Another Album of the Day update

Once again, I have listened to a number of albums lately, but have been remiss in writing about them daily. So here is a collection of music I have been listening to over the last couple of weeks:
The first disc of Johnny Cash’s "Unearthed" boxed set is quite a collection. A few songs show up here that I’ve heard before, like "Old Chunk of Coal," but for the most part it is all new. One of my favorites from the disc is "The Fourth Man in the File," which is preceded by a scripture reading from Cash. I would listen to Cash read from Leviticus.

I first listened to Two Gallants after listening to Cash, and thought they sounded remarkably similar to Cash. So I waited some time, listened to other stuff, and came back the them. Their album, "What the Toll Tells" still reminds me of Cash, especially the opener "Las Cruces Jail." To me, they stand somewhere in the middle of Cash, the White Stripes and the Gun Club. They have that folk-punk thing going on, where songs will start off with lilting guitars and then blow up into a controlled fury. The vocals have a passion and earnestness that reminds me of Kurt Cobain on songs like "Pennyroyal Tea" and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night." The kind of voice that manages to swell and fill the room on even a slow-tempo, quiet song.

I continued my pursuit of the appeal of the Beastie Boys with "Paul’s Boutique." I remember this album from my high school days, but it was mostly used as the soundtrack to my trips with friends to Taco Bell or the movie theater. It also reminds me quite a bit of my old high school art classes, because of the classmates there who were big Beasties fans. This is probably the first Beasties album that I like for the most part. The highlight for me is still "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun," but that may be because it’s one of the few songs I recognize. I also really enjoyed the medley "B-Boy Bouillabaise." The album still has a lot of filler I could do without. I may have finally found the great Beasties album in "To the 5 Burroughs," but I’m not through it yet, so that will have to wait.

Finally, Last Exit’s "Headfirst into the Flames: Live in Europe," given to me by my friend Kendrick, who has also given me some stuff from Last Exit’s saxophonist, Peter Brotzmann, is amazing. The 1989 live album is a piece of avante-garde jazz genius. The band melds rock with jazz and I absolutely loved this.