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Check out
what’s going on
around Winnipeg tonight! |
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Check out
this week’s
online CD reviews by our
music staff |
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Basement Jaxx
The Singles Special Edition
(XL)
B+
Website: www.xlrecordings.com
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After meeting in South
London a decade ago, Felix Bruxton and Simon Ratcliffe changed
the public perception of house music. Released in 1997, their
first full-length compilation combined pounding house beats with
Latin grooves. Two favourites from that early release, Flylife
and Samba Magic, appear on the Jaxx’ best-of collection.
You’ll also find booty-shakin’ tunes Red Alert and
Romeo, as well as the most recent single Oh My Gosh, a quirky,
disco-fied winner. The bonus disc features the bootlegged Clash
mash-up Magnificent Romeo by 2 Many DJs, and vocal powerhouse
Lisa Kekaula performs on Good Luck. Nevertheless, some of the
bonus material is laughable — specifically the Latin version
of Rendez-vous, which sounds like a performance by a Caribbean
resort house band. Despite this, good luck finding a better disc
for your summer shenanigans.
Shannon Ander
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Beck
Guero
(Interscope)
A
Website: www.beck.com
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The problem with Beck
is that it can be easy to get lost in his weird mix of rock,
blues, rap, electronica and... well, everything really. For
those confused by Beck’s previous ventures, Guero might
be the album that stops the bewilderment. The disc still has
that mix of multiple genres but it’s just a more straightforward
release, cutting out the attempts at being bizarre for the sake
of being bizarre. It’s obvious why leadoff track E-Pro
was picked to be the first single. The beat is provided by a
sample of the Beastie Boys’ So What’cha Want, and
with Beck’s lazy but irresistible vocals overtop of the
heady rhythm you can’t help but try to sing along to his
quirky lyrics. Other songs that rock include Que Onda Guero,
Girl, Hell Yes, as well as Black Tambourine. Pick this up —
you’ll love it.
Jared Story |
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Samina
How I Feel
(Orange Music)
C+
Website: www.saminajazz.com
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Singers such as Norah
Jones and Diana Krall have moved a variety of female vocalists
to attempt to make a breakthrough in the pop jazz realm. Samina
is no exception, and her most recent release follows much the
same formula as that of the aforementioned vocalists. The emphasis
is largely on songs about love, and the overriding sensuality
in Samina’s vocals pervades most songs. There is little
improvisation on the disc, and the album suffers from a lack of
variety — most tunes are done at slower tempos with the
singing covering a limited emotional range. When covering standards
such as Embraceable You and Dream of You, Samina fares better
with the more sophisticated material. The highlight of the disc
is a blues tune, Do I Do, where Samina’s smoky voice is
set against a spare setting of Louis Côté’s
overdubbed guitars.
Paul Ryan |
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Ian Tyson
Songs From The Gravel Road
(Stony Plain)
B
Website: www.iantyson.com
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Call him the über
Albertan. With his glowing white Stetson perched atop his towering
cowboy frame, Ian Tyson represents a proud, Western Canadian archetype.
His latest Stony Plain release finds him in fine voice, armed
with a slew of very good songs played by a sturdy band of like-minded
folk/country rockers. Opening track This is My Sky sets the table
with an amiable roll, and Tyson’s easygoing warble proclaims
him the proverbial master of all he sees. There’s some historical
value to Tyson’s work as well. Like compadre Stompin’
Tom Connors, the former Great Speckled Bird frontman delves into
the lives of some of the undervalued characters who built this
country literally from the ground up. Guest vocalist Cindy Church
adds a sweet edge to Range Delivery, and the cute bonus track
Moisture is destined to become a CanCon classic.
