Posts filed under 'Popular, Rock, and Misc.'
Title: Jackson Five: The Completed Animated Series BD/Combo [Blu-ray]
Artist: Jackson 5
Formats: 2 disc set, DVD or Blu-Ray (506 min.)
Label: Classic Media
Release date: January 15, 2013
To offer some background, I enjoy collecting Jackson 5 memorabilia, so when it was announced that the complete animated series would be released on DVD, I knew my days of watching episodes of this cartoon on Youtube were over. When it was released in stores I rushed over to Target to purchase a copy, assuming there would be one available for me. You would think a DVD collection like this would be the last item to sell out in a Target on the north side of Indianapolis, but it had! I was in possession of the last copy available that evening, and a portion of my childhood was restored that night. Anyone who was a Jackson Family fan growing up in the ‘90s may have come across reruns of this cartoon on VH-1. Catching these episodes (if you woke up early enough) on a weekend morning was a treat because they featured five black boys going on adventures and randomly performing songs with lyrics that are easier to remember than to forget.
Jackson 5ive: The Complete Animated Series is the perfect time capsule for those of us not alive when the cartoon series original aired in the early 1970s. Whereas conversations today are about global warming and drones in the Middle East, Jackson 5ive documents a time when people debated the preservation of our forests and young men drafted into the military (e.g., Pinestock U.S.A. and Drafted). The first five (no pun intended) episodes did a fine job of including all of the brothers in the storylines equally; however, across all 23 episodes more favor Michael as the main character and place his brothers in supporting roles, especially in fantasy themed episodes inspired by Cinderella (Cinderjackson), Alice in Wonderland (Michael in Wonderland) and The Wizard of Oz (The Wizard of Soul). Unfortunately, the episodes become redundant over time with cheesy villains who are driven by greed (ironic considering this show was created to further capitalize on the Jackson family), as well as lazy plots that benefitted largely from the hipness of the brothers in strong contrast to the more conservative nature of the adults portrayed in the cartoons.
Following is a trailer for the DVD:
To their credit, directors Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass, along with Motown, did their best to appeal to the masses by giving fans a cartoon show about one of the biggest bands post-Beatlemania. The animation is not top notch and it doesn’t take long to discover this is a problem with the series; it should also be noted that the Jackson 5 did not provide the voices of their animated counterparts. Whether or not you enjoy the cartoons, stay for the musical interludes featuring 46 songs from the albums Diana Ross Presents the Jackson Five, ABC, Third Album, and Michael’s solo albums Got to Be There and Ben. If you have a parent or relative who grew up with the cartoon series, this DVD is the perfect piece of nostalgia that can be shared with them, because the Jackson 5 and their music are timeless. For many of us, these were the first songs we learned to sing by heart.
Reviewed by Landon Jones
May 1st, 2013
Title: Inspiration Information/Wings of Love
Artist: Shuggie Otis
Label: Epic/Legacy
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: April 16, 2013
Shuggie Otis released his third studio release and masterpiece, Inspiration Information, in 1974 when he was only 21 years old. The musical prodigy honed his chops as a kid playing guitar on tour with his dad, R&B legend Johnny Otis, and in his early teens, began work as a professional session player, songwriter, and producer. Releasing 3 solo albums and several award-winning singles including “Strawberry Letter 23” between the years 1969-1974, Shuggie seemed an unstoppable cyclone of musical creativity. But shortly after the release of Inspiration Information, Shuggie disappeared from the public eye with an inexplicable suddenness equal to that which previously characterized his prodigious musical output. Shuggie’s relationship with his label soured and the album, though hailed by critics as a masterpiece, went out of print.
Wings of Love is a new collection of previously unreleased tracks that date back to Shuggie’s sudden disappearance. Packaged with a reissue of the cult-classic Inspiration Information, Wings of Love marks Shuggie’s return to the public stage, and stands as a musical time-capsule that is seemingly the only account Shuggie gives of his decades-long seclusion.
Inspiration Information, often grouped with psychedelic soul albums like Sly & the Family Stone’s There’s A Riot Going On, Earth Wind & Fire’s That’s the Way of the World, and Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions, is an infectiously poppy and soulful cabinet of curiosities. Each song on the album is a case study in musical texture: carefully spaced clusters of sound with which Shuggie paints scenes both familiar and unknown. The title track, with its combo of mellow harmonies and spare funk grooves, gives sonic soul exploration the feel of a breezy beach stroll. On “Island Letter,” Shuggie’s voice is foregrounded, creamed honey spread thick over gong-like keyboards and shimmery bells, guitar arpeggios, and xylophones. “Aht Uh Mi Head” is a gothic pop orchestra turned disco jam; its minor-key organ melody plays to an analog drum machine, a silky string section, flutes, harps, and what have you, all working together to create voodoo calibrated dynamics.
The album remained out of print for many years until big-time admirer David Byrne of the Talking Heads reissued it in 2001. The latest re-issue from Epic includes 4 previously unreleased tracks including the gritty funk number “Miss Pretty,” a song recorded in 1971 that anticipates Prince’s slinky electro-funk.
Here is a video preview for the release that includes an interview with Shuggie Otis:
Inspiration Information is a hard act to follow, especially after a forty-plus-year hiatus. But Wings of Love perfectly complements the album, and is an emphatic response to the question mark standing in the wake of Inspiration. Unearthing tracks from as far back as 1975, Wings of Love tells a scatter-shot story of Shuggie’s visionary progression as an artist. The frenetically paced disco song “Special” (1980) is laced with a strobe-light guitar riff that, had the song been released, would have magnetized the dancefloor. “Wings of Love” (1990) with its campy production (seagull sound effects) and dramatic keyboard swells, sounds like Hall and Oates’s take on a Shangri Las’s beach soap-opera. “If You’d Be Mine” (1987), a pop-funk ballad dripping with synthesized sensuality, drives the Prince comparison home. As a coda to the song, an acoustic guitar and bells repeat the melody before silence wins over. Shuggie makes every detail count, and the end is quiet but unforgettable.
For those wishing to delve further into Otis family history, the Indiana University Archives of African American Music and Archives of Traditional Music together house the Johnny Otis Collection, which includes video masters of the Johnny Otis Show featuring rare video footage of several artists including Shuggie Otis from 1974-1975—an inspired period in the artist’s career—as well as radio airchecks of Shuggie’s appearances on Johnny’s radio show from 1970-1988. One such appearance from 1970 includes a live acoustic duet between Shuggie and Frank Zappa, who was on the show guest-deejaying his favorite doowop and R&B songs.
Reviewed by Betsy Shepherd
April 1st, 2013
Title:People, Hell and Angels
Artist: Jimi Hendrix
Label: Legacy
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: March 5, 2013
With song material written after the Jimi Hendrix Experience disbanded, People, Hell and Angels reveals Hendrix in search of new musical directions, as reinforced by the wanderlust of its song titles: “Earth Blues,” “Somewhere,” “Hear My Train A Comin’,” “Crash Landing,’” and “Hey Gypsy Boy.” On the album’s 12 previously unreleased tracks, the late Jimi teams with ace musical collaborators Buddy Miles and Billy Cox (soon to become Hendrix’s Band of Gypsies), Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield, and jazz saxophonist Lonnie Youngblood to further push the blues into astral fields. The album’s liner notes extensively detail Hendrix’s recording sessions and give a glimpse into his final years while struggling to recreate himself amidst—and perhaps because of—the people, hell and angels surrounding him.
The album’s many cuts are extended musical jams, heavy on guitar improvisation and light on instrumental arrangement, and thusly capture Jimi on the cutting room floor concocting a new sound from salvaged and strange parts. “Let Me Move You,” the album’s standout track, features Jimi and jazz saxophonist Lonnie Youngblood dueling for solo supremacy, together creating a electrical storm of sound over a bed of mellow organ vamps. “Mojo Man” recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, the soul hive of the South, with eccentric New Orleans pianist James Booker, shows Hendrix returning to his Chitlin’ Circuit roots (he first cut his teeth touring the South as Little Richard’s guitarist) with some gritty and greasy licks.
This album leaves us wondering what Hendrix, who would have turned 70 this year, would sound like if he were still alive. Since we’ll never know, we’ll just have to take what we can get.
Here is a video sneak preview for People, Hell and Angels:
Reviewed by Betsy Shepherd
March 1st, 2013
Title: What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal
Author: Laina Dawes
Publisher: Bazillion Points
Formats: Paperback (224 p.), eBook
Release date: December 10, 2012
In What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal, Laina Dawes gives a personal account and survey of what it’s like to participate as a Black woman in predominately white rock’n’roll scenes: metal, hardcore, and punk. Despite living in what she calls the postracial society of Barack Obama, with more than hint of irony, Dawes describes the racial barriers and segregationist practices that still exist today within rock, music that derives from Black R&B and celebrates nonconformity, but which caters almost exclusively to white male audiences.
Dawes picks up where James Spooner’s film Afro-Punk: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Nigger Experience and Kandia Crazy Horse’s book Rip it Up: the Black Experience in Rock ‘n’ Roll leave off, focusing specifically on Black female identities within metal, a subculture that celebrates male machismo and white pride and yet has many musical and thematic qualities that appeal to her as a Black woman. Dawes explains the music’s emotional resonance with her once-teenage self: “The lure in listening to metal is to feel free, to escape from reality, even just for the length of a four-minute song.” She also relates her feelings of isolation at metal concerts and her unfortunate treatment by other metal fans that question her credibility and resent her tastes, sometimes violently, because of her sex and skin color. And in relating her struggle to find her place within underground rock as a member of a truly underground population, Dawes discovers others Black females who know all too well the “only one syndrome”—a shared experience involving a shared interest that provides a sense of community where none existed before.
Rock ‘n’ roll is a music defined by rebellion, if nothing else. Quoting Lester Bangs, Dawes describes punk as “a bunch of people finally freed by the collapse of all values to reinvent themselves, to make art statements of their whole lives.” This book, honoring that tradition, is about the struggle of women and African Americans and especially African American women who push back against rock’s restricted access, to play and listen to music and to dress and define themselves as they damn well please.
Reviewed by Betsy Shepherd
Editor’s note: Both James Spooner and Kandia Crazy Horse participated in the AAAMC’s 2009 conference, Reclaiming the Right to Rock: Black Experiences in Rock Music. In addition, the AAAMC holds the James Spooner Collection, which includes footage and other materials related to his films Afro-Punk and White Lies, Black Sheep.
March 1st, 2013
Title:Lo-f! D’Lux
Artist: Jack Davey (a.k.a. Jck Dvy)
Label: illav8r
Formats: MP3, ezine (25-page digital booklet/liner notes)
Release date: December 11, 2012
Jack Davey’s Lo-f! D’Lux promo arrived as a nesting doll of xeroxed paper, bound with tape and rubber bands—a DIY package meant to visually represent Davey’s lo-fi backlash to the music industry’s well-oiled machine. Citing Bessie Smith, the Stooges, and Howlin’ Wolf as influences, Jack Davey, previously of the hip hop duo J*DaVeY, showcases her newly acquired guitar chops on the 13-track double EP full of stripped down alternative rock. An interesting departure from the artist’s earlier work, Lo-f! D’Lux proves Davey’s shape-shifting artistry.
The opening track “Tinted Windows” finds Davey spitting rhymes over a bed of guitar distortion, facilely transitioning between her lower growl and a crystalline head voice. While she sticks pretty faithfully to a guitar-drums bare-bones formula, the vocal effects Davey uses occasionally give the songs an over-processed feel, sounding more pop than perhaps intended. She is at her best on the songs “Like That,” “Shit Gets Deep,” and “Get Up!,” no-holds-barred rockers sung in a snotty sing-speak voice.
On “In the Wind,” Jack delivers a grinding heavy metal song in the spirit of Black Sabbath before that genre got sullied with soul-less guitar-wanking solos. Taking on and re-envisioning metal’s dark-lord persona, she barks “big black bitch” with increasing ferocity before the songs cuts out in squeals of guitar feedback. On Lo-fi!, Davey proves she can be tough without being technical; heavy without being hi-fi; rocking without being anybody else.
Reviewed by Betsy Shepherd
March 1st, 2013
Title: Mutatis Mutandis
Artist: Nona Hendryx
Label: Righteous Babe
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: July 31, 2012
Many will no doubt remember Nona Hendryx’s days as a member of Labelle (of “Lady Marmalade” fame). But while Patti Labelle’s solo career remained firmly within soul and R&B, Hendryx retained the group’s glam, morphing into a leather clad rock goddess. Her self-titled 1977 album stunned fans and critics alike. At the time, Black rock musicians, particularly female artists, were not considered marketable by the labels and it’s a miracle the album was even released. Happily, 36 years later, Hendryx is still rocking.
Mutatis Mutandis (Latin for “necessary changes”), released prior to the 2012 elections, served as a vehicle for Hendryx to exorcise her “sense of frustration and powerlessness as the Tea Party leaders and followers spewed their racist, sexist, right-wing political views, religious ideology and blatant bigotry.” So it should be no surprise that she lays it bare on the opening track “Tea Party,” singing “The T stands for Trouble party/the Me party/the Hell No party.”
Hendryx then jams through a couple of love-themed tracks, the uptempo “Temple of Heaven” and the slow groove “Let’s Give Love a Try,” before returning to a string of hard-hitting hard-rocking socio-political songs. “Oil on the Water” is an expose on environmental degradation resulting from excess desire and greed. On “Black Boys” she sings “Black boys in tight blue jeans/America’s nightmare or an American dream?” warning “don’t be blinded by the bling.” This is followed by the anti-war anthem “When Love Goes to War,” a collaboration with the great Jean Beauvoir (Plasmatics, Little Steven, Crown of Thorns) who co-wrote the song and contributed the bass tracks and keyboard programming.
The amusing “Ballad of Rush Limbaugh” about the talk radio host “speading his disease over the airwaves” should definitely receive wider airplay. “Black on Black” is Black Power style anthem, falling somewhere between Curtis Mayfield and the pop sensibilities of Michael Jackson. “Strange Fruit,” sung over a dense fabric of fuzzed out guitar, synth horns, moans, and excerpts from MLK speeches, is about as far removed from the iconic Billie Holiday version as one can imagine but quite effective. “Mad as Hell, Pt. 1” is an appropriate finale, an “I can’t take it anymore” theme with the rich getting richer while the poor keep getting screwed.
Hendryx is backed by a number of heavy hitters including Ronny Drayton on guitar, Warren McRae on bass, and drummer/producer Trevor Gale driving the rhythm section on most of the tracks. Don’t let the political themes deter you. For some good ole funky guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll with a contemporary message, you can’t go wrong with Mutatis Mutandis. I just wish I had obtained a copy prior to the elections.
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss
March 1st, 2013
Title: Starlight
Artist: Joan Armatrading
Label: 429 Records
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: February 26, 2013
British singer-songwriter/guitarist Joan Armatrading, born on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts in 1950, has had an illustrious career spanning 40 decades and 18 studio albums. Her latest release is the third in a series exploring different genres that began with the Grammy nominated Into the Blues (2007) and the hard rock oriented This Charming Life (2010). On Starlight, Armatrading delves into the realm of jazz while still maintaining her signature folk rock sound.
As with her two previous albums, Armatrading assumes complete control of the project, composing all of the material and laying down every vocal and instrumental track, including electric and acoustic guitars, bass, and keyboards as well as drum programming, synth horn and strings (the latter thankfully in small measure). The opening track “Single Life” sets the tone, its intricate polymetric structure a good foil for the yin and yang of the lyrics that weigh the freedom of living alone against the inherent loneliness. “Close to Me” begins as a simple 4/4 jazz-pop ballad over a walking bass, then switches things up on the bridge, becoming more improvisational. “Tell Me” is a much more complex, free flowing jazz exploration, the keyboard and bass accompaniment punctuated by occasional electric guitar riffs.
Other stand out tracks include “The Way I Think of You” and “Summer Kisses,” both introspective songs employing a sparse accompaniment featuring effortless keyboard stylings backed by acoustic bass. Armatrading’s voice is as rich an agile as ever, and the more you listen to this album, the more you’ll appreciate the subtle complexity of the songwriting and arrangements. Too bad she is not backed by a live rhythm section, as the drum programming is sometimes annoying.
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss
March 1st, 2013
Title:1982: Dishonorable Discharge
Artist: Puffy Areolas
Label: Hozac Records
Formats: CD, Vinyl, MP3
Release date: August 7, 2012
Puffy Areolas featuring veteran rocker Lamont “Bim” Thomas (former drummer for garage-punk outfit The Bassholes, and punkrockers This Moment in Black History) torchbears the Midwest tradition of feral children traipsing in industrial wasteland proto-punk, established by the Stooges, MC5, and Pere Ubu. Puffy’s full length 1982: Dishonorable Discharge (Hozac Records), sounds every bit as crude and abrasive as the band’s branding: oozing with blistering and bloodletting noise.
Interspersed with 2-minute punk burners and 7-minute psychedelic freakouts, 1982 is a well-paced platter of tunes that will fry your marbles right. The title track tears open the albums seams with ear-piercing feedback, soon followed by high-speed guitar bashing. Tides of fuzz churn over greasy slicks of wah on “Not Tonight” and “Dark Places (Guyana Pt. 2),” classic Funhouse remnants set against Midwest decay, while “Funk Your Head Up” doses screeching guitars over an ass-gravity groove. “By the Hand” is a circuit-bent arcade of hell-bop, and “$200 (Dishonorable Discharge)” is a pipeline sucking and spewing unfiltered rock’n’roll raunch: sludgy bass and noxious guitars clanging to the Bim’s motoric rhythms and morocco rattles.
1982 has come and gone, and has left only deathly silence in its place.
Following is a video of their live 2012 performance at Bloomington venue Magnetic South:
Reviewed by Betsy Shepherd
March 1st, 2013
Title: Into The Future
Artist: Bad Brains
Label: Megaforce
Formats: CD, LP, Mp3
Release date: November 30, 2012
Bad Brains has the misfortune of being a band whose place in history was crystallized and immortalized about 30 years ago, as rough and tumble break-through Black artists in the D.C. hardcore scene. Bad Brains the historical object, however, has never stopped Bad Brains the band from performing and recording with an ever changing line-up.
Into the Future is the group’s seventh release and, while definitely nowhere near a reclamation of former glories, is probably their best album in at least the last ten years. Famed, crazed frontman H.R. is back in the lead with his stream of consciousness yelping, growling and shouting. The band’s foray into reggae tinged metal has been scaled back and glimpses of their original hardcore style can be felt throughout. Bad Brains completists will want to purchase this album, and perhaps people interested in the idea of Bad Brains who were not intrigued by the abrasive, non-stop sound of their 2003 release “Banned in D.C.” Hardcore purists, however, should probably keep pretending the last 30 years didn’t happen.
Reviewed by Dorothy Berry
March 1st, 2013
Title: Livin’ In The New Wave
Artist: Andre Cymone
Label: Funkytown Grooves
Format: CD
Release date: February 21, 2012
The early ’80s replaced George Orwell’s drab futurism with visions of the New Wave: sci-fi florescence as told by analog synthesizers and drum machines. Andre Cymone, childhood friend of Prince and longtime collaborator of His Purple Majesty, combined the industrial rhythms of Kraftwerk and P-Funk’s space grooves to help forge the sound of Minneapolis electrofunk, as heard on his 1982 release Livin’ in the New Wave. Bassplayer in Prince’s touring band, pre-Revolution, Cymone adds his signature digi-slap low end to robot harmonies and synth solos that sound like explosive binary code, to create neon fantasies of the future.
The title track kicks off the album with a dance-floor bang, foisting up New Wave’s Dayglo torch: “We’ve just begun, the time has come to start anew.” “Kelly’s Eyes,” a love song reminiscent of a wedding line dance, that venerable ’80s institution, and “All I Need Is You,” a doo wop song doused with laser-beam streams of synth, prove Cymone’s uncanny vocal resemblance to Prince. While he retains all of Prince’s bedroom breathiness and soaring falsetto, his voice and approach is decidedly less feline, a gauzier coo. In the slow R&B groove of “Baby Don’t Go,” Cymone’s delivers low-lit, dry-ice visions of a first love discovered in the awkward embrace of a slow dance.
“Voice on the Radio” leaves behind the funky basslines for more straight-ahead rock, layering a poppy Moog melody over a driving guitar beat for Ric Ocasek-style (The Cars) ear candy.
Cutting edge at the time, Cymone’s forays into tech-textured pop music resonates well with today’s ’80s retro runoff genres like chillwave, glo-fi, and indie electropop. For a vintage brand of pop earnestness and techno-futurism, check out Cymone’s upbeat vision of life in the new wave.
Livin’ in the New Wave has been reissued by Funkytown Grooves, a UK label that specializes in soul, funk, jazz, and disco reissues, including Cymone’s 1983 release Survivin’ in the 80’s and his 1985 release AC.
Reviewed by Betsy Shepherd
March 1st, 2013
Title: Confess
Artist: Twin Shadow
Label: 4AD
Formats: CD, LP, MP3
Release date: July 10, 2012
It is a difficult yet ever-present challenge for musicians to cite their musical influences without sounding redundant or like a pastiche. George Lewis Jr., who performs under the stage name Twin Shadow, is clearly a deeply indebted fan of 1980s new wave and R&B. While there are clear shades of Morrissey in his vocals and Depeche Mode in the synthesizers, chalking Twin Shadow up as just another retro ‘80s guy would be a mistake.
Dominican-born and Florida-raised, Lewis was lumped with the chillwave genre that emerged from bedroom producers in the mid 2000s, but his music has moved away from those fuzzy, layered sounds to a more pure pop flavor. With his laidback, sensual vocals at the forefront and his classically good looks, Lewis seems destined for stardom, but he has a broader artistic vision. He has written a futuristic motorcycle fantasy novel called Night of the Silver Sun and two of the videos from songs off Confess, “Five Seconds” and “Patient” will filmed to form a video saga based on the novel’s plot.
Following is the official video for “Patient”:
These sort of big creative ideas, in combination with his musical talents, definitely foreshadow a career filled with innovative works.
Reviewed by Dorothy Berry
March 1st, 2013
Title: Just Before Music
Artist: Lonnie Holley
Label: Dust-to-Digital
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: November 6, 2012
Lonnie Holley is the sort of artist figure who would seem easy to dismiss as “outsider,” someone people only listen to because they like to be thought of as on-the-edge. Born the seventh of twenty-seven children in 1950s Birmingham, Alabama, Holley spent the first 29 years of his life struggling; he began working outside the home at the age of five. Since 1979, however, Holley has dedicated his life to creating improvisatory art, be it visual, performance or sound. He is a sculptor, a sketcher, a painter, a photographer and much more.
Just Before Music features his first studio recordings, and is an interesting project in and of itself, in that Holley’s improvisatory style is such that nothing is ever static. Lyrics, melodies, narratives―everything is up for constant revision and reinvention. The crystallized nature of recorded sound is a strange place for this sort of sound art to inhabit, but fans of new music should be grateful to Dust-to-Digital because Holley’s music and art are a rare treat.
It is hard to solidify in words what is so enticing about Holley’s music. There is a real beauty in his unpasteurized expressivity. This is music created because the musician needed to create it, without thought to what sells or what’s in vogue. “A’ is for All, ‘R’ is for Rendered, ‘T’ is for truth…from an internal place I call ‘myself,” sings Holley soulfully on “All Rendered Truth” while the underlying keyboards provide an ethereal accompaniment, like a reduction of a minimalist piece:
There are so many layers of beauty to be explored here, that all one can really say is, take some time and invest yourself in Holley’s world. The album comes with a 20 page booklet that features lyric transcriptions and artwork by Holley, providing further insight into his visionary creative mind.
Reviewed by Dorothy Berry
March 1st, 2013
Title: Making It
Artist: Stew & The Negro Problem
Label: Tight Natural Production
Formats: CD, MP3
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Stew (founder of the band The Negro Problem) and Heidi Rodewald, songwriting duo of the Tony winning play-turned-Spike Lee film Passing Strange, have come together again on Making It. While the title might suggest showbiz success, it’s actually an exploration of their personal relationship, in the same manner that Passing Strange was a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story. The former couple broke up in the midst of performing Passing Strange, leading to a very intense and uncomfortable time. It is this relationship, and the post-relationship woes that fuel the songs on the album.
Much of Making It opts for the mellow side of the musical spectrum. “Pretend,” “Love Is a Cult,” and “Tomorrow Gone” are chilled-out and extremely personal narratives. Stew and Heidi often trade off on the vocals, and the mixes and transitions are very well executed. For many listeners, the emotions pushed through the music and lyrics will be very relatable, conjuring memories of similar experiences and emotions. For Making It, the ability to connect with listeners is the album’s greatest triumph, and serves as a return-to-force for Stew & The Negro Problem.
The group is currently working on a song cycle project focusing on different cities, beginning with Chicago. Let’s hope this new project soon comes to CD or DVD.
Reviewed by Ian Hallagan
March 1st, 2013
Title: Curva Da Cintura
Artist: Arnaldo Antunes, Edgard Scandurra, Toumani Diabaté
Label: Mais Um Discos
Formats: CD, MP3.
Release date: September 19, 2012
A Curva Da Cintura is an incredible reunion of Malian and Brazilian music legends, which, released under the London-based Brazilian label Mais Um Discos, brings together a soulful and unique amalgamation of sounds considered to belong to the Black Atlantic. Renowned Malian kora prodigy Toumani Diabaté (kora is a 21-strings West African harp), Brazilians guitar master Edgar Scandurra, and famous poet/singer-songwriter Arnaldo Antunes got together in Mali to record this album inspired by their original reunion to perform at the Back2Black music festival in Rio de Janeiro in 2010. The result of this back and forth between Brazil and Mali is outstanding, which is not surprising given the careers of these three musicians.
Two-times Grammy winner Toumani Diabaté has brought the kora to global awareness, turning it into a persistent instrument in world music ensembles. His legacy descends from 71 family generations of kora performance and storytelling. Arnaldo Antunes (vocals and guitar) is an internationally renowned artist with more than three decades of experience in singing, songwriting, painting, literature, dance and audiovisuals. He was also the leader of Titas, a top-notch Brazilian rock band from the 1980s. Edgard Scandurra is a guitarist, singer, composer, and founding member of the Brazilian rock group Ira! Both Antunes and Scandurra have been included in the list of “100 Greatest Brazilian Artists” by Rolling Stone Brazil.
The music in this CD is not easy to classify. Even though there have been many collaborations between West African griots—native singer-songwriters and storytellers—and rock and blues musicians from the Americas, this particular tint of Brazilian rock, which has its own history and aural identity, makes the album a unique musical piece. The Brazilian team wrote most of the compositions, while Diabaté contributed the musicians: His son Sidiki plays kora on several tracks, Fode Lassana Diabaté on balafon (West-African xylophone), and Zoumana Tereta on violin.
Despite the absence of a drumset on the album, some songs have a classic Brazilian rock sound, like the opening tune “Cê Não Vai Me Acompanhar” (“You will not follow me”), which includes Portuguese lyrics, acoustic guitars, and a counterpoint between electric guitar and kora. Other songs tend to weigh more balance on the mutual musical influences of the artists, like the title track “A Curva da Cintura” (“A waist curve”), which features balafon, djembe, and the three lute players interpreting a scale that could belong to either a griot’s sung narration, a Delta blues, or a Rolling Stones song. Track 11, “Neblina de Areia” (“Sand fog”), is a beautiful instrumental in which several layers of stringed instruments take us on a tour through the deepest realms of fusion, where the Atlantic Ocean becomes just a tiny gap that music bridges, putting hundreds of years of interrelations and history at the highlight.
Following is a video of Diabaté’s song “Kaira” (track 4) and an explanation by its creator:
A Curva Da Cintura portrays a very interesting bridge between two countries that have had more in common that is usually told in official history books and in nationalist discourses. Diabaté’s Malian heritage in addition to his world music experience summed up with Antunes’s and Scandurra’s taste for MPB (“Musica Popular Brasileira”) and Brazilian rock makes this combination a bomb cocktail.
Reviewed by Juan Sebastián Rojas E.
March 1st, 2013
If Valentine’s Day puts you on the search for mood music, these two new releases may be exactly what you’re looking for.
Title: A Time for Love
Artist: Jeffery Osborne, George Duke
Label: Saguaro Road Records
Format: CD, MP3
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Jeffery Osborne’s A Time for Love is a collection of reimagined standards. Produced by George Duke and backed by a fantastic group of jazz musicians, Time for Love is full of love songs that are already close to your heart. One of the album’s biggest treats, however, is a duet with Chaka Khan on the Frank Loesser classic “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”
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Title: Love Songs
Artist: Destiny’s Child
Label: Sony Legacy
Format: CD, MP3
Release Date: January 29, 2013
For Valentine’s Day slow jams featuring the reigning Queen of R&B, however, look no further than the aptly named new Destiny’s Child compilation Love Songs. Spanning the wide range of the classic DC trio, Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, Love Songs has something for everyone: well known hits like “Cater 2 U,” from 2004’s Destiny Fulfilled, and deep cuts like “Brown Eyes” off 2001’s Survivor.
What is most exciting, however, is the final track on the CD, “Nuclear.” A smooth love song with ’90s inspired production, “Nuclear” is the first new Destiny’s Child recording in years and hopefully a harbinger of an epic reunion tour. Whether you love contemporary ballads or just love remembering the heyday of Destiny’s Child, Love Songs is a great purchase.
Reviewed by Dorothy Berry
February 1st, 2013
Title: Anything in Return
Artist: Toro y Moi
Label: Carpark Records
Formats: CD, LP, MP3
Release: January 22, 2013
Anything in Return is a flawless pop album. Chaz Bunwick’s third album under the moniker Toro y Moi builds on his previous explorations of funk and pop and immediately blooms into a pristine blending of ’90s house music, funk and pop. It feels as though almost any track on this album could be remixed into the hipster club banger of Summer 2013. Bunwick’s completely laid back, breathless vocals are a fantastic fit for this brand of expertly produced pop, providing a human layer that is engaging and yet still somewhat grounded. Tracks like the immensely danceable “Say That” have a strong ’90s vibe, in perfect fit with the trendy ’90s resurgence:
Anything in Return works so well, however, because Bunwick manages to be in the trends, but not of them. While the album is not necessarily “timeless,” it certainly doesn’t feel like it will become “that album we listened to the year we liked ’90s stuff.” It succeeds because Bunwick has the secret weapon at hand the separates good producers from producers with good ideas: a musician’s ear. His aural aesthetic is always spot on and is what leads him to keep raising the bar with each new release.
Reviewed by Dorothy Berry
February 1st, 2013
Title: Only One in the World
Artist: Heather Headley
Label: In:ciite Media
Format: CD, MP3
Release date: September 25, 2012
It seems that Heather Headley wanted to summarize her music career with her latest album, Only One in the World. The Trinidadian-American singer started her career in 1997 as a Broadway singer in the role of Nala in Lion King. Since then she’s shown a wide range of musical skills in two R&B and one gospel-oriented albums. On her new release, Headley showcases the vocal abilities that impressed her legions of Broadway fans, yet she continues to explore other dimensions as well.
In the promotion video for the album, Headley explains she wanted to record the songs she’s grown to love performing over the years. This includes a number of iconic covers, such as Hoobastank’s 2004 hit single “The Reasons.” Headley’s rendition definitely surprises, as she completely changes this rock song into a majestic ballad with her deep, strong voice, but fans will surely understand her choice. It is also refreshing to hear her interpretation of Brian McKnight’s “One Last Cry,” as she creates a more theatrical atmosphere for this well-known song. And since Headley’s currently starring in a musical adaptation of the Whitney Houston film, The Bodyguard, it’s only fitting that she’s included a cover of “Run to You.” She concludes the album with “Home” from The Wiz, once again returning to the Broadway stage for inspiration.
The album is also interspersed with new original songs, including “Hey Mama” and the title track, which reveals another side of Headley as a contemporary R&B singer:
Heather Headley’s Only One in the World is an indefinable album, lacking clear focus, but should still appeal to longtime fans.
Reviewed by Yukari Shinagawa
January 1st, 2013
If you’re looking for new holiday music this year, here are my six picks from the sacred to the profane.
Title: Grace Gift
Artist: James Fortune & FIYA
Label: Entertainment One
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: October 16, 2012
Beginning with the sacred, James Fortune offers his own unique contemporary Christian sound on Grace Gift, his first holiday-oriented album. Fortune and his wife Cheryl, both gifted songwriters, penned several original songs for the album that breathe new life into a market oversaturated with standards: the joyful uptempo “Christmas Time” featuring the full FIYA choir, the inspirational ballad “Worship The King,” and “Mary’s Song,” a solo vehicle for Cheryl. That’s not to say that classics are neglected. Longtime FIYA member D’Shondra Rideout shines on “First Noel” and Isaac Carree and Minon Bolton put a soulful spin on “This Christmas,” while the rousing medley “Go Tell It/Wonderful Child” with Lisa Knowles and Shawn McLemore will have everyone dancing.
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Title: Christmas with Earnest Pugh & Friends
Artist: Earnest Pugh
Label: EPM Music Group
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: October 16, 2012
Christmas with Earnest Pugh & Friends is a blend of gospel, contemporary Christian and R&B with interludes that keeps the album fresh throughout the 14 tracks. Much of the focus is on soloists, with rising star Crystal Rucker featured on “Do You Hear What I Hear,” Vincent Tharpe showing off a remarkable range on “Go Tell It,” Quadrius Salters ushering in a contemporary styled “Silent Night,” and Lisa Knowles in a more traditional gospel version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” One of the stand-out tracks is the soulful “Ring Dem Bells,” a stellar R&B arrangement showcasing Pugh’s powerful vocals over a jazzy rhythm section. The intro, two interludes and outro feature humorous sketches and carols with children. While cute, they do break up the flow, so unless you’re enjoying this album with your family you might want to skip over these tracks.
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Title: Cee Lo’s Magic Moment
Artist: Cee Lo Green
Label: Elektra/Asylum
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: October 30, 2012
Now on to the secular offerings. Cee Lo’s Magic Moment is far and above the most entertaining album of the lot, featuring high energy, excellent up tempo arrangements and a bevy of notable guests. In other words, just what you’d expect from the Voice coach. Cee Lo’s fellow coach on the show, Christina Aguilera, joins him for a duet on the classic “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” while Rod Stewart and Trombone Shorty join in on “Merry Christmas, Baby.” For the most part, though, Cee Lo carries the album, showing off his vocal chops on songs such as Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas,” the soul drenched “Please Come Home for Christmas,” Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” featuring a Motownesque trio of back-up singers, and the rocking “Run, Rudolph, Run:”
Cee Lo also throws in some a couple of songs to please the kids, with the Muppets jiving along on “All I Need Is Love” and the a cappella group Straight No Chaser providing back-up vocals on “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” I’m guessing that many of these tracks will be permeating the malls, and a holiday TV special is rumored.
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Title: What Christmas Means
Artist: Kem
Label: Motown
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: October 16, 2012
If you’re in the mood for a less frenetic pace, What Christmas Means, from Detroit R&B singer Kem, presents jazzy, soulful ballads in the adult contemporary vein. Kem ensures a fresh approach by including no less than five original songs with sacred as well as romantic overtones, ranging from the opening “Glorify the King” to the closing a capella “Doo Wop Christmas.” The highlight of the album is the duet with Ledisi “Be Mine for Christmas,” in an arrangement that deftly incorporates elements of Gamble and Huff’s “Me and Mrs. Jones.” Rounding out the album are jazz arrangements of more traditional songs such as “Merry Christmas Baby,” Christmas Time is Here” and Mel Tormé’s “The Christmas Song.” This is the perfect album to sooth your frazzled nerves after a day of shopping, or to set the stage for a romantic evening at home.
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Title: Santa’s Got Mojo 2 – An Electro-Fi Christmas Blues Celebration
Artists: Various
Label: Electro-Fi
Format: CD, MP3
Release date: October 16, 2012
Now on to the more irreverent offerings. If you’re looking for something less traditional, then check out the second installment of Santa’s Got Mojo from Toronto-based blues label Electro-Fi. The album kicks off with the slow and sexy burner “Be My Santa Claus” by Shakura S’Aida, and features two tracks by the Canadian blues rock band Fathead, including “Santa’s Drunk.” Other highlights include Paul Oscher’s “Christmas Blues,” Fruteland Jackson’s rollicking “Fat Santa,” Johnny Laws’ “Christmas Comes But Once a Year,” and my personal favorite, Julian Fauth’s “Hallelujah in the Mall.” You get the picture―an entertaining set of blues covers and original songs perfect for parties.
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Title: Christmas Is ON!
Artist: Gary U.S. Bonds
Label: G.L.A. Records
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: September 11, 2012
Though I haven’t been able to lay hands on a copy and the MP3 samples only became available last week, the first holiday album from Gary U.S. Bonds must be included on the short list. True to form, Bonds kicks off with a houserocker: the title track “Christmas Is ON!” is meant to get the party started with a fierce boogie woogie piano accompaniment. Bonds wrote seven more original songs for the album, including “It’s Christmas in Nu Awlins” that harkens back to his first big hit (“New Orleans” released in 1961), “Christmas Is a Phone Call Away” which is a great old-fashioned rhythm and blues romp with a honking sax solo, the tongue-in-cheek “Shopping for Clothes” done Bo Diddley style, and the grooving “Santa Bring My Baby Home to Me” over a lilting reggae beat. A few standards are also given the Bonds treatment, including a terrific doo wop version of “White Christmas” and the rocking “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” So if you’re looking for some old-school music for the holidays, you can’t miss with Gary U.S. Bonds’ Christmas Is ON!
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss
December 1st, 2012
Title: Velvet Sky
Artist: Valarie Pettiford
Label: Gorgeous Media Group
Formats: MP3, limited edition CDs
Release date: October 9, 2012
Broadway and film star Valarie Pettiford has released a collection of original lullabies which is perfect for the young children on your holiday list. Velvet Sky features songs such as “A Choo- Choo- Choo-Train” and “Mama Say, Baby Do” meant to inspire play between parents and their children, as well as the requisite softer tracks to lull babies to sleep, including “Dreamland,” “Asleep In My Arms,” and “Sleep (A New Mother’s Prayer).” Her gorgeous voice drifts over soft accompaniments, and though some of the arrangements would be at home on the stage, they’re performed in an understated manner sure to sooth.
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss
December 1st, 2012
Title: Hendrix on Hendrix: Interviews and Encounters with Jimi Hendrix 
Editor: Steven Roby
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Formats: Book (hardcover, 362 p.), eBook
Release date: October 2012
Steven Roby, noted Hendrix historian and author of Becoming Jimi Hendrix (2010) and Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix (2002), now entices fans with a new volume that “assembles the most important Hendrix interviews” from print, radio and TV sources, even previously unpublished court transcripts. Over 50 interviews are included and presented in chronological order, beginning in December 1966 and concluding with “The Last Hendrix Interview” conducted in London on September 11, 1970 (a week prior to his death), by Keith Altham from the Record Mirror.
While many of these interviews, particularly those from mainstream U.S. publications, have been readily available, Roby has translated reviews from the foreign press, transcribed BBC radio interviews, and dug through counter culture newspapers in order to deliver the most significant extant sources. As editor, he also provides context for each interview, weaving together a story line that’s especially helpful for readers not as familiar with the arc of Hendrix’s career.
Roby concludes the book with a compilation of quotes by and about Hendrix, followed by an appendix with an extensive 1995 interview he conducted with Eric Burdon, who first “crossed paths with Hendrix in 1965” while Hendrix was touring with Little Richard. Burdon reminisces about Hendrix’s “psychedelic sacrifices,” their final jam session together, and events directly before and after Hendrix’ death.
For Hendrix fans as well as those studying 1960s rock music, race relations, drugs and the counter culture, this new book ties together many different threads. But most of all, Roby attempts to let Hendrix tell the story in his own words—“what was on the man’s mind and what he had to endure as one of the highest-paid rock acts of the late 1960s.” And what ultimately led to his death.
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss
December 1st, 2012
Title: Come and Get It: Rare Pearls
Artist: Jackson 5
Label: Hip-O Select
Format: 2-CD + 45rpm box set
Release date: September 15, 2012
Is it possible to get enough of the Jackson 5? Not for me, though I freely admit my bias and nostalgia for the ‘70s when the group was regularly topping the charts. Thankfully, there are still numerous unreleased J5 recordings in the vault, and this set proves that many of them are indeed “rare pearls.”
Come and Get It was compiled by Deke Richards, the Motown songwriter/producer tapped by Barry Gordy to produce the J5’s first album. In the liner notes Richards tells the story of his first encounter with the group in the summer of 1969, when Gordy drove some of his L.A. staff over to the Daisy Club on Rodeo Drive. “My jaw dropped to the floor. I didn’t know how else to respond to seeing Frankie Lymon, James Brown and Jackie Wilson portrayed by the same little cat at the same time. Was that possible? Was that really possible? I was less than 20 feet away from these five young boys from Indiana, and I can tell you right now: Yes. It was the Gospel Truth. If you ever heard a young entertainer sing his or her heart out once in your life . . . I guarantee you: the experience was nothing like the night I saw Michael Jackson and his four brothers.” And that’s exactly what makes this set compelling: 32 previously unreleased tracks, recorded between 1969-1974, illustrating the maturation of Michael from a frighteningly talented 11-year-old prodigy to a fully seasoned professional at 16.
The songs on each disc are not quite consecutive (care is taken to create a good flow), but disc one primarily consists of tracks recorded from 1969-1971. Highlights include “I Got a Sure Thing” penned by Stax’s Al Bell and Booker T. Jones; a funny cover of Randy Newman’s “Mama Told Me Not to Come;” the Hal Davis produced “Someone’s Standing in My Love Light;” and the studio version of “Feelin’ Alright.”
Disc two continues through 1974, the Jackson’s final year on Motown. Stand out tracks include a cover of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s “You Can’t Hurry Love” where Michael demonstrates that he can easily out sing the Supremes; “Keep Off the Grass” written, produced and arranged by Deke Richards; the Hal Davis produced “Let’s Go Back to Day One;” and “Label Me Love” (produced by Clay McMurray) and “Jumbo Sam” featuring Michael without his brothers. The three bonus tracks include the original complete versions of “That’s How Love Is,” “If I Have to Move a Mountain,” and the demo of “Mama’s Pearl,” all produced and arranged by The Corporation (Deke Richards, Freddie Perren, Alphonso Mizell and Berry Gordy).
The box set, which is the size of a 7-inch tape reel, includes a 31-page booklet with wonderful archival photos, the two CDs housed in 45-style sleeves, and one Motown 45-rpm disc featuring “If the Shoe Don’t Fit” on the A-side (one of the best tracks on the set) and “Feelin’ Alright” on the B-side (both are also included on the CDs). This compilation is even better than Hip-O’s previous release from 2009, I Want You Back: Unreleased Masters. If you have any J5 fans on your holiday shopping list pick this up now, because the pressing is limited to 4000 copies.
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss
November 1st, 2012
Title: The Book of Jonah
Artist: Nadir
Label: Distorted Soul
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: August 14, 2012
Nadir Omowale, an eleven-time Detroit Music Award winner, has also been garnering recognition outside of his hometown through recent tours across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His unique style reflects his upbringing: he was weaned in Tennessee on recordings by Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and James Cleveland; was immersed in his brother’s P-Funk, Kiss and Van Halen collection during adolescence; then moved to the Motor City where he soaked up the vibes of Motown and the Funk Brothers. Blend these influences together and you get old-school funk and soul with a dash of jazz and blues on a solid foundation of rock ‘n’ roll.
The Book of Jonah is Nadir’s third release, following Workin’ for the Man (2008) and Distorted Soul 2.0 (2004). The album kicks off with “A Hustler (In Spite of Myself),” which is easily his most creative track. Channeling Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield, Nadir explores his John Shaft alter-ego, bringing in the strings, wah-wah pedal, and cowbell to recreate a classic, yet distorted, ‘70s sound. This is followed by “Go It Alone,” which veers off into jazz-funk territory where Nadir demonstrates his ability to scat. Taking another turn, “95 Miles Down the Road” cranks up the heat with a power rock trio full frontal assault featuring another Detroit rising star, singer/songwriter Mayaeni:
The album’s title is drawn from the song “Belly of the Whale,” another stand out track that brings in a trio of female backup singers to warn of the “eve of destruction.” Most of the remaining tracks on the album were penned by Nadir and, though somewhat more generic, still provide a solid funk workout. You can download the 11 tracks, or pick up the enhanced CD which includes two music videos linked above.
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss
November 1st, 2012
Title: Real Gone Rocket, Session Man Extraordinaire, 1951-59
Artist: Ike Turner
Label: Jerome Records
Catalog No.: JRCD 002
Formats: CD, LP
Release date: April 24, 2012
Although Ike Turner’s own bad conduct, chronicled in detail by his badly wronged wife Tina, greatly diminished his reputation, Turner was an early innovator in what would become rock and roll music. Indeed, there is a school of thought that puts Turner at the birth of rock, with his band cutting “Rocket 88” in 1951, using the band’s vocalist, Jackie Brenston, as the front man.
This CD, from Barcelona-based Jerome Records, collects a bunch of obscure rock and R&B sides from the 1950s with one common thread—Ike Turner as the main musical force. From Brenston’s 1951 followup cut, “My Real Gone Rocket,” to Turner masquerading as “Icky Renrut” on 1959’s “Ho Ho,” we hear a confident and aggressive musical style too fast and forward for what encompassed traditional rhythm and blues music of the 1950s. No, this is the hard stuff, the rock stuff.
Ike Turner was at home playing piano (fast and in the boogie-woogie style) or guitar (whammy bar at the ready to make a point), and he wrote tunes too. He recorded for a series of now-famous small labels—Sun, Modern, Chess, Speciality, King, etc.—and in a variety of studios backing a motley crew of vocalists. At the end of the period covered in this set, he met a young woman named Anna Mae Bullock, the future Tina Turner, and his days as a studio player and bar one-nighter were soon over.
The music on this CD is like an obscure jukebox in some downtown dive in a mid-sized southern city, circa 1956. There’s not too much subtlety or sensitivity, it’s a hard whiskey shot washed down with cheap beer. It’s bracing and stripped-down and bumping and grinding, exactly what should play in that seam between R&B and rock and roll. Fun stuff!
The excellent liner notes and discographical information by Fred Rothwell are worth special mention. If you weren’t alive in the 1950s and listening to “deep in the crates” R&B singles, you may not have heard these songs. They are worth a listen.
Reviewed by Tom Fine
November 1st, 2012
Title: Delirium
Artist: The Memorials
Label: Blood Thirsty Unicorn
Formats: CD, MP3
Release Date: June 5, 2012
After the mysterious circumstances surrounding his departure from The Mars Volta in 2009, drummer Thomas Pridgen set out to create his own group, The Memorials, with vocalist Viveca Hawkins and guitarist Nick Brewer. The group released their self-titled debut album in 2011, which garnered considerable attention on the Afro-Punk circuit, and now they’ve returned just a year later with their follow-up Delirium.
Trying to pinpoint an exact genre for Delirium is next to impossible since the vast array of musical combinations and influences is practically endless. However, it’s not as if they’re all thrown together just for the sake of creating as much variety as possible; each has a definite place. For example, the extensive track “Fluorescent’s Unforgiving” begins with elements of hard rock and hip hop a la Public Enemy and Anthrax. But it doesn’t stop there, as jazz mixes comfortably with the harsher elements of rock and electronic effects. Finally, the song switches to a laid-back jam session before ending the same way it started: harsh and loud.
Following is the music video for “Fluorescent’s Unforgiving”:
With the extensive amount of detail going into each song on Delirium, The Memorials truly demonstrate their appreciation of and dedication to musical creativity and ingenuity. Each listen of the album uncovers additional layers, or new combinations that I wouldn’t have thought would work, yet the album still flows smoothly. For anyone looking to discover a new band with a unique sound, The Memorials are definitely one to keep your eye on.
Reviewed by Ian Hallagan
November 1st, 2012
Title: Money Store
Artist: Death Grips
Label: Epic
Formats: CD, MP3, LP
Release date: April 24, 2012
It is very rare these days to hear an album that doesn’t immediately bring to mind a million comparisons. Hip hop has been around for so long now that sometimes it feels like everything has been done already. That’s not to say there aren’t fantastic new artists producing outstanding new music, but rather that that new music is rarely unclassifiable. Rarely, however, is not the same as never.
Death Grips, formed in Sacramento in 2010, make hip hop with a punk sensibility by combining hardcore delivery with experimental beats and live percussion from Zach Hill, aggressive sampling and shambolic flow from MC Ride (Stefan Burnett), and production from Andy Morin that wouldn’t seem out of place in an Electronic Music MFA program.
That is all to say, Death Grips is really hard to describe. Money Store, the second album from the group and their major label debut is somewhat less abrasive than their first album, Exmilitary. Less abrasive is, of course, a relative term. Death Grips may not produce the easiest music to swallow, but sometimes it is worth your while to let something that strikes you as dissonant sink in. Money Store is definitely an album worth investing your time in.
Following is the official music video for track 6, “I’ve Seen Footage”:
If you’re a fan of Death Grips’ punk rap sound then stay tuned—the group’s third album No Love Deep Web was recently released for streaming via the band’s website.
Reviewed by Dorothy Berry
November 1st, 2012
Title: Etta James: Live at Montreux 1993
Artist: Etta James
Label: Eagle Vision
Format: DVD, Blu-Ray, CD
Release date: August 28, 2012
In Eagle Vision’s new retrospective on Etta James’ Montreux performances, two facts remain true over the course of her career: Etta was as wild a dresser as ever graced the stage and her spark never waned, though her voice noticeably lost some of its suppleness and range.
But why pay money to see an artist who is well past their prime, which arguably Etta was by 1993? It is thrilling and for some even imperative to see the great musical legends in the flesh before they exit the Big Stage. Diehard or not, it is also interesting to see how Etta reinterpreted her classic material, given the downside of having a prolonged career—the physical limitations that come with age and the monotony of singing the same songs year after year. Etta dealt with these problems like she would any of the no-good men she sings about, with attitude and a dirty sense of humor, both of which increasingly make their way into her stage persona.
Showboating across the stage in a gold lame robe in her 1993 appearance, Etta sings “Rather Go Blind” not with the tenderness and desperation of youth, but with a husky knowingness that emphasizes the song’s triumphant resignation over its heartbreak. Remembering the phantom touch of her old flame, she’s no longer “thinkin’ of [his] kiss and warm embrace.” She’s thinking about the part of him that is best left to suggestion, which she does very emphatically. The DVD also includes her ’75 version of the song, in which Etta hits on the perfect mix of sensual and sexy, mournful and authoritative:
Etta’s 1993 backing band does her a great disservice by ambushing her voice with overly slick, aggressive blues-rock instrumentation. But lucky for us, the DVD includes a sizeable portion of Etta’s ’75 performance whose lineup demonstrates the raw power of good stage chemistry. The churchy organist, the brass section, and funky guitar player work together to showcase the vibrancy of Etta’s inimitable voice, and achieve the sound of Stax Record’s classic soul. In fact, the horn section’s melodic flares punctuate Etta’s improvised vocals with such potency that Etta herself looks delighted if not a bit surprised that she’s finally found somebody that can keep up with her.
The music from her Montreaux performances is also available on CD.
Reviewed by Betsy Shepherd
October 1st, 2012
Title: Etta James: The Complete Private Music Blues, Rock’N’Soul Albums Collection
Artist: Etta James
Label: Legacy
Format: 7-CD box set
Release date: August 28, 2012
Sony Legacy’s most recent Etta James box set features 7-discs worth of the artist’s late-career recordings (1997-2004) for Private Music, a label known for its roster of New Age musicians like Yanni and Suzanne Ciani. While there is little New Agey about Miss Peaches, Private Music captures a new age in Etta’s recording career, her blues-rock era. The discs Let’s Roll, Blues to the Bone, Burnin’ Down the House, and Matriarch of the Blues leave little room for doubt: Etta was a tour de force until the very end.
In this collection there isn’t much in the way of classic rhythm and blues, with which Etta is so closely associated she’s been hailed as the Matriarch of R&B. She stays away from her old material for the most part, and instead lends her voice to blues and jazz covers and newly penned tunes. The new songs are somewhat forgettable in comparison to her early work but some of the covers see Etta expanding her repertoire and experimenting with her voice and style in refreshing new ways—the best of which is heard on her cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightnin’” and the Rogers and Hart classic “My Funny Valentine.”
This collection will primarily appeal to the camp of Etta diehards collecting her every crumb as well as to contemporary ears completely unfamiliar with her previous output.
Reviewed by Betsy Shepherd
October 1st, 2012
Title: The Columbia Masters
Artist: Earth, Wind & Fire
Label: Legacy
Format: 16-CD box set
Release date: June 12, 2012
By scheduling this set for summer release, Legacy got the jump on the many box sets and special editions slated for release prior to the holiday season. Rather than a compilation of best tracks or rarities, The Columbia Masters consists of remastered editions of 15 classic Earth, Wind & Fire albums in their entirety, enclosed in mini-LP replica sleeves with the original album art. Rarities are not entirely left out of the package. The 16-track bonus disc Constellations: The Universe of EW&F features several singles as well as alternate takes, instrumental mixes, and other previously unreleased tracks, including two from a 1980 live performance in Rio de Janeiro. The accompanying 40-page illustrated booklet provides all track listings and credits, along with illuminating (albeit brief) commentary about each disc by Maurice White.
The albums in the set follow the trajectory of EWF’s success as one of the funkiest and most versatile bands on the planet, as well as their decline in popularity in the post-disco ‘80s. Included is Last Days and Time (1972), featuring the band’s new lineup built around Maurice and Verdine White with lead singer Philip Bailey; Head to the Sky (1973), an affirmation of White’s goal to uplift humanity; Open Our Eyes (1974), notable for the introduction of Charles Stepney as arranger/producer; That’s the Way of the World (1975), the group’s breakout album that produced two megahits—the title track and “Shining Star;” Gratitude (1976), a combination of live concert and studio recordings; Spirit (1976), reflecting White’s spiritual consciousness and study of Egyptology; All ‘N All (1977), an eclectic mixture of soul, funk, and Latin pop, with contributions by Brazilian guitarist Milton Nascimento and super tight horn arrangements by Tom Tom 84; The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 (1978), a collection of the group’s top singles including a cover of the Beatles’ “Got to Get You Into My Life;” I Am (1979), featuring the Emotions on the disco hit “Boogie Wonderland” as well as the David Foster ballad “After the Love Has Gone;” Faces (1980), a solid double-album highlighting the bands signature horn and string arrangements; Raise! (1981), most notable for the opening track “Let’s Groove;” Powerlight (1983), featuring Trinidadian musician Robert Greenridge’s steel drums on the tracks “Spread Your Love” and “Side By Side;” Electric Universe (1983), which introduced (not very successfully) synths and drum machines into the EWF mix; the reunion/message album Touch the World (1987), which followed the band’s four-year studio hiatus; and Heritage (1990), an appeal to the hip hop generation featuring M.C. Hammer, which concluded EWF’s relationship with Columbia.
For those who didn’t pick up the 2004 remastered editions of EWF’s Columbia albums, this box set is a real bargain. Not only is it a fine tribute to the ground breaking band that managed to bridge the gap between the musical tastes of black and white America, but it also highlights the incredible songwriting and arranging skills of the incomparable Maurice White.
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss
October 1st, 2012
Title: Bad 25
Artist: Michael Jackson
Label: Legacy
Format: 3CD + DVD box set
Release date: September 18, 2012
Three years ago Sony Legacy released a limited edition CD/DVD to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Thriller. Now Legacy has upped the ante with Bad 25, a 4 disc deluxe edition celebrating the silver anniversary of MJ’s 1987 follow up album. Included in the box set is a remastered edition of Bad, a disc of previously unreleased Bad demos recorded in Michael’s personal studio at Hayvenhurst, the DVD Live at Wembly July 16, 1988, and a CD from the same live performance, culled from the multi-track audio recorded by the sound truck. Accompanying the discs are two illustrated booklets featuring full-color tour and session photos, a double-sided poster, and a Bad 25 decal.
For many, the biggest draw of the set will be the DVD (also sold separately). Though a video of live performances from the Dangerous tour was issued in 2005, no live footage from the record breaking 14-month-long BAD tour has been officially released until now. The concert at London’s Wembley Stadium took place almost one year into the tour, and by this time MJ and the band are a super tight, extremely well choreographed ensemble, yet they still display plenty of spontaneity. Music director/keyboard player Greg Phillinganes is especially fun to watch, as is lead guitarist Jennifer Batten, bass player Don Boyette, and a tight-skirted, permed Sheryl Crow in her breakout gig as one of MJ’s backup singers. Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana also make a brief cameo appearance at beginning of the concert. The DVD was sourced from Jackson’s personal copy of the performance as shown on the JumboTrons during the concert, which apparently were archived on S-VHS tapes. Consequently, the picture is far from HD quality, but the camera work is exceptionally well done with plenty of close-ups of MJ, who displays a level of physical and emotional intensity that few singers can equal.
Any Michael Jackson fan will likely want to own this set, and the younger generation who came of age during MJ’s final years should take this opportunity to experience the performer when he was truly on top of the world.
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss
October 1st, 2012
Title: The Devil’s Music
Artist: blkVampires
Label: Dist. via CD Baby
Format: MP3
Release date: 2012
If you could put Rick James in a mosh pit this album would be the soundtrack.—quote from press release.
Anyone in need of a Halloween party soundtrack should look no further than blkVampires, a hard alternative Gothic soul band described variously as Marilyn Manson meets Maxwell, Pantera meets Al Green, and the Earth, Wind & Fire of Goth. The group, known for its campy costumes and macabre themes, has been active on the New York scene since its founding in 2009 by lead singer Forrest Thinner, formerly known as P-Fluid and one of the founding members of 24-7 Spyz. Additional members of blkVampires include Ray Anderson on bass, Ramsey Jones on drums, Randy Blu Smith and Tom Martin on guitars, and Teague Clements on keys. The band’s recently released EP, The Devil’s Music, features 5 tracks ranging from the guitar-driven hardcore songs “Ventriloquist” and “Cryogenics” to the psychedelic goth soul of “Daydreamer” and “Blkenstein.”
Following is a clip of the blkVampires performing at The Shrine in Harlem last fall:
Not content to limit himself to music, Forrest Thinner also just released his new work of fiction, The HarlequinX, which should also be of interest to Goth fans.
Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss
October 1st, 2012
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