SOUND CHECK.Fun Lovin' Criminals/``100% Colombian'' (Virgin) Those who shout hallelujah Hallelujah (hăl'əl  `yə) or Alleluia (ăl–) [Heb.,=praise the Lord], joyful expression used in Hebrew worship; cf. Pss. whenever radio remembers to play ``Scooby Snacks,'' the 1996 hit that brought this New York New York, state, United StatesNew York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of act its first bit of attention, are in for a surprise. The grooves here are slower and sexier, in a slow-jam kind of way; there are more than a few reasons for a song called ``Love Unlimited,'' then, beyond its cheeky ``Barry White ... BARRY WHITE!'' call and response. More than half of the Criminals' sophomore effort sinks into a cozy love vibe that is strangely effective, placed as it is against the off-kilter, often deeply inside jokes of leader Huey (just Huey, thanks). Case in point: ``Sugar,'' a swoony number built upon Hall and Oates' ``One on One'' that tells of the love between Huey and his ... dog. (Sublime ain't got nothin' on these cats.) As Chuck Berry said, it goes to show you never can tell. The point, then, is to go with the flow, and the Criminals ooze OOZE - Object oriented extension of Z. "Object Orientation in Z", S. Stepney et al eds, Springer 1992. with it. Three stars - Ben Wener Orange County Register Lynn Miles/``Night in a Strange Town'' (Philo/Rounder) The ability to make the commonplace compelling animates all of Canadian singer-songwriter Miles' second effort, produced by Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell) and John Cody (Holly Cole). Without trying too hard to be fashionable, Miles applies her reedy reed·y adj. reed·i·er, reed·i·est 1. Full of reeds. 2. Made of reeds. 3. Resembling a reed, especially in being thin or fragile: , thin voice to California rock spiked with interesting chord progressions and disarmingly simple tag lines. She sets scenes that center on lingering heartbreak (``Sacre Coeur''), then delves into a dissection of a bad romance (``Wrong''), and no matter where she starts, she winds up with songs that just don't shake off easily. Three and one half stars - Tom Moon Philadelphia Inquirer Geoff Muldaur/``The Secret Handshake'' (Hightone) Subtitled ``American Music: Blues & Gospel,'' this thing is all over the map stylistically: rural blues, New Orleans-style barrelhouse bar·rel·house n. 1. A disreputable old-time saloon or bawdyhouse. 2. An early style of jazz characterized by boisterous piano playing, free group improvisation, and an accented two-beat rhythm. Noun 1. jazz flavored with Cajun 'cordeen, spiritual stomps. There's a pleasant surprise in every track. ``This World Is Not My Home'' gets the kind of style Blood, Sweat & Tears found when they were in a gospel groove; Leadbelly's ``Alberta'' has that Southern jazz/blues feel, and it's followed by a Muldaur original, ``Got to Find Blind Lemon - Part One,'' the (apparently true) story of a search for Blind Lemon Jefferson's grave. And the closing ``Mistreated Mama'' sounds like a lost track by the Band. Muldaur, who goes back to the '60s' Jim Kweskin Jug Band traces his roots music back considerably farther than even that, all the way back to Colonial times. Four stars - James M. Tarbox St. Paul Pioneer Press
The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Peter Himmelman/``Love Thinketh No Evil'' (Six Degrees) Himmelman's first studio album for grown-ups since 1994 sounds good. He and a new crew of players wrestle a wide range of sounds - Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. The Mellotron supervenes the Chamberlin, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard. , Moog synthesizer, cello, muted horns - into remarkably unassuming service for uniformly solid songs. Himmelman still writes lyrics that matter with a penchant for wordplay (``Coming Apart at the Dreams''), and even amid the aural thicket, he manages a simple, spare, beautiful love song, the Dylan-esque ``7 Circles.'' Three and one half stars - Fred Beckley Philadelphia Inquirer Stefon Harris/``A Cloud of Red Dust'' (Blue Note) This acclaimed debut effort from young jazz vibist Harris is highly produced, compositional (nearly all tunes are originals, although the disc's strongest track is by Bobby Hutcherson) and conceptual, with Harris providing brief interludes as segues between tunes. While he has plenty of technique and a dark tone, Harris shares the spotlight here with the often exceptional pianist Mulgrew Miller, alto and soprano saxophonists Greg Osby and Steve Wilson, trombonist/shells player Steve Turre, drummer Alvester Garnett and others. Three and one half stars - Bob Protzman St. Paul Pioneer Press Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds/``Live at Luther College'' (RCA See RCA connector and video/TV history. ) These annual tours with buddy Reynolds must be like a big, long sigh for Matthews, who gets to do his thing without all the high-stakes pressure of his usual band. And that's why fans - even ones with all the bootlegs - will relish ``Live at Luther College,'' a two-disc, 23-track mosey mo·sey intr.v. mo·seyed, mo·sey·ing, mo·seys Informal 1. To move in a leisurely, relaxed way; saunter: moseyed over to the club after lunch. 