WFHB ADDPOOL CDS 11/15
DATE: 11/15/05ARTIST: Dr John
TITLE: Sippiana Hericane (Blue Note)
GENRE: Louisiana
GRADE: A+
REVIEW: An EP from the good doctor, reflecting on the tragedy of Katrina on his darlin New Orleans. Only 3 songs really, but all good. #1 is a Bobby Charles song, lyrically longing for all the world's waters to be clean. 2 through 5 are instrumental variations on the old gospel song “Wade In The Water”. #6 cuts to the chase concerning Katrina.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: all except 7
(which is a very short reprise of 1)
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB
DATE: 11/15/05
ARTIST:Paul Kelly
TITLE: Foggy Highway (Cooking Vinyl)
GENRE: Bluegrass
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Kind of a holding pattern, but a fun one, for Aussie singer/songwriter Paul Kelly. He takes his best songs and redoes them in a bluegrass mode. Great picking throughout and his Aussie accent puts a cool twist on the bluegrass breakdowns.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: cd1:2,5,7,8,9,12 FCC #1 CD2: 2,3,4 FCC:#1
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB
DATE: 11/15/05
ARTIST:Mark Gardener
TITLE: These Beautiful Ghosts (UFO)
GENRE: ROCK/ALT
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Mark used to be in a shoegazer UK band called Ride. This is very different, more in mellowly rocked-out singer/songwriter mode, but minimal trancey elements of Ride are still floating around the edges, making for a distinctive sound.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,4,6,7,10,12
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB
DATE: 11/15/05
ARTIST:Various Artists
TITLE: For A Decade of Sin (Bloodshot Records)
GENRE: COUNTRY/ALT
GRADE: A
REVIEW: A broad compenium of rangy sounds from this great free-range label that helped define “alt-country” whatever that is. Artists/tracks tend to be either full on high-energy, or moody atmospheres. You probably have a few favorite artists in the 42 represented, so go with them for a start.
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB
DATE: 11/15/05
ARTIST:Jamie Cullum
TITLE: Catching Tales (Verve Forecast)
GENRE: JAZZ/sorta
GRADE: A
REVIEW: UK piano/vocal whiz kid Jamie Cullum is back with another groovy platter. The jazz trio thing still cooks, but he also breaks out with some guitar-based tunes. Great production, great tunes.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,2,4,6,8,12,13
REVIEWER:
DATE: 11/15/05
ARTIST:Kevin Gordon
TITLE: O Come Look at the Burning (Crowville Collective)
GENRE: country/alt
GRADE: A
REVIEW: A moody crossroads of country and blues and a little ambient rock and a guy with a gruff voice. The elements seem to roll out of the speaker. Highly exceptional.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS:
REVIEWER: 1,2,4,7,8,11
DATE: 11/15/05
ARTIST:Cindy Bullens
TITLE: Dream #29 (Blue Lobster)
GENRE: rock/mainstream
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Dream #29 is her sixth solo effort, and it's a very tasteful and mature work. I suppose it could be called rock for grown-ups. The music has all the energy of rock's halcyon days, with thoughtful, literate lyrics, which are mainly about relationships that did not always turn out as expected. She is joined by a first-rate band, which includes guitarist George Marinelli, who has been a part of Bonnie Raitt's group, Garry W. Tallent, of the E-Street Band on bass, plus Dennis Burnside on keyboards, and Ginger Cote on drums. She is also joined by some notable guests, including her old employer Elton John on piano on one track, Delbert McClinton on vocals on another, and Tim Wakefield, the Red Sox pitcher who has also launched a musical career. Her band is a straight-ahead rock group with strong electric guitars, vintage Hammond organ and Wurlitzer piano, and an air-tight rhythm section. Ms. Bullens, never a screamer, locks right into the band with her guitar and vocals, rocking, but also often imparting a slightly melancholy texture, with several songs about loves torn asunder.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 2,5,6,7,8,11
REVIEWER: georgegraham.com
DATE: 11/15/05
ARTIST:John Dehner
TITLE: Childhood Music (John Dehner)
GENRE: LOCAL/SS
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Finally! A CD from John Dehner, modest but talented Monroe County singer-songwriter. Somewhat influenced by the likes of Neil Young and Vic Chesnutt, Dehner stands out as his own voice, singing songs of childhood experiences and life on earth since. Joined by Dan Deckard, Merrie Sloan, Sohia Travis and more great locals. Recorded at Farm Fresh.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,4,6,8,10
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB
Artist: Kate Bush
Title: Aerial
Label: Columbia
Genre: Mainstream Rock
Date: 11/15/05
Grade: A-
After a 12-year absence, Kate Bush's double-CD release is mixture of
uptempo and quiet ballads in styles she's perfected over the years. If
you're looking for some of the wild and wacky vocal gymnastics that mark
Bush's previous albums, you won't find too many of them on this release.
Her overall vocals are strong, but have a more down-to-Earth sound with
lyrics that reflect her rather contented observations of life.
Disc 1 - A Sea of Honey - is the more accessible for daytime play with a
wide range of musical styles, some upbeat, others soft and a couple that
are a bit too sweet. Of these, Bush's tribute to Elvis, "King of the
Mountain" (#1) is the most upbeat and popular of the tracks (released as
a single in the U.S.). "Mrs. Bartolozzi" (#4) is an interesting ballad
about the daydream of washing clothes while "How to be Invisible" (#5)
is another standout on the subject of privacy.
Disc 2 - A Sky of Honey - reminds one of the B side of "Hounds of Love,"
laying-out a dream theme that observes painters, birds, sunrises and
sunsets - most of it is quiet and lovely, but tends to work best as one
piece. Even so, "Prologue" (#2) is a beautiful song ideal for morning
mix programming, while "Somewhere in Between" (#7) has a strong, dreamy
component that might work for late night programming. One of my personal
favorites on Disc 2 is "Nocturn" (#8) with soft, beautiful vocals over a
smooth rhythm track.
Recommended Tracks: Disc One: 1, 5, 4, 2, 7 Disc Two: 8, 7, 2, 9
Reviewer: Gary Glynn/WFHB
Also added this week:
Great Lake Swimmers Bodies and Minds Misra
From the first reverb-drenched notes of "Song for the Angels" I was hooked. I can't help it. I'm a sucker for stripped-to-nothing acoustic guitar. Blame Neil Young. Then, enter Tony Dekker's voice, as soft and understated as Sam Beam's and laced with the same wounded tone as Mark Kozelak's. I'm sold; completely surrendered to the album. If the 42 minutes that followed this aching ballad were a disaster I still could have listened to Bodies and Minds three or four times before putting it down. Fortunately, for everyone this album isn't a disaster at all. In fact, it may be one of this fall's best. So good is this album that when I first sat down to write the review I was at a complete loss as to what I should write. These 11 songs from Great Lake Swimmers architect Tony Dekker are so compelling and magnificent that I had a difficult time grounding myself long enough to begin the review. I was completely in its grasp.
Bodies and Minds is the second full-length album from Toronto native Tony Dekker. While the first album, Great Lake Swimmers, was met with critical acclaim and laid the groundwork for what was to come, it is this sophomore effort that should demand the absolute attention of the music community. It isn't that the Great Lake Swimmers are doing anything earth-shattering on this album. To be sure, they are working entirely within the framework established by generations of North American singer-songwriters. What makes this album so special is the near-perfect execution. Bodies and Minds breathes with the emotion of Dekker's voice and pulses with the subtle beauty of his sparse acoustic arrangements.
In the spirit of his debut, Dekker again selected a desolate atmosphere to record. The debut was recorded entirely in a silo; Bodies and Minds was recorded entirely in a rural lakeside church in Ontario. This is less a side-note than you may initially think. The effect this atmosphere has lent to the music provides much of the character in these songs. The music sounds at once ethereal and intimate, like a specter wafting through open windows. On "Let's Trade Skins" the drums sound as though they were recorded from a block away, while Dekker's understated voice resonates like that specter of the past is hovering just over your shoulder. The effect is arresting.
It isn't the only time that Dekker manages to create such a poignant moment. "Various Stages" is as sublime a folk song as you are likely to hear this year. The mid-tempo riff and harmonica sound as though they could have been plucked right from Harvest. In less capable hands, this could be an irreconcilable misstep. However, once Dekker enters with the lyrics, "I have seen you in various stages of undress / I have seen you through various states of madness", his broken-hearted timbre completely inhabits the song, transcending any such thought. By the time he fully apologizes, "I am sorry I have nothing left for you", I was so wrapped up in the song, I had dismissed my fleeting comparisons to Neil Young.
The added instrumentation on Bodies and Minds (spare as it may be) adds another depth to this album that was somewhat lacking on the Great Lake Swimmers' debut. The players on Bodies and Minds lend a subtle craftsmanship to this album that shouldn't be ignored. The title track actually borders on becoming a full-blown rock song, while "Falling into the Sky" benefits greatly from the voices of the London Community Singers. It isn't just these two tracks that benefit. Nearly every time the subtle slide guitar and (highly underused) Wurlitzer surface on the album, the effect is spellbinding.
Bodies and Minds is a terrific album, one that will stay in heavy rotation throughout the winter months for sure. A more cynical reviewer (certainly I have been that at times) may dismiss this album on the grounds of being derivative. To that person, I would only argue that they have no soul. What is borrowed from the past is made new by the subtle grace of Dekker's songwriting and the Great Lake Swimmers' careful musicianship.Bodies and Minds deserves a broad audience and Dekker's name deserves mention alongside Sam Beam's as one of today's most lauded singer-songwriters.
by Dave Brecheisen
PopMatters.com
posted by WFHB Music @ 11:07:00 AM
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