MUSIC SCENE

Oh By the Way - Capitol Records Pink Floyd

Oh By the Way

Long time Fort Myers hipster turned New York City hipster Todd Brooks once told me that Pink Floyd is the most successful cult band ever. Whenever I listen to Pink Floyd, I think about how Brooks hit that nail on the head. Oh By the Way is a new Pink Floyd box set containing faithful CD reproductions of the their original vinyl studio albums. It uses original artwork, gatefold LP-style covers and dust sleeves, as well as a new poster and more. From the first track on their first album, "Astronomy Domine," through the end of their last, Division Bell, Pink Floyd's songs rarely clocked in at under four minutes. Many songs bleed into others, making them frustrating for radio programmers and disc jockeys. It's not exactly what a pop group with an eye toward making hit records and getting airplay would do. A lot of fans have the albums Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall so embedded into the grey matter that they can call up tracks in their minds without having to pull out the discs. But many of them have never listened to The Piper At The Gates of Dawn (my personal favorite) or the wonderful psychedelic folk song "Fearless" from the album Meddle. Packaged beautifully, Oh By the Way is also an excellent opportunity for any fan to just get it over with and hear what they may have missed. The late comedian Mitch Hedberg said that a severed foot is a perfect stocking stuffer. But if you have trouble finding one of those, Oh By the Way may be the next best thing!

Ask Forgiveness - Drag City Records Bonnie Prince Billy

Ask Forgiveness

It's better to ask forgiveness than permission has always been my modus operandi and from the title of the new Bonnie Prince Billy (aka Will Oldham) disc it is clear that I am not alone in this wrecking ball approach to getting things done. Ask Forgiveness is the new disc by this troubadour from Kentucky. With one exception, Ask Forgiveness is a disc of Oldham's take on songs written by other songwriters. Oldham accompanies himself with an acoustic guitar for the most part as he does on most of his records. Mickey Newbury's "I Came Here to Hear the Music" opens this disc which is a rather conventional choice but then, in typical Oldham fashion, he steers off into left field by covering the Bjork/ Thom York song "I've Seen it All" which contains a line "What about China, have you seen the great wall? All walls are great if the roof doesn't fall." He also does Danzig's "Am I Demon" and R. Kelly's "The World's Greatest." The only song penned by Oldham, "I Loved the Streets" is the lightest, peppiest number on Ask Forgiveness where he says "Jesus loved the streets and Mohammed too, with the times they had and the job at hand, will I ask you man, what are they to do?" When Bonnie Prince Billy handed in his finished recording do you think that he asked permission from the copywriter holders if he could record their songs? I rather doubt it. Bob Jones is founder of Silver Platter CDs EST1998 in Fort Myers. For info or to suggest music, email recordreviews@comcast.net