WFHB Music - Bloomington Community Radio: March 2006

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Sunday, March 26

int'l (2) + reggae (1) = new tunes 4 u

COMRADES! Pledge drive week is on, and that means we need some new tunes....or at least some new versions of old ones! Eh?! Right! LUKA BLOOM delivers a solid set, BLACK 47 gets compiled, and RICO RODRIGUEZ continues the curious trend of old skasters making live recordings in Argentina....

Artist: Rico Rodriguez & Roots To The Bone Band
Title: Togetherness
Label: Delanunca
Genre: reggae / ska legend pays the bills
Grade: B / B-

Rodriguez is a famed session man from Jamaican proto-ska on through to his work with The Specials. Superb resume, less than stunning performance—still, there’s some nice, live ska tracks here, led by Rodriguez’s trombone. By the way, what’s up with the recent rash of live ska recorded in Argentina?!

Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad

Artist: Black ‘47
Title: Bittersweet Sixteen
Label: Gadfly
Genre: int’l / Celtic rock
Grade: A- / B+

Black ’47 were once tipped to be the next Pogues, and I think we all know how that one turned out. On Bittersweet Sixteen, the New York-based band gets the sort-of best-of treatment: their major label material is out of print and out of touch, so this compilation relies a lot on live tracks, early versions, and the like. There’s a surprising amount of drum machine on early demos like “Home of the Brave” (01) and “Funky Ceili” (02), but I think it’s to their advantage in retrospect. Interested parties might want to check out the David Johansen sit-in on “Staten Island Baby” (11), and some of the other live cuts. The band is still playing weekly in NYC—and someday they’re going to get their masters back.

Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad

Artist: Luka Bloom
Title: Innocence
Label: Cooking Vinyl
Genre: int’l / acoustic Celtic
Grade: A

On Innocence, Bloom goes deeper and wider than he has ever even attempted before. These songs are illustrated quietly, with his guitar, acoustic basses, reeds and woodwinds, a derbuka on a couple of cuts, a fiddle here and there, some percussion, a harmonica painting the back of a track, and a couple of backing vocalists when necessary. This is a spiritual record, full of love songs and paeans to the spirits of peace, tolerance, and letting the past go. ( 4 stars )

Reviewer: Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

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Wednesday, March 22

Latest Adds 3/21/06

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DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Bela Fleck
TITLE: The Hidden Land (Columbia)
GENRE: BLUEGRASS/PROGRESSIVE
GRADE: A-
REVIEW: They sound like nobody but themselves. Without attempting to update or make any adjustments to their sound (save mercifully trimming the vocals) they have made possibly the sharpest Flecktones record yet. It is virtuoso music, through and through. The tastefulness of the Flecktones' palette aside, The Hidden Land is the sound of four real musicians playing real music, and the pleasures are many. The album's beginning drops from the aforementioned Bach right into the fugue-like be-bop of "P'lod in the House," where Fleck, Wooten, and Coffin's unison lines fan out and shift cleverly into counterpoint (before Future Man drops the tempo to a mild swing). On "Weed Whacker," a subtly high-stepping Wooten groove sets up a torrential banjo flurry (laced, in turn, by Coffin) that feeds into a seven-and-a-half minute tour de force performance by the ensemble. Almost every minute of the album is characterized by the Flecktones' instinctual dialogue.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 2,5,7,10,12
REVIEWER: excerpt from www.jambands.com

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Tres Chicas
TITLE: Bloom, Red & the Ordinary Girl (Yep Roc)
GENRE: COUNTRY/ALT
GRADE: A-
REVIEW: All the Shade Trees in Bloom" is one of several songs on this second release from harmony-rock trio Tres Chicas that makes a strong case for centerpiece status. Among many other virtues, it has a chorus that pleads "I want something beautiful, I want something true." For that, look no further than the surrounding songs. There's the stunning "Drop Me Down," a cover from the catalog of Charlotte band Lou Ford. Equally attractive are Bloom's two other non-originals, "My Love" from gifted Yep Roc mate Geraint Watkins (solo artist, Balham Alligator, and keyboard man for the likes of Van Morrison and Nick Lowe) and a breezy, pedal steel-nudged version of country-popper Johnny Carver's 1971 near-hit "If You Think That It's All Right." A revisiting of "Slip So Easily," written by Chica Lynn Blakey and originally recorded by Glory Fountain, somehow finds new layers of loveliness in a song that was drop-dead gorgeous from the start. There are other cuts--Blakey's "Sway" and Cary's "Still I Run," come to mind--that would be the unquestionable belles of any other ball. But for a definition of beauty, listen to how the three voices circle and then embrace in the aforementioned chorus of "All the Shade Trees in Bloom." A well-traveled, London-based band of Watkins, drummer Robert Trehern, and bassist Matt Radford enrich the Chicas' acoustic guitar/electric guitar/violin core to produce something that's not quite folk-rock and not quite six-eyed soul; occasionally, it's even not quite jazz. With those three voices that were born to blend out in front, it's truly a beautiful thing.

RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,4,6,11,12
REVIEWER: excerpts from www.indy.com

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Nightmares On Wax
TITLE: In A Space Outta Sound (Warp)
GENRE: ELECTRONICA
GRADE: A+
REVIEW: George Evelyn, the co-founder and now sole member of Nightmares on Wax, has been making music under the moniker for almost twenty years, but this ranks with his best. It's a perfect chill-out record, readymade for a sunny day or starry night, and it straddles the line between evolving style and signature sound brilliantly. While his DJ Kicks mix in 2000 revealed his inner hip-hop head, In a Space Outta Sound is swimming in soul. But the vocals never overpower the songs, like on "The Sweetest," one of the best tracks. A simple refrain plays out over a morphing beat, with everything intermingling until the song isn't about vocals or music but mood. The feeling carries over to nearly every track: this is a decidedly mellow listening experience.Late in the album, "I Am You" offers a stunning vocal performance by Zero 7 collaborator Mozez, and closer "African Pirates," the record's most upbeat, percussion-heavy track, still manages to maintain a steady mood.Music like that on In a Space Outta Sound often pays the price at the critic chopping block for its lightness, mostly because of its audience, but also because it borrows from - and is reminiscent of - the least confrontational styles of music. But there is no real substitute for top-shelf down-tempo music when you're in the mood for it. Luckily, there are still some people around interested in providing just that.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 2,3,6,10,12
REVIEWER: excerpts from www.prefixmag.com

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Derek Trucks Band
TITLE: Songlines (Columbia)
GENRE: ROCK/MAINSTREAM
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Guitarist Derek Trucks doesn't play like a 26-year old. But, then again, he didn't play like an 18-year old when his first album came out, either. Even given Trucks' prodigious talents, which had guitar fans gasping by the time he was 12, "Songlines" is a vastly mature effort that shows real artistic growth for the Florida-born artist. Part of Trucks' greatness, one might venture to guess, is that he is either fearless or oblivious. Either way, he's seemingly never thought twice about what might be expected of him, and has always just gone where his fingers lead him. That adventurous spirit can be clearly heard on "Songlines" as the guitarist--who splits time between leading his own band and performing as part of the Allman Brothers--melds an array of different styles into one fluid sound. He goes Deep South for the hardcore blues tune "Volunteered Slavery" and then samples some Middle Eastern flavors on the great "Sahib Teri Bandi/Maki Madni." He revs up his engine for the bluesy slide-guitar moaner "Chevrolet" and then grooves on reggae beats for "Sailing On."In all, it's such an impressive and mature outing that it's nearly impossible to believe it was delivered by a 26-year old. Somebody check his birth certificate.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,4,5,6,8,11
REVIEWER: www.livedaily.com

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Shannon McNally
TITLE: North American Ghost Music (Back Porch)
GENRE: ROCK/MAINSTREAM
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Shannon McNally follows up her aesthetic and critical breakthrough, Geronimo, with a live record on Backporch. First off, the title is interesting in how it relates to the set itself. Basically, she's reliving her own ghosts with five tunes from the aforementioned recording and two from her major-label debut, Jukebox Sparrows. In fact, she opens with a raw, completely supercharged reading of "Bolder Than Paradise," singing it with a rasp and burning guitars, pulling it out of the past and putting it in front of a crowd as something that has been shape-shifted out from under the production team's hands. This is the way the song should have always sounded. It's immediate, lean, wild, and barely contained inside her throat as she all but spits out the lyrics as the band rides high behind her. The same goes for "Down and Dirty," also from Jukebox, which finds itself left empty of its original meaning and treatment and here actually returns to the grit and mud-soaked RB intention of its songwriter in the grain of her voice. Of the songs from Geronimo, the spirit was always there. There are a pair of covers here as well. There's a fine version of John Dawson's (remember the New Riders of the Purple Sage?) country lament "The Last Lonely Eagle," and a gorgeous version of Sharon Vaughn's "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys." Ultimately, this album may be a stopover between studio recordings, or just another shot to boost McNally's visibility. Either way, it doesn't matter. It's raw and immediate, and captures her at her best. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,5,7,9
REVIEWER:

