Michael Penn - Palms & Runes, Tarot & Tea: A Michael Penn Collection

Palms & Runes, Tarrots & Tea: A Michael Penn Collection forgoes the traditional "best-of" compilation route by including demos, alternate takes, and newly recorded versions of past classics. This is both a triumph and a shame, as the meticulous Penn has spent the last 20 years earning himself a bust in the esteemed hall of "smart, sepia-tone underground pop songwriters," and a straight-up collection would have been a nice entry point for the uninitiated. Palms & Runes, Tarrots & Tea does succeed in rounding up some of the singer/songwriter/producer's better moments -- album versions of "Coal," "Out of My Hands," "Brave New World," "Walter Reed," and "No Myth" sound as good as they did the first time around -- but this is an anthology for Penn completists. Read More