Alison Krauss and Union Station - Lonely Runs Both Ways Rounder
Reviewed by Russell Bartholomee
Alison Krauss has had a very good year. First she performed both of her Oscar-nominated songs from Cold Mountain at the 2004 Academy Awards. Even though the song from Lord of the Rings won, her performances were so strong that many Academy members must have second-guessed their votes. In the past month, she’s been nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “You Will Be My Ain True Love,” from Cold Mountain. Win or lose, she has already won more Grammy awards than any other female artist in the award’s history. And for good measure she and her band Union Station just released a brilliant bluegrass record, Lonely Runs Both Ways. It isn’t up for any Grammies, but only because it won’t be eligible until next year. Otherwise, it would have been a shoo-in for a nomination. Not bad for an artist who just turned 32.
None of this is terribly surprising. Alison Krauss & Union Station have been one of the foremost bluegrass acts for well over a decade (Krauss has been recording with Union Station since she was 15). Even if the name is unfamiliar to you, the voice is probably not. Krauss’ singing was prominently featured on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack (“Down to the River to Pray,” among others). More recently, she’s released two critically acclaimed, commercially successful records with Union Station, New Favorite and Live. Fans of those or any of Union Station’s earlier records will almost certainly flip for Lonely. It very well might be the best thing they’ve done.
On every one of the album’s 15 tracks, Krauss and Union Station sound completely confident in their artistry. Much of the credit for that is due to Alison’s peerless voice. It’s a terrible cliché, but I can only describe it as breathtaking. There are moments in some of these songs where I find that I’m literally afraid to breathe; I don’t want to disturb the pure loveliness of her singing. This is true throughout, but especially on Lonely’s opening and closing tracks. “Gravity” is a stunning number, with a heartbreaking lyric about running away from a troubled past. When people ask the song’s narrator when she plans to come home, she replies, “…quite frankly / When they stop building roads / And all God needs is gravity to hold me down.” In the chorus for “A Living Prayer,” Krauss hits and sustains an achingly beautiful note that dares my neck hairs to be still. They lose. When Krauss isn’t singing and making me check my thesaurus for more synonyms for “lovely,” she’s nimbly contributing violin and viola to most of the album’s songs. The viola gives several of the songs a resonant elegance that lifts the sound to a level of sophistication that defies categorization as “mere” bluegrass or country music.
But lest you misunderstand and think that this is just the Alison Krauss show, it should be pointed out that every member of Union Station is essential to the group’s sound. Krauss only sings lead on 10 of the album’s 15 cuts. Her bandmate Dan Tyminski (who sang lead on O Brother’s centerpiece song, “Man of Constant Sorrow”) handles the vocals for three tracks. He is outstanding on all of them, but really shines on Del McCoury’s “Rain Please Go Away.” (He could easily front his own band with that voice and the skillful way he plays guitar and mandolin). His harmonies with Krauss are heavenly. Banjo player Roy Block sings lead on his own composition, “I Don’t Have to Live This Way.” Barry Bales’ bass and Jerry Douglas’ Dobro are the other key ingredients in Union Station’s celebrated sound. Every player delivers one astounding performance after another. All are allowed to shine whenever it suits the song best. This collaborative approach—letting the material take precedence over ego—is perhaps what appeals to me most about Lonely Run Both Ways. In a genre full of divas and showboats, it’s nice to see artists so mature and confident in the talents of their fellow musicians.
As the title suggests, the record is fairly bittersweet. The songs deal with dissatisfying relationships, lost love, and…well…loneliness. If you’re feeling especially upbeat, you might not want to put this on. But the intimate, somber songs of Lonely Runs Both Ways are richly rewarding, expertly performed, and blissfully free of the slick overproduction that makes most modern country music unlistenable.
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Handsome Boy Modeling School - White People Elektra
Reviewed by Adam M. Anklewicz
Handsome Boy Modeling School are Prince Paul and Dan the Automator. Prince Paul has been producing since the 80s and is most famous for his work with De La Soul. Dan the Automator you may know from Gorillaz, and a lot of the creativity and originality of their self-titled album shows through in White People.
Rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop seem to merge into one genre well. With enough talent and fun, a great record can be made. This one benefits from guests like Cat Power, The Mars Volta, Qbert, De La Soul and many more, including John Oates… yes John Oates.
