SOUND CHECK.PINK: ``Try This'' (Arista/BMG) - Three and one half stars On the sequel to ``Missundaztood,'' Pink's critically acclaimed release of 2001, she's at her best when liberating her inner rocker. But she had help. The new album is dominated by the writing and production of Rancid's Tim Armstrong and the 13-track set also includes collaborations with - among others - Courtney Love's latest co-writer, Linda Perry, who was behind Pink's 2002 anthem ``Get the Party Started.'' Here, the party hit is the sublime ``Tonight's the Night Tonight's the Night could refer to one of several things: Musicals
n. An agent provocateur. Noun 1. provocateur - a secret agent who incites suspected persons to commit illegal acts agent provocateur Peaches. She also conjures up the power of Janis Joplin by dropping the electrifying e·lec·tri·fy tr.v. e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing, e·lec·tri·fies 1. To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor). 2. a. ``Unwind,'' proving once again that her work with Armstrong outshines all others. In stores Tuesday. - Sandra Barrera RYAN ADAMS: ``Rock N Roll'' (Lost Highway/Universal) - Three stars The super-productive, alt.country bad boy goes glitter rock on this crunching electric guitar opus. A key song is even titled ``1974,'' the year of Adams' birth but, more significantly for this effort, the time of Bowie/T. Rex/New York Dolls dominance. Adams' fretwork impresses, but the strain to strike transgressive poses is quite evident (there's a song that's about half cusswords, and another about doing nasty things to Miss America). You can dance hard to this disc, but his punky punk·y n. Variant of punkie. Noun 1. punky - minute two-winged insect that sucks the blood of mammals and birds and other insects biting midge, no-see-um, punkey, punkie country rock sounds far more inventive and substantial. - Bob Strauss ROBERT BRADLEY AND BLACKWATER SURPRISE: ``Still Lovin' You'' (Vanguard) - Three stars Bradley's goal here is to establish himself as a bona fide soul singer. It works - for the most part. You can't listen to these 10 songs without reminiscing about the sweet sound of, say, 1970s Philly soul - perhaps best represented on this set by the title track. Very smooth. Just as hard to overlook is the Otis Redding or Stevie Wonder or even the Randy Newman in Bradley's very personal compositions, dependably backed by his longtime group, Blackwater Surprise. Some of the better songs include the doo-wopping ``When You Love Something,'' a shuffling ``I Thank You'' and the bluesy ``Hollywood.'' Out Tuesday. - S.B. BASEMENT JAXX: ``Kish Kash'' (Astralwerks/EMD) - Three stars The Brit electronic wizards Basement Jaxx certainly knew where their head was at on this disc - party mode. Felix Burton and Simon Ratcliffe have turned out a stylish and sophisticated third disc to follow 2001's ``Rooty.'' The effort kicks off at full force with ``Good Luck,'' an energetic Motown-electronica stomper, and then proceeds to the funky hip- shaker ``Right Here's the Spot'' featuring guest vocals by Meshell Ndegeocello. The album also includes guest vocals by 'N Sync's JC Chasez, Siouxsie Sioux and a host of other impressive voices, but they don't overshadow the tracks. Here, the music rules the roost. The exuberant mix of funk-electroclash doesn't chill out until track 11, ending three songs later on a soothing note with Ndegeocello chirping chirp n. A short, high-pitched sound, such as that made by a small bird or an insect. intr.v. chirped, chirp·ing, chirps To make a short, high-pitched sound. ``Feels Like Home.'' - Phillip Zonkel KEROSENE BROTHERS: ``Choose Your Own Title'' (Audium) - Four stars Jocular joc·u·lar adj. 1. Characterized by joking. 2. Given to joking. [Latin iocul as this album and band may appear, the Kerosenes are actually the more serious incarnation of Hayseed Dixie, the redneck novelty act fronted by talented pickers John Wheeler, Don Wayne Reno Don Wayne Reno is a bluegrass musician and banjo player, and the son of Don Reno (also a banjo player). He is the mainstay of Hayseed Dixie with his brother, Deacon Dale Reno, as the mandolinist. and Dale Reno. Though hardly lacking in humor itself, the Kerosene approach is, first and foremost, to create the perfect artistic coupling of hard-driving Southern rock and bluegrass bluegrass, any species of the large and widely distributed genus Poa, chiefly range and pasture grasses of economic importance in temperate and cool regions. In general, bluegrasses are perennial with fine-leaved foliage that is bluish green in some species. banjo banjo, stringed musical instrument, with a body resembling a tambourine. The banjo consists of a hoop over which a skin membrane is stretched; it has a long, often fretted neck and four to nine strings, which are plucked with a pick or the fingers. , fiddle and mandolin mandolin (măn'dəlĭn`, măn`dəlĭn'), musical instrument of the lute family, with a half-pear-shaped body, a fretted neck, and a variable number of strings, plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum. . It's a superb, almost psycho sound that makes for great accompaniment to Wheeler's urgently slurred vocals on the album's fast-paced odes to carnal carnal adjective Referring to the flesh, to baser instincts, often referring to sexual “knowledge” desperation. - B.S. TOBY KEITH: ``Shock'n Y'all'' (DreamWorks Nashville) - One star Howard Dean has some serious competition for the NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. vote. Keith, like soul mate Bill O'Reilly, is a star of a genre closer to stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States and Great Britain held largely on oval rings of between approximately a quarter-mile and 2. than to art, and his simple bellow bellow one of the voices of cattle. Usually refers to the arrogant call of the bull used to announce territorial rights. Abnormalities of the voice include hoarseness as in rabies, or