SOUND CHECK.Byline: - Fred Shuster Professor Longhair/``Way Down Yonder yon·der adv. In or at that indicated place: the house over yonder. adj. Being at an indicated distance, usually within sight: "Yonder hills," he said, pointing. in New Orleans'' The late Roy Byrd, better-known as Professor Longhair Professor Longhair (pseudonym of Henry Roeland Byrd) (1918–80) blues musician; born in Bogalusa, La. As a pianist and singer, he was an innovator of postwar New Orleans rhythm-and-blues. , was an inventor of that peculiarly New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded style of piano - the Latin-tinged, rhumba-rock approach full of flourishes and humor currently being kept alive by Dr. John. On this wonderful, newly unearthed Unearthed is the name of a Triple J project to find and "dig up" (hence the name) hidden talent in regional Australia. Unearthed has had three incarnations - they first visited each region of Australia where Triple J had a transmitter - 41 regions in all. collection, Longhair longhair Generic term for any member of breeds of domestic cats noted for their long, soft, flowing coat. Longhair breeds include Balinese, Birman, Cymric, Himalayan, Javanese, Norwegian forest cat, Maine coon cat, Persian, Ragdoll, Somali, and Turkish Angora. is captured in his element, tickling the ivories first in a neighborhood bar for a boisterous hometown crowd in 1947 and later during his 1970 comeback. The hits - ``Bald Head,'' ``Tipitina,'' ``Go to the Mardi Gras'' - are here, but Longhair could play the phone book and still delight the ears. The fact that this is historic stuff makes up for the sometimes poor sound quality. Three Stars Eric Clapton/``Pilgrim'' About to hit the road with a 20-piece orchestra, Clapton warms up with his first new set of original songs since 1989. If you've been anywhere near a radio lately, you've heard the reflective first single, ``My Father's Eyes,'' a worthy successor to ``Tears in Heaven "Tears in Heaven" is a ballad written and performed by Eric Clapton about the pain he felt following the 1991 death of his four-year-old son, Connor, who fell from a 53rd-story window in his mother's New York City condominium. .'' The rest of this r&b-flavored disc is equally meditative, as the song titles - ``Broken Hearted,'' ``Sick and Tired,'' ``She's Gone,'' ``River of Tears'' - make clear. Two of those tracks offer some typically biting fretwork, but the accent here is on songwriting and melody above all. Due Tuesday. Three Stars - Fred Shuster Loudon Wainwright III/``Little Ship'' Nobody ever mentions how much guts it takes to bare one's soul as Wainwright does in so many tunes while couching these admissions in wry humor. Working with Grammy Award-winning producer John Leventhal John Leventhal is a Grammy Award-winning guitarist, composer, and music producer who has worked with singer-songwriters such as Shawn Colvin, Rosanne Cash (to whom he is married), Rodney Crowell, Marc Cohn, David Crosby, Kelly Willis, Johnny Cash, Michelle Branch, and others. (Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born January 10, 1956 in Vermillion, South Dakota) is a Grammy Award-winning American musician. Childhood and early career Colvin's formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. ), Wainwright weaves horn and string arrangements throughout upbeat rockers and stark tales on his delightful 16th album. Themes here include romance and estrangement through ``Breakfast in Bed,'' ``Underwear,'' ``I Can't Stand Myself'' and ``Our Own War,'' featuring one of two cameos from Colvin. Our hero also tackles homelessness in ``Primrose Hill,'' named for a particularly sweet park near London Zoo. Three and One Half Stars - Fred Shuster Indian World Music Fusion/``Re-Orient with Balvji Shrivastav'' In this unusual but recommended world-music hybrid, outstanding Indian classical musicians interact with jazz soloists for a veritable feast of sound. There are improvised ragas in which sax, bamboo flute and tabla tabla Pair of small drums, the principal percussion in Hindustani music of northern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The higher-pitched daya, played with the right hand, is a roughly cylindrical one-skinned drum, usually wooden, normally tuned to the raga's tonic. dialogue, fast Turkish rhythms, meetings of sitar sitar (sĭtär`), fretted string instrument with a gourdlike body and a