When I first put this album on, I had some expectations. Their debut album was incredible, everyone said to me “that Cat Power track is the best part of the album” and the other thing everyone told me was “it’s not as good as their first album”. I hate to disagree with so many people I like, but I think the Cat Power track “I’ve Been Thinking” is actually quite boring and one of the worst tracks on the album. It drags the album in a place that could have actually ruined the entire album. If it hadn’t been followed with the best track on the album “Rock and Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2” it probably would have ruined the album.
“Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2” is one of the most interesting songs I’ve heard in a long time. The introduction introduces the listener to early days of hip hop, while mixing rock and roll, classical music and rap. With Qbert scratching Vivaldi’s Four Seasons blending rather perfectly with moments of hip hop and rock and roll.
“First… And Then”, “If It Wasn’t For You” and “Breakdown” are some other highlights. What makes these stand out from the others is that they are all original in their approach and create an interesting sound not found anywhere else. At other times, White People can be too derivative. “The World’s Gone Bad” sounds too much like a bad Bob Marley song and gets very annoying very quickly.
Filler tracks are throughout the album with “testimonials’ about the wonders of The Handsome Boy Modeling School. These comedic tracks might make you look funny on the subway laughing at the outright stupidity of it, but it’s all good fun.
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Jon B. - Stronger Everyday Sanctuary
Reviewed by Quawana Charlton
In 1993, Jon B appeared on the scene with support from his mentor Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. The video for his first single, “Pretty Girl,” had mild success on Black Entertainment Television, but many never considered him more than just a white boy with black producers. Now Jon is back with his fourth disc and the music is indicative of its title, “Stronger Everyday.” Rest assured he is not just white boy sitting on the back of a black producer. For ten years, Jon has remained faithful to the R&B sound and from day one has written and produced all of his music. Jon has come a long way from being a protégé; he has developed his own vision for the direction his music would fly.
“Everytime” is the album’s opener, and features the rap and signature tone-deaf crooning from the late Dirt McGirt. It’s an upbeat track that reminds us of how much fun we had when Hip Hop and R&B were newlyweds. “One More Dance” and “Hands On You” both have smooth grooves that are thick with bass. Despite the tempo, they’re the songs you wish would be the jams at the club, but that you’re more than happy to jam to in the car on the way home.
The title track, “Stronger Everyday,” is one of the album’s most lyrically noteworthy songs. Jon B collaborates on this sweet and reminiscent duet about first love turned forever love with R&B singer and producer Tank. “What In The World” is another smooth, bass driven groove that speaks of the lack of trust and the effects of loving too hard for too long. After you’re done dancing and contemplating your emotions, Jon brings the lights down low and moves you into a sensual space. The sexy sequence of “Multiple,” “Lay It Down,” and “Before It’s Gone” each take their time getting you in the mood but not one will leave you hanging.
The album’s least attractive features are its lyrical content, though almost every song has its moment. There’s a lack of radio friendly tracks, which, depending on how you look at it, is the reason Jon B has not enjoyed more than mediocre success or is the reason why loyal fans will always buy his CDs. “Part 2,” featuring Tupac, is one of the best songs on this effort, mainly because of the production and Tupac’s verse, but it just comes off as old hat. On Job B’s second album “Cool Relax,” he collaborated with Tupac on “Are You Still Down,” and lastly, Jon’s vocal ability, unfortunately is just not up to par.
However, Jon B scores points for not producing oversexed nonsense or conforming to the very popular “I’m a pimp with a dime on each arm” stance. His music is respectable if you will; a collage of love, pain, good times and reflections. He hasn’t half-stepped on R&B, or compromised his sound for recognition. Jon B has been consistent and has provided a good R&B package for any one willing to really listen.
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The Minus 5 – At The Organ EP Yep Roc
Reviewed by Russell Bartholomee
Last year, The Minus 5 released what turned out to be the pop gem of 2003, Down With Wilco. With great songwriting from Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey and the help of a who’s who of indie rock credibility (from the likes of Wilco, Peter Buck, Ken Stringfellow, and Rebecca Gates), the brilliant album was the more accessible companion to Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
If you’ve recently been pining for another great Minus 5 album, well…you’ll have to keep pining for a while. Still, the new EP, At the Organ, is a killer collection of tunes and ought to make the wait for the next LP a little easier to bear. It’s a glorious collection of songs, all seven of which are extraordinary examples of the best that modern rock has to offer. In fact, it’s so good that the brevity of it all is my only complaint; it takes less than twenty minutes to tear through every tune. It leaves you desperately wanting more.
