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USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: The Promise Ring SONG/ALBUM: Very Emergency GENRE: Alternative RATING: 6
Sometimes the best way to capture the power and magic of rock 'n' roll is to strip it down to bare basics. That's exactly what The Promise Ring, a quartet from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, did on their third album, Very Emergency. By mixing disarmingly catchy melodies and punk guitars with a pile of old love letters, they produced a musical gem -- dynamic, intelligent, and heartfelt. The band's previous recordings used the same formula, but were burdened by overly fussy arrangements and cryptic lyrics. Here, they still wax enigmatic ("I know the coffee leaves by car / because it goes fast really far / Then that's where you are"); but using romantic infatuation as his subject matter, and pairing it with bare bones rock, singer Davey VonBohlen's words actually add punch.
The music is standard verse-chorus-verse, but skillfully played, capturing more subtle shades than can often be expected from standard guitar-driven rock . "Things Just Getting Good" is a sock-hop slow dance, while "Happy Hour" is all speedy guitars and handclaps, and "New Jersey Shore" sounds like a forgotten summertime classic. Jonathan Richman, in his Modern Lover days, might be the only other vocalist who could have pulled off a line like, "I was born in 1968 / born to replace Bobby Kennedy," but in "Arms And Danger," the band's buoyant, aggressive attack makes the line soar. Recorded at a punk landmark, Arlington, Virginia's Inner Ear Studio (home of Fugazi), J. Robbins' production packs a punch that is perhaps most reminiscent of early Green Day. This band's style, though, is derived from believable roots. All Very Emergency really requires you to believe in is that rock ‘n’ roll can still be great. Posted October 22, 2006 2:51 PM | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Firehose SONG/ALBUM: Ragin' Full On GENRE: Alternative RATING: 6
The story of this album is intertwined with the story of the Minutemen, a San Pedro, CA trio (guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley) who from 1980-85 cracked punk rock on its sometimes hard head with equal doses of political and social outrage, humor, and truth. The band came to a devastating end in 1985, when Boon was killed in an automobile accident. Watt, the guitarist’s musical and spiritual "other-half," was devastated, and had no plans to continue with music. But things changed in 1986 when a young guitarist refused to let Watt rest until he was given an audience. Watt finally relented, the guitarist showed up and played The Who’s "I’m One" from Quadrophenia (something of a Boon/Watt sacred text), and Watt found himself convinced the kid had been sent from beyond by Boon. With Hurley back on board, Firehose was born.
The new guitarist turned out to be Ed Crawford, and their debut, Ragin’ Full On, appeared in late 1986 as salvation to legions of Minutemen fans. Few imagined that the band would be able to reinvent the Minutmen’s uncanny sense of outrage, much less expand its melodic songwriting. But the new release lived up to its name. The trio strummed and burned as Watt’s bass assumed a bigger, harder leading role on tunes like "Brave Captain" and "Chemical Wire." Crawford -- who approached vocals armed with some of Watt’s most insightful lyrics -- brought a warmer, more vulnerable emotional edge to the band, as evidenced in "The Candle and the Flame," "Locked-In," and "Perfect Pairs" (where Watt’s pain and recovery was indelibly laid bare). Ragin’ Full On pondered some tough philosophical questions, but ultimately allowed that while life is often harsh, it's indisputably worth living. Posted October 22, 2006 2:33 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 | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Uncle Tupelo SONG/ALBUM: Anodyne GENRE: Rock RATING: 7
Illinois trio Uncle Tupelo was founded in 1988 by guitarists Jay Farrar (who later formed Son Volt) and Jeff Tweedy (who later formed Wilco) and drummer Mike Heidorn. The trio released their first album, No Depression, in 1990 and at some point, their music -- which sought to reinvigorate the punk/indie rock they loved by returning to the authenticity of country and bluegrass -- became labeled “alt” country, and a movement was born. By 1993, when Uncle Tupelo began recording their final album, the monumental break-up chronicle Anodyne, Heidorn had left (replaced by Ken Coomer), and the deteriorating relationship between Farrar and Tweedy would soon finish off what was left. Before that happened, however, all of Uncle Tupelo’s promise and passion came together on Anodyne, most notably on the aching title track (“Throughout the years / it was hard to make it last”), Tweedy’s homage to "Acuff-Rose," and the angry "We’ve Been Had," their own kind of farewell to innocence.
