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Pop
and Contemporary Music |
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Tim
Hain - Bleggae
Note Records NCD10152 Reviewed by AH
The great joy of music is that all boundaries are purely imaginary. If
the mood takes you and you have the talent you can throw the rulebook
out the window and just do your own thing. Tim Hain, an eccentric public
school educated musician of distant Jamaican descent decided he’d
fuse reggae with the blues, a style he’s affectionately labeled
Bleggae. As both forms are built around two or three chords and a prominent,
flowing bass line, the idea is not as far fetched as it sounds.
In the hands of a lesser talent the results might have sounded forced
and a little trite, but Hain is a wonderfully fluent guitarist with a
highly authentic voice. Take ‘Need Your Love So Bad’ as an
example; the guitar weeps and weaves its way over the reggae backdrop
without losing any of the heartbreak, it’s just as beautiful as
the original, but different. The same sentiments apply to Hendrix’
‘The Wind Cries Mary’ and Tony Joe White’s ‘That’s
What The Blues Is All About’ and let’s face it, it’s
a fruitless exercise doing straightforward covers of such luminous pieces
unless you can inject new life into them. All the other tracks are originals,
expertly written and executed. The purists will have kittens but the rest
of us can sit back and bask in a truly innovative and extremely entertaining
listening experience. |
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Chrystina
Tomlin - Bitter Twisted Wrong
MCPSCTCD01 Reviewed by AH
Any young lady calling her album Bitter Twisted Wrong is not going to
fill it up with lightweight ditties about uncomplicated love and bright,
sunny days. Crystina Tomlin has obviously been around a lot of hardship
and pain in her short life, and she’s using her caustic pen to get
it all out of her system. “Thanks to this album” she says,
“I’ve had the chance to express all my emotional baggage.
Hell yeah!” And express it she does, with all the ferocity of a
young Sinead O’Connor.
Trying to categorize Tomlin is impossible; the first three tracks alone
take in stuttering funk, grungy Metallica-ish rock and Pretenders infused
balladry. The anger in her voice is pushed to the fore and she spits out
some pretty vitriolic lyrics to boot, but just when you think you’ve
sussed out where she’s going she changes tack and starts singing
in the most ethereal falsetto, showing a tender side of quite magisterial
beauty.
‘Lonely Tonight’ is an obvious single choice and likely to
connect with any lost soul, but for sheer brilliance try ‘Losing
You’, reminiscent of Maxwell’s fabulous interpretation of
Kate Bush’s ‘This Woman’s Work’. Tomlin’s
arrived on the scene in quite spectacular fashion. She’s an incredibly
talented young lady and it’s going to be mighty interesting to see
what direction she heads in next |
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Stanley
Clarke - The Toys Of Men
Heads Up Reviewed by JK
Bassist Stanley Clarke has been writing film and TV scores for most of
the last two decades so it’s nice to hear him getting back to what
impressed the likes of Art Blakey and Dexter Gordon back in the day. The
Toys of Men would appear to have been inspired by the Iraq conflict but
it does not state as much. Rather the release describes it as an examination
of “the emotional sweep of war”, a theme that has some resonance
with his earlier work with Chick Corea in Return to Forever, or Electric
Warrior.
Toys has many reminders of the glory days before being a great musician
became unfashionable. Drummer Ronald Bruner jr. has much of the power
and explosiveness of Billy Cobham in his heyday while violin player Mads
Tolling could be Jean Luc Ponty. In other words Clarke has not tried to
reinvent himself, but returns to a style of which he is an acknowledged
master and plays it with a young and highly talented band. There is plenty
of variety here; solo pieces on double bass, female vocals and a drum
and bass duet keep things interesting. Then there’s the recording
which is taut and muscular thanks to Heads Up’s Telarc connection.
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Steve
Earle - Washington Square Serenade
New West Records NW6128 Reviewed by AH
Steve Earle has had an extraordinary life: heroin addict, alcoholic, marital
junkie, anti-death penalty campaigner, political activist…oh, and
lest we forget, stellar musician and songwriter.
