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brief reviews of
miscellaneous titles
A-M
featuring titles from
Daniel Amos
Beck
David Bowie
Kate Bush
Nick Cave
Elvis Costello
Sheryl Crow
The Cure
Death Cab for
Cutie
Bob Dylan
Eels
Bill Frisell
Peter Gabriel
Johnny
Greenwood
Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama
Emmylou Harris
PJ Harvey
Joe
Henry
The Innocence Mission
Daniel Lanois
Lone Justice
Maria McKee
Aimee
Mann
Buddy Miller
A
B
Beck
Guero
Beck - Guero
A perfect fusion of Sea Change's melodicism, Midnite Vultures' throwback rock, and Odelay's
block-rockin' beats, Guero doesn't really break new ground for
Beck. But it certainly shows that, as he's developed new tricks, he's
still extremely strong at the old tricks. Unless Radiohead suddenly
arrives with a surprise release, I doubt you'll take a more entertaining
musical journey all year.
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Excellent
David Bowie
1. Outside (1999)
Comments: The most complicated and underappreciated rock masterpiece of the 90s, I'd
venture to say. Bowie has in his head a dark and fascinating sci-fi story along the
lines of the work of Philip K. Dick and William Burroughs. He's taken the story,
scrambled the chapters, and then presented it like non-linear excerpts from a futuristic
murder mystery. While the visions presented here are bleak, the characters desperate,
broken, and lonely, this is only the beginning of the story. Love lurks around the
edges, acknowledged in these laments of its absence. The music is the product of
creative brainstorming sessions with master producer Brian Eno, and promises to be the
first of a series of installments. Unlike other aging rockers who merely try to
sustain the sounds that have made them popular, Bowie continues to follow his muse to new
places. And, rather than harness technology to make music about teen angst and
suicidal tendencies, as many of his imitators do, Bowie has taken the sounds at the
cutting edge and applied them to univeral themes and imaginative explorations. For
that, I admire him.
Outstanding tracks: "The Heart's Filthy Lesson", "No
Control", "I Have Not Been to Oxford Town"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: A Masterpiece
David Bowie
Reality (2003)
Comments:
David Bowie's new album Reality
is surprisingly disappointing. The songs aren't bad, but they're
buried in layers of muddy noise and
glazed guitar. I am still listening to his last
few albums, especially Heathen and 1.Outside, which were
creatively composed, full of open space, gorgeous instrumentation, and the
occasional all-out rocker. This album is almost wall-to-wall rock, but the
sound is so echo-filled, so drenched in effects, that Bowie's brilliant
voice is crowded out and the songs eventually numb the ear. Thus, "Bring Me
the Disco King", the fantastic finale, a long jazz song that Bowie
apparently labored over for years, comes not only as a welcome surprise but
also as an immense relief. It also seems like it belongs on a different
record. The lyrics? They're typically cryptic, so I'll get back to you on
that.
Outstanding tracks: "Bring Me the Disco King"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Muddled and mediocre
Kate Bush
Aerial
Kate Bush's triumphant double-disc return, Aerial,
finds her voice in top form, and her songwriting still strong after
a decade and a half in hiding. The first disc has radio-ready highlights
concerned with characters drawn to a higher calling, like the
irresistible "King of the Mountain" (about Elvis) and "Joanni" (a
stirring tribute to Joan of Arc). The second disc is a concept album
about the creative impulse that only Bush could conceive. While her
willingness to throw off inhibitions and get wacky sometimes bogs the
album down... there's too much giggling, too much of Bush trying to
mimic birdsong, and one strong song gets spoiled by a "spishy-splashy"
refrain... she's still dreaming larger and more ambitiously than almost
any other artist working today. The style isn't anything groundbreaking,
but she certainly can't be accused of compromising her vision to become
accessible.
C
Peter Case
Flying Saucer Blues
Folk-rock wanderer Peter Case has always been enthusiastic, high-spirited, and skilled. I
have admired his independent spirit, his devotion to his craft, and his
relentlessness—he’s been at this solo thing for quite a while now. He's
consistently entertaining, and while he is stronger as a social and political satirist in
his clever writing than he is as a profound poet, he knows how to turn a phrase.