long neck, similar to the lute. It has from 3 to 7 gut strings, tuned in fourths or fifths (or both), and a lower course of 12 wire strings that vibrate sympathetically with and 12-string guitar, peaceful musical reflections via soprano sax and gorgeous melodies throughout. Lovely stuff. Three Stars - Fred Shuster Soundtrack/``Blues Brothers 2000'' Despite some classic material and first-class players, this album suffers whenever the idiots who comprise the Blues Brothers take the microphone on five out of 18 tracks. The entire ``comic'' concept is repulsive to anyone who respects and loves this music, especially so when Aretha Franklin performed at the Grammys last week backed by the witless wit·less adj. Lacking intelligence or wit; foolish. wit  less·ly adv.wit Dan Aykroyd and company in signature funny hats, sunglasses and silly suits. Except for one great original cut, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's ``Born in Chicago,'' this disc consists of remakes like ``Respect,'' featuring Aretha and the quite solid Blues Brothers Band (Steve Cropper CROPPER, contracts. One who, having no interest in the land, works it in consideration of receiving a portion of the crop for his labor. 2 Rawle, R. 12. , Matt Murphy, Duck Dunn, etc.). Another goodie good·ie n. Variant of goody1. is the old Son House track ``John the Revelator rev·e·la·tor n. One who reveals, especially one who reveals divine will. ,'' here utilizing Taj Mahal and Sam Moore. The Lousiana Gators all-star group featuring Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Isaac Hayes, Jimmie Vaughan and others put forth two good cuts. Seek out the originals. Two Stars - Fred Shuster Black Grape/``Stupid Stupid Stupid'' Fronted by the loony Shaun Ryder, Britain's Black Grape tries to pack as much groove, sound effects, rhythm and general mayhem into its sophomore effort as possible. Every track here is crammed with so much sound, you have to listen at least three times to take it all in. The album starts off with ``Get Higher,'' a catchy dance-rock track highlighted by an authentic-sounding Ronald and Nancy Reagan impersonator making the midsong announcement: ``Tonight I can report to you that former President Bush smokes marijuana regularly and ... Nancy and I are hooked on heroin.'' While Black Grape is clearly in it for laughs, they've come up with a sturdy party album. Two and One Half Stars - Fred Shuster Towa Tei/``Sound Museum'' Former Deee-Lite DJ Towa Tei's second solo effort is another cross-cultural mishmash mish·mash n. A collection or mixture of unrelated things; a hodgepodge. [Middle English misse-masche, probably reduplication of mash, soft mixture; see mash. . A one-man aural assault, Tei melds techno, raga-rock, r&b, hip-hop, disco and jazz for a disc that practically careens out of the CD player. If you're into cutting-edge dance-pop, you might dig this collection, which includes cameos from Biz Markie, Kylie Minogue, jazz beatnik Ken Nordine and others. Radio-ready standout: a samba-fueled cover of Hall & Oates' ``Private Eyes.'' Two and One Half Stars - Fred Shuster John Lennon/``Lennon Legend'' Whether anyone needs a definitive collection of Lennon's finest solo work is debatable, but here it is. Featuring 20 remastered songs, from ``Imagine'' to ``Cold Turkey'' to ``(Just Like) Starting Over,'' the disc contains all 14 of Lennon's solo chart hits in Britain and the U.S. Ultimately it's sad listening to so many wonderful songs all at once. Kudos, though, for keeping what may be Lennon's greatest moment, the abrasive but painfully honest ``Working Class Hero.'' Three and One Half Stars - Fred Shuster Marc Johnson/``The Sound of Summer Running'' The title is an impeccable description of this beautiful work, featuring bassist Marc Johnson along with guitarists Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny and drummer Joey Baron. Like Metheny's pastoral Grammy Award winner, ``Beyond the Missouri Sky,'' the music here is tranquil, meditative and wonderfully evocative of long, warm, lazy days leisurely spent. The musicians here mesh nicely. The perfect album to get you through whatever's left of El Nino. Three and One Half Stars - Glenn Whipp CAPTION(S): 9 Photos Photo: (1) Loudon Wainwright III's new album, ``Little Ship,'' features Shawn Colvin on two tracks. (2--9) no caption (CD covers) |
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