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Music reviews
November 2003
David Bowie: Reality
Columbia
And the sad reality is, as the man himself intones in the title
track, "now
my sight is failing in this twilight". This is a Bowie without
projection, without conviction. Song after song gets little further
than minor-chord
drum-heavy rhythm underpinning a predictable sombre sequence of verse
and repeated chorus. Fine if this pattern can deliver on the grand
scale of, say, Heroes. Fine, too, if there is a freshness
of sound, or a
sense of poise, or something beguiling about the lyrics. But none of
this applies here, where the poetry rarely rises above a series of
unfocused unrelated images, and where that distinctive voice sounds
restrained
and generally struggling to find purpose.
The veteran band (co-producer
Tony Visconti, Earl Slick et al) dutifully rally in support,
but it's hard to escape the feeling that they too
realise that this is one that's going to slip into obscurity, passed
over swiftly as we flick through the bargain bins in years to come.
On the bonus CD there's a mildly interesting re-working of 'Rebel Rebel'
- an ironic reminder of the roaring glory days when this man could
conjure up timeless theme tunes for our youth and beyond. We're still
out there,
waiting to hear our highs and lows acknowledged - but Bowie, this time
round at least, isn't touching those raw nerves. Paul Green
The Chemical
Brothers: Singles 93-03
Virgin Records
The Chemical Brothers: they’re not brothers, but
after 10 years in the biz, it’s a fair guess they’re full
of chemicals. Whatever that means for their physical well-being, the
resulting inspiration
is certainly a bonus for fans of their loops and beats.
Tom and Ed have always been tricky to categorise. Are they serving up acid house, techno, ambient, drum and bass, industrial, or old fashioned guitar-driven rock? The short answer is, yes. The singles on this album show that somehow the Chemical Brothers amalgam of club styles and sounds retains a definite signature while continually evolving. Early tracks show edgy, driving, percussive tendencies that use vocals sparingly. Gradually, guest players begin to make a greater lyrical and musical contribution, such as Noel Gallagher on Setting Sun and The Flaming Lips on newly released The Golden Path. The result is less hard-core, more eclectic, while never consciously straying into populism. While earlier cuts like Chemical Beats is designed to get booties shaking, later output provides more to think about.
Fans will know these singles well, and even those unable to name the duo may be familiar with the high-charting likes of Setting Sun, Hey Boy Hey Girl, and now The Golden Path. If you own their earlier albums, the incentive to own this disc may be the two new singles included, or if you buy in time, the second limited edition disc including a collection of rarities. The review sample didn’t come with this disc, and it may already be unavailable in shops, but there are often good musical reasons for the rarity of rarities, so that may be no cause for great disappointment. As for the new stuff, The Golden Path is a naïvely melodic and features distinctive male vocals in the same vein as Let Forever Be and The Test. The second novelty on this compilation is Get Yourself High, featuring rap vocals and an electro-funk feel. It’s the most uncharacteristic track on the album, sounding more like something from the other side of the English channel.
A new album is in the offing for next year, and it will probably include the newbies in this collection. Come to think, maybe it won’t. Assuming it does, you might be better advised to wait, unless you own Exit Planet Dust and Dig Your Own Hole and are always stabbing the remote for the big selling numbers. On the other hand, if you’ve never quite been able to bring yourself to invest in a whole album, this collection has your name on it. Brent Burmester
Mike
Gordon: Inside In
Ryko
Phish bassist Mike Gordon has finally released his first solo album.
Four years in the making and using material from his feature film Outside
Out. Mike wanted to make an album that stood on it’s own merits.
Phish-heads will definitely notice influences from the seminal rock
band, but the flavour of this album is something different altogether.
This
album is hard to classify. It has bluegrass, jazz funk and de-constructed
instrumental tracks that mix to form a rockabilly new-acoustic sound.
The album opens with Take Me Out, an offbeat song with a disturbing message. The next two tracks are instrumentals that don’t really inspire. The album doesn’t really get going until The Beltless Buckler, a tune with a great guitar melody about a soulless urban cowboy. Soulfood Man is a catchy pop song. You can download the cartoon video from Mike Gordon’s website. Steel Bones puts together instruments like pedal steel, trombone and banjo to create an interesting musical landscape. At times the music soars, but sometimes Mike’s falsetto voice is just plain irritating.
