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Pop and Contemporary Music

   
 

Shawn Colvin - Cover Girl
Columbia 477240 2
Reviewed by RG
What is it about cover versions? Why are there so many that are better than the originals? Devo might have got canned off the stage at Knebworth for daring to cover Satisfaction, but if anyone had stopped to listen, they would have realised that, far from sacrilege, the off beat Americans' version knocks the Stones' for six. Which is kind of how I feel about Ms Colvin's cover of 'Every Little Thing (He) Does Is Magic'. This is a whole new song. And absolutely brilliant it is too. In fact the album's worth it just for this. Even better news, there are some other corkers as well. Steve Earle's 'Someday' gets the treatment, and so does The Questionnaires' 'Window On The Worlds'. Even Talking Heads respond to her country/rock enthusiasm. Recording quality varies from good to clumsy (overdubs added to live tracks!), but the album still makes great listening. Colvin's voice has character, a million miles from the sterile purity of Mary Chapin Carpenter, who duets on 'One Cool Remove', and her history as a New York husker is plain in her direct and emotive performance. Great album! Oh, and don't forget her debut outing 'Steady On' - much more minimalist, and really well recorded.

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Recording=6, Music=8CD format
       
 

The Congos - Heart of the Congos
Blood & Fire BAFCD009
Reviewed by JM
'Send us another Moses to lead Jah nation/The hungry must be fed so there'll be no more sufferation…' they implore during Children Crying. Its righteous reggae at its most spiritual. As pious as Hildegaard of Bingen but with a lot more swing, the gunja addled apocalyptic theology of Rastafarianism is voiced in a series of classic roots reggae songs and chants. Produced by Lee 'Scratch' Perry at Black Ark Studio and originally released in 1977 this is a recurring of great depth. The Congos were a vocal duo of Cedric Myton (falsetto) and Royden Johnson (tenor) long since fallen into obscurity. At this time Perry's house band The Upsetters featured some of Jamaica's finest, including drummers Sly and Mikey Boo, bassist Boris Gardiner, organist Winston Wright and guitarist Ernest Ranglin. Perry's recording and production on 4 track Teac with Echoplex reverb and Mutron phaser mixed and mutated through a Soundcraft board is exemplary. Scratch is the only man in the world who could place bovine farmyard effects in the mix and get away with it. Like dread say - 'Hail natty, have you any herb my brotherman?/Yes my brother yes, ten crocus bags...'

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Recording=2, Music=9CD format
       
 

Dave Alvin - Blackjack David
Hightone Records HCD 8091
Reviewed by RG
Until this disc appeared I'd never heard of Dave Alvin. Now I'm scrambling to discover what else he's done. You'd be right to conclude that I'm impressed. Now, I know that country music tends to send certain people running for cover, but hear me out. The country/pop fusion initiated by the likes of Nancy Griffiths, has snowballed into a genre all by itself. And that's squarely where I'd place Mr Alvin. If you liked Storms I reckon you'll like this. His singing voice has that 'lived in' quality that suits the material, and the playing in first class. Production is understated, favouring natural perspectives over the sonically spectacular, with the sweet and slightly soft top end that I associate with a lot of HDCDs. All but one of the songs are self penned, and deal with the normal run of American working class life. No surprises there. But the quality of the writing and performance make this a recording which bears repeated listening. And I have been!

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Recording=7, Music=8HDCD format
       
 

George Martin - In My Life
Echo LP20
Reviewed by RG
On the face of it, an album of Beatles covers featuring the musical talents of Goldie Hawn, Jim Carey and Robin Williams, might best be avoided. Not exactly a confidence inspiring line-up, even with George Martin at the controls. To be honest, when I first saw it, my initial reaction was to take the piss out of the proud new owner. How wrong you can be! 'A Hard Day's Night' Las-Vegas style, is a pretty weird concept, but it really works. Jim Carey makes a fabulous Walrus, and Robin Williams and Bobby McFerrin certainly 'Come Together'. Okay, so there's the odd low point. Jeff Beck's air guitar interpretation of 'A Day In The Life' would be more at home on an album of great musical cliches. But the majority of these tracks demonstrate just how much Martin's production and arrangements brought to the Beatles. If you've got any sort of love for the Beatles' music, and you want to hear what a more creative mind than Noel Gallagher can do with the legacy, then give this a whirl. I can guarantee that you'll be surprised.

