13 is Brian Setzer’s 13th album, featuring 13 new songs that in some cases, are a departure from his trademarked rockabilly roots. In fact, his last release, Rockabilly Riot Vol. 1, was about as close to pure rockabilly as you could get, with its meticulous recreations of classic Sun Records sides. This new project ventures into a harder-edged rock sound, with rockabilly surfacing only on a few tracks. How does it shape up?
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For Herbie Hancock, this Head Hunters album was a breakthrough. Stripping down the music to the bare essentials, Hancock created an album that featured a tight, funky groove, over which his keyboards soared. Back in the day, it was a commercial success for Hancock, and opened the doors for a wave of similar funk-jazz recordings. I’d heard both “Chameleon” and “Watermelon Man” on our local jazz radio WJZZ back in the 70s and 80s, but had forgotten about them. It wasn’t until I got this SACD that I got to hear them again, and also found an unexpected surprise on the disc.
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I just caught the webcast of the Genesis press conference in the UK announcing some important Genesis news, including details about an upcoming tour, and the release of the long-awaited surround sound versions of all of their studio albums. While there is no new Genesis music in the works, there is still plenty for Genesis fans to look forward to in the coming year.
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First of all, if you like Pat Metheny, the Group, or surround music in general, I urge you to go out and buy this DVD-A presentation of Imaginary Day immediately, before it disappears! While it perhaps isn’t my favorite of the Pat Metheny Group’s recordings, the surround presentation of this recording gives it an added dimension that the standard two-channel version could not convey. For surround sound fans, it is demonstration quality and will give your system a workout with both incredible dynamics and minute details. On that alone, I highly recommend this DVD-A.
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It’s pointless to do a review of an album that is almost 35 years old, as any dyed-in-the-wool Chicago fan already knows this entire double album front to back. The new twist is that this is a DVD-Audio release, and as it is currently out of print, you’d best pick it up now if you ever want to own it. There is a good reason to buy this recording, and surprisingly it’s not for the surround mix!
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