• Home
• Forums
• Archives
• Dealers
• About

August music reviews

Concord Dawn: Chaos by Design

Uprising

New Zealand's answer to the Chemical Brothers? I bet they're tired of that comparison, but while they may not yet be in the British pair's league in terms of fame or inventiveness, it's a fair one in terms of what the two duos seek to achieve. That is, blend of electronic and studio techniques with live musicians and singers to create music with the drive to propel a dance party, but with colour and depth that calls to more than your feet. It's not always easy listening, but good synthesised music should push the sonic frontiers outwards a little – no use having all that digital firepower and sounding like James Last.

After a couple of listens I began to pull the threads of this rather densely woven album apart a little – the artists' predilection for a furious ecstasy-friendly tempo throughout can mask the variety on offer at first. However, there is a good deal more to this album than beat and bass: it floats and soars, jumps and bounces, whispers softly and kicks you in the groin. Minuit, Tim Phinn, North Shore Pony Club, and Strawpeople, have been flying the flag for computer-powered music, now Concord Dawn raises the standard another notch. Brent Burmester

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Elvis Costello with the Metropole Orkest: My Flame Burns Blue

Deutsche Grammophon

Elvis Costello has been a busy fellow the last few years. He has released a new album, composed a classical music for a ballet and made this live recording at the 2004 North Sea Jazz Festival. Not one to rest on his laurels he has been exploring jazz for some time and this CD is a good example of his approach. The recording is dense and lush and at times it is easy to forget this is a live recording, but you would expect that from a label known for its classical recordings.

The Metropole Orkest is no ordinary big band as it has a full string section as well as the usual array of brass and woodwind. As you can imagine, the combination of the Metropole Orkest and Elvis Costello produce a vast array of music from traditional big band to piano ballads with delicate strings. An example of the latter is Favourite Hour which is reminiscent of Costello’s 2003 album North. My Flame Turns Blue includes compositions by Charles Mingus and other jazz notables and a mix of new and old songs by Costello. Clubland, Almost Blue and Watching the Detectives get the new treatment and are barely recognisable in their new form.

The problem with genre jumping is that it can confuse the fans. Is Elvis a pop singer or a jazz singer? My Flame Turns Blue is an ambitious project that proves that Elvis has a foot planted firmly in both camps. Richard Nelson

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Donald Fagen: Morph the Cat

Reprise

How does Donald Fagen do it? Morph the Cat is yet another tour de force from the granddaddy of jazz-rock. Morph could be considered a Steely Dan clone and is very similar to Steely Dan’s Everything Must Go. The grooves are slick and bouncy and the vocals sinister and dry. It must also be said that this is an excellent sounding album. The mix by Elliott Scheiner has amazing bass presence without compromising the middle or top end.

This New York-centric album delivers a running commentary of life in the Big Apple but lacks the more adroit humour of the earlier offerings. On one hand the title track is about the great city regaining its mojo, and on the other Mary Shut the Garden Door is an ominous commentary on political manipulation. Fagen uses thick vocal harmonies much in the same way he did on The Nightfly, drawing comparisons to that much loved album. The usual array of session musicians are joined by trumpet player Marvin Stamm who plays a Miles-like solo on The Great Pagoda of Funn, and the harmonica of Howard Levi who cuts loose on What I Do.

If you liked The Nightfly then you must get Morph the Cat, you may even like it better. I know I do. Of course it is a mandatory purchase for Steely Dan fans. I don’t know how he does it but Fagen has done it again. He’s produced a pearler. Richard Nelson.

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Donavon Frankenreiter: Move By Yourself

Lost Highway

Donavon Frankenreiter is the former pro-surfer who is great mates of Jack Johnson and released (on Johnson’s Brushfire Records) a self titled debut album in 2004 that was produced by Johnson, and in parts sounded very much like him (acoustic guitar, surfy, beachy).

On this, his second album, Frankenreiter has moved to Lost Highway – and in doing so has lost a lot of the stylings that drew comparison to Johnson. This album is very different from the debut – being more funk laden (in a 70s Boz Scaggs/Doobie Brothers kind of way) and more band based rather than just Frankenreiter and his acoustic guitar.

Keyboards feature prominently on a number of tracks, as do some soulful backing singers. Apparently the album was recorded on some old style equipment (two inch tape) and it certainly has a mid 70s feel to much of it.

There is some real variety across the 11 tracks on the album, from the keyboard driven title track, to the Curtis Mayfield feel of The Way It Is, to the bluesy jam of That’s Too Bad and the gospel of All Around Us.

