MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: MONDO ZOMBIE BOOGALOO

Hey guys and ghouls, it's that bewitched day, and aside from your scratched-up copy of (Ghosts Of The Haunted House) from the 70's, what else do you have to play on Halloween?  There aren't too many record labels with enough nasty material in the catalogue to fill up a seasonal sampler for today, but there's one for sure.  Yep Roc Records has a trio of bands under contract that specialize in monstrous sounds, drenched in echo and chills.  They've put together this all-new collection of ghost stories, zombie walks and vampire blues, fun for the whole sick family.

The bands are notorious already; The Fleshtones, Southern Culture On The Skids, and Los Straitjackets.  Throw them all in a blender, and you get surf, garage, Mexican, fuzztone, psych, rockabilly, country boogie, wrestling and decadent fun.  The Fleshtones throw in a bunch of 60's fun, with (Sock It To Me Baby) In The House Of Sock, full of Farfisa organ, twangy guitar, and really let the monster out of the garage.  They have the best new cut too, Haunted Hipster ("You think you're cool, but you're dead, too.)  Instrumental gods Los Straitjackets do some great updates to favourite songs from the spooky world, with updated versions of movie cuts Theme From Halloween, Theme From Young Frankenstein, and even the Ghostbusters theme.  Think of that famous melody rocked out on lead guitar.  Southern Culture On The Skids go Marty Robbins-Western, with The Loneliest Ghost In Town.  See, something for all the trick-or-treaters on your list.

Of course, everything comes with the appropriate sound effects, either ghastly guitar howls or real ones, giving it all an extra bit of terror.  The piece de resistance is when all three get together for an update on Halloween's greatest hit, a brand-new version of The Monster Mash, only this time it's in Spanish, called Que Monstruos Son.  No doubt that's the encore number on the joint tour the groups are just finishing up.  Grab it now, it's a cool listen for garage-surf fans, and remember it for next year, to rock out those little devils who come to the door.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: PETER GABRIEL - AND I'LL SCRATCH YOURS

Peter Gabriel's several-years-in-the-making project of cover versions has finally been finished, although not because of his delay this time.  The idea was for him to cover some of his favourite songs, and then the writers of those would cover one of his.  Gabriel finished his first, but some dilly-dallying by the others meant that he had to put out his covers first, three years back, as Scratch My Back.  Now we get part two, artists covering Gabriel, called And I'll Scratch Yours.  For those who didn't get the first album, you can also buy a deluxe package that includes both CD's.

Gabriel took great liberties when he covered the others, first deciding there would be no drums or guitars, and then making everything with an orchestra.  This actually had a dramatic and interesting effect on songs such as Paul Simon's Boy In The Bubble, Talking Heads' Listening Wind, and Arcade Fire's My Body Is A Cage.  These are dramatic reinterpretations, perhaps not bettering the originals but certainly giving us another, usually satisfying view of the song.

His fellow songsmiths didn't have to follow the same rules about the drums and guitars and orchestra, and some of their versions don't really change the songs all that much.  Arcade Fire give us a pretty recognizable Games Without Frontiers, and Elbow's Mercy Street is much the same, and less effective than Gabriel's original.  But most got the spirit of the project, and personalized the songs.  Poignantly, there's a Lou Reed number here, toughening up the prog-ish Solsbury Hill, a surprising choice from the late urban tough guy.  David Byrne does a suitably Byrne-esque number on I Don't Remember, amping up the paranoia and dance.  Regina Spektor sings Blood Of Eden straight and strong, and I like the plain treatment, focusing on the lyrics.  Biko is one of Gabriel's most respected songs, and Paul Simon, no stranger to South Africa, makes it modern folk.  Most surprising is Randy Newman's take on Big Time, which, without changing the lyrics, now sounds exactly like Randy Newman wrote it.

Two of hoped-for participants didn't come through.  Gabriel had covered Radiohead and Neil Young on Scratch My Back, but something stood in the way of their further involvement.  Subbing are Joseph Arthur, doing justice to Shock The Monkey, and a cool collaboration between Feist and Timber Timbre on Don't Give Up.  That more than makes up for Radiosnooze, but I would have killed to hear Crazy Horse tackle Sledgehammer.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: NICK LOWE - QUALITY STREET

Named after those tins of assorted chocolates you get at Christmas, this is Lowe's first foray in the novelty holiday market, and I couldn't wish for a better bloke to shake up the moribund festive scene.  In a year where the big Christmas releases feature Susan Boyle, Kelly Clarkson and the bearded wonders from Duck Dynasty, thanks be for a disc you might actually want to play when folks come over or trees get trimmed.  Since he's a retro guy already, Lowe fits right in with the glory days of holiday numbers, back when Nat King Cole and Bing would entertain us with cool Yule cuts.

Being no slouch with a handy rhyme, Lowe cooked up some new, yet old-fashioned numbers for this, with his usual humour and flair.  Christmas At The Airport is the story of someone locked in the terminal after his flight was cancelled by snow ("I'm doing Santa's sleigh ride on the baggage carousel").  I Was Born In Bethlehem is a retelling of the Christmas story, except from the Saviour's point of view.  Lowe's always cheeky.  Who else would recast Silent Night as a ska number?  And it works, just great.  Hepcat jazz fans will enjoy Ron Sexsmith's cut Hooves On The Roof, written especially for the album.  And how about the traditional Rise Up Shepherd, with bongos and sitar?

There's an easy-breezy feel across the disc, which will make it a fun listen for your holiday guests.  Most of the cuts have that cheesy home organ sound you might remember from your parents' living room, and if this doesn't bring back the heyday of the Holiday, then you must be the Grinch.  "Mom's gonna get that doo-dad she's been craving, and Dad's going to get his customary tie."  Lowe's captured the spirit of the great Christmas albums of the past.

SEE THE BRAND-NEW BLUE RODEO VIDEO RIGHT HERE!

As promised, here's the full video for the new Blue Rodeo single,  Mattawa / New Morning Sun.  The unique double-single is featured in this short film by director Chris Mills, who came up with the concept that included music from both songs, and captured the feel of the entire new album, In Our Nature.  Recorded at Greg Keelor's rural farm, the same spot where the group made its iconic and best-loved album Five Days In July, the album goes on sale Tuesday, Oct. 29.  The video is being launched today.  Have a look!

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: LINDA THOMPSON - WON'T BE LONG NOW

One of the great modern folk voices, Thompson was always in the shadow of her ex-husband Richard, partially because on their shared 70's albums he did much of the writing, playing and some of the singing, while she only sang and wrote a bit  Later, her output slowed to a trickle, a vocal paralysis to blame for some of that, while his recordings and reputation increased.  None of this changes the fact she's a grand performer, and always puts together a heartfelt and terrific set of songs, often laced with irony and sadness.

Thompson also surrounds herself with class-A companions, somewhat easier these days as her family has matured in the business.  Her most frequent collaborator is her son Teddy, who features strongly on the album, co-writing with her, performing, bringing in a new melodic and upbeat approach, especially on the cut As Fast As My Feet, as fun and poppy as she'll ever get.  Thompson's other kids are here, Kami and Muna, and even a grandchild, plus Richard and one of his sons too.  Also on board is our own Ron Sexsmith, and the daughter of Levon, Amy Helm.

Fans will be thrilled with the reunion with Richard, on opening cut Love's For Babies And Fools, which features just his acoustic guitar playing.  It's a return to their classic sound, and there's no denying the delicious humour in this anti-love song, as Linda sings “I care only for myself / Love’s for babies and for fools”.  Elsewhere there's everything from ancient-sounding folk to grand harmonies, a fine full album.

A SNEAK PEAK OF BLUE RODEO'S NEW VIDEO

Here's part two of our countdown to the new Blue Rodeo album, called In Our Nature, out Tuesday, Oct. 29. Earlier in the week, you could stream the whole album on this site. Now, here's a sneak peak at the brand new video for the first single from the album, also coming out next week. Actually it's for a couple of songs, New Morning Sun and Mattawa. And in fact, filmmaker Chris Mills came up with a unique concept that incorporated most of the music from the album into the video. He explains how that came about: "After spending close time with the band, shooting and rehearsing all these great songs," says Mills, "The idea developed to try to make a video that encapsulated the feel for the ALBUM rather than just the songs. I shared this with the team, and was encouraged to "run with it". "Thankfully, the support and resources were in a place to help me expand and evolve the project, and so, we now have a "music video" style project, which condenses two songs and a few of the narrative elements which THEN ties back into a completely separate, (much longer) ALBUM FILM, which uses mood, performance, a bit of imagination, and a mixture of real life and story elements to try to reflect the great spirit of these sessions, and to deliver a "sampler plate" of this well-crafted album." "I hope that, like me, this sampler will leave you hungry for more, and help remind people that, although loving music one or two songs at a time is awesome, there are also great rewards that come from the experience of taking part in some of the relationships that a collection of songs have with one another." Hear, hear! We agree wholeheartedly with those sentiments. You're going to have a chance to watch the whole film on Monday at this site, but for now, check out this teaser video:

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - MUSCLE SHOALS

Muscle Shoals is a town in Alabama that spawned not one, but two major recording studios, responsible for the stuff of legend.  Now a new documentary is making the rounds, and while I hadn't had the chance to catch it yet, I'm told it is one of the very best of its kind, a fascinating history that includes some of the giants of modern music.  Everybody from The Rolling Stones to Aretha Franklin to Paul Simon to Lynyrd Skynyrd made some of their biggest hits in the town, and some pretty exciting stories are told by these folks in the film.

You can't go wrong with a soundtrack from the movie either.  The only thing that could be a problem is a licensing issue, which probably explains the lack of Wild Horses or Brown Sugar from the collection, but who doesn't have those?  There is more than enough to last an hour, and really, this could so easily be a gigantic box set.  The earlier music comes from producer Rick Hall, who recorded the soul singer Arthur Alexander in the early 60's.  Alexander was beloved by The Beatles and The Stones, who both covered his stuff, and his You Better Move On was a big enough hit that Hall could afford to build FAME Studios.  His next hit was Steal Away by Jimmy Hughes, which cemented the reputation for the new place.  Both Steal Away and You Better Move On are included on the soundtrack.  Stars started knocking on the door, and the hits included here are When A Man Loves A Woman, by Percy Sledge, Tell Mama by Etta James and I Never Loved A Man by Aretha Franklin. 

Like any good studio of that time, the house band was critical.  Barry Beckett (keyboards), Roger Hawkins (drums), Jimmy Johnson (guitar) and David Hood (bass) were known as The Swampers, and split in 1969 to set up the Muscle Shoals studio, with Cher as the first guest.  The Stones followed soon after, and then it was another hit cavalcade, with The Staple Singers doing I'll Take You There, Paul Simon making Kodachrome, and Lynyrd Skynyrd putting down the original Free Bird.  Add a few wild cards to the lineup, such as Jimmy Cliff's Sitting In Limbo, and Wilson Pickett's Hey Jude with Duane Allman sitting in, and you have a heck of a collection.