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USE THIS BLOG TO POST: Music Reviews |
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ARTIST: Boozoo Chavis SONG/ALBUM: Hey Do Right! GENRE: Blues RATING: 6
The accordion is just about the least fashionable instrument in the world. Unless you play zydeco, like Boozoo Chavis. Hey Do Right! by Wilson Anthony "Boozoo'' Chavis spans the generations with an exuberance that belies his age (he was 70 when this recording was made). The Louisiana singer/accordionist's 1955 hit, "Paper in My Shoe," is generally considered the first zydeco single, but Chavis left the music business soon after that. He spent decades as a jockey and a horse trainer before returning to the music of his youth in 1984. By the mid-1990s, Chavis had quickly re-established himself as the style's undisputed authority. As the singer put it in "Message from the Master": "In 1996, I'm still in the mix." That mix is a complex one, incorporating traditional songs and Chavis originals in a variety of upbeat Cajun and downbeat blues modes. "You got to know what to put with that Zydeco,'' he explained. "And what not to put.''Despite the mournful "Mother's Blues," this is fundamentally dance music. It's no accident that these songs enjoin their listeners to jump, stomp and boogie. "Whatcha gonna do when I do my song?/You get on the floor and you love to dance/You get on the floor and you take a chance," Chavis announces in "What You Gonna Do," and his percolating rhythms leave no room on the dance floor for argument. "I want you to stand up! You lazy down there," commands the singer before starting up the jaunty beat of "I Got a Camel." Chavis's lyrics taunt his listeners with a similar playfulness. "You gonna look like a monkey/When you get old," one song mocks. Such jibes are all in the spirit of fun, though. Boozoo Chavis doesn't want to make you mad. He just wants to make you dance. Posted November 8, 2006 3:21 PM | | |
ARTIST: The Robert Cray Band SONG/ALBUM: Live from Across the Pond GENRE: Blues RATING: 5
The blues are certainly at the root of Robert Cray’s music. But calling him a bluesman is like calling Pavorotti an opera singer. It doesn’t begin to describe the complexity of Cray’s music the extent of his talent. Like Stevie Ray Vaughn and longtime pal Eric Clapton, Cray has pushed the blues to the top of modern pop charts and won an armful of Grammy Awards by making music that bristles with intoxicating relevance, sophistication and soul. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the best guitar players of the past 50 years or that he sings like a classic Stax-Volt superstar. But the real secret to his influence and success is songwriting. Since arriving on the scene in 1974, he’s pumped out some of the most memorable blues-jazz-rock-soul tunes of the rock era – “Right Next Door (Because of Me),” “Phone Booth,” “Bad Influence,” “I Was Warned,” and more.
Amazingly, Cray never showcased his talent in a full-length live album. But the new The Robert Cray Band: Live from Across the Pond certainly fills that void in his long resume. The first release on Cray's own Nozzle Records, it features best moments from a week-long run at London's Royal Albert Hall in May 2006, opening for Clapton. The 14-track double CD features Cray and his band (keyboardist Jim Pugh, drummer Kevin Hayes and bassist Karl Sevareid) in a 90-minute tour de force, swinging from fiery, urbane renditions of Cray classics to taut new jams like “Twenty,” an anti-war tune told from the perspective of a young American soldier in Iraq.
Many live albums lack the spark of the real concert experience. But Cray has taken the best moments from his 7-night London run, piecing together an album that sounds fresh and spontaneous, whether Cray & Co. are exploring dark, doomed romances (“I Was Warned”), dangerous love triangles (“Right Next Door,” “The One in the Middle”) or classic blues heartache (“Time Takes Two”). Posted November 3, 2006 9:22 AM | | |
ARTIST: John Hammond SONG/ALBUM: Wicked Grin GENRE: Blues RATING: 8
Wicked Grin by blues veteran John Hammond raises a question that’s likely to linger for a while: Why did it take so long for Hammond to devote almost an entire album to the songs of Tom Waits? After all, it’s not as if Hammond and Waits just got acquainted with each other. They’ve been friends for more than thirty years. And it certainly doesn’t require an advanced degree in music to detect the artistic sensibilities they share. Advantages of hindsight aside, it seems that someone should have thought of teaming up Hammond and Waits in the studio decades ago. But better late than never. As it happens, it was their spouses who finally suggested the making of Wicked Grin, a truly inspired collaboration that ranks with the finest recordings Hammond and Waits have made in their respective careers.