An honest uplifting work from a group of musicians making simple and unpretentious music. Douglas Lang

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Peter Gabriel – Still Growing Up, Live and Unwrapped DVD

Real World 2DVD set
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DTS 5.1 Surround Sound. Dolby Digital 2.0 PAL Region 4

The Peter Gabriel DVD release continues apace. With two live sets and the video package already on the shelf what does this latest offering add? Not too much actually other than to report the voice is even more gravely and the production is as immaculate as ever from this source (this means excellent).

The main point of interest is actually in the accompanying film and live footage included on the second DVD where Gabriel talks candidly about his role in Gabriel Inc and his relationship with the music, the musicians the crew and the audience. Even more could have been made of this, but as always with Gabriel the finest production and photography/editing makes the viewing vastly more worthwhile.

For the music itself, only completists need to duplicate the live performances caught here, (indeed the absence of Don’t Give Up is hugely noticeable), the other live sets find a younger voiced Gabriel and the video clips on Play – The Videos remain the obligatory examples of this art that they are. Allan McFarlane

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler: All The Roadrunning

Universal

Massive expectation in our home for this release. Having enjoyed both artists hugely for decades, and having our appetites whet with the title track slipped onto the recent Dire Straits compilation, it was a tantalising wait for this release to a finally appear.

I guess it’s a wee bit of building expectations too high but this is not the life enhancing all changing artistic landmark I’d hoped for. But I’m not sure it’s pretending to be either. The storytelling simplicity of Emmylou is not as poignant as the diva can be, and the lengthy pastiches of sound colour that Knopfler can engender are absent.

With ten of the twelve songs written by Knopfler the mood is kept to more practical than emotional themes. Emmylou turns in some fine performances, the vocal duets are well harmonized if not overly well blended, and Knopfler gets more than a few moments to pick out without breaking the short track formula.

Seven years in the making, that is more fun than art. Surely that’s okay. It is by me. I’m reminded of Knopfler’s The Notting Hillbillies side project of the early 1990’s. One of those albums bereft of life changing substance that continually makes its way to the player for a non-stretching blob.

This disc is such a disc. It sneaks up on the listener as bit of toe-tapping/sing-along fun. Nothing more but certainly nothing less. Enjoy. Allan McFarlane

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Keane: Under the Iron Sea

Universal

These guys have just gone to number one in the UK album charts, again, so I don't suppose they're going to care what I think of their work. Their first hit single, Somewhere Only We Know, immediately distinguished this young British trio as a force to be reckoned with. Melody is a commodity sorely lacking in pop these days, and when it appears it's often in the context of something unfortunate by Robbie Williams.

This, their second album, is the real deal: charming and evocative songs, sung with feeling and with those little switches and changes that make the music simultaneously familiar and strange. Much is made of the fact that the band lacks a bass player, but more important is that fact that they have imagination. Think Travis without the cheekiness, Manic Street Preachers if they were afraid of the dark, or Coldplay minus the desperate need for attention. Brent Burmester

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

The Kooks: Inside In Inside Out

Virgin Records

Hailed as one of the latest ‘big things’ in the UK, Brighton-based The Kooks have delivered a debut album that stands up to scrutiny and repeated plays. I’ve had it on high rotate in my car and at home over the past few weeks, and I’ve fallen for the cute vocal stylings (so very English) and the catchy pop songs.

Sounding a bit like a mixture of The Arctic Monkeys, Blur, The Kinks and Supergrass, they also have an originality about them that’s refreshing in an era where we seem to be getting more and more cookie-cutter bands lumped on us. There is a definite 60s/70s feel to the album, in a good way!

The album starts with 90 seconds of Seaside - a gentle opener that showcases the vocal talents of Luke Pritchard, and then rushes into the weightier See the World, complete with chunky guitar riffs and a strong chorus.

Other favourites are the sing-along Ooh La and the Kinks-like She Moves in Her Own Way.

Most of the 14 tracks on the album clock in around the 2:50 to 3:00 minute mark. A perfect length for perfect pop songs.

This will be a great summer album, although it even works on a rainy Auckland winter’s day. The Kooks sound like they’re having fun, making good, solid, pop songs. You could do a lot worse than spend your hard earned cash on this! Douglas Lang

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

KD Lang: Reintarnation

Sire/Rhino

Largely comprising bumptious cowpunk reels, this collection of formative years country kd is unlikely to much move those more taken with contemp-crooner kd. It’s a fine line between convention and cliché, and by adhering too tightly to the former most of these tunes dissolve too readily into the latter. Characteristic Nashvillean lines (“tall in the saddle”, “she’s a natural”, “reelin’ an’ a-rockin’” etc) are trotted out amid glibly nifty pedal steel and fiddle licks, while the rhythm section is dutifully boisterous. Fine for a barn dance bash (led by lesbian anthem Big Boned Girl – “the song came out in ’89, and I came out in ’92”), but predominantly tending towards the trite – in spite of the rosy nostalgia in the songstress’s sleeve notes about how “the original is always the most poignant” and “you respect what existed”.

