|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
  |
 |
|
USE THIS BLOG TO POST: Music Reviews |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ARTIST: Boston SONG/ALBUM: Boston GENRE: Rock RATING: 9
It’s still the biggest basement tape ever made.
Decades before Garageband or ProTools rendered home recording as easy as stamp collecting, a former Polaroid employee-turned-musician named Tom Scholz built his own crude multi-track tape machine. Sequestered in his basement with instruments and a head full of song ideas, he constructed a rock masterpiece, one track at a time.
Thirty years and seventeen million satisfied customers later, the first Boston album has been remastered and repackaged for a the i-Pod generation. While the stadium-ready guitar riffs and city-sized melodic hooks will touch a chord of nostalgia for those who remember when, what’s remarkable is how startlingly fresh and modern the record still sounds. The skin-tight syncopation and explosive chorus on “Rock ‘n’ Roll Band.” The space race build-up of “Foreplay / Long Time.” The sunburst dazzle of Brad Delp’s vocal harmonies on “Peace Of Mind.” And of course, the gorgeous chords and majestic dual guitar leads on “More Than A Feeling.” These are blissed-out thrills that measure up to whatever’s riding high on the charts this year, or any year.
In the extensive liner notes, Tom Scholz says, “The possibility that anyone would be listening to this album thirty years into the future was incomprehensible.”
Maybe it seemed that way in his basement back in ‘76. But Scholz & Co’s potent formula of “love and music” is likely to be around for another thirty years. And that’s more than a feeling. Posted September 8, 2006 12:58 PM | | |
ARTIST: Cracker SONG/ALBUM: Gentleman's Blues GENRE: Alternative RATING: 7
As the leader of the ’80s college rock band Camper Van Beethoven, David Lowery was an alternative forefather who created innovative ways to incorporate worldly sounds into his band’s strain of quirky pop rock. Cranky violins whittled their way into carnivalesque melodies, while Middle Eastern flavors and odd sounds peppered each song’s nonsensical scenarios. After Camper disbanded in 1989, Lowery continued with Cracker, a slightly more accessible version of his former band, which received modest mainstream attention via "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" from 1992’s self-titled debut, and "Low" from 1993’s Kerosene Hat. To the dismay of Camper fans, each successive album’s increased refinement and attention to pop structure corresponded with a notable loss of the playful experimentation which had defined Lowery’s earlier work.
On Cracker’s fourth album, Gentleman's Blues, with the exception of Lowery’s hoarse, beckoning screams and whispers, Camper-isms are completely nonexistent. And this was as it should be, for Gentleman’s Blues proved to be Cracker's finest hour. Perhaps sensing the remorse of diehard Camper fans, Lowery, on this oft-overlooked masterpiece, reflects upon his life and former band throughout the album’s sixteen songs. In the throbbing rocker "Wild One," he sings, “You’re a wild one / well, I was just like you.” "Seven Days" revisits the glory days of ruling the local bar scene, while in the solemn "James River," he yearns for a lost love. Blues and country have always been components of Cracker songs, and here they’re at their most fully realized. In its purest form, Lowery comes straight from the Delta on "Trials And Tribulations" and "Wedding Day," a vengeful love song if there ever was one, while the frantic "Waiting For You Girl" and funky "Been Around The World" serve as proud blues-rock hybrids. Despite songs about glory days past, Lowery shows no regrets. After having “sabotaged all he set out to do,” with his former band, as he sings on "Hold Of Myself," the time has come to move on.
Posted September 7, 2006 2:03 PM | | |
ARTIST: Liz Phair SONG/ALBUM: whitechocolatespaceegg GENRE: Alternative RATING: 7
One of the most critically acclaimed female musicians of the ’90s, Liz Phair isn’t afraid to be blunt. She’s told off would-be womanizers looking for one-night-stands, revealed her innermost fantasies, and admitted she likes it rough, all within the confines of finely structured pop songs that reflect the moxie and charisma of their creator. Never one to find comfort in the status quo, Phair, even more than her '90s contemporaries Alanis Morissette and Meredith Brooks, shatters the image of the woman as a lovelorn songbird, by conveying bold opinions with meaty guitar riffs that only reinforce her gutsy proclamations.
