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| CD Reviews Music & Spoken Word |
| JOSEPH ARTHUR Come To Where I'm From Real World/Virgin Ever have those 3 a.m. blues? You know the feelings, the desperate awareness that hope is nearly gone. Joseph Arthur knows those feelings well, as "Come To Where I'm From" shows. The Akron native has made a name for himself in the U.K., and "Come" is his U.S. breakthrough. Eerie effects from Arthur and producer T-Bone Burnett create an aura of isolation on "Invisible Hands", a breathy, morose meditation on love and consequences. The effects used on "Hands" are one of the album's key elements. The various beats and loops deployed by Arthur and Burnett contemporize the folky arrangements, butthese touches never compromise Joseph's vision. The pretty waltz "Tattoo" and the elegiac set closer "Speed Of Light" are prime examples of the maturity of his songwriting. Both songs return to the theme of love lost, but Mr. Arthur never settles for easy reassurances. His insecurities are balanced by a self-mocking wit, as the psychedelic folk of "In The Sun", and the desolate blues of "Ashes Everywhere" make clear. Joseph Arthur is a talented, articulate musician. It's no wonder that Peter Gabriel signed him to his label. He has the makings of a singular artist. Bill Lopez |
| BROTHER This Way Up Rhubarb Records www.brothermusic.com The press kit cover says, "Brother, Bagpipes & Rock `N Roll" and they weren't kidding. I don't think I've heard anything quiet like this. The mixture of the ancient bagpipes and electric guitar is what a real everlasting gobstoper must taste like. Wonderful, yet disorienting at the same time. Oh yeah, and just for that multicultural feel they also use an Australian didgeridoo. Whew. Spawning from the land down under Brother has been building a big American fan base with live shows selling out LA venues like Rusty's Surf Ranch and The Coach House, where this CD was recorded live. The opening track, "Thetimeisnow" promotes improved blood flow and a definite alignment with the forces of the eclectic. Starting out with powerful guitar licks, the soulful song of the bagpipe comes in to make the listener feel both elated and sorrowful at the same time. Very odd, yet addicting. The two singers, Angus and Hamish (I'm not making this up), produce marvelous harmonies and I thought on first listen that they were at least a trio. The group has been recording since 1992 and this live album shows that practice, practice, practice has certainly made them a smooth moving bagpipe blowing machine. Track 5, "The Unknown," written by what must have been all of the MacLeod brothers including Pipe Major Donald, is a fabulous and full blooded mini-bagpipe symphony. Overall this is a mighty enjoyable album. Brother will be in LA again, November 29th, at the UCLA Universe Festival. I, for one, will be there with bells on. Carlye Archibeque |
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| FOREIGNER Jukebox Heroes, Anthology (Minibox) Rhino Records (Atlantic Masters) www.rhino.com Rhino, friend to all things retro, has just released the Foreigner ANTHOLOGY, a double CD set in a mini box (you know the slide in sleeve, more than a cover less than a box thing that fits on your shelf.) Also included is a very extensive set of liner notes in booklet form with a history of the band and mucho pics. The contents fit marvelously well into a quad fold, (including a pocket for the liner booklet), purple case that slides neatly into its cover. Need I say more? Well, OK. Some might dismiss Foreigner as one of the first successful music machine rock `n roll bands. I would have to dismiss this view as sour grapes from bands who never studied music or learned to sing. Just because you can hear the words and distinguish the instruments doesn't make it bad. In 1977 they lost out as best new artist to Debbie Boone. `Nuff said. The most memorable hits are here: "Feels Like the First Time," "Long, Long Way From Home," "At War With The World," "I Want to Know What Love Is," "Urgent" (with a scathing sax solo by Junior Walker) and the list goes on. If you look at the back of any Foreigner album and point out the songs you liked, they are here. For those of us who had to abandon our record collections to get out of our crazy husband's house and are now replacing everything on CD, this is the collection for you...regular Foreigner fans will love it too. I don't know about anyone else, but the opening notes of "Long, Long Way From Home" still gives me chills. In 1977 when Foreigner came out with its first album I was 13 years old, so you'll forgive me if I wax nostalgic a bit when reviewing the Foreigner ANTHOLOGY. Many may scoff, but someone had to be buying the millions of records that allowed Foreigner to play for 23 years. Carlye Archibeque |
| VARIOUS ARTISTS EXXXile On Main Street Triple X Records The title and cover of this album is parody of the Stones' "Exile On Main Street", and while it's likely that more than a few of the performers on this compilation have taken part in some Stones style indulgences, it's not them that they are celebrating. The party is for a Los Angeles mainstay. For thirteen years, Triple X Records has supported the kind of rock that is at once gutsy, fearless, and fun. Some of this city's finest have recorded for the label. Jane's Addiction's live bow is the source for the opener, "Whores". It's still as riveting as ever. D.I. thrashes it up with abandon on "Johnny's Got A Problem", and the Adolescents do likewise on "Brats In Battalions" New York's Spongehead follow with a cleansing dose of disjointed, bass heavy observations in "Dog Day". With its alternate tunings and a sense of timing usually left to jazz types, Spongehead's unhinged brand of rock is most impressive. Inger Lorre contributes the gripping "Beautiful Dead", a surging statement of resolve from her overlooked solo debut. The Dickies do the prog thing as only they can on "Toxic Avenger". Featuring solos that surpass the more serious proponents of the genre, the Dickies make versatility seem effortless. Curiosities include a duet from the late Rozz Williams and Gitane DeMone entitled "Flowers". An affecting weeper, his reflections are typically macbre, but genuinely moving. The other surprise is from Bo Diddley. Bo's in a patriotic mood for "Wake Up America". Sincere it may be, but the song seems misplaced. At least he was trying something different. It is this same boldness that has kept Triple X alive all of these years. Bill Lopez |
| VARIOUS ARTISTS "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire The Album" Buena Vista Records The littlest minds with the biggest ideas at Buena Vista records have wiped the cracks in their brains to bring us WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE THE ALBUM. Scrimping on proper punctuation in the title and any semblance of originality in the song selection, they hope you'll be inspired to purchase this collection of nine songs you already know and three you really should be spared. The original classics include Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger", Barret Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", "For the Love of Money" by the O'Jays, and T-Bone Burnett singing "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend." The selections referential to the game's Lifeline element include Manhattan Transfer's "Operator", Blondie's "Call Me", and ELO's "Telephone Line." The 'album' also features ABC's favorite parroting host, Regis Philbin singing "Pennies From Heaven." Sounding like a dull saw on balsam wood, it's easy to hear why Philbin has no singing career but instead has persevered by being doted on by sub suburbanite women who find his outbursts endearing. "Oh, and that Kathy Lee is so cute too!" Between the songs are 'classic' Millionaire moments, the tension inducing musical vamps and Regis himself asking the phrase that will epitomize the year 2000, "Is that your final answer?" If you have to have the 'Millionaire' audio trappings, you could shell out the bucks for this grab bag. If you think (which TV will tell you, can be pretty risky) that it's a neat collection of songs, then take a few minutes and compile them for yourself off of Napster. Jack Sanderson |
| STEVIE WONDER Innervisions Tamla/Motown (Universal Music) INNERVISIONS is the third of a series of four albums (MUSIC OF MY MIND,TALKING BOOK, INNERVISIONS, FULFILLINGNESS' FIRST FINALE) that are being reissued by the Universal Music Group this year as part of a celebration of Wonder's fifth decade as a recording artist. Already honored at the Kennedy Center just a few months ago, Wonder has turned 50, and his joyful and provocative legacy of great music and progressive political activism holds up as sharp, clear, and irresistible as it did with the release of INNERVISIONS in 1973. Is the funk still fresh? Absolutely. The synthsizers could sound horribly dated at the hands of a lesser composer, but Wonder's genius in weaving sinuous, melodic licks with sassy, throbbing rhythms evoke the Seventies' flavor even as they achieve the greatness of pop standards destined to long outlast their era. The love songs (the resplendently colorful of "Too High" and "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing") reveal a Wonder who has matured about matters of the heart since the days of "Ma Cherie Amour" and "Arkansas." The social commentary ("Higher Ground," "Living For The City," "He's Misstra Know-It-All") is mordant, but never misses a good dance step. Tragically, the true test of just how relevant Steve Wonder's music remains today is found in a sober listen to the album-length version of "Living For The City." What did not get AM radio rotation is the last third of the song: a Spike Lee Joint-style audio play about the boy from "hard time Mississippi" coming fresh off the bus in New York City, innocently stumbling onto a street crime, being arrested and framed by the police, getting shoved into prison, and facing his future as a hardened criminal. When this song was recorded, Wonder was pointing his finger at the New York of John V. Lindsay. Almost 30 years later, it's Rudolph Giuliani with the blood of Amadou Diallo and other innocents on his hands (not to mention what is unfolding in Los Angeles and Philadelphia), and nothing has changed. Clearly, we need Stevie as much today as we have ever needed him. INNERVISIONS is a must-have if it hasn't been in your collection for the past 27 years. CD comes with the original cover and label art, lyrics, and liner notes. Lemme hear you say yeah! Amélie Frank |
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