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December music reviews

The Electric Confectionaires: Sweet Tooth

Sony BMG

Another debut album – this time by up and coming, young (just left school) Auckland band The Electric Confectionaires - fronted by a couple of proud ‘fro wearers in lead singer and writer Jaisi Sheehan and multi-instrumentalist Hamish Bode.

Style-wise these guys are definitely influenced by the 60s and at different times you will hear the likes of Cream (Late Night Shopping Spree); The Animals (Silver Silver Moon); Beach Boys; spaghetti western themes and even The Monkees coming through. Some retro organ features on a number of tracks.

The band are very accomplished musicians, and incorporate some interesting time changes and a jazzy feel at times. Members of the band have also done some barber’s shop quartet/choir work in the past and this comes through in the harmonies on the likes of Carnival Hymns.

For me, despite the obvious talent they possess as musicians, it can all get a bit too clever and affected at times. I also find Sheehan’s vocal style a bit strained and ‘croony’ (especially on Lady Marianne) - not to my taste - although I have to say he sounds better on the record than he did when I recently saw the band live. On that occasion the band’s playing was very tight, but I couldn’t stop myself getting distracted by his vocal mannerisms and (frankly) flat and off-key delivery.

I have to confess that, even after a few listens, I’m really not sure about this. I know they are still young and obviously have heaps of talent and potential, and there are a number of good tunes on here (in particular the singles Late Night Shopping Spree and Piece of My Heart) but something’s still missing for me.

Sorry boys! Douglas Lang

Foo Fighters: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

Sony BMG

Opening strongly with The Pretender, which is loud, proud and handsome, the new album from Foo Fighters is a real mix of musical styles. Sure it’s all coming from a rock base (guitars, drums and keyboards) but at times the album sounds very 70s and at times I was reminded of Houses of the Holy-era Led Zeppelin (on the instrumental Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners); Paul McCartney and Wings (really!) on Statues (my least favourite track) and Status Quo/ ZZ Top on The Pretender.

Aside from the opener, stand out tracks are Long Road to Ruin - full of hard riffing guitars and soaring vocals; Let it Die which builds slowly to a full-on roar in true Foo Fighters style; Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up is Running) - allegedly dedicated to all the Emos out there and the reflective, piano based album closer Home.

On their previous double CD In Your Honor, the band had one loud CD and one softer CD. On this album they’ve mixed soft and loud very nicely in a single package. Definitely a goody! Douglas Lang

Mary Gauthier: Between Daylight and Dark

Lost Highway

With the security of a well received previous CD/LP release Mercy Now behind her that found numerous fans in this part of the world, Mary Gauthier follows up with a offering that is proving to be every bit as engaging.

Between Daylight and Dark is the first album that New Orleans resident Mary Gauthier wrote and recorded after Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed the city in 2005. Recorded live in the studio by producer and musician Joe Henry, with the barest minimum of overdubs, this is Gauthier at her most unguarded and emotionally expansive. The songs range from character studies of the down and out to subtle protest songs, all of them feeling intensely personal in a way that many similar singer-songwriters never quite manage. Well worth seeking out by Lucinda Williams fans the at times overwhelming poignancy of this release demands your attention. Allan McFarlane

Katchafire: Say What You’re Thinking

EMI

New Zealand’s very own smooth reggae exponents, Katchafire, return with an album that’ll be perfectly suited to the long lazy days of summer that are just around the corner.

Bringing to mind the likes of Aswad, Steel Pulse, and to some extent UB40, Katchafire blend a sweet and soulful reggae lilt to tracks which have a definite ‘lover’s rock’ feel to them on.

It’s the kind of album that seems a bit samey on first listening but opens up over repeated listenings.

Personal favourites are Ultra Music, which has an infectious loping groove and some nifty bass playing; This World which questions what’s wrong with this world that we live in – and reminds me of Gregory Isaacs; and Love Letter which is powered along with some strong bass playing and a Junior Murvin type falsetto vocal line.

The album production is warm, clean and open and very easy to listen to.