Fans of this indie-rock chanteuse can easily relate to her conversational verse and real-life narratives as she brings to light events that shape (or warp, as the case may be) every young woman’s life. On her first album, 1993’s Exile In Guyville, Phair’s a kitten with claws as she looks for love in all the wrong places. 1994’s Whip-smart witnessed the end of her search through a real-life marriage and rejoiced in love's glories. And when she found love, as a wife and a new mother, on whitechocolatespaceegg, she showed that she was pretty unsure of herself on how to handle either responsibility. Between longing for old lovers and fantasizing about future prospects, Phair contemplates her place in the world and realizes it's a far more complicated place than she ever expected.
“And I thought, ‘Who am I?’/ ‘Who’s this guy?’,” she sings on "Love Is Nothing," right before coming to the song’s conclusive chorus: “Love is nothing, nothing, nothing / Like they say... / You gotta pick up the little pieces everyday.”
This was Phair’s first album in which her music actually equalled, even sometimes overshadowed, her lyrics; and each song's a pop masterpiece — concise, poignant, and deceptively catchy. The various genres at her disposal —primarily blues, rock, and country — are more than starting points for artistic diversity. Each one complements her emotions so effectively, she'd get her point across even without the words. Liz Phair can’t easily be summarized. Her music tends to forge an intimate bond between artist and listener. Often, Phair comes off as a friend in need of consolation. A friend with a supurb gift for pop craftsmanship.
Posted September 7, 2006 1:48 PM | | |
ARTIST: The Tragically Hip SONG/ALBUM: Yer Favourites GENRE: Alternative RATING: 8
With each passing album from Canada’s Tragically Hip, it becomes more puzzling why the band isn’t as immensely popular in the States as it is north of the border. Since 1989’s Up To Here, the Hip has gone virtually unnoticed in the U.S. while being spoken of in the same college-rock context as R.E.M. in their native Kingston, Ontario. Both groups played uptempo Americana when first starting out, but when the Athens, Georgia, band moved away from the farm to tinker in various genres, the Hip stuck to the original path, perfecting their craft with each successive album. Their 1996 album, Trouble At The Henhouse, made a dent in the U.S. alternative scene with moderate radio play, but wasn’t the “crossover” success it was supposed to be. And even if their subsesquent releases, Phantom Power, Music@Work, In Violet Light, and In Between Evolution didn't quite earn them the American accolades they rightfully deserve, the band’s coveted sect of U.S. fans can take comfort knowing that Canada’s best-kept secret has released yet another impeccable album with Yer Favourites, the band's first greatest hits compilation. Whether lost in a relentless groove ("Lake Fever," "Poets," "Cordelia," "Highway Girl") or among the stirring strings of a serene ballad ("Bobcaygeon"), the Tragically Hip renders country-based melodies and deep-pocked grooves with precision and emotion. If the Hip’s rambling swing and surging rock beat doesn’t make you a fan, singer/guitarist Gordon Downie’s vivid, situational storytelling just might . Each song is a reflective daydream ripe with pleasure and pain.
"Isn’t it amazing anything’s accomplished / when the little sensation gets in your way / not one ambition whispering over your shoulder / Isn’t it amazing you can do anything?" Downie sings on "Fireworks," a rousing flashback of naive love. Yer Favourites flaunts the allure of any strong rock record — tightly interwoven guitar lines, seductive vocal melodies and insightful lyrics. At first the Hip may seem like latter-day Rolling Stones crossed with Matthew Sweet (not necessarily a bad thing), but below the obvious similarities lie the definitive intricacies of a great pop band.
Posted September 5, 2006 12:27 PM | | |
ARTIST: Better Than Ezra SONG/ALBUM: How Does Your Garden Grow? GENRE: Rock RATING: 8
New Orleans’ Better Than Ezra — singer/guitarist Kevin Griffin, drummer Travis McNabb and bassist Tom Drummand — isn’t your typical pop band content to rely on past formulas for success. Their debut album, 1995’s Swell, brought them national attention via the smash single "Good," while their third effort, How Does Your Garden Grow?, suggested that the band wasn’t about to retrace its steps.
That’s not to say they completely abandoned pop songs — there are still plenty of radio-ready singles to choose from on this release — but the album’s breadth of influence is definitely a change for the better. How Does Your Garden Grow? isn’t confined to any one style. Rather, like the city from which the band hails, it’s a melting pot of influences. "Je Ne M’en Souviens Pas" opens the album with a menacing groove before a succession of rimshots form a Brazilian rhythm that carries the song through spacey, synthesized soundscapes. The theremin wails and screeching guitar on the rumba-inspired "Like It Like That" bring a futuristic sound to an antiquated beat, as does the electronic bass lines diving well below the surface of the dirge-like "Beautiful Mistake."
