Quick Hits, Vol. 209 (Souls of Mischief, St. Vincent, Jason Isbell, Carson McHone)

Souls of Mischief - 93 'til Infinity.  An old album I had never heard before, I assume it came to me from reading either the Dirty South book or the West Coast rap book.  Either way, this is some classic sounding 1993 stuff - in the vein of Tribe Called Quest and Pharcyde.  And it kind of rules.  If you dug those old school rappers back in the day, then this one will click for you as well.  The beat in "Disseshowedo," which samples something that was used in almost the exact same way by the Black Sheep, is a great one.  But the wild thing is that these guys have six albums available on Spotify, and yet I'd never heard of them at all.  The title track was the sure fire hit, with 37.4 million stream (versus like 1.6 million for the nearest competitor).

That one guy looks like Pharrell.  Great beat, cool flow, classic track.  A bunch of these songs are classic sounding.  Wish I would have known about these guys back in the early nineties, could have slotted them in with Tribe, De La, Black Sheep, Pharcyde, etc. in my rap listening.  I'll keep listening to this one, I like it.

St. Vincent - MassEducation.  A companion album to last year's Masseduction, that converts the songs into loungey piano tunes, like Fiona Apple doing a full cover album, except its still Vincent.  Its beautiful, like in the ringing, loping piano solo in "Happy Birthday, Johnny," but I think I like the originals more, with the guitarwork and odd squelches that pop up throughout.  "Los Ageless" is probably my favorite.  It's not the most streamed, that goes to the first song ("Slow Disco") but I think that is only because people try that song, realize this is a sleepy piano ballad album, and move on.

Lovely.  Strips the songs down so that the lyrics are the star.  Cool enough versions of the songs, but I'm OK.  Will let this one go.

Jason Isbell - Live from the Ryman.  The more I think about Isbell's last album, the more I think that I didn't give it enough credit.  I hear "If We Were Vampires" on the radio from time to time, and it kicks me in the stomach with the same ferocity each time.  It is a freaking amazing song.  I can't think of anything that better captures the joy and sadness of truly loving someone.  Devastatingly good tune.  And I love songs that tell a good story or paint a good picture, and those tunes did that in spades.  "Cumberland Gap," "Super 8," or "24 Frames," they all do that on this live album.  It's damn good.

Not the live version from this album, but a live version nonetheless, so you'll get the feeling.  I'm sure they've sung that song together 400 times, but the idea of the two of them, a married couple, singing that song together about maybe getting 40 years together before one of them dies alone.  FUUUDGE.  This is a good album.

Carson McHone - Carousel.  I very much enjoyed a live show from this gal a few years back.  This album reprises several songs from her prior album, so I'm kind of annoyed at it from the get go.  Sounds kind of like old school Kelly Willis, some power voice followed by a little lilt and then soft ending to each word.  It's kind of cutesy, and a little annoying.  Here is "Sad."

Only 17k streams, so not necessarily lighting the world on fire.  It's fine for what it is, but I'll let it go for sure.