Jeff Monk |
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Brazilian Girls
Brazilian Girls
(The Verve Music Group)
A+
Website: www.verveforecast.com
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Sorry boys, there are
no actual Brazilian women in the group and no photos of chicks
in bikinis in the disc insert. The Girls are actually three men
(Didi Gutman, Jesse Murphy and Aaron Johnston) and one woman (Sabina
Sciubba, the sexy vocalist who can speak the language of love
in five tongues — all of which you’ll hear on this
disc). With patio season quickly approaching, Brazilian Girls
is the disc to have. Its smooth tunes will make you wish that
every day is an Italian holiday with sunshine, expensive wines
and freshly pedicured feet. The dreamy whisperings on Lazy Lover
are for romantic Sunday mornings; make sure you check out this
Herbert remix. The slow and mysterious Long is the best chillout
track I’ve heard in a while. Don’t miss this disc!
Shannon Ander |
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Corrosion of Conformity
In the Arms of God
(Sanctuary)
A
Website: www.coc.com
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If Sabbath were formed
in the American South it would have sounded exactly like COC.
That’s not to say COC doesn’t have its own style —
the band’s fusion of punk and metal certainly stands on
its own — but only to point out that the thick, deliberate
and distorted riffs owe a lot to Iommi and co. Dave Mustaine once
said that he regretted wasting so many riffs early in his career,
but it looks like the veterans in COC are clearing the closets
on their eighth studio outing. These arrangements are complex
and imaginative, incorporating dynamic shifts, time changes and
a whole lot of gnarly riffing. Check out It is That Way for a
prime example of COC’s style. Beginning with a basic drum-and-bass
verse, the track builds to a snarling chorus that stomps one hell
of a Southern mudhole in your ass. Stomping mudholes rules.
Mike Warkentin |
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Louis XIV
The Best Little Secrets Are Kept
(Atlantic)
B
Website: www.louisxiv.net
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Sometime in the future
you may want to remember where you were when Louis XIV took over
the music world. Critics are generally falling over themselves
to praise the latest bright spots on the retro-rock horizon —
and for good reason. Like its similar-sounding hip rock mates,
the San Diego quartet mines the ’70s glam well for inspiration.
That’s a good thing, as there is a fine line between performing
double-entendre-laden riff rock and coming off like just another
bunch of sexist cock rockers. LXIV makes the grade by keeping
Secrets simple in its charming, low-rent seediness. The pre-eminent
Marc Bolan tribute has to be A Letter To Dominique with it’s
fuzzy riffs and twisted storyline. Hey Teacher plays out like
a lost Sweet track, and in the end the hype seems well directed.
Jeff Monk |
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Russ Freeman
Safe at Home
(Just A Memory Records)
B+
Website: www.justin-time.com
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Safe at Home is taken
from a concert recorded at Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre
in 1959, and all tracks are previously unreleased. The trio
setting allows Freeman ample space to stretch out, and he takes
full advantage, producing lengthy solos that display a remarkable
sense of inventiveness. On the mid- to uptempo selections he
combines the percussive, street feel of Horace Silver with the
soulfulness of Wynton Kelly. Freeman also reveals a delicate
touch on ballads such as Lush Life and the title track. The
unidentified bassist and drummer acquit themselves well if not
spectacularly — the lone bass solo is on a Charlie Parker
blues cut entitled Billie’s Bounce, on which Freeman also
trades fours with the drummer. While Freeman appeared frequently
as a sideman he did few albums as a leader, making this disc
a welcome addition to his svelte discography.
Paul Ryan |
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Jobriath
Lonely Planet Boy
(Attack)
C
Website: www.attackrecords.net
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If perchance you were
not buying records in 1973 or 1974 you may have missed the exaggerated
aural and visual experience that was Jobriath. Pennsylvanian Bruce
Wayne Campbell was arguably one of America’s most ‘out’
rockers but his overt homosexuality came at an inopportune time
for his fragile ego. Indeed, there would have been a home for
this frail fellow’s over-the-top Bowie-isms had he toned
down his antics for a U.S. market that much preferred its sexually
ambiguous artists be from another land. This album patches songs
from both Jobriath’s Elektra outings — ’73’s
Jobriath and ’74’s similar Creatures of the Night.
It’s good stuff in a campy and quasi-outrageous way. Jobriath
leads most of the songs with his Broadway-large piano stylings,
and the band delivers fine performances throughout. An odd and
somewhat compelling slice of music history.
Jeff Monk |
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