SOUND CHECK.DOLLY PARTON/``LITTLE SPARROW'' (Sugar Hill) Parton's follow-up to last year's acoustic breakthrough ``The Grass Is Blue'' is an even better collection of Appalachian string recordings. Though smartened-up by Celtic touches (aided by the band Altan, singing in Gaelic) and a hillbilly jazz rendition of Cole Porter's ``I Get a Kick Out of You,'' the album's resonant core is classic mountain music, all flash-fire picking and audacious, flat-note railroad harmonies. A good number of the songs - including the title tune, what may be Parton's first complete version of her 30-year-old ``Down From Dover'' and the collection's great Gothic centerpiece, ``Mountain Angel'' - chart the wreckage no-good men leave in their seductive, abandoning wake. Dolly's voice has aged into the perfect timbre timbre Quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument, voice, or other sound source from another. Timbre largely results from a characteristic combination of overtones produced by different instruments. for such delicately shattering narratives, yet her technical mastery is still a formidable match for such younger guests as Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Vincent (b. July 13 1962, Kirksville, Missouri) is a bluegrass singer and an accomplished mandolin, guitar and fiddle player. [1] Her musical career started as a child in her family's band, The Sally Mountain Show, and has spanned almost four decades. . A masterpiece in every way. Four stars - Bob Strauss ELIZA CARTHY/``ANGELS AND CIGARETTES'' (Warner) Praise for Eliza Carthy's first American First American may refer to:
adj. 1. Offensive to established standards of propriety; improper. See Synonyms at improper. 2. Marked by a lack of good taste; coarse. 3. subjects, and Carthy is an artist far beyond her years. Combine this with a rich, expressive voice and you can see why Carthy's been rolling up the raves. Some of the album is almost too slickly produced, somewhat masking the excellence of the songs, but that's a minor gripe gripe v. To have sharp pains in the bowels. n. 1. gripes Sharp, spasmodic pains in the bowels. 2. A firm hold; a grasp. . Carthy, who accompanies herself on violin as well as plays a number of other instruments, will be appearing tonight at McCabe's in Santa Monica along with her parents, who head the bill. The singer-songwriter will have solo dates later this year. Four stars - Rob Lowman VARIOUS/``MUSIC FROM MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE'' (Restless) TV soundtracks are usually hit or miss. But this one's a bull's-eye from the opening moments of ``Boss of Me,'' They Might Be Giants' nerdy theme to the Emmy-winning Fox series. The rest of the disc is sprinkled with a mix of famous and not-so-famous artists - Baha Men, Travis and Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies. Check out Citizen King's funky ``Bizarro This article is about the fictional character. For other uses, see bizarro (disambiguation). Bizarro is a fictional character, a doppelgänger of DC Comics’ Superman. ,'' the electronica of ``Tune In (Round Window)'' by Flak, and Rednex's techno-version of the fiddle ditty dit·ty n. pl. dit·ties A simple song. [Middle English dite, a literary composition, from Old French dite, from Latin dict ``Cotton-Eyed Joe.'' Four stars - Sandra Barrera LEE MORGAN AND WAYNE SHORTER/``THE COMPLETE VEE JAY LEE MORGAN-WAYNE SHORTER SESSIONS'' (Mosaic) Here are two of the great hard-bop jazz legends in their formative days, 1959-61, displaying compositional and improvisational abilities far beyond their years. The link between trumpeter Morgan and tenor saxophonist Shorter was their tenure in drummer Art Blakey's classic Jazz Messengers band. Blakey plays drums on most of the cuts in this six-disc box, which features Shorter's first three sessions as a leader. Shorter and Morgan play together on just two of the set's six dates, but the supporting cast - including pianist Wynton Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers (the subjects of an upcoming Mosaic box) - are uniformly excellent. And while Morgan and Shorter were still developing their own voices (Morgan was influenced by Clifford Brown; Shorter by John Coltrane), their work here remains singular, self-assured and sensational. Since most of this material has been long out of print, this Mosaic box fills in the gaps between Morgan's string of fantastic Blue Note records and Shorter's soon-to-explode career with that label. Available solely by mail through Mosaic Records, 35 Melrose Place, Stamford, CT 06902. Call (203) 327-7111 or go to www.mosaicrecords.com. Four stars - Glenn Whipp PERLA PERLA Pupils equal, reactive to light and accommodation A clinical acronym for normal oculomotor functions BATALLA/``HEAVEN AND EARTH'' (Mechuda) Named best new artist of 1999 by Amazon.com, the unusually expressive Batalla incorporates the mysticism and vibrant musical palette of her Mexican heritage on this intriguing effort. A former backup singer for Leonard Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , Batalla's vocals soar, whether delivering bluesy ballads or traditional Latin melodies. She appears Thursday at Largo in West Hollywood. Three and one half stars - Fred Shuster CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Dolly Parton par·ton n. Any of the point particles believed to be a constituent of hadrons, now known as quarks. No longer in technical use. [part(icle) + -on1.] ) (2 -- 5) no caption (CD covers) |
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