SOUND CHECK.OUTKAST: ``Idlewild'' (LaFace/Jive) - Two stars Hey you, there's no ``Hey Ya!'' here. After lengthy delays and rumors of disarray at camp OutKast, the Atlanta hip-hop duo's sixth album arrives as a faux soundtrack to the '30s-themed musical of the same name. Like the pair's Grammy-winning ``Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,'' Big and Dre stick to their own sides of the field, further diluting the yin/yang chemistry that delivered a jolt six years ago with tracks like ``Ms. Jackson'' and ``Gasoline Dreams.'' Part of the problem here is conceptual. While Dre earnestly embarked on a set of (mostly mediocre) tracks (like ``Idlewild Blue,'' ``PJ & Rooster'') that have some jive-jumpin' connection to the movie, Big was busy turning into a would-be Prince (``Peaches,'' ``Buggface'') -- and the overall result is completely muddled. This being OutKast, though, the guys manage to uncork a little minimalist chain lightning. The potent ``Morris Brown,'' tellingly one of the disc's few Big/Dre collabs, is going to be heard on the streets for months to come. -- Fred Shuster PARIS HILTON: ``Paris'' (Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .) - One star Love her or hate her, Hilton is a big-money, no-talent celebrity. A few years ago, the party-going heiress to the Hilton hotels fortune rocketed to stardom on the unscripted un·script·ed adj. Not adhering to or in accordance with a script written beforehand: "his unscripted encounters with the press" Eleanor Clift. series ``The Simple Life'' despite a scandalous Internet-generated sex tape. Rather than tarnish tarnish, n 1. surface discoloration or loss of luster by metals. Under oral conditions, it often results from hard and soft deposits. 2. a chemical process by which a metal surface is discolored or its luster destroyed. her career, it boosted the show's ratings and transformed Hilton into a lovable celebutante. She's since gone on to appear in films and profit off her own line of fragrance, handbags and watches -- advertisements for which fall out of the jewel case of her debut CD. But the love stops there -- except for the heart-warming heart·warm·ing or heart-warm·ing adj. 1. Causing gladness and pleasure. 2. Eliciting sympathy and tender feelings: a heartwarming tale. shout-out Paris Paris, in Greek mythology Paris or Alexander, in Greek mythology, son of Priam and Hecuba and brother of Hector. Because it was prophesied that he would cause the destruction of Troy, Paris was abandoned on Mt. includes to her Chihuahua, Tinkerbell. If Hilton's breathy breath·y adj. breath·i·er, breath·i·est Marked by or as if by audible or noisy breathing: a breathy voice. breath , doubled-up vocals aren't spreading the narcissism narcissism (närsĭs`ĭzəm), Freudian term, drawn from the Greek myth of Narcissus, indicating an exclusive self-absorption. In psychoanalysis, narcissism is considered a normal stage in the development of children. on thick, then she's dissing old friends (presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. her former BFF BFF Best Friends Forever (chat) BFF Best Foot Forward BFF Ben Folds Five (band) BFF Born Free Foundation BFF Binary File Format BFF Boston Film Festival BFF Biotech Finance Forum Nicole Richie) over violin strings in ``Jealousy.'' Take her out of the Fat Joe and Jadakiss collaboration ``Fightin' Over Me'' and it's right up there with the reggae-tinged summer splash ``Stars Are Blind,'' which doesn't say much about the album. Paris proves yet again that money can't buy talent. -- Sandra Barrera M. WARD: ``Post-War'' (Merge) - Three stars 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. Matt Ward sings the sort of road-weary ballads you can imagine stumbling onto while driving all night in the middle of nowhere. On the sequel to last year's aptly titled ``Transistor Radio,'' which sounded like it could've been issued on a decades-old 78-rpm record, Ward moves beyond his whispery, dead-of-night approach. Motivated by an eccentric guitar style similar to John Fahey's weird finger-picking, Ward delivers haunting material like ``Today's Undertaking,'' with Roy Orbison undertones, and a nice slice of Delta blues in ``Magic Trick,'' which brings to mind '60s optimism. He also manages an unexpected oddity in ``Neptune's Net,'' an instrumental surf number that gives ``Post-War'' a lift. Cameos from pals Jim James (``My Morning Jacket'') and Neko Case lend further variety in a strong, vaguely thematic song set. In stores Tuesday.-- Fred Shuster CROOKED STILL: ``Shaken by a Low Sound'' (Signature Sounds) - Three and one half stars This is the roots album Union Station never made. Alison Krauss sound-alike Aoife O'Donovan leads her string band through a checklist of public-domain mainstays (``Little Sadie,'' ``Railroad Bill'') and folksily familiar enough might-as-well-be's (Robert Johnson's ``Come on in My Kitchen,'' Bob Dylan's ``Oxford Town''), giving them offbeat off·beat n. Music An unaccented beat in a measure. adj. Slang Not conforming to an ordinary type or pattern; unconventional: offbeat humor. and cannily intellectualized new interpretations. The overall result may lean a bit more toward the Nickel Creek than the traditionalist direction, but O'Donovan's sweet, vulnerable soprano always makes us feel like we're listening to the best of contemporary 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. -- even when the cellos come in. -- Bob Strauss HOT CLUB OF DETROIT: ``Hot Club of Detroit'' (Mack Avenue) - Four stars That a bunch of Detroit cats know and love the music of Django Reinhardt is one of the great pleasures of the year. This band's debut jumps through the gypsy guitarist's songbook, but also includes some far-out Hot-Club-of-France-style treatments of unlikely suspects, like the frenetically swinging, 11-minute-plus version of Nino Rota's theme for ``The Godfather.'' Guitarist Evan Perri's lightning fretwork makes the most immediate impression, but Dave Bennett's clarinet is equally strong. -- Glenn Whipp CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (OutKast) (2 -- 6) no caption (CD covers) |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion