Some Quick Reviews . . .

I'm getting a little backlogged on my podcasts and new albums, but here's a little catch-up on what I'm listening to right now:

• Erykah Badu - New Amerykah, Pt. 1: The first time I saw her was after she released the wonderful Mama's Gun, and the concert was magical - one of the best shows I've seen.  The next time I saw her was a meandering affair - still good, but not quite up to par.  I get the initial impression from this album, too.  There are some fantastic cuts and great work with folks like Madlib and Georgia Anne Muldrow, but it doesn't feel as cohesive as previous works.  I have a feeling that could be remedied by listening to it with the second album, coming later this year.  It deserves repeat listenings, though.
• Mike Doughty - Golden Delicious: Some new songs and a re-working of "27 Jennifers" makes for a pretty decent album.  Going in, you know you'll get Doughty's trademark voice and somewhat opaque lyrics, but he puts forth some tight tracks, and the whole album makes for a good listen.  He manages to retain a good balance between the acoustic elements and more electronic layers in the songs, too, with the electronics making their presence felt a little more than in previous solo material.
• Free Form Funky Freqs - Urban Mythology: I'm a sucker for these albums, and I sometimes end up being quite disappointed in them.  Tossing together a few musical heros and seeing what they come up with doesn't always make for a good band or recording, and sometimes it makes an unlistenable mess that people want to hide in their closests, in their basements, or under dense lead shielding.  Vernon Reid, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and Calvin Weston manage to avoid those pitfalls and put out a trio record that seems to leap off from Band of Gypsies-era Hendrix, route through the "downtown" jazz scene, and amp it up a bit.  The result is an electric record that improvises without meandering and always remains vital and fun (the latter part lacking in a lot of these types of efforts).

I still have to get to some eMusic deals, like Matthew Garrison and Peanut Butter Wolf, but those will have to wait for a bit.  I also notice that I'm not straying from my comfort zone much - maybe the podcasts will help.