Hammond’s raw, impassioned vocals and Waits’ dark yet vivid imagery complement each other so well -- so naturally -- that nearly all of the songs on Wicked Grin sound as if they were specifically composed for this session, when in actuality only one of them was (the country-tinged "Fannin Street"). Understandably, Hammond wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of interpreting Waits’ songs prior to the sessions, even though they’ve worked briefly together in the past. While Hammond’s specialty has always been traditional country and urban blues, often stripped to the guitar-and-harmonica essentials, Waits’ pulp fiction songbook doesn’t adhere to conventional blues forms or always lend itself to solo, guitar-driven performances. Yet with the help of Waits -- he produced the album and offered plenty of encouragement -- Hammond has again proved his mettle by soulfully tapping into the essence of Waits’ literary creations -- the unforgettable characters and intriguing scenarios that make his songs so distinctive and compelling. Hammond is supported in the studio by several first-rate musicians, including Waits, keyboardist Augie Meyers, and harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite. Together, they create a series of sparse yet evocative arrangements that clearly inspire Hammond's vocals and guitar work, allowing him to explore Waits’ netherworld with genuine and sometimes chilling success. Posted October 26, 2006 4:40 PM | | |
ARTIST: k.d. lang SONG/ALBUM: Shadowland GENRE: Country RATING: 8
Twenty-five years after Patsy Cline died, her spirit returned to Nashville in the form of a big-boned vegetarian Canadian singer named Kathryn Dawn Lang. With a mission to pay tribute to her idol, k.d. surrounded herself with old guard country legends, including producer Owen Bradley, Loretta Lynn, Brenda Lee and Kitty Wells, plus a session band of forgotten Music Row all-stars. She shunned the new digital technology of the time and recorded live to analog tape, not only recapturing the magic of Cline’s great records, but making one of the best country albums of the ‘80s.
After starting with the languid Chris Isaak-penned opener “Western Stars,” k.d. tips her hat to country songwriters, from Roger Miller (“Lock, Stock and Teardrops”) to Harlan Howard (“I’m Down To My Last Cigarette”) to Cindy Walker (“Sugar Moon”). As Cline often did, she also transforms a few jazz standards (“Black Coffee” and “I Wish I Didn’t Love You”) into weepy honky-tonk ballads.
The success of this audacious undertaking all hinged on one factor - lang’s voice. And she delivers in octave-spanning, skylark-soaring spades. As producer Bradley says in the album notes: “As a singer, k.d. is anything she wants to be . . . a rare talent with a great voice and an imagination to go along with it.” Posted December 5, 2006 8:42 AM | | |
ARTIST: Dolly Parton SONG/ALBUM: The Grass Is Blue GENRE: Country RATING: 8
Despite the success she’s enjoyed in Hollywood and on international tours, Dolly Parton has never really left home, or abandoned the bluegrass music that first inspired her to sing. Her love for southern string band music and tight, keening harmonies has never been entirely overshadowed by all of her achievements in pop music, television and film. Yet until the release of The Grass is Blue, Parton’s first full-length bluegrass album, recorded evidence of the singer’s devotion to music popularized by the likes of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs and the Louvin Brothers has been parceled out only here and there, scattered across numerous albums that generally appeal to fans of mainstream and pop music.
On The Grass Is Blue, Parton decided to celebrate bluegrass without interruption or studio cosmetics. The musicians who greeted her in the studio were all seasoned pros -- respected pickers and singers including dobroist Jerry Douglas, mandolinist Sam Bush, fiddler Stuart Duncan and vocalist Allison Krauss. Parton brought along some of her own songs, both old and new, and soon the singer and ensemble were at work infusing an intriguing collection of tunes with the passion and spirit of bluegrass music. True, some of the songs were overhauled in the process. Billy Joel’s "Travelin’ Prayer" may seem an unlikely choice for a bluegrass album, but Parton’s adaptation works wonders, and with a little gender-bending she even manages to make the Louvin Brothers’ "Cash On The Barrelhead" sound as if it were always intended to be sung by a woman. Parton doesn’t interpret the old songs on the album so much as revel in singing them again. She takes particular delight in reprising Lester Flatt’s comical "I’m Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open," brings a haunting tone to Johnny Cash’s "I Still Miss Someone," and reaffirms her often overlooked talent as a songwriter with compelling performances of "Will He Be Waiting For Me" and "Steady As The Rain." Reflecting on the results, Parton said, “I think The Grass Is Blue is the purest thing I’ve ever done.”