He's a storyteller at heart, and his albums play like road trip journals. Musically,
he's certainly skilled, but I find myself wondering why he plays it so safe; I would never
recognize his guitar playing if tested. Flying Saucer Blues is as good a
place as any to start in Case’s catalogue (my favorite remains the self-titled
recording, where T-Bone Burnett’s production brought more dimension and character to
the songs.) "Paradise, Etc." is energetic and fun. But the keepers here are
"The Blue Distance", a surprisingly strong song of love that toes the line of
transcendance, and "This Could Be the One", a funny and sad anthem of unrequited
and, indeed, unexpressed love. Producer Andrew Williams is just inventive enough to keep
things interesting. But I can't shake the feeling that the Great Peter Case album is yet
to to come, when all of these excursions through country, folk, and rock will fuse and
culminate into something unforgettable.
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Worth hearing.
Nick Cave
Murder Ballads
Nick Cave's career has been a wrestling match with God over the problem of evil.
With The Bad Seeds providing their brand of caustic rock accompaniment, Cave goes into
darker places than he has perhaps ever been on Murder Ballads. To a faint
electronic pulse, a ponderous plea is offered, "Have mercy on me sir/Allow me to
impose on you.../I will tell you a story...." That story is about the collapse of a
marriage, but moreso, it's about the loss of Joy (which happens to be the name of the
wife, that "sweet and happy thing; Her eyes...bright blue jewels." We are told
how the wife becomes progessively "sad and lonely,/became Joy in name only...."
What follows is a horrific story, as though Cave is putting to music something he read in
the paper, immortalizing as a question to God why such darkness is allowed to run
rampant.
Next, "Stagger Lee" is about a wicked and profane man
killing and forcing people to commit gross sexual crimes. Many listeners will sign off at
this point. Gotta admit, I wouldn't blame them. This is one of the cruelest songs I've
ever heard, without a glimpse of hope or a moment of reflection. Just details, cold and
hard as the bullets, spat out by a singer who uses profanity as punctuation marks.
PJ Harvey joins to play a dangerous, murderous seductress who
slays the innocent young man who vows faithfulness to his own girl back in "that
merry green land". Here the music takes on a beautiful melancholy, inviting us to
think of these characters as metaphors where other songs seem like true stories. The
same is true of "Where the Wild Roses Grow", in which a man draws a young woman
down to the water and kills her. Her name is Elisa Day, and she can't quite understand why
she is called "Wild Rose". Seems the men have labeled her as evil merely for
being a woman, and must destroy her.
Repeatedly, the virtuous are run down by killers. But is there
any insight here, beyond just the relentless and oppressive evil? Is this just a tedious
and exhausting question asked over and over again? Clearly, the message is 'Where is Love
in the world?'
Sometimes art loses its artfulness in its fervor to preach a
message, and sometimes even preaching is so ferocious that it goes beyond counsel to
become part of the problem with its relentless and aggressive nature.The last song
"Death is Not the End" swoops in like a last-ditch effort to stop the suicidal.
But its plodding delivery sounds more like a sarcastic slap in the face, or the
proclamation of yet another doomsayer than a whisper of hope. Ten songs...over an hour of
listening...and a whole lot of bad news. Thanks a lot. At least ABC World News Tonight is
a merciful 30 minutes long.
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Sorely lacking.
Elvis Costello
All This Useless Beauty
Comments: I think this is quite simply the
best album Costello has recorded. He sidesteps from one stylistic platform to another,
presenting the prime songwriting of his career, songs that have had time to develop and
grow, recorded perfectly, with sensitive arrangements that lets the band shine while his
voice—never stronger— demonstrates surprising range. Lyrically, its funny,
intelligent, and heartbreaking
Outstanding tracks: "All This Useless Beauty", "Complicated
Shadows", "Why Can't a Man Stand Alone", "Poor Fractured Atlas",
"It's Time", "I Want to Vanish"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Excellent
Elvis Costello and
Burt Bacharach
Painted from Memory
Comments: So nostalgic, it's original. Tidal waves of sentimentality, with the
subversive undertow of Costello's complicated and lyrics.
Outstanding tracks: "God
Give Me Strength" and "I Still Have That Other Girl" are priceless.
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
Elvis Costello
North
(2003)
Elvis Costello's new album North
is the shortest album he's released in years, clocking in at 40:36, with 11
songs. It's also an unapologetically romantic, sentimental work of sombre,
sweet love songs. Costello plays piano on most songs, with some support from
strings, but this is not nearly as ambitious as the Bacharach collaboration
Painted from Memory or the Brodsky Quartet collaboration The Juliet Letters.
