It's been a while since I made an In the Pipe post so here's some of the titles that are coming out in the next few months that look pretty interesting. Following that, I'll list a few more CDs that will be added to the Featured Titles section this week.

Syl Johnson - Complete Mythology (4CD + 6LP)
This is a honking big set (each box includes 4 CDs and 6LPs and a 52 page book) which doesn't come out until October but it's something I imagine a number of Vortexans will be interested in. If it's something you absolutely know you want for sure you should .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) so I'm sure to order enough copies. It's a heavy set and I'd rather buy enough in one order than pay individual shipping on a bunch of copies. I don't have exact pricing but imagine it will be between $70 and $80. Numero is selling them for us$75 plus shipping. As with other Numero Group releases, I'll do my damnedest to offer the best price in the city. In the past we've offered up their CD and LP catalog cheaper than anyone in the country. If there are any other NG titles you're keen on, let me know and we'll order them at the same time.

James Blackshaw - All is Falling
A favorite of mine and Yukon, 12-string guitarist James Blackshaw is releasing another album on Young God Records. Pitchfork called him a "renowned figure in the space between folk, classical music, minimalism, and experimentalism." His previous release, The Glass Bead Game, was a delight and this new one--his ninth--looks to be even better. Of it, Spin wrote, "[With All Is Falling,] Blackshaw graduates from gifted fingerpicker to masterful composer, combining John Fahey's tender arpeggios and Terry Riley's cycling rhythms. Presented as a 45-minute suite, All Is Falling sweeps his electric 12-string into a tangle of keening cellos, dive-bombing violins, pinprick glockenspiels, and clacking percussion. It's essentially a chattering crescendo of melody and tension, with piano-based snowdrifts giving way to Morricone epics that ultimately unfold into a harrowing, nail-biting sonic swarm." Here's an audio sample of an excerpt of Part 7. Vortex will have a limited number of copies on CD and Vinyl within a week. After that they're available by special order.

Fennesz / Daniell / Buck - Knoxville
Christian Fennesz, David Daniell and Tony Buck (three of the most respected experimental music players working today) played a set at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN last year. The live recording is being released on cd and wax on Thrill Jockey as Knoxville. A press release from the label describes the title thusly: "Minimalist drum passages scatter over the top of textured layers of guitar and subsumed melodic sequences, eventually giving way to warm beds of evolving, tactile drones. Sonic rain showers roll into full-blown thunderstorms of effected guitar and pounding drums only to yield a field of shattered electronic and percussive debris."

Best Coast - Crazy For You
I brought copies of the limited edition version of this CD into the store last week and they all sold within 24 hours. I've got a couple of the standard release on order and we should have them soon. It's a lovely dirty pop album.

Arthur Russell - The World of Arthur Russell (CD or 3LP; rerelease)
Wire called New Yorker (by way of San Francisco and Iowa) Arthur Russell "One of the great songwriters of the 20th century". Among his fans are Todd Terry and Philip Glass, who he also collaborated with (he's also worked with David Byrne, Allen Ginsburg, Modern Lover Ernie Brooks, and Studio 54 DJ Nicky Siano). Primarily known as a cellist and writer of quirky lyrics, Russell seemed to have a hand in many pies (minimalism, disco, garage, classical, avant). Soul Jazz is rereleasing The World Of Arthur Russell as a CD or triple vinyl. Last time I looked, we also had a used copy of Russell's wonderful World of Echo on CD. Here's an unofficial video for one of the songs on this SJR rerelease: "A Little Lost":




And here's what's being added to the Featured Titles section this week:

Come - Don't Ask Don't Tell (USA, Rock, 1994)
In 1994, I saw this band mop the floor with Bob Mould's band, Sugar, when they opened up for the former Huskers' member at the Masonic Temple. I've been listening to Thalia Zedek's output since and her 2001 solo release, Been Here and Gone, remains one of my favorite records of the zeros.

“Zedek's lead vocals have the sensuous drawl of a blues mama, but her lyrics are expressions of alienation, pain, and general pissed-offedness that are more than matched by the dual lead guitars, which play intertwining lines that bounce off of each other at unexpected angles. The combination of those two elements and the extended song lengths -- nearly half of the ten songs are over six minutes -- makes Don't Ask Don't Tell a particularly intense and emotional experience.” -- AllMusic (4.5 outta 5)

Architecture in Helsinki - In Case We Die (USA, Pop, Electronic, Twee, 2005)

“… lush, playful, multifaceted …” -- AllMusic Guide (4.5 out of 5)

"Armed with more ideas than should probably be legal … don't be surprised if you experience a little dizziness, or a little frustration, as every catchy melody on this disc (and there are dozens) tends to arrive and depart faster than a subway train.” -- Pitchfork (8.8 out of 10)

These New Puritans - Hidden (England, Rock, Alternative, 2010)

“These New Puritans operate on a level that connects emotionally and viscerally before the cerebral side is even engaged … Some of the most striking features of the album are the brass and wind orchestrations … the sound of an ambitious young band as eager to use every tool at its disposal as it is to avoid studiously doing what's been done before…” -- AllMusic Guide (4 out of 5)

“… risktaking and relentless focus … a strikingly inventive and original rock record.” -- Pitchfork (7.7 out of 10)

Morphine - Cure for Pain (USA, Rock, Pop, 1993)
“Morphine is a rarity -- bluesy, bare-bones rock & roll without any guitars. Instead of guitar riffs, the trio relies on sliding two-string basslines, raucous saxophones, and wry, ironically detached vocals… Mark Sandman's two-string slide bass and Dana Colley's sax work help create impressive atmospherics throughout the album. Cure for Pain was unquestionably one of the best and most cutting-edge rock releases of the '90s.” -- AllMusic Guide (4.5 out of 5)

Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom (USA, Rock, Pop, 1994)
"Ruby Vroom was one of the great debut albums of the '90s. It was an invigorating, refreshing blend of relentlessly funky beats and downtown beatnik hipster and jazz sensibilities that came around when grunge was the order of the day… There isn't a bad song on here; it's their best album top to bottom, and it still sounds fresh ten years down the road. Excellent.” -- AllMusic Guide (4.5 out of 5)

Animal Hospital - Memory (USA, Rock, Pop, 2010)
“[An] astonishing, multi-layered epic…sweeping strings, twangy, edgy drops with extraordinary arrangements that keep you at once transfixed and disturbed … it has all these different, wildly incompatible ideas that somehow come together and merge into each other, making use of electronic devices, shelves of effects, delay units, as well as shiny guitar tones, vocal washes, and dramatic build-ups that create a unique sound It's the realisation of one man's messed up vision, held together by things that shouldnt work but somehow really do. Just awesome. ” -- Boomkat