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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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Randy Bachman
JazzThing
(Maximum Jazz)
C
Website: www.randybachman.com
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This is the album that
finds former Winnipegger Randy Bachman finally and fully embracing
his latent jazz jones. You’ve probably seen the television
commercials and print ads and all the blahblahblah that is being
heaved at the target market for these marshmellow-y minuets. The
marketing for JazzThing has been fierce, and rumour has it that
this album will be offered as standard equipment in any new SUV
sold in Canada in 2004. Really though, Bachman can play like a
devil — only not here. The standards here are, well, standard
and Randy’s voice is as middle-of-the-road as it gets and
will surely lull some listeners into a state of heavy jazz drowsiness.
Fans of the gradually disappearing Mormon will no doubt cream
in their $150 chinos for this stuff, but it does play perfectly
as a soundtrack for after-hours neck-rubs in the hot tub with
a loved one.
Jeff Monk |
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The
Beta Band
Heroes to Zeroes
(EMI)
B+
Website: www.betaband.com
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The Beta Band has been
kicking around for ages — but you’d be forgiven for
blinking and missing them; while they’ve issued some acclaimed
releases, they’ve kept a low profile for the most part.
On this, the group’s third studio album, they return triumphant.
Travelling a slightly different musical path than before, Heroes
to Zeroes dishes up a fuller, more rounded rock sound. The boys’
eclectic digitized style is still there and their blend of experimental
electronica is strong, but the tracks are less trippy-hippy and
more honed, catchy pop-rock. On Easy they tip their hats to Stevie
Wonder, borrowing his distinctive Superstition sound, and on Wonderful
they echo the Beach Boys. A sense of euphoria sweeps in on Troubles
and on Simple — a favourite with some great orchestration.
All in all, this disc is evidence that the Beta Band are unlikely
to be zeroes for long.
Liz Hover |
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Black
Label Society
Hangover Music
(Spitfire)
B
Website: www.zakkwylde.com |
Guitar god Zakk Wylde
checks in with a quick follow-up to 2003’s Blessed Hellride.
When a guy manages to replace the legendary Randy Rhoads in Ozzy’s
band, you know he’s got some chops — but Zakk tones
things down here to create some metal mood music. Make no mistake,
Wylde at times throws down his signature riffs, rides whammy bar
harmonics and shreds, but the overall tone is as down-tempo as
the album’s title would indicate. While Zakk’s throaty
vocals sometimes prove why he’s Ozzy’s guitarist and
not Ozzy, he does find his voice on the latter portion of this
effort. Zakk seems to be at his best when tickling the ivories
and copping a little Tom Waits vibe (his is a little like Axl
Rose’s voice, tuned down an octave). Check out Damage is
Done and a cover of Procol Harum’s Whiter Shade of Pale
as highlights of this 15-track disc of dirges.
Mike Warkentin |
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Johnny Cash
My Mother’s Hymn Book
(American/Lost Highway)
A
Website: www.americanrecordings.com
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For a man who was only
a couple of months away from actually meeting his maker, it’s
amazing that Johnny Cash sounded this well in July 2003. This
album is as advertised: 15 fairly well-known gospel music classics
derived from Southern baptist sources, aged sweetly and delivered
simply by voice and guitar. You could make a case for it as some
kind of freakish, foreshadowing testimonial — as if the
man knew he was about to shuffle off to his great reward and wanted
to make peace with St. Peter by recording some God songs before
leaving — but Cash lived spiritually, and by this stage
of his long life had no time nor energy for playing games. He
knew he would be remembered for his music, so to that end he recorded
a gospel album he felt was long overdue. Fans of later-period
Cash will need this one.
Jeff Monk |
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David
Mead
Indiana
(Nettwerk)
B
Website: www.davidmead.com
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Beginning in Nashville
and ending at New York’s Queensboro Bridge, Indiana roughly
mirrors David Mead’s life. Born in New York and raised in
Tennessee, Mead has since returned to the Big Apple — opening
the way for all of the Simon and Garfunkel comparisons that his
voice and style invite. Both of Mead’s earlier efforts received
critical acclaim for their lyrical brilliance, catchy melodies
and vocals, and this disc similarly showcases his talents. The
singer/songwriter easily slips through simple and sometimes-haunting
songs characterized by gentle acoustic guitars and his celebrated
falsetto. There are no edges here, and Mead only ups the tempo
and plugs in on one track (Beauty). Instead, this is a patient,
whimsical disc that is kept lively when a less-talented singer
might fall flat. Not for Friday night listening but rather for
winding down after a Monday.
