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USER: jules USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Natalie MacMaster SONG/ALBUM: No Boundaries GENRE: Folk RATING: 7
Question: Which of the following musicians does not hail from Canada: Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Jane Sibbery? Answer: none of the above. If you found yourself pausing for a moment to ponder the query, it's probably because American pop and rock is such a pervasive force that many artists lose their cultural identity in the mix. Not, however, Natalie MacMaster. Hearing her play the fiddle borders on an other-worldly experience, transporting listeners to Cape Breton, that hotbed of Scottish-rooted Celtic sounds, where music-making is an integral part of life. You might say MacMaster was born to the manner, since she's the niece of legendary Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster. It wasn't long before the potency of the family gene pool became apparent to all -- Natalie was recognized as a musical prodigy before she reached her teens -- and, inevitably, the enduring charm and vitality of ancient fiddle tunes cast a spell. In recent years, MacMaster has helped generate an unprecedented wave of interest in her native music, as has her iconoclastic cousin, fiddler Ashley MacIssac, who delights in reviving traditional music with punk-rock zeal.
MacMaster isn't remotely as extroverted as her cousin, but she shares his vision of a viable future for their musical legacy, one which honors tradition without being constrained by it. No Boundaries, MacMaster's fourth album, vividly illustrates the possibilities. It's a free-wheeling, free-spirited affair, imaginatively incorporating elements of rock, funk and even western swing with rootsy reels, jigs, hornpipes and, not to be missed, the gorgeously orchestrated air, "Silverwells."
Posted November 9, 2006 4:09 PM | | |
ARTIST: Beth Nielsen Chapman SONG/ALBUM: Sand & Water GENRE: Folk RATING: 7
In the title track, songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman crystallizes a lifetime of knowledge in a few simple lines: “All alone I came into this world / All alone I will someday die / Solid stone is just sand and water, baby / Sand and water, and a million years gone by.” The songs on Sand & Water give voice to a full spectrum of human experience, from the most exhilarating flights of joy, to the strongest undertow of grief. A few years before recording this album, Chapman was enjoying a flurry of commercial success as the composer behind such country hits as Tanya Tucker’s "Strong Enough to Bend," Willie Nelson’s "Nothin’ I Can Do About It Now," Lorrie Morgan’s "Five Minutes" and Trisha Yearwood’s "You Say You Will." She’d also scored a string of adult contemporary hits with her own recordings, including the singles "In The Time It Takes" and "The Moment You Were Mine." Then, in 1994, her world fell apart when her husband, Ernest, died of cancer. On this brave collection of reminiscences, Chapman transformed that tragedy into a life-affirming album that ranges from the upbeat "Happy Girl" to the devastatingly honest "Seven Shades of Blue." She’s joined on the album by guests Michael McDonald and Bonnie Raitt, with the talented Rodney Crowell serving as the project’s producer.
“The songs on this album reflect many stages of grief and healing for me,” said Chapman. “I hope this music will touch a chord with others who have lost a loved one,” she adds. “In my experience, there is no way around grief, only the way through to the other side.” On Sand & Water, Chapman offers solace, hope, and ultimately uplifting music for life’s long journey.
Posted November 9, 2006 2:50 PM | | |
ARTIST: David Massengill SONG/ALBUM: The Return GENRE: Folk RATING: 7
For David Massengill, songwriting is an "exercise in wishful thinking, and a way to find meaning and steadfastness in the midst of uncertainty. A lot of my songs are about the way I want the world to be, and that’s very satisfying thing," says the soft-spoken Tennessee native whose tunes have been performed by such artists as Joan Baez, The Roches and Nanci Griffith. On his second album, The Return, this unassuming veteran of the '70s New York folk scene steps up to the microphone and demonstrates why his insightful story songs have won him such a loyal cult following.
The follow up to his 1992 debut, Comin' Up for Air, this album features Massengill singing and playing his trademark dulcimer on 12 tracks, with guest vocals supplied by The Roches, Jane Siberry, Howard Jones and Suzanne Vega. The tunes range from "Rider On An Orphan Train," which details a young boy’s separation from his brother, to the title track, an updated retelling of the story of Noah’s ark. Throughout, Massengill uses a warm, low key style to deliver songs that blend simple craftsmanship with larger philosophical meanings. "I've found over the years that you have to have personal satisfaction with what you're doing, because careers go up and down and some years are better than others," he muses. After honing his skills for nearly three decades, this singer/songwriter brings a newcomer's innocence and fresh perspective to his underrated music.