It's a brighter, more optimistic and affirming collection, probably
influenced by the songwriter's recently developed relationship with jazz
singer Diana Krall. These songs may not grab you at first listen, but
they're complex enough to demand repeated spins, and this just may, over
time, become a favorite among fans as it is indeed one of his most intimate,
least attitude-driven works.
Outstanding Tracks: "
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
Recommended In-Depth Review:
Paste
Elvis Costello
and the Imposters
The Delivery Man
Costello controlled his energies over the last few months to deliver his
first work of classical composition—Il Songo—this month. I
haven’t heard that yet, but I am enjoying the all-out rock record
he released on the same day. It sounds like this is the way he vented
his more reckless tendencies while working on the classical piece.
The Delivery Man is his most raucous and energetic work since
Brutal Youth, and the
songs are some of his most complex compositions.
Unfortunately, there are only a few songs that show off his genius
for melody, and I can't say that the lyrics have
particularly dazzled me. I doubt any of these tracks would
make a Costello best-of collection, except perhaps the memorably rowdy
duet with Lucinda Williams called “There’s a Story in Your Voice.” In a
surprisingly Americana-focused collection, he travels
Southern backroads and bluesy riffs, his anarchic band careening
between inspired synchronization and chaos so fierce
you expect them to throw down their instruments and get into a brawl.
The
Delivery Man is unlikely to win Costello any new fans.
His loyal following will be entertained,
amused, and impressed by the professional
"delivery" ... even if none of them are moved by the sentiments being
sung. Mid-range Costello is still better than most artists’
career peaks.
Jeffrey’s Sum-Up: Impressive.
Sheryl Crow
Wildflower
Wildflower
is full of simplistic, dismissive questions
about religion, exhortations to "live it up" as if there's no tomorrow,
and lines that shrug off any idea of "sin" with assertions that "we were
apes before we spoke of sin." (And so we should revert back to apes,
Sheryl? Is that what you want?)
In
"Letter to God," she seems open to the idea of God, but says she can't
seem to find any clue about what he wants, or what he is. Anxious about
what will happen to her when she's gone, she asks, "What if everyone is
wrong?" Good question. But there's no sense she's actually consider the
claims of Christ. From her dismissals of "the left and the right" as having failed
her, she seems to think that she's out of options beyond the polarizing
political perspectives about religion.
But if
she just follows advice in the following song "Live It Up," she's not
likely to find any answers. She assures us that there's "no reason to
worry" about tomorrow, because "all we have is today." Well, so much for
discovering hope or God.
To make
things even more confounding, the next song finds her fed up with
hearing about other people's troubles and declaring, "I don't want to
know, cuz everything I know makes me feel so low." I guess it sucks to
be her. And she sums it up by asserting "All in all it's natur'es
poetry,/ I can't understand the way it goes,/ so I don't want to know."
And
yet, she asserts in "Always On Your Side" that she's convinced this is
not the way things were meant to be. "Meant?" If they were indeed
meant to go a certain way, who meant them to? And how do you
know that? Could it be you have a built in sense of the way things
should be? Doesn't that suggest that perhaps our current impulses are
guiding us astray, instead of offering us salvation?
If
you're guessing that she includes a predictable shot at current events,
you got it. In the final track, "Where Has All the Love Gone" she says,
"Today I saw the flag roll by / On a wooden box / if it's true, we've
lost our way."
And yet
she recommends selfless love and sings about her undying, unconditional
love... qualities that are the farthest thing from ape behavior! Honey,
for all of your pep talks about love, these recommendations that we
"take off our halo" and just indulge ourselves aren't going to get us
anywhere but back to the fate of Babylon. Which is it? I suppose vowing
your undying love for someone is no big risk if you plan to burn
yourself out in a hurry.
Only
the occasional graceful fusion of voice and instruments saves Wildflower from
being completely empty. Crow still sounds like a pop starlet at the beginning of
her career, and these songs are typically slick and polished, ready-made
radio favorites. Too bad they don't amount to anything more than the
typical seize-the-day pop anthems.
The Cure
Disintegration
Comments: The Cure? Yeah. I know, they’re stand out as the gothic
dirge-rock band with the clown-faced lead singer, and they’re popularly known for
shallow pop hits. But the album "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me" showed them working
very hard to make art rather than pop, to become something as serious as U2 or R.E.M.
Robert Smith’s lyrics became ever more poetic, plumbing the depths of depression,
emptiness, lost love, and failure.