Mike Warkentin |
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Ill
Ease
The Exorcist
(Too Pure/Beggars Group)
D
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Elizabeth Sharp from Ill
Ease deserves massive kudos for writing and recording all of the
music for her latest album, The Exorcist — but that doesn’t
guarantee the music will be any good. Sharp, best-known as the
former drummer of Massachusetts band New Radiant Storm King, suffers
greatly from a case of recycled rhythms found in the opening song,
Jersey O-Matic and Junkie-Go-Home. That’s not to take any
of the blame away from Sharp’s vocals, which are made blatantly
obvious by her dog-whistle-pitch squeal on Winter in Hell, and
her unpleasantly feeble off-pitch warblings on The Skank. If there’s
anything positive to be said about Ill Ease, it’s that Sharp
is a very capable songwriter. Her writing is an even mix of social
comment, discontent, and a sense of deviant sexuality that would
be quite alluring if it didn’t sound like it was thrown
together over the weekend in a broken-down motel on the side of
the road.
Joseph Morton |
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Deniz Tek and Scott Morgan
Three Assassins
(Career Records)
B+
Website: www.CareerRecords.com
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As the grains of sand
fall endlessly in the rock ’n’ roll hourglass, there
are fewer and fewer first-generation rockers left to carry the
torch for their fine past work. These two nearly ageless Ann Arbor
veterans have labored their entire careers in countless bands
all over the planet, representing boss music from A2. This 14-track
live album finds Deniz (Radio Birdman) Tek and Scott (Rationals/Sonic’s
Rendezvous Band) Morgan in full flow with an able-bodied Italian
rhythm section and extra guitarist. The album starts with the
MC5 classic Future Now, followed by the rare SRB burner Electrophonic
Tonic. From there it’s a personal hits-fest, with Morgan
bringing a number of great tracks from his various collaborations
with Swedish hardrockers of every stripe, and Tek contributing
solo career highlights. The live sound could be a touch brighter,
but overall this a great document from a tough-as-nails gang of
rawk journeymen.
Jeff Monk |
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Grey DeLisle
The Graceful Ghost
(Sugar Hill Records)
B
Website: www.sugarhillrecords.com
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American songstress Grey
DeLisle has become something of a critic’s darling, not
least for her enigmatic vocal abilities. It hasn’t hurt
that she pushes up the babe-o-meter, but in the end she only offers
obscured views of herself on the sleeve of her latest release.
What is abundantly clear is her lovely, heart-wrenching trill
— something akin to a darker Dolly Parton — and her
spooky choice of songs. The Graceful Ghost is a most-apt title
for this collection of somber tales; the tracks are full of dusty,
past-century sentiments. Love as an emotional upheaval, lifelong
commitment no matter what the consequences, soldiers back from
war and family members dying are all fodder for her rich and evocative
purr. With it’s lightly strummed guitars and De Lisle’s
autoharp accompaniment, this disc plays like a soundtrack to a
simpler time. Fancifully forlorn.
Jeff Monk |
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Nellie McKay
Get Away From Me
(Columbia Records)
C
Website: www.nelliemckay.com
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Precocious, 19-year-old,
New York-based singer/songwriter Nellie McKay is widely hailed
by critics as The Next Big Thing. On this two-disc, 18-track debut
produced by Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, McKay bashes away
at the piano and sings her theatrical heart out while paying homage
to loads of musical genres along the way (hip-hop, rap, jazz,
pop, reggae and more). But something just isn’t right. Despite
all the good stuff going for McKay, she raps like Madonna and
smacks of theatre school. Obviously an appealing live performer,
McKay would be more at home on a Broadway stage with her dramatic
style. Get Away From Me is just hard to listen to. Suitcase Song
isn’t bad, and Respectable is fun, but the rapping on Work
Song is awkward. The disco-dramatic Baby Watch Your Back is the
album’s best track. Sure, McKay has a great voice and is
obviously a performing live wire — but that doesn’t
stop her debut from being largely unlistenable.
Liz Hover |
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