A note of authenticity was struck with their version of Doug Sahm’s "Give Back the Key To My Heart," which features the seminal country rock composer on guitar and vocals, while the world weary "Slate" begs “Lay it down in full view.” The future sounds of Son Volt and Wilco are clearly evident in songs like "Chickamauga" (“The time is right for getting out while we still can”), "The Long Cut" and "No Sense In Lovin." But it becomes evident when listening to Anodyne that, without the hard compromises that Tweedy and Farrar would reach through these songs, their future incarnations probably wouldn't have been nearly as strong. Posted October 22, 2006 2:02 PM | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Gomez SONG/ALBUM: Liquid Skin GENRE: Alternative RATING: 6
In the music business, expectations often are unfair. Take Gomez. When their debut, Bring It On, won 1998's esteemed Mercury Prize -- annually awarded to the most promising UK newcomer -- many people, including the notoriously overzealous British music press, expected big things. But when the band's follow-up, Liquid Skin, turned out to be full of long songs, somber moods, woozy singing, and detached lyrics, the sighs of collective disappointment were audible. Some were ready to write the quintet off completely. But there was one thing wrong with that approach: Liquid Skin is good.
As on their eventual commercial breakthrough, How We Operate, Gomez utilizes blues structures like later-day Led Zeppelin, which is to say, very loosely. Take a riff or a slacker blues shuffle, then pile on harmony, strings, electronic drums, rippling keyboards, seemingly whatever's handy. With three accomplished singer/guitarists -- Tom Gray, Ben Ottewell, and Ian Ball -- the band mixes and matches vocal styles to diverse, lush effects. From the careening opening track "Hangover," to the closing "Devil Will Ride," Gomez here creates a sound that slowly sinks in, with melodies that don't often register until you find yourself humming them days later. The songs on Liquid Skin don't complement as much as diffuse into one another. "I could never see myself in anybody else's eyes," growls Ottewell at one point, and he's right. This pulsing set of recordings, created amidst the Britpop, DJ and boy band atmosphere of the time, defies clear categorization. Like Dire Straits, who also defied trends by blending seemingly dissimilar styles, Gomez ignores fashion. And that is what ultimately led them to this lazily graceful collection -- think of it as music for the morning after headache. Posted October 22, 2006 1:49 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: Jules Shear SONG/ALBUM: Allow Me GENRE: Pop RATING: 6
Being a cult favorite is not something most recording artists aspire to, since it generally means that beyond a small, devoted circle of critics, fellow artists and fans, your records don’t get much attention. Jules Shear is not like most recording artists, though. After all, Shear once titled an album of inventive and catchy power pop he made with his band the Polar Bears, Bad For Business. “I’m not interested in getting that one big hit and then being able to retire” Shear said matter-of-factly. “I still want to be making records when I’m an old guy. I kind of realize I’m not going to end up on the cover of Rolling Stone, and that I’ve got a deeper reason for doing this.”
Allow Me, one of Shear’s most compelling collections of pop masterpieces, reveals that his real reason for doing what he does is rooted in his unwavering commitment to writing timeless songs. “Even when I’m happy," Shear informs, "I’m still always feeling like the axe is going to fall.” That attitude is what gives songs like "The More That I’m Around You," with its infectious “sha-la-la” background vocals, its magical charm. Shear’s considerable lyrical skills, which played a big role in hits for Cyndi Lauper ("All Through The Night") and the Bangles, ("If She Knew What She Wants") are as sharp as ever on Allow Me. Songs like "The Judge And Margaret Brady" and "Soul Of A Child" contain images any novelist would be proud of having penned. Paired with his gift for a great pop hook, these songs are among his best. Posted October 22, 2006 11:29 AM | | |
ARTIST: Style Council SONG/ALBUM: Singular Adventures of the Style Council GENRE: Pop RATING: 7
"When you're down on the bottom, there's nothing left but to shout to the top," Paul Weller sings with brio on one of The Style Council's best singles, "Shout To The Top." That couplet typifies the celebratory spirit of the 16 tracks on this hits collection, but it also works as a rallying call for Weller, who, when The Style Council formed in 1983, was undoubtedly one of the least popular people in Britain, having just split up the country's most popular band at the time, The Jam. Trading his tough Carnaby Street Mod sound for coffee bar jazz (and his trademark parka for a polo shirt), Weller did a creative about face that left fans and critics wondering if it was some kind of joke.
