Each week Release Day Picks profiles new LPs and EPs Team JamBase will be checking out on release day Friday. This week we highlight new albums by Vulfpeck, Van Morrison and John Mellencamp. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.
Vulfpeck – Hill Climber
The Scoop: In 2011, Vulfpeck issued an EP entitled Mit Peck. The band had three more EPs in store with 2012’s Vollmilch, 2013’s My First Car and 2014’s Fugue State. In 2015, the Michigan-based group upped the output to the full-length Thrill Of The Arts with LPs The Beautiful Game and Mr Finish Line following in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Do you sense a pattern here? Today, Vulfpeck unveils their 2018 LP, Hill Climber. The 10-track effort finds the core band of Jack Stratton, Woody Goss, Theo Katzman and Joe Dart joined by frequent collaborators Cory Wong, Joey Dosik, Ryan Lerman and Antwaun Stanley. In addition, Monica Martin, Mike Viola and Louis Cole contributed to Hill Climber, which continues to find Vulfpeck exploring new sonic possibilities. For those looking for the funk of yore, head straight to “It Gets Funkier IV.”
Van Morrison – The Prophet Speaks
The Scoop: The ever-prolific Van Morrison is quickly approaching his 75th birthday yet has shown no signs of slowing down. Morrison today issues his 40th studio album, The Prophet Speaks, through Caroline International. The 14-track album contains six new originals and a series of covers performed as only the Northern Irish singer could. “It was important for me to get back to recording new music as well as doing some of the blues material that has inspired me from the beginning,” Morrison said of The Prophet Speaks. “Writing songs and making music is what I do, and working with great musicians makes it all the more enjoyable.” The great musicians Van refers to are multi-instrumentalist Joey DeFrancesco, guitarist Dan Wilson, drummer Michael Ode and tenor saxophonist Troy Roberts.
John Mellencamp – Other People’s Stuff
John Mellencamp may be best known for the bounty of original material he’s released over the past five decades. However, he has recorded a number of covers during that time. Other People’s Stuff, out today on Republic Records, features 10 previously recorded covers handpicked by Mellencamp for the compilation. “Most, if not all, of the songs on Other People’s Stuff come from The Great American Songbook,” the Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer said. “These are songs that have been recorded over the last 40 years of my career, but had never been put together as one piece of work. Now, they have.” Stevie Wonder’s “I Don’t Know Why I Love You,” Jimmie Rodgers’ “Gambling Bar Room Blues” and standards “In My Time Of Dying and “Wreck Of The Old 97” are just a few of the songs that made the cut for the new LP.