It was Earle’s magnificent debut Guitar Town that paved the way
for a new country uprising, and he followed that with a string of Springsteen
inflected story songs and some of the toughest blue collar rock you’ll
ever hear. But Earle never stands still; the man’s a chronic workaholic
who now has a back catalogue to rival any of his peers. For the last year
he’s lived in New York and that’s where this album took shape.
It’s more or less a one-man band; Earle set these songs to computer
backbeats in his apartment (“I finally tested positive for Pro-Tools”
he jokes) and then went in to Electric Lady Studios and added most of
the instrumental work himself. The three-year hiatus from recording has
sharpened his song writing and Washington Square Serenade contains some
absolutely cracking tunes.
‘Tennessee Blues’ is a beauty, a sort of goodbye to his hometown,
and ‘Sparkle And Shine’ is as romantic and touching as ‘My
Old Friend The Blues’ was heartfelt. Earle’s as relevant today
as he was twenty years ago and that requires real talent, something he
has in glorious abundance.
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Stoney
Curtis Band - Raw And Real
Provogue Records PRD7232 Reviewed by AH
Apparently, wherever this band plays there are always rows of Harleys
parked outside the venue. That should give you some indication of what
to expect when you put this CD in your player. The Stoney Curtis Band
are a power trio in the vein of Cream, Robin Trower, Hendrix and Stevie
Ray - in other words, a no holds barred fusion of heavy blues, psychedelia
and all out rock. Curtis grew up listening to the above bands along with
groups like UFO, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, so it’s hardly surprising
to find his band immortalized by the biker fraternity. Raw And Real describes
the music perfectly; it’s no frills, in-your-face, foot to the floor
blues rock from start to finish - a pretty breathless experience and not
for the fainthearted.
Curtis is a potent guitarist with a guttural voice to match, and the rhythm
section hold it all together without getting in his way. Solos tumble
forth with a relentless fury, amped to the eyeballs and as aggressive
as hell, but these boys have been in the game for a long time and always
keep it fresh and exciting. The pace does slow for a couple of tunes but
it’s not long before they’re up and at you again and kicking
the proverbial ass. They might not break any new ground but I tell you,
this band is HOT!!
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John Fogerty
- Revival
Fantasy Records 088802300019 Reviewed by AH
Creedence Clearwater Revival was one of those rare bands capable of writing
anthemic songs that still sound as fresh and relevant today as they did
thirty plus years ago. Even folk not into music remember the likes of
‘Proud Mary’, ‘Bad Moon Rising’, ‘Fortunate
Son’ and ‘Who’ll Stop The Rain’. CCR were a truly
integral part of American music and John Fogerty possessed a voice of
real class. Actually, make that possesses, because unbelievably he sounds
as good here as he ever has done, and as a songwriter he still has plenty
of important things left to sing about.
Revival is a monstrous return to form; twelve songs with that classic
Creedence vibe, and none would sound out of place on a CCR ‘best
of’…seriously, they’re that good. The man’s pretty
pissed off too, most of his anger being directed at Bush and his cronies.
“Your daddy wrote a check and there you are, another fortunate son”
he sings on ‘I Can’t Take It No More’, the guitars hissing
and stinging and adding considerable weight to a really potent anthem.
He’s at Bush’s throat again on ‘Long Dark Night‘:
“Georgie’s in the jungle, knocking on the door, come to get
your children, start another war.” If ever a man deserves to be
honoured by his country, it’s Fogerty. Do something really useful
and give him a medal, George.
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Manu Katché
- Playground
ECM Reviewed by JK
Manu Katché is a French drummer with Ivory Coast roots who worked
with Sting, Joni Mitchell and Peter Gabriel in the eighties before being
spotted by ECM’s Manfred Eicher on a Robbie Robertson record. Eicher
introduced him to Jan Garbarek with whom he has made several albums and
toured. This is the second ECM album to come out with his name in the
headline, its predecessor Neighbourhood garnering much critical acclaim
in Europe. Here he is joined by Mathias Eick on trumpet, Trygve Seim on
saxophones, Marcin Wasilewski on piano and Slawomir Kurkiewecsz on double
bass. The latter pair have their own Simply Acoustic Trio and acoustic
is what this album is largely about; there is some almost ambient electric
guitar from David Torn on two tracks but you don’t get the lush,
open and sexy sound of ECM without some natural acoustic to work with.
