SOUND CHECK.TALKING HEADS
Talking Heads were an American rock band that formed in the early 1970s and was based out of New York City. The group consisted of David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. : ``The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads'' (Warner/Rhino) - Four stars `Why is he reviewing an album that's 22 years old?'' you ask. Hey, would you rather read about Ashlee Simpson? The truth is, the music of Talking Heads holds up, surpassing in wit, imagination and humor most of today's endlessly hyped musical ploys. A stellar disc in its initial form, the new-to-CD reissue of the band's 1982 live album doubles the original by adding 13 previously unreleased tracks along with a trio of rarities from a 1979 promo disc (``The Girls Want to Be With the Girls,'' ``Electricity'' and ``Found a Job''). Caught here at the peak of its powers, the Heads were moving beyond the minimalist New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of art-punk of early winners like ``New Feeling'' and ``Warning Sign'' into the funky African polyrhythms of ``I Zimbra'' and ``Crosseyed and Painless''; all four are among the disc's standouts. Along with the weird and wonderful core four, MVPs include guitarist Adrian Belew Adrian Belew (born Robert Steven Belew, December 23, 1949, in Covington, Kentucky) is an American guitarist and vocalist (and sometimes drummer, pianist and bass player), perhaps best known for his work as a member of the progressive rock group King Crimson, which he first , bassist Busta Jones, keyboardist Bernie Worrell Bernie Worrell (born April 19, 1944) is an American keyboardist and composer best known for his work with Parliament-Funkadelic and Talking Heads. Biography Worrell was born in Long Beach, New Jersey and grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey. and vocalist Nona Hendryx. Simply terrific. - Fred Shuster VARIOUS: ``Hey, That's Funny! Comedy's Greatest Hits'' (Rhino/Bulletproof) - Two and a half stars DAVID David, in the Bible David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. CROSS: ``It's Not Funny'' (SubPop) - Four stars Pity the poor archivist ARCHIVIST. One to whose care the archives have been confided. charged with compiling a definitive comedy album - you're never going to reach agreement. ``Hey, That's Funny!'' is a game effort, but features too many routines by comics (Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. Leary) not exactly bringing their A game, plus other comedians whose very appearances can be considered dubious (Jerky Boys, Joe Rogan, late-era Roseanne). Rhino's ``The American Comedy Box'' from a few years ago is far more successful. On the other hand, the effort from Cross (co-creator of ``Mr. Show'' and one of the stars of ``Arrested Development'') is a virulently hilarious assault on pop culture and politics (two people who should never listen to this: Paris Hilton and George W. Bush) that crosses the line of good taste early on and thankfully never looks back. - David Kronke CISCO: ``7740 Valmont Street'' (Little Dog) - Three and a half stars A singer-songwriter from the San Joaquin Valley Noun 1. San Joaquin Valley - a vast valley in central California known for its rich farmland Calif., California, Golden State, CA - a state in the western United States on the Pacific; the 3rd largest state; known for earthquakes , Cisco penned the Dwight Yoakam/Buck Owens duet ``Alright, I'm Wrong.'' But his own musical tastes, exemplified on this second album of his self-performed material, mosey mo·sey intr.v. mo·seyed, mo·sey·ing, mo·seys Informal 1. To move in a leisurely, relaxed way; saunter: moseyed over to the club after lunch. 2. well beyond the C&W range. There's Dylan-esque, stream-of-consciousness picture painting in the title track. Classic Rod Stewart's bruised romanticism can be heard on ``Say a Prayer.'' And several songs evoke Mellencamp-ish heartland rock. Mainly though, Cisco synthesizes his own unique sound, that of a man ardent and earthy, who observes and expresses with equally high levels of commitment. - Bob Strauss ELVIS COSTELLO: ``Almost Blue'' (Warner/Rhino) - Three and a half stars ``Goodbye Cruel World'' (Warner/Rhino) - Three stars ``Kojak Variety'' (Warner/Rhino) - Three stars These three albums won't top any Costello fan's list of favorites. In fact, they'd probably end up near the bottom (Costello himself famously labeled ``Cruel World'' as his worst record). But the beefs people had with them initially seem rather shallow now. Quite simply, they weren't what fans expected (more of the same), so they tended to be disregarded. Now, reissued as two-disc specials with a treasure trove TREASURE TROVE. Found treasure. 2. This name is given to such money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion, which having been hidden or concealed in the earth or other private place, so long that its owner is unknown, has been discovered by accident. of bonus material, ``Almost Blue'' and ``Kojak'' can be seen, with the perspective of time and distance, for what they are - a fascinating, enjoyable journey through some of Costello's favorite songs. (``Cruel World's'' demos, meanwhile, greatly improve upon the original's cluttered production) ``Kojak's'' bonus disc includes 10 songs Costello recorded to send to George Jones (much like Rick Rubin turned Johnny Cash on to new material), including fantastic versions of Bruce Springsteen's ``Brilliant Disguise'' and Bob Dylan's ``You're Going to Make Me 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. When You Go.'' Meanwhile, ``Almost Blue'' collects Costello's duet with Jones as well as a previously unreleased pairing with Cash (a curio cu·ri·o n. pl. cu·ri·os A curious or unusual object of art or piece of bric-a-brac. [Short for curiosity. , but good to have) and seven live cuts with steel guitar great John McFee. Great fun. - Glenn Whipp CAPTION(S): 8 photos Photo: (1) TALKING HEADS (2 -- 8) no caption (CD covers) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion