SOUND CHECK.SPOTLIGHT ON... LV/``How Long'' (Loud/Sony) Best-known for his vocals on Coolio's Grammy-winning ``Gangsta's Paradise,'' South Central's LV makes his debut with a spirited set of ``baby makin' '' r&b that brings to mind Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass, Sr. (born March 26 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) affectionately known as 'Teddy P', "TP", or "Teddy Bear" is an American soul singer. and Bobby Womack. Like fellow smooth-as-silk crooner Joe, LV wears his heart on his sleeve, and this soulful, slow ride moves from emotive ballads like ``One Chance,'' ``Wherever You Are'' and the gorgeous title track to the upbeat ``Come Home With Me'' and a cover of Womack's '70s soul hit ``Woman's Gotta Have It.'' LV's soft, sometimes bluesy delivery and the playful production of a posse of top r&b hitmakers ensure it won't be too long before ``How Long'' takes up residency in the charts. Three stars - Fred Shuster Tom Tom Club/``The Good, the Bad and the Funky'' (Rykodisc/Tip Top) Blending funky rhythms and airy ``girl vocals'' is a sound that the Tom Tom Club The Tom Tom Club is a New Wave band founded in 1980 by spouses and Talking Heads alumni Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. Biography Although originally established as a side project, the Tom Tom Club enjoyed early success with hits such as "Genius of Love" and "Wordy coined more than 15 years ago with its rubbery club hit ``Genius of Love.'' Now the Tom Tom Club's husband-and-wife team of Chris Frantz Chris Frantz (born Charlton Christopher Frantz, May 8, 1951 in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, United States) was the drummer for both the Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club. Career He graduated from Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. and Tina Weymouth Martina Michèle Weymouth (born on November 22, 1950 in Coronado, California), known simply as Tina Weymouth, is a American musician, best known as a founding member of the influential New Wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club (co-founded with Talking , formerly of the Talking Heads, revisit that sound on ``The Good, the Bad and the Funky'' (in stores Tuesday). This time, though, the band builds on its trademark sound with reggae (``Time to Bounce''), techno (``She's a Freak'') and Eastern music (the instrumental ``Lesbians by the Lake''). The Tom Tom Club even tries flexing its creative muscle at regrooving Donna Summer's ``Love to Love You Baby'' and Lee Perry's ``Soul Fire.'' But if there's one song on this album that captures the spirit of the Tom Tom Club's transition, it would have to be the happy-go-lucky song ``Who Feelin' It,'' which reminds us just where it all started by sampling the melody from ``Genius of Love.'' Band appears Oct. 30 at the El Rey Theatre. Three stars - Sandra Barrera Irma Thomas/``My Heart's in Memphis: The Songs of Dan Penn'' (Rounder) New Orleans soul queen Thomas (``It's Raining'') has been cutting records for 40 years, and her songs have been covered by the Rolling Stones and Otis Redding. Penn is one of the architects of '60s r&b as writer and/or producer of such timeless tunes as ``Cry Like a Baby,'' ``Do Right Woman'' and ``Dark End of the Street.'' Is it any surprise that Thomas and Penn are a match made in soul heaven? This gritty, well- crafted set features nine new Penn songs and four of his classics, including ``I'm Your Puppet'' and ``Woman Left Lonely.'' Thomas, who appears Sunday at the L.A. Tennis Center, is in fine form, backed by such longtime Memphis studio hands as guitarist Michael Toles, whose wah-wah guitar graced Isaac Hayes' ``Shaft.'' Three and one half stars - F.S. Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington/``The Great Summit - The Complete Sessions'' (Roulette) The two titans of 20th-century jazz came together for just one full recording session during the course of their long, illustrious careers. This two-disc set captures that majestic, joyful summit in a most interesting and enthralling en·thrall tr.v. en·thralled, en·thrall·ing, en·thralls 1. To hold spellbound; captivate: The magic show enthralled the audience. 2. To enslave. fashion. The first CD features 17 master takes of Ellington numbers, sung by Armstrong and backed by Ellington on piano, with Armstrong's touring quartet of all-stars. These songs are pure gold. Armstrong clearly had an appreciation for the material, and we hear Ellington stretching out on piano in a way that he rarely did in the studio. The second disc offers outtakes from the session, including eight alternate takes and rehearsal conversations between the two masters. It's fascinating to hear the songs taking shape, particularly in the case of ``Azalea azalea (əzāl`yə) [Gr.,=dry], any species of the genus Rhododendron, North American and Asian shrubs of the family Ericaceae (heath family) that are distinguished by the usually deciduous leaves. ,'' an unissued Ellington number that the band leader wrote with Armstrong in mind. Pops runs with it, and you can practically hear Duke beaming in the background. Magnificent. Four stars - Glenn Whipp Christian McBride/``Sci-Fi'' (Verve) Over the course of three albums as a leader and more than 100 as a sideman side·man n. A member of a jazz band who is not the leader or a featured soloist. , bassist McBride has earned an avalanche of acclaim. This ``acoustic-fusion'' effort opens with an inventive arrangement of Steely Dan's ``Aja,'' which shifts time signatures and replaces the original sax break with a fine guitar solo. Destined des·tine tr.v. des·tined, des·tin·ing, des·tines 1. To determine beforehand; preordain: a foolish scheme destined to fail; a film destined to become a classic. 