SOUND CHECK.KATE BUSH: ``Aerial'' (Columbia) - Three stars Sometimes you laud people for what they've done and not for what they're doing now. Fortunately for Bush, the sensual, spellbinding spell·bind tr.v. spell·bound , spell·bind·ing, spell·binds To hold under or as if under a spell; enchant or fascinate. [Back-formation from spellbound. British chanteuse chan·teuse n. A woman singer, especially a nightclub singer. [French, feminine of chanteur, singer, from chanter, to sing; see chant.] behind the 1985 hit ``Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),'' that isn't the case. After 12 years, the reclusive re·clu·sive adj. 1. Seeking or preferring seclusion or isolation. 2. Providing seclusion: a reclusive hut. singer-songwriter has resurfaced with an ornate, vividly imaginative two-CD set that unfolds in two distinct halves, the first of which is ``A Sea of Honey.'' The seven-song disc opens with the enthralling en·thrall tr.v. en·thralled, en·thrall·ing, en·thralls 1. To hold spellbound; captivate: The magic show enthralled the audience. 2. To enslave. ``King of the Mountain,'' a meditation on the celebrity of Elvis. It also offers a rare glimpse into Bush's own world, from the folky folk·y n. & adj. Variant of folkie. , string-sketched song for her son, ``Bertie,'' and the domesticity of ``Mrs. Bartolozzi'' to ``A Coral Room,'' a moving eulogy to her mother. And on the nine-part conceptual disc two, ``A Sky of Honey,'' her high-pitched voice bends over lush instrumentation as she traces the arc of day in ``Sunset'' and ``Nocturn noc·turn n. Any of the three canonical divisions of the office of matins. [Middle English nocturne, from Medieval Latin nocturna, from Latin, feminine of nocturnus, .'' True, it may not be as rhythmically complex or offbeat as her '80s gems, but ``Aerial'' is a dazzling work, nonetheless. - Sandra Barrera. VARIOUS: ``Sound of the World'' (Wrasse wrasse (răs), common name for a member of the large family Labridae, brilliantly colored fishes found among rocks and kelp in tropical seas. ) - Four stars A few words of warning: Don't play this for the first time while driving. Compiled by BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. syndicated world music authority and writer Charlie Gillett, this two-disc set is filled with ear-popping numbers from all over the globe, from artists you've probably never heard of. That's why you should wait until you're stopped before checking out Gillett's informative notes, which don't follow the track list. As the cover says, there are 33 artists from 28 countries, and the sounds range from ethno rock to weird cross-cultural hybrids. But Yasim Levy from Israel, Tokyo-chutie-iki from Japan, Ali Farka Toure & Toumani from Mali, Seu Jorge from Brazil, Youssou N'Dour from Senegal, and DJ Fitchie & Joe Dukie from New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. have one thing in common - their music is very cool and very exhilarating. - Rob Lowman THE DOC WATSON Wat·son , James Dewey Born 1928. American biologist who with Francis Crick proposed a spiral model, the double helix, for the molecular structure of DNA. He shared a 1962 Nobel Prize for advances in the study of genetics. FAMILY: ``Tradition'' (Rounder) - Three and one half stars Beloved blind picker Doc Watson's vast folk repertoire did not come out of nowhere. This enchanting re-release of a 1977 record, which itself was culled from tapes made by folklorist Ralph Rinzler in the mid-'60s, presents the good doctor, his astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. fiddler father-in-law Gaither Carlton, some elderly female cousins and other relations reviving songs and sounds passed down through generations, some for many centuries. You can virtually hear the transitions from English ballads and Celtic airs to Appalachian breakdowns and Southern blues in the extended clan's authentic mountain voices and exuberant string jams, as well as the roots of some of Doc's later, signature songs. Truly a treasure trove. - Bob Strauss SHIRLEY HORN: ``But Beautiful: The Best of Shirley Horn on Verve'' (Verve) - Four stars When Horn died last month at the age of 71, the jazz world lost one of its most expressive vocalists, a singer who was never in a hurry and knew how to put you in the mood for love. This best-of collection has something for newcomers and true believers: 11 choice cuts from Horn's nearly two-decade association with Verve, along with three new live tracks recorded this past January in New York. Included is the haunting ``You Won't Forget Me,'' featuring one of Miles Davis' last (and most aching) performances, as well as two versions of ``Loads of Love'' spanning nearly 40 years. Horn almost made good on her promise to never stop singing until God called her number. She will be missed. - Glenn Whipp DAVID KRAKAUER: ``Bubbemeises: Lies My Gramma Told Me'' (Label Bleu) - Three stars This is not your grandmother's klezmer klezmer (klĕz`mər), form of instrumental folk music developed in the Eastern European Jewish community. The style had its beginnings in the Middle Ages; its name is a Yiddishized version of the Hebrew klei zemir , unless Gramma likes remixed Hasidic chants, a klezmer tribute to James Brown and a raving battle for a reinvented Jewish identity. Famed clarinet player and former Klezmatics member David Krakauer has been improvising freestyle klezmer for almost two decades. On his latest disc, Krakauer pushes the boundaries by teaming with Jewish hip-hop architect DJ Socalled. This union is innovative and genre bending. Check out ``B Flat a la Socalled'' and ``Turntable Pounding.'' Krakauer plays the Jazz Bakery in Culver City on Monday. - Phillip Zonkel CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Kate Bush) (2 -- 6) no caption (CD covers) |
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