curt

Foundations
$8.99

Mayfield
$39.98
...at least, it is to this point in his accomplished if sporadic career. His work with TFF (and even its precursor, Graduate) gave us a ton of great tunes by which he'll be remembered and respected, but without this album we'd forever be wondering: Was TFF all Roland Orzabal? And if it wasn't, what did Curt bring to TFF? Mayfield answers these questions and even introduces some new ones (like making one wonder only half-jokingly: What, if anything, was *Roland's* contribution?).

This is the third time I've been compelled to review an album on Amazon, and each time it's been because the album made my "CDs for being stranded on a desert island" list after the first listen. There are ten cuts on Mayfield, and each represents a singular extraordinary achievement. Each stands on its own as a little artistic gem, containing a breadth and musical richness that I can't anticipate ever tiring from.

On first spin I was blown away by how melodic Mayfield is. TFF was (and is) melodic to be sure, but here it becomes clear that Smith's melodies aren't "hooks" so much as musical constructs. They are big, beautiful melodies that tie together Mayfield's many rich elements. "Sorry Town" is a nice example of Smith's arpeggiate use of his full vocal range.

But get this: If the melody tracks were erased from each song, this would *still* be a great album because the composition and musicianship is so wonderful. Smith and cohort understand what songs are supposed to do, which is go somewhere, and these go everywhere (even getting a little funky in "Mother England"), the beauty being that they always get to where they're going. The music is rich, passionate and, well, huge. ("I don't want to be around" builds from a quiet dream into a crescendo that is absolutely enormous. Twice.)

But what *really* floored me was the depth of Mayfield's lyrics. It's always rare to find a wordsmith with the capacity for expressing meaning while shaping language to the nuances of a particular song. When it's done badly one often feels embarrassed for the artist, but when it's done well it evokes "whoas" and "jeeperses" and "jiminy rat turds." I found myself saying all of these things and more, including "egad" and "mmm...devilishly good." In these lyrics - combined with the immensity of the music - Mayfield represents a perfect fusion of passion and craftsmanship.

Finally, there's some intangible quality binding this album together that I can only describe as "balls." It has balls. So if you were wondering where the balls were in "Elemental," now you know.

I cannot recommend this album any higher. It's a treasure.

Nirvana: Unplugged In New York
$19.98
Let me tell you something important before I start the review: I've been waiting to buy this DVD (with my own money) an *excruciating* period of time. I already had MTV Unplugged in New York and it was - as you guess - indescribably good, and I could spend hours and hours listening to the album over and over, over and over and again.

Seeing Nirvana, seeing Kurt performing on a tape for more than 3-4 minutes (one song) - was not something I experienced ever in my life. This DVD left me completely speechless and made my heartbeat stop just to capture a a simple moment, like one of my greatest wishes came through.

This is Kurt singing with his deepest emotions, with the saddest look on his face and the best, the best performance Nirvana ever did. It's also worthy to say that is not only completely amazing to see Kurt sing, but also it is very agonizing (at least for me) to see Kurt in this light. He looked very sad, not to my delight I must say.

Anyway, it doesn't get any better than this, an *absolute* must have for any Nirvana fan.

Curt Manufacturing E-100 Travel Trailer Bumper Mount Hitch 4 In Square Bumper
$120.95
The hitch is hitchless. It was easy to install, and very quick. I towed a trailer with an ATV on the rear of my travel trailer about 600 miles. It worked perfectly.