2. for plenty of airplay air·play n. The broadcasting of an audio or audiovisual recording on the air over radio or television. airplay Noun the broadcast performances of a record on radio is McBride's haunting, weightless reading of the Police classic ``Walking on the Moon,'' while the bassist's own ``Lullaby for a Ladybug'' (with vocalist Dianne Reeves) makes ``Sci-Fi'' (in stores Tuesday) a truly celestial outing. Three and one half stars - F.S. The Hangdogs/``Beware of Dog'' (Shanachie shan·a·chie also sen·na·chie n. Chiefly Scots A skilled teller of tales or legends, especially Gaelic ones. [Scots Gaelic seanachaidh, from Old Irish senchaid, variant of ) These snarling snarl 1 v. snarled, snarl·ing, snarls v.intr. 1. To growl viciously while baring the teeth. 2. To speak angrily or threateningly. v.tr. New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. cowpunks might initially sound like countrified coun·tri·fied also coun·try·fied adj. 1. Resembling or having the characteristics of country life; rural. 2. Lacking sophistication. Eminems to cultural alarmists - or male Dixie Chicks, take your pick. But once past the hard-driving cussin' and violence of their second album's lead track, ``The Gun Song,'' it becomes apparent this is a highly thoughtful bunch of twang anarchists. Their protest songs reach back in history to, predictably, the '60s (``The World Is Yours''), but also into the more obscure mist of the Depression-era veteran's march (``Anacostia''). They can be disturbing humorists A humorist is a person who writes or performs humorous material. The material written and/or performed by humorists tends to be more subtle and cerebral than the material created by stand-up comedians and comedy writers. (``Other People's Houses'') and compelling victims of love, alternately wistful and angry about it. Lead singer-songwriter Matthew Grimm used to be a business reporter, and his musical mission seems to be skewering everything he hated about the job and all it represented. He may have despised it, but it was fabulous inspiration. Four stars - Bob Strauss Andrea Bocelli/``Verdi'' (Philips) Whether crooning popular Italian love songs or classical arias, Bocelli stirs souls around the world. For his fourth classical effort and sixth album overall (in stores Tuesday), the blind Italian tenor offers a deft set of Verdi's most famous arias, including ``La Traviata,'' ``Rigoletto'' and ``Il Trovatore'' as Zubin Mehta conducts the Israeli Philharmonic. Bocelli has wonderful control over the notes and embraces the emotion in these popular pieces. Three stars - F.S. The Brooklyn Cowboys/``Doin' Time on Planet Earth'' (Leap) Sort of a country rock supergroup composed of an Ozark Mountain Daredevil, a New Rider of the Purple Sage, bigtime big·time or big-time Informal adj. Significant or important; major: a bigtime comedian. adv. To an extreme degree; very much: Sales are expanding, big-time. session players and, perhaps most crucially, songwriters Walter Egan and Fredrough Perry, this band borrows its name from a great early-'70s Arlo Guthrie album and its style from the fast-pickin', scratch-harmonizing Flying Burrito Brothers of the same vintage. Yes, it's yet another Gram Parsons kind of thing, but this one's got some respectable credentials. Not only is ex-Burrito Al Perkins a producer, but Egan co-wrote ``Hearts on Fire'' (which he duets here with the game Joy Lynn White Joy Lynn White (born Joy White, added a middle name in 1994) is an American country music singer. Even though she wasn't a commercial success she still managed to gain fame in 1992 after being nominated for the Academy of Country Music's award for top new female vocalist. - but it's nothing like the spine-slithering agony of Parsons and Emmylou Harris' version). Egan also put music to another set of unrecorded Parsons lyrics, this one a happy tribute to the joy of music-making called ``Carolina Calypso Calypso, in Greek mythology Calypso (kəlĭp`sō), nymph, daughter of Atlas, in Homer's Odyssey. She lived on the island of Ogygia and there entertained Odysseus for seven years. .'' Three and one half stars - B.S. CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (LV) (2 -- 6) no caption (CD covers) |
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