|
| Home |
| Movies |
| Music |
| Longlist |
| Contact Us |
Advertisement
|
New CDs
Ike Reilly "Poison the Hit Parade" *** ½ "Who says you can't take a shot at the president, just say you're sorry and be on your way?" Ike Reilly spits out in "Fish Plant Rebellion." Like the best rockers, and you can count him among them, Reilly delights in wreaking havoc with polite society. He continues to do just that with "Poison the Hit Parade." The album is mostly demos and alternative versions of songs from some of the Midwesterner's great earlier albums - "Duty Free," for example, gets a more countrified arrangement. The title track - talk about causing an uproar - is new, as is the ringingly melodic "Dragonflies," which shows Reilly has a heart, too. Put it all together, and you get another thrilling portrait of Reilly's audacious street-poet charisma - the way he mixes elusive, Dylanesque verbiage with rock-solid hooks and a streak of hip-hop swagger. The hit parade could use this kind of "Poison." Elvis Costello and the Imposters "Momofuku" *** Elvis Costello's new album largely adheres to the 2008 REM school of old-guys-from-the-1980s record making. Like the Athens, Ga., band's "Accelerate," "Momofuku" was written and recorded fast, and features mostly shortish, high-energy songs that hope to recall Costello's halcyon heyday. For the most part, it works. Bashed-out rockers like "Mr. Feathers" bristle with tension, and harmony-heavy tunes like "No Hiding Place" (one of many to feature Jenny Lewis on backup vocals) recall classic early 1980s Costello albums such as Trust. And even slower tunes, such as the heart-on-sleeve romance "Flutter & Wow," powered by Steve Nieve's piano, benefit from an off-the-cuff attack, with Costello shouting out "to the bridge!" instructions to the band. The songwriting isn't uniformly excellent, and at times, such as on "Harry Worth," Costello falls prey to the too clever punniness that is often his downfall. But there are some tender, deeply personal songs here, such as the touching "My Three Sons," and angry, winningly rocking ones, like "American Gangster Time," too. A couple of years ago, Costello claimed he was never going to record again, and anybody familiar with his history of hyperactive productivity knew that was a lie. "Momofuku," which shares a name with a most excellent New York noodle bar, is a tasty addition to his catalog. Clay Aiken "On My Way Here" ** Not much has changed with this bathetic balladeer's fourth release. (For those of you without a TV set, Aiken was the popular runner-up on the second season of "American Idol.") He's wielding his lithe tenor with more emotionality, but he's still hopelessly addicted to would-be inspirational anthems. Surprisingly, Aiken does his best job vocally on the bluesy "Everything I Don't Need." His worst vocal? Easy. His weak Johnny Mathis imitation on "Something About Us." Most of the selections here are expertly crafted tunes. But perhaps because Aiken had no hand in writing them, they tend to sound off-the-rack rather than custom tailored, even the nostalgic title track, co-written by One Republic's Ryan Tedder, which has a country flavor. In the end, nothing jumps out of this maudlin pack. Luis Miguel "Complices" *** At a moment when most of what we know about Mexican pop culture comes from VH-1's "Viva Hollywood," it's great that Luis Miguel has come to save the day. While J-Lo, Ricky Martin and Shakira were busy Anglicizing their sound, Miguel, now 38, was doing it his way, albeit smoothly, with a richly earnest, romantic voice whose caramel-coated tones oozed perfectly through the grandest of strings and the slightest of Latin rhythms and in his native tongue. More solicitous than hot, Miguel's cool fire made him into a Mexican Sinatra of sorts. He sold platinum in the U.S., dated Mariah Carey, even sang with Ol' Blue Eyes on Frank's "Duets II." While there's no real translation for "ring-a-ding-ding" in Spanish, the comparison is fascinating since "Complices" was written and produced with Manuel Alejandro, Spain's version of Nelson Riddle. Yet their gallant take on the intensity of improbable amor, "Si tu te atreves," isn't solitary like "Night and Day." Rather it smolders - its strings build, Miguel's voice leans into its love's hard history with subtle theatrical passion. The quavering "Estrenando amor" and the envy-drenched "Te desean" cry out in a similar fashion. Bravo. Country and Roots Walter Hyatt "Some Unfinished Business, Volume 1" *** ½ Walter Hyatt was working on a new album when he died in an airliner crash in the Florida Everglades in 1996. His widow, Heidi, helped organize the completion of those tracks. The result is a beautiful set that reminds you why the South Carolina-bred singer-songwriter, who made his name in Texas, was revered by such fellow artists as Lyle Lovett and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. "Some Unfinished Business" reflects Hyatt's stylistic diversity. Tastefully employing both horns and strings throughout, the songs range from late-night reveries to blaring R&B, hipsterish jazz, bluegrass-flavored country and Elvis-like gospel (featuring the Jordanaires). Beyond the versatility, however, the album also captures the essence of Hyatt's appeal - the elegant, seemingly effortless way he makes all of this cohere into his own softly glowing style. Peter Cooper "Mission Door" *** A music journalist who has played and written with the wildly gifted Todd Snider - there's quite a recommendation for you - Peter Cooper steps out front with this debut CD. The