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USE THIS BLOG TO POST: Music Reviews |
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ARTIST: Morphine SONG/ALBUM: Cure For Pain GENRE: Alternative RATING: 7
“Implied grunge” and “low rock” are two of the more imaginative ways that two-string slide bassist Mark Sandman has attempted to describe the unique sound of his Boston-based trio, Morphine. And Cure For Pain, Morphine’s second album, was the first of the band’s two Rykodisc CDs that had a lot of people asking him for such descriptions. Released in 1993, when big woolly Seattle-style guitar rock was at the peak of its powers, Cure For Pain is the work of a guitar-less, almost jazz-style trio featuring baritone saxist Dana Colley, drummer Billy Conway, and Sandman singing a deep, smoky croon while playing his two-string bass with a slide — definitely not your average rock ensemble. And yet, the songs on Cure For Pain are clearly rock songs, with verses, choruses, hooks and melodies that draw on the blues and even jazz without even coming close to the line that separates pop from fusion.
"Less is best" became one of Sandman’s mottoes in the wake of Morphine’s critical success, and Cure For Pain makes it clear why. The absence of instrumental clutter leaves plenty of room for drummer Jerome Deupree (who was replaced by Conway after recording began) to lay down a streamlined backbeat that would make Charlie Watts proud, for Colley to demonstrate his virtuoso command of the baritone sax, and for Sandman’s dry sense of humor to emerge from the noirish backdrops of "Thursday" (a hard-boiled tale of illicit romance), "A Head With Wings" (a whimsical song about a head with wings) and "Buena" (a Faustian rock fable).
Sandman, who’d previously played low-end guitar in the skewed blues band Treat Her Right, also has a serious side, which is revealed on the bittersweet, mandolin-laced "In Spite of Me." But Cure For Pain is primarily a low-key, low-frequency, groove-driven party album with it’s late-night vibe, R&B roots, and a unique sound that eventually earned Morphine, who couldn’t even find a label to release their debut album, a deal with DreamWorks. Posted October 6, 2006 5:10 PM | | |
ARTIST: Smashing Pumpkins SONG/ALBUM: Siamese Dream GENRE: Alternative RATING: 7
The release of Smashing Pumpkins’ second CD — the one that ”head Pumpkin” Billy Corgan often referred to as the band’s first fully realized album — precipitated much spirited debate over the question of what constitutes alternative rock in the early ‘90’s. Corgan had been guilty of projecting for himself the image of the underdog underground rocker (see Siamese Dream’s "Geek U.S.A.") while artfully masterminding what, even on its debut album Gish, sounds like one of the more sophisticated arena rock bands the world had seen. Not since art-rockers Yes and Rush had a band emitted such a rich, gigantic guitar-based wall of sound. Comparatively, they made Boston’s "More Than A Feeling" seem a little underdeveloped.
Of course, rock 'n roll has always been about mythmaking — John Fogerty wasn’t born on the bayou, Bob Dylan’s real name is Zimmerman, and the Stones weren’t really street fighting men. Besides, Siamese Dream catapulted Smashing Pumpkins into orbit alongside stars of major rock stature so quickly that arguing about the underground credibility became more or less a moot point. Symphonic alienation would be one way to describe the results of Corgan’s first big-budget studio project. The 13 tracks on Siamese Dream draw heavily on Corgan’s disaffection and dysfunction for lyrics and mood, but rather than mirroring his depression with depressive music he subverts it with sweeping crescendos, bracing power chords, and sharply etched melodic hooks. The effect is majestic on the hit single "Today," where layers of melody continuously overlap against an undulating sea of humming bass and guitar. With his next project, the two-CD set Melon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, Corgan’s ambition would begin to outstrip his facility as a singer, and his fascination with ’80s new wave would provide the high points. But on Siamese Dream, he found the perfect balance between monolithic guitars and monochromatic emotions. Posted October 6, 2006 4:58 PM | | |
ARTIST: The Cars SONG/ALBUM: The Cars GENRE: Alternative RATING: 8
Part of what makes the The Cars 1978 self-titled debut such an amazing album is the fact that nearly every track became a hit single. As anyone who spent any time listening to the radio back then will attest, a full seven of the album’s nine tracks were in heavy rotation at some point during the late '70s and early '80s. In truth, with "My Best Friend’s Girl," "Just What I Needed," "Moving In Stereo" and "Bye Bye Love" alone, The Cars could almost pass for a greatest hits package on its own. The secret to The Cars’ early success is as simple as the 1-4-5 chord progression of "My Best Friend’s Girl": infectious, melodic choruses built on top of great, gleaming guitar hooks, and wrapped up in a stylish package that evokes just a hint of the playful troublemaking that used to make rock 'n roll fun.
