SOUND CHECK.Pulp/``This Is Hardcore'' Pulp, one of Britain's best-loved pop bands, is in a dour mood these days. But, then, who isn't? With the new album, rail-thin singer, lyricist lyr·i·cist n. A writer of song lyrics. Also called lyrist. Noun 1. lyricist - a person who writes the words for songs lyrist and resident wit Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September, 1963, in Sheffield, England) is an English Britpop musician, best known for fronting the band Pulp. Pulp Cocker founded "Arabacus Pulp" (named after a tradeable commodity seen by Cocker in an economics class) at the age of 15 portrays a world gone decidedly noir. But despite dark, deceptively low-key arrangements, there's humor here, as in the track ``Help the Aged'' with its opening lines: ``Help the aged/One time they were just like you/Drinking, smoking cigs and sniffing glue.'' Like other recent masterworks from Pulp's post-Britpop contemporaries, ``This Is Hardcore'' requires repeated listenings. Eventually, the shadings and melodies reveal themselves. It's worth the effort. Three Stars - Fred Shuster Jann Arden/``Happy?'' The answer to the question posed by the title of Canadian folk-country chanteuse chan·teuse n. A woman singer, especially a nightclub singer. [French, feminine of chanteur, singer, from chanter, to sing; see chant.] Arden's third album is clearly a big no, judging by the poignant lyrics on display in songs like ``Hangin' by a Thread'' and ``I Know You.'' Although ``Happy?'' explores difficult emotional territory, it does so with warmth, style and a radio-friendly sheen. Adding to the disc's high marks are top-flight contributions from high-profile session musicians such as Jim Keltner Jim Keltner (born April 27 1942 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is a distinguished session drummer who has contributed to the work of many well-known artists. Keltner is best known for his session work on solo recordings by three of the Beatles, working often with George Harrison, John , Greg Leisz Greg Leisz (pronounced "Lease" [1]) is an American multi-instrumentalist, playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass. Little known by his own name, his highly respected playing has appeared on recordings by Tiger Army, Bill Frisell, Dave Alvin, Tracy and Kenny Aronoff. Three Stars - Fred Shuster Miles Davis Quintet/``Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (1965-68)'' The only thing that needs explaining in this majestic collection of some of the greatest and most adventurous jazz ever recorded is why only half the 1969 Miles album ``Filles De Kilimanjaro'' is included. Apparently, the reasoning goes, Davis' second classic quintet (including Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams) completed ``Filles'' in a six-month period in '68 that also included all the session for the gorgeous ``In a Silent Way.'' Those dates will be the subject of a future box set in this extensive Grammy-winning series. At any rate, the current seven-hour, six-CD box containing all the music from the quintet's five seminal albums - ``E.S.P.,'' ``Miles Smiles,'' ``Sorcerer (tool) SORCERER - A simple tree parser generator by Terence Parr <parrt@s1.arc.umn.edu>. SORCERER is suitable for translation problems lying between those solved by code generator generators and by full source-to-source translator generators. ,'' ``Nefertiti'' and ``Miles in the Sky,'' plus about half the material later issued on ``Filles'' in 1969 and ``Water Babies'' in 1976 - covers all the bases of innovation, complexity, emotion and improvisational brilliance. It's timeless music. Four Stars - Fred Shuster Bonnie Raitt/``Fundamental'' Raitt aims for a stripped-down, less conventional sound on her 15th album. Utilizing mostly new backup musicians as well as the adventurous co-production team of Tchad Blake and Mitchell Froom, ``Fundamental'' is Raitt's ``Wrecking Ball,'' the innovative album from Emmylou Harris and Daniel Lanois. Guitars surge and bubble while unexpected sounds abound on this first-rate collection of Los Lobos-penned Memphis soul grooves (``Cure for Love''), powerful Raitt originals (``Spit of Love''), John Hiatt gems (``Lover's Will'') and reworked blues standards (``Round & Round''). One of Bonnie's best. Due Tuesday. Three and One Half Stars - Fred Shuster Bond/``Bang Out of Order'' Strong rock grooves meet infectious dance beats in this Scottish-Brit quartet's fine-sounding debut. Produced with top-40 savvy by Matthew Wilder (No Doubt) and mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Wallflowers), ``Bang Out of Order'' contains catchy material that would feel right at home on radio stations of various formats. Standouts here include ``Starbucked,'' ``Miracles'' and ``Nothing Fits.'' Two and One Half Stars - Fred Shuster Reverend Horton Heat/``Space Heater'' On its fifth album, Dallas psychobilly trio Reverend Horton Heat reveals some unexpected but welcome growth. Of course, ``Space Heater'' boasts low-rent garage rockabilly to be sure. However, the band gets downright cinematic on ``Pride of San Jacinto,'' big-band bluesy on ``Baby I'm Drunk'' and jazzy jazz·y adj. jazz·i·er, jazz·i·est 1. Resembling jazz in form or nature; rhythmical. 