SOUND CHECK.NINE INCH NAILS: "Year Zero" (Interscope) - One and one half stars Surrounded by a chorus of sycophants chanting "you're a genius," Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor can seemingly do no wrong. In this concept album -- a garden-variety look into the usual totalitarian future -- Reznor abandons his persona as the patron saint patron saint Saint to whose protection and intercession a person, society, church, place, profession, or activity is dedicated. The choice is usually made on the basis of some real or presumed relationship (e.g., St. of self-mutilation and comes off as a ho-hum conspiracy theorist, spouting spout·ing n. Chiefly Pennsylvania & New Jersey See gutter. See Regional Note at gutter. spouting Noun NZ a. the sort of tedious political commentary we've heard a zillion times. Reznor's vision of 2022 is borrowed from a '70s movie: a miserable, pacified populace is fed drugged drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. , fights wars in the name of religion, all with the end of the world imminent. Yawn. All that's missing is Burt Reynolds Burt Reynolds (born February 11, 1936) is an Oscar-nominated Emmy Award-winning American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Paul Crewe in the original version of The Longest Yard, Bo 'Bandit' Darville in rampaging through the album with a girl over his shoulder. Musically, NIN has never been very interesting, and "Year Zero" does little to change that perception. Reznor's pretentious, tuneless machine noise and Neanderthal electronic beats, augmented by spooky piano tinkling tin·kle v. tin·kled, tin·kling, tin·kles v.intr. 1. To make light metallic sounds, as those of a small bell. 2. Informal To urinate. v.tr. 1. and a vocal style that lands between a whisper and a primal scream, is one of rock's most tiresome products. Apocalypse or not, the worst thing about Reznor's look into the future is the soundtrack. -- Fred Shuster BOB FRENCH: "Marsalis Music Honors Bob French" (Marsalis/Rounder) - Three and one half stars Drummer/singer French has been leading the Original Tuxedo Band, the longest-running group in New Orleans, for the past 30 years, picking up where his father, Albert, left off. The Tuxedo Band has been a starting point for some of the Crescent City's great jazz musicians, and that legacy is joyfully celebrated here. French is joined by Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr. and newcomers Kid Chocolate and Trombone trombone [Ital.,=large trumpet], brass wind musical instrument of cylindrical bore, twice bent on itself, having a sliding section that lengthens or shortens it and thus regulates the pitch. The descendant of the sackbut, it was developed in the 15th cent. Shorty short·y also short·ie Informal n. pl. short·ies 1. A person short in stature. 2. A thing of less than average size, length, extension, or duration. adj. in a program of Bourbon Street favorites like "When the Saints (Go Marching In)" and "Basin Street Blues." This is the real deal, heartfelt and (mostly) happy music, tasty as an alligator alligator, large aquatic reptile of the genus Alligator, in the same order as the crocodile. There are two species—a large type found in the S United States and a small type found in E China. Alligators differ from crocodiles in several ways. po' boy. -- Glenn Whipp KURT ELLING: "Nightmoves" (Concord) - Four stars Elling is exceptionally good at putting poetry and jazz singing together. From classic Elling -- placing Walt Whitman and Theodore Roethke within the jazz idiom -- to classic Ellington ("I Like the Sunrise"), the singer remains a master of his own musical world. On the stellar title track, the Guess Who's "Undun," even the Betty Carter signature "Tight" and Sinatra favorite "In the Wee Small Hours" (the latter mashed up with Keith Jarrett's "Leaving Again"), Elling brings an originality and power to male jazz vocals that's in very short supply these days. -- Steven Rosenberg PATTI Pat·ti , Adelina 1843-1919. Spanish-born Italian opera singer who was the most celebrated coloratura soprano of the 19th century. SMITH: "Twelve" (Columbia) - Three stars The always formidable Smith chews her way through rock classics from Hendrix ("Are You Experienced?") to Neil Young ("Helpless") to Nirvana ("Smells Like Teen Spirit"), imbuing each with her own interpretation. Smith's voice is still the biggest weapon in the arsenal, and she well knows how to make the most of it. The Stones' "Gimme gim·me Informal Contraction of give me. adj. Slang Demanding material things or especially money; acquisitive: today's gimme society; tired of gimme letters. n. Shelter" is a standout, all fury and dread. In stores Tuesday. -- Len Cutler TIMBALAND: "Timbaland Presents Shock Value" (Blackground/Interscope) - Three and one half stars One of the most influential figures in hip-hop today, rapper-producer Timbaland has crafted hits for artists from Jay-Z to Missy Elliott. His latest big-name project is "Timbaland Presents: Shock Value," his first album in four years. Apart from guest appearances by Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Dr. Dre and longtime partner Magoo, the disc is filled with the atmospheric beats laced with Eastern-themed esoterica esoterica Medtalk A synonym for 'oddballs'–unusual causes of common complaints. See Anecdotal, Fascunomia. ("Bounce," "Come and Get Me") that have made him famous. Timbaland hasn't lost any of his club-savvy flair; the rhythmically hypnotic "Give It to Me" is already a radio hit. Expect a lot of "Shock" this summer. -- L.C. PAM TILLIS: "Rhinestoned" (Stellar Cat) - Three stars Tillis makes the case for a wittier, more playful and soul-infused Nashville sound than the pop pabulum pabulum food or aliment. that passes for most country today. The songs here seem about as commercial and polished as her heyday hits from the previous decade, but there's more. Deft as she is with a heartbreak ballad, Tillis plays the music-loving individualist and reformed hell-raiser with conviction. When someone who sounded so mainstream not so long ago comes off as this year's Nashville rebel, you know they've been watching too much "American Idol" on Music Row. -- Bob Strauss CAPTION(S): 7 photos Photo: (1) NINE INCH NAILS (2 -- 7) no caption (CD covers) |
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