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Recording=6, Music=7CD format120g Vinyl
       
 

Gomez - Bring it On
HUTDLP49
Reviewed by JH
Gomez might be the latest 'big thing', but for once the plaudits are well deserved. Bring It On recently won a Mercury Prize, and the fresh faced five piece are surfing the crest of a wave. The album it full of contrast and subtlety. Complex edgy rock, the band aren't afraid to incorporate some unusual influences, Tijuana to name but one. Further interest is provided by the two singers, who alternate the lead across the album, one all cigarettes and too much whisky, the other softer but no less expressive. The songs are immediately attention grabbing, and the band really work together. A feat which escapes most modern groups, this is one of the main strengths of Gomez. The recording quality is excellent and production is refreshingly unobtrusive, allowing the music and performance through your system and into the room. The vinyl issue is well pressed, flat with low surface noise and very good dynamic range. The CD quality is also excellent so don't worry it you don't have a turntable. This is a very fine album (great sleeve too)! If you are in the market for thoughtful contemporary pop, don't miss out.

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Recording=7, Music=9CD format120g Vinyl Dbl
       
 

Lo-Fidelity Allstars - How To Operate With A Blown Mind
Skint BRASSIC8CD
Reviewed by JM
Big beat was not so much a new dance genre as a rebranding of the old dance-rock crossover long championed by Meat Beat Manifesto, Renegade Soundwave, Revolting Cocks et al.. Whatever you want to call it - and big beat is way too simplistic - we have here some hard driving breakbeat rock-n-roll. The sheer motive force occasioned by the beats is supplemented by some powerful but intricate bass-playing from a chap glorying in the monicker A One Man Crowd Called Gentile. Overlaid is a catholic selection of treated samples and creative deck work from The Albino Priest, while vocalist The Wrekked Train takes us into the darker recesses of his poetic imagination. Here is a man who realises the English - of whatever ethnic origin - are congenitally unable to rap convincingly and instead gives us a kind of Cockney visionary schtick like Johnny Rotten declaiming William Burroughs (as translated out of the American by William Blake.) Thus - 'Filled with viscous demented fluid...He dreams of being the scorpion who never sweats, and quite frankly I am appalled to find this individual in my head space... Stick em up motherf**ker!'. Could be the Big Beat benchmark.

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Recording=5, Music=8CD format120g Vinyl
       
 

Madonna - Ray Of Light
WEA 9362-46847-2
Reviewed by RG
Life clearly begins at 40, at least as far as Madge is concerned. This is her best, and most consistent album by a mile, down in no small way to the inspired choice of William Orbit to produce. In fact, the only weak track on the album is the only one he had nothing to do with. Take Madonna's unerring grasp of the great hook, and her feel for a groove, and combine them with Orbit's multi-layered complex power pop mixes, and the results are almost overwhelmingly intense. He simply piles on the mix, drawing from acoustic instruments, synths, samples, the kitchen sink if it comes to hand. But it's done with a sure hand, and the strands weave a textured, undulating and constantly shifting vault of sound, around and behind the fragile vocals. Is this a dance album? You'd better believe it. If this doesn't get you moving then you're overdue a health check. You're dying from the feet up! Play loud and enjoy. Yes, it's a dance album, but it's so much more as well.

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Recording=6, Music=8CD format120g Vinyl Dbl
       
 

Various Artists - September Songs, The Music of Kurt WeiII
Sony SK63046
Reviewed by JM
In which New York producer Hal VVilner gets to grips with the peculiar, impressively sordid, world of Brecht and Weill. This is his second, improved attempt at the Weill canon, the first 'Cry Beloved Country' of 1985 (A&M vinyl] is doubtless now deleted. Lou Reed is back in action on 'September Songs' and his slow-burning take on the title track remains as incisive. Joining him on the diverse collection are such as Nick Cave who, as you might expect, wrests 'Mack The Knife' from the Las Vegas crooners and wrings every last drop of sadistic glee from the quivering remains. Elsewhere PJ Harvey offers a beautifully sensitive reading of 'The Soldiers Wife', while Elvis Costello gives vent to a broken-voiced 'Lost In The Stars'. An ancient, crackling recording of the bizarre tones of Lotte Lenyas 'Pirate Jenny' is reproduced to great atmospheric effect, as if a honkers rendition of 'Mack The Knife' by Brecht himself (he doesnt sing in key or in time - but hey, its his song). Yet the most demented performance here would be a toss-up between David Johansens' 'Alabama Song' and William Burroughs' 'What Keeps Man Alive?' while The Persuasions close--harmony 'Oh, Heavenly Salvation' is well, heavenly. A dramatic, juicily perverse album.

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Recording=5, Music=8CD format
       
 

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - ACME
ACME Mute ACDSTUMM154
Reviewed by JM
Aptly titled, this would indeed seem to be the acme of Spencers mission - which began with the seminal NYC band Pussy Galore in the mid 80s. His rock-n-roll and blues deconstructions have sometimes seemed just too haphazard for comfort. He previously brought a kind of anarchy to bear on the traditional forms which seemed to be a commentary on the state of rock music itself (i.e. dead and decaying fast). But Acme is a visionary statement of future rock-n-roll. The album was recorded on analogue by Steve Albini in Chicago, then farmed out to a wide range of producers and treatment-artists including T Ray (Cypress Hill), Dan Nakamura (Dr Octagon), Alec Empire (Atari Teenage Riot), Nick Sansano (Sonic Youth / Public Enemy), Chris Shaw (Butthole Surfers / Weezer) and the venerable Jim Dickinson (Big Star / The Cramps /Panther Burns etc. etc.). Acme is infused with country, gospel, blues, rock-n-roll and hiphop broken down and reassembled with added sleaze and perversion, tectonic sub bass and crystalline guitar. Guests like Luscious Jacksons' Jill Cunniff and Dub Narcotics' Calvin Johnson give a wide range of vocal stylings from growling swamp blues to effervescent gospel. Possibly the funkiest white blues album since 'Exile On Main Street'.

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Recording=5, Music=9CD format120g Vinyl
       
 

RZA Presents Wu-Tang - Killa Bees The Swarm Volume 1
Wu-Tang Records/Play It CD Again Sam WT001CD
Reviewed by JM
A more succinct offering than the sprawling, slightly gruelling epic double album 'Wu-Tang forever' and all the more accessible for than. It is the hardcore shit, however, with old-skool (i.e. raw) production values and the emblematic minimalist strings sampled and inexorably looped. RZAs instinctive (and in the traditional sense, unmusical) grooves and beats imbue the backing with some heavyweight atmosphere. Often melancholic, frequently unsettling, and very seldom relaxing, the ambience sets the mood for the various Clan members to deliver a series of raps which vary in theme but are never less than righteous. This is serious stuff. Perhaps the most extraordinary cut is Never Again, a deeply sympathetic and angry lyric from Remedy concerning the - hardly typical rap subject - of the Holocaust. Hanging with the Wu (as I believe the terminology has it), is an experience very far removed from the vacuous commercial rap that spends its time regurgitating old songs on Top of The Pops. It is from the heart and furthermore, it gives you something to think about while you're jumping up and down like an idiot. Arguably the best hiphop album of 98.