2. Slang Showy; flashy: a jazzy car. with the speedy title track. Cramps fans will eat this one up. Two and One Half Stars - Fred Shuster Scott Weiland/``12 Bar Blues'' Initially, Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots (abbreviated STP) was a popular Grammy Award-winning American hard rock band in the 1990s and early 2000s, consisting of Scott Weiland (vocals), brothers Robert (bass guitar, vocals) and Dean DeLeo (guitar), and Eric Kretz (drums, percussion). was laughed off as a poor Pearl Jam tribute band. Then, suddenly, an entire generation hit that primo record-buying demographic of seventh grade, and STP STP or standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions for measurement of the properties of matter. The standard temperature is the freezing point of pure water, 0°C; or 273.15°K;. began selling albums. Lots of them. Lead singer Weiland, booted out of the group for bad habits, now offers the noisy solo album Eddie Vedder will thankfully never have to make. The only thing missing from this ridiculous attempt at industrial art-rock, or whatever it's trying to be, is a nice long duet with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan This article is about the Pakistani musician. For the Turkish minelayer, see Nusret Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu: نصرت فتح على خاں) (October 13, 1948 - August 16, 1997), a Pakistani musician, was . One Star - Fred Shuster Various/``: The Afro-Latin Groove'' As a solid introduction to classic Afro-Latin jazz or simply to keep the party going with a steady stream of hits, ``'' is a stone success. This wildly infectious sound surprisingly dates back to a time in the late '40s when trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie asked Cuban jazz player Mario Bauza if he knew a good percussionist. Bauza recommended Chano Pozo - and the rest is history. From the opening track, timbales Timbales (or tymbales) are shallow single-headed drums, shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned. The player (known as a timbalero player Willie Bobo's ``Fried Neck Bones and Some Home Fries'' to Machito's ``Relax and Mambo'' and Tito Puente's ``Hong Kong Mambo,'' this is a sizzling siz·zle intr.v. siz·zled, siz·zling, siz·zles 1. To make the hissing sound characteristic of frying fat. 2. To seethe with anger or indignation. 3. compilation. Three Stars - Fred Shuster Propellerheads/``Decksandrumsandrockandroll'' This hard-hitting, humorous and unusually creative electronic duo from Bath, England, takes its name from California slang for computer nerds. Influenced primarily by melodic themes from movie scores by Lalo Schifrin, Bernard Hermann, John Barry, Henry Mancini and others, Propellerheads aim to make pictures with sound. And unlike much of this genre, the duo - which recently completed a vinyl remix of tracks from the Mono album - boasts an appreciation for genuine funk, so the rhythms here are never leaden. Three Stars - Fred Shuster Juan Formell y Los Van Van/``Te Pone See pwn. La Cabeza Mala'' Musicians' favorite Los Van Van Los Van Van is a Cuban band led by bassist Juan Formell, and is considered to be one of Cuba's major timba acts, while Juan Formell has arguably become the most important figure in contemporary Cuban music. is the hottest dance band in Havana. The orchestra's raw, percussive per·cus·sive adj. Of, relating to, or characterized by percussion. per·cus  sive·ly adv. sound is captured perfectly
here, especially during the title track, which roughly translated means
``This'll mess up your head.'' Van Van bandleader Formell
leads his sprawling stop-on-a-dime outfit through a disc of many moods,
but the group is clearly at its best fueling the dance floor. Look for
Los Van Van to make a return appearance at this summer's Playboy
Jazz Festival The Playboy Jazz Festival is an annual event sponsored by Playboy Enterprises to celebrate jazz as well as feature both established and up and coming musicians of the genre. It was founded by Hugh Hefner and was first held in Chicago, Illinois at the Chicago Stadium in 1959. . Three Stars
- Fred Shuster CAPTION(S): 8 Photos Photo: (1) Miles Davis' mid- to late-'60s quintet is featured on a seven-hour, six-CD box set. (2--8) no caption (CD covers) |
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