Posted November 9, 2006 2:28 PM | | |
ARTIST: Nanci Griffith SONG/ALBUM: Blue Roses From The Moons GENRE: Folk RATING: 6
Rolling Stone once crowned her "the Queen of Folkabilly." Her five Grammy nominations also bear witness to her music's unaffected beauty and simple charms. With more than a dozen outstanding albums behind her, country-folk songwriter Nanci Griffith celebrated life on the road with Blue Roses From The Moons, a sparkling collection of 14 tunes that pay tribute to her folk and rock-and-roll beginnings. "I wanted to do an album that would really capture the sound of the Blue Moon Orchestra and would mark the years we've been together as a band," says Griffith, whose highly literate lyrics and disarming vocals have won her legions of followers. "I'd also been hearing from our fans that they'd love to have another live album, which we hadn't done since 1988, so this covers all that," she adds. "We recorded live in the studio with almost no overdubs, and a lot of these songs are first takes."
A Texas-born troubadour, Griffith was able to capture an off-the-cuff immediacy by recording with current and former members of her touring band, then adding Buddy Holly's legendary back-up band, The Crickets, to the mix. As Griffith trades vocals with Sonny Curtis on his rollicking '60s classic, "I Fought The Law," the fun of those studio sessions is unmistakable. "Other than the theme from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, that's Sonny's best known song," she says, "and we just had to do it with The Crickets." In contrast, her duet with Darius Rucker, lead singer of Hootie & The Blowfish, brings a new level of intensity to the haunting "Gulf Coast Highway," a ballad that's long been a highlight of her live shows. The album also debuts nine Griffith originals and, in keeping with her finely-tuned instincts for great songwriting, includes distinctive cover versions of Nick Lowe and Guy Clark songs. Blue Roses For The Moons marks a milestone of sorts for Griffith and her band mates and, in the end, serves as a souvenir of their still-growing musical collaboration.
Posted November 9, 2006 1:57 PM | | |
ARTIST: Ulli SONG/ALBUM: Ageless Guitar Solos GENRE: Folk RATING: 6
Ulli plays classical guitar, but he's no purist. On Ageless Guitar Solos, he's combined his own compositions with finger-picking standards of the last thirty years by Alex de Grassi, Leo Kottke, and Davy Graham. Although Ulli has the mastery to play Bach and Scarlatti, the album's "classical'' selection is Mason Williams's 1968 hit, "Classical Gas." Ulli eliminates the orchestral part of the original version, though. With guitar playing this lucid, no symphonic embroidery is necessary. "There were only two ways to hear good guitar music produced between 10 and 25 years ago,'' Ulli explains. "You could either resort to listening to your scratchy old records or buy an expensive enhanced-sound, re-issued CD. With this in mind, there was nothing better to do for a guitarist than to go into a studio and digitally record these pieces anew.'' The German guitar prodigy (whose full name is Ulli Bogershausen) has been playing onstage since he was 11, and has experience performing both with rock bands and as a solo artist in the Berlin folk-music scene.
Although Ageless Guitar Solos was his American debut, he had previously released eight albums in Europe. That wealth of experience and breadth of taste is evident on Ageless Guitar Solos, whose selections range from folk-influenced to jazzy. Ulli's style is confident and crystalline, whether he's playing material rooted in American folk (Leo Kottke's "The Fisherman"), new age (Alex De Grassi's "Children's Dance"), British folk (Davy Graham's "Angie") or Brazilian jazz (Werner Lammerhirt's "Samba on a Quiet Sunday"). Although Ulli can give folk material an appropriate twang, the guitarist’s tone is most notable for its luminous clarity. His playing evokes sunlight playing on water or refracted through gems. Rendered with the precision of a diamond cutter, his intricate guitar work shimmers and glows. Ulli's dedication to preserve his favorite solo guitar work didn't prevent him from including five of his own pieces on the album, and it's good that it didn't. From the jazzy "(I Don't Know) What Is Happening" to the neo-baroque "Certainly Maybe," these selections demonstrate that Ulli's own compositions are as elegant as his playing. Posted November 8, 2006 3:55 PM | | |
ARTIST: Scott Sympathy SONG/ALBUM: Unfinished Sympathy GENRE: Folk RATING: 6
Scott Bradshaw knows that the music of his band/alter ego, Scott B. Sympathy, is not for everyone. After all, he named one of his albums Neil Yonge Street, a joke that's likely to produce a chuckle only in his hometown of Toronto, where the main drag is Yonge (pronounced “Young”) Street. “We don't play the type of music that can be hyped, or that the industry can build a buzz on to get the kids out,” the singer/songwriter declares. Instead, Bradshaw plays the type of music that grows and lasts. The songs on Unfinished Sympathy are the sort that could have been written any time since the folk boom began 40 years ago, and can be played as long as listeners appreciate catchy melodies, insightful lyrics and a distinctive sensibility. Some of these songs would probably find a good home in Nashville, an affinity that's underlined by twangy banjo and weeping slide guitar. Bradshaw's version of Gary White's "Long Long Time," which audaciously mixes a beatbox shuffle, jazz bass and a string section, practically orders a beer for you to cry in. You might be tempted to light up a cigarette too, until the singer starts to contemplate life "Beyond The Nicotine."
Singing about life as much as unhealthy substances, he admits “maybe I've had enough.” Despite titles like "Downhearted" and "What Went Wrong," however, Unfinished Sympathy is not all minor-key regrets. A tune like "Unbroken," with its gutbucket bass, reverb-heavy guitar and banging piano, is grown-up rock 'n' roll, with mature vision but exuberant energy. Bradshaw's style may not make sense to fans of the latest electronic or industrial sounds, but it should connect to those who prefer music that shows a trace of humanity. In fact, when such listeners hear first-rate songs like "Light Expose" and "Save Me Too," Unfinished Sympathy just might be the kind of album that generates a buzz. Also recommend: Gillian Welch, Hell Among the Yearlings; Blue Rodeo Casino; Neil Young, Old Ways.
Posted November 8, 2006 3:42 PM | | |
USER: jules USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Patty Larkin SONG/ALBUM: A Gogo: Live On Tour GENRE: Folk RATING: 7
Patty Larkin loves her job. But calling what she does a "job" hardly captures the depth and scope of her vocation. A singer/songwriter of the finest order, Larkin is a gifted poet, a fiery guitarist, and an artist who can engage a stranger in an unexpectedly intimate conversation. Here is how she describes what she does for a living: "On certain nights when the stars are aligned or the room sounds just right or maybe your hair happened to turn out incredibly well, the job includes an extended state of grace. It is something that you experience with the audience. You are all in the same moment. And that is amazing. It is all about air and sound and feeling. It is about not thinking. About playing to your heart's content. This is why I do what I do." The best of those one-of-a-kind evenings are captured on A Gogo: Live On Tour, Larkin's first in-concert recording. Culled from a 25-city national tour, these 14 tracks offer a portrait of the artist at the peak of her powers, with all of her intelligence, wit and bristling insights intact.
Larkin fans already know just how affecting her tunes can be from her previous releases, including Perishable Fruit, Strangers World, and Angels Running. The Chicago Tribune has called her "one of the most gifted performers in music today," while The New York Times compares her work to "the best of Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams." For this unplugged live release, the Boston-based troubadour set out to document her live performances as naturally as she could. "We recorded every show on tour," she says. "I wanted to get to the point where I forgot we had tape rolling." And that's how this collection comes across: as if we're right there in a quiet coffeehouse, watching from the front row as Larkin dazzles us with her inventive wordplay and nimble-fingered fretwork. It's an odd job," she admits. "Nights. Long commutes. Telephone booths. Foraging for food. Find the gig and play. But if things go well and you show up on time, in reasonably undamaged shape, the job includes applause."