But is it healthy, all this dwelling on the dark side? Here, I
think, that’s part of the point. By exposing the dehabilitating effects of dwelling
on the past, perhaps Smith can free us; and by making such pleasurable music out of such
heartbreak, perhaps he can give us a boost.
"Disintegration" takes the brilliance of "Kiss
Me"’s finer moments and expands upon it. It’s a vast, oceanic album, with
moody tidal waves of sonorous guitars, thunderous rhythms, and Smith’s vocals
stronger than they’d ever been. The album explores the consuming power of obsession
and the paralyzing effect of nostalgia. Lovers speak of those glimmering moments of
connection, always past. Insomniacs wail about nightmares and hauntings, as memories
descend like spiders to haunt them. Photographs of past loves come alive, beautiful
and appealing but always false, always out of reach. Contagious bass lines and
irresistable hooks make the songs stay with you.
Outstanding tracks: "Plainsong", "Pictures of You",
"Disintegration"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Excellent
D
Daniel Amos
Mr. Buechner's Dream
Comments: Under the varying manifestations of D.A., Daniel Amos, Lost Dogs,
Swirling Eddies, and sometimes just his own real name, Terry Taylor has created a gallery
of great songwriting that explores issues of faith, hope, life, and love. Mr.
Buechner's Dream sounds an awful lot like a band that wants to go out with a bang.
It's a 33-song adventure, a rollercoaster through the all-out rock-and-roll,
humorous ditties, acoustic ballads, and torch songs that have always characterized
Taylor's efforts. Here with the combo that, in this listener's opinion, has always
facilitated Taylor's finest work, he accomplishes what might be his most memorable
collection of all.
It's a bumpy ride. Sometimes Taylor favors catchy
hooks too much, at the expense of melody. And sometimes the band doesn't give itself
enough room to improvise or breathe.
But "The Author of the Story" stands out, an
anthem along the lines of Tom Petty's "Into the Great Wide Open". It sets the
theme, the idea of God as a sovereign creator, in whom we can trust even when everything
seems chaotic. This is followed by the title song, a dreamy account of a fireside
rendezvous of the great co-creators, writers who believed in their own Author...the great
imaginations like Dorothy Sayers, Graham Greene, C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, and more. It's
a tribute to Taylor's own heroes, set in work that, in its own quirky and Beatles-esque
way, reflects the same convictions, craftsmanship, and, yes, conviction.
Taylor's softer, more reflective songs seem stronger than the
violent rock riffs, and the few that are here are especially memorable. "Flash
in Your Eyes" is a heavy-hearted tribute to the musician Gene Eugene who has worked
With Taylor in the past. "Maybe All I Need" starts small, and builds into
an athem celebrating God's grace, another recurring theme through all of Taylor's work.
Selections like these make it easier to take the soapbox rants against the church's
hypocrisy ("Faithful Street", "Easy for You"). Preaching is
easy, but its most effective when the preacher is honest about his own shortcomings.
Taylor's one of rock's best preachers, and here's hoping this isn't a lavish Daniel
Amos farewell package, but merely a high point in a musical journey that will continue.
Outstanding tracks: "The Author of the
Story", "Mr. Buechner's Dream", "Maybe All I Need"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
Death
Cab for Cutie
Transatlanticism
(2003)
Death Cab for Cutie's
much-lauded new release Transatlanticism is indeed well worth
hearing. It's full of straight-from-a-diary poetry about lost love, lost
opportunities for love, and the way oceans both literal and abstract can
keep us separate from each other. Lead singer Ben Gibbard's vocals
remain thin and limited, making a whole album feel like one long pop
song with tonal changes rather than a collection of different
experiences and styles. That's a problem that characterizes quite a bit
of collegiate pop these days. But the melodies are simple, sweet, and
sing-able. And the melancholic, drawn-out chord progressions that provide
the album's energetic highs recall the vast seas of sound that
characterized the more reflective albums of The Cure.
Outstanding tracks: "Transatlanticism"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
Bob Dylan
Oh Mercy
Comments: There was one timeless and great Dylan album in the 80's... "Oh
Mercy", produced by Daniel Lanois. A decade later, Lanois worked with Dylan
again and found the great Dylan album of the 90's. There's something combustible in
the combination.
With the spacious sounds that he brought to U2 on "The Joshua
Tree", Lanois gives Dylan a vast landscape of guitars and drums, but Dylan's voice is
up-close, intimate, whether he's delivering tongue-in-cheek diatribes about modern times
("Everything is Broken", "Political World") or spilling his guts about
lost love ("Most of the Time").