From a bassist you would expect plenty of bottom end, and the bass and drums are full bodied, clean and tight. This is a refreshingly honest production that has maintained a home studio feel through the recording process. Inside In is not for everyone, but it is interesting and strikingly different. Sushi anyone. Richard Nelson
Emmylou Harris: Stumble Into Grace
Nonesuch
There are not many musicians who reinvent themselves in the
fifth decade, but I’m glad that Emmylou has. She’s made her
best music with her new direction, starting with 1995’s Wrecking
Ball, 2000’s Red Dirt Girl and Western
Wall, a superb 1999 collaboration with Linda Rondstadt.
Like Red Dirt Girl, Stumble Into Grace comprises songs written or co-written by Harris. On this album, her collaborators include the wonderful Kate and Anna McGarrigle, drums by her live drummer Brady Blade and occasional entrances by long-term collaborators Daniel Lanois and Buddy Miller.
Unlike Red Dirt Girl and (especially) Wrecking Ball the arrangements are less dense, simpler and (arguably) better. Emmylou’s singing is wonderful and this is an album that just feels right.
Technical note: Stumble Into Grace is a Copy Controlled CD. Michael Jones
Alison Krauss + Union Station: Live
Rounder DVD (through Elite)
Ten years ago if you had told me that I’d
be listening to anything approaching bluegrass music, I’d have
thrown my Led Zep collection at you. Nevertheless, over the past few
months I’ve been enjoying
Alison Krauss + Union Station.
Live is the DVD companion to their already available double CD concert. The first DVD is the concert itself (the same performances as on the CD) while a second CD includes interviews and behind the scenes footage.
Most of the tunes feature the wonderfully pure voice of Alison Krauss along with her fiddle, plus the Union Station lineup of dobro, acoustic guitars, banjo and acoustic bass, with the occasional drums brought in.
Filmed in high definition, the picture quality is simply excellent. Presentation is in 1.78 aspect ratio, on an NTSC disc with no regional coding. Sound is in both Dolby Digital and DTS. As normal, neither of these lossy compression formats sound quite as good as the CD. The music is entirely up in the front left and right channels, with the surrounds nicely used for ambience and crowd noise. Curiously, there is no output from the centre channel.
This is an excellent DVD – good music, good picture and good sound. Michael Jones
Michael McDonald: Motown
Universal
Can an ex-Doobie Brother sing Motown? When you have a voice
like Michael McDonald, the answer is a “yes”. McDonald
has always been praised for his soulful voice, through his stints with
the Doobie Brothers
(What a Fool Believes) and subsequent solo hits. On Motown he
covers 13 classics from the (then) Detroit-based Hitsville USA.
McDonald doesn’t stray far from the originals, with similar tempos and arrangements on most songs (you may have heard the note-for-note cover of I Heard it through the Grapevine on the radio. When the arrangements do stray from he originals (How Sweet It Is) the results are remarkable – a known song born afresh. Still, there's more money to be made in copies, than being original, in music these days.
Motown is a typical modern recording, largely computer generated and assembled in Pro Tools software – there’s even three people mentioned in the credits for help with Pro Tools! Perhaps the computer, more than human involvement explains why the album has a whole has a synthetic feel with McDonald’s vocals atop.
My pick: Motown will be a big hit this summer, played around barbeques around the country. Michael Jones
Steve Miller Band: Young Hearts – The Complete
Greatest Hits
Capitol
While
some groups are endlessly recompiled with seemingly yearly “greatest
hits” releases (stand up The Doors, Beach Boys and Monkees), this
is the first Steve Miller compilation released since 1978!
Miller never did a lot in New Zealand, but I grew up on Casey Kassem’s American Top 40 and can remember the sting of Steve Miller Band hits travelling up the US charts in the mid to late 1970's: Rockin’ Me, Take the Money and Run and Fly Like An Eagle. They’re all here, along with earlier hits like The Joker (“Some people call me Mau-reeece”) and great minor hits such as Swingtown. Earlier songs from Miller’s career are here, including a late 1960s song featuring Paul McCartney and one with early lead singer Boz Scaggs.
Sonically this is very good: a unhyped (no added treble boost) and big sound, bringing the drums to the fore. Michael Jones
Jane Monheit: In The Sun
Columbia/N-Coded Music
Since being runner up to Teri Thornton in the 1998
Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition there have been big things expected
from Jane Monheit.
I haven't heard her other CD's but on the strength of In The Sun I
won't be actively seeking them out either.