Each song has a distinctly different sound, but all are grounded in solid pop sensibility. The EP kicks off with the boisterous “Lyrical Stance,” a scathingly funny rocker that’s all rock & roll swagger and punk power chords. “Hotel Senator” brims with British invasion influences, as does the incredibly catchy “Formerly Hail Centurion.” The former has a distinct Ray Davies quality, and the latter could be used to argue that George Harrison is still alive. “Film of the Movie” is a toe-tapping, old-school country track, with perfect pedal steel, that underscores what an asset Wilco is to this project.
There are two tunes that offer previously unreleased versions of songs from Down With Wilco, “The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply” and “Days of Wine and Booze.” At first, I thought these would just be filler, but I am happy to have been wrong. The versions included here are significantly different arrangements, and actually improve on already great recordings. “Days of Wine and Booze” is done here as a raucous, bass-driven throw-down, full of cool B-3 organ hits and psychedelic guitar riffs.
It’s the last track that best demonstrates McCaughey’s enormous talent, though. On “One More Bottle to Go,” marimba, toms, and what could be big hunks of metal are combined to give the tune a swinging, staggering, hypnotic groove. The distorted vocals and droning guitar add a thrilling tension to the song. It could have come across as a cacophonous mess; but McCaughey never lets the listener lose the catchy melody or foot-stomping beat under all the noise. It’s a song worthy of Tom Waits, and that’s high praise from me.
If you liked Down With Wilco, you will want to pick up At The Organ as soon as you can. It may be short, but it’s richly rewarding. And it only gets better with each listen. With any luck, Scott McCaughey and his cohorts are in the studio right now working on a full-length follow-up. Hint, Hint.
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NOFX - The Greatest Songs Ever Written (By Us) Epitaph
Reviewed by John Harris
NOFX has spent the last twenty-plus years beating the shit out of a dead one trick gift pony and really not caring what you think about it.
Twenty years and enough juvenile, rebellious snottyness to fill a kiddie pool (see album cover) and what do they have to show for it? A punk rock best-of record that could not reflect the band's drunken, apathetic, self-deprecating nature better. The Greatest Songs Ever Written (By Us) is a bratty 27 track tour-de-slouch that is so dedicated to its half-assery that it feels (and is) incomplete (the band's first recordings are not represented). NOFX has a brand of punk anarchy that can best be described as general sloth.
Possibly the best part of the record is the liner notes which include a collection of hilarious, brutal reviews for almost all of NOFX's recordings (ex.: "One word comes to mind: Crap. If you didn't get it the first time, I'll say it again: CRAP") and extremely glib historical excerpts (ex:"Our first Mexican joins the band") written by Fat Mike.
The shocker of the album is the new song included at the end of the record that displays a startling level of maturity. "Wore Out the Soles of My Party Boots" is Fat Mike's biographical tale of a punk rock lifer showing his age. The kicker of the tune is that after
getting shit his whole life for being an irresponsible waster, he catches even more poo-poo for being a sellout when he tries to clean up. Suddenly, NOFX's cardinal goal (and singular ability) to alienate just about everyone becomes much easier to understand. The
motto being, if you can't do anything right, you might as well piss off as many people as you can on your way to oblivion. Godspeed, gentlemen.
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Phyllis Dillon - Love is All I Had: A Tribute to the Queen of Jamaican Soul Trojan Records
Reviewed by John Harris
Somewhat commonplace in New York City is the cab driver who is a brilliant physician in his country of origin. Or the bodega clerk who is a civil engineer. Or sometimes, probably a little less often, you'll run across a bank teller who is the reigning Queen of
Rocksteady reggae and Jamaican soul.
At least, up until April 15th of this year, running across one person who had filled that role was still a possibility. At 59, Phyllis Dillon, the definitive voice of an entire genre of Jamaican music, succumbed to cancer. Included in her legacy is a catalog of reggae music standards and one hard-knock life.
Discovered in rural Jamaica by Lynn Taitt, a session guitarist for producer Duke Reid, she began recording for Reid in 1966 and stayed with his Treasure Isle label throughout her initial recording career. She moved to New York in 1967 and was employed by a bank. Using her vacation time, she would periodically fly back to Jamaica and record for Reid.
Duke Reid consistently lied to Dillon, tightly controlled the material she recorded and withheld from her untold amounts of money in record sales and royalties. Disillusioned by the music industry that had treated her so poorly, she left Jamaica and music in general (presumably) forever in 1974.