For the next seven years, with his musical partner Mick Talbot, Weller distanced himself from The Jam by exploring R & B, Latin grooves, torch songs, bossa nova, French accordion music and anything else that suited his internationally-flavored fancy. On their first two albums, Cafe Bleu and Our Favourite Shop (released in the U.S. as the Internationalists), The Style Council forged a successful blend of pop idealism and easy listening atmosphere. After that, their experiments often got bogged down in overproduction and heavy-handed political lyrics. The Singular Adventures, by separating the wheat from the chaff, makes a convincing case that Weller wasn't, as some critics have insisted, just on musical holiday all those years.
After kicking off with a potent one-two punch of "You're The Best Thing" and "Have You Ever Had It Blue?" the disc coasts along as pleasurably as a convertible ride through the French countryside on a warm day. Songs such as "Long Hot Summer," "Wanted" and "A Solid Bond In Your Heart" are all drenched in an optimism and love that Weller was never allowed to show in The Jam. And the ebullient "My Ever Changing Moods" may be Weller's career watermark. Here presented in an extended version, it has the sound of a song that will be around a hundred years from now.
If you like The Singular Adventures Of The Style Council, check out: The Style Council - Cafe Bleu; Everything But The Girl - Everything But The Girl; Swing Out Sister - Kaleidoscope World; Sade - Diamond Life; Matt Bianco - Whose Side Are You On? Posted October 22, 2006 11:16 AM | | |
ARTIST: Aimee Mann SONG/ALBUM: Magnolia Soundtrack GENRE: Rock RATING: 7
"Now that I've met you / Would you object to never seeing each other again?" So goes the opening couplet of "Deathly," one of nine Mann originals featured on this highly listenable soundtrack. The lines are the heart and soul of not only P.T. Anderson's movie, but Mann's whole lyrical style -- a kind of relationship fatalism that she's been honing since her days in Til Tuesday. To Mann, a relationship is like a shiny red wagon poised at the top of a steep hill. Before it is set in motion, it is a beautiful thing, a noble idea. But once it begins to move, it can only careen downhill, get knocked around and, inevitably, crash and turn over, broken with its wheels spinning. Mann tempers this bleak outlook with gorgeous melodies and arrangements (produced by studio whiz Jon Brion) that are by turns austerely acoustic and almost carnival-like, full of calliope swoops, popcorn drum samples and bleating Jumbo horns. The disc opens with her cover of Harry Nilsson's classic "One," then sets about elaborating, in the songs that follow, why it really is the loneliest number.
The clattering "Momentum," the McCartney-inspired "Build That Wall," the glass-blown "You Do" -- all serve their lyrical grenades with ice cream and a sprinkle of caustic humor. The most potent song, "Wise Up," is also featured in the film's bravest scene, where the various characters, all firmly in misery's heavy grip, whisper along with Mann's lyrics: "It's not what you thought / When you first began it / You got what you want / Now you can hardly stand it / Though by now you know / It's not going to stop." It's a powerful, heart-stopping three minutes. Rounding out the soundtrack, almost as chasers, are two Supertramp hits, "Goodbye Stranger" and "The Logical Song," along with "Dreams" by Gabrielle and an orchestral theme by Jon Brion. But this is really an Aimee Mann recording. Anderson says in the liner notes that he wrote the screenplay around Mann's songs, and it shows. Posted October 22, 2006 11:09 AM | | |
ARTIST: Beth Orton SONG/ALBUM: Central Reservation GENRE: Alternative RATING: 7
Beth Orton is a rainy day woman. No matter what she's singing about -- whether it’s a stolen car or a visit to a foreign country -- her plaintive voice renders the song slightly gray and drizzly. On Central Reservation, she has jettisoned some of the trip-hop beats and ambient washes of her acclaimed debut, Trailer Park, in favor of a more organic sound. In fact, the record echoes nothing so much as the gentle melancholia of England's original rainy day man, Nick Drake. A huge Drake fan, Orton even went as far as bringing in the lost boy's producer, John Wood, to record her vocals and the string parts. "He's totally from an old-school folk mentality, the real deal," Orton told Hits Magazine. "No effects on the voice, one-ear-on-the-headphones-one-ear-off kind of vibe. It was totally cool. He would've had me using no headphones, just singing to the speaker. That was beautiful and it became more and more magical as it went along." Also adding to the magic are a bevy of guest stars: Dr. John shows a dappled side to his piano playing on the four-chord weeper "Sweetest Decline". Ben Harper's fuzzy slide guitar glowers behind "Stolen Car," while unsung folk maverick Terry Callier adds a rich vocal background on "Pass In Time" and Everything But The Girl's Ben Watt lends his cool-blooded electronica production to the title track and the languid "Stars All Seem To Weep."
The two strongest songs, "Blood Red River" and "Feel To Believe" are also the leanest, setting the flawed jewel of Orton's voice against a simple setting of acoustic guitar and string quartet. Orton's low-key emotionalism is a welcome break from the octave-spanning Olympiads and angst-a-thons of so much modern female-based pop. Says Orton: "This album was about capturing moments. That to me is the thing -- not stealing the soul of the moment, but giving the moment soul."
If you like Central Reservation, check out: Everything But The Girl - Walking Wounded; Nick Drake - Way To Blue; Clive Gregson - Happy Hour; Boo Hewerdine - Thanksgiving. Posted October 22, 2006 11:00 AM | | |
ARTIST: Fountains of Wayne SONG/ALBUM: Fountains of Wayne GENRE: Pop RATING: 8
Thirty-six minutes and twenty seconds. In the small stretch of digitally counted time that is their debut CD, Fountains Of Wayne will restore your faith in the wonders of pop music. Melodies that score direct hits to the pleasure center of your brain, intelligent lyrics about lovers and other strangers, and a backbeat that you can't lose -- it's all here, delivered in songs that clock in under three minutes. The songwriting team responsible for this pop success, Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger, first hooked up in 1986 while they were college students in Massachusetts. A shared obsession with British pop of both the 60s (the Beatles, Hollies, and Zombies) and the 80s (Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout, and Everything But The Girl), as well as a love of irreverent humor, led them through a gauntlet of what Schlesinger calls "crappy bands" with monikers such as Woolly Mammoth, Are You My Mother? and The Wallflowers (they actually sold the name to Jakob Dylan).
Fountains Of Wayne (named after a kitschy garden statuary store in Wayne, New Jersey) began as a lark. "Chris called me up last year and told me that he had just written three songs in twenty minutes that he really thought were hilarious," says Schlesinger. "He came over, played them for me and they were great. The fact that he'd done that so quickly was really inspiring. Suddenly, after having taken songwriting too seriously for a long time, we just had this license to toss stuff off and see what happened. We didn't think too much about making each song some sort of masterpiece. We took the craft we'd developed and had fun with it." From the exuberant opener "Radiation Vibe" to the noisy rave-ups of "Joe Rey" and "Please Don't Rock Me Tonight" through the hilarious "Leave The Biker" and the dappled, reflective ballad "Everything's Ruined," Fountains Of Wayne offers more hooks than the West wing of the National Gallery. "We don't like to be subtle," laughs Schlesinger. "We're happy just to pound people over the head with a big chorus."