East Nashvillian brings an unassuming grace to the sharply observant songs on "Mission Door." Wallowing in barroom heartache with "Wine," pondering big questions in "Andalusia," or writing about real-life figures - a home-run king in "715 (Hank Aaron)" and Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs in the Snider cowrite "Thin Wild Mercury" - Cooper grounds his tales in down-to-earth intelligence and empathy. A similar unadorned warmth characterizes the countrified arrangements, which are largely defined by pedal-steel great Lloyd Green and fleshed out by such Cooper pals as Snider, Jason Ringenberg, Bill Lloyd and Nanci Griffith. Jazz: The Brubeck Brothers Quartet *** ½ Two sons of pianist Dave Brubeck comprise half of the Brubeck Brothers Quartet. Drummer Dan Brubeck and bassist/bass trombonist Chris Brubeck joined with pianist Chuck Lamb and guitarist Mike DeMicco to make one of the most engaging CDs of the year so far. The moods range from the jazz club to the concert hall. There's an airy, Pat Metheny quality to some of it and some classical vibe, too. But there's also a focus on mainstream swinging. Some genetic similarities stand out. Not only do the brothers cover Dad's "Blue Rondo a la Turk" in a more orchestral style, but Chris reflects his father's jazz-classical tendencies with the three-part "Vignettes for Nonet," featuring a woodwind quintet beside the jazz quartet. The piece, commissioned in part by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, combines some prickly tonal explorations with passages devoted to swinging the joint. Overall, there's much to like here on the brothers' third CD since 2000. Their "Dance of the Shadows" conveys a lite-Latin feel while "7th Sense" is both soothing and energetic. DeMicco and Lamb contribute important cuts, such as the latter's aptly named "Cool on the Coast." DJ Logic/Jason Miles "Global Noize" *** Brace yourself for a melding of cultures. Keyboardist Jason Miles, a collaborator of Miles Davis and Luther Vandross, mixes it up here with turntable titan DJ Logic, whose restless resume ranges from the Roots' ?uestlove to clarinetist Don Byron. The lineup is spectacularly diverse. The leaders fold in bassist and singer Me'Shell Ndegeocello, whose vibe was nurtured by Madonna's Maverick label, along with drummer Billy Martin, of the groove-heavy trio, Medeski Martin & Wood. The results often have this strong, dance-beat flow. Tunes like "The Souk," featuring the harmonica of the Blues Travelers' John Popper with an otherworldly oud, are thick with tropical humidity. "Quero Dancar," with Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo, contains some sensual drumming while "Dar'abesque" projects the mellowness of trumpeter Herb Alpert, of Tijuana Brass (and A&M label) fame. The session contains a riot of electronica and breathy vocals that go on too much in a mechanical way. But there's honest playing to compensate for it. Surprise trumps repetition. Classical: William Kapell "William Kapell rediscovered" *** ½ Kapell was the James Dean of American pianists: driven, brilliant, broodingly handsome and dead at 31 in a plane crash following his 1953 Australian tour. That's where these newly published recordings come from: Several concerts were broadcast on radio, and one collector recorded them on a home disc-cutting machine. Only discovered in recent years, the recordings leave no doubt that Kapell was the greatest American pianist of his generation, maybe any generation. Though reportedly unhappy in provincial Australia, he was in peak form artistically, his heroic piano technique and searing insights at a level not always heard in the sometimes brusque, bossy live recordings of his youth. Repertoire, all given terrific performances, includes Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 3," Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," Mozart's "Piano Sonata No. 16," Debussy's "Suite bergamasque," Prokofiev's "Sonata No. 7" and Chopin selections. Chopin's "Scherzo No. 1," which Kapell never recorded elsewhere, is the crown jewel of the set, a furious, piercing, ruthless, relentless performance quite unlike any I've ever heard, but all in keeping with B-minor character of the music. Recording quality isn't great. Kapell's sonority was so gargantuan that distortion often obscures his live recordings. These are better than many, though in non-distorted moments piano sound lacks presence. Surface noise is considerable, especially where you least want it (the Rachmaninoff concerto). Neighboring radio stations are heard faintly in the background. None of this got in the way of my deep communion with these performances; less historically oriented collectors might disagree. Veljo Tormis "Choral Music" Holst Singers, Stephen Layton conducting. **** Estonian composer Tormis has long composed in a style that might be called folk music on steroids: Though there's a strong ethnic basis, this collection of choral songs is full of any number of magical effects - not unlike Meredith Monk, or the Bulgarian Women's Choir - that can only be realized by the very best ensembles. The Holst Singers surely fall into that category: In this range of works composed between 1948 and 1989 that range in tone from ambitious to playful, the group encompasses the Estonian earthiness without letting the music-making become too pretty. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
All pages & images, Copyright © 2008 The Southern Illinoisan, a Lee Enterprises subsidiary |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
