Category: CD QuickTakes (Page 51 of 149)

Greg Laswell: Covers

October 30, 2009 /


RIYL: Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley

With his previous albums, Greg Laswell established his penchant for cinematic soundscapes, purveying a downcast disposition and a haunting, shrouded motif that provided spectral settings for his weary ruminations. Now, he’s taking a brief detour from his own musings via this enticing five-song EP, which retraces songs by Echo and the Bunnymen, Morphine, Mazzy Star, Kristen Hersh and Kate Bush — and, in some cases, actually bests the originals. These songs were somewhat gloomy to begin with, and Laswell makes no attempt to alleviate the mood. Even so, he manages to add a new dimension; by giving a shadowy and shimmering sheen to “Killing Moon,” a lurching yet assertive stance to Hersh’s “Your Ghost,” and buoying the tempo on “In Spite Of Me,” Laswell effectively puts his imprint on each. Likewise, “Take Everything” retains the laconic feel of Mazzy Star’s original, while transforming the song into a stately piano recital, and his take on “This Woman’s Work” strips the song of its harsh veneer and replaces Bush’s signature sensuality with an emphasis on its gentle soul. Ultimately, like every effort in his repertoire, Covers affirms that Laswell’s an original. (Vanguard 2009)

Greg Laswell website

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Hem: Twelfth Night

October 30, 2009 /


RIYL: Incredible String Band, Amazing Blondel, Pentangle

It ought to come as no surprise that a combo which has taken its cue from iconic Anglo folk music should carry those interests further – in this case, creating an album rich in Celtic and Baroque tradition. But in accepting a commission to pattern a soundtrack for the Public Theater’s production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” Hem’s allowed their Elizabethan extremes to run rampant, augmenting their usual mellow musings with a contingent of pipes, flutes, whistles and orchestral flourishes all in keeping with the trappings of the period. Mostly instrumental, it gives vocal nods to a theatrically superior cast that includes Anne Hathaway and Raul Esparza, but it’s a relatively unknown David Pittu who proves best suited to singing the sonnets, especially on such traditionally-tied verses as “The Wind and the Rain,” “Hey Robin, Jolly Robin” and “I Am Gone, Sir.” As the titles suggest, this is neither rock, nu-folk nor any combination thereof, but rather a sound that owes its origins and inspiration to the Bard. Hem enthusiasts will likely note this as a momentary detour in anticipation of a band project due early next year. For their part, theater purists will probably appreciate the effort and admire its authenticity. (Nettwerk 2009)

Hem MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Instrumental, Melodramatic

Otis Redding: The Best: See & Hear

October 30, 2009 /


RIYL: Sam & Dave, Al Green, Solomon Burke

In an era when pretenders to the R&B throne spring up like swine flu in the local emergency room, it only takes a glance back at Otis Redding’s career to remind us that no one has ever managed to recapture his electrifying, unfettered energy and passion. Like Sam Cooke, James Brown, Aretha, the Four Tops, the Tempts, Wilson Pickett and Solomon Burke, Otis was one of a kind: a man who relied not on gimmicks or false sentiment, but a genuine, explosive talent that took every song to the precipice between triumph and tragedy. From the stage at Monterrey to ballrooms across the nation and venues around the world, Otis proved he was the ultimate interpreter of gritty, sweat-stoked, heart-wrenching soul, a man whose fiery appeal transcended race or nationality, rock or R&B.

As with many other incendiary talents, Redding’s career was an abbreviated one, cut short in a tragic plane crash in December 1967 — mere months after he electrified a mostly white Monterey audience that had also witnessed Hendrix, Joplin, the Byrds and the Springfield. Ironically, his biggest breakthrough, the moving “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” wouldn’t even pierce the charts until after his demise. Still, the classics he left behind in a relatively short period earned him a permanent presence in the lexicon of great contemporary singers — one who is yet to be bested, and likely never will.

Shout/Rhino’s new two-disc compilation — boasting a CD of greatest hits and a DVD of live performances captured the year before Redding’s death — provides a brief summary of the man’s brilliance; a mere introduction at best. The numbers forever identified with Redding make the cut: “Dock of the Bay,” of course, “Respect,” “Try a Little Tenderness,” “I’ve been Loving You Too Long” — the better-known songs that defined Otis’ magnetism and his ability to adroitly shift from finesse to frenzy. Watching him drive himself with such exhilaration and determination, as seen on the video performances of “Shake” and “Satisfaction” (each included twice on the DVD for good measure), verifies the emotion he exuded each time he took the stage.

A singer for the ages, Otis had a talent that was eternal. In the face of such greatness, “brilliance” is an adjective that doesn’t even begin to suffice. Pick up this package, and you’ll quickly understand why. (Shout! Factory 2009)

Shout Factory website

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Soul

David Nail: I’m About to Come Alive

October 29, 2009 /


RIYL: Vince Gill, Kenny Chesney, Train

That cha-ching sound you just heard was the royalty cash register for another mainstream pop/rock songwriter, as a country music artist has not just cut a song by the band Train, but made it the title track for his MCA Nashville debut. The artist is David Nail, and while Nail has endured ups and downs and at least one failed move to Nashville, the story has a happy ending, or at least a happy middle upon the release of I’m About to Come Alive, which might also be symbolic for the young artist. Nail has co-written about half the material here, and it might be curious that he’d go with a full blown cover song as his title track, but if you follow Train at all, you know it’s one of their best and most heartfelt songs. And it comes a couple years after Gary Allan had success with Vertical Horizon’s “Best I Ever Had.” But back to Nail, because he and producer Frank Liddell have managed to put a set of tunes together that is as good or better than anything Nashville has produced in the past decade. And the same can be said for Nail’s powerful vocal ability. Of course the title track is stellar, but there are some other beauties on here, especially “Red Light” and the Garth Brooks-ish “Looking for a Good Time,” the latter of which features some pretty guitar work. (MCA Nashville)

David Nail MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Pop

John Coltrane: Side Steps

October 23, 2009 /


RIYL: Red Garland, Sonny Rollins, Gene Ammons

If you’re looking for the soul-stirring genius of John Coltrane’s peak years, you’re not going to find it anywhere on Prestige’s five-disc box set, Side Steps. As an insight into Trane’s early development, however, this is exactly the place to start – and end – your search. The set chronicles the tenor legend’s brief period as a hired gun for established players like pianists Red Garland, Mal Waldron and Tad Dameron, fellow tenor player Gene Ammons (for whom Coltrane provided his services on alto instead), and even Sonny Rollins. No, none of those brilliant 1950s Miles Davis sessions for Prestige are here (Trane was a regular member of Miles’ band, as opposed to a freelancer), and as Miles had him under his regular employ, those recordings don’t fit the theme. But there’s plenty of prime hard bop to be enjoyed here, all recorded during the years 1956 and 1957, packaged with illuminating essays, detailed discographical information and plenty of photos. Newbies to Trane will want to start with his Atlantic Recordings, but working backwards from that point, Side Steps goes one further to complete his recorded history with class and style. (Prestige 2009)

John Coltrane MySpace

Boxed Sets, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Jazz

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Eat Sleep Drink Music

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