Whether the album will have long term stayability I’m not sure. But as music for a lazy summer evening barbie it’ll be perfect. Douglas Lang

Bettye LaVette: The Scene Of The Crime

Anti/Shock

Bettye LaVette is a soul survivor. She started recording professionally in 1962, signed to Atlantic in 1972 and I bet you have never heard of her. To be fair I hadn't either until she toured New Zealanda couple of years back with Roger Fox and co. I went straight out and bought her 'comeback' album I've Got My Own Hell To Raise last year and I liked it but frankly I found it a tad obvious and trying too hard for my taste. Good but not great.

Well, I'm pleased to say that The Scene Of The Crime is absolutely everything that the previous album promised but didn't quite deliver. It's simultaneously tender and brutal, chock-full of big grooves alongside ballads of absolute, shimmering beauty like Choices and Somebody Pick Up My Pieces, both highlights for me.

The band deserves special mention - the Drive-by Truckers are nothing short of brilliant, and the very Wurlitzer electric piano that graced Aretha's early tracks is played by none other than soul music genius Spooner Oldham.

This is my album of the year so far - brilliant from the dirty, reverbed out old Fender amp intro to the last acapella phrase. A real soul singer with some real songs. Darren Watson

Van Morrison: Still On Top

Polydor/Universal

Still On Top represents a double CD overview of one of music’s great talents. He’s a grumpy old bugger – I would be regarded as scum for daring to write about his music – but Morrison has created superb music for more than 40 years. And that deserves to be celebrated.

From three tracks with the band Them (1964-5) through to Stranded from the album Magic Time in 2005, Morrison has created a consistently high quality of work, as outlined in this double CD. This writer has always regarded his 1968-73 period to be his best, but hearing songs from his entire career suggests that his later music is of a consistently high standard. Indeed, I’m dragging out several later Morrison albums to devour once I’ve finished writing this.

Track selection for any compilation is always difficult, particularly for a 40+ years career. There’s nothing from Morrison’s classic Astral Weeks album. Arguably, that album should be listened to as a whole. But I am surprised that Listen To The Lion, a long-term fixture in Morrison’s live act, missed the cut.

The sound of this CD is a little crisper than many of my Morrison LPs and CDs, as is sadly common these days, but not to any offensive extent.

Still On Top is a superb Morrison compilation. If it’s your first Van Morrison CD then be warned – you’ll be back for more. Michael Jones

New Young Pony Club: Fantastic Playroom

Modular / Universal

European Electro pop disco would be my best description of the debut album by UK quintet New Young Pony Club. There’s a very 1980s feel to the album – think Pet Shop Boys; New Order; Blondie; and the B52s backed by the Kraftwerk boys - synths and automaton-like girlie vocals!

The singles Ice Cream and The Bomb are probably the two standout tracks for me.

In truth I’m not sure how you’re supposed to ‘use’ this album. I can see that played at high volume in a cool club or bar many of the tracks would make perfect sense. On the hi-fi in the lounge or in the car I’m not sure it totally works. After a while the signature ‘deadpan’ delivery of vocalist Tahita Bulmer can get a bit wearing and at times things get a bit formulaic and predictable.

I see that the band is playing at Big Day Out in January. I’m assuming they will be in the dance tent where they may well be great and worth checking out. If they’re on one of the outdoor stages I’m not sure.

Approach with caution! Douglas Lang

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: Raising Sand

Rounder/Decca

As the only one who will ever read these pages who has never owned a note the legendary Plant has recorded, and yet owns every note of Krauss, I approach this release from a somewhat different angle to most.

Surely the peerless Krauss cannot have slipped over to the dark side any more than Plant could have discovered bluegrass? Can Plant actually sing? Who came up with the idea? Why? Does it work?

Answering the last question first – an emphatic yes. You are reading about a release destined for legendary status. The choice of material is surprising at times, unrecognisable at others given its new setting, but totally convincing given the impeccable vocals from both, exquisite harmonies as and when required and no sign of a dominant ego. Production qualities are also as glorious as the pedagogy would suggest and the skills of renowned producer T Bone Burnett.