continuous repetition as in nervous acetonemia. See also low, moo. at a chaotic world provides him with ample rewards. In this first set of new songs since the headline-grabbing ``Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),'' Keith covers familiar topics - Jesus, whiskey, girls, weed and incomprehensible foreigners - with listless Nashville precision. Along with other entertainers who wrap themselves in the flag to add weight to their porous themes, Keith doesn't lend himself to scrutiny. ``The Taliban Song,'' for example, penned from the viewpoint of a ``middle-aged, Middle Eastern camel-herdin' man,'' confuses two evil factions (after all, Keith seems to insist, what difference does it make?). Aside from the amusing anthem ``I Love This Bar,'' this ``Shock'n Y'all'' is a dud. - Fred Shuster Four longtime artists recently released discs looking back at their careers: ROBERT PLANT: `` '66 to Timbuktu'' (Atlantic) - Three stars No matter what you think of Led Zepplin's legacy, there is no denying the talents of its vocalist, Robert Plant. Plant's non-Zeppelin life is surveyed in this 35-song, two-disc set. While the material is uneven - ranging from some fairly generic numbers to some real gems and a few surprises - all of them remind you of Plant's impressive and expressive chops. You can hear him as a rocker, a balladeer and a blues moaner on some of his '60s-era pre-Zep material, including songs of the day like Stephen Stills' ``For What It's Worth,'' and ``Operator'' with British bluesman Alex Korner. While some of the material from his post-Zep days carries the flavor of the seminal rock group, Plant also returned to more rootsy material as well as exploring other genres, including Charlie Rich's rockabilly ``Philadelphia Baby'' with Dave Edmunds. PETER GABRIEL: ``The Definitive Two CD Collection'' (Geffen) - Three star Calling this two-CD set ``definitive'' seems a bit odd. Most of Gabriel's best material came out of the '80s and was included on the 1990 ``Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats.'' What made Gabriel Gabriel (gā`brēəl), archangel, the divine herald. In the Bible he appears to Daniel (twice), to Zacharias, and to the Virgin Mary in the Annunciation (Dan. 8.16; 9.21; Luke 1.19,26,27). such a compelling artist then was his ability to fuse rock with world-beat sounds in an appealing way. The most recognizable tunes here are from his 1986 mega-hit album, ``So,'' which managed to embody that fusion as well as show off Gabriel's sense of impish imp·ish adj. Of or befitting an imp; mischievous. imp  ish·ly adv.imp humor in the soul-inspired ``Sledgehammer See Opteron. .'' He also shows off his ability to turn out a great love song with ``In Your Eyes,'' which creates a perfect romantic tension by placing his longing vocal against an insistent rhythmic background. But from his majestic ``Solsbury Hill,'' from his 1977 debut album after he left Genesis, to the somber ``Blood of Eden,'' from his 1992 ``Up'' (definitely meant ironically), there are plenty of great tracks on this collection. However, there are a number of tunes from the last decade, when Gabriel's sporadic output has been listless at best. Oddly enough, neither the catchy ``Shaking the Tree'' nor anything from ``Passion,'' his compelling soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's ``The Last Temptation of Christ The temptation of Christ in Christianity, refers to the temptation of Jesus by the devil as detailed in each of the Synoptic Gospels, at Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13. ,'' is here. RANDY NEWMAN: ``Songbook Vol. 1'' (Nonesuch none·such also non·such n. 1. A person or thing without equal. 2. See black medic. none ) - Three and one half stars Newman begins this collection of songs with his 1970 tune ``It's Lonely at the Top,'' which - despite supposedly being written for Frank Sinatra - was a joke on the singer-songwriter's own career. Back then, despite critical acclaim, Newman had trouble drawing 100 people to a show. Now, after a successful Hollywood career and ``Toy Story,'' and winning an Oscar for the tune ``You Got a Friend in Me,'' Newman can draw a few hundred more, but he's surely on top. However, his idiosyncratic id·i·o·syn·cra·sy n. pl. id·i·o·syn·cra·sies 1. A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group. 2. A physiological or temperamental peculiarity. 3. songs - as brilliant, witty and musically sophisticated as they are - still elude most of the public's consciousness. His hits ``I Love L.A.'' and ``Short People'' were dripping with irony that most people ignored. This 18-cut collection, which Newman recorded this year with only his piano as accompaniment, is as good a place as any to start to appreciate his wide-ranging music. Included are the cutting ``God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind),'' the outrageous ``Rednecks'' and ``It's Money That I Love.'' TOM JONES: ``Reloaded'' (Universal) - Two and one half stars Even if you don't Even If You Don't is a single released by the band Ween in 2000 on Mushroom Records. Formats Enhanced CD single Includes the quicktime video of "Even If You Don't" directed by Matt Stone & Trey Parker of "South Park". take Jones seriously, you can't deny that the sexy singer knows how to keep reinventing himself. This CD includes six cuts from his 1999 European smash, ``Reloaded,'' as well as some early hits, ``What's New Pussycat'' ``Delilah'' and ``Green Green Grass of Home.'' Among the new numbers, there's the soulful ``Sometimes We Cry'' with Van Morrison, an artful ``Motherless Child'' with Portishead, a dance version of the Talking Heads' ``Burning Down the House'' with the Cardigans, and a quirky ``Baby It's Cold Outside'' with Cerys Matthews of Catatonia. - Rob Lowman CAPTION(S): 12 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Pink) (2) no caption (Toby Keith) (3 -- 12) no caption (CD covers) |
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