How odd, to hear the
cutting edge jazz-grass daddy in an almost Appalachian frame of mind
onthis re-release of his first commercial recording. Accompanied by
stellar sidemen who later found their own notoriety on the fringes
of the ever-wider Grateful Dead scene, he was doing everything
possible with five-string banjo even then, but there was much less
possible with traditional bluegrass rhythm attitudes than he was
later able to exhibit with Howard Levy and the bizarrely equipped
sidemen in the Flecktones.
It's solid bluegrass, but hardly
indicative of what was to come. Perhaps one hears, in the strong,
out front rhythm that pervades the record, what Bela heard and hears
in his own head with the music he's become associated with and
admired for since. This is a lineal descendant of Flatt &
Scruggs / Reno & Smiley music. Eleven cuts.
They Might Be Giants
They Got
Lost
ZOE Records
1062
www.rounder.com
They might mislead you into thinking
that committees are a good mechanism for creative projects. Don't be
so naïve. That They Might Be Giants sounds like a team in
productive agreement is a freak and an aberration. All the more
reason to appreciate them. Who the hell wants a record from the
average folks next door? They Might Be Giants are freaks of Nature,
unique stand outs with something to say in every song and novel,
effective ways of sharing their perspective, which is not, repeat,
NOT, that of anyone you're likely to know. If you find it rewarding
to walk into a room where a record is playing and identify it very
quickly as being the product of a specific act, this is an act to
hip yourself to.
Okay, that's the pitch for any of
their records. Now, on to this particular release. It's old stuff,
which means a couple of things &ndash First, as early songs,
these are the easy ones, the ideas that first came to the joint,
Giant mind. Thus, they are relaxed and continually fresh. Second, if
They Might Be Giants later developed any frictions or calluses in
their intra-group dynamics, those walls hadn't been built yet when
this material was put together. These acid pop grabbers are as
unrestrained as anything you're likely to find, and various as well
as novel.
Johnny Adams
The Great
Johnny Adams Blues Album
Rounder
Records 11661-2182-2
www.rounder.com
Misnamed. Johnny Adams ain't all that.
He's no Bobby Bland. He's no Otis Redding. He's no Marvin Gaye. He's
a middle-of-the-road soul singer with a solid but safe band, by
which I mean they're too wary of sharp objects to ever approach
cutting edge. Unless, to further your familiarity with the broad
gamut of soul blues artists, you just want to hear a singer who's
listed in music directories by virtue of having done a few things
reasonably well, this critic cannot think of any compelling reason
to acquire this record.
Jimmy Sturr and his
Orchestra
Shake,
Rattle and Polka
Rounder
Records 11661-6111-2
www.rounder.com
Yes, your worst fears have come true.
This is a large polka band covering &lsquo50s rock standards.
Willie Nelson's vocals on some of the cuts, none of which are
centerpieces for his style, can start brief conversations about the
record if you play it in front of anyone. Frankie Ford, who did the
classic "Sea Cruise," revisits it here, sounding
aged, but solidly and surprisingly in the pocket on this version.
Delbert McClinton ... reliable, as always.
Even the best and best
intentioned polka, which this is, can't help but sound a little
cheesy, and this would have been an ill-advised release in the days
of vinyl, when people were pretty much stuck with 20-25 minutes per
side of music unless they wanted to really play DJ. Given CD habits,
however, with rotation and random play, this is pretty cool. Yeah,
I'd buy it and be glad I did.
The Tom Russell Band
Raw Vision
Rounder
Records 11671-1248-2
www.rounder.com
Consistently high production values
from this founding father of roots music. You see, before there was
a defined genre called "Southern Rock," much less "Roots"
or "Americana," there was Tom Russell. Once you acquaint
or reacquaint yourself with him, you'll sense his shadow over a huge
percentage of what you hear on the radio or from your own music
collection, from Johnny Cash to Warren Zevon.
He created a stature for himself based
on having statements to make about dirt road America when the dirt
roads led to the rustic homes of revered grandparents, to wisdom and
to tradition instead of to squalid mobile homes, ignorance and
flyhaloed trash bags full of broken beer bottles, religious
pamphlets and junk mail touting arthritis cures, improved TV
reception and Florida real estate. Those were the days. By the time
these songs were recorded, between 1984 and 1994, the trad. dirt
road destinations were dim memories, indeed.
Again, production values are
consistently high here, even on the three of fifteen included cuts
which were never even released. It seems that Russell and his team
recognized some simple, yet rarely understood facts about capturing
and mixing sound, such as the fact that much of what sounds natural
to listeners' ears is not so much natural as customary ... like that
familiar, presumably natural reverb on a classic Fender guitar amp,
which sounds like an old spring reverb, not like any real room on
the planet. Knowing what they were looking for helped them find it
in the studio.
A third one from the sensitive
Canadian master of the mohan veena, a sitar/guitar hybrid. Mr. Manx
is always a pleasure to listen to. He observes, "Blues is like
the earth and Indian music is like the heavens. What I do is find
the balance between the two."
A confident lyricist and songwriter,
he habitually includes at least one treasure from the defining days
of FM rock ballads, too. On this release, that one is "It
Makes No Difference." As readers may recall, that was
released by The Band and written by Robbie Robertson, which, one
presumes, creates some sort of Canadian bond and obligation on
Manx's part to treat the song with respect. Well, as long as putting
out a recording arguably better than the original release isn't
disrespectful, he does a nice job with it. This is a song for a man
to record and send to that woman from years ago that he never
forgot.
Ten of the twelve cuts are originals.
Most lean on lap slide guitar, though mohan veena is here, too, as
are a few other stringed lead instruments, and a rhythm section,
backing vocals and a little extra percussion and harmonica.
Harry Manx is out there, questioning
and answering the musical universe, and sharing the answers with
anyone lucky and wise enough to listen. His inventory of ideas is
still strong on this release. Pick it up. Pick up his other
releases, too. They'll make you feel better.
More Afro than Cuban,
this vocal ensemble with percussion and a little piano is really its
own thing. If one searches with preconceived notions, there may be
some similarity to salsa or some traditional African forms, but the
similarities may be little more than coincidence.
Vocal Baobab really sounds largely
unique, as if they invented their own form with little attachment
for existing genres. While not an immediately comfortable sound, the
result becomes quite interesting after a little hearing. One picks
up new strategies for interweaving rhythm and lead and for using the
human voice as percussion and congas and such things as real musical
instruments. Those who expect something primitive or simple will be
disappointed. Those who are curious and open minded will find good
company in this group.
Whereas many, even most ARC "world"
releases are good candidates for gifts for local public and school
libraries, this CD, due to its uniqueness, is an ideal purchase for
people interested in refreshing and broadening their own
perspectives.
