Blogs

Henry Butler
PiaNOLA Live
(Basin Street)

As noted in a 2006 Westword profile, Henry Butler once owned a house in New Orleans’ Gentilly neighborhood – but Hurricane Katrina destroyed the structure and pretty much everything else in it. Somehow, though, a number of live recordings he made over the years managed to come through the storm intact. PiaNOLA Live, whose release Butler will celebrate on Saturday, May 10, at Dazzle, contains selections from several of them, recorded at various events between the mid-‘80s and 2007. They combine to form a fine portrait of an artist whose indomitable spirit echoes through his every note.

The co-producer here is George Winston, whose work often falls into the (eeesh) new age category. Nevertheless, there’s nothing tepid about Butler’s performances, which are marked by strength and vigor. Just two originals are included: “Orleans Inspiration,” an energetic instrumental, and “Let 'Em Roll,” which Butler co-wrote with guitarist Corey Harris, another performer with Denver connections. Still, his interpretations of ditties such as the rollicking Chris Penner tune “Something You Got,” Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” and, naturally, “Ol’ Man River” turn out to be just as personal as the material that flowed from his own pen, and equally inspirational.

Butler lost a great deal when Katrina hit – but thank goodness he was able to salvage PiaNOLA Live. -- Michael Roberts

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Madonna
Hard Candy
(Warner Bros.)

Most embarrassing album cover of the year? It may only be spring, but Hard Candy’s up-front image of Madge flashing her leather-clad crotch and opening her lips like the inflatable co-star of Lars and the Real Girl will be tough to beat – and that’s not the only error in judgment she makes here. But she’s a smarter, more formidable artist than her critics generally care to admit, and by bringing her well-honed instincts to bear, she manages to turn out an intermittently enjoyable disc.

Madonna’s eagerness to share the spotlight works to her disadvantage – a rare sign of insecurity on her part. “4 Minutes,” the lead single, features way too much Timbaland, whose production work on the album suggests that he’s spreading himself too thin. (Exception: His agreeably off-kilter efforts on the alluring “Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You.”) And if Justin Timberlake’s presence on that song and “Dance 2Night” isn’t quite as intrusive, neither does it add much bang beyond the commercial type. Ditto that for Kanye West’s rap on “Beat Goes On”; it feels casually tossed off, which diminishes Madonna even more.

The Neptunes’ productions are better all-around. “Candy Shop” sports a synth line compelling enough to momentarily distract from the song’s conceptual lameness, and “Give It 2 Me,” “She’s Not Me” and “Spanish Lesson” compare favorably to her more memorable late-period offerings. Just as important, the decision to focus on body music, with lyrics to match, as opposed to spiritual questing, overseas adoptions or any other yadda-yadda makes even the sillier stuff easier to accept.

With the exception of the cover, that is. -- Michael Roberts

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Michael Jackson
Thriller 25
(Epic/Legacy)

Thriller’s continuing ubiquity -- not to mention MJ’s descent into epic creepiness -- makes the planet’s best-selling album as difficult to objectively analyze as The Wizard of Oz. But the 25th-anniversary edition’s best moments remain stellar, even if some cuts taste cheesier than Kraft Singles.

The extras are a wash. An okay companion DVD includes three music videos and the famed Motown 25 moonwalking segment, but superstar remixes featuring the likes of will.i.am, Kanye West and Fergie range from tolerable to teeth-grinding. As for the original tracks, the Paul McCartney duet “The Girl Is Mine” comes across as laughable in a bad (rather than Bad) way, and “The Lady in My Life” would fall flat even if we didn’t suspect that Michael’s current amour is a ten-year-old boy named Chad. But “Billie Jean” deserves its era-highlight status, while “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” and other less omnipresent ditties hold more freshness than anyone might have expected.

Not all of their thrills are gone. -- Michael Roberts

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Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Sings Buck
(New West)

At first blush, the notion of Dwight Yoakam devoting an entire disc to the work of Buck Owens seems much too obvious. After all, he’s a well-established Owens acolyte and booster who often drops cover tunes into his live sets, and he famously paired with the man himself on a version of the iconic “Streets of Bakersfield.” Nonetheless, Dwight Sings Buck turns out to be more than a by-the-numbers tribute to the ol’ Buckaroo, who died in 2006. It’s also a thoroughly beguiling listening experience during which both artists receive their due. Yoakam is a veteran performer whose style and sound recall the approach made famous by Owens, Merle Haggard and other precursors but remains very much his own. For that reason, he’s able to simply play these selections in a straight-forward manner rather than worrying about how to distinguish himself from his figurative mentors. “My Heart Skips a Beat” features his trademark laid-back groove and a vocal that’s more cool than exuberant, “Down on the Corner” utilizes a martial intro and sweet harmonies, “Cryin’ Time” draws every last teardrop from the classic weeper, and “Close Up the Honky Tonks” stretches out to more than six minutes without wasting a single note. In the end, the performances are evocative because they say as much about Yoakam as the man who popularized the material in the first place. – Michael Roberts

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Jonny Greenwood
There Will Be Blood
(Nonesuch)

Pop stars who try to establish themselves as serious composers are typically asking for trouble, embarrassment or some combination thereof. Think of Billy Joel: Even though he's spent much of the past decade focusing on classical music, fans who turn up at his concerts demand the same old Piano Man, and he's forced to comply. But Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood pulls off this transition with aplomb on his score for There Will Be Blood. Of course, it helps that he's no dilettante. Since 2004, he's worked as composer-in-residence for the BBC Concert Orchestra, which is featured on this disc, and throughout the material he assembled for this project, he displays not the slightest inclination toward rocking out. "Open Spaces," the initial track, starts things off quietly, but its unsettling, string-laced ebbs and flows subtly prefigure the more disturbing sounds that follow. The rapid pace of "Future Markets" is powered by head-spinning violin figures, "Eat By His Own Light" seesaws back and forth between romantic melodicism and jarring atonality, and "Henry Plainview" pivots on a droning arrangement that's simultaneously gorgeous and maddening. The results add immeasurably to the effectiveness of director Paul Thomas Anderson's mindblowing film even as they mark Greenwood as a force to be reckoned with whether he's wielding a guitar or a baton. -- Michael Roberts

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Sigur Rós
Hvarf/Heim
(XL Recordings)

In some ways, the new Sigur Rós CD isn’t all that new. Hvarf/Heim conflates a pair of EPs, with the first consisting of three previously unreleased tracks plus reworkings of two early numbers and the second spotlighting six live acoustic renderings of numbers familiar to fans of these idiosyncratic Icelanders. Yet the combined impact of the recordings is considerable, making the disc a worthy addition to the act’s discography. The first three cuts are uniformly striking – especially “Í Gær,” an exercise in dynamics that features childlike chimes, keening vocals, a moody melody and epic guitar that brings the song to near-celestial heights. The reimagining of “Hafsol,” originally on the group’s first album, is just as effecting, creating the sort of widescreen effect capable of conjuring a National Geographic special’s worth of outdoor imagery. As for the Heim material, it’s necessarily lower key. Nonetheless, ditties such as the beautifully fragile “Vaka” exert a fascination of their own, even though only onetime residents of Reykjavik will have the slightest notion what lead singer Jonsi Birgisson is going on about. When it comes to Sigur Rós, fortunately, sounds create their own meanings. -- Michael Roberts

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Joni Mitchell
Shine
(Hear Music)

Mitchell is revered for her early work -- but the sad truth is, her last undeniably brilliant album was Hejira, which came out in 1976, and although her subsequent platters continued to display her intelligence and instrumental skill, they seemed to grow increasingly heavy-handed and dreary with each passing release. Despite being her first studio recording in nine years, Shine continues this trend. Musically, Mitchell draws too heavily on the sort of watery, late-‘70s-style jazz-fusion that even a lot of the performers who made it probably regret at this point, and her lyrics hector more often than they inspire. Take “Strong and Wrong,” whose worthy anti-war theme is undermined by teeth-grinding broadsides: “You lose everything/Without the heart you need/To hear a robin sing/Where have all the songbirds gone?/Gone!” The CD’s title cut, though among the more melodically beguiling offerings here, suffers from the same malady. Her appeal for a light to shine on “our Frankenstein technologies” and “lousy leadership licensed to kill” is considerably less resonate than the beam she hopes will fall upon “a hopeful girl/In a dreamy dress.” Mitchell remains a serious artist worthy of attention, but she’s infinitely less interesting when she spends too much of her time scolding the populace rather than writing good songs. -- Michael Roberts

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Foo Fighters
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
(RCA)

Dave Grohl has become a reliable professional, a performer who consistently releases product that’s steady and well-crafted. But if he’s never put out a less-than-good album during his decade-plus as a frontman, neither has he issued the sort of next-level mind-blower that would cause the average listener to go from liking his work to loving it. And so it goes on Echoes, a disc that mixes and matches the Fighters’ heavy rockers with acoustic sensitivity showcases. The former tunes are generally more memorable: “The Pretender,” which opens the disc, starts slowly before turning up the juice in a persuasive way, and “Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)” mates ringing riffs with a catchy power-pop melody. However, a few of the quieter ditties work pretty well, too, including the tender “Come Alive” and the concluding “Home” – and “But, Honestly,” a strum-along hybrid that adds electricity on the way to a stirring conclusion, also earns its space. In the end, though, the tracks aren’t a whole lot different from, or better than, previous Foo efforts. Fine job, Mr. Grohl: Another solid B. Still, you haven’t quite qualified for honors class. -- Michael Roberts

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Carla Bley
The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu
(ECM)

Bley is among the most underappreciated talents in jazz – a fine pianist who also happens to be an extremely creative and gifted arranger. Since bowing in 1971 with Escalator Over the Hill, a recording that marked her as a leader with an original voice and a severe allergy to trend-following, she’s released one smart, singular disc after another – and while she’s at her best working with oversized ensembles, she can also make a small group sound big, as she does on her latest release. Bley’s wit comes out in the names she chooses for her latest compositions – the album begins with “One Banana,” followed by “Two Banana,” “Three Banana” and “Four” – and often in the tunes tackled by her current quintet. For instance, “Two Banana” is a striptease-tempoed joust that pits trumpeter/flugelhornist Paolo Fresu against Andy Sheppard, on naughty saxophone. But Bley’s just as adept when it comes to intricate beauties like “Liver of Life” and the concluding “Ad Infinitum.” The Lost Chords deserves to be found. -- Michael Roberts

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Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew
Spirit If…
(Arts & Crafts)
The credit Kevin Drew chose for himself on this disc seems designed to reassure fans fearful that his decision to release a CD under his own name means Broken Social Scene is bound for the grave. But the wordiness of this bit of front-cover exposition is unnecessary, since the music argues that the outfit remains foremost in his mind. Plenty of Scenesters contribute, and the majority of the songs sport all of the elements BSS fans have come to expect: confusing moments, chaotic moments and, most of all, beautiful moments that cohere for reasons that have more to do with intuition than anything that smacks of careful planning. In some ways, his fealty to the collective’s style is mildly disappointing: Solo albums can afford artists an opportunity to stretch beyond the boundaries imposed by the group concept. Then again, BSS imposes fewer limitations on its members than practically any other current band, and tracks like the thrillingly expansive “Lucky Ones” and the quirky yet embracing “Big Love” are so enjoyable that complaining about their familiarity is utterly pointless. Clearly, the Spirit is willing.-- Michael Roberts

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Georgie James
Places
(Saddle Creek)
Musically speaking, John Davis, best known as the onetime drummer for Q and Not U, and singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn come from a similar place: They both love throwback pop-rock as filtered through a contemporary indie sensibility. But the distinctions in their stylistic choices broaden the scope of Georgie James, their highly enjoyable joint project. Davis-sung efforts such as “Look Me Up,” “Need Your Needs” and “Hard Feelings” are harmonically ornate, with arrangements that belie the relatively simple instrumentation. In contrast, the songs on which Burhenn steps to the forefront are more straight-forward, keyboard-driven affairs – but the charms inherent in “Cake Parade,” “Long Week” and the intoxicating “Cheap Champagne” are abundant and thoroughly rewarding. Georgie James has a split personality that comes together beautifully.-- Michael Roberts

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Lee Burridge
Balance, Issue N. 12
(EQ Records)
Yeah, yeah: Music that’s energizing and exciting on the dance floor often sounds beyond dull on an iHome. Still, the best mixers (and Britisher Lee Burridge, who's slated to headline at Vinyl on Saturday, October 6, certainly qualifies) are able to find a middle ground between hyperkinetic BPMs and sonic variety that’s perfectly described by the name of this three-CD set. Each disc flows logically from one mood to another, and Burridge adds elements with taste and restraint, resisting the urge to spasmodically press each button on the control panel every few seconds. Paris’ “Spider & Bird,” on disc two, is a case in point: The echo effects, electronic splats and occasional voice samples are used sparingly enough that when they surface, they generate a jolt instead of contributing to clutter. For this reason, the collection works on an ambient level when played at low or moderate volume but becomes an instant party-starter when the dial is cranked. That’s a perfect Balance.-- Michael Roberts

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Prinzhorn Dance School
Prinzhorn Dance School
(DFA Records/Astralwerks)

Prinzhorn Dance School’s name salutes Dr. Hans Prinzhorn, who, according to AllMusic.com, “collected the art of his mentally ill patients” -- and the unhinged quality of the music made by Tobin and Suzy Horn makes the moniker seem wholly appropriate. “Black Bunker” and the tracks that follow are extraordinarily spare, with lots of air left between the primitive beats, the alternately doomy and slashing guitar punctuations, and the Horns’ vocals: his declamatory and deadpan, hers high-pitched and almost hysterical. By taking minimalism to thrillingly twisted extremes, they present a challenge that even fans of indie rock at its edgiest may fail. But those who are able to see the dark humor in “I Do Not Like Change,” which, true to its handle, changes hardly at all over its two-minute span, will likely find themselves being strangely attracted to this highly unusual institution. -- Michael Roberts

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Charles Mingus
Live in ‘64
(Reelin’ In the Years)

In this country, at least, films and videotapes of classic jazz recordings turn up on television far too seldom. As a result, even fans of the genre -- at least those who haven’t spent hours trolling through YouTube posts -- often have seen only a snippet or two of their favorites in action. “Jazz Icons,” a new series of DVDs assembled by Reelin’ In the Years Productions, rights this wrong in a remarkable way. Charles Mingus’ Live in ‘64 exemplifies the offerings, capturing big chunks of three sets performed in Belgium, Norway and Sweden during saxophonist Eric Dolphy’s last tour with the masterful bassist. “So Long, Eric,” a piece Mingus wrote as a goodbye for the gifted player, is heard in four versions, all of them worthy, but perhaps the most memorable is from an Oslo date. Tenor man Clifford Jordan reels off so magnificent a solo that trumpeter Johnny Coles joins the formally clad audience in appreciative applause -- but it’s a mere prelude to a concluding Dolphy freak-out that’s positively epochal. The sound is better than anticipated, the material is consistently revelatory, and the images are timelessly cool.

The other “Jazz Icons” releases that hit the marketplace alongside Live in ‘64 are mighty fine, too. My favorites were John Coltrane’s Live in ’60 & ’61 & ‘65 and Dexter Gordon’s Live in ’63 & 64 -- but Duke Ellington’s Live in ‘58, Dave Brubeck’s Live in ’64 and ‘66, Wes Montgomery’s Live in ‘65 and the astonishing Sarah Vaughan’s Live in ’58 and ‘64 are also highly recommended. Seeing is believing. -- Michael Roberts

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Bob Marley and the Wailers
Roots, Rock, Remixed
(Quango)

Since most remix/tribute discs bite, the listenability of Roots, Rock, Remixed comes as a pleasant surprise. With a couple of exceptions, the album’s programmers wisely steer clear of the most overplayed Marley material in favor of less known compositions epitomized by “Duppy Conqueror,” “African Herbsman” and “400 Years.” Moreover, mixers such as Bombay Dub Orchestra, Afrodisiac Sound System and DJ Spooky treat the songs with respect rather than as an excuse to cut and paste ad nauseum. Far more agreeable than anyone could have expected. – Michael Roberts

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