Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby present to you my listening fixes from the past week. Explosions In The Sky was a highlight live, and The Armoires had the most spins. Check them out, you may just find it as entertaining and enjoyable as I did.

Explosions In The Sky – Live at Midway

We have every album EITS (Explosions In The Sky) released, so we were excited to hear them live. They did not disappoint us. The show was excellent in every way. The venue was a good choice for them; it was not so large that they were playing in a half-empty room and not so small that we were packed like sardines in a tin. We had a good view straight in line with the middle of the stage and on the rail overlooking the standing-room floor. The volume was perfect; so many shows have the volume cranked to a level that must damage the speakers and have way too much bass. EITS had none of that. The stage lights were great as well. They didn’t use the front-of-stage lights; they are an instrumental band, so they don’t need to highlight the lead vocalist. Most of their music is collaborative, so there is no need to spotlight the soloist because they don’t usually have one. Their performance style, which is a testament to their collaborative nature, was a sight to behold. They employed plenty of back-of-house lighting to create a similar effect to shadow puppets.

The music, ah, yes, the music, it kept me enthralled for the entire show. EITS is a five-man band: a drummer, a keyboard player who also plays guitar, both bass and six-string, two electric guitar players and a bass/six-string player who often swaps guitars mid-song. They had moments when the music exploded from the stage to engulf us. EITS are experts at building tension in the music that gradually rises until the stage can’t hold it any longer, and it washes over us in a tsunami of sound.

Having Joel treat me to this concert as a gift for my seventieth birthday was beautiful. What a grand way to celebrate starting a new decade. Thank you, Joel.

Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited

This album is a frequent spinner on my turntable. It is not my favourite Dylan album; that title belongs to Desire, but Highway 61 Revisited is still a good album.

 The Armoires – Octoberland

Big Stir Records

THE ARMOIRES – the Burbank, California-based band led by Christina Bulbenko (vocals, keys) and Rex Broome (vocals, guitar), also known as the founders of Big Stir Records – have exuded equal parts brash confidence and sophisticated mystery. There’s been the swirling psych-pop manifesto “We Absolutely Mean It,” the sweetly comforting “Music & Animals,” the dramatic strings-driven “Here Comes The Song,” and, up next, the giddy postpunk pulsebeat of “Ridley & Me After The Apocalypse.” All of them display the band revelling in their unique sound: the ambiguously androgynous harmonies of Broome and Bulbenko, the intricate instrumental interplay between Larysa Bulbenko’s endlessly versatile viola and the electric 12-strings, sweeping synths and delicate piano of the band leaders, and the unerringly empathetic rhythms of John M. Borack (drums) and Clifford Ulrich (bass).

Octoberland is easy to listen to, but I would not call it easy listening. It is playful but not childish. It is profound but not abysmal. It is joyous without being mawkish. It is sweet without being syrupy. In my own words, it is a damn good album.

Various – Cheapskates Vol. 4

This is not a good road trip listener. It does have some good tunes, just not enough for the road noise.

Various – At the Foot of the Cross

Valerie liked this one a lot. I used to like it a lot, but that has slipped, and I’m just liking it now. It is high quality in every aspect; if you are into Christian music, this should be on your playlist.

Various – Country Greats

It is a mixed bag of county and Western music, mainly from the sixties. This recording has no flow, and even the mix level is crazy. One song was so low we had to turn the volume up, and the next one blared at us to turn the volume down. The bass was too heavy on some songs, and the vocals were buried in the mix of instruments on other tracks. The songs didn’t have a chronological flow or have like-minded songs grouped.

They had a version of Jambalaya by George Jones, a good recording artist, no doubt, but this song belongs to Hank Williams. Daddy Sang Bass was by Carl Perkins on this CD, and it should be Johnny Cash. The list goes on. There are too many errors accumulated in these three CDs for an enjoyable listen; there are some great songs on here, but not enough, and not enough by the right artists or in the correct place on the tracklist.

An interesting twist on this album is the Queen of Soul, Tina Turner, singing three songs taken from her C/W album Good Hearted Woman. This isn’t her first C/W album either; Ike Turner had her record the album Tina Turns the Country On! in an attempt to expose her to a wider audience. I actually like her take on these songs; they are probably my favourite songs on a sketchy album.

The Moody Blues – Greatest Hits

I’m not a big fan of The Moody Blues, but I appreciate their music in general and a few songs in particular. Tuesday Afternoon, Nights In White Satin, & I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band) are all three good tunes; I remember them from being big hits on the radio way back when. Once upon a time, I had these on vinyl. Now I just have this on CD.

Phil Keaggy – Play Thru Me

Continuing my trip thru the alphabet we are still in K, and Phil Keaggy, who we started listening to last week. Play Thru Me is another good example of his guitar playing. This album has excellent notes on the inner sleeve that tell us which guitars he played on each song and a bit of history on how he wrote them. I wish more albums had inner sleeves this good; thanks, Phil.