SOUND CHECK.ROD STEWART: ``As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook Vol. 2'' (J/BMG) - Two stars Stewart's slow morph from the rooster-haired lad who made a couple of the rock era's most personable PERSONABLE. Having the capacities of a person; for example, the defendant was judged personable to maintain this action. Old Nat. Brev. 142. This word is obsolete. albums to today's wildly popular standards crooner makes some sort of sense. This second volume of 14 lush ballads, taking in the chestnuts ``I'm in the Mood for Love,'' ``Smile,'' ``As Time Goes By'' and ``I Only Have Eyes for You,'' will go down smoothly for those who snapped up the unexpectedly successful premiere issue. While there are pleasing moments (a mildly scandalous duet with Cher on ``Bewitched be·witch tr.v. be·witched, be·witch·ing, be·witch·es 1. To place under one's power by or as if by magic; cast a spell over. 2. To captivate completely; entrance. See Synonyms at charm. , Bothered & Bewildered''), Stewart has lost much of his trademark rasp and with it a lot of his signature. Personally, we'd opt for Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine or Jeri Southern when in the mood for standards, but for those new to Gershwin and Porter, Rodney will do - until the real thing comes along. - Fred Shuster GAELIC STORM: ``Special Reserve'' (Higher Octave) - Three and one half stars This best-of collection showcases tunes from the multinational Celtic party band's first three albums, plus three new recordings. The steerage steer·age n. 1. The act or practice of steering. 2. Nautical a. The effect of the helm on a ship. b. The steering apparatus of a ship. c. musicians from the movie ``Titanic'' exhibit high energy, brash wit and know how to sing well about drinking. Though the players come from all over the English-speaking world, the sound is unmistakably, exuberantly Irish, as you'll hear when they return Sunday to their former weekly haunt, O'Brien's in Santa Monica. - Bob Strauss VAN MORRISON: ``What's Wrong With This Picture'' (Blue Note) - Four stars We take Morrison woefully woe·ful also wo·ful adj. 1. Affected by or full of woe; mournful. 2. Causing or involving woe. 3. Deplorably bad or wretched: for granted. He hasn't made anything less than a good album in years, and his last few efforts, ``Down the Road,'' ``Back on Top'' and ``The Healing Game,'' have spawned some of the greatest songs he's ever written. His latest effort is his first for Blue Note, a natural marriage given Morrison's love for jazz and blues, and it's simply amazing. Blending Celtic swing, folk, blue-eyed soul, jazz and blues into his own inimitable in·im·i·ta·ble adj. Defying imitation; matchless. [Middle English, from Latin inimit sound, Morrison has created a masterwork mas·ter·work n. See masterpiece. of playfulness and beauty. Yes, he still sounds like a bitter old crank at times, but nobody writes a ballad better than ``Meaning of Loneliness,'' which asks, ``How can you ever really know somebody else when it takes more than a lifetime just to get to know yourself?'' It's an unanswerable question, but Morrison, ever the searcher, won't stop asking. And we won't stop listening. - Glenn Whipp THE STROKES: ``Room on Fire'' (RCA See RCA connector and video/TV history. ) - Four stars Before the White Stripes or Vines or any of the other garage-rock revivalists of recent history, there were the Strokes and their groundswell of a debut, ``Is This It?'' For those of you caught up in the craze, rest assured: This isn't it. In fact, the new set is vintage Strokes (if such a thing could be said about a group two years into its career). All 11 tracks draw inspiration from '70s punk and new wave, including ``The End Has No End,'' Reptilia Reptilia A class of vertebrates composed of four living orders, the turtles or Chelonia, the tuatara or Sphenodonta, the lizards and snakes or Squamata, and the crocodylians or Crocodylia. Numerous extinct orders are also known. ,'' ``You Talk Way Too Much,'' ``Meet Me in the Bathroom'' and ``The Way It Is.'' Bad-relationship songs fill the album, including the messy ``What Ever Happened?'' in which singer Julian Casablancas' demands about wanting to be forgotten must be excruciatingly grating on the throat. The band, meanwhile, spends the length of the album playing around with different tempos and styles - all without missing a step. Due Tuesday. - Sandra Barrera PAUL VAN DYK This article is about the DJ. For the American historian, see Paul Van Dyke. Paul van Dyk (born Matthias Paul; November 16, 1971 : ``Reflections'' (Mute) - Two and one half stars Van Dyk's new disc, his first original tracks in three years, follows in the pop-trance footsteps of his previous mixes. A lot of the lyrics were influenced by recent travels to India, where the DJ witnessed the ravages rav·age v. rav·aged, rav·ag·ing, rav·ages v.tr. 1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town. 2. of poverty. Unfortunately, the melodies are starving for cohesion. They vacillate between the catchily commercial (``Like a Friend''), artificial down-tempo (``Never Forget'') and mainstream trance (``Connected'' from the Motorola TV spot). Van Dyk DYK Did You Know? DYK Dongfeng Yueda Kia spins at the Mayan on Thursday. - Phillip Zonkel CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Rod Stewart) (2 -- 6) no captio (CD covers) |
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