Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Dark Night of the Soul Capitol; 2010 It’s a testament to Danger Mouse’s skill and cachet as a producer that Dark Night of the Soul was already being hailed as a classic long before its completion. Everything he’s touched thus far, from Gnarls Barkley to the Good, the Bad, and the Queen, has garnered critical, commercial, and artistic acclaim, and Dark Night’s promise of Sparklehorse’s insightful songs sung by a slew of guest artists refracted... [Read more...]
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Mojo Reprise/WEA; 2010 America has her share of rock n’ roll heroes: Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Buddy Holly among them. But does she have a band that compete with Britain’s best? It’s a question that’s been circulating for some time among music critics, and one that’s gone largely unanswered despite all the heated debate. The Beatles; the Kinks; the Who; the Rolling Stones; Led Zeppelin; Pink Floyd… What group have we... [Read more...]
CD Reviews: June ‘10 Jack Johnson To the Sea Brushfire Records/Universal; 2010 Full disclosure: I’ve never really cared too much for Jack Johnson. His stuff strikes me as what you might call “lifestyle music,” an inoffensive soundtrack that goes well with your batik curtains and Quicksilver baggies. Take a loosely reggae-fied strum, throw in some oceanic imagery and a couple of brahs on bongos, and Bob’s your grizzled, longboarding uncle. I know it’s a blasphemous... [Read more...]
Gorillaz Plastic Beach Virgin; 2010 If there’s one thing you can expect from a new Gorillaz album, it’s the unexpected. The brainchild of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, this musical collective embraced the talents of Ibrahim Ferrer, De La Soul, Shaun Ryder, and Roots Manuva to stirring effect on past albums Gorillaz (2001) and Demon Days (2007). Plastic Beach, their latest, continues in this tradition with the inclusion of some surprising guests — Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Mark E.... [Read more...]
Massive Attack Heligoland Virgin; 2010 Back in the ’90s, Massive Attack (along with Portishead and Tricky) were at the forefront of the original trip hop scene, one that traded the social conscience of its hip hop foundation for ambient introspection and ghostly, downtempo disaffection. The creeping menace that marked Blue Lines (1991), Protection (1994), and Mezzanine (1998), made them albums cornerstones of the genre and each still stands as a powerful musical statement today. But their latest,... [Read more...]
The Dubliners A Parcel of Rogues ARC; 1988 Recorded in 1976 while founding member Ronnie Drew was on hiatus, A Parcel of Rogues is something of anomaly in the Dubliner’s discography. Known for their boisterous, bearded, rough-and-tumble swagger on stage and off, the band toned things down for this album of thoughtful ballads, probably their best. From the light lilt of opener “The Spanish Lady” to the nursery rhyme-ish “Killieburne Brae,” vocalists Luke Kelly and Drew... [Read more...]
Paolo Conte Reveries Nonesuch, 2003 Often described as Italy’s answer to Tom Waits, Paolo Conte, while similarly eccentric and oddly charismatic, bears nothing more than a passing tonal resemblance to the gruff bohemian icon. Conte’s weathered voice supplies plenty of broody mood, but his real charm lies in the way he can shift from style to style — cabaret; Neapolitan folk; jazz; French chanson, and tango — without sounding hackneyed. Whether you know Italian (or French,... [Read more...]
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson Summer of Fear Saddle Creek; 2009 He may have four names, but you only need to call him by this one: unforgettable. I drove past my destination because I was so wrapped up in this album — not once, but twice. Summer of Fear is an album of pain and sadness; it’s the work of a man who’s worn his heart on his sleeve for most his life. Remembering the past with a reverence one can only have when they’ve spent a lot of time in it, he takes us through... [Read more...]
By: Tobin Bennison
Article Category: CD Reviews
Bob Dylan Christmas In The Heart Sony; 2009 Is nothing sacred? The problem with Christmas In the Heart isn’t that it’s… a collection of Christmas tunes sung by Bob Dylan, for crying out loud, nor that it effectively kicks a doorstop under what should be a deadbolted portal into an exclusive, peppermint-scented room. (What’s next? Bono tackling Handel’s Messiah by his lonesome? Prince’s Christmas In My Pants?). No, the problem with this album is that despite its... [Read more...]
Mark Knopfler Get Lucky Warner Bros.; 2009 If ever there were an under-the-radar musician, it would have to be Mark Knopfler. Sure, there are plenty of other deserving artists who slog away in unfair obscurity, but few have the former Dire Straits frontman’s professional cachet; even fewer have produced as much consistently pleasing material. Since he set out on his own in 1995, Knopfler has enjoyed almost unanimous critical praise for inimitable songwriting that favors subtle insinuation over... [Read more...]