Posted October 28, 2006 1:56 PM | | |
ARTIST: Bela Fleck SONG/ALBUM: Live Art GENRE: Folk RATING: 8
Some things have to be experienced live. The music of Bela Fleck, whose imagination leads him on incredible flights of fancy, definitely falls into that category. A banjo player who’s completely redefined our concept of the instrument, Fleck and his band the Flecktones have astounded thousands of concert audiences with their wildly improvisational performances. Five years’ worth of those concerts have been condensed onto Live Art, a double album that captures the best moments from many of the band's most unforgettable shows. Along with Victor Wooten on bass and Future Man on synth-axe drumitar (an electronic hybrid of his own invention), Fleck is joined on these 20 tracks by fellow travelers Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis and Bruce Hornsby. Also along for the ride are two of his former bandmates from New Grass Revival -- Sam Bush on mandolin, and vocalist John Cowan, who performs a killer version of The Beatles’ "Oh Darling." Despite the sophistication of his music, Fleck never forgets that every performance is a dialogue between artist and audience, and that the give-and-take between musician and listener can trigger the unexpected. "Since our music is very complex, we need to make it fun for people," Fleck has said. "The humor also reflects the personalities of the musicians, whose joyfulness comes out in performance. Music can be a very emotionally deep experience, and it can also be a playful game. It’s nice to find all of that in one group."
For the uninitiated, here’s a chance to experience some of the most impeccable musicianship you’ve ever heard. And for those fortuante enough to have been to these shows, here’s proof, once and for all, that the music really was as good as you thought it was.
Posted October 28, 2006 1:23 PM | | |
ARTIST: Joan Baez SONG/ALBUM: Gone From Danger GENRE: Folk RATING: 8
Anyone calling Joan Baez a "legend" to her face is likely to see Baez recoil uncomfortably in response. The truth is, her remarkable four-decade career may have earned her that tag. But Baez would rather be recognized for what she continues to do, not just be put on a pedestal like some sentimental object. While she may sing with the voice of experience, there's nothing dated about 1997's Gone From Danger, easily among her most memorable releases. Baez is likely to impress both longtime listeners and new ones with how totally contemporary her performances sound. Her first collection of new material since her 1992 Grammy-nominated 1992 release, Play Me Backwards, this album pairs Baez' untarnished voice with an outstanding selection of songs. Pouring over hundreds of tapes from dozens of writers, her finely tuned ear pointed her in the direction of Dar Williams, Betty Elders, Sinead Lohan, Richard Shindell and Mark Addison, all singer/songwriters whose lyrics sound as if they might have been custom-written for Baez.
The album includes two strong selections by Williams ("February" and "If I Wrote You"), a unsettling rumination on child abuse by Elders ("Crack in the Mirror"), and two Celtic-inflected tunes by Irish newcomer Lohan ("Who Do You Think I Am?" and "No Mermaid"). Addison (a singer-guitarist with The Borrowers) also supplies his moving tune, "Mercy Bound." And Shindell sensitively writes from various personas ("Reunion Hill," "Fishing" and "Money for Floods"), giving Baez plenty of room to exercise her masterful interpretive skills. Just as importantly, the album also includes a new song by Baez herself. Co-written with the album's producers, "Lily" reflects on forgotten dreams and diminished expectations, with lyrics that confess "I loved us just the way we were." Baez followers know that throughout her career she's been an outspoken supporter of rising young musicians, often extending herself to promote their material and help boost their emerging careers. No wonder, then, that Gone from Danger displays her uncanny ability to spot the best new talent around.
Posted October 27, 2006 4:42 PM | | |
USER: jules USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Ina May Wool SONG/ALBUM: Moon Over 97th Street GENRE: Folk RATING: 7
It's not unusual for an up-and-coming female singer-songwriter to be compared to Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Beth Nielsen Chapman, or Sarah McLachlan. But Jane Austen is another matter. Ina May Wool, perhaps alone among her peers, has been compared to Austen, mostly because the contemporary American troubadour -- like the 19th-century English novelist -- knows how to spin a yarn. "Sometimes the songs just pop out," says Wool. "The words are mostly true, a combination of observation and personal experiences, either my own or friends. I like to tell the audience a story." Wool hails from Massachusetts, but she eventually moved New York, as the title of her debut album reveals. Moon Over 97th Street contains a dozen small vignettes from the big city. In the characteristically lyrical title song, a woman asks the uptown moon to “shine down on this dirty world/And show me how to get to him.”
Such evocative images are typical of Wool's tunes. She initially honed her craft as a member of the Fast Folk group, a songwriter’s workshop that has helped develop the work of Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin and others. Like those performers, Wool writes songs that are rooted in the folk tradition but not limited by it. She and her closest collaborator, producer and husband Daniel A. Weiss, supplement the album's folk-rock arrangements with horns and backup-vocal chorales. The album's jauntiest song is "J'ai Gagne (I Won)," a tale of a happy marriage and happier divorce that gets the full-on Cajun treatment. Wool developed her eclectic style by working with, and for, other artists. After moving to New York, she studied music formally while doing session work. She also lent her soprano to jingles, backing vocals and other music that expressed someone else's vision. "I kind of rediscovered my voice as a solo performer, and I feel it's much stronger for the process I've gone through," she says of her style. On Moon Over 97th Street, the unusual contours of Wool's expressive music are on full display. Also recommended: Lori Carson - Where It Goes; Ani DiFranco - Out of Range; Suzanne Vega - Solitude Standing.
Posted October 27, 2006 3:27 PM | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: John Fahey SONG/ALBUM: America GENRE: Folk RATING: 8
In this age of dulling sameness and forgetable reissues, this album is truly amazing. John Fahey, perhaps one of the finest acoustic guitarists of the rock era, went into a California studio in 1971 to record America, emerging with enough material to fill a double album. Inexplicably, nine of those 13 songs remained unreleased for thirty years. Upon learning this, Fahey fans reacted the way Beatles fans might have had they learned there was more unreleased material from Rubber Soul or Revolver.
At the time, Fahey’s record company felt that a double album, especially one of solo steel-string guitar, was commercial suicide. Thankfully, America was rescued in 1998 with a masterful reissue that restored all but two of the album’s 81 original minutes. Driving straight into the heart of American folk, blues and country, these ambitious tracks manage to evoke the classical composers who were always among Fahey’s greatest influences. One restored track, for example, is a gorgeous rendition of the third movement of Antonin Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony (simply titled, "Dvorak"). Also included are previously unreleased versions of Skip James’ "Special Rider Blues," Sam McGee’s country standard "Knoxville Blues," the amazing title track itself (a rare Fahey 12-string performance), and moving arrangements of both "Amazing Grace" and Fahey’s own "Jesus Is A Dying Bedmaker." The record's spiritual center, however, is undoubtedly anchored by "Mark 1:15" and "Voice of theTurtle," in which Fahey’s playing is emotionally riveting and technically masterful. This full version of America is majestic. Hearing it so many years since its original production, it seems obvious that it should be counted among the greatest musical achievements of its era. Posted October 22, 2006 2:18 PM | | |
ARTIST: Johnny Cash SONG/ALBUM: Johnny Cash V: A Hundred Highways GENRE: Folk RATING: 8
On the last album he made, Johnny Cash's voice is warbly and wavery -- and actually pretty wonderful -- though by the time the last cut rolls around, it does get a little samey-samey sounding. Still, that can be said of many albums, and it’s a tribute to Johnny that this one doesn’t get boring despite its stripped-down, balladic nature. If anything, its starkness gives it more power.
Like the other Rick Rubin-produced albums, Johnny Cash V: A Hundred Highways employs Cash’s voice on a variety of covers. He delivers Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind” with a take that’s far more intriguing than the original. His version of the traditional gospel tune, “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” most recently repopularized by Moby, has a completely different – and more disarmingly direct – feel than Moby’s also fine, choir- and effects-laden version. Cash knew he was nearing the end of his life as he recorded this, weakened by diabetes, asthma, the loss of his wife, June, and time. Yet he fearlessly, even humorously, took on the subject in songs like his own “Like the 309,” in which he sings, “It should be a while before I see Dr. Death/so it would sure be nice if I could get my breath.” Despite the oxygen he had to suck between takes, there’s no evidence in his vocals that he couldn’t. Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics in “Further On Up the Road” seem to take on new meaning when coming out of Cash’s mouth as a hymn, while Hank Williams’ “On the Evening Train” also makes an impact. “I pray that God will give me courage/to carry on/till we meet again,” he intones. “It’s hard to know/she’s gone forever/they’re carrying her home/on the evening train.”
Though they're covers, these selections seem incredibly personal. It’s as if Cash had a last chance to lay bare all of his emotions, including his grief over June's death, and took full advantage of the opportunity. But most of all, Johnny Cash V exudes dignity – the dignity of a man whose physical body may have lost something, but whose soul grew even stronger as it got ready to depart. Posted October 11, 2006 2:28 PM | | |
ARTIST: Bruce Springsteen SONG/ALBUM: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions GENRE: Folk RATING: 7
At this stage of his career, Bruce Springsteen can do whatever he damn well pleases. It is quite likely that Columbia Records would have preferred that he not make an album comprised entirely of his intrepretations of traditional folk songs, particularly since the freshest tune on this collection ("My Oklahoma Home") was written more than 50 years ago and the oldest ("Froggie Went a Courtin’) was first published way back in 1549, some 427 years before the release of "Born to Run." But, hey, the Boss has put enough money into Columbia’s corporate pockets over the years to buy a little creative leeway.
In this case, Springsteen’s desire was to pay homage to folk legend Pete Seeger by putting a personal spin on 13 folk classics Seeger has helped to popularize during the past 70 years. With the help of E Street Band violinist Soozie Tyrell, he assembled what is essentially a folk-music Big Band, a collective of musicians playing just about every conceivable folk instrument – accordian, fiddle, banjo, upright bass, washboard, horns, piano, harmonica, you name it. Springteen set them up in the livingroom of his New Jersey farmhouse and over the course of three live recording sessions produced a joyful album and companion DVD that make these old songs sound new again.
Springsteen has called it "a carnival ride" of "street-corner music, parlor music, tavern music, wilderness music, circus music, church music, gutter music." It is surely all of that and more – ranging from rousing interpretations of "Old Dan Tucker," "Pay Me My Money Down," "Jacob’s Ladder" and "John Henry" to hymnlike remakes of tunes like "Eyes on the Prize," "Shenandoah" and best of all, "We Shall Overcome."
Posted August 17, 2006 2:40 PM | | |
ARTIST: G. Love SONG/ALBUM: Lemonade GENRE: Hip Hop RATING: 7
If you’re down with “Philadelphonic,” you’ve already tasted the laid-back funk-soul of G. Love and his band, Special Sauce. If not, where’ve you been? Certainly not near the City of Brotherly Love, where singer/guitarist/harp player Garrett Dutton and his backing band, Jeff Clemens on drums and Jim Prescott on bass, got their groove on a dozen years ago. Maybe you just weren’t paying attention when those sweet-beat tunes “Stepping Stones” or “Rodeo Clowns” (yes, the Jack Johnson song) became AAA radio favorites. But you shouldn’t blow this chance to dig G. Love’s Lemonade – a smooth, but puckery blend of Dylanesque folk-blues and old-school hip-hop funk sugared with knockout guest spots by pals Marc Broussard and Ben Harper (together!), Donavon Frankenreiter and Brushfire label owner Johnson himself, along with Blackalicious, Tristan Prettyman and many others. Harper and Broussard give a bluesy, gospel feel to “Let the Music Play” and G. Love hits some serious high notes on the Wurlitzer-driven “Missing My Baby” (with Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo on viola), but “Ain’t that Right” and “Can’t Go Back to Jersey” really kick it into must-dance mode. Prettyman’s voice is a nice contrast on “Beautiful, “which is just a cool, cool song – like a long drink of, well, you know … Posted October 5, 2006 1:42 PM | | |
ARTIST: Fourplay SONG/ALBUM: X GENRE: Jazz RATING: 6
Keyboardist Bob James, guitarist Lee Ritenour, bassist Nathan East and drummer Harvey Mason were stars in their own right before forming Fourplay, a super group that has come to define the sophisticated, pop side of smooth jazz since releasing its debut album in 1991. Larry Carlton took over on guitar on the group’s 1998 album, 4, and Fourplay has continued to thrive, blending jazz, pop and soul into a sound characterized by impeccable musicianship, smart improvisations and a captivating, laid-back panache.
The group’s 10th album, X, is quintessential Fourplay – a 9-song set that revels in the easy, precise and harmonious interplay between James, Carlton, East and Mason. The quartet gets down to business right from the start with “Turnabout,” a catchy, urbane Bob James’ tune that juxtaposes tight, lyrical piano and guitar lines with a dynamic horn arrangement that recalls the theme from “Taxi.” The funky “Cinnamon Sugar” showcases Carlton’s fluid, intricate guitar in a swinging, tropical arrangement. Other highlights include Mason’s loungin’ “Kid Zero,” a slice of jazz-soul propelled by a cool bass line and funky vocal scat; and “My Love’s Leavin’,” a cool Fourplay update of the Steve Winwood chestnut featuring former Doobie Brother Michael McDonald on Posted December 5, 2006 10:39 AM | | |
ARTIST: Billie Holiday SONG/ALBUM: Lady In Satin GENRE: Jazz RATING: 9
As diaries of heartbreak go, this may be the most profoundly sad and honest series of entries ever committed to vinyl.
In February 1958, an ailing Billie Holiday entered the studio for what would be her final recording sessions. Though she was only in her early forties, hard living had taken its toll. She was gaunt and frail. Her voice was just a ghost of its former glory. And because she knew it, she was nervous. But she still had her greatest gifts: exquisitely languid phrasing and an ability to transform a lyric into a dramatic monologue. The songs she chose were harrowing unrequited love ballads, such as “I’m A Fool To Want You,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “I’ll Be Around” and “Glad To Be Unhappy.”
While every song is its own three-minute trailer for Holiday’s haunted life, none approaches the riveting emotional charge of “You’ve Changed.” When halfway through she cries out, “You’re not the angel I once knew / No need to tell me that we’re through,” you’re hearing the sound of a heart fracturing in two.
Holiday’s ravaged performances, backed by Ray Ellis’s autumnal orchestral arrangements, and solo spots by jazz aces such as Urbie Green and Mal Waldron, amount to a kind of beautiful pain, a sweet sweet suffering and a record that will stay with you long after the last note fades away.
If you’re in the mood for unrequited love, this is the masterpiece of the genre. Posted November 29, 2006 1:27 PM | | |
USER: improv USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Bill Evans SONG/ALBUM: The Last Waltz GENRE: Jazz RATING: 9
Looking back now on how pianist Bill Evans spent the last months of his life in 1980 -- his liver failing and his dependency on drugs exacting an ever-increasing toll on his health -- one might reasonably assume that this 8 CD box set, which comprises his last concert recordings, would provide little more than a poignant postscript to a remarkable career in jazz.
Nothing could be further from the truth. As those who were fortunate enough to hear Evans play in clubs during this period know, his artistry and concentration somehow seemed impervious to the troubles that afflicted him offstage. The famed "Evans-like touch," which by then had already become shorthand in jazz parlance for lyrical grace and harmonic finesse, was still very much evident, refreshing vintage pop and jazz ballads in subtle or surprising ways and infusing original material, both old and new, with a questing spirit and deeply felt emotions. By all rights, Evans should have been playing nothing but major concert halls in his later years. His credentials, after all, placed him in the highest ranks of jazz. Though best known for his highly influential stint with Miles Davis’ band in the late ‘50s circa Kind Of Blue, Evans distinguished himself in the company of a broad array of jazz and pop musicians, including Charles Mingus, George Russell, and Tony Bennett. On the The Last Waltz, we find him exploring and sometimes re-inventing a mostly familiar repertoire with the intuitive support of bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera. While the template for these intimate performances at Keynote Korner in San Francisco was created some twenty years earlier, during Evans’ landmark collaborations with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, the trio format continued to fuel the pianist’s imagination and yield fresh ideas. As a result, there’s not even a whiff of rote recitals among these 65 tracks, even though Evans had performed "Waltz For Debby," "Nardis," "Emily," and "The Touch Of Your Lips," among other favorites, countless times. As Derk Richardson points out in his informative liner notes, Evans didn’t seek to stretch out so much as dig in. He was convinced that by constantly mining the possibilities of trio performances, he’d find more than ample artistic rewards. He was right, of course, and with The Last Waltz he bequeathed to us yet another volume of extraordinary music. Posted October 26, 2006 3:52 PM | | |
ARTIST: David Sanborn SONG/ALBUM: Songs From The Night Before GENRE: Jazz RATING: 7
It’s an all-to-common injustice in pop music. Instrumentalists, no matter how good they are, are often left to toil quietly on the sidelines while the vocalists attract the spotlight. So when one of them manages to cast off that mantle of anonymity and become the focus of popular acclaim, you know they must have something special. Saxophone great David Sanborn is that kind of player, a musician whose ease and expressiveness have made it virtually impossible for him to remain unnoticed. With his 14th solo album, Songs From The Night Before, Sanborn furthered his reputation as a superb stylist whose artistic maturity deepens with every release. Urbane, sophisticated and soulful, this CD is the ideal soundtrack for a relaxed, stay-at-home evening or introspective late-night drive. Throughout these nine tracks, Sanborn weaves an evocative blend of jazz, pop and R&B -- a more subtle, scaled-down sound than the one he explored on 1995’s Pearls, which was recorded with a full orchestra. Starting with his 1975 debut, Taking Off Sanborn, the multiple Grammy winner spent much of the ‘70s and ‘80s investigating everything from funk to blues, and selling millions of records along the way. Here, he gathers some of the industry's best session players on an impeccable selection of songs, many of which he wrote. One notable cover is his updated version of The Classic IV’s 1967 hit, "Spooky."
"I’ve always loved that song," said Sanborn. "It really evokes a kind of mood, and since I wanted the album to have more of a pop/R&B feeling, that song seemed to fit perfectly." Songs From The Night Before is an album of instant immediacy, a recording that sounds like a personal serenade from one of music’s most acclaimed instrumentalists. Posted October 20, 2006 8:57 AM | | |
ARTIST: Chris Botti SONG/ALBUM: To Love Again GENRE: Jazz RATING: 7
Since jazz faded from mainstream popularity at the dawn of the rock era, instrumental music has had a tough time cracking the pop charts. But a new breed of instrumentalists is challenging the conventional wisdom, producing crossover hits with mass-market, romantic appeal. Trumpeter Chris Botti is the latest to ride the wave. A talented horn player with a lush, distinctive tone and impeccable, soulful phrasing, Botti kicked around the New York jazz scene in the 1980s before moving into pop as a sideman, recording and touring with the likes of Paul Simon, Sting, Joni Mitchell, Marc Cohn and Natalie Merchant. He recorded a string of solo albums beginning in 1995, but hit pay dirt in 2004 with When I Fall In Love, a mostly instrumental collection of romantic jazz standards that hit No. 37 on the Billboard pop album charts. Botti’s follow-up effort, To Love Again, sticks close to the same, smooth, engaging formula, but aims at even broader mainstream appeal by adding a lot more vocals. When I Fall in Love featured just a handful of vocal duets, including a rendition of “La Belle Dame Sans Regrets” with old pal Sting. To Love Again includes cool, cabaret-style collaborations with nine guest vocalists, including Sting (on a slow, swaying rendition of “What Are You Doing With the Rest of Your Life?”), Paula Cole (adding sultry charm to “My One and Only Love”), Michael Buble (dancing his way through a bubbly “Let There Be Love”) and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler (yes, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler weathered, warm and wonderful color to Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile.”).
Botti puts his atmospheric stamp on a quartet trio of instrumental jazz standards – “What's New?" "I'll Be Seeing You," "Embraceable You," and "To Love Again" – getting an able assist from the London Session Orchestra. Put it all together and you’ve got an ageless collection of romantic pop, delivered with sophistication and style. This is the sort of music that sounds best by candlelight or moonlight, delivered with wine and shared with the one you love. Posted August 11, 2006 5:59 PM | | |
ARTIST: Squeeze SONG/ALBUM: Argybargy GENRE: Pop RATING: 9
One summer afternoon in 1981, I went into the local record store with the intention of buying an album by the hard rock trio Triumph. That was my taste at the time. As I was browsing, I heard the needle drop on a record playing in the store. Suddenly, there was a burst of clean electric guitars, a driving drumbeat and a voice that sounded like the reincarnation of John Lennon circa '65. “They do it down on Camber Sands, they do it at Waikiki . . .” went the opening line. I got goosebumps. It was like nothing I’d ever heard. So melodic, so fresh, so energetic. That was my new wave conversion, at the hands of Squeeze.
Argybargy was a life-changing record for me, and twenty-five years later, I still adore it. The third album for this affable Brit band found songwriting team Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford hitting their stride in a major way. The combination of smarts, storytelling and pop charms on perfect three-minute songs like Pulling Mussels (From The Shell),” “Another Nail In My Heart,” “Misadventure” and “If I Didn’t Love You” warrants all comparisons to Lennon & McCartney. Songwriting doesn’t get much better than this.
Even with plenty of brilliant moments to come in their career, Squeeze would never quite recapture the magic of Argybargy. It was the Meet The Beatles of the ‘80s. Posted December 11, 2006 10:02 AM | | |
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