| | National Boxer CD National Discography of CDs
 (3 Customer Reviews)
On 2007's BOXER, the National's second full-length album for the venerable Beggars Banquet label, the Brooklyn-based indie-rock act follows up the lauded ALLIGATOR with another round of melancholy guitar-driven tunes. Led by deep-voiced vocalist Matt Berninger, who often sounds hung-over yet disarmingly articulate, the band excels at brooding mid-tempo songs, as exemplified by the world-weary "Fake Empire," which combines political and personal themes, and "Mistaken for Strangers," a track that recalls NYC peers Interpol, thanks in part to the punchy approach of shared producer Peter Katis.
And while his presence isn't immediately apparent, indie hero Sufjan Stevens contributes piano to two tracks ("Racing Like a Pro" and "Ada"), adding to the National's increasingly expansive aesthetic, which also incorporates strings and horns. Though BOXER is more subdued than ALLIGATOR, it will likely appeal to those won over by the earlier outing.
Audio Mixer: Peter Katis.
Recording information: Benny's Wash N' Dry, Brooklyn, NY; Brooklyn, NY; Tarquin Studios, Bridgeport, CT; White Sulphur Springs, WV.
Arrangers: Aaron Dessner; Bryce Dessner.
The National: Matt Berninger (vocals); Bryce Dessner (guitar); Aaron Dessner, Scott Devendorf (bass guitar); Bryan Devendorf (drums).
Personnel: Pauline DeLassus, Carin Besser (vocals); Padma Newsome (violin, viola, organ); Ha Yang Kim (cello); Alex Sopp (flute); Sarah Phillips (clarinet); Rachael Elliott (bassoon); Tim Albright (trombone); Sufjan Stevens (piano); Thomas Bartlett (keyboards).
Rolling Stone (p.93) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The songs are subtler, statelier, with Matt Berninger's baritone exuding lonesome warmth."
Spin (p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A]dding brass, piano, and backup singers to unveil high drama of the blunt, uncliched sort unheard since the Afghan Whigs' 90s heyday."
Alternative Press (p.170) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he band mirror the moody nature of the lyrics via genius arrangements, subtle layering and an overwhelming feeling of melancholy that's ultimately strangely reassuring."
CMJ (p.41) - "[BOXER] continues to explore the singer's clever, self-deprecating ruminations, but his band sticks to more controlled,bittersweet tones this time....Its musical nuance makes it feel deeper."
Q (Magazine) (p.78) - Ranked #30 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2007" -- "[With] Matt Berninger's intimate baritone detailing love's losses over dark, dramatic melodies." Purchase Boxer CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Arcade Fire Funeral CD (2004)
Boxer album
 $12.05    
| | National Alligator CD (2005)
Boxer CD music
$12.19
| | Sufjan Stevens Illinois CD (2005)
Boxer music CDs
$12.19
| | Band Of Horses Everything All The Time CD (2006)
Boxer songs
$11.65
| | Yo La Tengo I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass CD (2006)
Boxer album
$9.95 
| | Fleet Foxes CD (2008)
Boxer CD music
$11.59
| | Marisa Monte Great Noise CD (1997)
Boxer music CDs
$11.99
| | Mike West New South CD (2003)
Boxer songs
$9.25
| | Hamilton Loomis Kickin' It CD (2003)
Boxer album
$13.69
Young Texas guitarist Hamilton Loomis' first disc for Blind Pig, Kickin' It, is a mixed bag of modern blues, modern funk, and slick soul. As a young man getting started in the blues, Loomis was mentored by Lone Star State legends Albert Collins, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, and Johnny Copeland. He seems proud to use those names in interviews and press releases, and rightfully so! You sense he is genuinely honored to have been taken under the wing of these elder statesmen. So, it comes as a bit of a surprise in the Kickin' It liner notes when Loomis brags, "This ain't yo' Grandpa's blues record," and how he's going to take "blues out of the box." If you associate Loomis' mentors with "grandpa's blues record," you probably won't get much enjoyment from Kickin' It. ~ Al Campbell
"Innovate, don't imitate." Hamilton Loomis took his mentor, Bo Diddley's advice. It speaks volumes when the likes of Diddley, Johnny "Clyde" Copeland, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, and Albert Collins take you under their wings. The twenty-something Texas sensation isn't just another cat-in-a-hat with a Strat. He has crafted his blues roots into a funk-a-fied recipe all his own.A multi-instrumentalist, Hamilton practically grew up in the spotlight. He began on drums and piano at age five, guitar at age six, then conquered the harmonica. Gigging non-stop since age fourteen, he formed a family doo-wop group with his musician parents. By seventeen, he had played the world-famous ...
| | Widespread Panic Jackassolantern CD (2004)
Boxer CD music
$12.25
| | John Walker If You Go Away CD (2005) (Import) Bonus Tracks; Germany
Boxer music CDs
$20.89
It's sometimes forgotten that all three of the Walker Brothers began solo careers after the group broke up in the late 1960s, although only Scott Walker's solo work generated substantial hits and critical respect. If You Go Away was John Walker's 1967 solo album, and while John was never the most talented writer and singer in the Walker Brothers (Scott was), even at the time it must have been a disappointment to Walker Brothers' fans. There are inevitable comparisons to Scott Walker's early solo records due to the vaguely similar path this album followed of orchestrated ballads, with one foot in middle-of-the-road non-rock and the other in more contemporary pop/rock. The big difference, however, is that while Scott Walker was the very best at doing that sort of thing, when John Walker did it, it just sounded bland and boring. His voice wasn't nearly as strong as Scott's as a lead instrument -- in fact, at times it's pretty thin and shaky. More crucially, though, the songs were gloppily arranged, and the several pre-rock standards along the lines of "It's All in the Game" and "Pennies from Heaven" were not just totally out of step with 1967 trends, but pretty poorly done. Not even a couple of songs co-written by Graham Nash escape the uncomfortable mediocrity of this colorless set, with John's one original composition (under his real name John Maus), "I Don't Wanna Know About You," being an unmemorable soul-pop effort. He also begged another unfavorable comparison to Scott Walker with a subpar interpretation of "If You Go Away," the kind of Jacques Brel composition at which Scott excelled in covering. As a final indictment of the album, the best track, the haunting little-known Gerry Goffin-Carole King composition "So Goes Love," had already been done better by British ...
| | Harvest Showdown CD (2005) (Import) United Kingdom
Boxer songs
$15.75
Officially, this 14-song CD has been issued to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Move's signing to the Harvest Records label, in the EMI group of labels. So why isn't it listed as a Move release? Because the Move only lasted about a year after that, but in the three years after the contract was inked, members Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne, together and apart, ended up delivering a veritable cornucopia of unusual rock & roll sounds -- that's what this delightfully weird CD is about, and the tragedy is that, because it's not listed under ELO, the Move, Jeff Lynne, or Roy Wood, a lot of their fans are going to miss it. Even worse, it's so much fun that it ought to be heard far beyond the confines of their fandom. The disc basically collects a multitude of singles, and a few rare mixes and edits in the bargain, representing the various facets of Wood and Lynne's work in those contexts, all remastered in state-of-the-art clarity and supported by a nicely illustrated insert booklet. For starters, the sound is killer -- the crunching guitars on the single edit of the Move's "Do Ya" start things off with a bang and the mono U.S. mix of "10538 Overture" keeps that ball rolling. Wizzard's "Ballpark Incident" and Wood's "Forever" show off his rock & roll and pop/rock inclinations of this era at their most finely developed and tuned, and "The Carlsberg Special," with its cascading keyboard sound, takes him into ELO territory, which carries listeners to the single edit of the latter's "Mr. Radio." "Rock Down Low" is a Wood solo rock & roll classic featuring a cello break, no less, while "King Henry VIII's B*ll*cks" ...
| | Big Jim Wheeler Goin' Back CD (2003)
Boxer album
$17.05
BIG JIM WHEELER & WHEELS OF FIRE Big Jim Wheeler has been called 'a throwback to the future' and is arguably the best-kept secret in American music. He hails from both the Adirondacks of upstate New York and the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina. Through his many travels he has pleased audiences with his deep voice and dramatic singing style from Illinois to Istanbul and from Maine to Madagascar while serving his country in the U.S. Navy. His many friends, fans and admirers include top performers such as the late Roscoe Gordon, Vassar Clements, Peter Rowan, academy award winning director Jonathan Demme, who recently hired Jim to appear as a featured extra in his new remake of The Manchurian Candidate with Denzel Washington, blues man James Cotton, and many others, several of whom he has shared the stage with. He has since starred in Ric Pantale's independent short film, "The Monkey's Paw" and sings the theme song which was penned by band mates and long time friends, Billy and Muddy Roues. In 1994 he combined forces with the Roues Brothers to develop an original sound and style of music based on their mutual love of Western music, movies, T.V. and vintage Americana. To that end, they assembled a repertoire that included Robert Mitchum's BALLAD OF THUNDER ROAD, Johnny Western's PALADIN, Jimmy Dean's BIG BAD JOHN, and Roy Roger's GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY. They didn't stop there. They started covering their favorite classic country from Hank Williams ...
| | Stuart Hyatt Shrimp Attack CD (2007)
Boxer CD music
$15.89
Like a prior record nominally credited to Stuart Hyatt (2005's The Clouds), this isn't so much a Hyatt recording as a community art project. Though Hyatt did co-write the music with Joe Terrana, the lyrics were written by members of Creative Clay, a non-profit cultural arts ...
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