Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Living with the Living

Since 2001's excellent Tyranny Of Distance, Ted Leo's work has been somewhat spotty to say the least. That's not to say that some brilliance doesn't shine through. His anti-establishment political bent lends itself perfectly to furious punk anthems, the kind that Leo has churned out in his sleep since his days in oft-overlooked 90s underground band Chisel. Beyond the politics though, it's Leo's nearly unmatched ability as a word smith and his ear for a decently hooky melody that allow his Pharmacists to musically stretch out in almost any direction.

Nowhere is this genre jumping style more evident than on Leo's latest album Living With The Living.

Unfortunately, Living doesn't start off with a bang; the first handful of tunes sound relatively forgettable and could have been culled from his last couple records. The patient listener, however, is rewarded with several of Leo's finest songs in years. The impressive middle stretch starts off with the impossibly poppy "Colleen." Then the ear perks at the easy pub stroll of "Bottle Of Buckie", Leo's tribute to the camaraderie of sharing a cheap bottle of booze. The vicious, self-explanatory "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb" crushes this peaceful feeling with its ferocious chorus. Leo leans towards a little romanticism and displays some vocal prowess on "La Costa Brava," and then, surprisingly, pulls off a nifty little sing along reggae number with "The Unwanted Things."

Living With The Living has everything that Ted Leo's fans have come to know from him. There are plenty of guitar antics and his ever-present falsetto wraps around smart lyrics and songs that run the gamut from punk to soul to reggae. Leo's maddening inconsistency in the quality control department is still here, but overall, Living is a very solid effort. ---Josh Staunton

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This review of a new Neil Young release comes to 520 courtesy of the fine employees Knoxville's-own Disc Exchange.

Neil Young - Live At Massey Hall 1971

Coming a few months after the inaugural Neil Young Archive release Live At The Fillmore comes Live At Massey Hall 1971. It's a solo acoustic performance from Neil and it couldn't be better.

The set features 17 songs, eight of which were not even on an album at the time. This may seem weird by today's standards when all an audience wants to hear are the hits, but the 70's were a different time.

Neil does do some of his more well known material like "Helpless" and "Down By The River" but treats the audience to a preview of his then upcoming album Harvest with tracks like "Old Man", "The Needle & The Damage Done, and an absolutely haunting version of "There's A World" that is made even more striking performed solo without all the orchestration that adorns it on the album. There are even some lost gems here that have never made it to CD, like "Journey Through The Past," "Love In Mind" from the as of now unreleased CD Time Fades Away, and "Bad Fog Of Loneliness" that was never even featured on an album.

The sound of show is another thing that grabs you. For a recording that is over three decades old, it is crisp and vibrant and jumps out of the speakers thanks to the HDCD mastering.

This is the second release from the legendary 8 disc, 2 DVD box set for release later this year which covers Neil during the years 1963-1972, and if this disc is any indication of the quality of the box, it should be fantastic & well worth the wait. Make sure to pick up the limited edition Massey Hall that comes with a DVD that features live footage from the show!

–Chris Parks

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