Early Man
Closing In
(Matador Records)

A+

Website: www.earlymanarmy.com

George Jones
Hits I Missed... and One I Didn’t
(Bandit Records)

B



Website: www.georgejones.com

At points in his career, country music legend George Jones was offered these songs, refused them for various reasons and saw them bring success to the artists that eventually added them to their own repertoires. Now he’s finally performing the tunes. Hearing Jones wrap his still-velvety pipes around solid nuggets such as Detroit City, On the Other Hand and Skip a Rope prove that the snow on his roof hasn’t lowered the temperature on his trademark warm warble. With a crack posse of session professionals working their magic on every track, Jones has no problem getting these songs across as emotionally as on even his most classic recordings. Dolly Parton guests on The Blues Man, but otherwise it’s just the Possum hitting a solo, late-in-the-game home run.
Jeff Monk

Jesse Colin Young
The Very Best of Jesse Colin Young
(Artemis Records)

C-

Jesse Colin Young has always flown a bit under the radar ever since his days with The Youngbloods. His contemporaries include David Crosby, Graham Nash and Jackson Browne, but Young’s star never burned quite as brightly. This best-of package includes three Youngbloods tunes, Hey Babe, Sunlight and the ’70s anti-war anthem Get Together. Jesse has a sweet-sounding voice and a California hippy vibe that both propelled his early career and held back his later work. This collection rambles loosely through Young’s entire career, and unfortunately the cuts feel dated. There are five previously unreleased songs included on the two-disc, 34-track set, but I don’t think there is enough meat here to convince anyone other than loyal fans to buy.

Chris Brown

Hold on to your toques, folks, it’s double-live-album time! The reunion of Peter (Ginger) Baker, Jack Bruce and guitar ‘legend’ Eric Clapton sent shivers of electric expectation through fans around the globe when it was announced shortly before their multi-night stand at the venerable Royal Albert Hall. The aural document (there is a DVD set as well) proves fairly conclusively that it was altogether a bad idea. Granted, these now-withering dudes long ago reached the highest heights of classic rock stardom, and it’s doubtful that you would have to spin any radio dial more than a few turns before you hear White Room or Crossroads blasting out of the tin speaker. That doesn’t mean we need to hear the tracks again, especially played as lethargically as they are here. Clapton’s unwillingness to use any effects pedals for his trusty signature Stratocaster only means that songs created in the 1960s — and were psychedelic blues gems in their original form — are now delivered anemically. Perfect examples of what two albums worth of ‘pass’ sound like. And they don’t even play Swalbr.

Why does my CD player smell like brimstone? Oh yeah, this Finnish quintet is really evil. But that’s OK, because Children of Bodom have created a great metal beast to follow-up 2003’s Hate Crew Deathroll. This newest abomination finds the group continuing to blend genres as it throws thrash metal in with death, black and gothic metal. What you get is nine thunderous tracks of sacrilegious fury. Dual guitars gallop as creepy keyboards scream, and the atmosphere is that of darkness and grim anger. Keyboard and guitar solos provide intricate moments, and the vocals are shrieked by Alexi (Wildchild) Laiho, who keeps things aggressive without getting stupid about it. It all works, but be warned that your CD player will burst into flames.
Mike Warkentin

With the death of his father, sportswriter and novelist Scott Young, looming as large as his own recognition of mortality, Neil casts his own long shadow back over his past on this wistful recording. Harvest and Harvest Moon are invoked by the easygoing, country-folk vibe of the album’s top-notch players (see the included making-of DVD), while Young’s Canadian childhood and teen years weigh heavily in his lyrics. Among the touchstones for his shaky falsetto, which at times sounds even more fragile, are the Maryland Street bridge and Cypress River, Ont. (a childhood home). Best tunes of the lot are the last two — Elvis tribute He Was the King is a raise of the glass to Young’s first musical inspiration, while the bittersweet When God Made Me is the closest Niel may come to writing an anthem at this stage of his career.
John Kendle

Restaurants, coffee chains and hotels have lately taken their marketing campaigns to higher levels by releasing compilations encouraging customers to eat, drink and sleep in their establishments. Try doing a search for Oliver Peoples online and you’ll find an endless list of eyewear websites. Yes, this chill-out release invites hipsters who listen to the likes of Ian Pooley, Tosca and Thievery Corporation into the world of designer eyewear. Hird’s Keep you Kimi starts your heart racing as you look at the chunky frames in a multitude of colours, and the wind instruments on the funky Shamma Lamma Ding Dong, by Mocean Worker, will help you dodge the useless sales assistant Bond style. On Soulfood Martina, Topley Bird’s soothing voice lowers your blood pressure as you check the price tag of the eyewear you’ve fallen in love with. Hopefully they’ll throw this disc in for free to ease the pain.
Shannon Ander

Recloose has come out of hiding. After visiting New Zealand as a performer in that country’s jazz festival in 2000, Matthew Chicoine decided to leave Detroit behind. In 2004 he set up a studio on the coast to produce this album. On Hiatus on the Horizon you’ll hear a bit of freestyle jazz, a bit of electronic and a lot of soul. Dust features the slick vocals of Joe Dukie with catchy guitar riffs and horns. You’ll be under his spell as he sings “I wanna be forever on your mind.” Hollie Smith adds her sultry voice to Still Beyond Me and The Game Goes On. She’s what Demi Moore would sound like if she could sing. Riki Gooch shows off his drumming skills on the Latin-infused track Why I Otta. It’s a swirling competition of drums, horns and percussion brought together by the playful sounds of the melodica.
Shannon Ander