Posted November 9, 2006 3:53 PM | | |
ARTIST: Kelly Willis SONG/ALBUM: What I Deserve GENRE: Country RATING: 7
What Kelly Willis deserves is a major label contract, a platinum-selling record and a rapt audience at the Grand Ole Opry. Instead, she'll have to settle for knowing that her roots-rock is often more genuine, more heartfelt and more truly country than much of what Nashville sells today. On her Rykodisc debut, What I Deserve, the Austin-based performer recruits some of alternative country's most inspired sidemen, including John Leventhal (Shawn Colvin, Rosanne Cash) and Gary Louris (The Jayhawks, Golden Smog), to add color and texture to her classic, lonesome sound. Whether singing her own tunes or interpreting those of Nick Drake, Paul Westerberg or Paul Kelly, this artist knows how to use her pipes to their fullest effect and, just as importantly, knows when to lay back. The result is an album that blends retro twang with an amped-up blast of folk-rock, all delivered without the slightest hint of irony.
Posted November 9, 2006 3:47 PM | | |
USER: jules USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Shelby Lynne SONG/ALBUM: I Am Shelby Lynne GENRE: Country RATING: 8
When Entertainment Weekly announced its Best Albums of 2000, here’s what it said about Shelby Lynne: "Ten songs that transform shattered relationships and substance abuse into sweet, redemptive soul; production values so subtle that three-chord tunes morph into lush symphonies of sound; and an angelic voice with enough sex and bluesy grit to charm the devil are what make this album the runaway choice for No. 1.” And the top honor was richly deserved.
This Alabama native has distilled her life's tragedies and triumphs into a gutsy, gorgeous work of art. When she was a teenager, Lynne watched as her father shot her mother and then turned the gun on himself, leaving her in charge of her younger sister. With half her heart filled with a passion for music and the other half riding an adrenaline rush of rebellion, Shelby Lynne hit Nashville as an already divorced 19-year-old -- untamed and unwilling to follow country music’s rigid rules. She recorded a hit duet with George Jones and made five albums that sold poorly before deciding to pack it up and head home to Alabama again. Woodshedding with producer Bill Bottrell, she vowed make the album she’d wanted to make her whole life. Part classic country, part Dusty Springfield, part Aretha Franklin, This Is Shelby Lynne is as near perfect a record as you're likely to hear -- a throwback of sorts for older listeners, yet a blast of fresh air for younger ones. The opening strains of the first track, "Your Lies," come crashing through the speakers with a flood of swirling strings, as symphonic and dramatic as some of Phil Spector’s best work. From then on, each song mines a different emotion and style -- from the hushed resignation of "Leavin" to the bluesy midnight musings of "Black Light Blue." This album earned Lynne a Grammy for Best New Artist, an irony that wasn’t lost on the performer.
Posted November 9, 2006 2:22 PM | | |
ARTIST: Prairie Oyster SONG/ALBUM: Blue Plate Special GENRE: Country RATING: 5
There are lots of ways to reinvent country music, but one of the most effective is simply not to change its classic sound at all. That's what Prairie Oyster does on Blue Plate Special, an album of twelve songs that would sound just right on the jukebox in any roadside diner. This Canadian sextet first got together more than thirty years ago, and didn't release its first album until 1986. Although little known in the United States, the group won six consecutive “Band of the Year” honors at Canada's Big Country Awards. Most members of Prairie Oyster hail from the Toronto area, but their music has the lonesome, melancholy sound associated with the wide open spaces of Texas, or maybe Alberta. On songs like, "If My Broken Heart Would Ever Mend," Dennis Delorme's pedal steel guitar whistles like the wind across tall grass. Blue Plate Special includes a country-swing version of Roger Miller's "In the Summertime (You Don't Want My Love)," a song that's been in the band's repertoire almost since the beginning.
