much like The Roots accomplished on their game changing concept album "Undun" (released December 2, 2011). I especially enjoyed the orchestrated opener "Human Mic," the Marvin Gaye influenced ballad "Come Here," the rock tinged "Delicate Flowers," the warmly lush keyboards that augment "Favela Love," Kweli's collaboration with Seu Jorge and the closing socio-political uprising contained in "It Only Gets Better." 

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