The Who - Quadrophenia (Deluxe Box)

The Who - Five years after the magnificent "rock opera" Tommy, Pete Townshend and The Who released the epic follow up: a teenage angst-driven tale of the 60's "mod" era in England and a boy who reflects -- through four distinct personalities -- each member of band...Critics generally praised the 1973 album and Townshend called it "the best album that I will ever write"...New expanded editions include a massive five-disc set featuring the original album with a new master, 25 original Townshend demos and a DVD capturing the album in 5.1 surround sound (the "quadraphonic" recording concept helped inspire the story) and a 100 page book featuring a lengthy Townshend essay // Release: Quadrophenia (November 15, Universal) // Sounds like: most fans will find much to savor, particularly cleaned up masters of the Townshend demos and, for audiophiles, the high-end surround sound mix...some may argue that Quadrophenia strained under its own serious weight but there are some truly awe-inspiring moments throughout the album...

Quote: "I felt I wanted to try to compose a set of songs about the internal struggle I saw so many of my peers were still experiencing. A lot of them seemed to have drug and alcohol issues that had turned into psychoses. Remember that my immediate peers had all been mods, most of them, and so it was natural to set the story in the closing years of that movement." - Pete Townshend // What we like: no one can meld a melody to a guitar riff better than Townshend at his peak and Quadrophenia -- with classic tracks like "The Real Me", "5:15" and the closing anthem "Love Reign O'er Me" -- closed the band's most creative period with a brilliant visionary scope...Townshend's demo versions are the real find here, particularly on the less blustery songs (we'll leave the gut-busting wails to Roger Daltrey)...

Pete Townshend - "Love Reign O'er Me" (Demo)

Pete Townshend - "Cut My Hair" (Demo)

(Note: these are the originals -- not the newly remixed/remastered versions from the box)

The Whiskey Priest - Lost Wages

The Whiskey Priest - Brooding, atmospheric alt-folk wanderings are at the ever-shifting center of the songs from Austin's Seth Woods, aka The Whiskey Priest...new seven-track project touches ambient noise, the occasional electro-beat, layers of reverbed folk and chiming electric guitar lines and Woods' own slightly raspy, rough-hewn vocals...follows up last year's well-received epic Wave and Cloud // Release: Lost Wages (November 8, Rainboot) // Sounds like: the psych-folk soundtrack to a deserted desert highway at 2am, acoustic mood pieces held together lightly by the slightest hint of warm, drifting melody...layers of extended instrumental passages merge with starkly etched, haunting songs coaxed from what his bio refers to as "exorcised demons, alienation and bewilderment"...

Quote: "I wish I could write a real good traditional narrative type song...but I tend to write more abstractly. I think writing that way still tells a story, but a more open-ended one. I discovered a few years ago that when I listened to bands like Talking Heads, Wilco, Guided By Voices - often the stories of the songs didn't make sense to my head right away, but my heart understood what was being conveyed. so I mostly try to write like that." // What we like: there's an odd and unexpected spiritual depth to Woods' approach, drawn from a highly literate background (he rattles off a list of philosophers and writers as key influences) and projected through a broken lens of eerie, folk-driven explorations...closing number "The Wages of Sin" is a scarily effective and affecting song of awesome power held in a loosely gripped kid glove...the six-minute minimalist "Ballad of the Whiskey Priest" quietly crawls beneath the skin like a cold shudder, slowly building layer upon hypnotic layer of droning notes, beats, piano, guitar lines and Woods' simple vocal melody -- "Amazing Grace" re-written as a sweat-soaked peyote dream...

The Whiskey Priest - "The Wages of Sin" (from Lost Wages)

The Whiskey Priest - "The Ballad of The Whiskey Priest" (from Lost Wages)

Stream the full Lost Wages album here...

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Snow Patrol - Fallen Empires

Snow Patrol - Led by frontman/songwriter Gary Lightbody, Ireland's Snow Patrol has turned the concept of the "anthem ballad" (or is that ballad anthem) into a platinum sales strategy over five albums since the late 90's...it wasn't until the massive Grammy-nominated single "Chasing Cars" that the band achieved success in the U.S....New album is once again produced by Jacknife Lee and features guest vocals from DC fave Lissie on a handful of tracks along with string arrangements from Owen "Final Fantasy" Pallett // Release: Fallen Empires (11/14 UK; 01/10 US Universal) // Sounds like: while the band claims Empires is a dramatic new direction, outside of a more orchestral sound and some electronics the Patrol-men pretty much keep the traditional formulas intact: repetitive, gradually more grandiose chord progressions (usually four) overlaid with the barest of melodies...the effect can be powerful if limited in scope beyond the basic hook...

