Albums »Bombay The Hard Way

bombay the hard wayBombay the Hard Way combines the production and beats of producer Dan “the Automator” Nakamura with the groovy, vibrant, and mysterious music from classic Bollywood productions. Whether the music is whisking me off to exotic desert lands, a GoGo club filled with the criminal minded, or an action packed race against time, the album, loaned to me by a co-worker (thanks Sarafina!) has been easing me through the work week just fine.

Peppered with bits of dialogue lifted from the films like, “Sorry baby, better luck next time”, “I'm a gambler!”, and my favorite, “What?! There is a time bomb inside of 125?!” the album totally puts you in the mood to watch some vintage Bond-inspired action, or at least hope that Joel Hodgson and Mike Nelson can also get their hands on these.

It's a great companion piece to previously recommended Crime and Dissonance by Ennio Morricone.

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Posted on April 27, 2009

Albums »What’s Going On

what's going on marvin gayeWhat's Going On is an album of beautiful despair, told from the point of view of a Vietnam vet returned to a country on the wrong path. The album, which was a departure for Marvin Gaye (and his reluctant record company, which was known as a hit factory), dealt with many issues that had been bubbling just below the surface of a forgotten American dream. Poverty, joblessness, and environmental issues were a far cry from Heard it Trough the Grapevine, but Gaye was not feeling terribly hopeful and cheery in 1970. His duet partner Tammi Terrell had just died and other factors of fame had sent him into a deep depression.

The titular track is by far the album's most popular, but it's a great experience to listen to it in its entirety as each song bleeds into the next. Considered revolutionary and praised as a soul masterpiece, it's actually a somewhat subdued and simple album that derives its power from the strength of its subject, Gaye's captivating voice, and the layers of orchestration.

While I consider the album one of despair, and it seems that that's the way he was feeling when making it, there's a sense of, if not hope than at least a quiet ambition to try to make the world a better place. In many ways, as lots of the problems Gaye addressed become worse, it's still a powerfully relevant piece today.

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Posted on April 20, 2009

Albums »Beat of Our Own Drum

jc brooks & the uptown sound beat of our own drumIt's always exciting to be able to pick something created by a friend, and I'm especially tickled to recommend the latest musical venture of my friend Billy, a bouncy but all too brief album entitled Beat of Our Own Drum by JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound. Billy and I have been friends since the 6th grade (which is why I can still refer to him as Billy, long after he's become known as Bill). Even though we haven't lived in the same city since those good old days, back when he was sporting a satin Batman baseball cap and taking me to my first concert (the Steve Miller Band), we've managed to stay in touch and always have a grand old time whenever we get a chance to meet up.

As a New Yorker, my conception of an “uptown sound” is the rustle of Brooks Brothers trousers against white thighs and the click clack of old lady heels, but in Chicago “the uptown sound” seems to be upbeat, clear sounding, good natured, and lots of fun. Fronted by the charming voiced and handsome Brooks, the band works comfortably in the traditions of Motown while maintaining an off beat sense of humor.

One of my favorite songs, which lends its name to the title of the album, captures the celebratory experience of falling in love with the adorable lyric, “You make me hotter than an apple pie”. Another song claims, “Baltimore is the new Brooklyn/ Just a short train ride from where you really want to be”.

That song, by the way, has a wonderful music video where I've delighted in seeing my good friend (he's playing the guitar). It reminds me of a time he once told me about a gig that wasn't going too well. He equated the experience with Back to the Future, when Marty McFly's hand begins to fade but then suddenly it comes back and he finished with a bang, all the crowd on his side. Well, it looks like the crowds will be on Bill's side with this new project.

But I digress with friendship nostalgia. Other favorites on the album include Alright, which channels the funk of James Brown, and the provocatively titled 75 Years of Art Sex that, at least in my opinion, is begging for a disco-fied version; it already gives me visions of a Bianca Jagger/Soul Train smash.

You can experience the band live! at Southpaw next Thursday (4/16) evening. I'll be there!

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Posted on April 13, 2009

Albums »Crime and Dissonance

ennio morricone crime and dissonanceI doubt there's many familiar with the work of Ennio Morricone who would argue his genius but, for those of you still unconvinced – or unfamiliar – there couldn't be a more compelling argument than the recent Crime and Dissonance collection. Compiled from several scores Morricone authored throughout the '60s and '70s by “What is it?” querying singer Mike Patton and friends, the films selected include Verushka, L'Uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo, and (in a rare instance of breaking my and repeating recommendations) Una Lucertola Con La Pelle Di Donna.

It's a truly transportative collection that jumps from emotional landscapes and inventive musical techniques. In one sitting I took notes of the images the music conjured in my head as it washed over me and they include: the ethereal calls of a siren (Ninna Nanna Per Adulteri), sitting atop a lonely Himalayan mountain (Ric Happening), the flight of an insane bumble bee that grows melancholy (Il Buio), the lair of the phantom of the opera (Postludio Alla Terza Moglie), and being trapped in a German clock with wooden kids who then go on a groovy trip before being drafted into the army and getting married – just listen to Ricreazione Divertita and see if you still think my interpretation is crazy. The composer is also an expert heavy breather, which is highlighted in L'Uccello Con Le Piume Di Cristallo and Forza G (Quella Donna).

My absolute favorite number is the Jew's Harp-heavy Rapimento In Campo Aperto which, my friend (who used to work at Ipecac, the label that released the compilation) informed me, was the track selected as the radio friendly single. I know it's hard to imagine, but it seems that most stations just couldn't find a spot for it?

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Posted on April 6, 2009

Albums »Blackout

britney spears blackoutThis may be the most guiltiest and most pleasurable thing on this week's list. I have seriously been listening to Britney's Blackout all day for days now and I have to say, it can put you in a strange head space. It swings from vacant schlock (Heaven on Earth) that was made for reality show scenes where some rich and terrible person buys sunglasses or something to way too overstated raw sexuality.

It's pure trend pop and probably in the very worst sense of the word if you're not a fan. And if you're on the fence I almost don't even to tell you about “Everybody” where she whimpers and writhes all over Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics grinding the once classic hit into something much, much sluttier. To my credit though, it's not my favorite track – that honor belongs to Freakshow, Oh Oh Baby, Gimme More, Piece of Me and Radar.

Genuine is not exactly the word you expect to be used to describe such blatantly clubby music, but the lyrics are written with the unsophisticated earnestness of a dumb teenager, well a dumb teenager with a crew of coked up back ground dancers egging her on, but the vulnerability of songs so obviously about her problems is almost sympathetic. I dare any girl to deny that there aren't tenth grade lyrics to heartbreak songs in her bedroom in their parent's home filled with lines like:

Lavish homes and fancy cars
Even got the drop Ferrari
Filled up our garage for you
Made your choice with all the teams
People and US Magazines
Tell me who'd I do that for, who?

Er, OK, so I guess it's not the most easy thing to relate to. The music does, after all come courtesy of a crazy person that leads a totally f-ed up life, but I stick by my claim that there's something honest about lyrics like

“I'm Mrs. 'Most likely to get on the TV for strippin' on the streets'
When getting the groceries, no, for real..
Are you kidding me?”

It's a funny album too. Any and all of the slowed down parts make me giggle, particularly when what sounds like a manly orca whale sings “me and the girls bout to get it on”. It also gives me a particular but undefined thrill to have a bunch of background singers yelling my name all the time in my earphones. “Brittany, let's go!” they always tell me.

I am really missing the big picture so far with this review though. While I have chosen to focus on the very strange whacked out person that shines through in the album, it's fair to say that for the most part this is all about getting freaky, out of control and naked and freaky (she uses the word a LOT throughout this thing). It's basically music made for dancing with your pussy out.

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Posted on March 30, 2009

Albums »Fleetwood Mac Live

fleetwood mac liveOh, how sorry I feel for those of you who couldn't see the great Fleetwood Mac doing their thing for nearly three hours at Madison Square Garden the other night. You missed three amazingly bejeweled gypsy queen outfits (one head-to-toe maroon, two were all black) and a top hat, Mick clad in breeches, a vested pirate shirt and a bright red pair of shoes, and, of course, Lindsey breaking my heart with his thin legs and earnest soul. Landslide, Stand Back, and Go Your Own Way were crowd favorites, and personally I was particularly thrilled to hear Never Going Back Again, Tusk, Dreams and Go Insane.

At one point, Lindsey and Stevie, who stayed pretty far away from each other on stage, broke the decades old tension (which both quipped about to the audience) when Stevie waltzed across the stage, sang into his mic and fell into an embrace. Tingles, my friends – actual tingles! and the crowd went nuts. She also performed her signature gypsy twirl and told the Behind the Musicy story of song-writing in the late seventies in a room with just a mattress, a turn table (playing Velvet Underground), lace, and paper flowers. The end result: Gypsy.

If I've made you significantly jealous of my most excellent birthday gift from Jim, cheer up, because you can make believe you're there with the excellent Fleetwood Mac live album recorded in 1980 in various spots like Cleveland, Paris, Kansas City, and Tokyo during their world tour. Just like the other night, the band started things off with Monday Morning and systematically proceeded to play their way through the hits.

Plus, unlike the current Unleashed tour, Christine's around for the album, adding her mellow voice to her classics Over My Head, Over and Over and Say You Love Me. Stevie sounds spectacularly enchantressy and informs the crowd “this is a song about a Welsh witch” before diving into Rhiannon. Go Your Own Way nearly matches the virtuoso rock storm of the other night, but not quite.

This double disc set deservedly went gold when it was released and made a charted single with the song Fireflies. I listened to it pretty much all day before, of and after the concert.

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Posted on March 23, 2009

Albums »Bleach

nirvana bleachIn the wake of all the “alternative” crap that followed, it's easy to forget just how awesome Nirvana was, but re-listening to Bleach with visions of that iconic Sassy photo shoot dancing in your head can serve as a great reminder. Like most of us it was Smells Like Teen Spirit and the Nevermind album (purchased at the local Walmart) that first got me into the Seattle band on TV clad in oversized flannels and ripped jeans, using the word grunge like it really meant something. It was a bit later that, like most of us, I heard their first release and the popular band took on a much darker quality.

From the negative cover image of dirty hair flying to the quick and hostile blast of songs, I remember feeling that there was something alluringly unclean about Bleach. Even today, because none of the songs became radio hits, it feels like a lost album, despite the fact that every fifteen year old with more than a passing fancy for the genre owns it.

Infamously recorded for $600, the album defined a band that would never be satisfied with fame and fortune.?Each song aches with the teenage frustration that made Nirvana, and Cobain in particular, so appealing to my generation of angsty teens. They may have become demigods after making it big on MTV, but Bleach captures the real teen spirit.

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Posted on March 16, 2009

Albums »Loon

loon by loonNot too long ago the most extraordinary thing happened. I was out at a noisy bar for a friend's birthday party, she'd been assured (several times) by the staff that the live music portion of the evening's entertainment would be done by the time that her many of her guests arrived. It wasn't (that's not the extraordinary part), in fact a very loud evening of heavy metal was just beginning and any chance of normal conversation was obliterated. Yes, I'm a very old lady in this respect, normally such a turn of events would just make me super cranky and only strengthen my typical hermit-like resolve to avoid public social life on weekends – but then something strange happened?br/>
Jim and I found ourselves actually enjoying – nay, actually loving – the music of Loon and The Pilgrim and the later realization that a member of Loon was a friend of ours made it even better. While I'm not a huge fan of the direction heavy metal vocals have taken recently (for my money, Rob Halford's falsetto shrieks will always trump some dude in a mask and shorts growling about his pain), Loon, which boasts two – count them, Two! – awesome female performers, takes a lot more cues from Black Sabbath than Slipknot.

It's sad then that I make this recommendation of their all too brief three song demo as the band's future looks uncertain; Paul (said friend) informed me that one member has already left town, temporarily putting Loon on hiatus. But you can enjoy the sludgy dramatics on MySpace for now – and Paul is also a member of the higher profile Providence super group, Megasus.

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Posted on March 9, 2009

Albums »Bambi Is Dead

bambi is dead juan d'oultermontI was taken instantly with the poppy, breezy and eccentric Bambi is Dead by Juan D'oultremont, but I've been having a hard time finding out much about the artist. I assumed (from the silly rebelliousness of the title and the very modern art on the cover) that I was dealing with some young hipster, a French version of Vincent Gallo with more talent and a healthy obsession with Serge Gainsbourg — the album even has a Bardotesque sexy giggle in (perhaps) tribute to the sultry sleazster (Marrer Noire) and I could have sworn the track Japonais was a Serge cover!

I was finally able to find out (surprise, surprise!) that rather than some snot nose youth, D'oultremont is in his fifties – the same ripe old age Serge was when he was doing his best work like Brix Picks fave L'Homme a tete de chou. This informative bio (a rare one that's not in French) makes Juan sound pretty incredible:

If art is being where nobody's waiting for you, then Juan d'Outremont certainly is an artist. Performances, novels, theater plays, video clips, and even a few hit songs ?Record sleeves for Blue Note Records and appearances in a radio program for RTBF (the success show “Jeu des dictionnaires”). Colourless Belgian flags for people suffering from daltonism and erotic drawings?br/>

The album itself has only one flaw: it's far, far too short. Every song is dynamic and interesting – so much so that I can't even choose a favorite without listening to the entire track list.

I have no idea if another album is in the works, and I don't even remember how I stumbled across this one in the first place – but I do know that for some reason this album, that you can't even buy on Amazon, is available on iTunes, so have at it if you're a fan of French pop sounds of yesteryear.

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Posted on March 2, 2009

Albums »Let It Rock

the animals let it rockA commenter on iTunes very accurately described Let It Rock (recorded by my personal favorite British Invasion band in 1963 at Newcastle's Club A-Go-Go) as a real life version of the toga party in Animal House. While other girls would have been hammering down doors to get at Mick Jagger's pillowy lips, I'd be seeking out the round faced man who, according to this bio “was known as 'Eggs' to his friends, from his fondness for breaking eggs over naked girls”.

It's a little raucous and a little rough, and it's exciting hearing Burdon and Sonny Boy Williamson bantering with the audience. At one point Williamson talks about a bad tooth that's got him sore exclaiming, “Hell yeah, I'm gonna carry on, cause I got nothing better to do”. Strangely though, the Sonny Boy tracks did not appear on the original release, but instead were released later as The Animals with Sonny Boy Williamson. The two are together compiled on this re-release, making the entire concert experience of that night complete.

A few of my favorite songs of the genre are performed here, like Brix Pick “Night Time is the Right Time”, “Bo Diddley”, and “Dimples”. While it's true that the kind of slow, ominous and sexy sound of songs like “Gin House Blues”, “What am I Living For” and “I put a Spell on You” are missing, making this performance perhaps not my very most favorite side of the awesome band, but it's still great fun for fans of classic, upbeat rock blues.

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Posted on February 23, 2009