The album's other songs, however, sound like country standards -- they're actually Prairie Oyster originals, but manage to recapture, rather than merely mimic, the true spirit and style of classic country music. With three principal songwriters in the group, Prairie Oyster had an unusual depth and diversity in its material. "Unbelievable Love" evokes the good-natured drive of '50s rhythm ‘n’ blues, while "One Way Truck" has the chugging rhythm of early Johnny Cash, and "There She Goes" is as plaintive as vintage Roy Orbison. Despite its many echoes of old-time country, Blue Plate Special is not a museum piece. In such songs as "Long Gone Daddy," inspired by today's growing ranks of single mothers, the band's style is entirely up-to-date. As Prairie Oyster plays it, traditional country has never sounded more timely.
Posted November 8, 2006 3:34 PM | | |
ARTIST: Kathy Mattea SONG/ALBUM: The Innocent Years GENRE: Country RATING: 5
A number of different styles can be heard on Kathy Mattea's, The Innocent Years: country, of course, but also folk, gospel, soul and even some reggae. Yet the singer has no difficulty pinpointing the crucial ingredient. "I think there's more of me on this album than on any other album I've made," she said shortly after its release. Country music used to prize the mature performer with a hard-won perspective, but these days younger singers with pre-fab sounds dominate the charts. As a mature performer, Mattea may not be as marketable as she once was, but The Innocent Years is among her strongest efforts. The album was made during a difficult time for the singer. She interrupted the recording several times because both of her parents were seriously ill. When she finally went back to work, the experience changed her idea of what her music should be about. "I spent a lot of time thinking about what's important to me," Mattea explains. "I think this is an album about those things. It's an album of 'if not now, when?'" Although Mattea had a hand in writing only two of its songs, the album is notably personal. The singer chose the material to create an overall mood, ultimately rejecting half a dozen tunes that were originally set for the album. "If I felt like I was doing it from my head and not my heart, I dropped it," she said. The only mood-breaker is a playful honky-tonk tune, "B.F.D.," which Mattea placed at the end of the album.
The sound of the disc, which Mattea co-produced, is not as stark as its spirit. The lilting "Trouble With Angels" includes a reggae bass line and a soulful backup chorus. Yet the most important influence probably comes from confessional singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. Mattea may not write many of her songs, but The Innocent Years still speaks from her heart. Posted November 8, 2006 3:05 PM | | |
ARTIST: Alison Krauss SONG/ALBUM: Forget About It GENRE: Country RATING: 8
Alison Krauss knows how to turn up the energy. As fans of the country/ bluegrass sensation will testify, Krauss' fiery fiddling and Appalachian-tinged vocals can electrify an audience and transform even the stuffiest concert hall into a hoe-down. But there's another side to this Grammy-winning performer, one she finally allowed herself to explore more fully on Forget About It, her eighth album. A seasoned music veteran at 26, Krauss turned her formidable talent inward here and delved into complex emotional terrain on this, perhaps her most mature release. With only a handful of hushed, acoustic instruments behind her, she uses her exquisite vocal skills to create a quietly moving collection of tunes. Each track resonates with longing and regret, until the cumulative effect is a tour de force of subtlety and grace. "When you possess a great pop voice, it's inevitable that you'll someday make a pop album," wrote music journalist Geoffrey Himes of Forget About It, "and Alison Krauss has finally made hers."
Whether on "Stray," the gently pleading opening track, or "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference," a gorgeous rendition of Todd Rundgren's poignant ballad, Krauss draws us in and allows us to share her most reflective moments. The album closes with the lovely country waltz, "Dreaming Of You," with dobro specialist Jerry Douglas adding a mournful twang to the tight harmonies of Lyle Lovett and Dolly Parton. Soulful, sad and broodingly beautiful, this is one album you're not likely to forget about.
Posted October 28, 2006 1:48 PM | | |
ARTIST: Dwight Yoakam SONG/ALBUM: Dwightyoakamacoustic.net GENRE: Country RATING: 8
Dwight Yoakam has become both a successful film actor and country star. Take South Of Heaven, West Of Hell, the film the L.A.- based singer-songwriter not only co-wrote and starred in, but directed. And who could forget his chilling portrayal of an abusive husband in Sling Blade? Yoakam's first musical nod to the world wide web, however, was anything but a big Hollywood production. Recorded with only vocals and acoustic guitar, dwightyoakamacoustic.net is simple and direct, and almost entirely without artifice. The 25-song album carries the singer back to his Kentucky and Ohio roots. "The idea for this album came as a result of the audience's gracious response to the acoustic performances I did on the Last Chance tour," explained Yoakam. The collection includes "Little Sister," a hit for Elvis Presley in 1961 and for Yoakam 26 years later. The other 24 tunes are Yoakam originals, including favorites "Guitars, Cadillacs," "Little Ways," "Please, Please Baby," "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere" and "Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses)."
These songs evoke the days when honky-tonk country inhabited the same roadhouses as rock 'n' roll. Although the album's simple sound is ideal for evoking the melancholy of "Lonesome Roads," Yoakam and his guitar can just as persuasively conjure a juke-joint atmosphere for strutting rockabilly numbers like "Fast As You." Such energetic arrangements recall Yoakam's early days in L.A., when many of his most fervent fans were members of that city's thriving "cow punk scene." Yet ironically, this old-fashioned album was designed for distribution through the Internet. Yoakam’s longtime colleague, Pete Anderson, produced the album and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Dwight Yoakam don't need no band.
Posted October 27, 2006 3:42 PM | | |
USER: jules USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: The Mavericks SONG/ALBUM: Super Colossal Smash Hits GENRE: Country RATING: 6
Beginning in the late 1980s, country music underwent dramatic changes, and in the '90s, nobody was more comfortable with that development than the Mavericks. This independent-minded quartet moved from Miami to Nashville and, musically at least, back again during its career. Super Colossal Smash Hits of the 90's: The Best of the Mavericks collects eight of the band's best-loved songs, but opens with four additional tracks that live La Vida Loca. These newer songs demonstrate that, after selling four million albums during the decade of country's greatest era of commercial success, the Mavericks still prefer to make music on their own terms. Longtime Mavericks fans will remember the energy of such songs as "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down," the band's biggest U. S. hit. But they may be surprised by such tracks as "Pizziricco" and the Latinized remakes of the Tremelos' 1967 pop-rock hit, "Here Comes My Baby," and the Buck Owens' classic, "Think of Me (When You're Lonely)." These tunes are definitely more South Beach than Opry. "I've always said 'self-indulgence in a positive way,' explains drummer Paul Deakin of the band's long-time refusal to follow accepted formulas.
At one point, the band's creative self-indulgence yielded Trampoline, an uneven album that failed to establish much of a connection with the band's American audience. But just when the Mavericks (and the industry) were wondering whether they'd lost their touch, the album's "Dance The Night Away" brought Mavericks-mania to Britain and ignited sales there. That song is included on this compilation, giving stateside listeners a chance to rediscover the music that made the band a perennial European favorite. "They're not so worried about what kind of music it is," notes Cuban-American singer/songwriter Raul Malo of European listeners. "They're just worried about whether they like it or not."
Posted October 27, 2006 2:48 PM | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Steve Earle SONG/ALBUM: I Feel Alright GENRE: Country RATING: 7
Redemption comes in many forms. For Steve Earle, it took the shock of a jail sentence to yank him out of a downward spiral and onto a brightly lit path -- a path that eventually led him to the peak of his creative powers. One of Nashville’s finest songwriters, Earle burst onto the scene in 1986 with Guitar Town, a minor masterpiece that merged the legacies of Hank Williams and Bruce Springsteen. Soon, the rebellious country-rocker was winning legions of fans, and four Grammy nominations, for his haunting songs of innocence and experience. Then his formidable talent was sidelined by drug addiction. But if you’re expecting this collection of post-prison tunes to be an exercise in despair, think again. With the unflinching vision of a street poet, Earle re-emerged with some of the most joyous and confident writing of his career. His songwriting here reflects the kind of hard-earned wisdom that can only come from surviving the hard way. “You see things differently at 41 than you do at 31,” he said following this release. “Especially if you got to 40 the way I did.” Half celebration, half cautionary tale, I Feel Alright reveals the dual sides of Earle’s musical persona: a defiant maverick who lets down his guard to display surprising tenderness, but never fails to cast a wary eye over his shoulder. “I’ve been to hell and now I’m back again,” he sings in the title track. Take the man at his word. Posted October 22, 2006 3:13 PM | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Judith Edelman SONG/ALBUM: Drama Queen GENRE: Country RATING: 7
Judith Edelman’s third release, Drama Queen, is an affecting and ambitious blend of the simple and complex. Backed by a front porch band (guitar, mandolin, violin, bass) and rooted in bluegrass, her lyrics explore a complicated, psychologically self-aware terrain. Edelman’s songs are character-driven, and the characters seem lonely. But they avoid direct emotional statements, and it leaves their poetry somewhat earthbound. Drama Queen is a fascinating work, as it asks the question, “Is a marriage of head and heart really possible?”