Further research reveals Burnett supplied the idea for a lot of the tracks but most importantly had the vision to stitch it all together making a rarity these days – a complete CD where each track flows into the next with a welcome diversity of material.

Most surprising is the blend the two voices achieve. In an interview Plant states he has never had the opportunity to harmonise, something I can report he does seemingly effortlessly.

Rounding out the success of the project is the team of excellent musicians assembled for the session dates, including Marc Ribot and Burnett himself.

All in all here is a release that Rounder could only have dreamed of in their most far flung wild moments, the success of which is assured due the exemplary craftsmanship of all involved. Thanks. Allan McFarlane

The Police: The Police

A&M/Universal

The Police were a remarkable band in Rock’s history. After the 1960s creative bubble, The Police were one of the very few bands to grow and progress with every album.

The band members were remarkable. Stewart Copeland was a highly talented jazz-influenced drummer, capable of just about anything. Andy Summers was a rarity: a superbly talented guitarist who didn’t indulge in guitar wankery. Sting developed bass lines that may have mainly been technically simple but were absolutely perfect for the music.

And what music! Mainly written by Sting, the songs combined highly literate lyrics with a melodic sense that escapes most songwriters.

This double CD, after starting with the little known Fall Out single, includes five or six songs from each of their five albums, including all of the hit singles. It’s an incredible body of work. Michael Jones

Prince: Planet Earth

Columbia

Prince’s new CD Planet Earth was famously given away with The Mail On Sunday upon it’s 15 July UK release this year… a move which alienated the symbol’d one from the local Columbia Records people in the UK, who promptly refused to distribute the album there. Prince once released Controversy, now he courts it – and good on him I say. I think he knows how sick the music industry is these days and he’s never been shy of making a point. It’s not like he needs a whole lot of money these days I guess?

So, aside from all the politics, what’s the new opus like? Well, it’s a lot like the last three (Musicology and 3121), really. A little funk, a little pop, a little R&B-lite… the albums’ finest moment is undoubtedly the incredibly catchy The One U Wanna C, a piece of pure pop that would not have been out of place on any of the purple guys efforts from the late-70s to mid-80s (imagine a slightly wiser, older offspring of If You Were Mine.) There’s also a great line in Guitar for all we guitarists (of both the air and real variety!) that’s almost worth the price of admission - “I love you baby, but not like I love my guitar!”

Planet Earth is a fun record full of indulgent Prince’isms that long-time Prince fans will love. It’s not, however, recommended for the casual fan.

Oh, and I’m afraid it’s mastered HOT. As in a bit too squashed and ‘boom & tizz’ for my taste. Sigh. Darren Watson

Kelly Rowland: Ms Kelly

R’n’B is back as Kelly Rowland lays another album of smooth tunes for your listening pleasure. After doing collaborations with artists such as Nelly, Kelly hits us with her mixture of soul, r’n’b and hip hop stylized numbers. Bumping and grinding to Like This with guest Eve and Ghetto featuring the one and only Snoop Dogg keep the collaborations rolling.

But Kelly’s beautiful soulful voice comes out strong on Still in Love with my Ex and continues on Love. Stirring stuff! One of the better soulful albums for 2007. If you like silky vocals with real life songs about love and life, you’ll enjoy this as much as me. Ants Fong

Taken by Trees: Open Field

Rough Trade

This is the debut album by Swedish songstress Victoria Bergsman who was previously the vocalist for Swedish pop band The Concretes. Bergsman may be better known outside of Sweden for her vocals on Peter, Bjorn and John’s catchy 2006 indie disco hit Young Folks. Her vocal style is quiet, breathy and a bit ethereal – definitely unique.

This album was recorded in six days and Bergsman refused to let the musicians get too familiar with the music before the recording – to keep things fresh and a bit edgy.

This is definitely not an album designed to get a party going, but more one you’ll put on when it’s a bit dull outside and you want some quiet reflection time to yourself.

In the main the instrumentation is pretty sparse – generally piano and guitar, with the vocals pushed well up in the mix. Apparently the vocals were recorded first and then only just enough instrumentation added to make the tracks work. You certainly get the sense that the recording is very much about Bergsman’s vocals rather than the instrumentals. There is a minimalist feel to the album, which includes a couple of piano-driven instrumentals including one which has a definite Michael Nyman-ishness to it.

Although it’s only a short album (34 minutes or so) I’d say that’s about right. If you like quirky female vocalists then this is probably worth a listen. Douglas Lang

Various: The Absolute Best Christmas Album in the World… Ever!

EMI

Not brimming with humility this one! Not one to under use exclamation marks either!

This album contains forty tracks on two CDs – all by original artists. I enjoyed this album, some songs are funny, some serious, only a few are sad – typical of John Lennon to turn a Christmas song into something about war – oh well, I never did like Yoko anyway. The songs go back for about 40 years and just listing all the artists would fill up all the space this review. Suffice to say, there should be something to appeal to just about everyone.

Funny what you find in the most unexpected places, in this case a really good brochure (perhaps the absolute best Christmas album brochure ever!) packed with pictures of each singer or group and a brief description of each song and the singers.

Logic tells me that to know if this really is the The Absolute Best Christmas Album in the World… Ever! I would have had to have listened to all the others. Can’t say that I have, but I can say that this is a really good collection and would suit most Christmas season or Christmas party needs! Matthew Strack

Various: The American Folk-Blues Festival, The British Tours 1963-66

Universal DVD

This is the fourth instalment in a series of DVDs that document the mid-60s European performances of some of the Blues’ pre-eminent masters. I was literally drooling as I popped the disc in the player… Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) would be enough to get me excited but you also get Lightnin’ Hopkins, Lonnie Johnson, Junior Wells, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and the rather sub-par in this company Sugar Pie Desanto. Wow! What a line-up?!!

The quality is excellent from a sound and vision point of view and, for someone who grew up just hearing these guys on LP, it’s really wonderful to actually see some of these artists in the flesh playing and singing. But if this is your introduction to ‘the blues’ don’t expect to hear the best of any of these guys in this environment. The whole thing undoubtedly was ‘toned-down’ for the audience with the possible exception of Wolf, who seems to try and keep it real most of the time. The Junior Wells performance is just plain hilarious – one of the best young harp players in Chicago covering Ray Charles’ What I’d Say whilst frantically doing the ‘James Brown’, and not a harmonica in sight?!!

While it’s nice to have this stuff available the best work of all these artists is to be found elsewhere. Darren Watson

Various: Women of the World - Acoustic

Putumayo World Music

I hate airports. They are an experience of tension, raised voices, tight spaces and confusion, and that is when all I am doing is trying to decide where to park. The first time I heard this recording it was a very bad airport day. I was at JFK in New York; the city traffic had been crazy, as an exploding gas main persuaded everyone in Manhattan that it was 9/11 all over again. New Yorkers are in your face on a good day, on this day they were under your skin and in your brain. I had run out of Valium, had not yet discovered Sudoko and when the notice came of a mechanical failure meaning that the flight would be three hours late, I thought about a good cry but even in NY thought better of my image.

Then it happened, as I trolled the gift shops for the nineteenth time I heard the most relaxing and uplifting sound, the soft float of a soothing female voice. No nasty electronics, just simplicity with lots of ambiance. A rich sound as thick as grandma’s soup, songs a sweet as her blackberry and apple pie and as light and filling as her famous Yorkshire pudding. It was and is, a little bit of heaven. From there the trip improved to the point where we were given a six star hotel stop over in Tahiti at the airlines expense. Not to bad: so if you want your life to take a turn for the positive, simply buy this CD and not only will you be helping a worthy women’s charity but you too could be blessed. John Groom

Various: Putumayo presents World Party

Putumayo

Imagine having party music from all over the world on one album. Well, here it is! The good people at Putumayo have compiled another world music extravaganza. From the latin flavoured Wote Monte (Martinique) to Denmark’s Laid Back with their afro/Carribean tune Groovin’ on a Feeling.

To the Americas we go and Jamaca’s reggae legends Burning Spear hit us with Walk followed by Argentina’s Los Pinguos singing about My Love also in a South American pop/reggae style!

Favourite tracks would have to be the African sounds of Osibisa with their classic feel good tune Sunshine Day and the upbeat Cochamba by Sarazino (Canada/Algeria/Ecuador). Music for the bbq and good times! Ants Fong

Various: Wounded Heart of America (Tom Russell Songs)

HighTone Records

Hailed as one of the great poets who sings, Tom Russell has been responsible for some very fine writing over the years. All his lyrics benefit hugely from different performances – including his own – where the combined lyrical and melodic material takes the material to an even higher level. This single disc kicks off with fourteen covers of Tom’s songs from over the years. Artists include Johnny Cash, Doug Sahm, Joe Ely, Iris DeMent, Dave Alvin and many more. It also features a new recording of Eliza Gilkyson covering Walking On The Moon. To round out the set Tom has recorded two new selections, included a live duet with Barrence Whitfield and also included the now out of print Who’s Gonna Build Your Wall. So many of the covers suggest the material was written for the performer in question, this being a superb introduction to a legendary songsmith or a great addition to your well established Tom Russell collection. Allan McFarlane

Vadim Repin plays Beethoven

Beethoven: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, Op.61; Sonata for Violin and Piano No.9 in A major, Op.47 “Kreutzer”.

Deutsche Grammophon
Vadim Repin (violin); Martha Argerich (piano); Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti

Ever since discovering this concerto with the peerless Perlman/Giulini recording in the early 1980’s I have been on the lookout for an equal. This quest has seen many different and acclaimed recordings enter and leave my collection, nearly always providing an insight or two but never eclipsing the marvel that is Itzhak Perlman. Until now.

As a Russian Vadim Repin is expected to bring a fiery sensation-filled performance to all he touches. Thankfully he also reportedly thoroughly prepares each performance and here shows a keen understanding that the Beethoven does not respond to an over declamatory performance. Apparently he has waited some time to get the right partnership for a recording and these sessions were the result.

Most notable is his supreme accuracy of the unforgiving demands Beethoven places on him. While he has the odd minute lapse of extreme high intonation overall this a well considered reading where the demands of individual phrases are not compromised to fit any technical shortcomings. This brings some literally breathtaking results. The other factor that stands out for me is Muti’s willingness to linger. No short brushed-off reading for him, each phrase is given full measure that for once brings the minor key sections a stirring dramaticism. A truly moving result, urgently recommended to all.

The bonus of the Kreutzer sonata is more than that. Again the partnership with the extraordinary Argerich proves well considered, with clear empathy of both artists providing thrills and new depths in equal measure. Never as majestic a piece as the concerto the sonata is however is as welcome as it is unusual as coupling. Allan McFarlane

Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1 & 4

Deutsche Grammophon
Lang Lang (piano); Orchestre de Paris conducted by Christoph Eschenbach

If ever there was a disc that can revive your interest in Beethoven and music in general then this it. In a month of disappointing releases this was a totally unexpected immense delight due to my preconception that the reality couldn’t possibly live up to the hype surrounding this release.

If you haven’t heard of Lang Lang then a phenomenon awaits. His bio is one of the most remarkable reads you’ll ever google and his list of “firsts” is simply a wonder. Couple this with a truly remarkable ability to seemingly effortlessly communicate with his audience and the awe can only continue.

On first listen the depth of understanding he shows in his Beethoven readings is dumbfounding. Beautifully pointed highlights, miraculous articulation, and an ongoing empathy that the orchestra and Eschenbach clearly revel in. The orchestra is no less a partner in this release with the remarkable Paris winds beautifully captured and refreshingly moments of individualism are encouraged, a trait all too often blended down in the perfect world of the recording studio. (This orchestra can even boast a clarinettist that can play in tune!). Repeated listening displays a major artist at the height of his powers that while perhaps at times over playing the effects to win his audience, leaves you with a wide grin and a deep feeling that the composer would be grinning along with you.

