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Check out
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around Winnipeg tonight! |
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Check out
this week’s
online CD reviews by our
music staff |
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Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
Friends 3
(Radar)
A
Website: www.joolsholland.com
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Britain’s busiest
entertainer, Jools Holland seems to be able to gather more than
his fair share of talent on his compilation albums. Where else
will you find veteran jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott on the same album
as ska legend Prince Buster? Or Peter Gabriel’s world vision
side-by-side with Steve Earle shaking it up in a high-octane,
rockabilly mode? Track-for-track this is one varied album. Holland
wrote or co-wrote most of the content and it just so happens that
he has a stupendously talented orchestra, as well as a very cool
little black book. Nick Cave and Sam Brown team up for a wonderful,
’40s-vintage croonfest while soul-boss Solomon Burke proves
why he still commands attention. Shane MacGowan can still slur
out a sloppy weeper when he wants to, and with Holland playing
piano and organ with such confidence and style, this album will
make its own friends easily.
Jeff Monk |
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J Majik
Fabriclive.13
(Fabric Records/Fusion3)
B
Website: www.fabriclondon.com
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London based drum ’n’
bass deejay/producer J Majik has never been afraid to take risks,
and his contribution to the Fabriclive series is no different.
This latest mix moves along the spectrum of drum ’n’
bass from deep, chest-pounding rhythms from heavyweights Total
Science and DJ Hype to salsa-influenced beats from Infrared Vs
Gil Felix on the anthem Capoeira and later with Peshay featuring
Studio 12 on Jammin. Dropped around the midpoint of the mix, Jammin
comes straight out of left field, but the infectious Latin-infused
track is one of the best on the album. Other highlights on the
25-track mix include Twisted Individual’s Bandwagon Blues
and Dilinja’s rumbler Fast Car. J Majik may not be a superstar,
but he is one of the most talented and underrated deejays working
the drum ’n’ bass circuit.
Anthony Augustine |
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Lou Reed
Animal Serenade
(Sire/Reprise)
B+
Website: www.loureed.org |
It seems like punk grandpappy
Lou Reed just can’t slow down. Not only does he still take
creative risks (The Raven, anyone?), he remains an unvarnished
fan of himself no matter where current trends lie. This two-disc
live album veers from the standard live album formula; rather
than deliver some kind of traditional history lesson, Reed decided
to update his back catalogue by deftly re-arranging the songs
and using some new electronic instruments (he’s a technical
geek) to bring the noise. Ace Reed regulars Fernando Saunders
and Mike Rathke are on board and that means some top-grade musicianship
— which makes the leader a happy fellow. There’s no
drummer to speak of and this twist makes the album even more distinctive.
Generous use of cello and something called a Ztar allow the arrangements
a more cerebral feel. It’s an exciting listen, adding interesting
musical color to Reed’s somewhat dark palette.
Jeff Monk |
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Ten Foot Pole
Subliminal Messages
(Go-Kart Records)
B+
Website: www.tenfootpole.com
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Ten Foot Pole has been
putting out solid punk-pop since 1993, which is impressive considering
the number of lineup changes the band has seen. Subliminal Messages
is their sixth effort (not counting a split disc with the Satanic
Surfers in ’95), and finds the band relying heavily on the
talents of original member Dennis Jagard (vocals/guitar) and Kevin
Ruggeri (drummer/vocalist since 2000). This disc picks up right
where 2002’s Bad Mother Trucker left off, throwing tight
punk chop and frantic drums underneath lyrics that are both playful
(Last Call for Russell’s Balls) and political (Wake Up [and
Smell the Fascism]). This album feels a little like Blink 182
(circa 1997), but is actually probably closer to the works of
punk veterans NOFX or Green Day. Delivering catchy, hook-filled
punk harmonies and clever lyrics, Ten Foot Pole proves that they’re
punk survivors.
Mike Warkentin |
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Stacey Pullen
Fabric 14
(Fabric)
B-
Website: www.fabriclondon.com
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Don’t be upset with
yourself if you aren’t familiar with Detroit native Stacey
Pullen. The reclusive deejay and producer has flown under the
radar in the seven years since he last released a mix CD. On the
latest for the acclaimed Fabric series, Pullen makes it pretty
apparent that he hasn’t spent his time reminiscing about
the past. For Stacey, the spirit and sound of Detroit has always
been about an openness to explore something new. One of the city’s
most underrated exports, Pullen’s mix of hypotonic tech-house
from underground acts such as Cutlab, Pure Science and Peace Division
might not be exactly cutting edge in 2004, but it does have the
same soulful, late-night vibe of his highly sought-after mix for
the DJ Kicks series. While the disc only contains one track from
a fellow Detroit producer, and none of his own material, Pullen’s
mix is still undeniably influenced by the heart and soul of the
city he still calls home.
Anthony Augustine |
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Arthur Russell
The World of Arthur Russell
((Soul Jazz Records)
C
Website: www.souljazzrecords.co.uk
|
Face facts. Disco sucked.
Before you stop reading, really think about it. Granted, it extended
the careers of James Brown and his middle-aged ilk — and
it gave us Rick James — but what truly remains that isn’t
ironic at this point? New York musical chameleon Arthur Russell
was an accomplished cellist who dabbled in the metronomic bump
that was disco. As a player and producer he came along after disco
had actually peaked; when a few die-hards still tried to work
that magic feeling into something more than dancefloor grooviness.
It all works well on this fine 11-track comp. Apparently Russell
nearly joined Talking Heads back in the day, and these tracks
make sense in that light. Members of the Mighty Disco Nation will
dig this oddball assortment of tunes, but if you’re after
the more typical Soul Jazz Records vibe, you should pass.
Jeff Monk |
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Soulfly
Prophecy
(Roadrunner Records)
B+
Website: www.soulfly.com
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Sometimes you’ve
got to shake your head from side to side when you rock out; other
times you’ve got to thrash vertically. When you listen to
Prophecy, the fourth album from Soulfly, you’ve really got
to put some back into your head-banging. Former Sepultura frontman
Max Cavelera is back with a selection of heavy, driving metal
oddly (and successfully) interspersed with some mariachi guitar,
ska horns and acoustic moments. While the vocals are aggressive,
Cavalera knows enough not to let them overpower the instrumental
talent here, and also has the sense to just shut up and rock when
the players really start smoking. While Prophecy ends with a couple
of slow acoustic tunes that remind us Cavalera is, after all,
an eclectic Brazilian with a passion for experimentation, most
of this disc is a blissful barrage of thick and heavy rage rock.
Mike Warkentin |
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The
Ukrainians
Istoriya: The Best of the Ukrainians
(Omnium Recordings)
C+
Website: www.the-ukrainians.com
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What a concept. Take one
struggling U.K. indie act (The Wedding Present — remember
them? Didn’t think so), record a one-off John Peel session
as The Ukrainians while singing completely in Ukrainian and using
traditional Eastern European instruments, and see what happens.
If Peel had not continued to play the songs over and over again
you probably wouldn’t even be reading this right now, but
he did, so here we are. This album is a collection of almost all
of the Ukes’ singles and EPs, including their ethnic take
on The Sex Pistols’ Anarchy in the U.K., a couple of Smiths
numbers and a re-working of Venus in Furs. It’s one of those
situations where a band in-joke took on a life of it’s own,
and in the end the band became that thing. Pass the vodka, slap
some mustard on that kolbassa and change the record.
Jeff Monk |
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Tom Russell
Indians Cowboys Horses Dogs
(Hightone Records)
B
Website: www.tomrussell.com
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American singer/songwriter
Tom Russell will most likely keep his fan base happy with his
latest release, Indians Cowboys Horses Dogs. His work tilts a
cocked Stetson toward the Western half of Country & Western
music. Stylistically he’s more F & W — folk and
Western — using the same tried and true homespun homilies
and cautionary tales that would have inspired his more traditional
forebears, but with an updated sound. Covering Marty Robbin’s
El Paso as a mariachi and Bob Dylan’s Lily, Rosemary and
the Jack of Hearts using co-vocalists Joe Ely and Eliza Gilkyson
is just cool. Throw in additional covers of tunes by such artists
as Linda Thompson, Johnny Cash and Woody Guthrie, and it shows
that Russell knows how to pick great songs that work for his easy
approach. His own tunes are a balm for the soul — a warm
warble and mellow acoustic guitar is all he needs to make his
point.
Jeff Monk |
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