SOUND CHECK.LOS LONELY BOYS: ``Sacred'' (or Music/Epic) - Three stars This Texican sibling trio won a ton of attention and acclaim with its refreshing self-titled '04 debut, which was championed by Willie Nelson and spawned the genre-busting hit ``Heaven.'' The equally heartfelt sequel expands the Boys' Stevie Ray Stevie Ray may refer to:
-- Fred Shuster DRUHA TRAVA: ``Good Morning, Friend'' (Compass) - Three stars Nothing like that good ol' authentic hillbilly sound, even if its makers come from the hills of Bohemia. Druha Trava is a lively gaggle of Czech bluegrass Czech Bluegrass is a term that describes Czech interpretations of the bluegrass genre of music that emerged during the middle of the twentieth century in the southeastern United States. enthusiasts, and the Central European ears they bring to this most American musical genre makes for vigorous and refreshing picking. Though the band has penned a few fine breakdowns of its own, the main approach here is to banjo-up tunes by Western roots superstars as diverse as Johnny Cash Noun 1. Johnny Cash - United States country music singer and songwriter (1932-2003) John Cash, Cash and Mark Knopfler, Dylan and Tom Waits. Lead vocalist Robert Krestan -- singing, I fear, phonetically -- often brings a robust, craggy crag·gy adj. crag·gi·er, crag·gi·est 1. Having crags: craggy terrain. 2. Rugged and uneven: a craggy face. literalness to lyrics of even the tenderest spirituality, and the band tends to wander off the Appalachian Trail Appalachian Trail, officially Appalachian National Scenic Trail, hiking path, 2,144 mi (3,450 km) long, passing through 14 states, E United States. into odd Celtic glens. But even if they sound a little odd at times, and some of these covers are just flat wrongheaded from the start (of all the Creedence songs to go bluegrass bluegrass, any species of the large and widely distributed genus Poa, chiefly range and pasture grasses of economic importance in temperate and cool regions. In general, bluegrasses are perennial with fine-leaved foliage that is bluish green in some species. with, ``Bad Moon Rising'' should probably be the last one chosen), the commitment is never less than full-on and the results often exhilarating. -- Bob Strauss JOHN PIZZARELLI: ``Dear Mr. Sinatra'' (Telarc Jazz) - Four stars Every singer ends up attempting Sinatra eventually, but few manage so well. Here, the 46-year-old son of guitar great Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul 'Bucky' Pizzarelli (born January 9 1926) is an American classical jazz guitarist and banjoist, perhaps most notable for his work with jazz guitarist John borrows more from Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and singer. Specializing in relaxed, even melancholy music, Baker rose to prominence as a leading name in cool jazz in the 1950s. and Dave Frishberg Dave Frishberg (born 23 March 1933) is an American jazz pianist, vocalist and composer born in St. Paul, Minnesota, perhaps best-known for his work with Ben Webster, Gene Krupa, Bud Freeman, Eddie Condon, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. than from the Chairman, but what emerges is a powerful interpretive voice. On ``Dear Mr. Sinatra,'' Pizzarelli evokes the original phrasing at just the right moments, capturing the melancholy in ballads like ``I've Got You Under My Skin,'' with backing from the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, augmented by dad Bucky. Pizzarelli celebrates Tuesday's album release with the Hollywood Bowl's ``American Jazz Songbook'' concert the following night. -- Steven Rosenberg Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., (b. 2 August 1940) is a leading cancer researcher and surgeon. He is credited with developing the use of IL-2 and immune cells for the treatment of patients with melanoma. ARETHA FRANKLIN: ``Live at Fillmore West'' (Atlantic/Rhino) - Four stars KING CURTIS For the professional wrestler, see . Curtis Ousley (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), who performed under the name King Curtis, was an American tenor, alto, and soprano saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and soul jazz. : ``Live at Fillmore West'' (Atco/Rhino) - Four stars Maybe you saw Rhino Handmade's limited-edition, four-disc ``Complete Aretha Franklin & King Curtis Live at Fillmore West'' when it came out last year. Maybe you blanched blanch also blench v. blanched also blenched, blanch·ing also blench·ing, blanch·es also blench·es v.tr. 1. To take the color from; bleach. 2. at the $80 sticker price. Maybe you kicked yourself when it sold out its run and saw that it now lists for $185 on Amazon. Well, friend, now you have the last laugh thanks to Rhino's two-disc Aretha set and single-disc King Curtis album, complete with alternate takes and bonus tracks that give you 37 tracks for a fraction of the price. These are two of the greatest documents in the history of soul music featuring Curtis & the Kingpins - drummer Bernard Purdie, guitarist Cornell Dupree, bassist Jerry Jemmott, the Memphis Horns and the late, great Billy Preston working magic on the Hammond B3 -- tearing the roof off the sucker. Oh, and Ray Charles shows up for a transcendent ``Spirit in the Dark.'' Absolutely, positively essential. -- Glenn Whipp RHYMEFEST: ``Blue Collar'' (Allido/J) - Three stars Before Rhymefest blew in from the Windy City to collect a songwriting Grammy for Kanye West's ``Jesus Walks,'' the up-and-comer (born Che Smith) got by doing odd jobs. He's scrubbed toilets, supervised highway clean-ups and taken orders for Big Macs. Now the rapper brings his humble past and lyrical prowess to ``Blue Collar,'' a thought-provoking opus to the working class. In the West-produced ``Brand New,'' Rhymefest and his ``Jesus Walks'' songwriting partner trade verses about the life of excess. Elsewhere, he tells of a young Army recruit shipped off to war in Iraq only to see his dreams of college and world travel snuffed out in ``Bullet.'' The autobiographical ``Devil's Pie'' finds the rapper out of work and behind on rent over the chopped-up guitar of the Strokes' ``Someday.'' And just when you thought you'd heard the most memorable song on the album, along comes the late Old Dirty Bastard's take on the Foundations' ``Build Me Up Buttercup buttercup or crowfoot, common name for the Ranunculaceae, a family of chiefly annual or perennial herbs of cool regions of the Northern Hemisphere. .'' -- Sandra Barrera CAPTION(S): 7 photos Photo: (1) LOS LONELY BOYS (2 -- 7) no caption (CD covers) |
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