Edelman’s clever lyrics reflect her urban, intellectual background (her father, Gerald M. Edelman, is a Nobel Prize-winning scientist). Yet the marriage of those lyrics to a down-home sensibility is disconcerting. It presents the picture of a person striving to achieve clarity, but knowing that she might never get there. “Don’t think too much, don’t analyze,” she warns in "Blood Reunion," a track about a difficult family reunion. Co-produced by Edelman and her husband, mandolinist Matt Flinner, the album has a clean, polished sound. Edelman’s bell-like voice is recorded up-front and personal, and her virtuosic musicians here perform with rhythmic drive and zeal. The 12 songs and lone instrumental are varied in mood and tempo, making for a satisfying and coherent experience. Fiddler Casey Driessen and bassist Lex Price cloak their fluency in simple lines, while Flinner’s accompaniments are ornate and full. The charming, reel-like instrumental "Preacher & Flo" is a perfect respite from Edelman’s active imaginings. Musically, Edelman’s compositions are elemental and produce a warm, folksy feel. Her more commercial attempts, such as the haunting "The Sisters Of St. Timothy," or the friendly "Don’t Open That Door," tend to linger.
Also recommended: Gillian Welch – Revival; Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road; Edgar Meyer - Yo-Yo Ma; Mark O’Connor - Appalachian Journey Posted October 22, 2006 3:04 PM | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Slaid Cleaves SONG/ALBUM: Broke Down GENRE: Country RATING: 6
“It’s a bitter wind / in your face every day / It’s the little sins / That wear your soul away,” sings Slaid Cleaves on "One Good Year," and those lines capture the Austin-based singer/songwriter’s world view in a nutshell. Like his subjects, Cleaves has strived against long odds, but unlike most of them he's tasted his share of success. Broke Down, the follow-up to 1997’s No Angel Knows, merged Cleaves’ evocative lyrics with straightforward country folk arrangements to produce some of the best work of his career. Cleaves has evolved into such a skilled storyteller in large measure from experience. He began busking for change on the streets while attending college in Ireland in the '80s, then formed a moderately successful rock band (the Moxie Men) after returning home to Portland, Maine. After that band dissolved, Cleaves moved to Austin and won the prestigious Kerryville New Folk Award in 1992. “It opened the folk door for me,” Cleaves told the Austin Chronicle, “but it was never a door I was interested in. The vast majority of singers at that time were aspiring to be like James Taylor. I always thought of folk as Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams.”
Countless gigs and two CDs followed, but Cleaves seemed no closer to success. He even signed up to participate in an experimental drug studies program at one point to help pay the bills. Then his break came when Rounder Records showed interest in the demo that would became No Angel Knows. Cleaves brings it all back home on Broke Down. A magnetic vocal style, sometimes recalling the sly phrasing of mid-70’s Bob Dylan, and a sharp eye for the human condition make these tracks especially memorable. From portraits of melancholy barflies in "Horeshoe Lounge," to the title track’s simple metaphor for a life derailed, Cleaves gives a commanding performance. As he sings on "One Good Year," “I’ve been chasing grace / but grace ain't so easily found.”
