SOUND CHECK.WHITE STRIPES: ``Get Behind Me Satan'' (Third Man/V2) - Two and one half stars Spoiler spoiler: see airplane. 1. spoiler - A remark which reveals important plot elements from books or movies, thus denying the reader (of the article) the proper suspense when reading the book or watching the movie. 2. alert: In the interests of truth, let it be known that House of Freaks House of Freaks was a two-man band formed in Richmond, Virginia in the mid 1980s. Bryan Harvey played guitar and sang, and Johnny Hott played percussion. The band managed to achieve a remarkably full sound, mostly because of Hott's inventive drumming and Harvey's confident vocals and Treat Her Right, two underground bands forgotten by everyone but the White Stripes and your reviewer, did this same kind of passionate low-fi blues-roots thing on banged-up equipment in the late-'80s - to a chorus of widespread disinterest dis·in·ter·est n. 1. Freedom from selfish bias or self-interest; impartiality. 2. Lack of interest; indifference. tr.v. To divest of interest. Noun 1. . Times have changed. Today, powerfully marketed minimalist noise is iPod food across the globe. While something of a chore to plow through to execute a difficult or laborious task steadily, esp. one containing many parts; as, he plowed through the stack of correspondence until all had been answered. See also: Plow , the Stripes' off-its-head fifth platter occasionally provides a jolt - and that's all anyone can ask of a rock record these days. If Jack and Meg White's strange tub-thumping new set (containing three numbers inexplicably inspired by '40s screen siren Rita Hayworth), falls short of ``Elephant's'' stomp, at least half the 13 tracks will keep customers satisfied during the group's four-night stand at the Greek Theatre next month. Recorded in just two weeks and offering only three high-energy songs, the disc finds Jack's curb-crawling electric guitar replaced by a Nicky Hopkins-channeling piano, marimba marimba: see xylophone. marimba Xylophone with resonators under each bar. The original African instrument uses tuned calabash resonators. In Mexico and Central America, where it was brought by African slaves, the wooden bars may be affixed to a and acoustic guitar. The results frequently recall the lesser tracks on a Quicksilver quicksilver: see mercury. (1) (QuickSilver Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA, www.qstech.com) A mobile communications company that specializes in a reconfigurable logic chip for cellphones and PDAs. See adaptive computing. Messenger Service album. Some standouts: opener ``Blue Orchid,'' a blast of the familiar Stripes formula setting the stage for oddities to come, the simple but annoyingly infectious ``My Doorbell,'' and the convincing basher ``Instinct Blues.'' Hey kids, let Satan lead next time. - Fred Shuster RY COODER: ``Chavez Ravine'' (Nonesuch none·such also non·such n. 1. A person or thing without equal. 2. See black medic. none ) - Four stars Santa Monica native Cooder has embraced and interpreted the past for four decades, from the ancient Airstream trailer decorating the cover of his 1970 debut to the pachuco pa·chu·co n. pl. pa·chu·cos A Mexican-American youth or teenager, especially one who dresses in flamboyant clothes and belongs to a neighborhood gang. boogie coloring this effective concept album on the sad history of Chavez Ravine. Cooder's intriguing multivoiced work tells the story of how that barrio bar·ri·o n. pl. bar·ri·os 1. An urban district or quarter in a Spanish-speaking country. 2. A chiefly Spanish-speaking community or neighborhood in a U.S. city. - a ``Poor Man's Shangri-La,'' as the opening song goes - was bulldozed in 1950 to make way, ultimately, for Dodger Stadium. Utilizing originals and covers of sometimes obscure '40s and '50s numbers sung in Spanish and English, the 15 tracks draw on a variety of Latin styles - and Cooder sings on just four of them (including the bluesy 'dozer lament ``It's Just Work to Me'' and a resigned ``In My Town''). Distinguished guests provide plenty of heat (the late Chicano music patriarch Lalo Guerrero, boogie king Don Tosti, Thee Midniters frontman front·man n. 1. also front man A man who serves as a nominal leader but who lacks real authority. 2. Music A leading singer with a group. Little Willie G. and Ersi Arvizu of El Chicano) on an illuminating, moving work that will garner many awards. - F.S. RALPH STANLEY: ``Shine On'' (Rebel) - Three and one half stars The 78-year-old Dr. Ralph's latest gospel album covers the gamut from bluegrassed-up standards (``This Little Light of Mine "This Little Light of Mine" is a negro spiritual, themed on the importance of unity in the face of struggle. Under the influence of Zilphia Horton, Fannie Lou Hamer and others it eventually became a Civil Rights anthem in the 1950s and 1960s. ,'' ``I'll Fly Away'') to chillingly primitive a cappella meditations on mortality (``The Old Church Yard,'' ``Why Should We Start and Fear to Die''). His band, the Clinch Mountain Boys, are as tight as ever, instrumentally and vocally, and even Ralph's minister and his wife get a few counter-harmonies in. As always, though, it's Stanley's ethereally ragged, authentic voice that lends distinction to the most familiar and exotic tunes, straddling strad·dle v. strad·dled, strad·dling, strad·dles v.tr. 1. a. To stand or sit with a leg on each side of; bestride: straddle a horse. b. as it does the misty borderline between here and the hereafter. - Bob Strauss BILLY CORGAN: ``The Future Embrace'' (Martha's Music/Reprise) - Three stars It's not his best or most accessible work, but Corgan, formerly of the Smashing Pumpkins and (more recently) Zwan, does deliver some deliciously dark rockers on his solo debut. On ``All Things Change,'' he faces uncertainty with hope for a better world. And that seems to be a recurring theme throughout much of the industrial pop set, from the apocalyptic ``Mina Loy (M.O.H.)'' to his dreamy cover of the Bee Gees' ``To Love Somebody,'' which features Robert Smith of the Cure on backing vocals. As for Corgan's own familiar, nasal whine, it can grate on the ears. But you can't start holding that against the '90s modern-rock icon now. - Sandra Barrera CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) no caption (White Stripes) Lester Cohen/WireImage.com (2 -- 5) no caption (CD covers) |
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