Manu has said that he wanted to make more space for the drums on this
album but it is still balanced in fairly traditional style. He plays them
with considerable subtlety and flair and maybe other combos would not
have left the space for cymbal work that we have here. What Manu injects
is his take on groove, never hammered out but rather dancing around the
beat, at its best with the piano and bass pinning things down.
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Popa
Chubby - Deliveries After Dark
Dixie Frog Records DFGCD8635 Reviewed by JK
Popa Chubby first came to my attention in 1995 when he released a truly
splendid album called Booty and the Beast on Sony/Okeh. Produced by the
legendary Tom Dowd, it introduced a major new talent to the world of the
blues, someone with outstanding gifts as a songwriter, singer and guitarist.
Since then, this brash New Yorker has carved a prolific career as an independent
artist, and anyone who has seen him live will attest to his blistering
performances on stage. Deliveries After Dark is the latest album to roll
off the production line, and like the ones that have gone before is a
showcase for his prodigious talents. Never one to be told what to do,
Chubby continues to mix up the styles. There are typically robust, hard
driving blues rockers like ‘Let The Music Set You Free’ and
‘Sally Likes To Ride’ which come at you like a relentless
tornado. Then there’s a detour into surf guitar territory (‘Theme
From The Godfather’), an 8-minute slow blues number called ‘Grown
Man Crying Blues’ and even a stab at country with the charming ‘You
Can’t Stop Love’. Throw in a helping of reggae (‘Woman
In My Bed Dub’) and the acoustic ‘Oh, Rock ‘n’
Roll You Heartless Bitch’ and what you have is an album that sits
close to the top of this larger than life character’s repertoire.
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Devon
Allman’s Honey tribe - Torch
Provogue Records PRD72202 Reviewed by AH
Having a famous surname can be a blessing and a curse. Sure, it can open
doors, but at the same time the bar’s automatically raised and expectations
tend to go through the roof.
Devon Allman is the son of Gregg, founder member of one of America’s
most distinguished and respected southern rock bands, so he has a lot
to live up to. However, he’s no shrinking violet and has more than
enough talent to stand on his own two feet. He’s a gutsy singer
in the mould of his father, and he sure can play the living shit out of
a guitar. Torch is a great showcase for those talents. You want to hear
it played lowdown and dirty? Take a trawl through ‘Perfect World’,
a throbbing, sweaty heavy blues with scintillating guitar work and tough,
hard-as-hell singing. Prefer your blues in Santana territory? Wrap your
ears around the Latino soaked instrumental ‘Mahalo’, where
Allman’s consistently inventive playing mingles wildly with those
alluring South American percussive beats. Torch’s ten originals
stand brilliantly on their own but just for good measure Allman throws
in an inspired version of Marley’s ‘No Woman, No Cry’,
so good it almost eclipses the original. Honeytribe have been on the road
since 2005, honing their craft and building a passionate and loyal following.
I have a feeling this band are in it for the long haul.
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Lowri
Evans - Kick The Sand
Fflach Records CD297H Reviewed by AH
It has to be said that the female singer/songwriter market is bursting
to the gills right now. Some are incredibly talented and stand out from
the pack, some show immense potential but have work to do to unlock it
and some should find a different career path. Lowri Evans is yet another,
a young Welsh lass with a very pleasant, easy going voice who definitely
has potential but who also needs to make some improvements before fame
knocks on her door. Her first album was recorded in her native language
and brought her to the attention of all the right people, which in turn
led to invitations to festivals, radio station sessions and plenty of
venue work. Realizing the restrictions placed upon her by singing in her
own language, Lowri decided to record Kick The Sand predominantly in English.
All but two of the songs are written by her alone, the exceptions being
‘I’m Not In Love With You’, a co-write with her partner
Lee Mason, and a cover of U2’s ‘With Or Without You’.
The latter appears in both English and Welsh but neither gets close to
the original’s hurt-soaked intensity and proves to be a fruitless
exercise. The biggest problem with this album is the song writing; it
stays mostly on one level and never seems to rise above just plain ordinary.
