SOUND CHECK.BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: ``Devils & Dust'' (Columbia) - Three stars While no milestone, the latest dispatch from casa de Springsteen is a quiet, unvarnished set that resonates with country and folk flourishes. The dozen songs, many penned during the solo tour that followed the ``Ghost of Tom Joad'' acoustic disc Acoustic Disc is the name of the record label founded by mandolinist David Grisman, in 1990. This independent record label's focus is acoustic music from all genres of music. 10 years ago, are character-driven laments, artfully observed snapshots of crooked boxers, doomed lovers, soldiers and orphans. With voice husky, relaxed and convincing, Springsteen puts these frequently tragic (and sometimes tuneless) tales across in Tex-Mex, Western and gospel settings. In ``Silver Palomino Palomino Colour type of horse distinguished by its cream, yellow, or gold coat and a white or silver mane. It is popular in pleasure and parade classes. Palominos may conform to the breed types of several light breeds, including the Arabian horse and the American Quarter Horse. ,'' for example, he delivers a sad border ballad about a motherless child, recalling 1982's unadorned peak ``Nebraska.'' In the equally powerful ``The Hitter,'' fate catches up to a corrupt fighter, and Springsteen's simple guitar accompaniment is a six-string symphony of disappointment. ``Devils & Dust'' is the only Springsteen album to carry a parental warning, due to the ultimately unnecessary ``Reno,'' which deals in explicit terms with a visit to a prostitute. (San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. songwriter Steve Poltz covered the same ground in a similar fashion in the late '90s in a tune called ``Forbidden Fruit forbidden fruit fruit that God forbade Adam and Eve to eat; byword for tempting object. [O.T.: Genesis 3:1–6] See : Apple forbidden fruit God prohibits eating from Tree of Knowledge. [O.T. .'') Along with the album, this nicely designed DualDisc package contains a 30-minute film of solo performances of six songs from the album. - Fred Shuster HAYMAKER: ``Music From Ed's House'' (Honey Bucket A honey bucket is a bucket that is used in place of a flush toilet in communities that lack a water-borne sewerage system. The honey bucket sits under a wooden frame affixed with a toilet seat lid. ) - Three stars Jangly adj. 1. like the discordant ringing of nonmusical metallic objects striking together; sounding with a jangle ; as, a custodian with a jangly set of keys s>. Adj. 1. guitars and jangled nerves mark the debut album from this modest but tight Long Beach band. As the title implies, it was recorded in various rooms of drummer Ed Heavener's home, and that lends the tracks a spontaneous, up-tempo feel. But composers J.W. and Mike Bay also smoothly intermingle in·ter·min·gle tr. & intr.v. in·ter·min·gled, in·ter·min·gling, in·ter·min·gles To mix or become mixed together. intermingle Verb [-gling, honky-tonk and roots and classic rock elements, not to mention sweetly sung insights on romantic anxiety, into the dominant pop sound, making for a homemade album that can stand proudly with the slickest studio work. Order it at milesofmusic.com. - Bob Strauss MARIAN McPARTLAND Marian McPartland (b. March 20, 1918), born Margaret Marian Turner in Slough, England, is a jazz pianist, violinist and host of "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz" on National Public Radio. The jazz critic Scott Yanow has said that McPartland is "... & FRIENDS: ``85 Candles - Live in New York'' (Concord) - Three and one half stars The gifts just keep coming in this double-disc live set, recorded two years ago when McPartland, known for her NPR NPR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Nepal Rupee. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ``Piano Jazz'' program, blew out 85 candles. Norah Jones outdoes her own recorded version of Hoagy Carmichael's ``The Nearness of You.'' Karrin Allyson finds the beautiful core at the center of McPartland's own ``Twilight World.'' Elsewhere, guitarist Jim Hall improvises, and McPartland and Jason Moran shine on a dual-keyboard version of ``Summertime'' that manages to make the Gershwin staple seem new. That's four cuts - and there's 18 more. - Glenn Whipp VARIOUS: ``The Rough Guide to Dub'' (World Music Network) - Four stars VARIOUS: ``Run It Red'' (Blood & Fire) - Four stars If there were a Mount Rushmore for record producers, the visage of Jamaican dubmaster King Tubby would be dead center. Both of these excellent U.K. compilations - as well as entire subgenres of pop music - wouldn't exist without the late Tubby's pioneering studio technique in which existing tracks were remixed and manipulated with the addition of delay and reverb re·verb Informal n. 1. A reverberative effect produced in recorded music by electronic means. 2. A device used for producing this effect. intr. & tr.v. effects. In 20 tracks, ``The Rough Guide to Dub'' (subtitled ``Birthplace of Modern Dance Music'') is a perfect intro to these wonderfully deranged de·range tr.v. de·ranged, de·rang·ing, de·rang·es 1. To disturb the order or arrangement of. 2. To upset the normal condition or functioning of. 3. To disturb mentally; make insane. , thundering sounds from reggae's golden age of the '70s. Essential mixes come from Tubby, his protege Prince Jammy, and their contemporaries Errol ``ET'' Thompson, Yabby You and Lee Perry. ``Run It Red'' samples the wares of one of the greatest of all labels, Blood & Fire, which has brought out superior reggae reissues for 10 years. Here, another 20 tracks amplify Tubby's mad genius in explosive tracks by Junior Byles, the Congos, Horace Andy, Gregory Issacs, Big Youth and the great Jackie Mittoo. You can't miss with either disc. - F.S. CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Bruce Springsteen) Carlos Osorio/Associated Press (2 -- 6) no caption (CD covers) |
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