PORTLAND, Maine — Chris Brown from Bull Moose joins 207 to share some new releases on store shelves this month.
Amy Allen - Amy Allen - digital only
For the first time in Bull Moose/207 history, we will discuss a two-month-old digital-only album. This week everyone has been talking about Maine native Amy Allen's Grammy nomination for songwriter of the year. The album is much more intimate than you might expect given her success as a pop songwriter. Many of the songs are mostly acoustic. Amy mostly sings in a soft and breathy voice, almost like she is whispering in your ear.
Whitney Houston - The Concert for a New South Africa - CD, vinyl
Here's another release with a Maine connection. (Whitney Houston acted in a film that was partly shot in Portland.) Whitney Houston performed three concerts in South Africa after Nelson Mandela was elected President. The first night's concert, from 11/8/94, was just released, on 11/8, actually. It felt like the entire world was celebrating Mandela's election and that feeling comes right out of the speakers. Houston's performances are joyful, beautiful, and uplifting.
Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77 (Super Deluxe) - 3 CD + Blu-ray, double vinyl
Moving further back in time, Talking Heads' first album has received the super deluxe treatment. The vinyl release contains a remaster of the core album and a full LP of rarities. The third CD contains a nice-sounding live show from CBGBs from 10/10/77. The Blu-ray ads spatial audio and high res stereo versions of the album.
Seven Samurai - 4K UHD
Now we go back to 1954 and Akira Kurosawa’s epic action film Seven Samurai. Criterion did a new 4K scan and this can be seen as an improvement over Criterion's 2010 Blu-ray. You can make up your own mind because the Blu-ray is included with the 4K.
For those who aren't familiar, the film takes place in 16th-century Japan. A village hires seven samurai to protect them from bandits. Let me just tell you that the big fight scene at the end is incredible. It's more than three hours long, but when you watch it, it feels like it needs to be that long.