Van Halen (4 stars)
The Best of Both Worlds
In 1996, singer Sammy Hagar left Van Halen over a dispute that supposedly included his opposition to the band's releasing a greatest-hits album. That album came out with two new tracks featuring original Van Halen singer David Lee Roth, and led to a short-lived reunion of the band's original lineup. Eight years later, Hagar is back on board for a new greatest-hits collection featuring his vocals on three new tracks and an extensive reunion tour to support it.
If the last collection was all about Roth, this one is all about Hagar, although the 36 tracks are split almost evenly between the two front men. There are, however, no pictures of Roth in the liner notes, and between Hagar's three new songs and the inclusion of live versions of several Roth classics with Hagar on vocals, it's clear which singer the band values more at this point.
If you ignore the lackluster new tunes and blatant (and unnecessary) dig at Roth with the live songs, Best of Both Worlds is a decent collection, with all the expected hits presented in an alternating Roth/Hagar order that shows both the band's consistency and changes over the years. Even if you've heard "Hot for Teacher" and "Right Now" a million times before, this is still a good collection to pick up to get the band's highlights, and more comprehensive than the last try.
Lloyd Banks (2.5 stars)
The Hunger For More
"I'm not qualified for a (sic) MTV Awards or a (sic) Vibe Awards or Grammys or any of that yet. I got my name through the mix tapes ... And that's the hardest thing to get right there."
This quote from promotional material hyping Lloyd Banks, the 21-year-old battalion chief of the g-g-g-g-G Unit army, led by hulk-rapper/Eminem protégé 50 Cent, is supposed to convey the ever-elusive street credibility gleaned from starring on mixed tapes and in notching victims in celebrated gladiatorial arenas like New York's famed hip-hop battleground, The Tunnel.
On The Hunger for More, Banks does his best to cut ties to the lyrical spitfire of his past. Like every other thug MC rapping for both 'hood acceptance and mansion-in-the-Hamptons money, Banks recycles the guns-and-gluttony compost fertilizing much of the Billboard charts, largely wasting good work from a handful of A-list beatmakers.
If it ain't tales of Wilt Chamberlain-esque exploits, it's my-submachine-gun-is-deadlier-than-yours pronouncements. If it's not ridin' and dyin' with his homies, it's boasting about his bank and his bling. On most of the 14 tracks, he sounds vocally incapable of inflection, and save for a witty metaphor or three, acts as if he's under doctor's—or publicist's—orders to avoid creativity.
Dave Matthews Band (3 stars)
Live at The Gorge
Fans of the Dave Matthews Band never lack for live recordings of their heros. The fall of 2001 saw Live in Chicago, 12/19/98. Almost exactly one year later, it was Live at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado. Another 12 months, another fall release: The Central Park Concert. Now, ahead of schedule, is Live at The Gorge.
A solid two-disc, one DVD set of the Dave Matthews Band's three-night stand at Washington State's Gorge Amphitheatre, near the Columbia River, in 2002. The set contains more than three hours of music and imagery, recorded in stereo and 5.1 audio, and shot with more than 20 cameras in high-definition video. (I'm not a big technophile so I can't say what 5.1 audio is, exactly, but I'm sure it means something like "so clear you can hear the crickets chirping in the next gorge over.)
DMB is in top form, as are the fans, as the band plays through some of its tops hits, including "Everyday" and "The Space Between," all with its trademark jam-band sensibilities, exploring the rock format with jazz-like freeform. Fans of the group will no doubt be delighted, though it's only fair to point out that there is a six-CD set floating around out there, with probably every song played over the three days, and including bathroom breaks by the band.
The DVD includes the documentary short, A Look Inside the Gorge, the music video for "Grace Is Gone," as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video, and several tracks not found on the CDs.
Tommy Stinson (4 stars)
Village Gorilla Head
Best known as the bass player for famed garage punk-rockers the Replacements and current member of Guns N Roses, Tommy Stinson stays true to his garage roots while pushing outward in his solo debut, Village Gorilla Head, on the Sanctuary Records label.
The 11-track CD was recorded in the Pixies' Frank Black's studio, with help from Josh Freese of A Perfect Circle, Black, Dave Philips of the Catholics, and Richard Fortus and Dizzy Reed from GNR. The stellar cast's presence is evident on every track, delivering up a fresh-but-classic sound, like something you swear you remember hearing at some dirty bar back in the '80s, but you just can't remember where or when.
The lyrics are engaging, such as on Something's Wrong: "I heard about the things you've done from the dry cleaner's girlfriend's son / Something 'bout some psychic cat and the boy who could swallow rats." The use of ambient sounds and random noises, like on the title track, "Village Gorilla Head," is raw and sophisticated at the same time. And the vocals throughout are captivating, even if Stinson's tones often sound too Dylanesque for my taste.
There's really only one queston: Tommy, what took you so long?