SOUND CHECK.ELVIS COSTELLO  The of this article or section may be compromised by "peacock terms".You can help Wikipedia by removing peacock terms. & ALLEN TOUSSAINT: ``The River in Reverse'' (Verve Forecast) - Four stars Falling in love with each Costello album of the last few years is exhausting. But like his last two -- ``My Flame Burns Blue'' and ``The Delivery Man'' -- this one's no weekend fling. In stirring collaboration with New Orleans' r&b singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist and producer Toussaint, Costello is at full strength in this bountiful, well-crafted set of syncopated syn·co·pate tr.v. syn·co·pat·ed, syn·co·pat·ing, syn·co·pates 1. Grammar To shorten (a word) by syncope. 2. Music To modify (rhythm) by syncopation. soul with dark undercurrents Undercurrents is:
Along with well-chosen Toussaint gems -- ``On Your Way Down'' (memorably covered in elegant funk-gospel fashion by Little Feat in the early `70s), the gorgeous ``Freedom for the Stallion'' and an uplifting ``Tears, Tears and More Tears'' -- the album illustrates the fruits of a songwriting partnership made in r&b heaven and recorded in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded . Among the best of it is Toussaint's beautiful minor key variation of Professor Longhair's ``Tipitina,'' titled ``Ascension Day,'' with touching lyrics by Costello. Another collaborative piece bearing repeated listenings is the lacerating ``The Sharpest Thorn,'' which brings to mind a ``This Year's Model''-era Elvis. Toussaint's signature horn arrangements -- think of the Band's ``Life Is a Carnival'' -- add distinctive punch, while a crack studio band clearly favoring feel over frozen perfection reaches near-telepathic levels. In stores Tuesday. -- Fred Shuster PAUL OAKENFOLD: ``A Lively Mind'' (Maverick) - Two stars Sigh. What to do with master DJ Oakenfold? His latest effort suffers from a schizophrenic desire to branch out into rock-laden studio productions while retaining his ever-hot club hits as insurance. Aside from the slick opener, ``Faster Kill Pussycat'' (featuring a throaty throat·y adj. throat·i·er, throat·i·est Uttered or sounding as if uttered deep in the throat; guttural, hoarse, or husky. throat Brittany Murphy), ``Mind'' often plays like a demo reel for a Sunset Strip metal club. Not until track nine does he strip down to his trance roots and reclaim his domain. ``Not Over'' is prime Oakenfold, casually weaving Ryan Tedder's vocals through a ladder of adrenalin-raising beats. By then, it may be too late. -- Emma Soichet DAVE A file sharing program from Thursby Software Systems, Inc., Arlington, TX (www.thursby.com) that allows a Macintosh to share files with a PC. Designed specifically for and needing installation only on the Mac, DAVE works with Microsoft's native SMB/CIFS file sharing protocols and uses ALVIN ``West of the West'' (Yep Roc) - Three stars Downey's own roots genius turns his musicological mu·si·col·o·gy n. The historical and scientific study of music. mu  si·co·log attention to California songwriters for this moody, slightly eccentric cover collection. Alvin's otherworldly baritone and unconventional arrangements make the likes of Jackson Browne's ``Redneck Friend'' and Brian Wilson's ``Surfer Girl'' sound like completely different songs, while the folkie folk·ie also folk·y n. pl. folk·ies 1. A folk singer or musician. 2. One who is an enthusiast of folk music. adj. in him spotlights such under-known gems as Kate Wolf's ``Here in California'' and Jim Ringer's ``Tramps and Hawkers.'' Fogerty, Garcia and Hunter, Haggard, Waits and the Los Lobos guys all get paid their due; it's the sonic equivalent of an overcast day statewide, filled with rare atmospheric possibilities. -- Bob Strauss CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE: ``Live at Tonic'' (Ropeadope) - Three stars Jazz's preeminent bassist returns with his first release in three years - and what a release. Three discs (for the price of one), recorded over two January nights last year at a hip musicians' hangout on New York's Lower East Side. Can there be too much of a good thing? Well, yes. The first disc will be the one that's repeatedly played, a summary of the best music made these nights by McBride MCBRIDE Development of a Multi-Chamber Batch Reactor for the Production of Multilayer Interpoly Dielectrics , pianist Geoffrey Keezer, saxophonist Ron Blake and drummer Terreon Gully. This is not your dad's jazz, though the engaging McBride does quote everyone from Monk to Kraftwerk in his modernly funky fusion. The second disc is an improv A multidimensional Windows spreadsheet from Lotus that allows for easy switching to different views of the data. Data are referenced by name as in a database, rather than the typical spreadsheet row and column coordinates. Improv was originally developed for the NeXt computer. set featuring guitarist Charlie Hunter, among others. Disc three goes further, including more friends on turntables and boombox and longer workouts, including the 33-minute ``E-Jam.'' Monotony sets in by the end, but since you're getting all this at a bargain price, why complain? Pick your spots and groove to the music. -- Glenn Whipp THE DITTY dit·ty n. pl. dit·ties A simple song. [Middle English dite, a literary composition, from Old French dite, from Latin dict BOPS: ``Moon Over the Freeway'' (Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .) - Three stars It would be easy to dismiss the L.A. duo of Amanda Barrett (on 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. ) and Abby DeWald (on guitar) as quirkily interesting as they filter retro musical styles like Western swing, folk and '20s jazz coupled with '40s vocal harmonies through hip sensibilities. Their 13-song sophomore effort written by the pair, though, hints at bigger things. Co-produced by Mitchell Froom (Suzanne Vega, Elvis Costello), ``Moon'' at times wanders into cabaret land, with echoes of Brecht-Weill and even Broadway. But serious intentions don't stop the fun, particularly on the final cut, ``Your Head's Too Big,'' which just pops. I also suggest you check out the videos at their Web site (dittybops.com). They are pretty, well, pretty quirky. -- Rob Lowman CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Elvis Costelloe and Allen Toussaint) (2 -- 6) no caption (CD covers) |
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