Underworld: Oblivion with Bells

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Contents: Crocodile — Beautiful burnout — Holding the moth — To heal — Ring road — Glam bucket — Boy, boy, boy — Cuddle bunny — The Celtic villages — Faxed invitation — Good morning cockerel — Best mamgu ever. All songs written by Rick Smith and Karl Hyde. Recorded at Lemonworld, Abbey Road Studios. Produced by Rick Smith; executive producer Steven Hall.
Artist website: http://www.underworldlive.com/ See also: Underworld ("purveyors of quality handcrafted bleeps and blops since the early 80s") forum at darktrain.org
Wired wrote: "Walk through Wired's design department and odds are pretty high you'll hear Underworld's latest offering. The fifth studio album from Karl Hyde and Rick Smith is a lyrical and melancholic affair. Think overcast British skies and rain-slickened cobblestone streets, only with rich sonic texturing and piano-synth techno" ("Playlist: What's Wired This Month," 12/07, p. 98).

Rosa Passos: Amorosa

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Gary Giddins wrote in the New Yorker: "Rosa Passos is often described as the heir to, or female equivalent of, João Gilberto, which is a way of saying that she is a distinguished interpreter of bossa nova at a time when gifted young Brazilian singers, like Marisa Monte, have adopted more fashionable pop styles. This won’t necessarily sound appealing to those who recall bossa nova as an easy-listening diversion of the Kennedy years, epitomized by Astrud Gilberto’s girlishly vacant invocation of 'The Girl from Ipanema.' But there has always been a difference between the musical phenomenon that began in Brazil in the late fifties and the watered-down version that flourished in the United States. Though the latter inspired brilliant collaborations … bossa nova quickly became a lounge-music punch line. … In Brazil, the perspective is entirely different. While João Gilberto reigns as a god, Astrud is hardly known on the beaches of Ipanema. … The divide between the domestic bossa and its export-market derivative is sure to be much brooded over next year, when Brazil celebrates bossa nova’s fiftieth anniversary."

Frank Zappa: Joe's Garage Acts I, II, & III

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Bill Carbone wrote in the New Haven Advocate: "[W]hen Dweezil Zappa, Frank's son and director of the tribute group Zappa Plays Zappa, leads his ensemble … it is in a sense the ultimate tribute. … They perform a single three-hour set that, most remarkably, at some points even includes Frank on vocals and guitar. This posthumous performance is achieved via giant screens broadcasting master audio and video tracks … from live concert recordings. … Nary a live concert tape is without the infamous 'Now listen here' — Frank's introduction to political satire, fantastic stories, dance contests. … He was capable of weaving the week's news into a set of music that seemed to have no room to contain it. … Frank also balanced his uber-serious music and subject content with sarcasm and wit, notably on Joe's Garage, his 1979 concept album about government overregulation. … It's hard not to long for a world where Frank could sting Scooter Libby, play footsies with Larry Craig and wash down his Freedom Fries with Blackwater for our enlightenment. The music world … is a colder place without him" (11/1/07).

Patti LaBelle: Miss Patti's Christmas

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Contents: Christmas jam — It's the most wonderful time of the year — What do the lonely do at Christmas? — Holidays mean more to me — It's going to be a Merry Christmas — Do you hear what I hear? — Nativity — Jesus, oh what a wonderful child (feat. the Soul Seekers) — Every year, every Christmas — Away in a manger.
Rick Koster wrote in the Day (New London): "There will be no shortage of available material Sunday when it comes time for Patti LaBelle to choose her set list. In her career, which has spanned four decades — and with a voice that has spanned four octaves — she's been nominated for 10 Grammys and won two and released over 30 albums of material. Earlier this month, she was cited at the World Music Awards for her contribution to R&B. As a solo artist and with the groups Bluebirds and Labelle, the singer has been a consistent star. … Plus, LaBelle has just released a new CD of holiday songs called 'Miss Patti's Christmas' — a mix of trad favorites and originals" ("A Total Powerhouse," 11/22/07).

Geri Allen: Timeless Portraits and Dreams

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Nate Chinen wrote in the New York Times: "After taking the stage at Zankel Hall on Wednesday night, the pianist Geri Allen … began to play 'Oh! Freedom' with unmistakable authority. Unaccompanied for the moment, she spelled out the melody in a stately procession of two-handed chords. Her voicings were rich, resonant and complex; her touch was declarative but supple. … Ms. Allen segued from 'Oh! Freedom' into 'Melchezedik,' a modal piece by the saxophonist Antoine Roney, her brother-in-law. Settling into a groove, she indulged in some chromatic cascades evocative of Herbie Hancock. Her rhythm section, the versatile bassist Darryl Hall and the venerable drummer Jimmy Cobb, supported her with floating ease. Ms. Allen was employing the same opening combination as on 'Timeless Portraits and Dreams,' her powerfully realized recent album. Released by Telarc, it’s a meditation on African-American accomplishment from a modern jazz perspective. The trumpeter Wallace Roney, her husband, makes an appearance; so does the Atlanta Jazz Chorus" ("Showing Off Fleet Fingers," 3/3/07).

Wynton Marsalis: From the Plantation to the Penitentiary

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns wrote in Jazz: "No musician in jazz history has ever risen so far so fast as Wynton Marsalis, winner of Grammys in jazz and classical music at twenty-two, cofounder of Jazz at Lincoln Center at twenty-six and its creative director at thirty-one, winner at thirty-five of the first Pulitzer Prize ever awarded to a jazz composer, for his oratorio Blood on the Fields. Because his climb seemed so meteoric, because he was born in New Orleans and was the son of one jazz musician and the brother of three more, and because for many people he would become the symbol of the rebirth of mainstream jazz, his success seems to have been almost preordained. But the world into which he was born in 1961 had had little use for the music his father played. … When, during the early seventies, Wynton and his older brother Branford were in high school and performing with a funk band called the Creators, they sometimes played to crowds of better than two thousand and brought home a hundred dollars a night; their father's audiences were rarely larger than one-tenth that size. …" (p. 459).

Peter Bjorn and John: Writer's Block

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Eric R. Danton wrote in his Hartford Courant blog Sound Check: "There are always a few acts at SXSW that attract a lot of buzz. It was Arctic Monkeys last year, and Franz Ferdinand a couple years before that. This year, Peter Bjorn & John is one of those bands. The Swedish trio is also said to be the group playing the most shows at the festival this year. One of those came Thursday afternoon at a party hosted by the online music service Rhapsody. The band performed songs from its recent album 'Writer's Block,' and the catchy pop tunes took on a retro, almost psychedelic feel live. The musician's vocals were drenched in reverb, which sounded especially good on 'Young Folks' when singer/guitarist Peter Moren … whistled the melody line. The album is a study in atmospherics, with plenty of rhythmic texture, but the musicians demonstrated an impressive amount of skill in concert. The group took forever to start playing, but once they got going, they became part of a perfect Austin day: Sunny skies, warm temperatures and a fabulous musical soundtrack" ("Peter Bjorn & John," 3/15/07).

Fall Out Boy: Infinity on High

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Sasha Frere-Jones wrote in the New Yorker: "The fact that Fall Out Boy is popular while playing what is, give or take a dozen influences, traditional guitar rock has to do in part with the band’s universally catchy songs and in part with the star power of its eyeliner-wearing bassist and spokesman, Pete Wentz. … The album is deeply pleasurable, consisting of compressed, torqued-up rock songs that rarely detour into instrumental passages and return single-mindedly to choruses that range from the reasonably hummable to the eminently hummable. Like the band’s other albums, 'Infinity' is the product of an atypical division of labor, between the husky blond guitarist and singer Patrick Stump, who composes the rapidly shifting, unabashedly melodic music … and Wentz, whose clever lyrics rely on pop-culture references. … Fall Out Boy retains some formal connections to punk … but, with a few tweaks, Stump’s songs could work perfectly well as country or R. & B. numbers. His vocals are open-throated and powerful, a bit reminiscent of eighties New Wave singers like Howard Jones" (3/12/07).