Admittedly she has a lovely voice with excellent pitch, warmth and power but somehow she seems a bit lost. Stylistically this album is all over the place, which by itself isn't the kiss of death as evidenced by Eva Cassidy’s belated rise to fame. To carry this off you need the ability to put your heart into whatever you're singing and make the listener believe you're comfortable with the material. I don't hear that in a lot of these songs. Love Has No Pride, sung very much in the style of Sarah McLachlan, is the highlight for me. I'm drawn into the song and the world it creates. Cheek To Cheek is given the bop treatment, which at least marks it as distinctive. So many of the other tracks seem to be done by the numbers though. At the risk of alienating Diana Krall fans I see a lot of similarity between the two artists. Wonderfully lush production, lots of chicky babe photo's, safety in the selection of the songs, and very little of the actual artist on display.
At only 25 and with a very good voice there's plenty of time for Monheit to find her direction, but more importantly, to find the conviction to make a song believable. Craig Fenemor
Radio Tarifa: Fiebre
World Circuit through Elite
Radio Tarifa’s third studio album, Cruzando
El Rio, has become quite a favorite of mine, and I know it appeals
to friends who cross
the street to avoid fans of ‘world music’. I introduce
the band in this fashion to allay the fears of those who might write-off
a Spanish acoustic ensemble that blends European, African, and Near
Eastern
influences in its music as just another slack-jawed attempt to pander
to culturally challenged yuppies who dress to match their interior
décor.
On Fiebre, the band plays 11 songs live in Toronto and another (Cancion Sefardi) in Bologna to enthusiastic crowds. The band consists of three players: on their studio albums they use multi-tracking to fill out their sound. Playing live meant the recruitment of additional players, but a comparison of live and studio versions shows no loss in terms of musicianship. Perhaps the most obvious differences are in track times – the live versions are not constrained by a radio-friendly format and go on a bit.
On first hearing, the tracks may sound a little like variations on a theme, unless you speak Spanish and follow the story-telling in the lyrics. With longer acquaintance each track becomes quite distinctive as your ears undergo re-education. The blend of ancient and modern in the interplay of guitars, bass, percussion, horns, and expressive male vocals conjures images of blue seas, cloudless skies, and cast of olive-skinned characters from Spanish folklore.
Live recordings must always be forgiven some imperfections, but Fiebre sounds very good – all the players come across strongly and the off-stage noise is not in the least distracting. From the outset the energy and passion in the mixture of rhythms and melodies from Spanish, African, and Arabian musical traditions is obvious and infectious. Brent Burmester
Susheela Raman: Love Trap
Narada through Elite
When I sat down at my PC to write this review I set Love Trap spinning
in the CD-ROM drive and discovered something new about the album – it
carries a copy-protection system, and when first played on computer
it loads proprietary replay software. I suppose the fact that I hadn’t
noticed anything untoward about the recording quality on my main system
is positive, but there’s reason to suspect something might be
missing.
Thirty year-old Susheela Raman is probably new to you, as she was to me. Brought up in Australia by Tamil parents, her exposure to Indian and contemporary Western music inspired the synthesis of styles on this album. This is her second, and like the first it features songs in many languages – here English, Hindistani, Sanskrit, and Tamil. Some are original pieces, co-authored by Raman in most cases, while others are arrangements of traditional songs.
The title track, Love Trap, is a fun piece of Shirley Bassey-ish vamping, but apart from the atypical instrumentation it gives nothing away about the rest of the album. The sore thumb is a cover of Joan Armatrading’s Save Me: it’s nice enough, but doesn’t go anywhere new and seems a bit arbitrary. Much more effective is Mansuloni, an evocative Tamil prayer with haunting vocals arranged by Raman for electric guitar, drums, bass, synth, and traditional instruments. Similarly, Bliss, another prayer to an Indian deity sung in the Telugu language, whips itself into an appropriate ecstatic frenzy.
The music itself is inventive and varied – energetic and emotional at times, contemplative and entrancing at others, but always aware of modern musical sensibilities. Much credit must go to Raman’s collaborators, many famous in their own right as singers and masters of the instruments they play. This CD brings an exotic array of well-played and rather groovy songs to ears that might otherwise never hear them. Brent Burmester
Tomasz
Stanko: From The Green Hill
ECM
Manfred Eicher, head of the jazz/classical label ECM, should join
the UN. Bringing together an American, a Swede, a Norwegian, an Argentinian,
a Brit and a Pole, he produces harmony and understanding of the highest
order. The end result is 74 minutes of very European, quite folky,
high quality jazz.