She cites Pullin’ Back The Reins as the stepping stone piece that marked the transition from Patsy Cline-inspired country to the Rickie Lee/Joni/Kate Bush lonesome heroine mode which swept her to centre-stage. And the handful of songs here in that same vein bear testament to the baleful beauty of her voice, strident in its grieving or celebrating, and entirely keyed in with the lush and subdued sound of the backing band. Clearly emerging here too, in these precious few, is the familiar ruminative strength of the lady’s lyrics, with their focus on emotional blindness, buried memories or tables turned. Aside from these periodic in-the-element gems, however, there’s too lumpy a quota overall of stock spangled country fare. Paul Green

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Charles Lloyd: Sangam

ECM
Charles Lloyd (saxophones etc); Zakir Hussain (tabla etc); Eric Harland (percussion etc)

The master saxophonist Charles Lloyd has embarked on totally new direction for his eleventh ECM album, resulting in a true audio adventure. Lloyd has been in the studio for over four decades now, with the obligatory interludes to meditate and “escape commercial pressures”. This latest release finds the saxophonist in the company of two percussionists of immense talent, recorded live in Santa Barbara, California.

There is something Californian about the whole concept of a solo wind instrument meeting percussionists of this nature (tabla etc), the three needing the alert and responsive (but not intruding) audience this part of the world can almost guarantee to bounce their considerable imagination off. Expect Lloyd to stretch has ideas to the max, with no restrictions to his boundless imagination. None of the soft mood making sessions of the 90’s here, this is full on improvisation.

As a concert it works well, as a record of a remarkable night it is well worth hearing, and if, like me, you see CDs as cheap concerts, then this is well worth checking out. Allan McFarlane

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Pat Metheny Group: The Way Up

Nonesuch

Every album tells a story, even one without words. This is the first album from Pat Metheny Group on a new label and their twelfth studio album. The approach is also new. The Way Up is not a collection of stories but a novel, a kind of progressive jazz masterpiece. Metheny strives to concoct a series of moods that take you on his journey. The Way Up is not an easy listen but challenging, it changes moods and beats often.

After the opening Part One begins with a theme that builds wave upon wave to an unbelievable climax, before easing and building to a second bigger climax. The song continues with Lyle Mays piano who takes the lead in a virtuoso style reminiscent of Hiromi. Next Cuong Vu delivers a swaggering trumpet solo in the manner of Freddie Hubbard and then trumpet and guitar duel to yet another climax. Part Two is quieter and more reflective. The composition is completed with Part Three that develops another theme much in the same way.

Metheny and Mays have attempted to create an opus not an album, and it is certain that this is a substantial work. Whether you like it depends on how you listen to your music and whether you like short stories or epic tales. Richard Nelson

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Charlie Musselwhite: Delta Hardware

Real World

Charlie Musselwhite is such an authentic blues musician he can record for the Real World label, a label normally associated with discovering and recording interesting and vibrant as well as traditional/authentic world musicians.

At 62 he seems almost too young to carry the mantle of the original bluesman but he is uncompromisingly just that. Raw, stripped down no frills with the odd bit of irony thrown in for good measure.

As a harmonica player Musselwhite is legendary, and is joined on this set by guitarist Chris “Kid” Anderson, a guitarist to often steal the limelight. Interestingly this is an album that gets better as you play through it, with some excellent material on the outer tracks. This is swamp Mississippi blues, no Chicago or Californian frills here. So, if you have the slightest interest in the blues, this is for you. If you are sampling before buying make sure you get to the end. Recommended, particularly with a pending NZ tour. Allan McFarlane

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Gary Numan: Jagged

Cooking Vinyl

Only Numan's diehard fans kept him in view after his heyday in the early 1980s. Now, with Jagged he strikes anew, at a time when Cars is being sampled everywhere you listen. This is a real return to form: his instantly-recognised voice is set against giant ethereal chords, great dark synthesised landscapes, oppressive bass, and is always melancholic and always stirring. The mood in Jagged is unrelenting – Mr Newman was never brimming with twinkling good humour. We're reminded that before the heavy duty seriousness of Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, the Smashing Pumpkins, Killing Joke, or the Prodigy, there was Gary.

From an audiophile perspective, this might be found a little dynamically limited, but the engineering is otherwise clean and clear - subwoofers sweat blood, and your speakers will fall away into a much larger space than your living room. If you're looking for evidence that being an Eighties has-been need only be a temporary inconvenience, this is for you. Brent Burmester

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Pink: I’m Not Dead

Zomba Records

Being in my forties I’m not supposed to like Pink, but being in my forties I have children that do and that means I have heard each of her releases – sometimes repeatedly. Confession – I actually think she is a major talent. Sure some of the lyrics are banal, but that becomes their appeal. Sure, she can crank up the volume and pump it out, but that’s been happening for decades.

What I like is her total belief in what she is doing and her conviction to say what she wants and to sing about subjects she feels she needs to. Subjects from how America cultivates “stupid girls” to a war protest song – with the Indigo Girls – that is destined for anthem status. Highly refreshing in this commercial age. Allan McFarlane

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Taking Back Sunday: Louder Now

Warner Bros.

Third album by US ‘emo’ band Taking Back Sunday, starts with a bang in the shape of the guitar-fuelled What’s it Feel like to be a Ghost? and manages to keep up the pace for most of its duration.

While their music is a fairly typical example of the melodic hardcore punk/rock that is commonly termed ‘emo’, Taking Back Sunday feature dual lead vocalists. This helps to bring a little more variation and interest than is the case with other bands of the genre (who can all get to sound a bit similar after a while e.g. A Chemical Romance, Matchbook Romance, etc, etc.)

The band has recently supported Green Day, and it’s easy to see their sound complementing that of their bigger and, in my view, more talented, label mates.

What does it sound like?- Hard riffing guitars; thudding bass; pounding drums; soaring vocals and alternating quiet passages to add a bit of light and shade.

Particular faves are Up Against (Blackout) - full of angst and emotion; Miami – sing-along chorus and great interplay between the two vocalists.

Good for a blast on the motorway or annoying the neighbours/cat! Douglas Lang

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Cassandra Wilson: Thunderbird

Bluenote

I’ve been following the work of Cassandra Wilson since she signed to Bluenote records over a decade ago. The inspired work of the early releases has been absent on some of the later offerings. This release has a great line up of guest musicians – Keb Mo, Marc Ribot among them – and starts extremely well. The first two tracks had me thinking, “finally, she’s done it”. Sadly the lack of angst returns, this woman is far to safe in the studio to bring off what I feel she is trying to achieve. Look elsewhere for inspired singing; this is another “contract album. Allan McFarlane

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Hilary Hahn plays Mozart Violin Sonatas

Deutsche Grammophon

Hilary Hahn (violin); Naalie Zhu (piano)
Mozart: Violin Sonatas K. 301, 304, 376 & 526

Hilary Hahn is a young violinist whom we have heard on a number of recordings from both Sony Classical and now Deutsche Grammophon.

I have held off reviewing this CD for some time. Mainly because I feel I should like it more that I do. Most times. I say that because this is elegant Mozart, too much so for my ears that search for a more varied tone, a little more angst on occasion, and just a touch more variety in all than Hahn delivers. And then, just when I launch into the above comments, there is something about these performances that intrigues. It is the sheer simplicity (deceptive simplicity that is) of the works that has makes me wish for more, often delivered by that likes of Grumiaux and Dumay. Then I stop to think, is it actually there on the score? I am no longer convinced that it is. To summarise, these are important recordings that I have enjoyed hearing. Are they how you want you Mozart? Only you can decide but either way you will enjoy the experience. Allan McFarlane

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA

Martin Setchell: Pink and White – New Zealand organ music 1994-2004

Attoll
Martin Setchell plays the Rieger organ, Christchurch Town Hall

I confess that I had this on the “must-listen” pile for some time before finding the right headspace to have a listen. A disc with the title New Zealand organ music 1944–2004 does not normally get the heart racing, even given the interesting line-up of composers.

Martin Setchell has self-promoted his playing and recording of the organ with considerable aplomb. Not to be taken lightly as earlier titles such as Organ Bonbons would suggest, he has caught the attention of the international organ followers and as a result this release of New Zealand works should, and deserves, to find a place amongst those that are following his recorded work.

One of the youngest composers featured, Anthony Ritchie leads the offering with a pictorial work inspired by the now disappeared Pink and White terraces, once described as they eighth wonder of the world. A colourful piece that shows a deep understanding of the instrument, this is a substantial work that will replay repeated listening.

The major work on the disc, Douglas Lilburn’s Prelude and Fugue in G minor (Antipodes) proves to be a gem, expertly crafted with a true understanding of the instrument in question. John Ritchie’s Let the pealing organ blow again shows this composers unique gift of combining a strong harmonic and melodic gift into modern setting.

All in all this a worthwhile discovery, and provides a glimpse into rarely aired repertoire. Allan McFarlane

Buy from Marbecks New Zealand | Amazon USA