ADDPOOL 2/20
DATE: 2.20.06ARTIST: Bob Cheevers
TITLE: Texas to Tennessee (Back Nine)
GENRE: COUNTRY
GRADE: A-
REVIEW: Bob Cheevers is a late-bloomer in terms of releasing his
own music but has been on the roots music underground for years, including spending some time in Brown County here in Indiana. He still comes through for a gig or two every year or so. His new album is s story-telling affair with many geographical references. Some songs don't click, but those that do are engaging with lyrics that draw you into the story and great production that kicks the songs in gear. Bob's voice is somewhat similar to Willie Nelson's. Recommended for daytime mixes and Saturday roots usic specialty shows.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,5,6,8,10,12
REVIEWER: JIM MANION/WFHB
DATE: 2.20.06
ARTIST: Norman and Nancy Blake
TITLE: Back Home in Sulpher Springs (Dualtone)
GENRE: FOLK
GRADE: A+
REVIEW: After decades of collaborating on finely presented folk music, this release could be their finest. An album of mostly traditionals, although those who are critical of the Bush administration may want to check out the hidden track (15) “Don't Be Afraid of the Neo-cons”.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,2,4,7,8,11,12,13,15
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB
DATE: 2.20.06
ARTIST: The Mammals
TITLE: Departure (Humble Abode)
GENRE: FOLK
GRADE: A
REVIEW: In an odd nod both to and against convention, the group foregoes trad. arr. village tunes in favor of some relatively recent songs to cover. The Morphine track, "Do Not Go Quietly unto Your Grave," comes as a natural fit, opening with a relatively dark drone before Michael Merenda takes up a bluesy vocal. "Solo le Pido a Dios" comes from the pen of Leon Gieco and has been performed by Arlo Guthrie. The Mammals keep the Spanish lyrics, but include the translation in their liner notes. The song works as a prayer and as an antidote to self-righteous political assertion. The final cover is from a Nirvana song, which comes as it never was, country slinky, with Ungar's soft field voice adding a new tone to Cobain's plea. While the group performs its covers well, it succeeds more on the album's nine originals. The album opener, "Follow Me to Carthage" shows the band at its compositional peak. Merenda's song carries a firm political stance concerning the New York Times, but it’s buried by poesy and '60s harmonies.The group never backs away from its politics (as on "Silk Song," which is the rural answer to Kanye's "Diamonds," with an added touch of anti-materialism). Fortunately, the Mammals avoid heavy-handedness, largely due to Merenda's deft subtlety and the group's light execution of the music. "Alone on the Homestead" provides the album's other most blunt political moment. A baited-Reds past informs the Mammals' work, but they don't create music for the work-camp or the railroad. The instruments—primarily acoustic guitar, banjo, and fiddle—develop simple lines that lock tightly as they explore their arrangements. The resulting effect is more pristine than old protest songs, which is maybe as it should be for a contemporary folk act in the studio. The songs on Departure are folk as it's always been, but sounding like it's now.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,2,3,4,5,8,9
REVIEWER: www.stylusmagazine.com
DATE: 2.20.06
ARTIST: Charlie Hunter Trio
TITLE: Copperopolis (Ropeadope)
GENRE: JAZZ/FUNK
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Everything the group’s doing now can be heard in the album opener, “Cueball Bobbin’.” Copperopolis is being heralded as Hunter’s “rock” album, and the intro, with Hunter's electric wail, Ellis' Wurli skronk and almost-violent Phillips drumrolls could vibrate a sport arena pretty effectively—but here and everywhere else on the CD, the bombast is strained through Hunter’s playful bong-hit affability and his total lack of pomposity. There's not too much sax on that one, but barnburners like “Swamba Redux” and ”Blue Sock” feature Ellis' snaky, almost alto-ish tenor to stunning effect. “The Pursuit Package” is a two-minute John-Bonham-Meets-Link-Wray teaser that crashes into the goofily lilting “A Street Fight Could Break Out,” with near-perfect Wurlitzer comping that slots between the spaces in Hunter’s lines, all over a groove made somehow more menacing by its sheer slowness. Ellis’ melodica solo steals the show , though. The trio’s interplay and chemistry here seem worlds beyond the same band recorded on Friends Seen and Unseen two years ago.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS:1,3,5,7,9
REVIEWER: wxcerpts from www.allaboutjazz.com
DATE: 2.20.06
ARTIST: Sternberg & Bartlett
TITLE: Belting You With Reels (Stuntology)
GENRE: FOLK/LOCAL
GRADE: A+
REVIEW: Local whiz-kid Sam Bartlett teams up with fiddler Sue Sternberg for a lively set of reels. Reel after reel after reel...all are played with fun and great verve. Track 16
features Airtime Studio's Dave Webber doing some wicked Tuvan throat singing.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: all of 'em!
