Shopping List: The New and the Notable
All My Loving (MVD Visual DVD)
John Lennon helped director Tony Palmer book Cream, the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and, uh, Lulu for this 1968 BBC documentary that still packs a significant wallop. Color-saturated performances are punctuated by sensationalist musings on this crazy new "pop music," as it's referred to throughout; articulate interviews with Paul McCartney, Frank Zappa, and Donovan; and some grim footage from Vietnam and Germany.
Gloria Estefan, 90 Millas (Sony International)
Gloria Estefan musically bridges the ninety miles separating her Cuban homeland from her Florida home on 90 Millas. The Spanish-language album follows four years after her Anglocentric Unwrapped. In addition to Carlos Santana's seismic soloing on "No Llore" (Don't Cry), this thoroughly danceable disc boasts a who's who of Caribbean stars such as trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, bassist Cachao, and singer Giovanni Hidalgo.
Emmylou Harris, Songbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems (Rhino)
Songbird spans the length and breadth of this highfalutin crooner's nearly forty-year career. Consisting largely of live tracks, alternate takes, compilation one-shots, and guest appearances with the likes of Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, Harris's four-CD set is a superb testament to one of country's defining talents.
Prefab Sprout, Steve McQueen (Legacy)
This britpop classic released originally as Two Wheels Good in 1985 has lost none of its luster over the years. Songwriter Paddy McAloon's masterpiece contains songs about desire and loss in consumer culture and, like the Kinks' Muswell Hillbillies, it combines American country music with a distinctive British sensibility. A myriad of new musical details shine forth in Thomas Dolby's remastered version of the album he also produced. A bonus disc recorded by McAloon last year contains reworked acoustic versions of its contents.