For the second annual “Best Albums You HAVEN’T heard” issue, we mined the combined musical knowledge that our staff had. Despite our best efforts, we could only come up with around a dozen choices. But these choices are largely ignored, despite their musical merit. You can’t go wrong with any of the choices on the following, and there’s something for every taste. If you’re looking for the cream of the crop, and not the manufactured pop or R’B that you’ll find on most radio stations today, here’s a primer of some recent albums you should pick up as soon as possible.
Angie Stone – “Stone Love” Her sophomore album included the gem “Wish I Didn’t Miss You,” which was remixed as a club single and then made further waves. Her latest album continues in the neo-soul tradition, and Stone hits a home run again. Turn to “That Kind of Love” with a fantastic duet between her and Betty Wright, or the Snoop Dogg pairing on “I Wanna Thank Ya” for another great track. “Lovers Ghetto” is a slow smoldering piece of soul, while “Karma” provides a great groove. -Joshua O’Connell
Big City Dreams “To Say the Least” Although this release from the Floridian group is a short, five track EP, the quality is there. The music is very relaxing, and has a very strong acoustic sound. Big City Dreams plays the type of music that makes you forget what you were thinking about before listening. It can be played loud, but yet has nothing but a calming effect. The songs aren’t the stereotypical “boy loves girl, boy loses girl” stories, either. The lyrics are more on the inspirational side, with a touch of optimism. All around, a good listen…make yourself a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy. -Erin Frank
Matisyahu – “Live at Stubbs” No games. No gimmicks. Just a Jewish boy from White Plains, N.Y. living the life of a “Hasidic reggae superstar.” Laugh if you want, but this album is good. This recently released live album features Matisyahu’s stripped-down reggae backed by one of the tightest three-piece backups I’ve heard recently. Raps and chants blend fluidly between English and Yiddish, a feat considering how hard it has to be to bust a rhyme full of Old Testament fervor. Oh, and did I mention he does a mean Yiddish beat box? Oi vey! -Tara E. Lynch
John Frusciante “Shadows Collide With People” John Frusciante’s sometimes funkadelic, always melodic, and indefinitely original guitar work has found two major outlets. The first is with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but the second is his little-known solo efforts. Since 1994, he has been venting his creative soul through albums like “Niandra LaDes ‘ Usually A T-Shirt,” “Smile From The Streets You Hold,” and his last release, “Shadows Collide With People.” It’s a complete departure from his Chili Peppers albums. Pick it up and find a completely different side to the genius that helped bring you albums like “Blood Sugar Sex Magic.” -Brian Lynch
Howie Day “Stop All the World Now” Even though Howie Day once performed at Fairfield, many are still unfamiliar with most of his music. “Collide” is starting to nudge its way onto radio, but other tracks are equally strong. “Perfect Time of Day” is a great track with a slight amount of electronica interspersed into the track (which is a hallmark of the entire album, in fact). “You ‘ a Promise” and “This Time Around” are other highlights of the guitar-driven album. A star that deserves to shine. -Joshua O’Connell
MC Hawking “A Brief History of Rhyme” Many complain that rap today is stuck in a morass of violence and sex, with no intellectual component. Enter MC Hawking. Using a computer synthesizer to emulate the “voice” of ALS-sufferer, physicist and all-around genius Stephen Hawking, the album mixes gangster rap with advanced quantum theory. I assure you, you’ll never learn so much from a song as you will from “Entropy” or “UFT for the MC.” The Cambridge scholar also includes tracks about gunning down some smarmy M.I.T. punks who iced his friend. This album is far more amusing than it should be. -Steven M. Andrews
Mae “The Everglow” With long interludes of brilliantly constructed, soothing melodies, powerful chords, and poetic lyrics, Mae gives listeners an album that brings them through a range of emotions, from loneliness, searching and longing to inspiration, hope, and pure happiness. The first and last songs, “We’re So Far Away” and “The Sun and the Moon,” are simply amazing, containing nothing but piano and strong vocals, with a hint of synthesizer. Self-defined as “melodic, energetic rock,” Mae has an emo sound, but without the stereotypically whiny lyrics. -Katie McCarthy
Reina – This is Reina Reina has been a club favorite since 1997, when “Find Another Woman” introduced her powerful voice to the masses. When her label went belly up a couple of years ago, Robbins Records snapped her up, and finally gave her a worthy debut. “No One’s Going to Change You” is a powerful woman anthem, while “If I Close My Eyes” is a more optimistic track. But it’s “Why” that caught my ear, with a technically difficult piano backing that chugs along with a creative midtempo groove. As an added bonus, the label even included a Christmas track, which will likely be dusted off in clubs for years. -Joshua O’Connell
Talib Kweli “The Beautiful Struggle” It never fails to amaze me when I talk to “hip-hop” fans that haven’t heard of Talib Kweli. He’s not exactly underground. He’s not crassly commercial either – but that’s a good thing. On “Struggle,” his second solo effort, Kweli manages to balance street credibility with intellectual, socially conscious lyrics, like rappers Common and Mos Def (with whom he’s made several albums). In Arabic, “Talib Kweli” means “student of truth.” Fitting, because the album will school you. -Tara E. Lynch
Tomoyasu Hotei “Electric Samurai” If you’ve seen Kill Bill Volume 1, you know the one badass instrumental that this man’s known for – “Battle Without Honor Or Humanity.” But if you’re jonesing for more where that came from , check out Electric Samurai. Hotei’s versatility shines with songs that would complement the scores of horror movies, westerns, car chases and tense drama. But, as a bonus, you get a kickass cover of Led Zeppelin’s “The Immigrant Song.” -Brian Lynch
William Shatner – “Has Been” Ben Folds produced this album, a marriage of catchy music with Shatner’s surprisingly endearing halting style of speech. The Captain lays down a cover of Pulp’s “Common People” to open the album, and as covers go Shatner’s impresses. Don’t miss the cameos from Aimee Mann and Henry Rollins. -Ethan Fry former Mirror editor in chief
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