Mark Kozelek: The Finally LP

Red House Painters released an excellent two-disc

retrospective in 1999, and Mark Kozelek has kept his Caldo Verde imprint busy

with repackaged and reissued solo and Sun Kil Moon material, but for the most

part, he's a compilation newbie. That might explain why The Finally LP—a 10-song

collection that's mostly covers—feels a little thin and unnecessary. Or

maybe Kozelek is just being a shrewd businessman, and he plans to roll out one

of these every year just in time for the holidays. Whatever the case, there are

some great Kozelek covers and comp contributions floating out there that are

missing from this half-hour disc, which still manages to finagle a whole lot of

beauty out of the brevity. Bookended by a pair of original instrumentals,

including Kozelek's five-minute soundtrack to the short film "Gaping Mouth," The

Finally LP

is a solo-acoustic affair, with its name coming from a Kath Bloom cover and

highlights found in Hüsker Dü's "Celebrated Summer" and "Bedtime Lullaby" from

hip-kid TV show Yo Gabba Gabba! (Maybe next time he'll take a shot at that "party

in my tummy" song). Also notable is "Lazy," which finds the guy known for

reworking KISS and AC/DC songs into ballads flipping his formula and turning

the haunting Low tune into a peppy folk ditty.