Saturday January 22, 2005 
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All
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Holes in the Water
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Non Sequitur
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Sun
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The Orthodox Church
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What's in the CD player?
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What's in the DVD player?
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What's on the bookshelf?
Saturday January 22, 2005 Suzanne Vega: RetroSpective: The Best of Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega is, I suspect, a lot like a dram of Scotch Whisky. You either love it or hate it. And if, in fact, Suzanne Vega was a dram of Scotch Whisky, she would be a single malt: Dalwhinnie, to be specific. "Why?", you may ask? (Or you may ask, "Why has be been dipping into the Dalwhinnie so early on a Saturday morning?") "Dalwhinnie is a barren and isolated spot... completely self-contained.", writes the Edinburgh Malt Whisky Tour site. "Since 1898, the distillery has stood on this ravaged moorland, isolated and buffeted by the weather... Yet it is from this most hostile of environments that the gentlest and purest Highland Malt is produced... Such pureness of water imparts a soft, whispery finish..." This from no less impeachable a source than the Scubidu Pub. (Sound it out. Strange, but true.) "Barren", "isolated", "self-contained" -- "ravaged", "gentlest and purest", "soft, whispery finish". Suzanne Vega is a fine dram of Dalwhinnie. And I, for one, love it. In fact, despite the wide variety of settings in this collection, from the funky DNA mix of Tom's Diner, to the sultry Caramel, to the live, acoustic The Queen and the Soldier, to Mitchell Froom's outrageously overproduced Woman on the Tier (I'll See You Through) (from the Dead Man Walking soundtrack), there's nothing here I don't like, no cut I skip past. If there's one song, though, that seems to characterize the whole collection, it's the self-reflective Small Blue Thing:
Today I am
With my knees against my mouth
I am cold against your skin
I am falling down the stairs
I am raining down in pieces
Today I am
I am cool and smooth and curious Set simply and perfectly, it is a dram of Dalwhinnie in a crystal cup. Gentle, pure, and a soft, whispery finish. (2005-01-22 06:27:55.0) Permalink Comments [0]
Monday December 27, 2004 Jonatha Brooke: Back In The Circus
I had been hearing some of Jonatha Brooke's singles on the local grownup radio station: Linger, from 2001's Steady Pull, and from her most recent release, Better After All and her cover of Alan Parsons' Eye In The Sky. The customer reviews on Amazon.com were somewhat mixed, but I really liked the singles -- just not enough to go out and buy the thing. (I know, I know, I need an iPod -- just that I need a new computer to manage it first!) Then one foggy Chrismas Eve, overcome by last-minute shopping pheremones, what started out as an expedition in search of things for the family turned into a game of "one for you, one for me", the latter being this CD. I think I agree with the (mixed) reviews. A lot on this album sounds familiar. Sleeping With The Light On reminded me of Shawn Colvin's haunting Another Plane Went Down (with the same echoes of 9/11). The over-caffeinated drumming on Less Than Love Is Nothing is right out of David Gray's irritating Please Forgive Me. And there's a three chord riff in the refrain to It Matters Now that reminded me very much of Sarah McLachlan's Building A Mystery (far from her best work, in my far from humble opinion). There are hints of Joan Osborne too, and a little Sheryl Crow sprinkled in, and traces of Shawn Colvin all over the place. In other words, parts of this album struck me as being very derivative, very "second-tier girl with guitar"-ish. At the same time, the title cut, Better After All, Sally, and No Net Below, are really first-rate pieces in their own right, with their own (not-borrowed) sound. (Okay, No Net Below sounds just like Shawn Colvin's I'll Say I'm Sorry Now, but I still like it.) Which is in sharp contrast to two of the covers she includes on this disc: James Taylor's Fire And Rain is absolutely, bizarrely off-kilter -- the dippy arrangement clashes with the anguishing lyrics -- and God Only Knows is unremarkable at best. (God only knows why she did these covers, if you ask me -- even the arrangements are very Radio Shack keyboard.) At the same time, she knocks Eye In The Sky out of the park. She really puts her heart into it, and makes it her own. Which is the whole point now, isn't it? If she were asking me for advice -- music expert that I am -- it would be simple. "Do your own thing." When she is most original, she is truly outstanding. When she's paying homage to those who have, and that which has, gone before, she veers between unremarkable and cheesy. But the upside potential is huge. I will be back for more. (2004-12-27 07:21:22.0) Permalink Comments [0]
Thursday September 09, 2004 Diana Krall: When I Look In Your Eyes
