Brad Mehldau | Live in Tokyo
Yes Yes, the Red Sox won!!!! In respect of that monumental event, I think you should all listen to the most talented pianist on the planet today, Brad Mehldau. Saw him on Tuesday, he is truly inspirational, I'm sure some of you have heard him, but give this solo piano disc a spin, it is a treat. And go Red Sox, Go Pats, Go John Kerry, victory happens in 3's, I believe... -G$

On Ambulance LTD's first LP, you can hear influences from the Stones to My Bloody Valentine to Elliot Smith to Spiritualized. NME says they are "White Album Beatles given a 21st Century Makeover." The band admits drawing inspiration from all genres, Motown, 60's psychedelia, 70's rock, 80's Britpop/New Wave, and 90's shoegazing. "The guys learned a lot from the 70's, and they're not just talking the Ramones and other punk rockers or the glam rock of David Bowie, but another side of the decade, the side the NYC rock scene doesn't usually cop to: the blue eyed soul of Hall and Oates, the pure pop of Seals and Crofts, the jazz-rock of Steely Dan and the classic rock of Fleetwood Mac. That's my kinda band, give this great LP a listen. - TK

Fifteen years after their classic debut, smilin & rhymin' Long Island, NY trio De La Soul deliver the clever, top-shelf hip-hop that has captivated listeners around the world. On The Grind Date, their seventh LP, they hook up with Ghostface, Common and MF DOOM, and Madlib and Jay Dee contribute solid production. - Brolin W.

The Slip with The Howling Monkey Horn Section has finally been added to Rhapsody. We had a few people ask for one of those shows, so there you go (Andrew). Also up there is one of The Slip shows with Nathan Moore, Surprise Me Mr. Davis from 3/3/04 in Philadelphia. And their old Flying Frog record called Does is also up there now, one of the first JamBase album reviews.

Hobex, live from Cat's Cradle on 8/7/04 is ready to be heard by you. Hobex is multi-genre outfit from North Carolina led by Greg Humphreys. A Hobex show will take you through authentic excursions into funk, soul, blues, jazz, and R&B.

"In their loping bass lines, chicken scratch guitar lines and high soaring harmonies you can hear the hit-making instincts of Motown, the loose, raw energy of Stax and the grab-bag influences - gospel, pop blues, rock - of Sly Stone and P-Funk," the Memphis Flyer raves. Dig into some Soul Food for yer ears. - TK

GERBIL'S RHAPSODY PLAYLIST FOR OCTOBER 19, 2004

Brown Eyed Woman-Grateful Dead-Europe '72
Bo's Blues-New Monsoon-08.06.2004-Jerry Garcia Birthday Bash-Terra Alta, West Virginia
Ball of Confusion-Widespread Panic-JACKASSoLANTERN
Neanderthal-Kaki King-Legs To Make Us Longer
Menage a Trois-Michael Hedges-Aerial Boundaries
Beer Run-Todd Snider-Near Truths And Hotel Rooms
When The Circus Comes To Town-Phish-Live Phish 11:11.07.1997-McNichols Arena-Denver, Colorado
Driving Backwards With You-The Slip-Alivelectric
Mayakovsky's Smile-The Living Daylights-01.03.2004-Dire Wolf Pub-Whitefish, Montana
Black Man's Cry-Fela Kuti/Ginger Baker-Fela Ransome-Kuti With Ginger Baker Live
Tenth Avenue Freeze Out-Bruce Springsteen-Born to Run
Sometimes I've Won-Yonder Mountain String Band-04.17.2004-The Fillmore-San Francisco, California
Dark Eyes-The Jazz Mandolin Project-03.09.2002-Snow Barn-West Dover, Vermont

Umphrey's McGee is coming to town, it's even better than when Santa comes. They're more fun. This is the premier jam band in all the land, and they'll be hitting the west coast this week. To get us fired up, they have submitted some new shows to Rhapsody, please chew on 08.27.04, Canopy Club, Champaign, IL and 09.02.04, Temple Club, East Lansing, MI and 09.13.04, Exit/In, Nashville, TN and 08.07.04, Skyline Stage, Chicago, IL and 07.17.04, TLA, Philadelphia, PA and the list goes on and on, this band has 30 shows in Rhapsody, second only to Pearl Jam! Der Bluten Kat!

Kaki King just released her first major label album, entitled Legs to Make Us Longer on Epic Records. While her debut, Everybody Loves You, was nearly perfect, this one shows her maturing, branching out to play some new instruments, including pedal steel, giving her longer legs. Just wait til she starts singing! What an angel.