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Recording=5, Music=8CD format120g Vinyl
       
 

Grosse Pointe Blank
London Records U.S.A. 828 867-2
Reviewed by RP
Thriller? Black Comedy? Love Story? George Armitage's cult movie criss-crosses the genres through its bizarre and eccentric characters. Not least among mew are John Cusack's nearly' reformed hit-man, Martin Blank, and Minnie Driver's 'jilted small-town DJ'. Their tenth anniversary High School reunion provides focal print for the action, in which potentially explosive twists and turns of plot and scheme are nailed by a soundtrack that has real 80's attitude. The CD opens with 'Blister in the Sun', a sparse song, pared back to the essentials of guitar, drums and voice. It shows the Violent Femmes at their intense and angst-ridden best. Coupled to some great tracks from The Clash, The Beat, The Jam and The Specials they create a distinctive cipher for the lone figure of Martin Blank. Nor have the lighter romantic moments been neglected. 'Let My Love Open The Door' is one of Pete Townshend's better solo efforts. But the soundtrack (like the film) also exhibits a perverse sense of humour. Never more so than in Guns N' Roses' memorably outrageous cover version of 'Live & Let Die' The Bands incongruous bucking harmonies crack me up every time.

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Recording=6, Music=8CD format
       
 

Belle and Sebastien - The Boy With The Arab
Strap Jeepster Records JPRLP 003
Reviewed by JH
If you are already a Belle and Sebastien fan then you know what to expect from this. If you're into Lo-Fi as a genre, then you'll feel right at home. And if you want to dip a toe into the Lo-Fi pool, then this is a nice accessible place to start. Me? I think this is a cracking album. Despite the eight members, the band's sound has an organic, small-scale feel, mixing acoustic guitar and Moog style synthesisers. Twin vocalists deliver the thoughtful but often rather depressing lyrics, and the songs are generally built around a story, but not necessarily one you feel comfortable hearing. The voices are soft, and the male vocalist in particular, employs extremely limited dynamic range. This blends well with the relaxed feel of the whole album. Some may find this a bit pretentious, in a distinctly French/60s throwback vein. Here's a band who fancy themselves as new intellectual poets. But it's a carefully put together album, and an ideal introduction to both the band and Lo-Fi as a style.

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Recording=5, Music=8CD format120g Vinyl
       
 

Diamanda Galas - Malediction and Prayer
Mute CDSSTUMM163
Reviewed by JM
In which the Bride of Satan sits at a grand piano and sings. And does she ever sing. If Janis Joplin had been put through Conservatoire training she might have sounded like this. Beautifully recorded live by Blame Dupuy on the world tour of 96/97, La Galas here embarks on a series of powerful old blues songs interspersed with more exotic fare. The credits span both Son House (Death Letter) and Charles Baudelaire (Abel et Cain) taking in Phil Ochs (The Iron Lady) and Pier Paolo Pasolini (Supplica a mia Madre) along the way. If the songs are powerful then her performance renders them just about invincible. Her reading of Willie Dixon's Insane Asylum for example is a majestic bout of frenzied scat singing taking us from the depths other four-octave range to its scarifying summit (and when this woman screams you know about it - indeed, they know about it in the next county). In Abel et Cain the phrasing brings to mind Piaf, while the Spanish (Si Ia Muerte) and Greek songs utilise Moorish ullulation. Here are songs of love, death and madness imbued with lurid Orthodox religiosity and deep blues passion by the Diva of Disease.