It seemed that Phyllis Dillon was destined to be relegated to the annals of Jamaican music as a bygone, albeit brilliant, footnote as she settled down to the task of raising two children. Luckily, in 1991, a hotel entertainment director in Kingston, Jamaica, coaxed her out of her self-imposed exile and rekindled her performance career, resulting in tours all over the world. In 1998 she returned to the studio after a twenty five year hiatus.
The 29 tracks on this compilation represent the cream of Dillon's Treasure Isle years. Beginning with her first recording of her own composition from 1966, "Don't Stay Away" (possibly the best track on the collection), the album traverses different styles, though Rocksteady is the main vehicle for Dillon's distinctive vocals. Whether singing stylized covers of b-sides on popular American R&B singles or the few songs of her own composition, her voice comes through on the low-fi recordings strong, honest, and as smooth as a buttered dolphin.
Phyllis Dillon spent most of her musical career slipping through the cracks. Towards the end of her life, she finally began to gain the respect she deserved for her talent, though it is unfortunate that at her strongest she was embittered by a corrupt industry. Thanks to this new collection, the highlights of her career can be appreciated by those new to Phyllis Dillon and if you are familiar with her, you probably already own it. In any case, if you have any interest in Jamaican music, this is an essential recording. Put down the Capleton and pick up The Queen.
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The Rolling Stones – Live Licks Virgin
Reviewed by Steven Marra
Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!, Love You Live, Flashpoint, and No Security are some of the best live Rolling Stones recordings I’ve listened to. Their most recent release is a two-disc set titled Live Licks, which chronicles the recent 40 Licks tour. My title for it would be: Gimme Disc Two. Disc One just does not seem to have the care and quality of many past live Stones recordings. Mick’s vocals seem to be too high in the mix or conversely the instruments too low. But in either case, the results are that the album does not sound live. Even the opening sequence, which is typically a get-the-blood-pumping intro to the band is pretty unremarkable.
The opening to Live Licks doesn’t make one feel like a live concert is about to begin, at least it didn’t for me, sitting in traffic and thinking about the multiple 40 Licks concerts I was fortunate enough to attend, mainly sitting in the first few rows, center stage. I saw all of the San Francisco shows as well as in Las Vegas, so I was pretty familiar with what a live Stones performance could sound like. Releasing something like Disc One made me wonder about an artist’s obligation to entertain, but I came to my senses soon enough when I realized, “come on, this is about rock ‘n’ roll”!
Disc One is yet another rendition of the War Horse Suite of Stones classics: “Brown Sugar”, “Street Fighting Man”, “Paint It Black”, “Honky Tonk Women”, etc. I was disappointed in Disc One and have removed it from my CD player. But Disc Two is another story all together. Disc Two (although unspecified in the liner notes) sounds like it was mostly from the Stones performance at the Olympia Theater in Paris. The Olympia show is also part of the 4-disc DVD set that chronicles the same tour. Listening to the Stones in a smaller venue, be it Oakland or Paris, is a very different experience than their large stadium show. Small venues are up close with less emphasis on the War Horse Suite. Disc Two has a great version of “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” that highlights the Stones instrumental ability. Listen to it real loud. “Beast of Burden” opens with a few new licks of its own, slightly different than the version typically heard. “That’s How Strong My Love Is” features Mick singing in a falsetto that is just plain funky…. interspersed with Mick’s little verbal tosses of “little sister.” Keith has two solos…the reggae based “You Don’t Have to Mean It” and Hoagy Carmichael’s “The Nearness of You.” The first few times I listened to “The Nearness of You,” I wasn’t crazy about it but the more I hear it the more I like it. Keith does a great ballad and listening to him makes me wish he would do a reading of some children’s book in his gravely, Bohemian voice.
Unless you’re a Stones aficionado (as I am), you’re probably better of passing on Live Licks and instead investing in the 4-disc DVD that chronicles their 40 Licks tour. If you do so, go directly to the Olympia DVD and witness the Stones at their live best.
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Rufus Wainwright - Want Two Geffen Records
Reviewed by Brighid Mooney
The newest from gay cult-idol crooner Rufus Wainwright, Want Two, is a continuation of his last album, appropriately titled Want One, and carries that album's themes onward, exploring, as the title suggests, unrequited desire and a longing for something unattainable. What that something is exactly is open to interpretation as Want Two covers everything from relationships to drug abuse to Wainwright's own mysterious and carefully crafted image. Using a lush orchestra in parts of the album, and at times having a grandiose and baroque sense of style, Wainwright betrays his classical training, even in the guise of what could largely be considered pop music. But it's pop with a twist, and that elaborate, embellished sound, along with Wainwright's sensitive vocals, creates an album that is miles apart from most contemporary popular music.
