CD Review: BoDeans

BoDeans
Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams: Collector's Edition
Slash/Warner Bros./Rhino
By David Chiu

Before roots rock gained a greater mainstream acceptance in the '90s and now, Wisconsin’s BoDeans. who along with R.E.M., were purveyors of that sound in the ‘80s. Most people today remember them for the song "Closer to Free" from TV’s Party of Five, but they had a career long before that hit. Their 1986 debut is a great record full of passionate rock and tuneful songs. There’s not a bad song in the bunch such as the brilliant single “Fade Away” and “She’s A Runaway.” This special reissue of the album, which was also one of T-Bone Burnett’s earliest productions, contains additional bonus tracks (“Try Try Try” is a great rocker and surprisingly wasn’t on the original record)as well as a DVD of a 1985 performance at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

A recent live performance of "Fadeaway" by the BoDeans:

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CD: Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox
The Annie Lennox Collection
Arista
By David Chiu

Given her great voice and track record with Eurythmics, it was apparent back in 1992 that Annie Lennox was destined for a successful solo career.
And right off the bat she scored hits off of her debut Diva with “Why” and “Walking On Broken Glass.” This collection contains those two songs and many other ones afterwards: “No More I Love You’s”; the elegant-sounding “A Thousand Beautiful Things” from her brilliant 2003 album Bare; and the joyous and uplifting “Sing.” The retrospective also has two new cover songs, Keane’s “Patterns of My Life” and a poppy interpretation of Ash’s “Shining Light.” Some artists solo works have a hard time even equaling the success of their former groups—Lennox is the exception.

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CD Review: Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen
Live in London
Columbia
By David Chiu

Leonard Cohen’s new live album, recorded at the O2 last year, offers a pretty accurate representation of his upcoming U.S. tour, his first in 15 years. The music on Live in London is an overview of his four decades plus career balancing between the early romantic ‘60s folk (“Suzanne,” “Bird on a Wire,” “So Long Marianne”) through his somber ruminations of the ‘80s and’90s (“First We Take Manhattan,” “Everybody Knows”). In addition to Cohen’s distinctive deep spoken-singing, the performances by his band are terrific, especially that of his backing singers Sharon Robinson and the Webb Sisters. At the age of 74, Cohen sings and sounds like he’s in good spirits—he even displays a sense of humor. Live in London is a testament to his enduring popularity and influence.

Watch a clip of Leonard Cohen performing "Democracy":

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New Bob Dylan Free Download

Fans who cannot wait to get the new Bob Dylan album, Together Through Life, scheduled for release on April 28, can download one of its tracks, Beyond Here Lies Nothin’ on Bob Dylan’s official Web site. It is available for a limited time starting today through March 31. The new song a harbinger of another great release from the legend.

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