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Jackie Greene
TITLE: American Myth (Verve)
GENRE: rock/mainstream
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Who says they don't make classic rock anymore? On his fourth album and major-label debut, Jackie Greene lofts one for the ages. Untouched by contemporary trends or post-punk postulations, the 25-year-old folk-rocker from Sacramento has made a timeless album containing an entire world of music. Produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, "American Myth" takes a more straight-ahead rock approach than Greene's previous independent releases, although he finds plenty of room for folky acoustic pieces. With a rhythm section he borrowed from Elvis Costello, Greene sings like an old soul, with a sound that moves from Eagles-style country rock to crunching bluesy rock that might recall the Yardbirds. Wisps of Dylan float across the tracks and half-remembered bits cribbed from the Beatles and the Byrds poke their heads into the songs. But Greene is his own man. He can be scornful ("Hollywood") or comforting ("I'll Let You In"). He can cut a ringing chorus ("When You're Walking Away" and "Farewell, So Long, Goodbye"). But he is best in the quiet moments of his songs, alive with quick images and darting wordplay. Every track bristles with his raw emotionalism and the signature sound of his guitar finger-picking. He is the real deal. On "American Myth," Greene has more than fulfilled the promise he showed on his early releases. He hit this one out of the park.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 2,5,8,11,12
REVIEWER: www.sfgate.com

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Nicolai Dunger
TITLE: Here's My Song... (Zoe)
GENRE: rock/mainstream
GRADE: A+
REVIEW: Nicolai Dunger, 37, was born too late to be the end-of-the-1960s songwriter he longs to be. He savors every slur, every drawl, every mumbled syllable and cracked, loopy phrase of singers such as Van Morrison, Tim Hardin and Tim Buckley along with Buckley's son, Jeff. His new album is a set of songs about a breakup, with the deliberately awkward title Here's My Song, You Can Have It I Don't Want It Anymore/Yours 4-ever. Dunger recorded it with Mercury Rev, a band from Kingston, N.Y., that usually plays stately neo-psychedelic anthems. It's fully a collaboration: Dunger's guitar makes way for Mercury Rev's keyboards and moments of pop gloss, and he trades three-chord songs for music with harmonic twists suggesting the Beatles. Mercury Rev's mastery of the subtle but irreversible crescendo pushes Dunger toward some wrenching vocal peaks. But he can also make Mercury Rev speed up and rock out, and his voice, with all its vagaries, brings the ethereal band down to Earth.
Dunger's relentless introspection isn't for every mood; it could certainly be tough on a romance. But Here's My Song is just the album for a good wallow in yearning and obsession.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,4,5,7,8
REVIEWER: www.southflorida.com

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Various Artists
TITLE: I Am The Resurrection (Vanguard)
GENRE: FOLK
GRADE: A
REVIEW: The most striking aspect of the 13 tracks compiled on this anthology is how much Fahey belongs in the American canon alongside acknowledged masters. The interpretations of Fahey’s tunes bring out aspects of his music often hidden behind the man’s brilliant playing. One can hear echoes of Aaron Copeland’s simple folk motifs in Sufjan Stevens’ “Variation on ‘Commemorative Transfiguration and Communion at Magruder Park”, strains of Scott Joplin’s rags in M.Ward’s “Bean Vine Blues #2”, Charles Ives’ playful patriotism in Howe Gelb’s “My Grandfather’s Clock”, George Gershwin’s celebration of the absurd aspects modern life in Peter Case’s “When the Catfish is in Bloom”, etc. The artists are probably not trying to connect Fahey to a line of national art, anymore than Fahey himself consciously drew from those composers’ works. Fahey just went to the same primary sources for inspirations as they did.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,4,5,7,12,13
REVIEWER: WWW.POPMATTERS.COM

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
TITLE: Ballad of the Broken Seas (V2)
GENRE: rock/alt
GRADE: A
REVIEW:The paramount mistake to be made is considering Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell opposites. Lanegan’s performance here is a distillation of his prodigious and pliable solo catalogue, one often suffocated by the more public association he has with Screaming Trees and Queens of The Stone Age. Quite a few would consider him a calorie-free Tom Waits, yet Lanegan’s voice is made of differently textured gravel that can at times betray and conjure more complex meaning. But a major break with the “beauty and the beast” narrative is Isobel Campbell, whose only similarity to that tale is being a member of the Glaswegian guild possessing half of the same name—Belle and Sebastian. Campbell wrote almost all of the songs contained here and it’s her sense of orchestration that elevates quite a few of the pieces from middling, slightly disengaging selections to emotionally resonant and aurally potent wonders like “Revolver” and “Black Mountain.” It’s the strings that pretty much save the instrumental “It’s Hard to Kill a Bad Thing” and the poppy “Honey Child What Can I Do?” as well as being indicative of the extent to which Campbell took the reins of the album in general. Ballad of the Broken Seas isn’t Lanegan and Campbell combining like a Voltron of the embittered, lachrymal traveler and the timid, wistful chanteuse, but an attempt to make material a vision of mutual founding. That’s why there’s no cacophony and very little white noise: the finished product is essentially of a common mind.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,6,8,9,12
FCC: 4 “FUCK”
REVIEWER: www.stylusmagazine.com

