SOUND CHECK.SPOTLIGHT ON ... Eve 6/``Horrorscope'' (RCA See RCA connector and video/TV history. ) Eve 6 is everything that is good and bad about modern rock. The power pop trio knows its way around a melodic hook, and mainstream rock radio programmers can blindly pick among the 12 cuts here and feel safe in knowing that listeners won't tune out. That's good enough for some people. Eve 6 also sports a retro sound on ``Horrorscope,'' layering keyboards into its mix for a bit of that '80s Bon Jovi  This article or section reads like a and may need a .Please help [ to improve this article] to make it in tone and meet Wikipedia's . flavor. But Eve 6 is as faceless as today's rock bands come. There's nothing offensive about Eve 6, but there's nothing distinctive about Max Collins' vocals, Jon Siebels' guitar playing or Tony Fagenson's rote drumming, either. Any one of its members could stroll past you at your neighborhood Burger King - where one of their songs is probably playing overhead - and you'd never know. Rock music may still be a viable commercial entity but with identity- challenged bands like this one at the forefront, it's also never been less interesting. Two stars - Howard Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. Miami Herald Kina/``Kina'' (DreamWorks) On her self-titled debut, Detroit's Kina ki·na n. pl. kina See Table at currency. [Indigenous word in Papua New Guinea.] Noun 1. comes off with a defiance that sounds a lot like Alanis Morissette. The only difference between the two is Kina's anger is more empowering. This is an impoverished gal who everybody doubted would make it. But she did. And now she's going to make sure everybody knows it. Kina speaks to this on her single ``Girl From the Gutter.'' Over jangle-pop guitars, she fires: ``I hope your hell is filled with magazines/ And on every page you see a big picture of me/ And under every picture a caption should read/ Not bad for a girl from the gutter like me.'' Her lyrics sting. But this album is about Kina, after all. Her ups and downs ups and downs pl.n. Alternating periods of good and bad fortune or spirits. ups and downs Noun, pl alternating periods of good and bad luck or high and low spirits . Falling in love and trying to make sense of the heartbreak. And she expresses every bit of that emotion with an intensity that gives each song a sense of having just happened. A perfect example of this comes on the bluesy ``Hurt So Bad,'' where Kina wails over the loss of the lover she describes as dedicated and loving. On ``I Love You,'' Kina, sounding like a young Tina Turner  The of this article or section may be compromised by "weasel words".You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words. , vows her love in exaltation. With passion like this, Kina could just be the hottest lady in rock. Three stars - Sandra Barrera Julieta Venegas/``Buen invento'' (BMG BMG Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (Germand: Federal Ministry for Health) BMG Be My Girl BMG Blue Man Group BMG Bertelsmann Music Group BMG Be My Guest BMG Browning Machine Gun BMG Bulk Metallic Glass Latin) Buen invento is Spanish for ``good invention.'' And that's exactly what Tijuana native Venegas delivers on her second release. The album, with some production duties from Mexican art rockers Cafe Tacuba and Control Machete Control Machete is a Mexican hip hop group from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Its members are Fermin IV (listed as Fermin IV Caballero Elizondo in credits), Patricio "Pato" Chapa Elizalde, and Toy Kenobi (Toy Hernández). , is an alt-rock effort that, for all intents and purposes Adv. 1. for all intents and purposes - in every practical sense; "to all intents and purposes the case is closed"; "the rest are for all practical purposes useless" for all practical purposes, to all intents and purposes , could have been made in the '80s. But it's not all neo-new wave. A good many tracks on the 14-song disc stand out because of their unusual compositions. ``Casa Abandonada'' features Venegas playing a spooky march on the accordion. She tackles spy music on ``Salvavidas.'' And she gets spaghetti western spaghetti Western n. A low-budget Western film made by a European, especially an Italian, film company. spaghetti western Noun a cowboy film made in Europe by an Italian director Noun 1. on ``Todo Inventamos.'' Venegas is a classically trained pianist who plays accordion and sings with an urgency that has led some people to compare her to Fiona Apple or P.J. Harvey. But let's give credit where credit is due. Anybody familiar with the alternative music rising up from South of the Border will remember Venegas from the activist punk band Tijuana No! before she went solo with ``Aqui'' in 1997. Two and one half stars - S.B. Dave Alvin/``Public Domain'' (HighTone) Rocking bluesman Alvin takes a wide turn from his usual path with this dazzling collection of pure Americana, due Tuesday. He defines the old 78s and out-of-print, obscure reissues he and brother Phil found in their youth as a treasure trove TREASURE TROVE. Found treasure. 