By incorporating the various moods and styles of the Crescent City, Better Than Ezra’s music is at once daringly experimental and enjoyably familiar. And you thought they only played rock songs. Well they do that, too. The Calypso-flavored "Happy Day Mama" combines a lovely melody with the vibrant burst of a lofty chorus. Not hard enough for you? Then try the punchy hooks and manic guitar solo of "Pull," with its flurry of rumbling drums, or listen to the punked-up, distorted blues rock of "New Kind of Love," which comes as something of a shock compared with the album’s otherwise straight-ahead guitar tones.
Better Than Ezra’s diverse musical underpinnings are impressive, even though most people’s knowledge of the band stems from infectious pop hits like "A Lifetime," "American Dream," and "Juicy." It’s perfectly acceptable to be lured in by an infectious single, but to fully appreciate the band’s potent concoction of new takes on old sounds, you must delve deeper. For a well-rounded lesson in modern sounds deeply rooted in tradition, Better Than Ezra is as good as it gets.
Posted September 3, 2006 12:52 PM | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Chris Cornell SONG/ALBUM: Euphoria Morning GENRE: Alternative RATING: 7
With good looks, an enigmatic persona, and some of the most powerful pipes of any rock vocalist of the past decade, it was only a matter of time before Soundgarden's Chris Cornell embarked on a solo career. The surprising breakup of the Seattle quartet in 1997 offered the opportunity for him to do so. It was actually Cornell's concern that Soundgarden had become musically stagnant and incapable of expanding its sound that fueled the band's decision to call it quits. "Suddenly, I could do anything I wanted, and that's kind of scary," Cornell said. "The world is wide open." And a little richer for music fans with Euphoria Morning, Cornell's first full-length solo project. Backed by a band that consists of multi-instrumentalists Alain Johannes and Natasha Schneider (formerly of the L.A. band Eleven) Euphoria Morning may confound some Soundgarden fans; but for anyone willing to "follow me down into a swan dive," Cornell offers ample reasons to take the trip. "Can't Change Me" kicks off this delicious spiral into the depths of Cornell's own private hell. With an intro that sounds like "Paint It Black" for the new millennium, the song evolves into a staccato slice of Middle Eastern-tinged alternative pop. The insistent chorus is resilient enough, with Cornell admitting that "suddenly I can see everything that's wrong with me." It's a common thread throughout this album's twelve tracks of diverse, psychedelic-influenced music. But this is no straight-ahead romp through the past, as evidenced by the oddly beautiful "Flutter Girl," which blends a metallic drum loop with kaleidoscopic guitar work, and by "Follow My Way," with its mandoln, theremin, and lush, sweeping keyboards. And of course, strafing through everything are Cornell's hair-raising vocals, which ooze with characteristic soul as he adopts a bluesy growl on "When I'm Down," and pays homage to Jeff Buckley on "Wave Goodbye." Posted September 2, 2006 5:06 PM | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Bad Company SONG/ALBUM: Stories Told & Untold GENRE: Rock RATING: 7
Their hit list is so etched into your rock-consciousness that it’s nearly impossible to read the titles without strapping on an air guitar and singing each one in your head: "Can’t Get Enough (Of Your Love)," "Feel Like Makin’ Love," "Good Lovin’ Gone Bad," "Movin’ On," "Shooting Star." Legendary rockers from Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Black Crowes to Bon Jovi openly acknowledge Bad Company as one of their most important influences. In Stories Told & Untold, Bad Company tells more than one story, with seven "new" tunes and as many retakes on some of their most notable hits, including the freight train paced "Oh Atlanta," a power-packed "Ready For Love," the anthemic classic "Shooting Star, and an acoustic, shuffle-paced "Can’t Get Enough" with back porch guitar by original bandmember Mick Ralphs and one heck of a guest vocal by Bekka Bramlett.
Other special guests keeping company here include Vince Gill (electric guitar), Kim Carnes (vocals), Alison Krauss (vocals & fiddle), Richie Sambora (12 string acoustic) and a fifteen member choir brought together especially for this recording. Stories Told & Untold is a thundering showcase of the band’s power and range, from gospel-graced grooves ("Weep No More") and arena-ready ballads ("Is That All There Is To Love," "Simple Man") to mid-tempo tracks ("Silver Blue and Gold") and flat-out biker rockers ("Love So Strong"), a track that revs-up like a hog before roaring off full throttle. Bad Company's at its best on fist-pounders like these. Remaining far from fads and trends, this band continues to carve classics from solid bedrock. And more than a generation after their first #1, it seems their fans still can’t get enough.
