ADDPOOL 2/13
DATE: 2.13.06ARTIST:Sly & The Family Stone
TITLE: Different Strokes By Different Folks (Epic/Legacy)
GENRE: SOUL/FUNK
GRADE: B+
REVIEW: It was great to read about Sly getting big props at this year's Grammy's. This release was timed to capitalize on that. Produced by Sly himself, the quality control is pretty good, although like any tribute/remix-with-overdubs project there are a few “what were they thinking moments”. Mostly, though, it's a lot of fun with the best tracks really cooking. Ultimately it makes me want to put on the originals and crank them up (which may be Sly's strategy anyway...).
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,4,5,8,9,10,11,12
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB
DATE: 2.13.06
ARTIST: Amelia White
TITLE: Black Doves (Funzalo)
GENRE: COUNTRY/ALT
GRADE: A-
REVIEW: Sounding kin to Lucinda Williams, Amelia White brings forth an East Nashville alt-country sound that carries quite a bit of a rock as well. Lyrically, she is mostly down and out (with a little bit of hope) and goes political on “Black Doves” with her views on Iraq.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 2,4,5,7,9
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB
DATE: 2.13.06
ARTIST: Marley's Ghost
TITLE: Spooked (Sage Arts)
GENRE: FOLK
GRADE: A+
REVIEW: On Spooked, Marley’s Ghost creates a musically sophisticated, thematically rich piece of work that serves as a belated coming-out party for a band that deserves to be more widely heard. The album bears the stamp of two legendary figures whose idiosyncratic skills match up beautifully with the band’s own — composer/arranger/player Van Dyke Parks, who jumped at the chance to produce, and cartoonist R. Crumb, who illustrated the package. For the album, Parks brought in such renowned players as guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Buell Neidlinger, and drummer Don Heffington to complement the core band on select tracks. Parks became an auxiliary band-member himself, playing piano, Hammond B-3 organ, marimba and chimes. One of the reference points for Spooked was Ry Cooder’s self-titled 1970 debut, which Parks arranged and co-produced. Another was The Band’s 1968 landmark, Music From Big Pink. The album contains 12 originals that range from such deftly witty and satirical compositions as “Get Off the Track,” “Last Words,” “There’s Religion in Rhythm” and “The Ballad of Johnny Hallyday” to touches of stone country (“High Walls”), white gospel (“”Last Words,” “Old Time Religion”) and the Stephen Foster-steeped “Love, Not Reason.” The band also covers Bob Dylan’s “Wicked Messenger” and the Civil War-era “Sail Away, Ladies,” which salutes the album’s closing track, “Seaman’s Hymn.” Marley’s Ghost is comprised of Dan Wheetman (vocals, bass, rhythm guitar, fiddle, harmonica, banjo, Dobro and lap steel), Jon Wilcox (vocals, mandolin, rhythm guitar, guitar, bouzouki), Mike Phelan (vocals, lead guitar, fiddle, Dobro, bass and lap steel) and Ed Littlefield Jr. (vocals, pedal steel guitar, Highland bagpipes, keyboards, mandolin, Dobro and lead guitar).