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB
DATE: 2.20.06
ARTIST:Sam Baker
TITLE: Mercy (Reckless)
GENRE: COUNTRY/SS
GRADE: A+
REVIEW: Austin singer-songwriter, Sam Baker, got his body blown apart in Peru when a bomb went off on a train. Senseless violence, but Baker chose to make blessings of his wounds. Eighteen surgeries later, Sam had to switch to playing guitar left-handed because of damages. His singing is about as honest as it gets. Mercy works as a suite, simple and complex, offering rich details which activate the imagination. This is a folk album, but don't be fooled by category; there's a genius at work here. Townes Van Zandt would've loved these songs, might've tried to win them in a card game. But Baker's no gambler. These songs are his art. It's been a while since a record sent such a short right hand to my heart, and that was before I read Baker's bio.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,4,6,7,11,12
REVIEWER: www.freighttrainboogie.com
DATE: 2.20.06
ARTIST: Willie Nile
TITLE: Streets of New York (00:02:59)
GENRE: ROCK/MAINSTREAM
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Willie Nile
**** (four stars) UNCUT Magazine
An explosive performer and perceptive songwriter, Nile burst
onto the late 70s NY scene, carrying a poet's flare for the
romantic and dramatic. A near-perfect eponymous debut and tour
with The Who confirmed his considerable talents. But a poorly
produced follow-up (Golden Down) and legal wranglings derailed
a promising career. Streets of New York, against all odds, returns
Nile to his strengths: dazzling Dylan-meets-Patti Smith anthemics
infused with breathless, beatific lyrics and crisp Buddy Holly rhythms.
"Cell Phones Ringing (In the Pockets of the Dead)" is a chilling riposte
to these times, and the title song is the most beautiful elegy
imaginable for his hometown.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,4,5,7,10,11,13
REVIEWER: Luke Torn/Uncut Magazine
DATE: 2.20.06
ARTIST:Goldfrapp
TITLE: Supernature (Mute)
GENRE: ELECTRONIC/POP
GRADE: A-
REVIEW: The highly creative duo of Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ingeniously sidestep simple categorization. While there are hooks aplenty and loads of contagious dance beats, the enigmatic quality that made fans fall in love with the music four years ago is still present, albeit in a more accessible package. Goldfrapp have always displayed a fascination with vintage pop sounds, from '80s synth pop to classic European disco, but it was glam that dominated their last release Black Cherry. On the new album, Goldfrapp are clearly in if-it-ain't broke mode, as the opening track (and lead single) "Ooh La La" closely follows "Strict Machine"'s lead, with its bouncing synth line, the shuffling 2/4 beat, and cascading synths near the end. While Black Cherry seemed to serve up ace after ace, Supernature is less direct, eschewing big choruses in favor of much more subtle hooks. An obvious nod to T. Rex's "Ride a White Swan", "Ride a White Horse" sounds destined for club hit status; a blend of insistent dance beats and an ethereal chorus, Goldfrapp shifts from a cold, husky croon to more euphoric tones, to the kind of vocal acrobatics that will elicit comparisons to Kate Bush. The electro-tinged "Fly Me Away" audaciously veers into Ladytron territory, but suddenly bursts into a gently lilting chorus, as Goldfrapp displays the kind of vocal skill that sets her apart from her peers. The buoyant "Satin Chic" is carried by fun little piano fills, reminiscent of early Elton John, while the Numanesque "Number 1" proves to be the real charmer on the disc, Goldfrapp sounding absolutely beguiling, while Gregory provides a gorgeous, Human League style backdrop. Goldfrapp and Gregory are smart enough not to let their poppier moments overshadow the rest of the record, balancing the upbeat tracks on Supernature with plenty of more laid-back compositions. The sultry "You Never Know" and the tender "Let it Take You" both achieve an impressive balance.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,4,5,6,9,11
REVIEWER: excerpts from www.popmatters.com
posted by WFHB Music @ 3:58:00 PM
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