MUSIC BOX |
Josh Bell
Brent Holmes |
Hootie & The Blowfish (3.5 stars)
The Best of Hootie & The Blowfish (1993 Thru 2003)
A while back, in the Weekly's "Guilty Pleasures" feature, I proclaimed my love for Hootie and the Blowfish, and this new greatest-hits compilation only confirms my opinion that they are one of the most unfairly maligned rock bands of the last decade. Collecting material from the band's four studio albums and a handful of rarities, this compilation highlights all of their strengths, from the impeccable pop songwriting of early hits like "Hold My Hand" and later gems like "I Will Wait," to their firm grasp of the art of the cover song, with outstanding versions of 54-40's "I Go Blind" and Led Zeppelin's "Hey Hey What Can I Do."
Hootie may not have broken any new ground, and their songs may not have a whole lot of depth, but this collection has such a simple, unpretentious charm that you can't help but be won over. Darius Rucker's soulful voice wraps around some incredibly catchy melodies, and he's backed by one of the best bar bands in the business. What could be wrong with that?
Josh Bell
Duke Ellington (4 stars)
Festival Session, Ellington Uptown, Masterpieces By Ellington
With the 30th anniversary of Duke Ellington's death on May 24, 1974, Columbia has released an onslaught of recordings by one of the most influential and respected men in American music: Festival Session, Ellington Uptown and Masterpieces By Ellington. Remastered Piano In The Foreground, Piano In The Background and Blues In Orbit are scheduled to be released on July 13. Each title also includes the original liner notes by George Dale and Columbia producers George Avakian and Irving Townsend. Newly commissioned liner notes for all three were written by Ellington expert Patricia Willard of the Smithsonian.
Festival Session, recorded in '59 at the conclusion of a successful summer on the U.S. jazz festival circuit, cooks. It includes two previously unreleased tracks: "V.I.P.'s Boogie" and "Jam With Sam."
Ellington Uptown is graced with the vocal stylings of Betty Roche ("Take The A Train"), then blows out preconceived notions with The Duke's reaction to the progressive, cool sounds of the '50s in "The Controversial Suite," one of two on the disc.
Masterpieces boasts three concert-length numbers: "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated Lady" and "The Tattooed Bride," in addition to four other tracks. If you have never had the aural pleasure of a full arrangement of "Sophisticated Lady," you just ain't lived.
It's impossible to pick one of these releases as best. My advice: Get all three.
Martin Stein
AIR (3 stars)
Talkie Walkie
I had a devil of a time gathering my thoughts on the latest effort from the French electronic-artist duo of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit "JB" Dunckel, known as Air. Their album, Talkie Walkie, took a while to digest. Most discs instantly generate some kind of emotional response, like: "Brilliant!" or "This sucks donkey balls!" But Talkie Walkie is a tougher nut to crack. The closest feeling I got was: "Music to shoot heroin by."
This might seem like a major hurdle, but after a few spins, I actually started to get into what I was listening to. A recent Rolling Stone review compared Air to the Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie. And while the spacey sounds are certainly present, Air is more reminicent of those bands that are adored by the rock journalist set but by barely anyone else.
As I listened to Talkie Walkie, it wasn't Bowie that I was reminded of, but more Radiohead. Comparisons to the Radiohead sound are easy; Talkie Walkie was supervised by Nigel Godrich, producer of Radiohead's OK Computer.
Talkie Walkie is a slow-moving trance. The whole disc is gentle and plays more like stream-of-consciousness than rock 'n' roll. Tracks like "Cherry Blossom Girl" flow beautifully and evoke memories of my first love, while "Run" sends me to some of the darker areas of my psyche.
"Mike Mills" is filled with haunting, almost Beatles-esque melodies and is a real highlight. "Alpha Beta Gaga" is just a beautiful piece of music. You also might recognize "Alone in Kyoto" from the Oscar-winning Lost In Translation.
It's the type of disc that craves oversized headphones and a wandering mind.
Digital Tony