Music Reviews - January 2021

Here are some short reviews of some of the more notable music I listened to recently.

• Elvis Presley: From Elvis in Nashville. I've never been a big Elvis fan and much prefer the music he made before joining the Army. But this album, recorded in 1970 is an exception. It's a remix of a Nashville recording session that originally was used to produce three albums, but with all the schmaltzy strings, horns, and background vocals removed. Even if you don't like Elvis, it's worth listening to just to hear the crackerjack backing band.  
• Jefferson Starship: Mother of the Sun. Very much in the spirit of the original Jefferson Starship, and reasonably listenable, but I miss Paul Kantner. For the real thing, listen to Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun. 
• Bob Dylan: Rough and Rowdy. There was a lot of buzz about this, especially the 17-minute-long song about the Kennedy assassination (which I found unlistennable). It's better than much recent Dylan, but I don't think it's essential listenning. 
• The Doors: Morrison Hotel 50th Anniversary: A remarkably inconsistent album, with both some of the Doors' best and worst songs. The bonus tracks and studio jams are more interesting than most of the original album cuts.
• David Crosby: Voyage (Box Set). A solid retrospective of Crosby's career. I wish Spotify had the full box set, as I would like to have heard some of the previously unreleased material. His post-2000 material is very strong and I will have to dig into more of it. 
• Grateful Dead: Celebrating Owsley "Bear" Stanley. A Spotify playlist celebrating the Dead's legendary soundman. Mostly early Dead, up to 1972, including a transcendent Dark Star from 1970. 
• Vanilla Fudge: Out Through the In Door. I loved some of Vanilla Fudge's covers back in the day, so I was excited to find that there was a later album of Led Zeppelin covers. If you like Zeppelin, you might like this, but it doesn't have the crunchy feel of the best of the early Fudge with more guitar and not as much organ. Their live album from 1991 is more listenable.
• Tana Quartet: Philip Glass, String Quartet No. 7. Not essential Glass, but pretty. I will have to track down more of his string quartets.