SOUND CHECK : FOLK.John Gorka/``Between the Five and the Seven'' John Gorka has been around long enough to stake a solid claim to the early beginnings of the nouveau-folk singer-songwriter revival now in progress. His early minimally produced albums for indie labels established him as a talent with a knack for turning a good phrase and an equally adept way with an acoustic guitar. Lately, though, his music has been packaged apparently in order to push him into the mainstream. ``Between the Five and the Seven'' (High Street), his sixth release, goes back to what he does best - good songs, decent voice, guitar and not much else to get in the way. ``Lightning's Blues'' and ``Blue Chalk'' are vintage Gorka, folk songs with a little bit of his '70s suburban New Jersey roots thrown in as a reminder that he's following tradition, not getting bogged down in it. The title track, a song for his mother, is as good as Gorka gets. Three Stars SOURCE: - Elizabeth M. Cosin COUNTRY Kimmie Rhodes/``West Texas Heaven'' It's hard to miss when your debut album has three duets with Willie Nelson and two with Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15 1937 – February 13 2002) was a respected and influential American country music singer and musician. A self-taught guitar player, he rose to prominence as a bass player for Buddy Holly following the break-up of The Crickets. . Not to mention one with Townes Van Zandt Van Zandt, a surname, may refer to: People
Shortly after high school, in 1970, with fellow Lubbock musicians Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, he formed fellow on backup vocals. Clearly, anyone these talents bother to help out must be doing something right. Despite the presence of such cool country giants, Rhodes manages to demonstrate a confidently vibrant voice, making one wonder why she has been toiling in obscurity for so long. Throughout ``West Texas Heaven'' (Justice), Rhodes sings with a good, old-fashioned Texas twang without seeming so old-fashioned after all. The title cut is a gem, while ``Hard Promises to Keep'' and ``Wild Roses'' are solid, engaging and mournful mourn·ful adj. 1. Feeling or expressing sorrow or grief; sorrowful. 2. Causing or suggesting sadness or melancholy: the mournful sound of a train whistle. vignettes. ``The Corner of the Bar'' establishes a strong link between country old and new. Rhodes is so good, in fact, she doesn't need all those other guys. As much as they are appreciated, one wishes Willie, Waylon and the boys had politely removed their hats and stepped out of her way. Three Stars SOURCE: - Elizabeth M. Cosin George Jones/``I Lived to Tell It All'' With this disc, Ol' Possum's first since his pleasant 1994 reunion piece with Tammy Wynette Noun 1. Tammy Wynette - United States country singer (1942-1998) Tammy Wynetter Pugh, Wynette , George Jones This article has multiple issues: * It needs additional references or sources for verification. * It may need a complete rewrite to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. * It contains a trivia section. has plenty of reasons to whip out whip out or off Verb to take (something) out or off quickly and suddenly: she whipped off her glasses that classic grin. Although none of the 10 tracks on ``I Lived to Tell It All'' (MCA MCA in full Music Corporation of America Entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in Chicago in 1924 by Jules Stein as a talent agency. In the 1960s it bought Decca Records and Universal Pictures, and today it produces films, music, and television shows. Nashville) will grab you by the throat, in the end they're vintage Jones: loose - but not slapdash slap·dash adj. Hasty and careless, as in execution: slapdash work. adv. In a reckless haphazard manner. - trim and easy, with enough twitter A Web site and service that lets users send short text messages from their cellphones to a group of friends. Launched in 2006, Twitter (www.twitter.com) was designed for people to broadcast their current activities and thoughts. in the twang to keep it all timeless. The rough-and-ready vocals are still kicking - albeit with a tempered upper end - and in the roller-coaster melodies of ``Tied to a Stone'' and ``Back Down to Hung Up on You,'' Jones shows he still can wield his trademark swoop-and-slide better than the slew of young 'uns who meticulously ape his style. Three Stars SOURCE: - Brian McCollum POP Patty Griffin/``Living With Ghosts'' Make way for Patty Griffin. This 32-year-old with a voice to die for carries enough emotional baggage to make her debut album something deep, moving and surprising in its simplicity. ``Living With Ghosts'' (A&M) opens with the heart-wrenching lament, ``Moses,'' which sets a bluesy tone while revealing a voice that needs no amplification. It's a great tune, but the album only gets better. ``Let Him Fly'' deals with the maturity and freedom of letting a lover go, while ``Forgiveness'' and ``Not Alone'' are songs of pathos and hope. ``Every Little Bit'' is the sort of hard-edged tune an Alanis Morissette could use, but in Griffin's hands it becomes gentle, personal and oddly meaningful. Griffin is older, and maybe that's why she's wiser. She's also less packaged, dressing her songs in acoustic guitar and often stark accompaniment that makes her seem unusually genuine. Four Stars SOURCE: - Elizabeth M.Cosin ROCK White Zombie/``Supersexy Swingin' Sounds'' It isn't mandatory to know and love White Zombie's previous releases in order to get a kick out of the band's new remix album of tracks from its giant-selling ``Astro-Creep: 2000'' disc of last year. In fact, many Zombie A computer that has been covertly taken over in order to perform some nefarious task. It is estimated that millions of PCs around the world have been compromised and, under the control of a third party, routinely transmit messages unbeknownst to the user. fanciers might even find the imaginative and wildly energetic deconstructions that make up ``Supersexy Swingin' Sounds'' (Geffen) superior to their original incarnations. We especially enjoyed John Fryer's electro-dance retooling of ``I, Zombie'' and Nine Inch Nails collaborator Charlie Clouser's monolithic remake of ``More Human Than Human.'' The standout track, though, is the album's coup de grace coup de grâce n. pl. coups de grâce 1. A deathblow delivered to end the misery of a mortally wounded victim. 2. A finishing stroke or decisive event. - a humorous monsters-of-rock readout (1) A small display device that typically shows only a few digits or a couple of lines of data. (2) Any display screen or panel. of the 20-year-old KC and the Sunshine Band disco smash, ``I'm Your Boogie Man.'' Three Stars SOURCE: - Fred Shuster Eels/``Beautiful Freak'' Finding an album that commands attention all the way through and fully delivers on its promise is a near-impossible task these days. The Eels, a witty Echo Park-based trio that uses samples, hip-hop beats, Beatles-esque melodies, guitars and dark irony in equal doses, has unexpectedly come up with one of the year's most rewarding releases. As the title implies, ``Beautiful Freak'' (DreamWorks) is a jarring collection with a rather unique world-view. Instant winners here include the surreal inner-city travelogue ``Susan's House,'' the bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. ``My Beloved Monster'' and the world-weary closer, ``Manchild.'' Four Stars SOURCE: - Fred Shuster CAPTION(S): 5 Photos Photo: (1) ``I Lived to Tell It All'' is vintage GeorgeJones: loose - but not slapdash - trim and easy, with enough twitter in the twang to keep it all timeless. (2--5) no caption (CD covers) |
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