Want Two is often quite dark, moody and filled with metaphorical romanticism. Several of the songs are defiantly narrative, with a classical, even medieval feel. There is that feeling of damsels in distress and gallant knights and even the album's cover shows Wainwright himself looking more than a little dramatic and archaic. The opening song, called "Agnus Dei," is a Latin opus and, longing for redemption and salvation, effectively sets the tone for the rest of the album. And the opening track is not even the only place in Want Two where there is more than a touch of religious reference. One of the album's centerpieces is "Gay Messiah," in which Wainwright refers to himself as "Rufus the Baptist" and sings with a wry smirk, "He will be reborn/From 1970s porn/Wearing tube socks with style/And such an innocent smile." Another standout track is "The Art Teacher," heartbreaking and spilling with candor. This one is certain to strike a chord with anyone who has experienced similar feelings of love and loneliness, and therefore, with pretty much everyone. The album's most accessible track is probably the up-tempo "The One You Love," in which Wainwright despairingly notes that "nothing could sell you/sell you on me after all that I have done/I'm only the one you love."
Along with the album proper, Want Two is accompanied by a live DVD, featuring Wainwright performing many of the songs from both albums, Want One and Want Two. Together they are something extraordinary, something nearly wholly lacking from contemporary pop music. With sin and sacrifice, love and loneliness, and longing and despair, Want Two is an emotional exploration of both all that it is to be human and all that it is to be Rufus Wainwright. It may not be what is needed to bring him bursting out into the mainstream, but even if it isn't, that album can't be very far off. So enjoy Want Two now, because there is still so much to look forward to.
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Sigur Ros - Von One Little Indian
Reviewed by Brighid Mooney
2004 marks the first North American release of Von, the debut album from Icelandic post-rock group Sigur Ros, a full seven years after it was made. Given the success of later albums like 1999's Ágætis Byrjun and 2002's ( ), it's strange that Von wasn't released on this side of the Atlantic before now. Their debut album reflects the uncertainty and experimentation in their birth, as Sigur Ros begins to explore a sound that would soon take them to previously unseen heights in ambient music. More sprawling and less focused than most of their subsequent releases, Von is filled with vast spaces of near silence, and a moody almost-nothingness that doesn't contribute much to the final effect of the album, which is subtle, atmospheric and at times, quite dark. Though it's when the album picks up speed and volume, creating a lush, moving soundscape that it's at its best.
Von often hints at something greater than it actually is, and has the potential to pack quite a punch if only Sigur Ros had shaved off some of the more recumbent and minimalist songs. Instead, the back and forth between rich, textured walls of sound and mostly empty space leaves the album with an inconsistent feel. Occasionally a track will go on for several minutes without doing much of anything before bursting out into something mesmerizing and magnificent, but the best songs on the album are the ones that venture into more focused, and more musical territory.
Several minutes of mostly unnoteworthy studio tinkering over the course of the first couple of tracks finally give way to "Hun Joro," the first song on the album to project any real substance. Starting off slow, calm and dark, the song quickly gains intensity, filling the void with electronic firing, a soprano choir, and eventually, frantic laughter and faraway screams, ending in a digital frenzy of emotion. As always, the vocals are unintelligible and remote, something you feel rather than hear, more like another instrument than a human voice. "Myrkur," is more prescient of what was to come later from Sigur Ros, and features drumming scarce on much of the rest of Von, along with airy, high-pitched vocals, and a rare upbeat tempo. "Myrkur" is the exciting climactic point of Von, after which the album resumes a breezier, meandering feel. "Hafsol," an atmospheric opus, takes you away into an open, airy world, like Iceland itself, and crisply brings to mind snowy, mountainous landscapes with the sounds of soft, subtle choir music. Von becomes agonizingly quiet in the second half, not truly resurrecting itself until halfway through the final track, a textured weave of spacey, breathless vocals whose words softly blend together, creating a musical sigh with a smooth, undulating melody, closing the album on a satisfying high.
As a whole, Von is fairly hit and miss, alternating between songs of such moving intensity that they permeate the very core of your being and songs that are almost not there at all, ambient sounds that barely trip the musical radar. If the entire album were more like tracks three, five and seven, Von would be more consistently moving, more reminiscent of what made ( ) such an excellent album, and would be altogether more effective. Despite its faults, there is still much to enjoy on Von, and great glimpses of promise for what was soon to come.
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Simon & Garfunkel - Old Friends: Live on Stage Warner
Reviewed by Adam D. Miller
Simon & Garfunkel are probably the most successful musical duo there ever was. From their soundtrack to The Graduate to countless other songs that combined a folk sensibility with marketable pop appeal. Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel were two young men armed with strong songwriting (thanks to Paul Simon) and angelic harmony (courtesy of Art Garfunkel). Although they only released studio albums as Simon & Garfunkel for seven years, the pair were childhood friends and began recording together as early as 1957. It’s no wonder that there voices blended so effectively. Since their split after 1970’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, Paul Simon has gone onto a successful solo career, and Art Garfunkel, well, he’s still got that hair of his. The same cannot be said of Paul Simon.
Old Friends: Live on Stage commemorates Simon & Garfunkel’s 2003 reunion trek, which was their first extensive tour in over twenty years. Compiled from five separate performances at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Continental Airlines Arena and New York City’s Madison Square Garden last December, the two-disc set consists of pretty much exactly what you’d want to hear in a Simon & Garfunkel reunion show. All of the old fan favourites are here, from “I Am A Rock”, “America”, and “Homeward Bound” to “Mrs. Robinson,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, and “The Boxer.” The more interesting moments come with Simon & Garfunkelized versions of a few solo Paul Simon classics, like “Slip Slidin’ Away” and “American Tune.”
Although the Simon & Garfunkel tour had no opening act, The Everly Brothers made a special appearance in each show, performing a few songs solo, before joining Simon & Garfunkel for a rendition of “Bye Bye Love.” Unfortunately “Wake Up Little Susie” and “All I Have To Do Is Dream” are absent from the CD release (though they are on the DVD), but “Bye Bye Love” is definitely a highlight.
The main problem with this set is that the youthfulness conveyed by Simon & Garfunkel in the 1960s has faded as Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel have aged. Their voices, once full of energy and passion, are now worn and lack the enthusiasm they once had. Simply put: they sound old. The songs are still timeless and amazing, but casual fans and enthusiasts alike are more likely to go back to the original studio albums. For that reason, the true highlight of the album is a new Simon & Garfunkel studio recording. “Citizen Of The Planet” was written by Paul Simon specifically for Simon & Garfunkel’s live repertoire in the early 1980s, and as a bonus track here we are presented with it. It’s by no means a brilliant song, but it’s a nice coda to a body of work that could very well have ended over thirty years ago.
Simon & Garfunkel completists will probably want to grab this one for “Citizen Of The Planet,” but for the rest of us, the classic 1960s Simon & Garfunkel albums will be what remain essential. Still, those in the audience seemed thrilled to attend a tour by a group they thought they’d never see again, and for them, this release serves as a lovely souvenir.
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SpongeBob Squarepants The Movie: Music from The Movie and More Warner
Reviewed by Adam M. Anklewicz
If you’re a fan of SpongeBob Squarepants, you’ll probably like this album. If you aren’t, you’ll probably think it’s really dumb.
The biggest set back to this album is Avril Lavigne’s version of the television show’s theme song. Fortunately she “punks” the track up, making it shorter than a minute of torture. If you ignore this first track you will be pretty happy with the album. The Flaming Lips follow up Lavigne’s terrible track with “SpongeBob & Patrick Confront The Psychic Wall Of Energy” which is not one of their better songs. “Psychic Wall of Energy” is a fun pop song with silly lyrics that give a summary of the movie pretty quickly. The song follows the same pattern that most of The Flaming Lips’ songs do: poppy with a fun story. Unfortunately it’s not up to their usual standards of songs like “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots”.
“The Goofy Goober Song”, “Prince Paul’s Bubble Party” and “Goofy Goober Rock” are all songs that feature samples from the movie. On the first, Mike Simpson provides an interesting soundscape around the theme song for SpongeBob and Patrick’s latest hangout, Goofy Goober’s. Fun and playful but like the rest of these songs, does not offer much interesting.
“Bikini Bottom” is a song directly out of an Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon film with a bit more electronica. It’s a fast fun pop song that fits perfectly into the soundtrack and is followed by “The Best Day Ever” performed by SpongeBob himself. The song was written by Tom Kenny and Andy Paley. Kenny provides the voice of SpongeBob and creates a song that is exactly what the viewer would expect SpongeBob to listen to, extremely happy and upbeat, as manic as SpongeBob is. “Under My Rock” is written by the same duo, but this time sung by Patrick Star, SpongeBob’s starfish sidekick. “Under My Rock” is a pretty bad song that gets annoying halfway through the song, which is disappointing because Patrick is the best part of the show and movie.
Many songs on the album are instantly forgettable, however the best song off the album is what makes it worthwhile. “Just A Kid” is a great rock song by Wilco. If you’re a fan of A Ghost Is Born, you will probably love this song. Even if you aren’t a fan of SpongeBob Squarepants you will love this song, even if you miss a lot of the SpongeBob references.
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Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Shake The Sheets Lookout Records
Reviewed by Brighid Mooney
Ted Leo and his band the Pharmacists have been flying under the musical radar for several years now, turning out solid albums full of catchy, hook-laden pop punk that always seems to win over the critics while still eluding the mainstream. Last year's Hearts of Oak topped critics’ year-end lists and since then, relentless touring along with a catalog of excellent songs, has gained Leo a growing legion of fans around the country. His third album for the predominately hardcore punk label Lookout Records, Shake the Sheets, finds Leo safe within the bounds of his usual sound, where punk meets politics with soul, armed with hope. But even though the sound may not have changed much since Hearts of Oak or The Tyranny of Distance, it continues to build on the platform those albums created, melding inescapable hooks with intelligent lyrics and Leo's charmingly dexterous falsettos. Nowhere in the rules of rock and roll does it say that music has to break new ground to be good, and Shake the Sheets is a perfect example of this, reminiscent of all the things you loved most about Hearts of Oak, all the things you've come to expect from Ted Leo, and all of the things that you would never want changed anyway.
One thing that has changed since that last album is Leo's way with words. Though no less thoughtful or intelligent, in previous albums Leo had a knack for knocking out lyrics that were sometimes a mouthful to speak, much less sing. Often convoluted and grandiloquent, they seemed to create a sort of distance, his albums coming off less interpersonal, less relatable. On Shake the Sheets, Leo has pared down his natural verbosity to create songs that are able to say more with fewer words. With a release date felicitously close to Election Day, the lyrics seem even more prescient, with a laserbeam focus on the current political climate. The title song itself is a call to arms, urging listeners to go out and make their voices heard, as Leo sings to "go out and make your mark, put on your boots and march." Elsewhere on the album, Leo's politics are no less overt, but manage to never seem heavy-handed as he sings lines like "So, so long to you ‘Moderates,’/Its time to get down/Your peace and quiet is criminal/While there's injustice in the town."
The rest of the album is equally as poignant and articulate, with the kind of hooks that will frequently have you reaching for repeat. Songs like "Me and Mia," "Counting Down the Hours," "Little Dawn," and "Walking To Do" stand out as among the best Leo has ever written. At certain times his fascination with repetition can get tiresome and a few songs would do better if they were cut a bit shorter, but Shake the Sheets is a wonderfully enjoyable album without a bad song in the bunch. With production by Chris Shaw, who has worked with both Bob Dylan and Public Enemy, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists have created the perfect album for our troubled times. Filled with anger and indignation, but also most importantly, with hope and unity, Shake the Sheets is boisterous, eloquent and absolutely unstoppable.
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U2 – How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb Interscope
Reviewed by Russell Bartholomee
Full disclosure: I never really liked U2 back when you were supposed to. Apart from a few singles, their early albums did nothing for me (still don’t really). And when The Joshua Tree was the biggest rock album in the world and you couldn’t watch MTV for 2 minutes without seeing the ripping-off-the-Beatles-on-the-roof video for “Where the Streets Have No Name,” I thought they were the most overrated band on Earth. Their songs were OK, but the musicianship seemed merely proficient, and they just struck me as pretentious. And I just didn’t like them, okay? I actually started liking U2 when I first heard Achtung Baby, which I still consider to be their masterpiece. And I think Zooropa was genius. I know a lot of U2 purists will consider this to be sacrilege, but that’s just how it is. I have learned to appreciate some of their classic material, but I genuinely prefer the ironic, self-deprecating U2 of the 90s to the “put El Salvador through your amplifier” U2 of the 80s.
