The Used “The Used” (Reprise)

Compare to: Glassjaw, Deftones, Finch

Quick, name all the cool bands from Utah.

Actually, take all the time you need. You’ll be a while. The land of Joseph Smith and the winter Olympics hasn’t exactly gone down in history as the forefront of exciting new music.

The Used, hailing from Orem, Utah, are the closest shot they have at changing that.

Not that the band ever felt much at home there. A sound like this is more at home in somewhere like New Jersey, the stomping grounds of bands like Thursday and Taking Back Sunday.

“Maybe Memories,” the album’s opening salvo, sets the mood for the eleven songs to follow. A siren sounds as lead singer Bert McKracken explodes and the rest rock furiously to keep up.

“Poetic Tragedy” is a track showcasing McKracken’s influences, featuring a good two and a half minutes of harmony before the song breaks open with a Perry Farrell influenced belt. “Noise and Kisses” also makes this inspiration evident.

All in all, this debut effort is just accessible enough to stick in your head, but edgy enough to stay underground. Don’t let the name fool you, The Used has a pretty fresh sound.

-Jesse Stensby

Johnny Cash “Johnny Cash at Madison Square Garden” (Columbia/Legacy)

Compare to: The Highwaymen, George Jones, Waylon Jennings

“Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.” You knew you’d hear it as you put the CD in. Johnny is speaking to you, as well as the 21,000 people at his 1969 concert. It is a good time for Cash; he has his own TV show and an album at the top of the charts. He’s brought his family and friends with him. Still, those songs sound pretty blue.

The storytelling and stripped-down songs feel like they were recorded in a backwoods bar in Arkansas. However, the sound quality is pristine and the band plays every bit as well live as in the studio.

Cash moves through a total of 26 classics in the course of the night with a variety of guests.

Ballads about prison (“The Wall,” “Folsom Prison Blues”) are sung among songs about Jesus (“Jesus was a Carpenter,” “He Turned Water into Wine”), war (“Last Night I had the Strangest Dream”), and unfortunate names (“A Boy Named Sue”).

At story telling, Johnny is among the best. He starts most songs off with tales that are every bit as entertaining as the songs.

It all happened one night in December, 1969, and this live set from the man in black stands tall.

-Jeff Mitchell