Also recommended: Apollo 18 - They Might Be Giants; Candy-O - The Cars; Apartment Life - Ivy; Nest - The Odds; Parklife - Blur Posted October 22, 2006 10:52 AM | | |
ARTIST: Laura Allen SONG/ALBUM: Hold OnTo Your Dreams GENRE: Pop RATING: 6
Some people are born to make music. Take Laura Allan, for example. This California girl heard her destiny calling in the first grade, when she made her debut on recorder and autoharp. At age seven, she was strumming a folk guitar and singing the songs of Bob Dylan, Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. By high school, Laura had added piano, flute and dulcimer to her palette. Around that time, she also began writing her first songs, encouraged by her friends Jackson, Joni and David…Browne, Mitchell and Crosby, that is. Her musical mentors recognized a talent in bloom and made sure Laura was heard by the right industry folks. One year out of high school, Allan landed a major record deal and cut an album of her own songs backed by such top West Coast session players as Leland Sklar, Jim Keltner and Jeff Porcaro.
While the album didn’t make a big splash in the U.S., it did very well in Japan and China, beginning a long and successful association between Laura and the Far East. In the years since, she has toured the Orient (collaborating on songs with Jacky Cheung, one of China’s biggest pop stars), served as an opening act for David Crosby, and penned songs for artists as diverse as Kenny Rogers and Lynn Anderson. On Hold On To Your Dreams, Allan follows the next step in her pop kismet, sailing through fourteen new originals that explore inspiring themes, from love with a capitol L ("Every Beat Of My Heart", "Our Love," "Enchante") to spiritual renewal ("Storm Song") to the importance of dreams ("Be Strong," "Hold Onto Your Dreams"). The supporting cast of players, including respected L.A. session musicians Mark Gould, Scott Gordon, and Trance Thompson, builds a sensitive set of arrangements around Allan’s hammered dulcimer work and satin n’ sandpaper voice. But what really shines through is Allan’s unbridled joy. You can picture her smiling, closing her eyes, bobbing her head and getting lost in these songs. This is the sound of an artist who’s been in love with making music since the first grade. Posted October 22, 2006 10:45 AM | | |
ARTIST: Beck SONG/ALBUM: Mutations GENRE: Rock RATING: 7
As advance press made clear, Mutations was not to be considered the official follow-up to 1996's landmark Odelay, but rather a kind of stopgap record. Stopgap indeed. If ever a record was less in need of a disclaimer, Mutations is it. By cutting an old-fashioned, band-oriented collection of classic-sounding songs, Beck not only outfoxed trend-watchers, but proved himself beyond doubt as a major musical force, one who can mutate from techno-whiz kid to folk troubadour to band leader effortlessly. Beck told MOJO, "I think I've wanted to make a record like this for at least five or six years. The reason I went in and cut most of it live is that I wanted it to capture a performance, something I felt was missing from my other records. It's not something I've put on the records, apart from bits and pieces of that more personal or emotional side."
The emotional atmosphere he creates throughout is like a di Chirico painting -- a dreamy place with the whiff of a seedy, boarded-up carnival. On "Cold Brains" he sings, "A bird of song is heard no more, in the evacuated heavens the drain is drawn." On "Lazy Flies": "Matrons and gigolos carouse in the parlor, their hand-grenade eyes invalid and blind," and on "We Live Again": "Sifted through sand and leftover nightmares, over the hill a desolate wind turns shit to gold and blows my soul crazy." Beck matches his haunted poetry with arrangements that encompass everything from sitar-drenched psychedelia ("Nobody's Fault But My Own") to honky-tonk country ("Canceled Check") to breezy bossa nova ("Tropicalia"). What finally makes this material so compelling is Beck's singing. His deep, cracked drawl is no virtuoso instrument, but like Dylan, he uses his limitations to create a kind of character voice, inhabiting the songs the way an actor does a role. Even the album's title reflects his penchant for playing different parts. Beck told MOJO, "To me, the word was representative of who I am as a songwriter. I'm attuned to a lot of different things… I think of the word as a positive word. I'm embracing all the elements that make our time interesting."