That needs working on before real success can blossom.
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Luka
Bloom - Tribe
Big Sky Records BSCD0004 Reviewed by AH
I am a long time admirer of Luka Bloom and his gentle style of folky roots
music. He’s cut some really moving albums, not least the ones he
made for Warners in the 90’s and 2002’s brilliant Between
The Mountain And The Moon, so there was great excitement when this newie
dropped through the letterbox. Tribe is a collaboration between Luka and
multi-instrumentalist Simon O’Reilly. Apparently the two never shared
a studio together; Simon sent Bloom a copy of his Tidelines album which
Luka liked, and he sat down and composed lyrics and vocal melodies to
suit O’Reilly’s musical vision. On the evidence of what I
hear I have to say it’s not a collaboration made in heaven. Yes,
the backing has a certain dreamlike quality but for some reason it seems
to have taken away Luka’s melodic sensibilities, an area he’s
always excelled in. Tribe is a one-paced, almost dreary affair, and it
pains me to have to say that as it’s not an accusation I could ever
have leveled at him in the past. Too many times I found myself reaching
for the skip button to see if I could find a song to stimulate my senses
but alas, it wasn’t to be. Luka can do so much better than this,
as he’s proved many times before. I guess it’s time to go
back to the musical drawing board. |
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Jazz
Music |
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Stanley
Clarke - Standards
Kind of Blue KOB10010 Reviewed by DD
Stanley Clarke, despite a grounding in acoustic bass working alongside
the likes of Dexter Gordon, Pharoah Sanders and Stan Getz, really came
to prominence on electric bass. His playing was influenced by rock, although
he always maintained a real feel for melody, moving to a more funk-oriented
style as his career progressed from the late ‘70’s into the
early ‘80’s, when his collaborations with George Duke were
hugely successful. Clarke has constantly evolved and changed direction
during his career, but more recently has gravitated back to contemporary
jazz and his straight ahead acoustic role on this recording marks his
first album of standards. Originally recorded in 2001 for the short-lived
Vertical label, it has now been re-mastered by Kind of Blue with two bonus
tracks added. You also get a DVD of the recording sessions. Clarke is
joined by Leon ‘Ngudu’ Chancler (drums), and Patrice Rushen
(piano) and It’s clear that they are having a ball, the fluid lines
of Rushen’s piano complemented by crisp and driving percussion from
Chancler and great bass from Clarke - a listen to his ‘sing along’
solo from this track is a treat in itself. Other treats in this high octane
set include a lovely relaxed reading of ‘Take Five’, but everything
here is of such a consistently high standard that it’d be churlish
to single tracks out.
Supplier: kindofbluerecords.com
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Dexter
Gordon - One Flight Up
Blue Note/Cisco Reviewed by DDD
Dexter Gordon had lived a lifetime before recording his seven Blue Note
releases in the 1960s, taking Charlie Parker’s innovations and applying
them to the tenor saxophone, and so becoming a stepping stone for the
next generation of jazz artists—most notably John Coltrane. While
some may prefer his A Swingin’ Affair and Go Blue Note releases,
this album recorded in Paris with Donald Byrd, Kenny Drew, Niels-Henning
Orsted Pedersen and Art Taylor, like all Dexter’s Blue Notes, is
not to be missed. Only three songs are included and band members wrote
two of them. Byrd’s ‘Tanya’ takes up all of side one.
Perhaps the standout performance of the session is the standard ‘Darn
That Dream’. This is a stereo release, and like all Blue Note stereos,
exhibits the left-right separation of horns that may accurately reflect
the master tape, but tends to sound a little artificial in placement.