What makes The Cars so distinctive is its blend of inseparable ingredients -- frontman Ric Ocasek’s idiosyncratic take on Lou Reed’s deadpan cool and his deep fondness for Andy Warhol-style pop-art simplicity, and the band’s hard-rocking approach to new wave, which paired the blues-derived virtuoso guitar leads of Elliot Easton with the space-age synth stylings of Greg Hawkes. The result was one of the era’s rare successful attempts to bridge the gap between the punk underground and the pop mainstream. It required a rather tenuous balancing act, one that The Cars would never again match as winningly as they did here. Ocasek, who's probably best known now for his work with Weezer, says he prefers producing first albums by new bands and, based on his own success with The Cars, it's hard to blame him. Posted October 6, 2006 4:49 PM | | |
ARTIST: T Bone Burnett SONG/ALBUM: The True False Identity GENRE: Alternative RATING: 7
The greatest music of the rock era frequently has been inspired by “the old, weird America.” Cultural critic Greil Marcus first used that term in a book about Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes to describe the genesis of the sound that Dylan and The Band made in the belly of that big pink house in upstate New York.
Four decades later, the connection between popular music and America’s past is fading to static. But if anyone can tune it back in, it’s T Bone Burnett, who has just released The True False Identity, his first studio album in 14 years. Burnett -- who spent his own time in Dylan’s shadow as a member of the Rolling Thunder Revue in the 1970s -- is an evangelizing disciple of America’s musical heritage. He has won many of his converts as a producer, most notably on the best-selling O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack -- an album that somehow managed to sell millions of copies and launched an old-time folk-music revival in the age of “American Idol.” But he is a remarkable artist in his own right, too, mashing together what seems like centuries worth of influences into music that sounds like it was torn from the hymnal of a lost American faith or the songbook of a dark minstrel show. Burnett envisioned The True False Identity as a theatrical experience, breaking the album into two acts: Art of the State and Poems of the Evening. It is most certainly an album about modern America, though it is told through musical styles and lyrical idioms rarely used in contemporary popular music.
In “Zombieland,” the lead track in Art of the State, the music slithers with percussive menace, like a funeral march to Hell. Meanwhile, Burnett plays the pied piper of the New Orleans-style parade, lamenting the control the “black mass media” and religion has over the mind and soul of America. In "Palestine Texas," Burnett builds an absurdist rhyme around the characters from Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack, pounding away at the idea of delusion, confusion and America’s need for a “soul transfusion.” There’s plenty of exploration of individual concerns, from the nature of life itself (“Every Time I Feel the Shift”) to the connection love, death, betrayal and hate ("Baby Don't Say You Love Me") Some might call this post-modern protest music. But it's more like a very smart, very hummable, fight-the-power, folk poetry slam. Posted October 4, 2006 7:49 PM | | |
ARTIST: Lewis Taylor SONG/ALBUM: Stoned GENRE: R&B RATING: 7
Lewis Taylor arrives on our shores with some heavy recommendations in tow. Brit music mags like MOJO have been frothing at the mouth for years, comparing him to Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Fans like David Bowie and Elton John swear that Taylor is the best thing they’ve heard in ages.
Stoned, his US debut, an expanded version of his third album, features twelve songs written and performed by Taylor, plus two choice covers. So, does he live up to the accolades? While he’s not quite Stevie or Marvin (is anyone?), there’s definitely something special going on here.
First time through, I was dazzled by the production and the vocals. On “Positively Beautiful” and “When Will I Ever Learn” Taylor layers his voice into elaborate collages, with silvery falsettos darting through masses of oohs and aahs. It’s definitely something he learned from Marvin (I’d wager that Taylor has worn out his copy of Here, My Dear), but he brings his own harmonic sense to it. There are even jazzy touches, a la Swingle Singers, here and there. No doubt about it, this guy has got killer pipes.
It took a third listen for the songs to grab me, but there are some beauties. Especially memorable are “Shame” and “Til The Mornin’ Light.” Delicate, funky, with supple melodies elevated by interesting chord progressions, arranged in surprising ways. “Lovin U More” and “Throw Me A Line” both sound like should-be-hits.
Taylor may not be R & B’s second coming, but there’s enough promise in Stoned to make me think that he just might have an Innervisions in him yet. Posted September 18, 2006 9:03 AM | | |
ARTIST: Van Hunt SONG/ALBUM: On The Jungle Floor GENRE: R&B RATING: 8
Nuance is a word you don’t hear much anymore, especially when it comes to the X-treme antics of contemporary R & B music. For those who favor the delicate over the dumbed-down, and the sidelong glance over the shagging bump ‘n’ grind, Van Hunt is your man.
From the opening tracks of his sophomore album, it’s obvious that this young soul singer is in touch with his inner Curtis Mayfield. Elegant arrangements, deliciously sly grooves, melodies that dance like a silk scarf in the wind. On upbeat tunes “If I Take You Home” and the hit-worthy “Being A Girl,” Hunt flaunts songwriting chops to match his seductive sound. His ballads are just as strong. “Daredevil, Baby” recalls Stevie Wonder in his early ‘70s prime, while “Mean Sleep” stairsteps from verse to chorus with neatly constructed twists and turns. Album closer “The Night Is Young” achieves a Bic lighters aloft anthemic quality without being cheesy in the least.
Though he shares a co-producer credit with Bill Bottrell (Sheryl Crow, Michael Jackson), multi-instrumentalist Hunt is behind all of the writing, along with most of the arranging, performing and singing here. It gives Jungle Floor a cohesiveness that’s missing from many modern R & B records (where it’s not unusual to have seven different producers).
Kanye and Usher may be grabbing the headlines, but for my money, Van Hunt has got the sound - and the nuance - to go the distance. Posted September 18, 2006 9:02 AM | | |
ARTIST: Willie Nelson SONG/ALBUM: The Songs of Cindy Walker GENRE: Country RATING: 8
Willie’s pal, the late country songwriter Harlan Howard, once said, “Cindy Walker is the greatest country songwriter I’ve ever heard.”
Willie Nelson must agree. For this album, he’s recorded a baker’s dozen of Walker’s finest, and he’s done it old school, with producer Fred Foster at the controls and instrumental backing that sounds like a classic early ‘60s album (complete with Floyd Cramer-ish piano licks and Jordanaire-style background vocals).
A little about Cindy Walker. Born in Texas in 1918, she made her way to Hollywood in the early ‘40s, scoring hits with Bing Crosby. In the mid-’50s, she turned to songwriting full-time, penning tunes for Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb and Roy Orbison, among others. Walker’s approach was to write words and melody, without accompaniment. Unable to play an instrument, she enlisted her mother to provide piano backing.
Every song here is a gem. “Bubbles In My Beer” and “Don’t Be Ashamed Of Your Age” are western swingers with the kind of economy and elegance of language that brings to mind Irving Berlin at his best. She’s equally adept on the ballads. Perhaps her best-known song, “You Don’t Know Me,” is still one of the most aching portraits of unrequited love ever written.
With all this wonderful songwriting on display, it’s easy to forget about the artist delivering the tunes. But Willie’s happy to walk a step behind the songs, letting them do most of the work. In some measure, Willie has become the successor to Sinatra, in the way that he places emphasis on the emotional story of a lyric, conveying humor and heartbreak in equal measures.
For fans of classic country, this record is a must. For songwriters, it’s a how-to textbook. Posted September 11, 2006 10:09 AM | | |
ARTIST: Carole King SONG/ALBUM: Music GENRE: Pop RATING: 8
How do you follow one of the biggest albums of all-time? For Carole King, the answer was: quickly. In 1971, after releasing the earth-moving Tapestry in March, she encored nine months later with another album, Music. Though it sold four million copies at the time and boasted a top ten single, it is almost completely forgotten today. It deserves better.