While Tomasz Stanko is nominally the leader, this is a true ensemble piece. Michelle Makarski appears only sporadically but due to these limited opportunities her haunting violin tone has more impact. Anders Jormin's bass and Jon Christensen's drums add power and solidity to the group, as on the powerfully free Quintet's Time where the subtle power of Christensen is complemented by the thunderous entrances of Jormin. Dino Saluzzi's bandoneon (essentially a big concertina) gets plenty of space, even getting to reprise Komeda's Litania as a solo. John Surman, here playing bass clarinet and baritone sax, has been at the bleeding edge of British jazz forever. His contribution to the overall feel and coherence of the album is huge.
This leaves Stanko, a man who many believe is as good a trumpeter as any on the planet. With his distinctive dark, fragile tone he has been a trailblazer for Polish jazz over the last 40 years. Heavily influenced by Chet Baker and Miles Davis, his passion, inquisitiveness, work ethic (even now, in his 60's, he continues to practice for hours each day), and sheer talent have elevated him to the top of the tree.
There's darkness here, both tonally and musically but there are also new rewards each time you revisit the album. The tracks combine structure with a degree of freedom, which is to be expected with Stanko and Surman doing the bulk of the writing. Stone Ridge starts quietly, sombrely, but suddenly it blossoms into a rousing folk gait before finishing on a quiet and introspective note. Pantronic gives Stanko a chance to show off the range and colour of his trumpet in a gently rolling piece. The tender bandoneon and bass dialogue on The Lark In The Dark is simply beautiful, as is the extended bass solo that follows. (I'm in awe of the power and tone of Jormins bass.)
The cinematic feel of this album gives it it's greatest appeal to me, as I can't help myself conjuring up images and stories to go with the music. (Funnily enough, the pictures are always in black and white.) From mournful meditations to caring love songs, the strangely familiar to the challenging - it's all here. As you would expect from ECM the recording is wonderful with detail galore, a rich tone and amazing bass impact. If you're the sort of person who enjoys the ride as much as the destination then you may well love From The Green Hill. It's not necessarily an easy listen initially but my oh my, when you "get it" you stay got. Craig Fenemor
Steely Dan: Everything must go
Reprise
Whatever the message this is Steely Dan’s most cohesive album to date. Following the success of their Grammy award winning come back album Two Against Nature, the jazz/funk duo, have released the cleverly named pseudo concept album “Everything must go”. It moves on from the earlier album with a more organic and consistent sound reminiscent of their late 70s albums. This is achieved by using, essentially, the same line-up for the whole album. The music engages with tight beats and catchy melodic lines that are punctuated with excellent horns from sax man Walt Weiskopt, trumpeter Michael Leonhart and others.
What really makes this album interesting is trying to work out what these guys from the big apple are on about. The first song The Last Mall, implies impending doom of an apocalyptic event like 9/11, delivered with the Dan’s trademark dry humour. Other tracks point to drugs Slang of Ages, religion Godwhacker and computer babes Pixeleen for the modern malaise. TheThings I Miss The Most, is a comment on mid-life breakup blues (I wish I had an Audi TT to lament). The title track quips “It’s high time for a walk on the real side, let’s admit the bastards beat us. I move to dissolve the corporation in a pool of margaritas”. Whew. I hope all this doom and destruction is a metaphor.
The production is of course Steely Dan immaculate and the album is available on CD and DVD-A. A must buy for those that dig a good grove. Richard Nelson
Donna Summer: Bad Girls Deluxe Edition
Mercury
First released in the dying days of disco, Bad Girls took
the disco beat and made a best-selling double album. Recorded entirely
in Los Angles (Summer’s previous recordings were largely made
in Munich with producer Giorgio Moroder) the album spun off the hits
Hot Stuff, Bad Girls and Dim All the Lights.
The complete album is found on the first CD, along with Summer’s
original demo of Bad Girls.
But the real delight here is the bonus CD. Disco lent itself to extended mixes, usually found on 12” singles. The second CD collects the extended singles mixes onto CD, for your very own instant disco party. Who could possibly resist 8.15 of I Feel Love, 11.44 of the Barbara Streisand duet No More Tears or the 17.35 Mac Arthur Park Suite (Jimmy Webb’s song would never sound the same again!). I certainly can’t.
Sonically this is a gem. While a lot of remastering hype up the treble and compress the sound, this double CD is well presented sonically. Michael Jones
McCoy Tyner: Land Of Giants
Telarc through Elite
McCoy Tyner could have retired at the end 1965
and he'd still be talked about today. When you've played piano on two
of
the most famous, groundbreaking jazz albums of all time, Coltranes
A Love Supreme and Ascension you're not going to
be quickly forgotten. Fast forward 40 years, listen to Land Of
Giants and you'll find that the fire still burns.