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Recording=6, Music=8CD format120g Vinyl
       
 

Dr. John, The Night Tripper - Gris-gris
Atco 7567-80473-2
Reviewed by JM
1968 was when the flowery hippy bubble burst and things began to get dark. The Stones were at their Satanic peak and the bad drugs were taking hold. A New Orleans session man called Mac Rebennack conceived of Dr. John, and released Gris-gris in all its narcotic voodoo glory and it had the sound of evil running through its veins. Somehow, all these years later - after post Modern readings of his grooves found commercial favour through Trip-Hop - it still does. This is bad trip psychedelia imbued with ritual chants and voodoo sorcery and its atmosphere is so spiced with the midnight boneyard you can smell it. Musically a coupling between trad Creole and swamp blues the album culminates in the 7-minutes of sinister wonderment which is the oft-covered 'Walk On Gilded Splinters' (most recently by Paul Weller). When the good Doctor tells you that his band - flute, bottleneck, tambourine, congas, 'funky-knuckle skins' bass, sax and mandolin - 'were dredged up fresh from the Rigolets by the Zombie of the Second Line, under the Eight Visions of Professor Longhair' - you can believe it.

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Recording=3, Music=8CD format
       
 

Elliot Smith - XO
Bong Load records BL35 (US lmport)
Reviewed by JH
Why do singer songwriters find it so hard to make it, when certain other performers are laughing all the way to the Swiss bank? Is it because they crave credibility? I doubt any of them would turn away success. Is it because the songs are challenging and the dumbed down audience are incapable of understanding? Possible. But whatever the reasons, Elliot Smith is doing his best to overcome them. And you never know, he might just drag a few lost listeners with him. XO is his fourth LP, and will be by far his most successful. It rides on his popularity following the film Goodwill Hunting, for which he received an Oscar nomination (he lost to Celine Dion, so you can see what I'm getting at!). A quiet performer, his whispered vocals often rely on simple acoustic guitar for accompaniment. Occasionally he stretches out to embrace other, mainly acoustic instruments. The songs are built on melody, with some vocal harmonies, and the lyrics are topical, and tend to the angst ridden. Elliot is clearly struggling to make sense of the world (you would too, if you'd had to follow Celine Dion home). His music might best be described as melancholy Beatles, and that's no bad thing. This is a very good album and I highly recommend it. It might even lead you into Mr Smith's back catalogue.

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Recording=5, Music=7CD format
       
 

OIu Dara - In The World
Atlantic 83077-2 HDCD
Reviewed by DD
From the first notes of 'Okra' with its chiming guitars, street cries and infectious South African beat you immediately feel part of a warm, musical experience. Drawing on a rich mix of African, jazz, and blues influences, OIu Dara, whether he's on vocals, guitar, trumpet or cornet holds it all together remarkably well, bringing a real cohesion to the band, whatever they're playing. In some respects reminiscent of Taj Mahal, in others recalling Ellington's 60's band, and sometimes sounding like pure delta blues, there's still something unique about the album. Maybe because of the sheer variety of influences presented with a common warmth, feeling and sheer sense of enjoyment. In addition to 'Okra' standout numbers include the straight ahead blues of 'Rain Shower' the laid back jazzy 'Harlem Country Girl' and a track pretty much guaranteed to bring a smile to even the most cynical listener 'Your Lips'. Sound quality is good rather than outstanding at least on my non-HDCD player. (It takes a definite step up the scale on an HDCD capable machine. Ed.) After 20 years in music, this is Darn's first release. More please.

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Recording=6, Music=7HDCD format
       
 

Ella Fitzgerald - Sings The Cole Porter Song Book
DCC GZS(2) 1079
Reviewed by RG
When Ella first strayed from the straight and narrow of 'trad jazz', aficionados held up their hands in horror. But to the rest of us, the Songbooks represent one of her finest hours, and the Cole Porter is my favourite. Recorded in 1956, the sound is just what you'd expect, warm and immediate. The DCC gold discs don't have the presence and dimensional quality of my original Verve records, but they don't have the surface and tape noise either. Given the scarcity and price of decent second-hand copies, this is a welcome reissue. All the greats are here. The track listing reads like a potted history of Broadway snow stoppers: 'Anything Goes', 'I Get A Kick Out Of You', 'Let's Do It', 'You Do Something To Me', the list goes on. These are timeless songs that offer the perfect showcase for Ella's vocal talents. If you've never heard her sing and you're wondering what all the fuss is about, you could do a lot worse than starting here. Broadway may not seem like your cup of tea, but great music will break down your pre-conceptions. And this is some of the best.

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Recording=8, Music=10Gold CD (Double) formatAvailability 1
 
   
Jazz Music    
 

Bill Frissell - Gone, Just Like A Train
Nonesuch 7559-79479-2
Reviewed by DD
First the artwork. It's great. At least it's great if you're into dreamlike surrealist cartoon imagery. Created by Jim Woodring, Frissell believes it evokes the spirit of the music and he's right. The session, recorded with bassist Victor Krauss, and (a first for Frissell) with drummer Jim Keltner, as a spacey, dreamlike quality throughout. It often has something of a soundtrack feet to it (Twin Peaks/ Paris Texas ?), and there's a gently rolling quality underpinned by Krauss' bass lines, and offset by crisp fills from Keltner. This is not to say that the music doesn't cook. The opener, 'Blues for Los Angeles' builds beautifully, with Frissell's guitar soaring over a solid foundation. Frissell swaps between electric and acoustic instruments throughout the album, and the combination of his strong melodic sense, coupled with outstanding playing from all three, holds everything solidly together. Whether it's cod reggae, 'Egg Radio' or a gentle, vaguely French sounding acoustic number, 'Ballroom', there's an almost unique consistency to the whole album. The sound quality is outstandingly good for CD. Warm, spacious and very natural. Frissell says that for him this was 'a dream project come true'. He's right.

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Recording=8, Music=8CD format
       
 

Sonny Clarke - Cool Struttin'
Blue Note re-issue LP 1588
Reviewed by DD
After Bud Powell, Sunny Clarke is regarded as one of the very best hard hop pianists, and Cool Struttin' is his masterpiece. Together with an outstanding band comprising Jackie McClean, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, everyone is on peak form. Clark is brilliant throughout, but since the band is so tight and together, no single player dominates. Standout numbers include the title track inspired by Clark's wife, which includes the first of several bowed bass solos from Chambers, and particularly the Davis tune 'Sippin' at Bells' ', a 12 bar blues with numerous changes, which is packed with great solos. Of the four tracks (on the LP), the only relatively weak number is 'Deep Night' which sounds just a little pedestrian (apologies for the pun) against the other tracks. My old(ish) CD (Blue Note 0777 7 465 1325) sounds relatively thin and one dimensional when compared to the Blue Note 180g re-issue album, but does contain an extra two numbers from the original sessions. Great black and white cover shot too, which looks even better on the LP.

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Recording=8, Music=8CD format180g VinylAvailability 3
       
 

Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi Trio - Midnight Sugar
X8CD TBM-XR-0023
Reviewed by DD
From the opening notes of the title track you're immediately struck by the stunning recording quality. From the solid snap and fingerwork of Fakui's bass, through to the solidity and attack of the piano, this is the sound of a real band occupying a tangible acoustic spate. Originally released on LP in 1974, Three Blind Mice and JVC have done a great job in transferring this recording to XRCD. It's also something of a major endorsement for the XRCD process, in that this sounds very close indeed to a great vinyl recording, and brings the very best from the CD format. So, it sounds great, but what about the music? The album couples two numbers by Yamamoto with three standards. For me the strongest track is the Yamamoto penned 'Midnight Sugar', which has a blues quality, and comes across with more feeling and depth than the standards. These are very well played, but offer just a hint of supper club jazz. The other Yamamoto track 'Sweet Georgia Blues', using improvisations around another standard, falls into the same trap. The playing is of a very high standard, but with the exception of the title track, it's all a bit cool and clinical.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

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Recording=9, Music=6XRCD format180g VinylSuppied by Vivante, click to go buy it
       