On the surface, Music could be Tapestry Part 2. It has the inviting organic sound, the warm vocals, the top-flight songs. Sticking with a winning formula, King enlists the same producer, Lou Adler, and the same musicians, including Danny Kortchmar, Ralph Shuckett and Charles Larkey. James Taylor even stops by again to harmonize on a song.
But King was also moving forward, taking chances. The socially conscious opener, “Brother Brother” makes an appreciative nod to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On album (released almost the same time as Tapestry) while “Carry Your Load” touches on themes of war and peace. After her split with husband-lyricist Gerry Goffin, King began collaborating with a new partner, Toni Stern. Of their three songs on Music, two are stone classics. The single “Sweet Seasons” is a deliciously catchy ode to a simple life in the country, while the yearning “It’s Going To Take Some Time” became a huge hit for the Carpenters (King’s version is leaner, but no less lovely).
If you’re looking to add another thread to your copy of Tapestry, try some Music. Posted September 11, 2006 10:06 AM | | |
ARTIST: Harry Nilsson SONG/ALBUM: The Point / Skidoo GENRE: Pop RATING: 9
Harry Nilsson could write a song for any occasion.
This 2-fer release, which includes soundtracks for a movie and a TV special, is a wondrous display of his versatility. Given the assignment by director Otto Preminger to “sing the movie’s closing credits” on Skidoo, Nilsson did just that, constructing a Broadway-style romp whose lyrics take in everyone from stars Jackie Gleason and Carol Channing to the gaffer and the best boy. “Garbage Can Ballet” finds Harry playfully imagining romance among the compost pile (“An old piece of ham is in love with some lamb”) while instrumentals “Tony’s Trip” and “Escape: Possible” suggest he could’ve easily had a career as a John Barry-esque film composer.
The Skidoo tunes are only the appetizer for the main course here. The Point, an original animated musical about a misfit boy named Oblio, is Nilsson at his most charmingly whimsical. While “Me And My Arrow” and “Everybody’s Got ‘Em” explore friendship and self-reliance, “Think About Your Troubles” starts with a man staring into a cup of breakfast tea, then in ten circular lines, evolves into a meditation on death and reincarnation. What’s remarkable is how these songs work on different levels, appealing to kids and adults, without shortchanging either.
Rounding out this generous 30-song disc are four previously unreleased tracks, including the bouncy “Girlfriend,” a song that was reworked into “Best Friend,” the theme for the TV series The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father.
If you’re only familiar with Nilsson from his hits “Without You” and “Everybody’s Talkin’,” here’s a chance to get to know him better. Posted September 8, 2006 1:03 PM | | |
ARTIST: Feist SONG/ALBUM: Let It Die GENRE: Alternative RATING: 8
Sometimes you can’t find any new records that excite you. Seems everyone’s trying to sound like Coldplay or the Ramones or some obscure ‘80s synth band. Then along comes the breeze of something truly fresh to restore your faith in pop music. That’s what Feist does for me.
She does it with a mix of classic values - melodies to die for, lyrics that ding the bullseye of the heart, and a lovely, understated voice that has echoes of Rickie Lee Jones. How she presents all this is a revelation. For example, on the beguiling “Mushaboom,” the arrangement is a quiet conversation between buzzy acoustic guitar, trombone, vibes and handclaps. Out of these minimal strands comes giddy beauty. She uses similar elements on “Lonely Lonely” and the time-stopping title track, which turns on the phrase “The saddest part of a broken heart / Isn’t the ending so much as the start.”
This demure Canadian can also be extroverted, as on “One Evening,” a song that percolates with a kind of melodic soul that recalls the Bee Gees at their best. Later in the disc, Feist actually covers a Bee Gees hit, “Inside And Out,” and makes it her own. Ditto on her takes of “Secret Heart” by Ron Sexsmith and the devastating closer, “Now At Last,” a forgotten standard written by Bob Haymes in the early ‘50s for Blossom Dearie.
