Circus Maximus
The 1st Chapter
(Sensory Records)

B

Website: www.circusmaximussite.com

Korn
See You on the Other Side
(Virgin/EMI)

B



Website: www.korn.com

See You on the Other Side is a mixture of what you’ve come to expect and a bit of experimentation from this nü-metal outfit. On this outing, Jonathan Davis and co. stray closer to Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails than they do to Limp Bizkit or Rage Against the Machine, toning down the rap metal while adding some goth and industrial touches. But don’t get your sweatsuit all in a bunch — Korn hasn’t completely altered its sound. Nevertheless, a real difference is evident between tracks such as the rocking opener, Twisted Transistor, and a brooding, melodic cut such as Throw Me Away. Similarly, Love Song sounds almost like electronica. In fact, Korn’s eclectic approach recalls last year’s Mezmerize/Hypnotize set from System of a Down. It’s a strange mix, but it works pretty well.
Mike Warkentin

Mark Farina
Mushroom Jazz Five
(Om Records)

B

The Mushroom Jazz compilations have been blamed for warming up dance floors, inciting bedroom eyes and providing the backdrop to many cocktail hours. Compiled and mixed by house-music master Mark Farina, the discs are a favourite for chillout lovers. Disc 5 isn’t so intense that you can’t hold a conversation in a crowded room, but it’s interesting enough that you won’t fall asleep. Sound Providers combine a catchy rap and a twinkling piano hook on Autumn Evening Breeze. The beats flow seamlessly into Chali 2NA Comin’ Thru, a funky track from DJ Numark and your favorite rapping fish, Chali 2NA. Mark Farina keeps the vibe going with his own Nostalgia, with thoughts of California threaded throughout the song. If you have some holiday gift certificates left, skip the trashy chillout discs out there and invest in these quality tunes.
Shannon Ander

It’s like they knew they were on their way to heaven. Both June Carter and Johnny Cash, arguably the world’s best-known country music husband-and-wife team, seemed a little prescient as they neared the end of their lives. The Man in Black recorded some of his spookiest, knockin’-on-heaven’s-door-styled tunes pretty much up until the day he slipped into the darkness, and his steadfast wife June recorded a sweet and sanctified gospel set that is now ready to be cherished by all who hear it. The John Carter Cash-produced Church in the Wildwood has the creaky goodness of a country church on a hot day in June, and Ms. Cash’s somewhat rusty warble does great justice to the dog-eared setlist that includes Carter family classics Keep on the Sunnyside and Will the Circle Be Unbroken. Her voice may have sounded better a decade earlier, but nowhere else is it as poignant and real as on these 10 heaven-hewn jewels. A wonderful album.
The JCC best-of completes the circle with tracks culled from her later career (1999’s Press On and 2003’s Wildwood Flower), a couple of ringers sung with Johnny and three unreleased, quiet winners. If you don’t already own the original, hard-to-find albums then slip this 12-track gem into your classics collection.
In early 2006, Johnny has nearly been tributed out, but this reissue of a 2002 release is absolutely one of the better multi-artist compilations dedicated to Cash’s brilliant body of work. For those who grow weak hearing names such as James Intveld, Rosie Flores, Dale Watson, Robbie Fulks, the Reverend Horton Heat and Kelly Willis, this is the album to grab. These artists seem less concerned with interpreting the songs their way than recreating — in a cool, alternative-to-Nashville fashion — the songs as they were originally intended. High marks for this set. It’s as humble, unassuming and powerful as the music and the man it honours. No doubt these sorts of albums will continue to hit the shelves with some regularity for years to come, but it’s doubtful they could get any better than this.

Jeff Monk

Spookie Daly Pride is the unique voice (think Tom Waits/Tom Wilson) of leader Spookie Daly and a clatter-phonic blast from his band the Pride. Waxing poetic about his favourite fancy pants, his girl’s tie-dyed tan and Little Red Riding Hood, Daly bangs out his tunes on an upright piano backed by jumping guitar, bass and drums. This is fun music that falls somewhere along the winding continuum of rock ’n’ roll, children’s music, blues and cabaret. At times sounding like The Killer on uppers, Spookie writes politically incorrect but funny lyrics such as “Someone somewhere is bumpin’ uglies right now.” Oddly, it all seems to fit and makes for a rambunctious and infectious stew. Grab a spoon and dig in.
Chris Brown

Sometimes a certain song or disc can restore your faith in today’s bubble-gum world. Sandollars, the EP from Oakland-area weirdos Why? is this week’s saviour. As members of the Anticon collective that features DJs and producers, Why? mixes organic instruments and textures with beat-driven rhythms. Every track has it’s own vibe, yet the album flows together like a classic 12-inch vinyl LP. Songs range from weird pop to ’80s synth, from rock to trip hop and break beats. Innovative, freaky sound effects make it a definite trip with the phones on. This will leave you wanting more than the eight songs here, so track down the full-length follow-up that’s out now.

Ashley McCurdy