Monday, May 28, 2007
CD Review: Sly and the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone
Stand!
There’s a Riot Goin’ On
Fresh
Epic/Legacy
By David Chiu
Sly and the Family Stone was one of the most important funk acts of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Fronted by the brilliant and eccentric Sly Stone, the Bay Area band generated infectious hits that carried a positive vibe and were emblematic of the times. Even after the group’s hey day had long since passed, its influence has paved the way for many a pop and funk act including Prince and Lenny Kravitz. In honor of the group’s 40th anniversary are reissues of the Family Stone’s first seven albums with bonus tracks —three of those albums here represented this interracial and multi-gender band at its artistic peak.
For those new to the band, Stand! (1969) is the quintessential Sly and the Family Stone album. “Everyday People” is rightfully a classic whose message of tolerance despite differences still is as timely and relevant as ever. The group can also be as downright funky and defiant as was the case on the three-part vocals on the tough-sounding “I Want to Take You Higher” and the trippy epic “Sex Machine,” complete with wah-wah guitar. Not much talked about these days, Stand! deserves to be in the pantheon of the other albums from the ‘60s.
And yet things take a rather dark turn on There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971)—a stark contrast to Stand! The album conveys the mood of the nation exhausted by the tumult of the previous decade. The funk was still evident although there was not much of that bright-sounding sheen, and the lead vocals seem relegated to the background—tracks such as “Spaced Cowboy,” “Africa Talks to You,” and “Time” convey the somber, acid-soaked weariness on the record. Only “Runnin’ Away” and another classic, “Family Affair” provide some light in the darkness. Moving and jarring at the same time, it is quite understandable why Riot is considered a masterpiece.
Writer Toure in his liner notes to Sly’s next album, Fresh (1973), described it as the band’s last great album. It was for the most part a back to basics approach after Riot, although Fresh sounds somewhat tempered compared to Stand! (Part of the difference in sound might be also explained by the departure of bassist extraordinaire Larry Graham and drummer Gregg Errico). There are still some of the slinky funk like “Frisky,” “In Times,” and “If You Want Me to Stay” and elegant tunes such as the subdued cover of “Que Sera Sera.” As Toure indicates, Fresh seemed like a goodbye from Sly--the end of a great era.
Also available: Life, Dance to the Music, Whole New Thing, Small Talk, The Collection
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# posted by NewBeats @ 8:31 AM
Thursday, May 24, 2007
CD Review: Genesis
Genesis
A Trick of the Tail
Rhino/Atco
Genesis
Duke
Rhino/Atlantic
By David Chiu
The Phil Collins-era of Genesis undeservedly gets a bad rep when it is compared to the earlier version of the band fronted by Peter Gabriel. Granted Genesis’s sound became more commercial with Collins as its lead singer but the music is just as good, and arguably superior. The recent resissues of the band’s albums from 1976 to 1982 captures a group in transition as it ably carried on after the departure of its eye-opening focal point in Gabriel.
You would have thought upon first hearing A Trick of the Tail (1976) that Gabriel was singing but it was actually Collins (who had previously sung lead on a Genesis song before and had done backing vocals). He rose to the challenge superbably although it would be a few more albums before he developed his own voice. Coming off of the ambitious if cryptic The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Trick was more accessible and straight ahead without Genesis compromising its complex musicianship, especially on the bombastic "Dance on a Volcano" and the hard rocking finale "Los Endos." In the middle were some very tuneful tunes that bordered on pop like the quirky Robbery, Assault and Battery and the lovely ballad Ripples. The album, Genesis’s best, was proof that Genesis could survive without Gabriel. The expanded edition of the album includes a 1976 concert that featured performances of Gabriel-era songs like "Supper’s Ready," "I Know What I Like" and "The Cinema Show."
By 1980’s Duke, guitarist Steve Hackett had already left the band reducing Genesis to the trio of drummer Collins, guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks. To fans, it probably represented the last link to the band’s past before Genesis became platinum hit singles makers. In contrast to the decent but unfocused ...And Then There Were Three… Duke was a bold step forward. Its bright sheen, however, couldn’t disguise the underlying melancholy present in some of the songs such as the doo-wop stylings of "Misunderstanding," "Alone Tonight," and the heartbreaking Please Don’t Ask. Genesis hadn’t gone completely soft at that time showing again the muscular playing found on the opener "Behind the Lines," "Turn it On Again," and the instrumentals "Duke’s Travels" and "Duke’s End." Of all the Genesis albums, Duke is an underrated gem. The DVD portion of this reissue contains a 1980 concert at the Lyceum in London featuring songs from Duke and earlier tracks like "Dance on a Volcano" and "Los Endos."
Also available are the expanded editions of Wind and Wuthering, ...And Then There Were Three... and Abacab.
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# posted by NewBeats @ 6:37 PM
Monday, May 21, 2007
CD Review: Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Best of: The First Ten Years
Rock and Roll Music
Hip-O/UME
By David Chiu
Although these days Elvis Costello has matured into a sophisticated songwriter and crooner, it was thirty years ago that this bespectacled musician defined the typical angry young DIY rocker. With a superb backing band in the Attractions, Costello wrote magnificent power pop ditties such as “Radio Radio,” “Allison,” “Watching the Detectives,” and “Pump it Up,” which has since become part of the New Wave lexicon—Costello was the ‘it’ boy of that era. In honor of his 30 years in music comes the release of two compilations. The First Ten Years span his peak period from 1977 to 1987, which has already been chronicled before—this is strictly for those who has NEVER owned an Elvis Costello album. Rock and Roll Music is a collection obviously focusing on Costello’s rocking side and consists of mainly album tracks, B-sides and rarities from his late ‘70s and early ‘80s hey day (“Lipstick Vogue,” “Miracle Man,” “Big Tears” and the original version of “Girls Talk,” later recorded by Dave Edmunds). Die-hard Costello-philes will probably look to the previously unreleased demo version of “Welcome to the Working Week” on Rock and Roll Music.
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# posted by NewBeats @ 2:09 PM
CD Review: The Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project
The Essential Alan Parsons Project
Arista/Legacy
By David Chiu
The Alan Parsons Project were one of the few acts from the prog rock era to also score pop hit singles. Better known for their conceptual pieces that showcase instrumental chops, the Project, fronted by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, also knew how to throw in a melodic hook here and there. For those casual listeners who won’t bother getting studio albums like The Turn of a Friendly Card or Gaudi anytime soon and just want the hits, Essential more than compensates as a 2-CD introduction to the Project’s art rock music from 1976 to 1987. Instrumentals such as I Robot and Sirius are augmented by Top 40 hits in the driving “Games People Play,” the funky “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You,” the signature “Eye in the Sky,” and the “Phil Spector” homage of “Don’t Answer Me.” Loyal fans might be interested in the previously unreleased “No Answers Only Questions.” The compilation would work better as a single disc but the music doesn’t feel overbearing either.
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# posted by NewBeats @ 2:05 PM
Thursday, May 03, 2007
CD Review: Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Twelve
Columbia
By David Chiu
Punk legend, poet and now Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith is no stranger to interpreting other people’s songs. She has previously covered Them’s “Gloria,” the Who’s “My Generation,” Prince’s “When Doves Cry,” and strangely Debbie Boone’s You Light Up My Life. Twelve is her first collection of semi-acoustic based interpretations of numbers that seem aligned with Smith’s own poetic songwriting. It offers up the usual standbys (Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced;” the Doors’ “Soul Kitchen”) and a surprise here and there (a so-so version of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World;” Paul Simon’s “The Boy in the Bubble;” and Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise”). Some familiar cuts are very refreshingly reworked well like the ghostly Appalchia-influenced take on Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and a folk-version of the Beatles’ Within You Without You. The best song on Twelve is a compelling cover of the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”—it captures the essence of the hard rocking original—followed by Bob Dylan’s “Changing of the Guard.”
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# posted by NewBeats @ 3:09 PM
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
CD Review: Michael Penn
Michael Penn
Palms & Runes, Tarot & Tea
RCA/Epic/Legacy
By David Chiu
Michael Penn is a criminally-underrated singer and songwriter: No one can make reflective and somber songs sound so melodic and ornate like he does. The mainstream public’s ignorance of his work can be forgiven with this latest collection. It is really not a best-of in the sense that some of the material has either been reworked or presented it in alternative versions. Penn will sadly be remembered for his one-hit, the brilliant “No Myth” (which sounds left-of-field in the era of Wilson Phillips and M.C. Hammer) but there are other strong songs of that vein like “Bunker Hill,” “Try,” and “Walter Reed” the latter off of Penn’s last studio album, the solid Mr. Hollywood 1947 (That has been just reissued with some extra bonus tracks). Penn’s Beatles-laden vocals offer some of the wistful, tenderness that matches well with his yearning and sometimes downbeat songwriting. This is an artist who deserves a second listen.
Watch the video for "Try" on YouTube
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# posted by NewBeats @ 1:55 PM
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