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Umphrey's McGee
TITLE: Safety In Numbers (Sci Fidelity)
GENRE: Rock/Mainstream
GRADE: A
REVIEW: UM formed in South Bend and played at the Bluebird a lot
as they were coming up. They are too big for the 'Bird now, as their progressive rock sound takes them to bigger venues. Not just a noodly jam band, these guys have great musical skills, a sense of humor and dare to take their songs through surprising twists. Somehow they don't get too out-there, accessibility is part of their appeal.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,6,8,10
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Howe Gelb
TITLE: 'Sno Angel Like You (Thrill Jockey)
GENRE: rock/alt
GRADE: A+
REVIEW: Howe Gelb continues on his prolific post-Giant Sand streak with a strong set of songs recorded with a gospel choir. This is not gospel music per se, but Howe Gelb music augmented by the punch and deep soul of a great gospel choir.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS:
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Josh Ritter
TITLE: The Animal Years (V2)
GENRE: Folk/SS
GRADE: A
REVIEW: The Animal Years represents a departure for Ritter in a number of ways- it’s less folky, it’s more poppy and accessible and it’s more genuinely an artefact of American culture and songwriting than anything he’s done before. It’s mainstream feel (propelled by Brian Deck of all people) and the sheer optimistic dynamism of most of the songs could at last launch Ritter firmly into the American consciousness as a talent of serious dimensions. The album’s centrepiece is “Thin Blue Flame”, which remembers the London subway bombs, panic and horror of 7/7. A near ten minute rant / epic poem, it’s worthy of a number of Ritter’s influences, from William Blake to Leonard Cohen, and seems to reference disgust for the Bush Administration, anger at God, anger at what we’ve done to the earth, joy at the love of friends and wonder at what can happen on those mornings when you wake to a “clear blue sky”. Opener “Girl In the War” has been a long time live favourite, and although sparkly and wondrous, is perhaps less impactful for a new, more complex arrangement; it remains an astounding and moving outing involving saints and girls with remarkable eyes. “Idaho” is a straight and unadorned hymn for Ritter’s homestate. “Here At the Right Time” is the closer and is a piano-led and wistful. What we have here is a soul who’s breaking out of his original strictures, trying new arrangements and somehow managing ten minute songs which are utterly compelling. What we have here is a Walker Evans, a Jonathan Franzen, a Townes Van Zandt- a genuine through-and-through American icon whose literary and musical abilities will charm and move for generations to come.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,5,10,11
REVIEWER: www.americana-uk.com

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Mike Younger
TITLE: Every Stone You Throw (Nashanoke)
GENRE: ROCK/MAINSTREAM
GRADE: A-
REVIEW: Straightforward roots-flavored rock from Canadian Mike Younger. There is more than a passing resemblence to John Mellencamp, especially in the vocal nuances and timing. For those who like their rock straight up with a good crunchy band punching through the songs.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 2,4,5,8,9
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Ben Harper
TITLE: Both Sides of the Gun (Virgin)
GENRE: rock/mainstream
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Ben Harper flips both sides of his musical coin on his first solo album in three years, Both Sides Of The Gun. The two-disc set is sonically arranged so that the harder-edged material is featured on the first CD, while his softer songs can be found on platter two. The Claremont, California singer/songwriter/guitarist, self-produced the album and played all the instruments on a number of songs.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: CD1: 2,4,6,7 CD2: 1,2,4,6,7
REVIEWER: www.chartattack.com