Diana Ross: I Love You

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J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote in Call Her Miss Ross: "In the '60s, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Diana Ross — The Supremes — quickly became the most successful American vocal group of their day. Rising from the Brewster Projects of Detroit to the most prestigious nightclubs and concert halls in the world, they had, by 1965, racked up an enviable string of unforgettable hit records. The leading proponents of Detroit's home-bred music called The Motown Sound, their only logical peers in the pop world were The Beatles and Elvis Presley. From the start, Diana Ross had that rare star quality, stage presence and unique singing voice that immediately set her apart from the other two. But along with her talent and ambition there was a certain amount of ruthlessness. She was famous and her fans adored her, but she was not popular among her Motown peers, many of whom thought that Berry Gordy helped her rise at their expense. By 1967, she had become the star of the act, much to Mary and Florence's dismay. They thought that the group was what mattered, but Diana was never group-oriented" (p. 15).

Musiq Soulchild: Luvanmusiq

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Contents: b.u.d.d.y (Musiq Soulchild/ Carvin Haggins/ Cornelius Church/ Earl Guinn/ Kenton Nix) — ms.philadelphia (Soulchild/ Shaffer Smith/ Solomon Ridge Jr./ Curtis Wilson) — teachme (Haggins/ C. Williams/ Barias/ Smith) — betterman (Saadiq/ Soulchild/ Wooden) — thequestions (Soulchild/ Lilly) — today (Soulchild/ Dixon/ Mason/ Thomas) — makeyouhappy (Soulchild/ Campbell) — ridiculous (Soulchild/ Sledge/ Campbell) — millionaire (Soulchild/ Lilly/ Gordon/ Feemster) — takeyouthere (Soulchild/ Campbell) — lullaby (Soulchild/ Haggins/ Church/ K. Guinn/ E. Guinn/ Felder/ Grant)— greatestlove (Soulchild/ Campbell).
Ericka Sóuter wrote in People: "Luvanmusiq, the singer's fourth CD, is another ode to vintage R&B. In fact the introspective groove 'thequestions' is reminiscent of a '70s-era Stevie Wonder. The sweetly soulful 'ms.philadelphia' and 'teachme' showcase his old-school charm, and 'b.u.d.d.y.,' a mid-tempo cut about friends with benefits, is the head-nodding highlight" ("Picks & Pans: Music," 3/26/07, p. 47).

Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby

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Contents: Dreaded spoon (Hornsby) -- Gulf of Mexico fishing boat blues (Hornsby) -- Across the Rocky Mountains (Traditional, arr. Skaggs) -- Mandolin rain (B.R. Hornsby/ John Hornsby) -- Stubb (instrumental) (Skaggs) -- Come on out (Gordon Kennedy/ Phil Madeira) -- Night on the town (B.R. Hornsby/ John Hornsby) -- Sheep shell corn (Traditional) -- Hills of Mexico (Traditional, arr. Skaggs) -- Crown of jewels (Hornsby) -- Super freak (James A. Johnson/ Alonzo H. Miller).
Ralph Novak wrote in People: "Hornsby, with his cerebral piano style, and Skaggs, all furious picking, aren't an obvious match. But as it turns out, they complement each other so well they can even make Rick James's 'Super Freak' work together. Most of the songs are closer to Skaggs's bluegrass and Hornsby's folk-pop. Best is their version of Hornsby's 'Mandolin Rain,' on which Skaggs displays his virtuosity on the titular instrument while Hornsby provides evocative accompaniment" ("Picks & Pans: Music," 4/2/07, p. 46).

Jesse Malin: Glitter in the Gutter

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Eric R. Danton wrote in his Hartford Courant blog Sound Check: "Northampton has been good to Jesse Malin over the past few years, supplying him with a steady stream of gigs when he was between record deals and working on new material. Malin returned the favor Sunday night at the Iron Horse Music Hall with a passionate show that mixed songs from his new record with older tunes and a generous ration of covers. The wise-cracking New Yorker and his band were all business at the start, knocking out nine tunes in about 30 minutes. Later, Malin became more expansive, telling stories and jokes and urging the audience to sing or clap along. … Malin usually sticks to acoustic guitar on stage, but played a black electric guitar on about half the songs Sunday. The new tune 'Prisoners of Paradise' was the first of these, and the seething guitar intro ignited into a blazing rock ’n’ roll anthem with an irresistible melodic hook. The singer alternated between tunes from his third and latest album, 'Glitter in the Gutter,' and his 2003 solo debut, 'The Fine Art of Self-Destruction'" (4/1/07).

Turtle Island Quartet: A Love Supreme

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The Westport Minuteman wrote: "On March 27, 2007, The Turtle Island Quartet — violinist David Balakrishnan, cellist Mark Summer, violinist Evan Price and violist Mads Tolling released 'A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane,' Turtle Island's interpretation of music written by or otherwise reflective of the 20th century jazz master. … The Turtle Island Quartet … '… has shown an ability to function with equal conviction in the classical and jazz realms unmatched by any other contemporary ensemble,' says veteran jazz critic and historian Bob Blumenthal. 'This is only fitting for players who learned to swing and improvise as they were learning their instruments.' And therein lies 'the secret of Turtle Island Quartet,' says Balakrishnan. 'We're not classical players interpreting Coltrane's music. We're all jazz musicians who have spent years listening to and transcribing his solos. Each one of us has done this. So we're trying to play this in a way that we're really breathing his breath. …' … At the centerpiece of the recording is Turtle Island's interpretation of Coltrane's four-part masterpiece, 'A Love Supreme'" (10/11/07).

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: Raising Sand

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Jesse Kornbluth wrote in the Huffington Post: "[Y]ou have only to hear it once to know that you will listen to it often. … You expected Plant's want-you, need-you, got-to-have-you cry that starts somewhere in the mid-range and moves fast into the crack-glass zone? You'll find his signature scream here, but you'll have to listen closely. And Ms. Krauss? … Over the years, she's bent the bluegrass envelope, but she's never shredded it. You'll find her purity on display here; again, you'll have to listen closely. In these songs, everything's off-kilter. Plant whispers and Krauss shrieks. Drums pound, but vocals are muted. The past is honored … but it's filtered through processors that transform no-frills country into sophisticated urban ghost music. Raising Sand is, in short, the kind of music that sounds great in the car or when you're puttering, but sounds even greater when you sit down, plug in the headphones, and go to school on it. The key player here is T-Bone Burnett, who, on the strength of this CD alone, ought to abandon all dreams of performance and surrender to his genius as a producer" (10/24/07).

Gov't Mule: Mighty High

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Andrew Iliff wrote in the New Haven Advocate: "Warren Haynes believes in influences. In fact, to hear him tell it, his band Gov't Mule is on a mission to synthesize as diverse a range of antecedents, models and inspirations as possible. … Thus the latest Mule album, Mighty High, featuring guest vocalists Michael Franti and Willie Williams, delves into reggae and dub. … But Haynes is keen not to be seen as a carpetbagger, citing both a 90-minute reggae set during a traditional Mule New Year's extravaganza and the inclinations of original Mule bassist Allen Woody. … For a band largely ignored in mainstream media — by both establishment rags and hipster indie upstarts — the Mule is remarkably successful, trading on a reputation as a live band to pack seats at big venues across the country. … Mule songs tend to follow a bluesy template built around a towering, deft guitar solo. … Haynes and his bandmates have struck an innovative arrangement with their label allowing them to sell every single one of their live shows online a few scant days after the band leaves the stage" (10/4/07).

Bruce Springsteen: Magic

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Alan Bisbort wrote in the Hartford Advocate: "Magic may be Bruce's best 'big sound' album since Born to Run. One senses a new freedom in the way he sings. He's not mumbling or whispering, but really opening up the pipes on 'Your Own Worst Enemy,' 'Girls in Their Summer Clothes' and 'I'll Work for Your Love.' He kicks Magic off with a guitar riff on 'Radio Nowhere' as instantly classic as anything he's ever done. Hell, even the strings work on the slower numbers. All this brilliant music is built on a solid thematic foundation that finds Bruce mourning an America gone wrong under you-know-who's leadership" ("CD Shorts," 10/25/07).
Dave Marsh wrote in Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s: "The crowd knows what it's in for: a four-hour spectacular that is both sheer intoxication and a ritual invocation of the human spirit in the most peculiarly American way. For the first time since Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll is native-born and, maybe for the first time ever, that crown is worn not lightly but with the full weight of adult awareness" (p. 3).