Diana Krall has an advantage -- perhaps even an unfair advantage -- over Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crowe, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, and most others whose CDs I've reviewed... and it has nothing to do with the first letter of her name being "D" instead of "S". (That is weird, no?) It's that they, for the most part, write their own material -- and so they must both create and perform music worthy of that elusive fifth star. She, on the other hand, picks and chooses from the best songs of the twentieth century, and all she has to do is sing them well. At this, she is simply perfect. Perfect like a perfect summer sunset. Perfect like a perfect autumn day. Perfect like a perfect glass of scotch on a winter's eve, dark and smoky and smooth. (We have no spring in Massachusetts, so I left that out.) Speaking of scotch, I heard, in an interview she did around the time of her marriage to Elvis Costello, that scotch and cigarettes are how she keeps her voice in tune. I hope she was joking. Losing Eva Cassidy to melanoma was quite heartbreaking enough. I'd happily re-play the CDs she's done so far and wish her a long and happy life, smoke-free. No problem on the scotch, though; next one's on me! Anyway, back to the music. Every song on this disc is a keeper; of all the CDs in my collection, this is one I never tire of. I'll play it five or ten times through before swapping it out for something else. Something not nearly as good. My favorites cuts are Let's Face The Music And Dance, When I Look In Your Eyes, I've Got You Under My Skin, the massively politically incorrect Let's Do It Again, and the slow, simmering bonus track, Why Should I Care?, which she wrote with Clint Eastwood for the closing credits of True Crime. She's known for doing one off-beat song on each CD, and her rendition of Michael Franks' Popsicle Toes is guaranteed to melt any popsicle within 100 yards. It is a thing of (R rated) beauty. Speaking of beauty, her other quite unfair advantage is that she looks just like she sounds. How did that happen? Then again, I probably look just like I sound. If only I sounded heavenly... Sigh. (2004-09-09 20:06:36.0) Permalink
Wednesday September 01, 2004
In my last CD review, of C'Mon, C'Mon, I said that have mixed feelings about Sheryl Crow. My feelings about Sarah McLachlan are anything but mixed: when she's at the top of her game -- as on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy -- the earth moves. The buzz is (or was) that Possession, the best song on that album, was based on the "fan mail" of a stalker who later committed suicide, after having sued her for appropriating the dark secrets of his heart in her song. True or false, right or wrong, the album is intense enough and great enough to wreak that kind of havoc. Afterglow, on the other hand, only aspires to that greatness, and in a few places, comes close. Down the middle, Fallen and World On Fire are okay. Not her best, not her worst. On the down side, Drifting and Push -- especially Push -- bring to mind the verb (or is it an adjective?) "mewling", which I recall one critic using to describe some of the overwrought tracks on Surfacing, her last studio album. (You'll recall that this disc was on the CD player when Bill and Monica were... oh, never mind.) Think I'm kidding?
You stay the course you hold the line you keep it all together Yes, you read it right: "you complete me" in a song, and that's not Dr. Evil singing to Mini Me either. She's serious. And so am I: Mewling. However, on the upside, Stupid, and the snappiest cut on the album, Trainwreck, are pretty good. Answer's even better. And the last three songs on the album, Time, Perfect Girl, and the sublime Dirty Little Secret, are worthy of Fumbling. The lush harmonies on this last track echo of Karen Carpenter, and I have no higher compliment to pay. So I will relent, and up the 3 stars I had planned to give the album to 4, because it ends on such a high note, and leaves me wanting more. More than the ten cuts that seem more fitted to a record album than to a CD -- and more than a handful of songs that suggest how good she can be at her earth-moving best. (2004-09-01 20:21:58.0) Permalink Comments [2]
Thursday July 29, 2004
I have mixed feelings about Sheryl Crow. On the upside, she's a great songwriter and musician, and to my mind, she is the exemplar of great pop music. (I wouldn't call it rock -- her median stuff would need to be a little rowdier, a little less polished, to fit that bill.) On the downside, her voice, while lovely, is underpowered and often overwhelmed by her arrangements. Like Michael McDonald, she may be more naturally a backup singer than a lead vocalist. Nonetheless, on this album, she does a bang-up job, and really earned her stars. Partly because the tunes are great, partly because the album is consistently well-arranged and well-mixed, so she doesn't get lost in it, and partly because she's gotten herself some big name backup talent, most of whom really complement her singing. I particularly enjoy her duets with Lenny Kravitz on "You're An Original" and with Natalie Maines (of the Dixie Chicks) on "Abilene"; Liz Phair, whose voice is so much like Crow's that it's almost a (great) sound effect, really spices up the summer anthem, "Soak Up the Sun". Rounding out the duets, Don Henley, I thought, made "It's So Easy" kind of sappy, and I was unimpressed with Stevie Nicks's contributions to "Diamond Road" and the title track. Gwyneth Paltrow actually does a credible job on "It's Only Love", though I enjoyed her much more teamed up with Huey Lewis on "Cruisin'", where she really stood out. The liveliest tracks on the album are "Steve McQueen", "Soak Up The Sun", "You're An Original", and "Abilene". (I really enjoyed the latter.) But the best songs, to my mind, are "Safe and Sound", which I will forever associate with 9/11 and the "America - A Tribute to Heroes" concert, and -- backed brilliantly by Emmylou Harris -- the mournful, haunting "Weather Channel":
Can you make it better for me The words alone don't do it justice; together with the music, it's heart-breaking perfection. And it is in this essentially acoustic arrangement that Crow's voice just shines. C'Mon, C'Mon, Sheryl, give us more like this one! (2004-07-29 08:23:42.0) Permalink
Friday June 25, 2004
Before one of their knock-off competitors deflowered Brittany, before another of them triggered the cataclysmic "wardrobe malfunction" at Super Bowl XXXVIII (maybe it was the same one?), before another of them married that girl who thought "Chicken of the Sea" was actually made of chicken... way back when, boy bands were all about the music. And Take 6, in this 1994 album, is all about the music. They are the real deal. You don't get to sing with Queen Latifah, Stevie Wonder, and the late Ray Charles if you're not the real deal. This is a wonderful, bright, brassy album, by a very talented group of singers. Known for their a capella work (the acid test of musical talent), backed by a band, they knock it out of the park. (2004-06-25 07:53:15.0) Permalink
Thursday June 24, 2004 Suzanne Vega: Songs in Red and Gray
This is a hauntingly beautiful album. When I first bought it, shortly after its release in September 2001, I could not stop listening to it. I would have to pace myself, only play it so often, because I didn't want to burn out on it. I can't remember when I've been that -- seduced, is perhaps the best word -- by a CD. Part of the magic is the contrast between her almost childlike, almost spoken presentation (this is the girl that brought us "Tom's Diner" and "Luka" back in 1990) and the heartbreakingly grown-up subject of many of the songs, her divorce from Mitchell Froom (producer of a number of her earlier albums and about a thousand others'). Listen to the lyrics from two stanzas of the single "Widow's Walk":
Though I saw it splinter, I keep looking out to sea.
If I tell the truth then I would have to tell you this; The other part is its flawless production and orchestration, which envelop but never overwhelm Vega's delicate voice, like the perfect setting for a perfect jewel. Favorite cuts are "Penitent", "Widow's Walk", "Soap and Water", the haunting title cut, and "Harbor Song", which has me looking for Bay Rum cologne every time I go shopping in a seaside town. Can you tell I like this one? (2004-06-24 13:15:58.0) Permalink
Saturday June 19, 2004 Eastmountainsouth: Eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth's Kat Maslich and Peter Adams have put together a lovely album, a hybrid of bluegrass and folk and... well, you just have to hear it. It's very hard to describe: old and new, primitive and modern at the same time. I actually prefer the primitive aspects; some of the Mitchell Froom trademark sound effects are a little over the top for my taste. But the two singers have true, sweet voices, and their hearts and souls are in this music. It's not clear I'd run out to buy a solo album from either of them, because as is the case with many duos whose music I've enjoyed over the years (top of mind: Seals and Crofts, the Indigo Girls), the magic is in the blending of their voices. Favorite cuts: You Dance (which you'll hear on the radio), Rain Come Down, Still Running. (2004-06-19 08:48:55.0) Permalink
Wednesday June 16, 2004
I've owned this album for probably 10 years, and it has never worn out its welcome. The title cut is amazing -- the craftsmanship of the writing will blow you away:
I was feeling imploded And "Shotgun Down the Avalanche" is one of the prettiest (and most beloved) songs she's ever written. This one is a keeper, an essential for every collection. (2004-06-16 08:40:35.0) Permalink
Tuesday June 15, 2004
Mindy Smith has a nice voice -- like an early Shawn Colvin -- though her writing isn't nearly as addictive. Best cuts are "Come to Jesus", which sounds a lot like EastMountainSouth, and a brilliant cover of "Jolene", which she does as a duet with Dolly Parton (and which was first released on Dolly's tribute album). (2004-06-15 10:41:57.0) Permalink Check the archives for entries dating back to the dawn of recorded history (June 14, 2004). |
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