Don’t hesitate. This is one of those life-affirming releases that demands your attention. Allan McFarlane

R. Strauss: Josephs Legende. Op.63

Channel Classics
Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer

I confess I am quickly becoming a groupie of this partnership of conductor, orchestra and engineering team. Their ability to bring off and capture this rarely performed and frighteningly difficult score is nothing short of truly astonishing.

A ballet score that has infrequently been performed due to the virtuosic demands of the orchestral writing this turns out to be a ear to ear grinning experience that will sound at times derivative to the knowledgeable Strauss devotee’s while providing some strikingly original ideas at the same time. While Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring is played by youth orchestras these days, this work provides a challenge in so many ways without leaving the listener completely disorientated, a result of the demands of the ballet setting. Another masterpiece? Perhaps not but well worth exploration.

Like any good Strauss score it naturally suffers from the old kip of “Why write 50 notes when 5000 will do?” but as a feast of a listen the indulgence is tremendous fun. Allan McFarlane

Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Favourite Selections

Telarc
Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

Tchaikovsky is one of those composers who could pull a crowd pleaser when the mood took him and this piece is a delightful collection of short compositions. In these days of DVD release for ballet and opera, a CD might seem old fashioned. But CD still has a place for the pleasure of listening without visual distraction.

I seem to have enjoyed a number of Telarc disks this year and Nutcracker is no exception with nice clear sound. This recording is also available in SACD which was unfortunately not supplied for review and so cannot be commented on . The style of playing is light and matches the composition. The conductor and orchestra make no pretence of reinterpreting the music and the recording is just as most people would imagine the Nutcracker suite should be played.

But wait there’s more! The booklet has background history and enough of a summary of the story of the ballet that the listener can imagine each scene that the music is written trying to create. The sugar plum fairy dance is there – of course – but there is a lot more to enjoy than just this.

This is an extremely pleasant highlights of the Nutcracker ballet CD which in 73 minutes gives all the music from this piece a listener could reasonably want. For any one unfamiliar with this work, or who does not own a copy, you could not go wrong with this. Matthew Strack

Bryn Terfel: A Song in My Heart

Deutsche Gramophon

What do you do when your singing career has really taken off and you have reached international acclaim? If you are Bryn Terfel the answer seems to be to produce a “career retrospective” album. This effort consists of a 2 CD set with 40 tracks in total. The languages sung include: English, Italian, German, French and for good measure Welsh! The music types sung range from opera to folk or traditional and hymns. You’d think with this variety, a list of words and translations would be available, but no, in this cult of personality we are instead treated to no less than thirteen images of Bryn in a range of moods, casual Bryn, humorous Bryn, Bryn the star… you get the idea. So there are no words to any of the songs then. The only concrete idea I can glean form all the images is that he doesn’t like to shave.

The printing scheme includes reverse printing of numbers (white on coloured background) and in the review sample this made for difficult reading as there was some smearing of the lighter coloured ink. With 40 tracks to navigate this did make the set less user friendly. Which is a shame because the styles are all mixed up – here a few opera tracks, there a few traditional English tracks, here some Welsh tracks, so you may want to pick and choose. With a two disk set it might have been worth trying to collect similar types of music on each disk.

While the above comments contain a few criticisms, the singing is truly great and that really is the point of the whole set. My favourite track was at the end of disk two, (no, honestly) Amazing Grace sung with a simple guitar accompaniment, magic stuff and true entertainment.

In summary, Bryn Terfel is a really great singer. This collection of previous recordings (with some new material) is an enjoyable set and displays his huge vocal talent. Perhaps too soon in his career for a “best of” album, which is what this seems to be. With a little more thought, it could have been much better. Matthew Strack