Sound Tribe Sector 9 fans rejoice! No evasive maneuvers at all, the band has made an additional 4 shows available on JamBaseRhapsody, including Mishiwaka 6.20.03, Harmonic Convergence 2002 (night one 08.16.02) and night two 08.17.02, as well as an international performance from Tokyo, 5.23.02, Aoyama Cay, Japan. Tap in, and Breathe...

GERBIL'S RHAPSODY PLAYLIST FOR OCTOBER 12, 2004

The Hobo Song-Old and in the Way-Breakdown
50 Ways To Leave Your Lover-Marco Benevento & Joe Russo-09.05.2002-B.B King's Blues-New York, New York
Dr. Kitch-Lord Kitchener-Trojan Mod Reggae Box Set
Soon Forgotten-Muddy Waters-Muddy Waters At Newport 1960
Richard's Club(previously unreleased)-Beau Jocque & the Zydeco Hi-Rollers-The Best of Beau Jocque
Uptight(Everything's Alright)-Stevie Wonder-The Definitive Collection
Sloop John B-The Beach Boys-Pet Sounds
Mi Negra-Poncho Sanchez-El Conguero
Dream Brother-Jeff Buckley-Mystery White Boy
Sea Monkey's-Tea Leaf Green-03.29.2002-Bar One-Squaw Valley, California
We Will Become Silhouettes-The Postal Service-Give Up
Britney Spears-Robert Walter's 20th Congress-01.09.2002-The Casbah-San Diego, California
Summer of My Fall-Surprise Me, Mr Davis-03.03.2004-The Tin Angel-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mos Def - The New Danger is out and it's quite amazing, actually. Far from a hip-hop album, there are elements of blues, rock, downtempo groove, along with Mr. Def's incredible wordsmith flow. As my man B Derl says, "He's out to redefine hip-hop... break free of the stagnancy of the standard beats and rhymes albums and make something new and original. Of course there will be some haters out there that will find a reason not to like this album -- they'll bitch about the lack of b-boy rhymes on some tracks, the lack of beats/samples on others, the Bad Brains vibe on others, the singing on others, etc. Whatever.
Point is that people will try to find a reason to hate and in doing so they will completely miss the point. This isn't about hip hop or rap or categories or labels. This is about incredible music. Only been listeing to this for one day so it's a bit early to be saying this, but I think this album shows a lot of the ultimate potential and possibilities that exist for music. It's an example of why listeners and musicians need to be out there embracing change and ambitious, challenging music instead of falling back on the mainstream formulaic scenes that the public and the media have deemed to be worthy of praise in any particular genre."
So check it out, in either explicit or edited versions. - tk

Brian Wilson's Smile was in his head for almost 40 years before it finally came out on record this month. The original Smile was supposed to come out in 1967. The album was "lost" and released as the great but unfortunately compromised Smiley Smile instead. Insane genius Brian Wilson has finally re-recorded the "greatest lost album ever" just as he envisioned it back in the '60s. This is a very big deal, regardless if you were ever interested in the Beach Boys.

GERBIL'S RHAPSODY PLAYLIST FOR OCTOBER 5, 2004

The Obstacle Course-Afroskull-Monster for the Masses
Red Red Wine-UB40-Labour of Love
Red Bean-Marcia Ball-Blue House
Son of Jah-Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey-Symbiosis Osmosis
Dupree's Diamond Blues-The Grateful Dead-Aoxomoxoa
Skeleton of Quinto-The Folksmen-A Mighty Wind:The Album
Romeo & Juliet-Dire Straits-Alchemy
Rita-Los Lobos-The Ride
Bukowski-Modest Mouse-Good News For People Who Love Bad News
Everybody Wanna Get Funky One More Time(Part 1)-The JB's-Funky Good Time:The Anthology
Help Me, Rhonda-The Langley Schools Music Project-Innocence and Despair
Lisa Says-The Velvet Underground-1969:Velvet Underground Live Vol. 1

The Dirty South, the newest album by Drive-By Truckers is finally up for streaming and burning. As The Kayceman writes in his Dirty South album review, "Continuing to prove that they may be the best storytelling band around, The Dirty South is a collection of musical myths more than songs. Some are factual and happened last year, and others are fictional and set 50 years back. Either way they paint a picture of what life is like for the less fortunate down south."
For more reading, check out this interview with Pattterson Hood at Glide Magazine. For more DBT audio, you can listen to 2003's Decoration Day.