Also recommended: Robert Earl Keen - Walking Distance; Jimmie Dale Gilmore - One Endless Night; Steve Earle and The Del McCoury Band - The Mountain. Posted October 22, 2006 1:26 PM | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: BR5-49 SONG/ALBUM: BR5-49 GENRE: Country RATING: 6
When half a band’s releases are live recordings, it’s certainly no secret that playing gigs is their strength. The Nashville quartet BR5-49 (the phone number for Junior Samples’ used car lot on Hee Haw, for those wondering where the odd name comes from) is indeed one of the best live bands of the past decade. But this, their first studio record, might be their most satisfying album to date. Like their three-hour live sets, this disc strikes a healthy balance between cover tunes and original compositions by guitarists Chuck Mead and Gary Bennett, and brims with subtle pleasures. Mead especially shines here, and his tunes "Lifetime to Prove" and "Chains of This Town" are every bit as convincing as the classic honky-tonkers by Ralph Mooney and Chuck Seals ("Crazy Arms") and Mel Tillis ("Honky Tonk Song and "I Ain’t Never") that the band interprets admirably.
As vocalists, Bennett and Mead truly grasp honky-tonk inflection and emotion, and harmonize skillfully. The whip-crack sound of string whiz Don Herron, who provides steel and acoustic guitars, dobro, fiddle and mandolin, combined with rhythm men Jay McDowell on upright bass and “Hawk” Shaw Wilson on drums, is impressive. Bennett may not be quite as skilled a writer as Mead, but his two contributions, the opening "Even If It’s Wrong" and "Are You Getting Tired Of Me," are among the album's best. One of the band’s live staples, "Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)," is here as well, chronicling an ex-punk gone country, and confirming the band's strong sense of humor alongside such classic BR5-49 tunes as "Me ‘N’ Opie." Rock pioneer Gram Parsons is also saluted in a languid version of "Hickory Wind," with an ultimately astute and revealing re-interpretation of that underappreciated song. Posted October 22, 2006 1:05 PM | | |
ARTIST: Willie Nelson SONG/ALBUM: The Songs of Cindy Walker GENRE: Country RATING: 8
Willie’s pal, the late country songwriter Harlan Howard, once said, “Cindy Walker is the greatest country songwriter I’ve ever heard.”
Willie Nelson must agree. For this album, he’s recorded a baker’s dozen of Walker’s finest, and he’s done it old school, with producer Fred Foster at the controls and instrumental backing that sounds like a classic early ‘60s album (complete with Floyd Cramer-ish piano licks and Jordanaire-style background vocals).
A little about Cindy Walker. Born in Texas in 1918, she made her way to Hollywood in the early ‘40s, scoring hits with Bing Crosby. In the mid-’50s, she turned to songwriting full-time, penning tunes for Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb and Roy Orbison, among others. Walker’s approach was to write words and melody, without accompaniment. Unable to play an instrument, she enlisted her mother to provide piano backing.
Every song here is a gem. “Bubbles In My Beer” and “Don’t Be Ashamed Of Your Age” are western swingers with the kind of economy and elegance of language that brings to mind Irving Berlin at his best. She’s equally adept on the ballads. Perhaps her best-known song, “You Don’t Know Me,” is still one of the most aching portraits of unrequited love ever written.
With all this wonderful songwriting on display, it’s easy to forget about the artist delivering the tunes. But Willie’s happy to walk a step behind the songs, letting them do most of the work. In some measure, Willie has become the successor to Sinatra, in the way that he places emphasis on the emotional story of a lyric, conveying humor and heartbreak in equal measures.
For fans of classic country, this record is a must. For songwriters, it’s a how-to textbook. Posted September 11, 2006 10:09 AM | | |
ARTIST: Alejandro Escovedo SONG/ALBUM: The Boxing Mirror GENRE: Country RATING: 9
Critics are always looking for the next rock ‘n’ roll poet –someone who can forge a transcendent musical experience out of the raw materials of drums, guitars and lyrics. Plenty of artists have been given the tag over the years – from superstars Bob Dylan and Bruce Springteen to cult favorites Leonard Cohen and Steve Earle. But right now, the poet laureate of rock has got to be Texas singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo, an artist capable of transforming a simple folk song into a symphony of catharsis. Escovedo’s musical pedigree goes back more than 30 years and includes time in a series of influential American rock bands, including The Nuns, Rank and File and The True Believers. But he emerged as one of the singular voices in American music in the 1990s with a series of solo albums that explored life – from the promise of love to specter of death – in irresistible songs that blended eloquent lyricism and sophisticated arrangements and instrumentation. “The Boxing Mirror” is his first studio album in six years, a layoff prompted in part by illness. He was diagnosed with Hepatitis C a few years ago and was near death when he began work on the album. The music that came out of that experience is Escovedo’s best to date, ranging from romantic rock ‘n’ roll chamber music (“Looking for Love,” “The Ladder”) to hard-charging, wrenching, kaleidoscopic rock (“Break This Time,” “Sacramento & Polk”). It’s also an album about losing one’s way, then finding a way to step back from the brink. Songs like “Arizona” and “Died Little Today” explore the consequences of selfishness and bad decisions, but simmer with a hope rooted in the desire for with redemption. As the title implies, this is a story of a fight, in this case between Escovedo and himself. The album is produced by the Velvet Underground’s John Cale, whose production credits include seminal work by Patti Smith, the Stooges, Nick Drake and Squeeze. Adding Cale to the Escovedo mix gives “The Boxing Mirror” a savage, edgy grace. Easily one of the best rock records of 2006. Posted August 10, 2006 5:51 PM | | |
ARTIST: The Egg SONG/ALBUM: Albumen GENRE: Electronic RATING: 5
A mesmerizing blend of irresistible rhythms -- that's what The Egg has created on Albumen, its major label debut release. Formed in 1994 from the ashes of various Oxford-based dance bands, this British quartet consists of Dave Gaydon on bass, Mark Revell on guitar, and twin brothers Maff Scott on drums and Ned Scott on keyboards –- four innovative musicians who merge their love of '70s and '80s art-rock with the cutting-edge electronics of the '90s. That creative combination results in swirling techno/dance music that imposes touches of ambient house music and psychedelics over insistent hip-hop beats and fluid trance grooves. It's a sound that also serves as an interactive backdrop for their multi-media live shows, where The Egg projects slide and film images (shot by the band members) onto themselves and their audience.
Dressed in Devo-like white jumpsuits -- with their goofy sense of humor fully at play -– the musicians act as human video screens for the ever-changing visual images. "Our music started out as long jam sessions, really," says Mark. "It was very unstructured at first. We started playing together and later began incorporating films. It's kind of like a story, where you watch the films and listen to the music and it takes you somewhere," he adds. "We want the music to take you on a journey." And that's exactly what these 11 tracks will do. Flowing effortlessly from one tune to the next, Albumen transports the listener into a trippy world of pulsating, hypnotic instrumental music. But the group also draws on its admiration of jazz, improvisational music, and other genres. "Everything you listen to becomes an influence. Classical to funk, techno to house, these are our influences." Technology may be The Egg's key musical tool. But these musicians also make sure that the human touch that can only come from live instruments remains firmly at the core of their sound. "The future of music combines technology and good writing," says Mark, "and matches them together equally." Posted November 9, 2006 1:45 PM | | |
ARTIST: Venus Hum SONG/ALBUM: The Colors in the Wheel GENRE: Electronic RATING: 8
A lot happened in the three years since Venus Hum released their critically acclaimed debut: they got dropped from their deal as a result of corporate merger, electronic music went out of vogue and vocalist Annette Strean lost her singing voice.
All bands go through highs and lows, but it seemed the trio was being tested. More than once, they even considered packing it in.
Instead, embracing the philosophy of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger (not to mention a better songwriter), they have returned with a disc that resonates with the heartbreak and hardships they’ve been through, but more significantly, a new lightness and tongue-in-cheek humor.
The album kicks off with the gently burbling ballad “Turn Me Around” (the first appearance of guitars for the band) and the Teutonic electro-stomp of “Yes And No,” continues through the lost superhero theme “Do You Want To Fight Me?” and the moving, daydreamy centerpiece, “Katie Nanna,” then dances off with the T.Rex-goes-to-the-moon pop of “Pink Champagne” and the affecting lullaby, “Go To Sleep.”
What’s clear as the last note fades is that Venus Hum have transformed the questions and uncertainty about their future into a statement of resolve - a record that is intelligent, tuneful, and able to provoke and caress with equal efficacy. Posted September 11, 2006 10:13 AM | | |
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