The ongoing dialogues with God that have continued since his
famous "born again" period become downright soul-searching here.
"Ring Them Bells" is a dirge for society's slow and steady spiral into
chaos. Later, he turns the moral microscope on his own brokenness, and sings,
"What good am I, if I'm like all the rest/if I just turn away when I see you're
dressed?" "What Was It You Wanted?" might the bitter scorn of a
jilted lover, or it might well be God himself, sarcastically demanding what more the world
would ask of him, just as he did to Job when Job wanted answers. And in
"Shooting Star", he cries out, "Saw a shooting star tonight/and I thought
of me/ was I still the same/ if i ever became what you wanted me to be."
To those who thought Bob Dylan's dealings with God were over, here is a
devastating spiritual journal of doubt and struggle.
Outstanding Tracks: "Most of the Time", "Ring Them Bells",
"Shooting Star"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: A Masterpiece
E
Eels
Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
The singer/songwriter known as "E"
turns in two huge scoops of songs tracing a man's journey from a
troubled childhood to increasingly painful adulthood... from loss to
despair... and suddenly, surprisingly, to new love and hope. While the
love songs near the conclusion certainly brighten the mood, the
collection as a whole is stronger when it's focusing on giving voice to
despair than it is to convincing us about the substantiality of the
singer's newfound hope. Along the way, there are some wonderfully catchy
pop concoctions ("Trouble with Dreams" is one of the best Eels songs
ever) and some surprising stylistic shifts ("Railroad Man" is a solid
country/western number.)
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
F
Feist
Let It Die
I had time for two listens of Let It Die, the new album
from Feist this weekend. With a voice somewhere between Madeleine
Peyroux and Karin Bergquist, and production that meanders between
minimalist jazz and Portishead production fireworks, this is a
delightful piece of work.
Feist's choice of cover material is eclectic, including Ron Sexsmith's
"Secret Heart." It seems they've been chosen because they're strong
songs that give Feist's versatile, sexy vocals a lot of room to explore,
and not for any kind of poetic coherence.
Still, if you just want some first-rate, late night listening, Let It
Die joins Lizz Wright's recent release as one of this year's best
cool-down records, something to put on as accompaniment for wine an
cheese, for a date, for hanging out with the cats and surfing the Web...
whatever you find yourself doing when you're world-weary and escaping
from the noise of traffic and stress.
But,
like a lot of recent pop endeavors, it sure makes me miss Portishead.
Bill Frisell
Gone, Just Like a Train
Bill Frisell is special because of his ability to weave a wide variety of styles –
jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, all-out rock and roll — into smooth, melodious,
improvisational music. Each album is a venture through a different kind of landscape,
soundtracks to surprising new stories. Gone, Just like a Train features the
best-known drummer in rock, Jim Keltner, and Viktor Krauss on bass. This tight, brilliant
combination creates an album as colorful as its cartoony packaging, a whimsical ride
through vigorous jazz that occasionally swerves into rock revellry. There’s an
optimism to the sound that has the strange effect of brightening and enlivening any
context. It’s an album that would be as welcome in a morning coffee shop as it would
be at an ale house in the evening…and it’s complex and rewarding enough to
deserve one’s full attention in the solitude of an audiophile’s listening
room. This music enhances the time spent listening, a celebration of sound.
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
Bill Frisell
Ghost Town
Ghost Town provides a refreshing counterpoint to the freestyling of the previous two
albums, Gone Just Like a Train and Good Dog Happy Man. This time, Frisell
experiments by playing all of the instruments himself, a first for him. The result is
fitting to the title, a series of spooky, haunted numbers that have a Twin Peaks
quality, resonant, atmospheric, slightly sour, and dark. Maybe playing by himself opened
new doors, new areas for him to explore. Maybe the solitude gave him freedom to express
some of the questions or mysteries harder to bring out in the open when others are
contributing their own ideas. Some songs are familiar—"I’m So Lonesome, I
Could Cry" is an appropriate inclusion, although you’ve never heard a version
quite like this. It’s exciting to hear a one-man band exploring so many instruments
(even a banjo) with such confidence. He doesn’t show off; he seems fully focussed on
exploring different textures, and just grabs whatever tool he needs to dig deepest into
the material. At least of the Frisell recordings I’ve heard before, there’s
never been anything as surreal or gloomy as this, but he’s such a generous and
collaborative artist that I’m fairly confident in saying there’s never been
anything quite so personal and revealing as this in his repertoire.