 

Sonny Rollins - Rollins Plays For Bird
JVC XRCD XR-055-2
Reviewed by DD
Recorded in '56, the same astonishingly productive year as the Rollins classics Tenor Madness and Saxophone Colossus, Plays for Bird is not up there with either of those masterworks. But it is, none the less, a thoroughly entertaining album. Recorded with the then current Max Roach Quintet, the album opens with a medley of familiar Parker tunes. Both Roach and Kenny Dorham had played with Bird, and whilst Rollins is hardly evocative of Parker, that's not the point. Firstly, Rollins is unmistakably Rollins, and secondly, this is really an affectionate tribute to Parker. As such it works very well. The opening medley of Parker tunes starts well with Remember You' and builds beautifully, taking in a fine honking solo from Rollins in 'They Can't Take That Away From Me'. All in all it's a good, but not great, Rollins album. Of course that still places it pretty high, so it's recommended if you've already got the above mentioned classics, along with his best later work, and want to hear more. My only quibble is the slightly miserly playing time of under 43 minutes. A couple of alternate takes wouldn't have gone amiss JVC. The sound is glorious, in the room mono, and all the better for it.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

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Recording=8, Music=7XRCD formatAvailability 3Suppied by Vivante, click to go buy it
       
 

John Coltrane - The ultimate Blue Train
BlueNote 724385342806
Reviewed by DD
This enhanced CD version of Coltrane’s classic ‘57 recording is the one to have. Leading a superb band featuring Lee Morgan, trumpet, Curtis Fuller, trombone, and a dream rhythm section comprising Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Jo Jones, they can do no wrong. The playing throughout is stunning. Four of the five compositions on the album are Coltrane’s and aside from the title track, include numbers soon to be classics such as ‘Lazy Bird’ and ‘Locomotion’. There are also alternate takes of two numbers. The CD is very nicely presented in a card slip case and the 20 bit Super Bit Mapping has clearly been worthwhile. But what really sets this version apart, and makes the small price premium so worthwhile, is the interactive content. Assuming you have a fairly standard spec. PC the interactive section is a treat. Titled ‘At Least Listen’ you can watch Coltrane execute a beautiful solo as part of Miles Davis’ band in ‘59, whilst the rest of the band look on. You can sample an interview with Rudy Van Gelder You can listen to excerpts from other band members recordings along with looking at the album sleeves, and much more. It’s very easy to navigate, but most importantly, it is absolutely in keeping with Blue Note’s house style. As you’d expect, it’s full of great photography. Highly recommended.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

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Recording=8, Music=9XRCD formatAvailability 4Suppied by Vivante, click to go buy it
       
 

Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson - The Timekeepers
JVC XRCD2 JVCXR-0206-2
Reviewed by DD
Recorded is '78, this is one of three albums that paired these two masters of jazz piano that year. Accompanied by Louis Bellson, drums and John Heard, bass, Basie and Peterson are stylistically different enough to wake this an interesting prospect. The key question on sessions like this is do the two result in something equal to or better than either individually? The answer Is this case has to be no. The dominant player throughout is Peterson who carries most of the numbers, underpinned by Basie's inimitable phrasing, sounding distinctly laid back set against Peterson's rapid frills and arpeggios. The whole thing is held together by great playing from Bellson and particularly Heard. The faster numbers like 'After You've Gone' come over most successfully, but overall the album doesn't stand serious comparison with either pianist's individual small group recordings from (roughly) the same period. For example, At Montreaux, or Nigerian Marketplace from Peterson, and Kansas City 3, For The Second Time from Basie. The way to consider the album is probably just as it was intended, as a fun session. Sound quality on this XRCD2 recording is good, and like earlier JVC efforts, has probably done as much as possible with this tape and the CD format.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

  sleeve image
Recording=7, Music=6XRCD formatAvailability 3Suppied by Vivante, click to go buy it
 
   
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