SOUND CHECK.STING: ``Sacred Love'' (A&M) - Two stars Poor old Sting, adult contemporary radio's answer to Perry Como Pierino Ronald Como (May 18 1912 – May 12 2001) was an American crooner. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with it in 1943. . Mildness waddles behind him like a baby duck. On this morose mo·rose adj. Sullenly melancholy; gloomy. [Latin m  r collection of midtempo ballads, produced with the cold precision of a diamond cutter, he takes on world terrorism, religion, death and a duet with Mary J. Blige. Judging by the lukewarm results, world terrorism and Blige are winning. Sting just isn't very interesting these days. Take, for example, the politely syncopated syn·co·pate tr.v. syn·co·pat·ed, syn·co·pat·ing, syn·co·pates 1. Grammar To shorten (a word) by syncope. 2. Music To modify (rhythm) by syncopation. ``Forget About the Future,'' in which high-priced session players are tied to a fussy r&b groove while the singer rambles on improbably about a squabbling couple and a United Nations summit. The swirling ``Inside'' is more successful but contains a surprising note for someone who'd prefer his music be purchased rather than downloaded: ``Replicate me!'' Sting cries on the track - and one imagines a million hard drives whirring whir v. whirred, whir·ring, whirs v.intr. To move so as to produce a vibrating or buzzing sound. v.tr. To cause to make a vibratory sound. n. 1. into action. - Fred Shuster STEVE EARLE Steve Earle (born Stephen Fain Earle January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, well known for his rock and country music, as well as for his many political views. He is also a published writer, a political activist and has written and directed a play. : ``Just an American Boy: The Audio Documentary'' (Artemis) - Three stars 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: ``Haggard Like Never Before'' (Hag Records) - Four stars Earle and Merle definitely have some things in common. Prison records, for a start. Also reputations as perhaps the greatest country songwriters of their respective generations. Politically, however, the man who wrote ``John Walker's Blues'' and the author of ``Okie from Muskogee'' could hardly be further apart. Until now. Earle's double live album, recorded ``somewhere in North America'' last year after his highly critical ``Jerusalem'' CD responded to Sept. 11 with old-fashioned protest notions, includes a career's worth of controversial compositions and extensive preaching to the (audibly drunk) choir between tunes on every lefty position from war and death penalty opposition to free speech and miners' unions. Not surprising, considering the source, if a little tiresome after awhile. But the bigger shock comes from just three tunes on Haggard's new album, his first release on his own label. The redneck who once warned anybody who talked down his country that they were walking on his fightin' side plainly but witheringly criticizes the Iraq war Iraq War: see under Persian Gulf Wars. Iraq War or Second Persian Gulf War Brief conflict in 2003 between Iraq and a combined force of troops largely from the U.S. and Great Britain; and a subsequent U.S. and its national media coverage in the debate-sparking single ``That's the News.'' He does a Texas swing lament for constricting con·strict v. con·strict·ed, con·strict·ing, con·stricts v.tr. 1. To make smaller or narrower by binding or squeezing. 2. To squeeze or compress. 3. artistic expression with ``Lonesome lone·some adj. 1. a. Dejected because of a lack of companionship. See Synonyms at alone. b. Producing such dejection: a lonesome hour at the bar. 2. Day.'' And, although he has claimed that the cut is supposed to express support for our troops, the sing-songy ``Yellow Ribbons'' can just as easily be heard as a satirical slap at comfortable home front supporters of unchecked militarism Militarism See also Soldiering. Adrastus leader of the Seven against Thebes. [Gk. Myth.: Iliad] Siegfried killed many enemies; led many troops to victory. [Ger. Lit. Nibelungenlied] . Both albums contain fine numbers on nonpolitical subjects. But their statements on the state of the national psyche make them vital, indelible works. - Bob Strauss COUNT BASIE & HIS ORCHESTRA: ``America's No.1 Band: The Columbia Years'' (Columbia/Legacy) - Three and one half stars The Count has long needed this sort of thing: a thorough box set that collects the cuts the legendary bandleader recorded with his orchestra and small groups on Columbia and its subsidiary labels (the locomotive 1937 Decca dates are covered by a similar anthology). The songs, recorded between 1936 and 1950, are divided into three categories over four discs: the orchestra material (which dominates), the small band recordings and a final disc devoted to (mostly unissued) radio broadcasts, showing the band's hard-charging live side. The musicians comprise a who's who Who’s Who biographical dictionary of notable living people. [Am. Hist.: Hart, 922] See : Fame of jazz - Lester Young, Walter Page, Freddie Green, Buck Clayton, Sweets Edison, Vic Dickenson, Coleman Hawkins, and the material showcases the Basie standards. - Glenn Whipp MARIA: ``My Soul'' (DreamWorks) - Two stars She's got a husky, silky-smooth voice that's as warm and toasty toast·y adj. toast·i·er, toast·i·est Pleasantly warm. as the next potential-r&b diva. Over the ghostly jazz licks and hip-hop beats of ``Coffee in Bed,'' for instance, her voice percolates. And she coos ever so ``Lonely'' on top of looping Eastern-inspired strings. But this beauty of Danish and Guyanese heritage is no Beyonce, as she proves on this 13-track set. In fact, probably the biggest let-down of Maria's recording debut, on which she also co-wrote and executive produced, is its lolling pace. Of course there are exceptions like the lead single ``I Give, You Take,'' but these are few and far between. - Sandra Barrera CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Sting) (2 -- 6) no caption (CD covers) |
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