If you like Beck’s Mutations, check out: Boo Hewerdine - Baptist Hospital; Prefab Sprout - Jordan The Comeback; Wilco - Being There; Pernice Brothers - Overcome By Happiness; Aimee Mann - I'm With Stupid. Posted October 20, 2006 4:55 PM | | |
ARTIST: Richard Ashcroft SONG/ALBUM: Alone With Everybody GENRE: Rock RATING: 6
Following a career-making record can be tough. In the case of The Verve, said record came with 1997’s Urban Hymns. It spawned several hits and even managed to cross the Atlantic with the gorgeous "Bittersweet Symphony" (via a marketing boost from the good folks at Nike). The volatile foursome barely had enough time to enjoy their success, however, before splitting again, this time for good. So the stakes for lead singer Richard Ashcroft were even bigger on his follow-up solo debut, Alone With Everybody. With it, the man the UK press has called “Mad Richard” (from the same sinewy, serpentine lineage of Jagger, Tyler, and Morrison) turned out one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the new millenium for fans of Brit rock.
While Alone With Everybody is far from disappointing, fans of The Verve might not (and did not) immediately embrace it. It lacks the swagger and angst that characterized that band, and in its place offers Ashcroft's unlikely take on domestic bliss. The music has a moody feel, but without guitarist Nick McCabe's counterpoint to Ashcroft's seductive vocals, there seems to be something missing. Ashcroft plays several instruments, from keys to guitars to percussion, with notable contributions from ace session players Pino Palladino, Chuck Leavell, and BJ Cole, as well as glistening string arrangements by Will Malone, who created similar arrangements for The Verve. Most of the lyrics focus on relationships. Ashcroft expresses the tentative desire to surrender to his newly found love on the sweeping "A Song For The Lovers" and the laid-back "Brave New World." Elsewhere, as on the graceful shuffle of "I Get My Beat" and the surprisingly pop-inspired "Crazy World," the tone is one of gratitude and peace. Two Ashcroft classics are also found here: "Money To Burn," a funky, conga-driven declaration of devotion if ever there was one, and the real highlight of the album, "You On My Mind In My Sleep," an infectious song that recalls the best of the Stones’ country-tinged ballads. Posted October 20, 2006 4:43 PM | | |
ARTIST: Sasha Dobson SONG/ALBUM: Modern Romance GENRE: Pop RATING: 8
This 27-year old Santa Cruz native comes from a family of jazz musicians. Her mother’s a singer. Her brother’s a drummer, and her late father was one of the Bay Area’s most respected pianists. Though Sasha embraced the family tradition, singing standards for years in piano bars, she didn’t find her true voice until she fell in with a pair of acoustic singer-songwriters from Brooklyn. Jesse Harris and Richard Julian, both artists themselves, are also the tunesmiths behind much of Norah Jones’s success. Impressed by Dobson, the pair co-wrote with her and produced this winning album of boho folk-jazz. Dobson’s voice is like cool water - light, clear, refreshingly direct. While the comparison to Norah Jones is inevitable, especially on mentholated songs like “Without You,” “Follow Through” and the lovely “End Of Autumn,” Dobson branches out beyond the Greenwich Village jazz sound. “Cold To Colder” coasts on a Tejano bounce while “Spring Is Just Around The Corner” and “Four Leaf Clover” are laced with the kind of laconic country feel that brings to mind Lyle Lovett. Dobson casts her net even further by covering Duke Ellington (“Mood Indigo”) and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s (“Modern Romance”). A low-key charmer, this is the kind of album that feels like it could be the beginning of a long, distinguished career. Posted October 20, 2006 9:23 AM | | |
ARTIST: Amy Rigby SONG/ALBUM: Diary Of A Mod Housewife GENRE: Rock RATING: 7
Amy Rigby isn't one to surrender to mainstream conventionality without a fight. On her 1996 major label debut, Diary Of A Mod Housewife, she writes about single motherhood, dead-end jobs and an unraveling marriage, but packages her true-life tales with a classic ‘60s rock vibe and a healthy dose of attitude-dishing humor. A veteran of New York’s country-punk scene, Rigby comes across like a sassy hipster in knee boots and a miniskirt who somehow time-traveled into the ‘90s. Her down-to-earth songs portray contemporary adulthood in all its messy glory -- whether in "The Good Girls," an anthem for every frustrated temp, or "Down Side of Love," which looks beyond the first blush of courtship to the harsh reality of the morning after. Listen to the no-nonsense stance she projects on "20 Questions" -- a pointed inquisition of her deadbeat spouse -- and it’s clear that this is a woman who knows exactly what she wants out of life, and still expects to get it.