So what about U2 now? Their latest effort, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, finds them in the same sonic territory as All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Which is to say it’s a really good rock record that’s neither as adventurous as Achtung Baby, nor as preachy as October. People wishing for a return to the old days of waving white flags on stage will still be disappointed. So will people hoping for “Discotheque 2.” But for all the fans that love it when U2 makes a great big rock record, this disc ought to be very satisfying.
In many ways, this album, like the last, has found the common ground between Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree. It’s less whimsical than the former and less self-important than the latter. The resulting sound ought to be a comfortable fit for fans of both. All the musical trademarks are there: Bono wails emotionally to great effect (though his voice is a bit thin at times), Larry Mullen pounds a steady beat, Adam Clayton thumps away at the root note of every chord, and the Edge’s guitar soars over strings like a thousand echoing pinpricks. It’s nice to know that after 25 years, the band can still write songs so instantly recognizable.
The opening track, the ubiquitous “Vertigo,” is adrenaline-fueled rock with a guitar riff so classic that it’s hard to believe someone hasn’t thought of it already. But as catchy as the song is, the album’s strength lies mainly in its quieter tracks. “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” is a great song, maybe the best U2 has recorded since “One.” Bono wrote the song for his father as he was dying, and the music perfectly compliments the honest, almost confessional lyrics. Almost as good are “Original of the Species” and “Miracle Drug,” neither of which would have seemed out of place on The Joshua Tree (especially the latter, with a bassline straight from “With or Without You”). Other highlights include “Crumbs from Your Table” and “Yahweh,” which ought to be the band’s new set-closer in live shows.
In spite of the album’s title, the songs are not overtly political. “Love and Peace or Else,” which sounds like T. Rex singing “Personal Jesus,” is the only song that actually touches directly on current events, and even that is only for a verse. The song seems to be mainly about fixing broken relationships, a common theme throughout the album. That doesn’t bother me in the least; I like it better when U2’s calls to join Greenpeace are in the credits section of the liner notes and not the lyric sheet.
If I have a complaint, it’s that a few of the songs towards the end of the record sound a little too comfortable. None of the tracks are bad, but several are unremarkable. Even purists who hated Zooropa have to admit that it was never boring. That’s the problem with stepping out on a limb; once you go back to safer footing, some of the thrill is gone. Still, U2 fans are going to like this record a lot, especially if they liked the last one. I like it better when they swing for the fences, but this is still a fine collection of songs. And if it’s a “return to form,” as many critics seem to think, I for one am glad it’s only a slight return.
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Reviewed by Ted Spas
Vordul Mega is the quiet half of Cannibal Ox, never quite grabbing the spotlight like his comrade Vast Aire. Vast drops all the punchlines, Vast moves the crowd, Vast gets an article in XXL and guest spots on every indie hip-hop release for the last three years. Vordul? He stands nicely to the back of the stage dropping immaculate rhymes and doesn’t seem to care whether or not anyone notices how unbelievably talented he is.
Vast Aire’s solo album was an uneven affair, packed with energy but lacking cohesion. Revolution of Yung Havoks, on the other hand, burns with a quiet, inspired intensity and remains almost obsessively on focus. Vordul is fixated on the stress and pressure of ghetto life, and the power of hip-hop to transcend the strain of constant struggle.
In keeping with its theme of quiet triumph over adversity, Havoks is a warm, hypnotic album. The glacial futurism of Cannibal Ox’s Cold Vein has been retooled, augmented by choirs of strings, chimes, and organs. The stunning “In The Hood” is based around what sounds like a sampled soul vocal, looped and modulated until it only barely resembles a human voice. The effect is wonderfully strange. If Cold Vein was hip-hop’s ice age, Revolution of Yung Havoks is a campfire on the tundra, a desperate beacon of hope.
Vordul Mega’s lyrics are peerless throughout. Few MCs could pull of a line like “The Earth spins through the stress of negative whirlwinds that cloud the head, so much left in the air, it’s crazy” without sounding forced and pretentious, but Vordul makes it seem totally effortless. Mega’s flow rolls gracefully over the beats, tense and compelling. Hell, Vordul even gets one up on Vast Aire on the Cannibal Ox reunion track, “Handle That.” While Vast rails somewhat predictably against sucka MCs, Vordul drops gems like, “When hearts is dark, we spark with shadows in parks, on cold days, elevate.”
By turns grim and optimistic, Revolution is a gorgeous album, deftly walking the tightrope between street realism and cerebral abstraction. Vordul Mega’s solo debut is really, really good.
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