Shotgun CD reviews are short reviews on CDs that you can usually pick up for $10 or less. For further explanation, check the FAQ

Jimmy Smith - House Party (jazz): My first exposure to Jimmy Smith was on his ridiculously funky album with Wes Montgomery, Dynamic Duo. The handful of Smith’s albums that I have picked up since have been good, but I’m always disappointed because they lack the original funkiness that drew me to Smith in the first place. Smith plays his Hammond organ alongside both Lee Morgan and Art Blakey on this one, making House Party a very smooth and enjoyable ride. It may not be funky, but it’s still good. B+

Junior Brown - Guit With It (county): While his deep country voice and clever lyrics may be typical of classic country, Junior Brown’s guitar and the way he plays it are certainly not. His guitar, called a “guit-steel”, is his own design which combines a steel slide guitar and an electric guitar on a single body. This allows him to switch between the slide and fingerpicking during songs with minimal effort.

I had the luck of being able to see Junior Brown and his guit-steel a number of years ago, and it’s really amazing to watch him effortlessly alternate between the guitar and steel. He is really a master of the twangy, classic country style, and this album is a typical showcase of his talent. If I’m in the mood for Junior, it’s a great listen, but I inevitably feel like I should be driving a big rig in a 70’s movie. If you’re a fan of classic country, or of Junior’s other efforts like Semi-Crazy or Long Walk Back, then this is guaranteed to tickle your fretboard. B

Boris - Amplifier Worship (doom): The beginning of this album starts with a woman talking who is interrupted by what I can only describe as a nuclear bomb exploding through an amplifier. What follows is an hour of repetitive, downtuned drone and screaming in Japanese. Given that there are only five tracks on the album, you can be assured that the periods of drone are long and nondescript enough for me to completely forget that it’s on. I really liked Akuma No Uta, but this is largely forgettable drone. C-

Paul Anka - Rock Swings (swing): I know what you’re thinking “Fuck you, Dyer. You have your head squarely up your ass if you think I’m going to sit here and listen to you review some novelty pop cover album by wrinkly, old Paul Fucking Anka. You have lost it. P.S. - Fuck you, man.” Ok. Ok. I don’t blame you, but hear me out. This may be a novelty cover album, but it’s really good. The first track that I heard off of it was a cover of Survivor’s “Eye of Tiger”, and it took me until the chorus to figure out what I was listening to. Once I did, I burst out laughing because I didn’t see it coming. Even though the originals of most of these songs make me want to put an ice pick in my ear, the Anka versions make them not only palatable, but enjoyable. Anka seems to have put in a lot of effort into selecting and arranging the tracks to really bring out the lyrics more than the originals ever did. This isn’t a Tony Bennett “Unpugged and Washed Up” or a Pat Boone “No More Mr. Nice Guy” joke album. There isn’t a novelty quality to it, and it’s really worth a listen. B+

Descendents - Somery (punk): This is a “best of” compilation of the Descendents’ material prior to 1991, and I think it’s the third abum of theirs that I’ve picked up this year. The album is 28 short San Francisco pop-punk tracks crammed into 55 minutes, including both “I Like Food” and “Weinerschnitzel”, which were my introduction to the Descendents when I was a mere teenager. If you haven’t read my reviews of other Descendents albums, such as Everything Sucks and Cool to Be You, reading them will give you a better feel for what the band is about. I was lucky enough to grab this one for $1.75, although it’s typically difficult to get on the cheap. B+

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