Posted September 2, 2006 4:28 PM | | |
ARTIST: Widespread Panic SONG/ALBUM: Earth to America GENRE: Rock RATING: 7
Formed in the musical hotbed of Athens, Ga., way back n 1987, Widespread Panic became one of the mainstays of the 1990s jam-band movement by blending classic guitar rock with an eclectic mix of blues, funk, psychelica, soul, R&B and jazz. Along with bands like Phish, they were frequently compared to the Grateful Dead and dismissed by many critics as neo-hippie pretenders. But they won new fans to rock with recordings and concerts that valued spontaneity and sophisticated improvisation over high-gloss production and glitz. There was an undeniable magic in the Panic groove. Now that Phish has disbanded, Widespread Panic is big, dark superstar of the jam-band nation. The group’s latest album, Earth to America, finds John Bell(lead vocals and rhythm guitar), George McConnell (guitar), Todd Nance (drums), David Schools (bass), Domingo Ortiz (percussion) and John Hermann (keyboards) at the top of their boogie-jazz game. It features some of their strongest tunes to date, scooting from atmospheric, blues-rock psycedelica ("Second Skin") to hard-edged, epic boogie ("Good People") to jazzy, cosmic shuffles ("Time Zones," "Crazy"). Through in a couple dark, demented jams ("You Should Be Glad," "May Your Glass Be Filled") and you have the makings of a post-modern Panic classic.
Posted August 29, 2006 3:36 PM | | |
ARTIST: Billy Joel SONG/ALBUM: 12 Gardens - Live GENRE: Rock RATING: 7
Billy Joel is in a league of his own as a hit maker. Since 1972, when he signed his first solo recording contract, he has put 33 singles into the Billboard Top 40, making him one of the most prolific and successful artists of the rock era. His latest release – a two-CD, 32-song live set recorded in early 2006 during a 12-night stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden – is a remarkable testament to the both the depth and familiarity of his songbook. The hits come one after the other here, from “Piano Man” to “River of Dreams” and just about every other popular tune in between. They are delivered with high-energy passion and clarity by a fit-and-feisty Joel and his longtime touring band. There are plenty of surprises. There are cool takes on lesser known tunes like “Laura” and “A Room of Our Own,” plus plenty of re-inventions and re-imaginings. “River of Dreams” is aired out, becoming a gone-to-church, sing-along gospel epic. “Miami 2017 (I’ve Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway”) is transformed into a post-9/11 tribute to New York City. “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me” ends the set, churning like a foot-stomping arena rocker. Some live albums feel like filler, an excuse to put something on the market between studio recordings. (Joel has already released two live albums during his 30-plus years in the spotlight – Songs in the Attic in 1981 and Kohuept in 1987.) But even if you already own those two recordings, 12 Gardens is certainly worth adding to the collection. It’s a document of a mature artist still at the peak of his power, looking back on a long and fruitful life in music. Posted August 28, 2006 8:58 PM | | |
ARTIST: Aretha Franklin SONG/ALBUM: Live at the Fillmore West GENRE: R&B RATING: 8
It’s not quite the history-making event that R&B legend Otis Redding unleashed at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival. But the Aretha Franklin’s three-night stand at San Francisco’s Fillmore West in 1971 certainly was something special. The "Queen of Soul" was at the height of her powers, already an international star thanks to a remarkable string of pop crossover hits dating to her 1967 Atlantic Records sessions with producer Jerry Wexler at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. But she was still relatively unknown to the rock audience, which by 1971, had completed its conquest of the popular culture. Wexler and the Atlantic brass decided that she should begin her latest cross-over campaign with a series of high-profile gigs at promoter Bill Graham’s Fillmore West, epicenter for the hippie-rock scene that gave birth to the likes of the Grateful Dead, the Jefferson Airplane,Big Brother & the Holding Company, et al.
If Franklin had any qualms about performing in front of the "longhairs," as Wexler called them, she didn’t show it. She would later call her three days at the Fillmore the highlight of her performing career. You can hear why in this amazing two CD live set, which features Franklin blazing through an old-school soul revue that included plenty of her own hits ("Respect," "Dr. Feelgood," "Spirit in the Dark"), plus stunning interpretations of top rock and pop hits ("Eleanor Rigby," "Love the One You’re With," "Bridge Over Troubled Water.") Her supporting cast is a band for the ages, too. King Curtis and the Kingpins and the Memphis Horns, with the Sweethearts of Soul on backing vocals. The one-two, gone-to-church punch of "Dr. Feelgood" sequing to "Spirit in the Dark" will give you chills.
