SOUND CHECK.RICKY NELSON: ``Greatest Hits'' (Capitol) - Three stars This shiny-faced teen idol of the duck-and-cover years was such a goody two-shoes you had to hate him on principle alone. But who knew his hits from the late '50s and early '60s would hold up so well? Backed by a band that included James Kirkland, Joe Osborn and guitar legend James Burton, who later picked paisley Telecaster lines for Elvis Presley, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, Nelson side-stepped the slick, treacly production that guaranteed a short shelf life for so much pop ephemera e·phem·er·a n. A plural of ephemeron. ephemera Noun, pl items designed to last only for a short time, such as programmes or posters Noun 1. of the Elvis/Eisenhower era. The 25 rockers and ballads that constitute this set are uniformly excellent, moving from ``Travelin' Man'' and its 1961 flip side Flip side In the context of general equities, opposite side to a proposition or position (buy, if sell is the proposition and vice versa). , ``Hello Mary Lou'' - so contagious it's three-chord bird flu - to ``Lonesome lone·some adj. 1. a. Dejected because of a lack of companionship. See Synonyms at alone. b. Producing such dejection: a lonesome hour at the bar. 2. Town,'' ``Young World'' and 1972's equally fine comeback, ``Garden Party.'' Nelson's ``Greatest Hits'' is a good reason to do some musical excavating while kicking 2005 to the curb. A companion DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. is also available. - Fred Shuster JAMIE FOXX: ``Unpredictable'' (J) - One and one half stars Since his Oscar-winning portrayal of Ray Charles, Foxx has become a regular of the urban music landscape, popping up on albums by hip-hop and r&b heavyweights. Here, they return the favor. Granted, this 15-song set of bedroom-coaxing, contemporary r&b adorned with hip-hop beats, shimmering shim·mer intr.v. shim·mered, shim·mer·ing, shim·mers 1. To shine with a subdued flickering light. See Synonyms at flash. 2. effects and A-listers seldom rises above mediocre. Among the exceptions are Foxx's collaborations with Mary J. Blige, who lends high harmonies to the disco throwback-ballad ``Love Changes,'' and Kanye West, who appears mid-``Extravaganza'' to help weave a regrettable tale of drunken sex. Slow jams aside, Foxx also offers up the quiet piano ballad ``Heaven.'' It's about the only song on the album that was solely written by the ``Ray'' star who, come to find, is a classically trained pianist and has always regarded himself as a singer-songwriter/musician first, an actor second. Really makes you wonder. - Sandra Barrera COLLIN HERRING: ``The Other Side of Kindness'' (Gravestone Picnic) - Three stars A kind of latter-day Neil Young, Texas troubadour troubadour One of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians, often of knightly rank, that flourished from the 11th through the 13th century, chiefly in Provence and other regions of southern France, northern Spain, and northern Italy. Herring ricochets between folky folk·y n. & adj. Variant of folkie. twang and hard guitar crunch on this lyrically incisive, mournfully sung sophomore album. Stuart Sikes Sikes can refer to: People
- Bob Strauss CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Ricky Nelson) (2 -- 4) no caption (CD covers) |
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