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Laura Roppe: Girl like This

December 19, 2008 /

On the cover of her new CD, Laura Roppe is pictured standing in the middle of a dirt road in a little black getup, and heels posing rather defiantly. Yes, it’s another bid on the indie circuit for some soundalike Hollywood Nashville pop. And it’s every bit as mediocre as you might imagine. Roppe’s main problem is that she doesn’t have the voice to carry strong pop country tunes. It sounds like she’s really forcing it on the title track, almost missing her marks in a number of places. It gets a little worse on “Mama Needs a Girls Night Out” where her voice starts sounding a bit more Kermit the Frog and less country diva. She tries to bring the sass to “Ooh La La,” and sounds like she’s painting by numbers than putting anything honest into her performance. And by the time “Crazy about You and Me” arrives, you wish she’d just sing it straight without the affected twang in her throat. This may have been a nice vanity project for Roppe, but for the general listener, there’s far better stuff out there to be heard. (self-released)

Laura Roppe MySpace

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Pop

Peel: Die in June

December 19, 2008 /

Average, darkly melodramatic modern rock fills out this four-track EP. If there weren’t already so many bands out there currently who mine a similar vein of this kind of music (think Incubus, among others), these guys might actually be hailed as something a bit more exciting than they actually are. But perhaps the local scene in Scandinavia doesn’t have as much of this sort of thing as we do here in the States. The problem is, at only four songs, Peel don’t have a whole lot of space to stretch out here. So the dark undertones that color “Falling from Grace” are pretty much the same ones that fill “Second Man on the Moon.” It all sounds very brooding, yet with that glimmer of hope way off in the distance. The kind of thing that would probably not be out of place in some superhero movie over the summer. But again, there are plenty of other bands out there doing this same thing who are just as mildly interesting. (Peelgrim Records)

Peel MySpace page

CD QuickTakes

Rhett May: Calcutta Boy

December 19, 2008 /

Hoo boy. From the silly cover art down to the synth bass lines and programmed drums, everything about this EP by Rhett May just screams embarrassing. Definitely one of those discs that should have just been given out to friends and left at that, but undoubtedly there was someone out there who told Rhett to go for broke and let everyone else hear this stuff. Well, suffice it to say it’s a complete train wreck, with some of the worst canned, DIY production to be heard in a long time. Is this guy country? Is he pop? Who knows? It’s just tough to listen to a song like “There’s a Little White Powder” or “African Queen” and not think you could be listening to something – anything – better than this. On the third track, May asks “Have Your Arms Been Missing Me?” I can’t answer that question, but I can say that my ears won’t be missing the auto-chord settings on Rhett’s old clunky keyboard. (self-released)

Rhett May MySpace page

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Pop

Jeff Beck: Performing This Week…Live at Ronnie Scott’s

December 18, 2008 /

Though almost universally acknowledged as one of the best guitarists on the planet, Jeff Beck has never been able to translate his brushes with superstardom into the sort of name value enjoyed by his fellow ex-Yardbirds, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page – due at least in part to his seemingly utter disregard for the importance of maintaining any kind of consistent industry presence and predilection for interminable waits between new studio albums. For a brief while, it seemed as though Beck might be changing his ways – between 1999 and 2003, he released three albums of new material – but since 2003’s Jeff, he’s re-entered the wilderness, popping out only for the odd “American Idol” cameo or live collection. Performing This Week…Live at Ronnie Scott’s is his third live release of the new millennium, which would seem annoyingly excessive if it weren’t for two things: One, a 64-year-old Jeff Beck still plays smoke rings around nine out of 10 of his fellow guitarists; and two, he plays here with an ace band that includes drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and an incredibly talented bass player named Tal Wilkenfeld. Ronnie Scott’s, which is also being released on DVD, plays solidly to Beck’s strengths – 16 tracks, culled from across his career, none lasting longer than a hair over six minutes – but since he’s always been more about discipline than noodle-fingered wankery, the set’s staidness makes perfect sense. If it ultimately doesn’t add much of anything to Beck’s legacy, well, there wasn’t much to add anyway, was there? (Eagle 2008)

Jeff Beck MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Straight No Chaser: Holiday Spirits

December 12, 2008 /

There is something about a ten-piece vocal group that just lends itself to holiday music. Straight No Chaser is such a group, and after forming over ten years ago at Indiana University, this group became YouTube darlings last year with their hilarious and compelling version of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Atlantic Records chairman Craig Kallman was one of those who liked what he saw; the rest is history, as Holiday Spirits is the group’s debut on Atlantic. But these guys are no one-hit wonder, because this collection of traditional holiday songs and a few originals blend together beautifully, and are delivered with an amazing vocal flair that rivals the likes of Take 6. Some of the highlights are Donnie Hathaway’s “This Christmas,” “Carol of the Bells,” and of course “The 12 Days of Christmas,” a live version that shows the group’s morphing into a medley of holiday songs, culminating in a clever use of the lyrics to “12 Days” to the tune of Toto’s “Africa.” But to have original songs rival the traditional stuff is not easy, and Straight No Chaser pulls it off with ease, particularly on the stunning “Indiana Christmas.” This one is a must-have this holiday season. (Atlantic 2008)

Straight No Chaser MySpace Page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop

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