Disc 1 features the original "Live at the Fillmore West" album, originally released in May of 1971, but with a few enhancements. Most notably, there’s a remarkable, 19-minute, unedited version of "Spirit in the Dark" featuring Ray Charles.It's a jam that even the Grateful Dead would envy. Disc 2 includes alternate takes and unused songs recorded over the three-night stand. All of the tracks here are keepers. All hail the Queen of Soul.
Posted August 22, 2006 3:56 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: John Gorka SONG/ALBUM: Writing in the Margins GENRE: Alternative RATING: 7
A gift for melody, a warm, articulate voice and a poet’s heart have put John Gorka at the forefront of contemporary folk music. The Pennsylvania native’s latest album, Writing in the Margins, is another sumptuous collection of poems, prayers and personal reflections, ambling with assurance from meloncholy love songs (“Chance of Rain,” “Satellites”) to witty, folk ditties (“I Miss Everyone.) Gorka gets sophisticated musical support from a band that includes drummer J.T. Bates, guitarist Dirk Freymuth, bassist John Sayles and keyboardist Jeff Victor. Pals Nanci Griffith, Lucy Kaplansky, Alice Peacock and Kathleen Johnson contribute understated harmony and backing vocals. There’s a cool, desperate cover of Townes Van Zandt’s romantic classic “Snow Don’t Fall,” plus a hearts-are-breaking rendition of Stan Rogers’ gorgeous, seafaring love song, “The Lockkeeper.” There’s a timeless quality to Gorka’s music, even when he’s writing topical songs about current events. The title track, “Writing in the Margins,” looks at the cost of war from the perspective of a soldier penning a love letter from the battlefield. “Road of Good Intentions” is as close as Gorka comes to a straight-up, old-school protest song. But he pushes himself into the background, giving voice to the civilians and soldiers caught in battles bigger than themselves. Posted August 14, 2006 11:19 AM | | |
ARTIST: KT Tunstall SONG/ALBUM: Eye to the Telescope GENRE: Pop RATING: 8
This pint-sized Scottish dynamo’s debut album crackles with the sort of energy and originality that heralds the coming of a new star. Tunstall is already a big name in the U.K., where Eye to the Telescope was first released in late 2004. She’s making steady headway stateside, courtesy of two sparkling, irresistible singles – “Black Horse & Cherry Tree” and “Suddenly I See,” both of which showcase her earthy mix of smart, ethereal pop, blues-rock, folk, jazz and dance music. If you haven’t heard those two tunes on the radio, you’ve probably caught bits of them on television: Both have been used repeatedly as scene setters and background music on top-rated shows ranging from “Grey’s Anatomy” to “So You Think You Can Dance.” Tunstall has a big, soulful voice reminiscent of earthy, blues-rock belters such as Linda Perry, Joan Osbourne and Joss Stone. But she channels it through a classic pop-rock blender that is part Rickie Lee Jones, part Carole King, part Kylie Minogue. She is the complete package as an artist, too – a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, piano and flute and a talented songwriter who creates sing-along pop songs with a bristling, captivating edge. You can hear hearts breaking in the gorgeous, dreamlike folk-pop of “Other Side of the World,” taste the indignation and anger in the roiling blues-rock of “Another Place to Fall, hear the pain and lament in the swaying, gospel prayer of “Through the Dark.” Most of today’s pop stars have a difficult time putting out an album with two or three great songs. With Eye to the Telescope, Tunstall has created 45 minutes of pop glory that’s engaging from beginning to end. \ Posted August 11, 2006 6:00 PM | | |
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: 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: Dixie Chicks SONG/ALBUM: Taking the Long Way GENRE: Rock RATING: 8
If the Dixie Chicks had emerged from the world of rock 'n' roll, nobody would be fussing about their politics. Rock stars have been on the vanguard of the counter-culture since the early days of Dylan, taking stands against various wars, criticizing presidents and using their celebrity to raise awareness about issues ranging from racism to the environment. But when your home base is country music, taking sides on political issues - particularly when the United States is engaged in a shooting war - is risky business. The Dixie Chicks discovered that the hard way in 2003 when lead singer Natalie Maines took a swipe at President George W. Bush during a concert in London. Country radio stations in America organized boycotts. Maines and bandmates were swamped with hate mail and even a few death threats. With the media stoking the fire, the controversy threatened to sink the Chicks, then one of the most popular bands in the world with a string of hit singles from the bestselling albums "Wide Open Spaces" and "Fly." But Maines and bandmates Emily Robison and Martie Maguire refused to give up - or back down. And no matter what you think of their politics, you have to admire their tenacity and talent. Taking the Long Way is their first album since the big blowup, and it's an uprepentent tour de force, a big, sprawling splash of sass and soul that bounces between rockin' confrontation ("Not Ready to Make Nice," "The Long Way Around," "Lubbock Leave It") and soulful introspection ("Lullabye," "Silent House," "I Hope.").
Noted producer Rick Rubin helped guide the Chicks here, telling them he wanted Taking the Long Way to "sound like a great rock act making a country album, not a country act making a rock album." Maines, Robison and Maguire wrote or co-wrote all 11 songs and put together a talented group of notable musicians to work with them in the studio, including Pete Yorn, John Mayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, the Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and the Jayhawks Gary Louris. The resulting album is the Dixie Chicks' best to date. More importantly, it's wide-ranging soul puts the Chicks where they have belonged all along - in the broader world of pop music and rock n roll. Posted August 10, 2006 5:49 PM | | |
ARTIST: Duncan Sheik SONG/ALBUM: Duncan Sheik GENRE: Alternative RATING: 7
On his self-titled debut, Sheik exhibits a sweeping appreciation for big picture compositions and an enlightened musical consciousness in his ability to translate these visions to tape. Anybody can hire the London Session Orchestra Strings and Quartet, and even have them record in an 18th century French chateau, right? But it’s Sheik’s use of these players -- his understanding and realization of their purpose and potential in these highly intelligent songs that raise his work to the level of a classical composer (additional kudos to arranger Simon Hale). Sheik’s performance on nearly a dozen instruments from E-bow guitar to accordion and drum programming is so impressive you’d swear he contracted a studio full of specialists. In truth, there are precious few guests on this album, including Howard Jones (piano), Fran Banish (electric and slide guitars), Pino Palladino (bass), and producer Rupert Hine (Tina Turner, Kate Bush, Howard Jones, The Waterboys) on percussion and keyboards. The subject and object of Sheik’s attention here are love and relationships, captured with a clarity of vision, and crafted with a poet’s gift for expressing a heart full of emotions in a handful of words. Without question Sheik's best effort to date, and a lot to live up to. Sadly, none of his subsequent releases have come close to the breadth and maturity of this stunning debut. Posted August 9, 2006 9:06 PM | | |
ARTIST: New Order SONG/ALBUM: Waiting for the Sirens' Call GENRE: Alternative RATING: 8
New Order is still doing it after all these years.. and doing it well. Sure they throw in the obligatory really poppy dance tune like Jetstream Lover, but heck, even those songs grow on you after enough listens. Guilty pleasures! But like the song says, Guilt is a Useless Emotion, so enjoy the strong tracks like Who's Joe along with the fluffier stuff. It's all good! Posted August 8, 2006 3:29 PM | | |
USER: Jim2nd USER TYPE: Reviewer ARTIST: Weezer SONG/ALBUM: Make Believe GENRE: Alternative RATING: 7
Weezer leader Rivers Cuomo is as angsty as ever on the group's first album in three years, but he seems infused with a different kind of sincerity than on the band’s four predecessors -- there's less hand-wringing here, and a more palpable originality in moments of contrition ("Pardon Me," "The Damage in Your Heart") and even un-conflicted happiness ("My Best Friend"). There's also plenty of crunch, with producer Rick Rubin helming a full-throttle guitar attack on the stomping first single "Beverly Hills," the new wave nod "This is Such a Pity" and the chugging rocker "We Are All on Drugs." Even the sound of quieter, melodic tracks like "The Other Way," "Hold Me" and "Freak Me Out" feels meaty, mitigating Cuomo's more cloying heartstring-tugging tendencies. Posted August 8, 2006 1:39 PM | | |
ARTIST: PJ Harvey SONG/ALBUM: Uh Huh Her GENRE: Alternative RATING: 8
I know it's not that new, but I have to say this album is another stellar effort from PJ. Since I first heard Rid of Me over a decade ago, I've been a big time fan of hers. Her albums never disappoint and are always adventurous. There's a darkness and longing to much of her work that is so real and powerful. Some may consider her just an "art rock" songstress, but she has a great depth and spirit of experimentation. If you don't know her music, check it out! Posted August 7, 2006 2:58 PM | | |
|
|
|
<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Reviews 141-160 of 160 total
  |
|
| |
|
