SOUND CHECK.MERLE merle a pattern of coat color pigmentation with dark, irregular blotches on a lighter background. Seen in some Collies and Welsh corgis. In shorthaired dogs, e.g. Great Danes and Dachshunds, the similar pattern is called dapple. HAGGARD ``If I Could Only Fly'' (Anti-Epitaph) Hag went to an indie for his latest release after corporate Nashville considered him too, well, independent. But fans of Bakersfield's greatest country poet will recognize ``Fly'' as a mellow, effortlessly virtuosic summation of everything Merle's music has meant over the last 35 years. It's got slightly corny corn·y adj. corn·i·er, corn·i·est Trite, dated, melodramatic, or mawkishly sentimental. [From corn1. , but heartfelt, long-haul love songs and expressions of on-the-road melancholy. There's a perfect little Western Swing number (``Bareback'') and one of his prison-and-family specialties (``I'm Still Your Daddy''). Among several celebratory odes to his own vital maturity, a pleased-as-punch mash note to a much younger lover (``Proud to Be Your Old Man'') also stands out. And to balance things out, the stark, resigned opener, ``Wishing All These Old Things Were New,'' addresses aging with the specific insight that has always marked the peerless Haggard's best songwriting. Three and one half stars - Bob Strauss ALLISON MOORER/``The Hardest Part'' (MCA MCA in full Music Corporation of America Entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in Chicago in 1924 by Jules Stein as a talent agency. In the 1960s it bought Decca Records and Universal Pictures, and today it produces films, music, and television shows. Nashville) In perhaps the strongest female country album of the year, Moorer puts across roots-rock and ballads worthy of Lucinda Williams
This biographical article or section needs additional references for verification. Please help [ to improve this article] by adding additional sources. on this finely crafted set. Sister of breakthrough artist Shelby Lynne, Moorer puts heart and soul into tunes like album-opener ``No Next Time,'' ``Bring Me All Your Lovin' '' (featuring the great Buddy Miller on guitar) and a poignant ``Feeling That Feeling Again.'' Recommended. Four stars - F.S. KEB' MO'/``The Door'' (Epic/550/Okeh) Compton-born bluesman born Kevin Moore
Kevin Moore (born May 26, 1967, Long Island, New York) is a keyboardist, composer and former member of the American progressive metal band Dream Theater. turns in his most polished effort on a new album that moves from urgency to tenderness. Supported by top session players and produced by hitmaker Russ Titelman (Eric Clapton, Paul Simon Noun 1. Paul Simon - United States singer and songwriter (born in 1942) Simon ) the two-time Grammy-winning Mo' offers an assertive take on the Elmore James classic, ``It Hurts Me Too,'' as well as standout originals ``Anyway'' and the title track. In Mo's hands, the blues lives on. Three stars - F.S. WALLFLOWERS/``Breach'' (Interscope) ``Sleepwalker,'' the title of the Wallflowers' new single, suggests all that's wrong with this set of self-absorbed songs from singer-songwriter Jakob Dylan. Using a vocal delivery that borders on narcolepsy narcolepsy, a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and recurring unwanted episodes of sleep ("sleep attacks"). People with narcolepsy may abruptly fall asleep at almost any time, including while talking, eating, or even walking. , Bob's kid sounds like he phoned in his parts, appearing half-hearted about such apparently autobiographical songs as ``Hand Me Down'' and ``Letters From the Wasteland.'' For their all-important third album, the Wallflowers could've used some of the spark - and tunefulness - of their 1996 mega-seller, ``Bringing Down the Horse.'' Two stars - Fred Shuster OTIS SPANN/``Last Call'' (Mr. Cat) If you loved bluesman Spann, this final live performance recorded in Boston in 1970 could bring tears to your eyes. The elegant Spann, accompanied by wife Lucille on vocals and backed by a band that includes former Muddy Waters guitarist-singer Luther Johnson, was already in the advanced stages of the liver cancer Liver Cancer Definition Liver cancer is a relatively rare form of cancer but has a high mortality rate. Liver cancers can be classified into two types. that would take his life just weeks later. Spann's weakened condition prevented him from singing but his talent as the greatest Chicago blues pianist of all shines through on such quietly stirring tracks as ``Country Girl'' and ``Long Distance Call,'' which he performed as a longtime member of Waters' greatest ensemble. Three stars - F.S. SUN RA & His ARKESTRA/``Greatest Hits: Easy Listening for Intergalactic in·ter·ga·lac·tic adj. Being or occurring between galaxies: intergalactic space. in Travel'' (Evidence) Free-jazz band leader, keyboardist and all-around weirdo Sun Ra was many things, but hitmaker assuredly wasn't one of them. Here, as part of Evidence's extensive reissue program of Ra's erratic recordings for his own Saturn label, is a set of unusually accessible tracks culled from 15 albums spanning the artist's peak period - 1956-73. The often spacey spac·ey adj. Slang Variant of spacy. Adj. 1. spacey - stupefied by (or as if by) some narcotic drug spaced-out, spacy unconventional - not conventional or conformist; "unconventional life styles" sounds range from skewered Ellington to bluesy avant-garde bop to impressionistic im·pres·sion·is·tic adj. 1. Of, relating to, or practicing impressionism. 2. Of, relating to, or predicated on impression as opposed to reason or fact: impressionistic memories of early childhood. group improvisations. ``Greatest Hits'' is a perfect introduction to a jazz man that never had any. Three stars - F.S. DZIHAN & KAMIEN/``Freaks & Icons'' (Six Degrees) Hotshot DJs from Vienna, new favorites of esteemed mixologists Kruder & Dorfmeister, debut with a delightful collection of their own 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. , light-as-air compositions, mostly instrumental and expressly designed, it seems, for floating in space. It's beautiful stuff, the sort of thing that's a perfect backdrop for inner journeys of the mind. No hard beats, just gentle sounds washing over your brain, like a light rainfall on a lazy afternoon. Three stars - David Bloom CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Merle Haggard) (2 -- 5) no caption (CD covers) |
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