Category: Rock (Page 25 of 241)

Serj Tankian: Imperfect Harmonies

September 21, 2010 /


RIYL: …give us a minute…

Serj Tankian’s first solo album, 2007’s Elect the Dead, was certainly less metal than anything he put out with System of a Down, but it still had an edge to it, a certain level of manic insanity that captured the craziness of SOAD’s best tracks, even if the heavy metal thunder was lacking. Plus, it had a song called “Beethoven’s C*nt,” and that shit’s just funny.

This shit, however, is just shit. While Elect the Dead barely had enough metal in it to quality as a metal album, Imperfect Harmonies barely has enough in it qualify as a rock album. If it wasn’t for Serj’s ever-crazy vocal delivery, tracks like “Beatus” and “Borders Are…” would be cleared to play on your local soft-rock radio station, sandwiched in between Phil Collins and Peter Cetera rockers. Even with all the surreal lyrics and occasional stellar vocal performance by Serj, nothing can change the fact that the music behind his madness, on every single track, is an unwavering blah of mid-tempo, violin-driven sludge (not sludge-metal, just sludge) devoid of any memorable melody or hook. The symphonic sound on Imperfect Harmonies sucks the rock right out if it, and in fact, it just kind of sucks all together. (Reprise/Serjical Strike 2010)

Serj Tankian MySpace Page

Americana, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Metal, Progressive, Rock

Jeff Beck: Emotion & Commotion

September 20, 2010 /


RIYL: The Jeff Beck Group, Robert Fripp, Joe Satriani

Emotion & Commotion is a misleading title. One would assume with “Commotion” in the title, Beck would be ripping and shredding away throughout this 10-track recording. Instead, the enigmatic and talented Beck puts together a record of beauty and subtlety. He is reserved, melodic and letting the subtleties and nuances of his playing center the record. There is beauty throughout, like “Corpus Cristi Carol,” a Middle English Hymn which was re-interpreted by Jeff Buckley in 1994. Beck, inspired by Buckley, starts the record with his guitar accompanied quietly by an orchestra. The piece is two minutes and 40 seconds of peace and sadness. Irish Singer Imelda May is featured on another song Buckley recorded, “Lilac Wine,” and like “Carol” this song features a beautifully understated orchestra in the background and Beck’s emotive and deliberate playing.

Joss Stone contributes her ridiculously talented vocals to two tracks including a riveting reading of the classic, “I Put a Spell on You.” I am convinced she could sing the menu from a Chinese restaurant and make it intense and enjoyable. While Stone vamps it up, Beck and the rest of the folks play it straight to deliver a terrific new interpretation of a classic. The record never really comes close to chaos. It features clean production – every note, every instrument has its own space to breathe. The liner notes are good, with Beck sharing his motivations for picking the tracks. It has a very relaxing and laid back tone consistently demonstrating that less is more. Again, Beck puts something out that you might not have expected. Clapton is the popular guitarist, consistently producing music that sells by melding his influences into the pop structure. Beck never quite had a consistent vision or production schedule. Beck is a brilliant guitarist who, when he does work, usually makes something you wouldn’t expect. Emotion & Commotion might be mislabeled, but it is an excellent addition to the Beck catalog. (Atco 2010)

Jeff Beck on MySpace

CD Reviews, Progressive, Rock

Michael Franti & Spearhead: The Sound of Sunshine

September 20, 2010 /


RIYL: String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams, Ziggy Marley

This is an aptly titled album, as practically every track beams out a catchy upbeat vibe to the listener. Franti has long specialized in feel-good grooves with a message, while also dabbling in bluesier and hard rocking flavors. But his bread and butter has always been the melodic, uplifting stuff. This album maybe overdoes it a bit, and lacks in the diversity that made for such strong albums with 2001’s Stay Human and 2008’s All Rebel Rockers. The latter yielded the band’s first Top 20 hit with the catchy “Say Hey (I Love You)” though, so it’s not a shock to see Franti and company looking to mine that vein further. Franti has been speaking truth to power for years with little financial reward, so you can’t begrudge him a thing.

There’s no call-to-arms, revolution-oriented track like “Rock the Nation,” “Yell Fire” or or “A Little Bit of Riddim,” which may disappoint some listeners. But Franti is still wheeling and dealing with the cathartic rhymes and beats as an antidote to dark times, including his own death-defying bout with a ruptured appendix last year. There’s more of an emphasis on the acoustic guitars, as well as a continuation of the reggae vibe that was a strong flavor on the last album.

The title track kicks off the album and sets the catchy, uplifting tone for the album with lyrics like “they can take away my job but not my friends.” “Shake It” pumps up the energy with an upbeat romantic number that receives vocal assistance from the dynamic Cherine Anderson, a previous collaborator. “Hey Hey Hey” remains upbeat but also features some of the cathartic, reflective vibe that Franti is so good at. “Anytime You Need Me” emphasizes a cheery reggae vibe.

One of the best tracks is “I’ll Be Waiting,” which bites the guitar parts from U2’s “Bad” with great effect on a tune about loyalty. The most rocking track on the album is “The Thing That Helps Me Get Through,” a high-energy tune with a steady beat and lyrics about getting down with that special someone as a remedy to a crazy, mixed up world. “Headphones” dabbles in some sonic ambiance to create a laid-back atmospheric effect.

The album doesn’t have the musical diversity of Franti’s past work, but it’s got plenty of the feel-good grooves that are his trademark, and this chaotic world can certainly use more of that. (Capitol Records 2010)

Michael Franti & Spearhead MySpace page

CD Reviews, Funk, Hip Hop, Pop, Reggae, Rock, Soul

Ludo: Prepare the Preparations

September 17, 2010 /


RIYL: Sparks, My Chemical Romance, They Might Be Giants, Rocky Horror Picture Show

Ludo is a band that just keeps getting weirder, and that’s really saying something considering their second release was Broken Bride, a rock opera EP about atime-traveling scientist who, while on a quest to save his dead wife, ends up battling Satan and his army of zombies with his own legion of pterodactyls. The follow up to to Broken Bride was You’re Awful, I Love You. And while it found them on a major label for the first time, it didn’t stop singer/guitarist Andrew Volpe from penning horror-themed tunes about evil zombies in Lake Pontchartrain and stalker neighbors.

Ludo’s journey into insanity continues with Prepare the Preparations, an album that switches between lighthearted wackiness and the genuinely disturbing so much that it should be prescribed medication for manic depression.. It speaks volumes that the most mainstream-sounding track on Prepare the Preparations is “Whipped Cream,” a tongue-in-cheek ode to using the confectionery as a sex aid. From there things get downright insane. “Anything for You” is a deceptive love ballad that sounds normal at first, but as Volpe sings about his adventures in space, travels across the astral plane and meetings with leprechauns, it becomes apparent that this isn’t your typical love song. The same goes for “All the Stars in Texas” an ode from one bank robber to another, and “Manta Ray,” a song that may or may not be sung from the perspective of a man drowning himself (and someone else?) in his car. Its theme is subtle and not exactly clear. Something that cannot be said for the theatrical “Cyborgs vs Robots” and “Skeletons on Parade,” two songs so goofy that They Might Be Giants would think they’re too silly.

Ludo’s unique brand of weird will probably alienate ten times the people it attracts, but those who do enjoy Prepare the Preparations will absolutely fall in love with it. Most likely while driving to a horror movie convention. (Island 2010)

Ludo MySpace Page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Emo, Power Pop, Rock

Robert Plant: Band of Joy

September 17, 2010 /


RIYL: Buddy Miller, Bob Dylan, Daniel Lanois

Robert-Plant-Band-of-Joy-artwork[1]Like a handful of his graying peers – Van Morrison and Neil Young come to mind – Robert Plant has made a career out of defying and confounding his fans’ expectations. What makes Plant unique among rock’s elder contrarians, though, is quality control; he may not give his fans what they say they want, but it’s rare that he delivers an album that’s impossible to love.

Band of Joy is a case in point. In terms of tone and vibe, it picks up more or less where his Grammy-winning collaboration with Alison Krauss, Raising Sand, left off: an album of rootsy, Nashville-recorded covers, rich in beautifully subdued atmosphere. But Plant remains too restless to settle for a straight sequel; he abandoned the follow-up sessions with Krauss and Sand producer T Bone Burnett, opting instead to team up with producer/guitarist Buddy Miller for a set whose title serves as a playful reminder of his pre-Zeppelin band.

What listeners are left with is an album that lacks Sand‘s stately grace, but has a pungent, bluesy heft all its own. Plant’s choice of material is as impeccable as ever – standouts include a mandolin-laced version of Los Lobos’ “Angel Dance” and a mournfully loping take on Townes Van Zandt’s “Harm’s Swift Way” – and Miller proves a splendid foil, adding dark, roiling swaths of guitar that hover over crisply recorded arrangements. And then, of course, there are the vocals: Plant remains in fine form, and if you’re disappointed by his continued disinterest in unleashing his old hammer-of-the-gods howl, you can take comfort in the presence of Patty Griffin, who lends a layer of burnished harmony to seven of the album’s 12 tracks.

So it isn’t a Zep reunion, and it isn’t Raising Sand II. Here’s what Band of Joy is: An addictive collection of strong, quietly confident performances from a 62-year-old man who could have started phoning it in 25 years ago, but hasn’t forgotten how to make music simply for the joy of it. If it isn’t one of the best albums of the year, it’s certainly one of the purest. (Rounder 2010)

Robert Plant MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

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