Recommended listening: Nancy Sinatra - Nancy Sinatra : The Hit Years (Rhino, 1986); Jeannie C. Riley - The Best of Jeannie C. Riley (Varese Sarabande, 1996); Exene Cervenka - Running Sacred (Rhino / RNA , 1990). Posted October 20, 2006 9:20 AM | | |
ARTIST: Take 6 SONG/ALBUM: Brothers GENRE: Pop RATING: 8
Six perfectly tuned voices filled with faith, hope and optimism -- that formula made Take 6 one of the most acclaimed vocal groups of their era. Something remarkable happens every time these gifted singers raise their voices in song. The groundbreaking vocal group has won seven Grammy awards for its urban contemporary gospel music. And every one of their records has gone platinum or gold. Most listeners probably know Take 6 for its soaring a cappela music. That’s because its members -- Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent, and David Thomas -- possess an astonishing ability to create fully orchestrated sounds with nothing but their unaccompanied voices. On Brothers, however, Take 6 continues its exploration of a much more fully developed sound. Those beautifully matched voices are still the centerpiece on all ten of these tracks, but some sterling jazz and R&B instrumental touches have also been added here in a notably updated format.
“While the songs on Brothers are meant to be very singable,” said first tenor Mark Kibble, “the message we sing about is this: We are still speaking of the God we serve and the fact that we love Him so much, as He loves us so much. This record speaks the sentiments of our hearts.” Adds bass vocalist Alvin Chea: “Maybe they’ll first listen to the harmonies, but then they’ll tune into the lyrics and the message, which is what we want to share. We wanted to bring our message to as many people as possible -- a positive in a world of negativity.” Posted October 20, 2006 9:08 AM | | |
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: George Harrison SONG/ALBUM: All Things Must Pass GENRE: Rock RATING: 10
The evidence was there all along. As The Beatles lurched toward their messy break-up, George Harrison was reaching his creative peak. Consider "Something," "Here Comes The Sun," and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and it’s clear that, away from the ugly in-fighting and legal squabbles that ultimately brought an end to the greatest pop band of all time, Harrison was steadily growing more confident as a songwriter. Still, when the quiet Beatle stepped forward in 1970 and released his own stunning masterpiece, All Things Must Pass, the listening public was caught off guard. The three-album package -- in effect, rock’s first boxed set -- was a remarkable debut that revealed just how much of Harrison’s talent had been overshadowed by Lennon's and McCartney’s. Without his most famous band mates, Harrison turned instead to such illustrious side players as his best friend Eric Clapton (who was of course falling in love at the time with Harrison’s wife, Patti), Billy Preston, Dave Mason, Gary Wright, Badfinger, Ringo and even a 19-year-old Phil Collins.
And while Bob Dylan doesn’t appear in person, his presence is felt in the lovely opening track, "I’d Have You Anytime," which he and Harrison co-wrote, and in "If Not For You," which Harrison sings with unaffected sincerity. Re-mastered and re-released nearly three decades following its original debut, All Things Must Pass sounds just as urgent, resilient, and uplifting as ever. With thirty years of hindsight, Harrison wrote in his liner notes: "It was difficult to resist re-mixing every track. All these years later, I would like to liberate some of the songs from the big production that seemed appropriate at the time, but now seem a bit over the top with the reverb in the wall of sound." But frankly, Harrison was wrong. Phil Spector’s sweeping arrangements help lift these tunes to celestial heights, complimenting their spiritual themes and adding to the album’s monumental stature. Case in point: "My Sweet Lord," which sparkles with Krishna clarity in its classic version, but sounds stripped of life in its later, misguided reworking. These sweetly melodic tunes need no updating. From the sheer sonic rush of "What Is Life" to the brooding mysticism of "Beware Of Darkness," All Things Must Pass remains an essential rock opus -- one that Harrison never surpassed. Posted October 20, 2006 8:43 AM | | |
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