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,2,3,4,5,7,10,12
REVIEWER: www.modernguitars.com
DATE: 2.13.06
ARTIST: Sarah Harmer
TITLE: I'm A Mountain (Zoe)
GENRE: FOLK/SS
GRADE: A
REVIEW: I’m a Mountain, is a feast of country and bluegrass that sounds more like Songs for Clem than any other Sarah Harmer record. Unlike All of Our Names' remote and lacklustre production, I’m a Mountain shines the whole way through. While many of the songs were inspired by old-timey country, the album’s freshness and vitality prove that it’s not only quaint to revisit this genre, but also worthwhile. For instance, Harmer is a brilliant interpreter of Parton’s “Will He Be Waiting For Me?” and improves on it on her own “I Am Aglow,” the record's first single.The warm, clean production of I’m a Mountain is a perfect match for these songs, whose dominant themes are reawakening and renewal. The album abounds with imagery about waiting out the winter in anticipation of something brighter. In “The Ring,” Harmer praises a friend’s ability to cope with her in a dark mood by comparing the mood to nature’s changeability: “We sat it out like some passing bad weather.” “I’m a Mountain,” in which Harmer discovers a personal strength in a surprising place --- the shopping mall --- spells it out a bit more clearly: “You have to choose if you will die or g-row.” Then there’s “The Phoenix”; yeah, it's about rising from the ash and all that, but Harmer makes it fun and convincing with her charming up-tempo meditation: “Who was that phoenix anyway / Just some bird who flew away / And flies still.” “Oleander” provides the most potent symbol of survival and reawakening: “Oleander, I think you’re better / I think you made it through another winter.” This song embodies the reward that is spring for those who can last the winter, and Harmer knows about this; you can hear the snow melting in her voice. Harmer says I’m a Mountain was “made for everyone, everywhere.” Its country influences lend it a sincerity and lack of cynicism that is rare and refreshing, and Harmer has a quirky sense of humour about it, too, including a french children's song about a "magical amphibian" that reaches out to a whole 'nother demographic. As versatile and accessible a musician as she is, however, it's her vocals that once again push Mountain over the top.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 2,3,4,7,9
REVIEWER: excerpts from www.cokemachineglow.com
DATE: 2.13.06
ARTIST: Mark Erelli
TITLE: Hope & Other Casualties (Signature Sounds)
GENRE: FOLK/SS
GRADE: A-
REVIEW: ‘Hope and Other Casualties’ is a substantial album in the ‘old-style’ troubadour singer/songwriter vein – there are protest songs, historical tracks, social commentary and love songs, but where the disc really delivers is at an emotional level, and almost every track will elicit a response from the listener.
As befits an album of this style, the instrumentation is fairly simple and traditional, Mark’s guitar and excellent harmonica work are prominent throughout, and there’s support over the course of the disc from mandolin, bass and some notable percussion work. The backing vocals are beautifully used and are provided by Lori McKenna, Kris Delmhorst, Peter Mulvey and Jeffrey Foucault. The real strength of this disc is it’s variety and consistency – the songs cover a range of styles and subjects and the quality never drops, highlights include ‘Hartfordtown 1944’ a stunning and aptly Dylan-like tale of a tragic circus fire.‘The Only Way’ may have been written by Mark a few years ago (and recorded by Ellis Paul & Vance Gilbert), but this studio version shows the song in its best form, it’s a powerful statement full of energy and wrapped in a great melody. The final two songs ‘Passing Through’ and Sexsmith’s ‘God Loves Everyone’ are the perfect end to the disc, ‘Passing Through’ is the best of the 11 songs here, a fairly simple acoustic track with a beautiful acoustic arrangement of guitar, accordion and mandolin with backing vocals provided by the Redbird trio, but the lyrics are a powerful and personal declaration that resonate on every listen.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 2,3,4,9,10,11
REVIEWER: www.fishrecords.co.uk
DATE: 2.13.06
ARTIST: Teddy Thompson
TITLE: Separate Ways (Verve Forecast)
GENRE: FOLK/SS
GRADE: B+
REVIEW:The music business is often a family affair. Kelly Osbourne duetted with "pops" on a risible remake of Black Sabbath's Changes a while back, while Rufus Wainright's mum backing-vocalled on the lad's superb Want Two last year. Here, Teddy's famous parents, UK folk rock luminaries Richard and Linda, appear on Separate Ways and their inclusion merely serves to cap what is a truly sublime record. Armed with a songwriting talent and a voice that many would die - or kill - for, Thompson's songs are thoughtful, heartfelt and delivered with the right balance of passion, pathos and grace. Ironic opener Shine So Bright is just such a tune, as is the bittersweet I Wish It Was Over and Sorry To See Me Go. He can open it up too, as on the boisterous That's Enough Of You, featuring the mean guitar picking that is his father's trademark. Occasionally folksy, bluesy, and even toying with classic Americana, Thompson has the balance spot on throughout the album. It's a measured though never plodding work, never running away with itself, yet neither does it stutter or stumble for want of a good tune. Few albums are issued today where every track is worthy of inclusion, but Separate Ways is decked out with such quality from beginning to end it deserves the plaudits it has already received elsewhere.
REVIEWER: www.virgin.net
also added at WFHB this week:
Destroyer Destroyer's Rubies (Merge)
Neko Case Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Anti)
BR549 Dog Days (Dualtone)
Watermelon Slim and the Workers (Northern Blues)
posted by WFHB Music @ 3:49:00 PM
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