2. through Matthews' catalog of compositions, recorded last spring onstage at the small Iowa school. Stripped-down and stirring, this isn't mere Matthews unplugged. By unveiling the building blocks of his most familiar material (``Crash,'' ``Ants Marching,'' ``Tripping Billies''), Matthews reveals his gift as a genuine pop craftsman - once you forgive him the occasional affected lyric. Three stars - Brian McCollum 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. Lone Justice/``This World Is Not My Home'' (Geffen) When Lone Justice's version of cowpunk first emerged in the early '80s, it was something to cherish, a fact underlined by this 17-track collection consisting largely of unreleased demos and live cuts. The first seven tracks, in fact - the band's earliest demos, including the rave-ups ``Drugstore Cowboy'' and ``Rattlesnake rattlesnake, poisonous New World snake of the pit viper family, distinguished by a rattle at the end of the tail. The head is triangular, being widened at the base. The rattle is a series of dried, hollow segments of skin, which, when shaken, make a whirring sound. Mama,'' and three outtakes from the first album's sessions - amply show the spunk and fire that Lone Justice had for a brief moment in time. Maria McKee's voice is pure little-girl petulance shot through with wild-child whiskey roughness, dripping honey across an artistic razor blade ra·zor·blade also ra·zor blade n. A thin sharp-edged piece of steel that can be fitted into a razor. razor blade n → hoja de afeitar razor blade , while guitarist Ryan Hedgecock and his mates pour clean but venomous venomous secreting poison; poisonous. charm into the arrangements. Three stars - Ben Wener Gyorgy Ligeti/``Complete Piano Music, Vol. 2.'' (Bis) Thanks to Sony's commitment to documenting the complete works of Ligeti, the Hungarian master is finally receiving his due. But don't let major label glitter overshadow this series of Ligeti's piano music on the Swedish Bis label, performed by Fredrik Ullen. Volume 2 surveys 46 years, from the Bartokian ``Musica Ricercata'' (1953) to witty etudes from 1995 and '97. Ullen's approach is less percussive per·cus·sive adj. Of, relating to, or characterized by percussion. per·cus  sive·ly adv. with perhaps a slightly more flexible approach to rhythm and dynamics than his counterpart on Sony, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, though the latter scores points for tensile excitement. Three stars - Mark Stryker Detroit Free Press Soundtrack/``Varsity Blues'' (Hollywood) This soundtrack collects bands that currently define the modern-rock radio format, like Third Eye Blind, Green Day, Fastball and Foo Fighters. The album also captures the current shallowness of the form - an irony, since alt-rock began as a way to give popular music back its credibility. At least there's punch and pleasure to the guitar-rock of a band like Loudmouth (who sound like Soundgarden meets Collective Soul) and real virility Virility See also Beauty, Masculine; Brawniness. Fury, Sergeant archetypal he-man. [Comics: “Sergeant Fury and His Howling Commandos” in Horn, 607–608] Henry, John in a cover like Monster Magnet's version of the MC5 anthem ``Kick Out the Jams.'' That ``Jams'' dates from 1969 says a lot about what's wrong with current guitar rock. However familiar or flighty flight·y adj. flight·i·er, flight·i·est 1. a. Given to capricious or unstable behavior. b. Characterized by irresponsible or silly behavior. 2. Easily excited; skittish. the music here, though, at least it doesn't lack kick. Two and one half stars - Jim Farber New York Daily News New York Daily News Morning daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson and his cousin Robert McCormick as a subsidiary of the Tribune Co. of Chicago. The first successful tabloid-format newspaper in the U.S. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: no caption (Fun Lovin' Criminals) |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion