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Various Halloween Hootenanny (Zombie A Go-Go/Universal)
Kahimi Karie Self-titled (Minty Fresh/Page) Takako Minekawa Cloudy Cloud Calculator (Emperor Norton/St. Clair)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle The McGarrigle Hour (Rykodisc/Outside) Kate and Anna are sisters, Loudon Wainwright is Kate's ex, Rufus and Martha are their kids--why not get the whole fam-damnily into the studio for the soundtrack to an imaginary variety show which puts just about every combination of the singers-songwriters together? And by family, they mean extended family (sister Jane, Anna's husband and kids, producer Joe Boyd and ol' K&A interpreters Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris). The repertoire is as broad as the brood, too: pop-stands by Porter and Foster, trad folk from Appalachian to Bahamian, and originals both old (Loudon's wry "Schooldays") and new (Martha's wise "Year of the Dragon"). 7.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw) George Martin In My Life (Echo/Universal)
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Black Sabbath Reunion (Epic/Sony)
It finally happened! Ozzy, Bill, Tony, and Geezer--back together again for the first time in 17 years. Does it sound like 17 years since they were last on stage together? Well, of course it does, you dumb schmuck. Ozzy's voice is cracking like Bobby Brady's and Bill Ward's tempo keeps switching gears, but it's Sabbath, dammit. Cut these old limeys a pair o' slacks: I'd like to see you try to bring it on after you've been mainlining heroin into your eyeball for 30 years. The two new studio tracks that appear at the end are filler, but the live stuff is pure killer for the most part (but where's "Symptom of the Universe"?). 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
You may now pitch out that crappy "haunted house noises" tape you bought at the dollar store. Crank this sucker on your front porch and the trick-or-treaters'll need fresh underpants. Scary-assed garage raunch from the Bomboras, RFTC, Deadbolt, fuzztone fiend Davie Allan (backed by the Phantom Surfers) and more, all on the monster mash tip. Plus, dusty old midnight TV horror host Zacherle (thought he was dead!) MCs the whole sordid affair. Know what? This'll sound even better at Christmas. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Two twists of bubblicious Japanese ear candy, for those with a sonic sweet tooth. Karie almost defines the sound of Tokyo's Shibuya 'hood (ex-boyfriend Cornelius helps out, of course). Recycled gogo pop and Eurotrash, Jackson 5 jive, bits of bossa nova, blues and bare-assed rock, and Karie's sex-kitten whisper on top. Minekawa's Casio-tronic keyboard capers, on the other hand, have a genuine wide-eyed innocence to them. Sweet little numbers about clouds, cats and calculators--ridiculously cute and catchy. Worth it alone for the Buffalo Daughter-assisted take on Joe Meek's space-pop artifact "Telstar." Both discs 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
I'm not angry, just disappointed. The swan song of the fifth Beatle, one of the greatest backroom wizards in pop culture, a man who turned sound production on its ear... and what do we get? Hollywood fuckin' Squares. Goldie Hawn, Céline Dion, Jim Carrey, Phil Collins, all sleepwalking through lukewarm, uninspired Beatles rehashes. George, you forgot the most suitable track: "I'm So Tired." 5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)