SOUND CHECK.ERIC CLAPTON: ``Me & Mr. Johnson'' (Reprise/Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .) - Two stars When the definitive list of rock's great Robert Johnson Robert Johnson may refer to:
- Fred Shuster MONTY ALEXANDER Monty Alexander (born Montgomery Bernard Alexander on June 6, 1944 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican pianist and melodica player. His playing has a strong Caribbean influence and swinging feeling, but he has also been influenced by Wynton Kelly, Art Tatum, Gene Harris and WITH ERNEST RANGLIN Ernest Ranglin (born June 19, 1932 in Manchester, Jamaica) is a guitarist whose session work at Studio One helped give birth to the ska genre in the late 1950s. Ranglin played on many classic Jamaican recordings, and he performed with artists such as Jimmy Cliff, Monty : ``Rocksteady'' (Telarc) - Three stars Alexander and Ranglin helped pioneer the ska sound at Jamaica's famous Studio One label nearly 40 years ago. Here, they're reunited in another one of Alexander's pleasing nods to his island past. Like his tribute to Bob Marley and his collaborations with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, ``Rocksteady'' is a good-time, groove-oriented record, the kind of CD you'd throw in the player to establish a nice, mellow (but not comatose co·ma·tose adj. 1. Of, relating to, or affected with coma. 2. Marked by lethargy; torpid. comatose (kō´m ) vibe at a party. Pianist Alexander and guitarist Ranglin keep things simple and mostly gentle on these covers of songs from ska icons like Toots toots n. Slang Babe; sweetie. [Perhaps short for tootsie.] & the Maytals, Desmond Dekker and Burning Spear. It ain't ska, it ain't jazz, but it's fun. Alexander (minus Ranglin) will kick off a four-night run Thursday at Catalina's in Hollywood. - Glenn Whipp NELLIE MCKAY: ``Get Away From Me'' (Columbia) - Four stars Norah Jones good, McKay better. Much better. On this dual-disc effort, 19-year-old New Yorker McKay (rhymes with ``sky'') channels a beguiling mixture of Doris Day, Blossom Dearie, Petula Clark, Liz Phair and Eminem to craft a debut that the Britneys, Avrils and even Norahs of the world could only dream about. There's mean-street childhood danger (``Manhattan Avenue''), trading alcoholism for pet ownership (``The Dog Song'') chasing the wrong men (``David''), loudly pointing out their faults (``It's a Pose'') and mulling over getting rid of them altogether (``Won't U Please B Nice''). The stunning rap ``Sari'' (as in ``I'm sorry ... for you'') is alone worth the price of admission, especially if you or your public radio station doesn't mind a little swearing. With no Matrix-style songwriting team in sight, Nellie's crisp piano, clear soprano and slightly skewed skewed curve of a usually unimodal distribution with one tail drawn out more than the other and the median will lie above or below the mean. skewed Epidemiology adjective Referring to an asymmetrical distribution of a population or of data worldview world·view n. In both senses also called Weltanschauung. 1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world. 2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group. are a constant on this stylistic triptych. See what all the fuss is about when she makes her first swing here Monday at the Knitting Factory and Tuesday at Largo. - Steven Rosenberg LEFTOVER SALMON: ``Leftover Salmon'' (Compendia com·pen·di·a n. A plural of compendium. ) - Three stars This self-titled studio effort is evenly divided between the veteran jam band's main musical inspirations: banjo-based mountain-folk-Cajun forms and Grateful Deadheaded natural mysticism (also, amusingly, with banjo banjo, stringed musical instrument, with a body resembling a tambourine. The banjo consists of a hoop over which a skin membrane is stretched; it has a long, often fretted neck and four to nine strings, which are plucked with a pick or the fingers. ). Produced by Bill Payne of Little Feat fame, the disc offers a sometimes soaring sampling of the outfit's diverse interests without overindulging too much in meandering, pseudo-Garcia fretwork. For a fuller taste, check out fresh Leftover Salmon at the Knitting Factory Hollywood on Saturday. - Bob Strauss JANIS IAN IAN Interactive Affiliate Network IAN i am nothing IAN Instrumentation & Automation News IAN Ianuarius (Latin: January) IAN Instituto Agronomico Nacional (Paraguay) IAN Incident Area Network : ``Billie's Bones'' (Rude Girl/Oh Boy) - Three and one half stars Still as delicately lacerating as she was back in her sensitive-thing heyday of ``Society's Child'' and ``At Seventeen,'' Ian infuses this new set of folk compositions with mature romantic ruefulness, righteous sexual politics and a wise appreciation for the people and places that give her satisfaction. Whether you're gay or straight, Ian still writes probingly honest songs that seem to speak directly from her heart to the listener's. Sunday, she'll be at the Knitting Factory Hollywood. - B.S. CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) no caption (ERIC CLAPTON) Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com (2 -- 5) no caption (CD covers) |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion