Jeff's Quick Picks -- Elton John

Elton John
Tumbleweed Connection [Deluxe Edition]

I decided to cheat this week with my Quick Picks; instead of a song I’d like to highlight an album. A Deluxe Edition, to be exact. Last week, there were two reissues of two classic Elton John albums released, his self titled work and it’s sequel, Tumbleweed Connection. My choices were limited to one or the other, and in the end Jeff left Best Buy with a tumbleweed in hand.

Tumbleweed Connection ranks quite high on the list of the great Elton John albums; in my book it alternates in the top spot with Captain Fantastic. Thus, I was quite curious to listen to alternate takes/new material from a truly classic album. The results were pleasing enough, although not hugely enlightening.

“There Goes A Well-Known Gun” is presented in a completely different fashion; foreshadow of Captain Fantastic with it’s country rock vibe. I love the original, but this version has it’s moments. “Sisters Of The Cross” is the only 100% new song contained on the album, but it’s intriguing enough to make one ponder what could have been. John demonstrates his amazing command of performance on just a piano once more; in that he is at the top of the heap.

The Deluxe Edition concludes with 4 songs lifted from an unreleased series of BBC Sessions, and are well worth the time to listen to. These are songs that would not be performed live for decades in some cases, and here John and his band infuse them a raw energy of an act trying to make it big (“Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun” and “Burn Down The Mission” in particular).

This is one of Elton’s best albums, and in this format it has received a fresh update with enough bonus material to provide some perspective. For a Deluxe Edition, that is all one can ask for.

Jeff's Quick Picks -- Rooney

"I Should've Been After You"
Rooney
Calling The World

Retro-rock has been one of the driving forces behind popular music for a few years now; I might argue it began with the garage rock revival of the early 00's, but that's just a personal opinion. Point is, a great deal of bands these days seek to emulate the sound/style of their elders. Some do this better than others.

I couldn't tell you much about Rooney as a band, apparently they have a decent reputation and I believe one of the members is the brother of a member of the band Phantom Planet. Their pop/rock sensibilities are impeccable however, and that shines through on "I Should've Been After You."

This track contains elements of Queen, Genesis, with a dash of Boston to boot. It is quite the summer song, oozing charisma and energy from every pore. This track really hearkens back to the days when bands used to actually release singles, and that in turn meant something to the consumer. This is a song meant to be spinning on a turntable somewhere during 1976. Perfect example of a song to download for a dollar; more than worth it.

Jeff's Quick Picks -- Paul Simon

"Pigs, Sheep and Wolves"
Paul Simon
You're The One

This quirky number comes to the masses from Simon's 2000 disc You're The One. After a decade that saw no traditional release from Rhymin' Simon, he saw fit to return to his roots...in a matter of speaking.

One can definitely hear the influences of the South African/World music that Simon has utilized throughout his career; but it has lost some of it's charm and uniqueness. Still, the production/musicianship is ten times better than anything you would hear on Top 20 radio.

No, this song loses points on performance of Simon himself. Lyrically, the allegory between Pigs, Sheep, and Wolves and mankind has been made before (In fact I think there's been an album dedicated to it....). Simon's odd vocals don't help matters much; to be frank it sounds as if he decided to lazily toss these off at 9 at night when he was bored and tired. He does this now and then, the worst example being his vocals on "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" from the Simon & Garfunkel live record Old Friends.

Paul Simon has a decidedly hit or miss solo career; this particular song qualifies as a miss.

The Daily Shuffle...

It can be quite a challenge picking music to listen to when your music library is as vast as mine. I’m not trying to gloat or show off, but it’s the truth. Tell me that you have not walked into a video rental store, or the grocery store, and been presented with so many options that you can’t even begin to pick where to start.

When such a time arrives, I tend to crawl up in the fetal position and suck my thumb for a few hours. However, with my music collection, I have the option of one of the most glorious aspects of the CD/MP3 age: SHUFFLE!!

Instead of spending my time debating the merits of listening to Close To The Edge over Kill’em All, I can let my iPod choose for me. One click, and I’m reveling in the entire breadth and scope of my library. What song is my iPod going to deliver? I have no idea, and that’s the beauty of the whole process.

Over time, I’ve come to realize that when I shuffle things up, I am often introduced/reintroduced to songs I had no memory of owning, or even listening to. Therein lies the thrill of listening to music, in a method that was once the sole domination of radio, but now accessible to any consumer.

Our focus here at the Vault are albums, and rightfully so. However, God bless this blog of ours, for it allows a certain degree of latitude and freedom in covering content. We don’t often get the chance to highlight a new song that we heard on the radio, or saw in a commercial, or had a friend tell us about.

So, with an incredibly small amount of fanfare, I introduce “Jeff’s Quick Picks,” whereupon I’ll hit on a few tunes I come across while shuffling. Whether it’s an album cut from a record I know very well to a track that I will swear up and down to never having listened to, rest assured that not even I know what is coming up next.