Assault Shrapnel! (#4)

(Contrary to what you see on Assault, we still have time to lovingly peruse our old music collections. With that in mind, Jere has fired up his iPod, set it to “random album” and reviewed the first three things that pop up. We call is Assault Shrapnel Reviews, where nothing is off-limits and you don’t know what’ll hit you!)

[The Artist Then-Formerly Known As] Prince -- Emancipation (Disc 2)
(Let’s just call him Prince for this thing.)
In 1996, fresh from breaking ties with Warner Bros., Prince had to prove he still had the artistically-brilliant, genre-bending, sexual badass streak in him, so he released way more music than anybody could digest in one sitting: Emancipation. Each of the three CDs, timed to exactly one hour, carried a loose theme. Disc 2 popped up on the ol’ iPod this time. Its theme: domesticity. A lot of this disc, even opener “Sex in the Summer,” is about settling down and being married. Unlike the other two discs in the set, they mostly aren’t spoiled by Prince’s ongoing attempts to cop hip-hop as his own style, so the music works out well here. “Savior” is rather generic but features a ripping guitar solo. “One Kiss at a Time” and “Soul Sanctuary” show his formidable falsetto. “The Holy River” is plain gorgeous. Why doesn’t this album get a better rep?

Derek & The Dominos -- Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs
Without a doubt, we’re lucky Eric Clapton was a guitarist in the 1970s and not a young man in the 2000s, or Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs wouldn’t exist. In its place would be the world’s most passive-aggressive Facebook wall post in the history of TMI blowouts. Layla is an album of intense sorrow filtered through passionate guitar playing, thanks to Clapton and Duane Allman. The two form a core as frontmen, where Clapton howls and nearly barks all his lines while Allman backs him with a calmer but sympathetic demeanor. In contrast, the group’s bass, drums, and keyboard move into an anchor position, letting the frontmen take center stage.

Jerry Lee Lewis -- Sun Essentials
This bargain-bin box set (4 CDs for $20 when I got it used) of Jerry Lee Lewis during his Sun Years features 128 songs. The set at least feels comprehensive; there isn’t much info included about session information or the completeness of it. At the very least, I can’t imagine a situation where someone would want more of Lewis from this time period. Over a hundred songs by Jerry Lee Lewis is a lot to swallow. His range is pretty great, covering country, R&B, and early rock and roll, but he makes it all his own rather than be sonically flexible. It’s not enough to make all of this set essential listening for anyone but Lewis fanatics (which, in a just world, more people would be). It blurs together when absorbed at once. The sound quality is great, though, and if having everything from “Crazy Arms” to Lewis’s version of “The Marines’ Hymn” means something to you, it’s a must. Just don’t stick it on your iPod for four straight hours of close listening.

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About the Author

Jere is not from Chicago. Nor is he from Parts Unknown. But he sure loves to hear things. Follow him on Twitter!

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