SOUND CHECK.Oasis/``Be Here Now'' Nobody could charge Oasis with subtlety. As singer Liam Gallagher This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007. proclaims on the group's third and latest album, ``Into my big mouth, you could fly a plane.'' This is a band that has always aimed big, and the best songs here are simply hangar-sized in terms of groove, melody and performance. Of the 11 tracks, at least half are ballads, characterized by walloping drums, layers of guitar and sound collages. Extended album opener ``D'You Know What I Mean?'' - already a radio staple - is perhaps the most perfectly focused slice of medium-tempo musical mayhem on display. On the rockier side of things, ``My Big Mouth'' and the title track reflect Oasis songwriter and co-producer Noel Gallagher's convincing punk streak. The unsung hero of the band, as always, is rhythm guitarist Paul (Bonehead) Arthurs, who propels the material with a steady hand. Lyrically, much of ``Be Here Now'' is trite, although plaintive-voiced Liam actually sings, which is something of a major development. File under '90s classic-rock. The album will be released Tuesday. Three Stars ?13- Fred Shuster Dr. John/``Trippin' Live'' The great 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 keyboardist Mac (Dr. John) Rebennack cut several solo piano records, but this is his first live effort. It's a dazzler. Carrying on in the sturdy tradition of fellow Big Easy marvels 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. and James Booker, Rebennack boasts a near-classical dexterity that allows him to romp up and down those 88 keys as if skimming water. This is emotional music, at once funky, humorous and big-hearted. In a wonderful set backed by a top-notch band at London's Ronnie Scott's club last year, the good doctor takes us through Longhair's ``Tipitina,'' Rebennack's own ``Such a Night'' and ``Right Place Wrong Time,'' plus a terrific medley of Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (mär`dē grä), last day before the fasting season of Lent. It is the French name for Shrove Tuesday. Literally translated, the term means "fat Tuesday" and was so called because it represented the last opportunity for songs. The man's a national treasure. Three and One Half Stars ?13- Fred Shuster Various/``The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers Jimmie Rodgers, or Jimmy Rodgers could be one of the following:
A forceful Depression-era songwriter who vividly reflected his life and times, Jimmie Rodgers has been lumbered with the unfairly limiting Singing Brakeman brake·man n. One who operates, inspects, or repairs brakes, especially a railroad employee who assists the conductor and checks on the operation of a train's brakes. Noun 1. tag for too long. As Bob Dylan Noun 1. Bob Dylan - United States songwriter noted for his protest songs (born in 1941) Dylan points out in the liner notes liner notes pl.n. Explanatory notes about a record album, cassette, or compact disk included on the jacket or in the packaging. to this eye-opening tribute, Rodgers was ``the man who started it all.'' Dylan, who contributes a gruff, Daniel Lanois-produced ``My Blue Eyed Jane,'' assembled this down-to-earth 14-track collection. Some standouts: Dwight Yoakam's ``T for Texas,'' Steve Earle's ``In the Jailhouse Now'' and Bono's ``Dreaming With Tears in my Eyes In My Eyes was a Boston straight edge band that spearheaded the 1997 youth crew revival along with Ten Yard Fight, Bane, The Trust, Fastbreak and Floorpunch. The band and its members were a part of the hot bed that was the Boston music scene in the late 90's and early 2000's. .'' Three Stars ?13- Fred Shuster Various/``Kings of African Music'' Here's an entertaining, budget-priced introduction to the wide-ranging world of African music African music, the music of the indigenous peoples of Africa. Sub-Saharan African music has as its distinguishing feature a rhythmic complexity common to no other region. . While the late, great Fela Kuti isn't included, other giants such as Franco, Thomas Mapfumo, Ali Farka Toure and Youssou N'Dour are accounted for. The thrilling Four Stars and flashy Afro-Parisian crooner Papa Wemba also make welcome contributions. In fact, the entire CD provides instant relief from the blahs. Three Stars ?13- Fred Shuster Grandpaboy/``Grandpaboy'' It's the worst-kept secret in the music industry, but it's good news for Replacements fans who can't wait for ex-frontman Paul Westerberg's next album: Westerberg has surfaced on an indie Boston label using the alter ego A doctrine used by the courts to ignore the corporate status of a group of stockholders, officers, and directors of a corporation in reference to their limited liability so that they may be held personally liable for their actions when they have acted fraudulently or unjustly or when Grandpaboy. The scratchy voice and savage wordplay driving the low-fi rock of Grandpaboy's home-recorded five-song disc reveal what no pseudonym can disguise. Westerberg played all the instruments here, and such bouncy, sax-driven pop tunes as ``Hot Un'' and ``Ain't Done Much,'' plus the rockabilly-flavored ``Pyschopharmacology'' and ``Homelessexual'' would easily have fit, if not improved on, Westerberg's 1996 solo album, ``Eventually.'' Three Stars ?13- David Okamoto Dallas Morning News Insane Clown Posse/``The Great Milenko'' These Detroit rappers are as nasty as they wanna wan·na Informal 1. Contraction of want to: You wanna go now? 2. Contraction of want a: You wanna slice of pie? be, but obviously too blue for Disney-owned Hollywood Records. This is the CD Mickey's company pulled from distribution immediately after releasing it in June. As a result, history repeats itself. Quicker than you can say 2 Live Crew, a mediocre (at best) act finds itself with a career thanks to hype and hysteria its music certainly doesn't warrant. Island Records snapped up the Posse, added a few naughty cuts and lets us hear ``The Great Milenko'' for what it is: a rather boring slab of horror-themed rap with lotsa locker-room words - nothing out of the ordinary for the genre, so don't look for anything shocking - and some flatulent flatulent characterized by flatulence; distended with gas. rhythm tracks. It's not awful, but this dark carnival ride isn't a thriller either. One Star ?13- 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. Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire Soundtrack/``Money Talks: The Album'' Despite a glut in all-star r&b and hip-hop soundtracks, their hit-making potential seems unstoppable, especially when they feature, as this one does, an impressive cast of new and established performers, including Mary J. Blige, SWV SWV Sisters With Voices (Singing Group) SWV Sisters With Voices (R&B Group) SWV Something Weird Video (DVD supplier) SWV Square Wave Voltammetry , Deborah Cox, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Lisa Stansfield, Puff Daddy, the Refugee Camp All-Stars Featuring Pras, Lil' Kim, and collaborations between Barry White and Faith Evans and Next and Naughty by Nature Naughty by Nature is a Grammy Award Winning American Hip hop group that at the time of its formation in 1991 consisted of Treach, Vin Rock, and the DJ Kay Gee. The group formed in East Orange, New Jersey (colloquially referred to as "Illtown" in the 1980s). . Cox's ``Things Just Ain't the Same'' is showing strong signs on the Hot 100, and other tracks could boost the album's visibility. A star-studded companion to the Chris Tucker/Charlie Sheen vehicle. Three Stars ?13- Billboard The Verdi Quartet/Schubert's Quartet in C (D. 32); Quartet in D Minor In the dozen years since it was founded in Germany, the Verdi Quartet has distinguished itself through the expressive fervor of its playing. In these two Franz Schubert quartets, the ensemble infuses the music with an apt theatricality that observes the details of the score while uncovering the fires within. The opening notes of the D minor piece establish the tenor of each performance of the work. This ensemble makes the opening ring with harmonics, prefacing playing of unwavering intensity. The second movement - a set of variations - articulates the mood of Schubert's song ``Death and the Maiden'' with the magical register changes in the violins. The Quartet in C, written in Schubert's early teens, challenges these players to preserve the narrative flow of the music while balancing its emotional weight. Their playing is sympathetic, probing and warmly colored. The contrast of these two works is jarring, but repeated hearing points up the power of the seemingly amorphous early piece. Four Stars ?13- Daniel Webster Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire CAPTION(S): 7 Photos Photo: (1) Oasis - Paul (Bonehead) Arthurs, left, Noel Gallagher, Alan White, Liam Gallagher, and Paul McGuigan - is a band that always aims big and, with ``Be Here Now,'' gets there. (2--7) no caption (CD covers) |
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