DATE: 3.21.06
ARTIST: Kris Kristofferson
TITLE: This Old Road (New West)
GENRE: COUNTRY
GRADE: A
REVIEW: The best songs on Kris Kristofferson's comeback album, "This Old Road," simply feature the veteran singer-songwriter and his acoustic guitar.These are powerful songs, delivered with humble grace. Some are socially conscious -- "Wild American," "Pilgrim's Progress" and "The Burden of Freedom" -- but "In the News" is a gut-wrencher torn from the headlines: "Read about the sorry way he done somebody's daughter/ Chained her to a heavy thing and threw her in the water." Kristofferson, who turns 70 in June, enlisted Don Was (Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones) to produce this sparse, rough-hewn collection of folk and outlaw-country songs. Was (bass, piano), Jim Keltner (drums) and Stephen Bruton (guitar, mandolin) also back up the living legend on his first album of new songs in nearly a dozen years. The rugged outlaw tune "Chase the Feeling" is the best.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,2,4,6,7,9
REVIEWER: www.seatlepi.com

ALSO ADDED AT WFHB:

Various Artists Traveler 06 Six Degrees
Califone Roomsound Thrill Jockey
Sean Watkins Blinders On Sugar Hill
Matt Angus Matt Angus Black Potato
Willie Nelson You Don't Know Me Lost Highway

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Saturday, March 18

Blues CD Reviews 3-18-06

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Conrad, Burt & the All Stars – “Forward Looking Backward” (Indie) B-
This is a jazz band trying to cover the waterfront. At best the disc is uneven, saved (and how) by the jazz numbers (#1, 4, 6). We then get an attempt at reggae (#2), covers (# 8-11), and most of these feature thin, wavery vocals. #7 is just smarmy. The band is good, but poorly demonstrated on this group of tunes with disappointing vocals. They should stick to jazz.

Foresman, Greg – “De Nada” (Indie) B+
This one is hard to compartmentalize. Foresman, former guitarist for Hammerhead and Martina McBride, combines funk, SRV wah-wah, and Neville Brothers beats to sometimes confuse, sometimes delight. He has an expressive voice. I might narrow his sound down to Allman Brothers meet Steve Miller. Creative arrangements with some really good guitar. Vocals promise more as they mature. Not bad.

Hannon, Dave & The Solid Sinners – “Solid Sinnin’” (Damasaca Records) B-
This is the band’s first disc – garage rock. Not bad playing, especially the guitarist (of the Jimmy Vaughan school). A party band, better heard with lots of beer.

Johnny & The Mo-Tones – “Two Hits for the Kitty” (Altenburgh Records) C
Disc starts with an interesting Sonny Terry cover featuring very nice saxophone and piano (the strongest instruments throughout the disc). After that, with the exception of a piano boogie for Jerry Lee Lewis (“Blues for the Killer”), the disc is peppered with nice sax/piano, but bad-to-worse vocals and tepid tunes. Not recommended despite some good players. Only eight tunes.

Landreth, Sonny – “Louisiana 1927” (Sugar Hill Records) A
A single tune where Sonny takes on a Randy Newman tune for Randy’s upcoming disc “Sail Away: Songs of Randy Newman.” Very nicely/creatively done with slide guitar and nice vocal.

Landry, Drew & the Dirty Cajuns – “Talgaten Relief & Hurricane Companion EP” B
Very creative songwriting…almost too reality based. Full of colorful, verbal “furniture.” Songwriting is of the Townes Van Zandt school…raw story-tellin’ descriptions, often fatalistic and some straight-ahead protest songs. “Category 5” for example is a description, with plenty of name-droppin’ invective about Hurricane Katrina and the no-leadership. “Salt Water Tears” is an attack on Pat Robertson’s attack on the Muslims, etc. The disc bristles with authenticity, suffers from sameness in spots, and weaves the occasional band number between mostly acoustically done tunes. Only 7 songs.

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Sunday, March 12

Blues CD Reviews 3-12-06

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Burnette, Billy – “Memphis in Manhattan” (Chesky Records) B
Billy’s been a rockabilly king since he first broke out with/from under dad-Dorsey’s-wing. This disc reflects that though I don’t think it’s as strong as past ones like “Gimme You” etc. He kicks off with a great rockabilly tune, and adds touches of that to everything here. Nice cover of Elvis’s “Big Hunk of Love,” and his dad’s “Tear it Up” rocks. Best is the Dylan cover, “Everything is Broken.” Nice but only a skinny cigar.

Gogo, David – “Skeleton Key” (Cordova Bay Entertainment) B+
Professional at 14 years old, Gogo channels a variety of inspirational guitarists into his work. Heavy on guitar action a la ZZ Top, SRV, Johny Winter, and Albert Collins, Gogo seems to hit the mark on strings without thought and offers a satisfying variety of style change-ups. All, however, favor guitar prowess which he has in spades. He’s toured with B.B. King, the T-Birds, SRV, and won many Canadian blues awards. He leans hard on rock in his blues…not a lot of early mix tunes here.