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
G
Peter Gabriel
1, 2, 3 (1995)
Comments: Early Peter Gabriel efforts reveal a man
whose intense visions required a solo career rather than a band effort. He needed the
final word and the freedom to forge new sounds. The results are very mixed and muddy.
The first two albums are full of dark sonic explorations,
full of big and interesting sounds. But rarely do things congeal into something memorable
and singable. "Solsbury Hill" is a standout track that remains one of Gabriel's
most glorious achievements, a messianic tale of inspiration and elevation. It's thrilling.
"Here Comes the Flood" strives to be a sort of apocalyptic hymn. Melodically it
works, but the sound flaunts the song as self-important. It found a much more effective
vehicle in a later version, with Gabriel sitting alone at the piano. There, it becomes
mournful, a quiet prayer. The rest sounds like the chrysalis of a monster, some new sound
ready to be born.
And on his third self-titled album, the beast was born.
That third album, sometimes called "Melt" because of
the cover picture of Gabriel's head disintegrating, is as dark and terrifying a rock
record as you'll ever hear. Gabriel has said he feels it is a sort of personal mission to
travel into the darkest places and find light there. An admirable quest. These are dark
places indeed. "Intruder" sounds like a serrated saw blade scraping at a metal
fence, trying to gain entry into private sacred things. It sets the tone for an album
about psychotic killers, thieves, and politicians. There's the boundless violence of
"No Self Control", the fear and panic of an amnesiac in "I Don't
Remember", and the reckless military maneuvers of "Games Without
Frontiers". By illustrating this freakish gallery of monsters, he shows us the
problem. And then, in a startling reversal, he puts us in the place of the victims, the
suffering, and celebrates the virtues of one man who lives selflessly and sacrificially
for the sake of truth and justice... Steven Biko. Just as U2 makes a triumphal march out
of Martin Luther King's story in "Pride", Gabriel's "Biko" is one of
those songs destined to close arena-rock shows in tearful tribute to a true hero. Previous
albums felt like Gabriel was all business. This time, it sounds like, as Bono likes to
say, "God walked through the room." Gabriel's work never recovered, and his
following efforts have all been touched by something akin to Divine Intervention.
Essential tracks from #3: "Games Without Frontiers", "Biko",
"I Don't Remember"
Jeffrey's Sum-Ups:
album 1 - Worth Hearing
album 2- Worth Hearing
album 3 - Impressive
Peter Gabriel
Security
(1982)
Comments: In the U.S., this album is called
"Security"; everywhere else it's just another album called "Peter
Gabriel".
Once again, we have that claustrophobia-inducing sound
dense with thunderous rhythms, vast echoing atmospherics, and urgent, sinister guitars
with Peter Gabriel sounding almost weary of the darkness he explores. "Shock the
Monkey" is one of the most manic, frantic singles he's ever offered, looking at the
human drive for knowledge and its tendency to forego compassion or care. "Family
Snapshot" is from the troubled perspective of a boy loading the pistol for a
political assassination. "I Have the Touch" might be the song of the boy's
target, a glad-handing politician out to press the flesh and win the votes. It's the first
of several Gabriel songs that poke fun at the powerful and self-centered. "San
Jacinto" gives this album a soaring anthem of pathos and resilience as the singer
"holds the line" for a people and a country being slowly overrun. Later, Gabriel
would perform this song live in front of the projected silhouettes of dancing Native
Americans... a haunting manifestation of the ghosts that lurk in the song.
Outstanding tracks: "Family Snapshot", "Shock the Monkey",
"I Have the Touch"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
Peter Gabriel
Birdy (1985)
Comments: Peter Gabriel's venture into soundtracks
revealed him to be an inventive instrumental composer who focuses on tones, rhythms, and
minimalist soundscapes rather than melodies. "Birdy" is a troubling film, and
the music here borrows liberally from Gabriel's "Security" for haunting, spare
melodies and dark, relentless rhythms. His love of rhythms that build into thunderous
storms is obvious here, something he would continually revise throughout his later works.
Not a great album if you're looking for pop highlights. But if you're an artist and need
something to set the tone while you work, this might lead you to surprising discoveries.
Or, if you want to travel somewhere mysterious and strange without having to leave the
house, this is just the thing.
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
Peter Gabriel
So (1986)
Comments: "So" stands next to U2's "The Joshua Tree" as one
of the most artful, intelligent, groundbreaking, and spiritually exploratory albums in all
of rock.