Tyner is joined by Charnett Moffett on bass, Eric Harland on drums and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. Tyner and Hutcherson have been bouncing off each other since the 60's and their interplay is one of the many highlights of this strong set. What strikes me, apart from McCoy's effortless swinging, is his sheer power and speed. Imposing is word that comes to mind when trying to capture his presence on tracks such as Manalyuca and Back Bay Blues.
Huge, rolling chords and blinding runs from Tyner punctuate the album, as do virtuoso performances from the ever-swinging Hutcherson and continuingly surprising Moffett. (Check out Moffetts solo on The Search.) Harland keeps great time but his solos don't strike me as bringing anything new to the table. There are seven Tyner originals and three standards, which gives a good mixture of familiar and new, upbeat and down. (Well, mostly upbeat actually.)
If you're like me and you have found some of 'Tranes stuff to be impenetrable you may be worried about Tyners association with the great man and where this music is going to take you. Don't be as this is an accessible, enjoyable, foot-tapping album. The harmonic and tonal envelopes aren't pushed anywhere near breaking point, yet there's still enough happening to reward repeat listening. Warmly recommended. Craig Fenemor
Various: Brazilian Groove
Putumayo World Music
Generally I don’t go for compilations, but
this release from the Putumayo cross-cultural initiative has a theme,
soul and plenty
of
contemporary Brazilian talent. As the cover puts it, Samba and bossa
nova meet soul,
funk and electronica.
Twelve artists provide a sample of Latin rhythms with a modern twist. There is a sultry version of the Sergio Mendes hit Mas Que Nada by Bab and Rolando 808. Trip-hop from Dutch based Zuco 103 and techno-jazz/house reminiscent of Llorca and St Germain from Barrio Jazz Gang. Rosalia de Souza provides a more relaxed lounge version of bossa nova. All the tracks are gems and a colourful booklet provides information about each artist.
Brazilian Groove has a summer party quality and even the sad songs feel upbeat. So if you’re looking for something different to play during the Bar-B, grab it for summer. Richard Nelson
MOOD MUSIC:
Dreamland – World lullabies and soothing
songs
Putumayo through Elite
Carli Bruni: Quelqu’un m’a dit
Naïve through Elite
Al di Meola: Flesh on flesh
Telarc through Elite
Dreamland.
Even though it has become a cliché to
acknowledge that music has charms to sooth the savage breast, little
time is given in
reviews to considering the emotional impact of the music. With Dreamtime
this should not be a problem. The recording is specifically promoted
as being ‘perfect for bedtime, yoga and meditation’. You
don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out that all the
tracks here are soothing with a small dynamic range, and make great
background
listening for chilling out. The use of so many languages, adds to the
charm as we are not distracted by the meaning of the words and are
free to enjoy the voice as an instrumental sound that flows gently
over us.
Beautifully recorded, this album is also worthy of serious late night
listening. No I don’t have any favourites on this album, which
is a rare compliment from me about its consistency. I wish I had it
around to settle my son at night when he was little. Buy it for someone
you
love this Christmas.
Carla
Bruni. Carla Bruni is an Italian super model whose debut album,
entirely in French, evokes a warm, soft and suggestive atmosphere.
This is in part, from the use of simple acoustic arrangements and
her breathy,
quavering voice is close miked. I think this will be a big seller
with all the charm of a Nora Jones album and including much original
material.
There is an alluring quality to the sound that is uplifting and light
but never intrusive. After 37 minutes with a super model like this
I was left excited and wanting more. Share this recording with someone
special, throw in a bottle of wine and some warm massage oil and
you should have an interesting evening.
Al
di Meola. Al di Meola is one
of those guys who is handsome, plays guitar, keyboard and percussion
but also produces and arranges his
own CD. With that much creative energy you would expect music that
is busy,
clever and sensitive and you would be right. Imagine a musical tour
of South America, Cuba and the west coast of the States, flowing
effortlessly from one musical genre to another and still managing to
keep a seamless
sense of rhythm. This guy is amazing and he even remembers to give
you
the occasional quiet interlude to catch up with yourself. Beautifully
produced and presented by Telarc on a Hybrid SACD (which plays in
a CD player as well) this is music to lift you on a wet Sunday afternoon
or
give you a tonic when you want to feel cool, young, energised and
ready
to party. John Groom
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