February is Facial Hair month, so I have tried really hard to incorporate that into the reviews. Since this involves actually doing research and work, I have only 5 new releases for you.
Also, most of the new releases were pretty bad and I am finding it tough to find nice things to say about them. Nobody ever told me music journalism would be so tough.
Yanni – Truth Of Touch
Yanni has been rocking the stache for decades, but now has seen the error of his ways. His new CD shows him without the trademark lip rug which for many years made him look like a 2nd rate porn star. He does however have a grey stubble.
Yanni is practically a demi-god in the new age world although he prefers to call it contemporary classical. He is one of a handful of performers, including Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre, who would have no career whatsoever if Casio had not invented the synthesizer.
The Wailin' Jennys – Bright Morning Stars
This could almost be the most aptly named band of all time, except for the fact that none of them are called Jenny. They formed in Winnipeg in 2002 by accident in a guitar store. Their music perpetuates the popular theory that Canadian singers are wailing banshees. They sound like a less political version of Dixie Chicks on a cold day. Unconfirmed, but facial hair status is assumed to be minimal.
The Sing-off – The Sing-off: The Best of Season 2
The NBC show featuring A Capella singing is a cheaper version of American Idol. It has less well known judges, a 2nd string host and they didn't want to pay a house band to play music to accompany the singers. The 10 groups from season 2 of the show were invited into the studio to get some extra minutes of fame to add to the 15 they have already used up. I didn't watch the show on TV but I checked the website and spotted 3 goatees, 2 full beards and 1 mustache.
Motörhead – The World Is Yours
These guys rock and have done since 1975. Although the lineup has changed a few times since the early days, the one constant is bass playing front-man Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister's facial hair. He is still trying to push the chops'n'stache combo into the fashion pages even after 35 years. Maybe this time with their 21st album, the 'friendly chops' can become an icon outside of hard rock or prison.
Teddy Thompson – Bella
Despite contributing 2 tracks to the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack, Teddy Thompson remains practically unknown outside of the London Sufi commune in which he was born. Those who know his work describe his vocal talents to those of Jackson Browne, Chris Isaak and Neil Finn. His music is a gentle mix of folk and country and easily puts you to sleep. Teddy is still way too young to be shaving yet, the stubbleon the cover art is photoshopped.
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