Record collection feeling a little stuffy? Let Feist in. You’ll be glad you did. Posted September 8, 2006 1:01 PM | | |
ARTIST: Sam Cooke SONG/ALBUM: Night Beat GENRE: R&B RATING: 9
Night Beat is the perfect title for this album, suggesting not only the languid, after hours tempo of the music, but also beat in the sense of a familiar path trodden nightly by a restless man. Even further, beat in the sense of poetry. These songs speak in wee hours poetry - that direct language of 2 am, when all affectations and clever rhymes are stripped away to bare the cries of the soul.
And was there ever a finer soul crier than Sam Cooke? Though he’s best remembered for hits such as “You Send Me” and “Wonderful World,” the syrupy strings and corny Ray Conniff-style singers on those records often diluted the power of Cooke’s amazing voice.
On Night Beat, he’s surrounded by a hipster quintet that includes Barney Kessel on guitar and Hal Blaine on drums. Spare arrangements free Cooke’s voice to soar, delivering potent soul cries like “Get Yourself Another Fool” and “Fool’s Paradise,” as if he’s confessing to you in the privacy of your own room.
As Cooke digs deeper into lonely (“Lost And Lookin’”), lonelier (“Mean Old World”) and loneliest (“I Lost Everything”), he achieves a fundamental definition of soul over and over: Singer bares soul, listener has soul moved.
In one of the few interviews he did before he was murdered in 1964, Sam Cooke said, “You must make your audience feel what you feel. You have to stir up emotions and literally lift them from their chairs.”
Prepare to be lifted. Posted September 8, 2006 1:00 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: Tony Bennett SONG/ALBUM: Duets - An American Classic GENRE: Pop RATING: 7
At 80, Tony Bennett remains a picture of youth and vigor, a timeless classic of an American singer with an indefatigable capacity to turn the perfect phrase and swing. His latest project is an across-the-generations duets album that teams him with some of the top names in contemporary pop music, singing selections from the Great American Songbook. Bennett, of course, is intimately familiar with this material. Tunes such as “Lullabye of Broadway,” “Smile,” “Put on a Happy Face,” “The Good Life” and “The Best is Yet To Come” have been a part of his repertoire for more than 50 years. But are his younger partners on Duets – An American Classic up to the task?
Happily, most of them are. Bennett and Paul McCartney put a sly, romantic spin on the Ray Noble ballad “The Very Thought of You.” Elton John adds a Rat Pack-like flair to “Rags to Riches,” which Bennett took to No. 1 solo way back in 1953. Piano man Billy Joel shows off his own flair for sophisticated phrasing, dueting with Bennett on “The Good Life,” while Bono adds a boozy charm to “I Wanna Be Around.”
Other highlights include a swingin’ take on “Lullabye of Broadway,” with the Dixie Chicks adding their own harmonious kick. Pure jazz fans will dig the smooth, finger-snapping sophistication of the Bennett/Michael Buble rendition of “Just in Time,” and the swinging sass of the Bennett/Diana Krall take on “The Best is Yet to Come.” Posted November 12, 2006 1:25 PM | | |
ARTIST: Persephone's Bees SONG/ALBUM: Notes from the Underworld GENRE: Alternative RATING: 6
First, class, let us have a brief lesson in Greek mythology. Persephone, you will recall, has the dubious but rather hip honor of being the goddess of the underworld. She rose (or descended, if you prefer) to this position because the Bronze Age devil himself, Hades, took a fancy to her, kidnapping the poor daughter of Zeus while she was picking posies on the plain of Enna. This did not sit well with Persephone’s mom, Demeter, goddess of the harvest, who threatened to turn the Earth into her own Depression Dust Bowl unless Hades let her daughter go. Knowing that hell hath no fury like a mistress scorned, Zeus pulled rank and forced Hades to release Persephone. Things might have ended happily there, but silly Persephone got the munchies on the long trip back to Earth and ate a pomegranate given to her by Hades. For some great Greek mythical reason, this meant she was bound to the underworld forever and had to spend three months a year in hell. During her daughter’s yearly absences, Demeter pouted, refusing to let anything grow. Viola! Winter was born! Now, that we’ve got that little bit of history out of the way, we can address the question of Persephone’s Bees, a new Bay Area alternative-rock quartet fronted by go-go-goth lead vocalist Angelina