King, Freddie – “Live at the Electric Ballroom 1974” (Shout Factory ) A-
You just can’t match the “Texas Cannonball”—Freddie King. Solid beat, expressive vocals and propulsive guitar grabs you instantly. This is CD treat—includes a couple of amazing acoustic numbers, snippets of radio interview in the early ‘70s. Then the disc goes to an early, live ‘70’s performance with crowd response. Recordings of live audiences make sound uneven, but who cares?

Tate, Howard – “Howard Tate Live” (Shout Factory) B
Famous in the 60’s, Tate’s tunes have been covered by Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Ry Cooder and B.B. King, and he remains a solid soul singer of the Otis Redding school, backed here by excellent musicians and a complete soul horn section. It’s interesting to hear original versions of tunes others made famous, like Joplin’s “Get It While You Can,” or Cooder’s “Look at Granny Run.” Some tunes nice; others mediocre. Musicianship is stellar, esp. guitarist. Tate shines on the above-mentioned two, but the whole sound works on tunes like “Sweet 16.” Nice vocal chops—rare these days.

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Saturday, March 11

int'l + reggae = TLA

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Remember 4th grade? Good times. Where was I? Oh yes....

COMRADES! A handful of international releases, including a double-disc compilation of Irish tunes called WHISKEY IN THE JAR, as well as two new ROUGH GUIDE sets....look for a best-of set from THE CHIEFTAINS as well here shortly...hopely before the 17th! Also, on the reggae front, the latest from MATISYAHU as well as a live set from THE SKATALITES....Proceed!

Date: 12 March 2006 Label: Sony
Artist: v / a
Title: Whiskey in the Jar: Essential Irish Drinking Songs
& Sing Alongs
Genre: int’l / St Paddy’s Day blowout
Grade: A-

The title, despite being based on the eponymous Dubliners lead cut, is of course unfortunate. Ditto the little shamrocks and beer steins that lovingly frame the cover photo of a gorgeous (and empty!) pub. This two-disc set is more an overview of Sony’s Ireland-related catalogue than anything else, with heavy emphasis on older, established acts—The Dubliners appear no less than 14 times, and the Clancy Brothers 10! Newer Celtic rock of the Shite’N’Onions variety can be found from folks like Dropkick Murphys and The Pogues, who have two live cuts here. Nothing left to do but wait for the Six Degrees Frank Patterson remix project….

Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad

Artist: v / a
Title: The Rough Guide to Flamenco Nuevo
Label: WMN
Genre: int’l
Grade: A

Over the last decade, flamenco's undergone a revolution and reinvention, as this CD excellently illustrates. These days it's a brilliant, multi-faceted gem, where the jazz flute of Jorge Pardo (08) can sit comfortably next to the electronica of Digitano (05) and the Ladino singing of Yasmin Levy (14). A few of the names have becomes internationally known, like Levy, Ojos de Brujo (03) and Javier Ruibal (11), and justifiably so, as they each push away at frontiers. But the revelation of this disc is that there are plenty of others equally inventive waiting to find a global forum. Singer Elena Andujar (01) is especially impressive, while the duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela [04] (who live in that flamenco hotbed, Ireland) are adroit, imaginative guitarists, while Solar Sides (12) fuse modern dance music and flamenco in a very subtle fashion. The disc is worthy playing for Diego Carrasco's take on the global smash "Asereje" [09] alone. This is a most welcome disc, a way in to what's happening in flamenco, and how it's reaching out to the world. ( 4 stars )

Reviewer: Chris Nickson, All Music Guide

Artist: v / a
Title: The Rough Guide to the Music of Tanzania
Label: WMN
Genre: int’l
Grade: A-

On the East African coast, Tanzania has recently emerged from State control of its music to much greater independence. There days, instead of one main stream -- muziki wa dansi -- there are three, including the Arabic-sounding taarab and the younger bongo flava that includes singers like Saida Karoli [03], performing in a spare, acoustic setting, the R&B (with local influence) of Dataz [09] and the hip-hop of X Plastaz [02]. What sticks in the mind for than anything else, however, are the bands like Ottu Jazz Band [11] or the late Ndala Kasheba [08], whose 12-string guitar powered his band on music influenced by Congoloese soukous. The taarab really stands alone, a style utterly apart, and quite beautiful in its ornamentation. Compiler Werner Graebner has included a pair of more traditional tracks, one from the Master Musicians of Tanzania [06], founded by the late, great Hukwe Zawose. ( 3 ½ stars )

Reviewer: Chris Nickson, All Music Guide

Artist: The Skatalites
Title: In Orbit Vol. 1
Label: Xaymaca
Genre: reggae / ska
Grade: A-

September 2005 concert direct to you from…Buenos Aires? Erm…yes. Well! On the heels of the Studio One reissue barrage, here’s a live set from perhaps the 1960s ska band. Perhaps in a vault somewhere there’s a disc worth of live Skatalites in their prime, but in lieu of that this is solid, feel-good stuff. (Of course, their label is threatening a rash of similar releases, so the fizz might soon go flat…) Fun to hear the crowd react to (and sing along with) cuts like “Guns of Navarone” (06). Remember to fade to accommodate the live recordings!

Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad

Artist: Matisyahu
Title: Youth
Label: Sony
Genre: reggae
Grade: B+

The Matisyahu backlash has begun in earnest—and this less than fizzy follow-up to Live at Stubbs isn’t helping matters. The immediacy and shock-of-the-new-ness of last year’s live disc are in short supply. Earnest, yet not entirely fulfilling.

Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad

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Monday, March 6

int'l + reggae add-a-rama

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COMRADES! We note with barely contained satisfaction the recent adds of both POLYSICS and SERGIO MENDES to the 'FHB 'POOL! Perhaps one or more of these will accomidate Comisar Manion's next Five Year Plan? Or even next week's adds? Watch this space!.....

Artist: Bob Marley and the Wailers
Title: One Love: At Studio One 1964-1966
Label: Heartbeat
Genre: reggae
Grade: A

On the heels of the recent Marley/Wailers compilation Africa Unite, as well as those three new Studio One compilation reissues, it was inevitable that we would get this: a Marley/Wailers compilation of stuff from their Studio One days. There’s a treasure trove of early stuff here to investigate and play with. And of course it’s fun to hear the boys riff Jr. Walker (“Ska Jerk”), do covers of the Beatles (“And I Love Her”) and Dylan (“Rolling Stone”), go doo-wop (“Where’s The Girl For Me”) or even try their hand at gospel (“Amen”). But just how many more times can Mr. Marley and his aforementioned Wailers be repackaged and sold back to us?

Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad

Artist: Cesaria Evora
Title: Rogamar
Label: RCA / Bluebird
Genre; int’l / Cape Verde
Grade: A

Evora is one of those consummate veterans who makes whatever she does sound easy and effortless—a dead giveaway for decades of hard, hard work. On Rogamar, she settles somewhere between carnival and Carribean—smooth and acoustic, and often as not upbeat and spirited. What’s not to like?

Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad

Artist: v / a
Title: Traveler 06
Label: Six Degrees
Genre: int’l / electronica vs. exotica
Grade: A

The 2006 installment in this well-established series is one of the best so far, featuring a few surprises as well as all the usual varieties of globetrotting ethno-funk. On the stranger side are an unusually dark Temple of Sound remix of Cheb i Sabbah's "Esh 'Dani, Alash Mshit" (02) and Waxxhopper's brilliantly beat-heavy (and also rather dark) take on Dierdre's "Firefly" (04). Less startling, but equally engaging, are the slightly Brazilian-flavored Da Lata remix of Shrift's "As Far as I Can See" [07] (which very nicely juxtaposes Nina Miranda's light and flutey voice with sharp and heavy beats) and an eerie, reggaeton-flavored take on Issa Bagayogo's "Touba" (05). Everything here is well worth hearing, and more than half of it is drop-dead brilliant. Highly recommended. ( 4 stars )

Reviewer: Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

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Thursday, March 2

ADDS 2/27

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DATE: 2/27/06
ARTIST: Jon Langford
TITLE: Gold Brick (ROIR)
GENRE: COUNTRY/ALT
GRADE: A+
REVIEW: The Mekons. The Waco Brothers. Pine Valley Cosmonauts. Three Johns. Ship & Pilot Band. The common denominator is, of course, Jon Langford, a one-man roots-music phenomenon who can be in three bands before breakfast and still have a few hours for painting before his radio show. Yet though he is a busy guy, his third solo album shows all the marks of careful consideration and time well spent. Gold Brick is relaxed and excellent, the kind of record that buries its skill deep within the fabric of the music, so that hardly any of the effort shows. This is a very consistent album, with every song bringing its own specific pleasures, but still, three stand out. "Workingman's Palace" draws you in immediately with its luminous guitar line, catches you with a chorus that sticks immediately and lodges permanently, and breaks your heart with its gently melancholy lyrics...UNFORTUNATELY THIS SONG IS FCC-UNFRIENDLY! "Gorilla and the Maiden" is an entirely different beast, reminding you perhaps of Strummer's "Coma Girl" with its choked guitar line. It's held back, restrained, about to explode, and it finally does, leading into the longed-for release and abandon. And finally, "Lost in America," the song that Langford wrote for NPR's This American Life and which, most likely, was the seed from which Gold Brick eventually grew, ends the album in triumphant style. Skill counts. Experience matters. It takes an old pro to make the hard things seem easy... and Langford does just this in Gold Brick.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,4,8,9,11,12
REVIEWER: excerpts from www.neumu.net
FCC: TRACK 2, “FUCKING”

DATE: 2/27/06
ARTIST: Jenny Lewis w/The Watson Twins
TITLE: Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love)
GENRE: rock/alt
GRADE: A+
REVIEW: by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The story line on Rabbit Fur Coat is this: for her first venture outside of celebrated indie sensations Rilo Kiley, singer/songwriter Jenny Lewis has made a "white soul" album, along the lines of Dusty Springfield or Laura Nyro. Which is why, of course, she brought in Kentucky duo the Watson Twins to provide bluegrass harmonies for the entire record. Which is to say that Rabbit Fur Coat doesn't quite live up to its billing -- especially when compared to The Greatest, Cat Power's genuine white-soul album that hit the stores the week after Lewis' solo affair. What Rabbit Fur Coat brings to mind is not Laura Nyro but, perhaps inevitably, Neko Case and the stark, arty Americana intimacy of her breakthrough, Furnace Room Lullaby. Not that Lewis has Case's throaty voice or commanding presence -- she can growl and slide into notes, but at her core she has a small, fragile voice, one that lends this muted set of songs intimacy, even if it also brings them to the verge of cutsiness. And that's not a word that should be associated with Rabbit Fur Coat, an album that's designed to be a comforting late-night confessional, from rousing stompers like "The Big Guns" through the bluesy crawl of "Rise Up With Fists" to bittersweet ruminations like the seemingly autobiographical title track and the cheerful, gangs-all-here singalong to the Traveling Wilburys "Handle With Care." Musically, this hits the mark -- not only does it return Lewis to the country leanings of Rilo Kiley's first album, it feels suspended in time and space, the perfect soundtrack to 2 A.M.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 2,3,47,8,10
REVIEWER: excerpts from www.allmusic.com

DATE: 2/27/06
ARTIST: Josh Rouse
TITLE: Subtitulo (Bedroom Classics)
GENRE: ROCK/ALT
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Josh Rouse has been slowly creating his own sound over the course of many recordings. While all his discs have been catchy with a handful of songs that really jump out of the radio, his work has always been more than a little derivative of his melodic pop-rock influences like The Cure and Brian Wilson. Rouse's life was shaken up in the last few years with a divorce that compelled him to exit his home of Nashville. Settling in Spain, his new perspective seems to have given him the ability to generate songs that sound like Josh Rouse and no one else. With an easy melodic flow, these songs have a natural, effortless quality to them that is deceptive because I am sure it took some hard work to hit the great vibe heard on Subtitulo.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,2,5,7,8,9
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB

DATE: 2/27/06
ARTIST: Rhythm & Groove Club
TITLE: Groove Approved (Asend)
GENRE: BLUES/SOUL
GRADE: A
REVIEW: Singer Jeff Cook's day job is doing radio promo for New West Records. He has always hinted at his musical past with Tommy Bolin and others, but I had no idea he was such a great “blue-eyed soul” singer. He really wails on these classic (mostly New Orleans) songs, and his musical comrades are strong – especially Allen Toussaint on piano, Tinsley Ellis on guitar and Nicolas Peyton on trumpet. Sure sounds like they had a blast in the studio...

RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1,3,4,5,8
REVIEWER: Jim Manion/WFHB

also added at WFHB this week:
Simon Joyner Beautiful Losers Jagjaguwar
Centro-Matic Fort Recovery Misra
Various Blues Guitar Women Ruf
Sergio Mendes Timeless Concord
Various Artists Texas Unplugged Palo Duro
Imaginary Johnny Painting Over The Dirt Unfinished Side

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WFHB Music - Bloomington Community Radio

Sunday, March 26

int'l (2) + reggae (1) = new tunes 4 u

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Wednesday, March 22

Latest Adds 3/21/06

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Saturday, March 18

Blues CD Reviews 3-18-06

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Sunday, March 12

Blues CD Reviews 3-12-06

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Saturday, March 11

int'l + reggae = TLA

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Monday, March 6

int'l + reggae add-a-rama

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Thursday, March 2

ADDS 2/27

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