SOUND CHECK.Los Lobos/``This Time'' (Hollywood) Los Lobos' second album of new songs since 1992's acclaimed ``Kiko'' finds the band again collaborating with avant-garde alchemists An alchemist was a person versed in the art of alchemy, an ancient branch of natural philosophy that eventually evolved into chemistry and pharmacology. Alchemy flourished in the Islamic world during the Middle Ages, and then in Europe from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake. This time around, though, Lobos return to less experimental, familiar ground with the Colombian soundscape sound·scape n. An atmosphere or environment created by or with sound: the raucous soundscape of a city street; a play with a haunting soundscape. of ``Cumbia cum·bi·a n. 1. A Latin-American dance originating among African slave populations on Colombia's Atlantic coast and characterized by short sliding steps. 2. Music for this dance. Raza,'' along with r&b-fueled winners like the easygoing eas·y·go·ing also eas·y-go·ing adj. 1. a. Living without undue worry or concern; calm. b. Lax or negligent; careless. c. New Orleans groove of the War tribute, ``Oh, Yeah,'' a swampy ``Viking'' and the sweetly soulful title track. With its enjoyable mix of blues, rock, soul and rootsy folk, ``This Time'' offers a multicultural musical road map for a new era. Three stars - Fred Shuster Soundtrack/``South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'' (Atlantic) The musical companion to the outrageous animated comedy deserves to win an Oscar for best movie score of the year, even if we can't spell out all the song titles in a family newspaper. Arranged and partially penned by Academy Award-nominated composer Marc Shaiman, the soundtrack features such memorably fully realized show-tune parodies as ``Blame Canada,'' ``What Would Brian Boitano Do?'' ``Eyes of a Child'' (performed by Michael McDonald) and ``I Can Change,'' hilariously sung by a cartoon Saddam Hussein. To stretch out the disc's dozen film tracks, there are eight less successful interpretations by an eclectic lineup, notably Kid Rock, RuPaul and the Violent Femmes. Three stars - F.S. Tin Hat Trio/``Memory Is an Elephant'' (Angel) The playfully inverted inverted reverse in position, direction or order. inverted L block a pattern of local filtration anesthesia commonly used in laparotomy in the ox. title here hints at the scrambled yet sophisticated sensibility within. Suavely compressing Cajun, klezmer klezmer (klĕz`mər), form of instrumental folk music developed in the Eastern European Jewish community. The style had its beginnings in the Middle Ages; its name is a Yiddishized version of the Hebrew klei zemir , tango, 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. and bossa nova into soulfully cerebral chamber jazz, this Bay Area trio sounds like what you might get if David Grisman, Bill Frisell, Astor Piazzolla and Samuel Barber were somehow to form a Left Bank busker group. Never lapsing into mere pastiche, Tin Hat Trio fuses the structural incisiveness of classical with the sensual fluidity of jazz, offset by probing, avant-garde atonalities. Rob Burger establishes the almost-cinematic mis-en-scene with richly melancholic mel·an·chol·ic adj. 1. Affected with or being subject to melancholy. 2. Of or relating to melancholia. overlays of accordion, piano and pump organ, while Carla Kihlstedt's elegantly austere violin and viola playing jostles dramatically with Mark Orton's earthy guitar, 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 banjo banjo, stringed musical instrument, with a body resembling a tambourine. The banjo consists of a hoop over which a skin membrane is stretched; it has a long, often fretted neck and four to nine strings, which are plucked with a pick or the fingers. rumblings. This is cosmopolitan ``roots'' music of a very rare order. Three and one half stars - Reed Johnson Paco de Lucia/``Luzia'' (Blue Thumb) After collaborating with jazzers such as Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and Al DiMeola, innovative flamenco guitar icon de Lucia offers an engaging solo work that recalls ``Siroco,'' his serene 1989 tribute to traditional flamenco forms. The difference here are the eight original pieces focusing on unusual harmonies and tempered by an intimate backing of mandolin, bass and percussion. As always, the spotlight is on de Lucia's dazzling fretwork, even when taking the lead vocals on the title track and ``Camaron,'' dedicated to the late flamenco singer Camaron de la Isla. Three and one half stars - F.S. Etta James/``Heart of a Woman'' (Private Music) On her new album, James tackles a set of popular standards, including songs by immortals like Duke Ellington, Sammy Cahn and Irving Berlin. The disc kicks off with a swinging rendition of the melancholy ``You Don't Know What Love Is,'' followed by the bluesy ``Good Morning Heartache.'' James' bossa nova spin on the classic ``My Old Flame'' works well, while the Stevie Wonder-inspired horns on Berlin's ``Say It Isn't So'' is an instant highlight. Also worth checking out is a reworked version of James' 1961 smash, ``At Last,'' bolstered by a snazzy snaz·zy adj. snaz·zi·er, snaz·zi·est Slang Fashionable or flashy. [Origin unknown.] snaz Hammond organ solo. Three stars - F.S. Beth Hart/``Screamin' for My Supper'' (143/Lava/Atlantic) After her surprisingly fully formed debut several years ago, singer-songwriter Hart's jinxed jinx n. 1. A person or thing that is believed to bring bad luck. 2. A condition or period of bad luck that appears to have been caused by a specific person or thing. tr.v. sophomore effort veers up a driveway called mediocrity. Problem is, the seething seethe intr.v. seethed, seeth·ing, seethes 1. To churn and foam as if boiling. 2. a. To be in a state of turmoil or ferment: Hart has apparently lost her identity and isn't sure whether she's Janis Joplin or Sheryl Crow. On an album that could easily be filed under metal-lite, she screeches her way through much of the proceedings, stopping briefly to ape Crow on the painfully obvious ballad ``L.A. Song.'' One and one half stars - F.S. G. Love & Special Sauce/``Philadelphonic'' (OKeh/550 Music) Hip-hop bluesman Love's fourth platter finds the Philly native running out of steam - and ideas. Where his previous disc, ``Yeah, It's That Easy,'' used four different lineups to lend the mostly wonderful tracks a variety of sound and energy to spare, ``Philadelphonic'' unfortunately features the return of Love's usual lo-fi backing crew. The slurred and lazy results, even with the hip-hop-oriented use of loops and samples, is uninspired and often self-indulgent. Two stars - F.S. Manic Street Preachers/``This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' (Virgin) In Britain, the Manics are a household name; in America the band has trouble finding a record label brave enough to release its albums. Rich with bombastic rock hooks, the new disc is reminiscent of an older, more politically minded U2. The band's strength, along with intelligent, lyric-based songwriting, is the lush keyboard arrangements that soar behind singer James Dean Bradfield's wail. While titles like ``You Stole the Sun From My Heart "You Stole The Sun From My Heart" was released by Manic Street Preachers on March 8, 1999 and was the third single to be released from the This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours. ,'' ``Ready for Drowning'' and ``Nobody Loved You'' suggest misery, an undercurrent of hope and optimism lies beneath the current of despair. Three and one half stars - Jay Webb Dallas Morning News CAPTION(S): 6 Photos Photo: (1) no caption (Los Lobos) (2--6) no caption (CD covers) |
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