Moysov. The Russian ex-pat fancies herself a post-modern pop Persephone, walking the ironic line between light and the dark and melody and dissonance in the band’s debut album, Notes from the Underworld. Of course, this is nothing new in pop music. Bands from the Rolling Stones to Nirvana to Green Day have been working the territory between the mainstream and the underground. But Moysov does a good job of putting her own gypsy spin on the formula, with guitarist Tom Ayres, bassist Bart Davenport and drummer Paul Bertolino adding heavy-rock-meets-punk sting to the arrangements. There is a surrealistic, rockin’ Kurt Weill vibe in many of the tunes, including the oddball love song, “Way to Your Heart,” and the sarcastic ode to materialism, “Climbing.” The pop-meets-punk fusion reaches critical mass on “Paper Plane,” and the surf-meets-Red Square ditty, “Muzika Dlya Fil’ma,” while “Walk on the Moon” puts Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic Russian novel, “Master and Marguarita,” in which the Devil pays a visit to the godless Soviet Union, into an engaging, anthemic, pop-music context. We know. It all sounds a bit much for a pop group. But it works somehow, never veering into eye-rolling pseudo-pop poetry or faux intellectualism. Hum along Hades. Posted October 14, 2006 11:01 AM | | |
ARTIST: Audioslave SONG/ALBUM: Revelations GENRE: Alternative RATING: 9
There are plenty of new bands out there pretending to be rock stars, filling iPods and radio play lists everywhere with disposable, passionless music. Then there’s Audioslave – a band pieced together from the ruins of two of the greatest rock outfits of the 1990s.
The pairing of former Soundgarden lead vocalist Chris Cornell with Rage Against the Machine’s guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk was among the most hyped superstar mash-ups in rock history. History tells us that supergroups rarely live up to the sum of their parts. But Audioslave has proven to be a glorious anomaly, producing three albums during the past five years – 2002’s Audioslave, 2005’s Out of Exile and the new Revelations – that arguably rank among the best rock albums of all time.
What makes Audioslave special? You could point to the taut, original songwriting, or to Cornell’s charismatic, ferocious classic-rock vocals, or Morello’s innovative, mind-bending lead guitar work, or a rhythm section that will kick your ass. Whatever it is, the magic and the chemistry is on full display in the new Revelations, an album that blends fist-pumping anthemic rock (“Somedays,” “Shape of Things to Come”) with funky, post-modern fist-pumping funk and soul (“Original Fire,” “Broken City”). Toss in pointed, fist-pumping political statements (“Wide Awake”) and the occasional fist-pumping power ballad (“Until We Fall”) and you’ve got the makings of an authentic rock classic. Posted September 26, 2006 7:57 PM | | |
ARTIST: Neko Case SONG/ALBUM: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood GENRE: Alternative RATING: 8
Is she an American or a Canadian? A country singer or a punk with pop-star pipes? A red-headed, indie-rock sex symbol or the reclusive Marlene Dietrich of the post-punk world café? It doesn’t matter, really. It’s better to let Neko Case just be Neko Case – a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enimga, to borrow a phrase from Winston Chuchill. Mysteriousness is a lost art in the modern popular culture, where the media hunts artists as celebrity prey, feeding them to us until we are gourged and fat and can stomach them no more.
Case has the voice and the looks to be a pop princess. Thankfully, this is a priestess is aiming for higher ground. Her latest album, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood," is a modern fable, an epic, 12-song tone poem that looks for beauty and love in an inscrutable, venomous world. You won’t find that message on the surface of songs like "John Saw That Number," "Dirty Knife," "Lion’s Jaws" and "Maybe Sparrow." But it’s there all the same, lurking amid a dark, fairy-tale lanscape populated by murderous wolves, haunted widows and valium-toting brides. Just press play and lose yourself in the music and the moment. Somewhere in the folk-rock-country noir, you’ll get a feel for the world, back when it was old and strange, and everything will become clear. Or maybe it won’t. But who cares? Just hang on and enjoy the ride. Posted September 14, 2006 4:08 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 | | |
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