Quote: "I'm aware they're like nails down blackboard to some people. I do want to connect with people, even if I'm writing a really personal thing. Part of me must want my songs to be universal." -- Gary Lightbody on the band's biggest songs // What we like: New U.K. single "This Isn't Everything You Are" is everything that makes Snow Patrol appealing, simple songwriting basics, immaculate production touches and Lightbody's distinctive voice..."The Garden Rules" -- featuring harmony support from Lissie -- is our favorite by far, a slow-motion study in atmospherics and the power of a few, well-chosen piano notes...listen how Snow Patrol songs don't actually shift into a separate chorus, but rather repeat a line (often the song title) over the song's basic melody -- something we noticed the first time we heard "Chasing Cars" (and haven't been able to shake since)...

Snow Patrol - "This Isn't Everything You Are" (from Fallen Empires)

Snow Patrol - "The Garden Rules" (from Fallen Empires)

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Bry Webb - Provider

Bry Webb - Former frontman of the late and critically adored Canadian indie band The Constantines headed into the studio with a pair of lap and pedal steel players and a standup bassist to recorded this eerie, quietly intense and compelling debut album...Webb was recently handpicked by fellow northerner Feist to open for her on her Canadian tour dates // Release: Provider (November 16) // Sounds like: recorded "off the floor" in the studio surrounded by his band, Provider's nine tracks offer both whispered intimacy and cool, hazy distance in the spacious production...Webb's husky, unvarnished vocals bring a raw dimension to his mostly somber, infinitely mesmerizing folk/rock meditations...if there was ever such a thing as "chamber Americana" this is it...

Quote: "I went through a crazy few years trying to make a record with some friends...Eventually, I lost focus on the songs and didn’t write any songs for about a year. When our son, Asa, was born, I just started writing some songs for him. It was the most exciting and renewing way to start writing songs again." // What we like: Webb describes the influences for "Rivers of Gold" as the "peaceful emptiness" he encountered on a long drive through Canada's national parks -- and you can practically feel that in the reverbed steel guitar and his own weary vocals...the beautifully "Asa", written for his young son, shimmers with a warming glow...the confessional yet tongue-in-cheek dark humor of "Undertaker" has the feel of a moody, cinematic hymn...

Bry Webb - "Rivers of Gold" (from Provider)

Bry Webb - "Undertaker" (from Provider)

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David Mead - Dudes

David Mead - Named as "one of my favorite songwriters" by John Mayer, Nashville's David Mead has been creating a diverse collection of albums for more than a decade, drawing on influences from sharp power pop, lustrous folk/rock, sophisticated cabaret melodies and witty observational songcraft...new fan-funded album, co-produced by Mead and Ethan Eubanks and recorded this past January in New York, was overseen by Fountains of Wayne chief Adam Schlesinger (who also produced Mead's 2001 sophomore album) // Release: Dudes (November 15) // Sounds like: the songs take the album's title to creative heart with each track said to be specifically written to reflect a man's perspective...Mead's melodious skills and soaring choruses have drawn comparisons to the pop writing classics (Paul Simon, Lennon & McCartney, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson) and with the capacious scope and meticulous skill set of Dudes, Mead delivers an adventurous mix of styles...

Quote: On using social networking: "I feel like if you’re going to try and get people’s attention, then whatever you’re offering should be quality, and I feel like what I have to offer is basically just quality music...I don’t really want to become part of that section of someone’s inbox, you know? It’s not really what I signed up for in terms of being part of a larger machine." // What we like: "I Can't Wait" kicks the album off on a beautiful note, a lonesome pedal steel guitar and pulsing bass line setting up Mead's sweet and mellow vocal harmonies...lamenting title track breathes with an effortless, tender-hooked melody and a breezy Paul Simon-ish feel...the XTC-styled "King of the Crosswords", ukulele ditty "Guy On Guy", the rolling tropical rhythms of "Knee-Jerk Reaction"...

David Mead - "Dudes" (from the album Dudes)

David Mead - "I Can't Wait" (from the album Dudes)

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More November 15 New Releases

Andrea Bocelli - Live In Central Park
Angels and Airwaves - Love Part 2
Beth Jeans Houghton - EP
Betty Wright/The Roots - Betty Wright: The Movie
Blackout Beach - Fuck Death
Bry Webb (The Constantines) - Provider DC
Carter Tanton - Freeclouds
Cross Canadian Ragweed - Box of Weed (5 CD/DVD)
David Mead - Dudes DC
Jason Reeves - Caged Birds Set Free EP
Liz Green - O Devotion! (UK)
Los Campesinos - Hello Sadness
Matt Wertz - Snow Globe (Holiday Music)
R.E.M. - Part Lies, Part Heart... 1982-2011 Anthology
Sara Swenson - Never Left My Mind
Sigur Ros - Inni (Live)
Smashing Pumpkins - Gish/Siamese Dream Reissues
Snow Patrol  - Fallen Empires (UK) DC
Tegan & Sara - Get Along (Live CD/DVD)
The Dø - Both Ways Open Jaws 
The Twilight Singers - Live in N.Y. (11/15)
The Whiskey Priest - Lost Wages (UK) DC
Various - This Warm December/A Brushfire Holiday II
The Who - Quadrophenia (Deluxe Box) DC