Rudy Van Gelder never seemed to mike the piano right and this record is
no exception. Compared to my mono original of this LP, the re-issue seems
to have a slightly more recessed piano. The instruments on the original
have a bit more dynamic kick. The reissue sounds cleaner, however, while
still getting the harmonics of the instruments right on. Kevin Gray’s
mastering job does no damage to the instrumental timbre, and cleans up
the inner detail. Another brilliant job from Cisco! |
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David
Wilczewski - Room In The Clouds
Opus 3 CD22051 Reviewed by DD
This set really comes alive on track two, ‘Wayne’s World’
(thankfully dedicated to Wayne Shorter and not Mike Myers), a slow building
circular theme showcasing the virtuoso guitar of Max Schultz alongside
Wilczewski’s tenor, slowly gaining in intensity to really powerful
effect. The rich, breathy quality of his sax is nicely captured by Opus
3 to bring the best from this standout number. The title track sees Wilczewski
move to alto and Magnus Persson adding vibes to the mix to enhance the
spacey atmosphere and help extend the ethereal theme. ‘Elvin Jones’
naturally has a solid, driving beat with the tune initially taken by Wilczewski
on flute before moving to tenor. Another really strong number is ‘Fun
For Kofi’, dedicated to Wilczewski’s previous bass player
Kofi Bentsi-Enchill. It’s full of texture, opening with the bass
doubling Wilczewski’s electronically treated tenor to great effect.
Peter Nylander delivers a perfectly judged guitar solo in this number
too.
The standard of playing, the variety of texture and the just slightly
cool tone throughout the album make for an intriguing listen that I’m
sure will reveal more on each playing. Complemented by an appropriately
full bodied and spacious production from Opus 3 this is well worth seeking
out.
Supplier: vivante.co.uk |
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Lars
Danielsson with Bugge Wesseltoft & Nils Petter Molvaer - Melange Bleu
ACT 9604-2 Reviewed by DD
What a line up! I’ve hugely enjoyed Wesseltoft’s New Conception
of Jazz (Jazzland 538278-2), and Molvaer’s Khmer and Solid Ether
(both ECM), while Danielsson was a key player on one of my favourite recordings
this year Salzau Music on the Water (ACT 9445-2). The aim here was to
create music based around melodic, improvised patterns played on his cello
through a loop machine, or via keyboards. The other musicians respond
to this with piano (Wesseltoft), trumpet (Molvaer), or synthesiser, guitar,
steel guitar, percussion, voices and sampling. As if that’s not
enough, the Copenhagen Concert Orchestra are drafted in on four of the
ten numbers here. The album demands listening to as a whole, organic piece.
Opening with the title track, a simple repeated phrase on piano, set within
a swirling soundscape and offset by splashy cymbals with occasional and
seemingly very distant low bass thuds, you are quickly drawn into a very
different aural landscape. Molvaer’s trumpet drifts in and out of
the funkier ‘Makro’, floating high above the earthier bass-heavy
rhythms. Track three involves some lovely simple woodwind lines to help
anchor the track beneath Wesseltoft’s piano, whilst the string section
slowly builds a theme and you get more sense of the full orchestra. And
so it flows. Gently hypnotic, containing many surprising and lyrical sounds
and phrases, an engrossing and magical set.
Supplier: actmusic.com |
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Woody
Herman - Woody Herman -1963
Speakers Corner/Philips PHS 600-065 Reviewed by DDD
Audiophile lovers of big band jazz have long known that the Woody Herman
Philips releases were outstanding performances with truly top-notch sound.
Together with the album under review, Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet (PHS 600-004)
and Encore – The Best Band of the Year (PHS 600-092) offer some
of the best big band recordings of the 1960s. Along with the Duke and
the Count, Woody Herman kept big band swing alive into the 1960s, and
this album is a great testament to that achievement. The other two Philips
releases appear to be out of print on CD, but 1963 is available both as
a CD and now on vinyl. Woody’s band here is composed of mostly young,
able sidemen but lacks the super-star quality of his 1950’s groups.
This band catches Herman in the early 1960’s before he drifted into
more rock-oriented tunes, so you get straight ahead swing with lots of
punchy brass accentuated by high-note trumpet player Bill Chase. If you
enjoy big band music you already know about this album and if you are
just learning about it this is a great place to begin exploring this time
period. Speakers Corner has done a fine job of remastering this tape,
which could have sounded overly shrill because of the prominence of those
high brass notes. The original album was pressed in large quantities and
used copies are easily found, but none with the great surfaces of this
perfect Pallas pressing. |
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