SOUND CHECK.JOHN HIATT: ``Master of Disaster'' (New West) - Four stars The gritty singer-songwriter's 21st album finds him at the height of his blues-infused storytelling powers. Produced by the legendary Jim Dickinson Jim Dickinson is an American record producer, pianist and singer. He was born James Luther Dickinson in Little Rock, Arkansas, November 15,1941, and moved to Memphis, Tennessee at an early age. , with instrumental backing from his sons Luther and Cody of the North Mississippi Allstars North Mississippi Allstars is a blues-rock/jam band band from Hernando, Mississippi founded in 1996. The band is composed of brothers Luther Dickinson (guitar, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, keyboards), and Chris Chew (electric bass guitar). , ``Disaster'' is about equally divided between rueful rue·ful adj. 1. Inspiring pity or compassion. 2. Causing, feeling, or expressing sorrow or regret. rue and playful looks at life's wears and tears, while losing love in all the wrong places. Ragtime ragtime: see jazz. ragtime U.S. popular music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries distinguished by its heavily syncopated rhythm. Ragtime found its characteristic expression in formally structured piano compositions, the accented left-hand , rock and folk elements add variety to the dusty, rootsy atmosphere, and Hiatt's lyrics have never been more evocative. He plays with the Allstars at the Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile and a half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's east border with Hollywood at Marmont Lane to its west border with Beverly Hills at Phyllis street. House of Blues House of Blues (HOB) is a chain of music halls and restaurants founded in 1992 by Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett and his friend and investor Dan Aykroyd. It is a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine, whose clubs celebrate African-American culture, specifically on July 16. - Bob Strauss JUDEE SILL: ``Dreams Come True'' (Water) - Three stars She grew up in the shadow of a Studio City soundstage used for comedies - but Sill's life wasn't a sitcom. Deeply troubled, the inventive, luminous singer-songwriter was 35 when she killed herself in 1979, leaving two widely ignored albums - ``Judee Sill'' and ``Heart Food'' - and enough oblique lyrics, haunting hymnlike tunes (best-known was the Graham Nash-produced ``Jesus Was a Cross Maker'') and mythology to seed a sturdy British cult following This article does not discuss cultist groups, personality cults, or "cult" in its original sense of "religious practice". See cult (disambiguation) for more meanings of the term "cult". . The illuminating two-disc ``Dreams Come True'' collects unreleased material, including Sill's unfinished final album, demos, a 1973 live video, and a lovingly designed 68-page booklet of lyrics and recollections of those who knew her. Though often ragged, the music holds up. The gospel-inflected folk of, for example, ``I'm Over,'' ``Apocalypse Express,'' ``The Living End'' and the delightful ``Things Are Looking Up'' are as effective as much of the best work of her better-known West Coast folk-rock contemporaries of the early '70s. - Fred Shuster JOHN STEVENS John Stevens is the name of a number of prominent people:
The band swings, the production is tops, and this red-, or rather flame- haired ``American Idol'' finalist pulls off a good Sinatra impression on ``Come Fly With Me,'' which kicks off this 11-track set (in stores Tuesday). Stevens' clear, smooth baritone is easy on the ears as he croons standards ``My Blue Heaven,'' ``Someone to Watch Over Me'' and ``The Shadow of Your Smile'' in the guise of a lounge lizard, but the overall effect is about as thrilling as Muzak. Stevens has moments, but he's far from the most dynamic ``Idol'' to careen from TV studio to recording booth. - Sandra Barrera VARIOUS: ``Look at All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime'' (Cornerstone) - Two and one half stars This 15-track nod to the defunct Long Beach pop, pot 'n' punk trio, which scored a Top 40 hit with ``What I Got'' in 1996 before heroin took its toll, is at the very least sincere. While none of the covers here can hope to approach the originals, artists ranging from G. Love to Ozomatli manage to personalize Sublime's palpable influence. No Doubt's reading of ``DJ's'' joins Jack Johnson's ``Badfish/Boss DJ'' and Pennywise's take on ``Same in the End'' in a mostly listenable lis·ten·a·ble adj. Being such that listening is pleasurable: an undistinguished but listenable soundtrack. lis set that could make you reach for the real thing. - Ryan Ritchie HANK JONES: ``For My Father'' (Justin Time) - Three and one half stars For fans of the octogenarian oc·to·ge·nar·i·an adj. Being between 80 and 90 years of age. n. A person between 80 and 90 years of age. pianist, the last couple of months have been an embarrassment of riches An embarrassment of riches is an idiom that means an overabundance of something, or too much of a good thing, that originated in 1738 as John Ozell's translation of a French play, L'Embarras des richesses (1726). . Jones, who will celebrate his 87th birthday next month, was prominently featured on saxophonist Joe Lovano's latest album - and now we have this beautiful new effort with bassist George Mraz and drummer Dennis Mackrel, his sidemen for the past decade. There aren't many surprises here - the heart of the album is a quartet of Strayhorn-Ellington standards played with the understated grace for which Jones is known and loved. While most of the selections are familiar, the trio digs deep into their essence to discover subtleties that surprise and satisfy. Another classic from the master. - Glenn Whipp CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (John Hiatt) (2 -- 6) no caption (CD covers) |
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