2. This name is given to such money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion, which having been hidden or concealed in the earth or other private place, so long that its owner is unknown, has been discovered by accident. of folk music. Then he redefines those same songs. Some titles are familiar, but not in the way Alvin does them, such as ``Shenandoah'' as an r&b song. His powerful, deep vocals and full, lively instrumental backup infuse in·fuse v. 1. To steep or soak without boiling in order to extract soluble elements or active principles. 2. To introduce a solution into the body through a vein for therapeutic purposes. these old classics with a zest likely never before attached to them. ``Dark Eyes,'' for example, gets a full Cajun treatment, in a successful effort to bend it into the Balfa Brothers mold. It's one of the album highlights. Clearly, these 15 numbers become atypical folk songs in Alvin's capable hands. Many of his versions are surprisingly innovative, yet even those done without much modern embellishment have a fresh feel. There's also a fine instrumental as a bonus track not listed in the liner notes. Four stars - Ken Rosenbaum Toledo Blade Beach Boys/``Sunflower/Surf's Up,'' ``In Concert'' (Capitol) The assumption that Brian Wilson was spent as a songwriter and the Beach Boys were nothing but a hammy ham·my adj. ham·mi·er, ham·mi·est Marked or characterized by overacting; affectedly humorous or dramatic. ham oldies Oldies is a generic term commonly used to describe a radio format that usually concentrates on Top 40 music from the '50s, '60s and '70s. Oldies are typically from R&B, pop and rock music genres. act by 1970 is easily dispelled by these long-awaited, revelatory reissues. ``Sunflower'' (four stars) is in fact one of the group's three most completely realized records - along with ``Pet Sounds'' and ``Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''. It features three bona fide [Latin, In good faith.] Honest; genuine; actual; authentic; acting without the intention of defrauding. A bona fide purchaser is one who purchases property for a valuable consideration that is inducement for entering into a contract and without suspicion of being Brian Wilson classics in ``This Whole World,'' ``Add Some Music to Your Day'' and ``Cool, Cool Water,'' as well as a pair of stellar Dennis Wilson songs, a rocking ``Slip on Through'' and the funky ``Got to Know the Woman.'' Brian was only peripherally involved in follow-up ``Surf's Up,'' which is combined in this reissue with ``Sunflower.'' He begrudgingly allowed the title song, written as the centerpiece of the legendary abandoned album ``Smile,'' to be appended - uneasily and unimpressively - to a set that had moments both brilliant (Brian's `` 'Til I Die,'' Carl Wilson's lovely ``Feel Flows'' and Bruce Johnston's nostalgic ``Disney Girls'') and banal (Mike Love's ``Student Demonstration Time''). ``In Concert'' (three stars), recorded in '72-'73, proves just how good - and inventive - the Beach Boys were on stage in this period, when the basic lineup was augmented by South Africa's Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin. It's the latter taking the lead on ``Sail on Sailor,'' opening a set that sprinkles in the usual suspects (``California Girls,'' ``Help Me, Rhonda'') with songs from ``Pet Sounds'' (beautiful versions of ``Caroline, No'' and ``You Still Believe in Me'') and excellent contemporaneous material like ``Marcella,'' ``The Trader'' and ``Leaving This Town.'' - Terry Lawson Detroit Free Press The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep". Some still refer to it locally as "The Friendly" -- a slogan from an ad campaign in the '70s. Jascha Heifetz/``Beethoven and Brahms Violin Concertos'' (Naxos) The rap on Heifetz, that he could be a cold player, has endured. And these recordings won't do much to change that impression. Heifetz, to be sure, was a technically superior musician who doled out expressiveness in modest doses. But no violinist to this day has produced a tone that vibrates with more vitality, and Mark Obert-Thorn's restoration of a March 11, 1940, Beethoven concerto with the NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. and Toscanini in Studio 8-H captures that glorious quality. On total, it is a wonderfully natural-sounding, clear and balanced sound product. Heifetz is best in the cadenzas, where he finally escapes the shadow of the composer and lets loose with some personality of his own. Case in point: He plays the first movement of the Brahms as though it were an etude e·tude n. Music 1. A piece composed for the development of a specific point of technique. 2. A composition featuring a point of technique but performed because of its artistic merit. , sewing in and out of quick passages with an ease so cool it seems to say ``so there.'' But the three-minute cadenza ca·den·za n. 1. An elaborate, ornamental melodic flourish interpolated into an aria or other vocal piece. 2. An extended virtuosic section for the soloist usually near the end of a movement of a concerto. is executed with polish-plus, and it still manages to be fiery. Although both concertos were previously released (on Victor), no vinyl could produce a sound as clear as this worthy release. Four stars - Peter Dobrin Philadelphia Inquirer CAPTION(S): photo Photo: no caption (Eve 6) |
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