SOUND CHECK.ELVIS COSTELLO  The of this article or section may be compromised by "peacock terms".You can help Wikipedia by removing peacock terms. : ``The Delivery Man'' (Lost Highway) - Four stars Despite flooding the market with product, Costello's last bona fide [Latin, In good faith.] Honest; genuine; actual; authentic; acting without the intention of defrauding. A bona fide purchaser is one who purchases property for a valuable consideration that is inducement for entering into a contract and without suspicion of being masterpiece was the gorgeous, acid-tinged ``Imperial Bedroom'' in 1982. For his first effort on the respected Lost Highway label, Costello brings his A game in a set of 13 enduring songs that rank up there with ``Almost Blue,'' ``I Want You'' and other peaks. The predominant mood is sultry country-soul, the Dusty-in-Memphis sound mimicked so well at times by Shelby Lynne. But Costello doesn't merely approximate, adding inspired, top-notch tunes, jaw-dropping vocal performances Vocal Performances was a 12" EP released by Pere Ubu frontman David Thomas in 1981. The EP was released on Rough Trade Records as Trade 5/12. As per its title, Vocal Performances features two (mostly) a cappella recordings from Thomas. and magnificent musicianship from longtime collaborators the Imposters and pedal steel guitarist John McFee (who played on Costello's 1977 debut). A subtle concept album of sorts, ``The Delivery Man'' deals with the lives of three female characters voiced by Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams. Spare gems like the beautiful ``Nothing Clings Like Ivy'' and the Southern soul thriller ``Country Darkness'' bookend the album's stunning and deeply felt title track inspired by the true-life tale of a man who murdered a childhood friend and confessed 30 years later. Costello has delivered a winner, chilling and unforgettable. - Fred Shuster JANE MONHEIT: ``Taking a Chance on Love'' (Sony Classical) - Four stars With her decidedly nonclassical first outing for Sony, singer Monheit strikes the perfect balance with jazz trio, big band and orchestral settings in a wonderfully voiced collection of standards. That voice is warm, nuanced and confident, delivering humor, sass and romantic pathos in just the right amounts. The instrumentalists are rarely the same from one track to the next, but it all works. ``In the Still of the Night'' floats on a bossa nova beat, while ``Honeysuckle honeysuckle, common name for some members of the Caprifoliaceae, a family comprised mostly of vines and shrubs of the Northern Hemisphere, especially abundant in E Asia and E North America. Rose'' and ``Love Me or Leave Me'' swing appropriately. Monheit shines on ``Embraceable You,'' backed only by Romero Lubambo's classical guitar. Also worth noting is ``I Won't Dance,'' a duet with Sinatra clone Michael Buble, and don't forget her ``Over the Rainbow,'' which also appears on the ``Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow'' soundtrack. - Steve Rosenberg CHARLIE HADEN WITH GONZALO RUBALCABA: ``Land of the Sun'' (Verve) - Three and one half stars Following their last album, the Grammy-winning ``Nocturne nocturne (nŏk`tûrn) [Fr.,=night piece], in music, romantic instrumental piece, free in form and usually reflective or languid in character. John Field wrote the first nocturnes, influencing Chopin in the writing of his 19 nocturnes for piano. ,'' bassist Haden and pianist Rubalcaba return with another set of deeply felt romanticism. Whereas the previous effort collected Cuban and Mexican boleros, this features Mexican ballads, most of which were written by the late Jose Sabre Marroquin. Helping out are a number of musicians well-versed in the tradition, including tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. The music is bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. , refined and, above all, melodic. A subtle work of art. - Glenn Whipp BUDDY MILLER: ``Universal United House of Prayer'' (New West) - Four stars Guitar desperado Miller's gospel album offers superb Pentecostal roof- raisers and snake-handling spirituals that truly tremble before God. But that's to be expected. This effort is taken beyond the country church and electric rock arena by a set of insightful, ecumenical soul searchers, anchored by a long, scorched scorch v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es v.tr. 1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. dirge dirge n. 1. Music a. A funeral hymn or lament. b. A slow, mournful musical composition. 2. A mournful or elegiac poem or other literary work. 3. update of Bob Dylan's decidedly nonreligious, anti-war ``With God on Our Side.'' Fierce, haunting and universal indeed. - Bob Strauss FELA KUTI: ``The Underground Spiritual Game'' (Quannum) - Three and one half stars With two exceptions, Nigerian musical revolutionary Kuti's music has thankfully remained unmolested by remixers, hip-hop DJs and sampling engineers over the years. A few years ago, an AIDS benefit album misguidedly paid tribute by allowing some big names to render Kuti's originals completely unrecognizable. The same year, New York's Masters at Work Masters At Work is the house music production and remix team of Kenny 'Dope' Gonzales and Little Louie Vega. They first worked together using the name (which had originally been loaned to a mutual friend Todd Terry) in 1990. remix team pulverized pul·ver·ize v. pul·ver·ized, pul·ver·iz·ing, pul·ver·iz·es v.tr. 1. To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust. 2. To demolish. v.intr. a 12-minute Fela FELA Federal Employer's Liability Act of 1908 workout into a five-minute disco production. But by some miracle, this new set's mix-master Chief Xcel (from West Coast rap duo Blackalicious) gets it right. Using 11 somewhat obscure Kuti numbers - and leaving them unmangled - Xcel weaves a seamless hour-plus piece (for DJ Shadow's Quannum imprint) that undulates like a fine symphony designed for 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. guitar lines, brilliantly arranged percussion, and politically charged call-and-response vocals. The only apparent overdubs are some occasional spoken lines from Kuti himself and it's indeed good to hear the late bandleader and activist speak again. - F.S. CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Elvis Costello) Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com (2 -- 5) no caption (CD covers) |
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