There's never been a grander, more enthralling opening track than
"Red Rain", with its apoca-cryptic descriptions of a crimsong torrent that could
be bombs, acid rain, or brimstone. The singer casts off pretense in favor of intimacy and
honesty, singing "I come to you, defenses down/ with the trust of a child". That
sets the tone.
Thus, the sexually-charged celebration of double-entendre
that follows is quite a shock. He's opened with two extremes: the spiritual intimacy of
love, and then the carnal carnival of lovemaking.
While there is not so much an overarching theme to the
album, each song does take you to a very different, interior place. "Don't Give
Up", a soulful duet between Gabriel and Kate Bush, explores the despair of a man
whose world is disintegrating, and the encouraging whispers of hope. Gabriel testifies
that he has received many letters of thanks for the song, which has even prevented
suicides. It's that strong.
I could go on and on. "That Voice Again"
explores the singer's desire to overcome his fears and take a step of faith into a risky
relationship. "Mercy Street" explores the troubled heart of poet Anne Sexton,
going beyond "Don't Give Up" to search for grace available even to those who
have given in to despair.
For all of these fears, failures, and burdens,
"So" finds glorious resolution in a song that to this day remains one of the
great love songs ever written. "In Your Eyes" may not be the most hip-shaking
love song ever, but it is certainly a contender for purest, whole-hearted expression of
love ever to conquer the charts, right alongside "Unchained Melody" and "I
Can't Help Falling in Love With You". But Gabriel isn't satisfied with just a love
letter... he spikes the punch with spiritual allegory. He's searched "the doorways of
a thousand churches", is frustrated by "all his fruitless searches".
"I see the light and the heat / oh I want to be that complete / I want to touch the
light, the heat I see... in your eyes." Or is that "in Your eyes"? For me,
this song has become one of those Life Songs, almost a daily prayer. And the fact that the
finale is backed by primal rhythms suggests it is timeless, borderless, and boundless.
Outstanding tracks: "In Your Eyes", "Red Rain",
"Big Time", "Mercy Street"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Masterpiece
Peter Gabriel
Passion (1989)
Comments: Martin Scorcese's film The Last
Temptation Of Christ gave Gabriel the perfect subject for his return to soundtrack music.
As a result, we have something that is, arguably, better on its own than as a
soundtrack... in fact, it might be better a more worthwhile experience than the film
altogether.
Passion is more than an hour of ambitious, complex fusions of
"world music" (some from Egypt, Senegal, and Turkey) and Gabriel's own ominous
synthesizers and vocals. It is music that grows on you with each listen, rhthms that
become compelling, running with an urgency that suggests all of our various cultures are
drumming about the same thing, and that the collective energy might just tear open the
skies to let something divine come through.
Other sequences move in such subdued, peaceful tones that the
listener finds the relief needed after these frantic drum jams. Out of context, these
might seem merely "mood music", but in the context of a meditation on the
sufferings of Christ, they seem to make a lot of sense. In
fact, what makes this work actually worthy of its subject is Gabriel's refusal to let the
grander themes break free of the earthy, dusty flavor of desert music. Christ, as
portrayed in the film, aspires to God's divinity and communes with him in prayer, but also
digs up handfuls of dust and asserts, "This is beautiful too. I honestly don't know
which is more beautiful."
Outstanding tracks: The Feeling Begins, Zaar, Of These Hope, A Different Drum,
Bread and Wine
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Masterpiece
Peter Gabriel
Shaking the Tree : Sixteen Golden Greats
(1985)
Comments: For anyone interested in exploring Peter Gabriel's work, you
could not ask for a better primer. "Shaking the Tree" not only compiles a truly
great collection of singles. It brings them together into something resembling a cohesive,
visionary work, exploring dark places, celebrating the fruit of passion and love, calling
for revolution in a troubled world. There are a couple of wonderful additions as well: a
joyful affirmation of women being delivered from oppression around the world
("Shaking the Tree") and an intimate, haunting revisitation of "Here Comes
the Flood", with Gabriel at the piano. That song closes the parade of greats to great
effect.
Perhaps the most noticeable omission from the album is "In
Your Eyes", the lovers' hymn from "So" that is clearly Gabriel's most
beloved song. Perhaps that's why he left it off. Most people know it by heart already, and
there are so many emotional peaks on this album already that including the song may well
cause one's heart to burst.
Outstanding tracks: Just about all of them, but this is the only place to
find the definitive version of "Here Comes the Flood"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Masterpiece
Peter Gabriel
Us (1992)
Comments: "Us" is disappointing in that
it sounds, well, almost like a spoof of a Peter Gabriel album. It has the big anthemic
opener, filled with world-music influences and the trademark thunderous drums...
"Come Talk to Me." It has a big, brawny, brassy single about sex
("Steam", which could be called "Son of Sledgehammer"). It has
intimate confessionals. It has the eastern-flavored instrumental. And it has the dark,
edgy, techno-rock tangent ("Digging in the Dirt").
What sets it apart, though, are Gabriel's surprisingly personal
and direct lyrics. While the music sounds like it should accompany words about politics,
world oppression, and freedom, Gabriel is singing about his own personal relationships
breaking down and leaving him wasted, wretched, and grappling for a hold. (Gabriel went
through a painful divorce the previous year.) "Digging in the Dirt" becomes an
affirmation of therapy's usefulness in facing down personal demons. "Washing of the
Water" is a mournful cry for spiritual cleansing. There is a story told here, one
that should speak to most anyone who has had their heart broken. And, backed with such
gorgeous power, the story is elevated to the lasting story of man and woman, something
Gabriel clearly acknowledges in "Blood of Eden", a beautiful (if rather
ponderous) duet with Sinead O'Connor. What almost spoils the trip is a psycho-sexual fairy
tale "Kiss That Frog", as unabashed an innuendo as anyone would ever want to
hear.
Outstanding tracks: "Digging in the Dirt", "Washing of the
Water", "Secret World"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
Peter Gabriel
Ovo (2000)
Comments: OVO was written as a concept album to
be presented theatrically in Britain's millenium celebrations. It might have been an
interested multimedia presentation, but as an album it comes across as poorly-conceived,
bland, preachy "world music." There's no one better at merging different
cultural sounds than Gabriel, but this sounds like a project planned by a committee. The
opening song introduces the framework of a new-myth story cycle in a hip-hop, rap style
backed by Gabriel's unmistakeably ominous synthesizer distortions. This long, wordy
exposition just isn't interesting. The lyrics are just loud and hammering, not artful, and
the following blend of styles sounds more like politically-correct,
make-every-nation-happy collages of styles, jumping from Irish fiddle tunes to Middle
Eastern spiritualism to African tribal rhythms to big brass band fanfares. It's like
someone holding a radio up to a microphone and changing stations in the name of world
peace. Only a couple of tracks, "Father and Son" and "The Tower that Ate
People", sound like the kind of thing Gabriel might feature on his own albums, but
even there they'd probably be B-sides.
Outstanding tracks: "The Tower that Ate People"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Flawed, but of some merit.
Johnny Greenwood
Bodysong
Radiohead’s guitarist delivers a soundtrack album that has been flying
under the radar for almost a whole year, but
I’ve finally got my hands on a copy and am not disappointed. It sounds
like a collection of Radiohead instrumentals. While none of them achieve
the home-run status of great Radiohead songs, there’s plenty of evidence
of Greenwood’s musical and technological genius to make this
compellingly listenable. For folks who like interesting textures and
sounds to play as a background while working on creative writing or
visual art, add this to your must-hear list.
Jeffrey’s sum-up: Worth hearing.
H
Ben
Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama
There Will Be a Light
Need to
have your spirits lifted? Here’s the trick.
This
recording of Ben Harper crooning and soloing in the company of the
brilliant Blind Boys is casual but frequently inspired. You know how
Bono talks about those moments in the studio when “God walked through
the room”? This is one of those sessions when God walked in and stuck
around. Harper’s humble enough to give the Boys plenty of room to work
their magic, and his restrained use of simmering lap steel guitar give
it a rock and roll edge, especially during the smokin’ anthem “Wicked
Man." There’s not much to the record in the way of production or
special effects—the guys pretty much walk in, sit down, and sing their
hearts out. You’ll be moved, delighted, and satisfied after spending
some time with them. This one’s unlikely to leave my “heavy rotation”
list anytime in the near future.
Jeffrey’s Sum-Up: Excellent
Emmylou Harris
Wrecking Ball
(1995)
Comments: Daniel Lanois brings his sonic miracle-working to one of the world's most
heartbreakingly beautiful voices, and the songs they choose to cover make this one of the
most profoundly soul-searching works of the decade. Harris's rendition of Julie
Miller's "All My Tears" will very likely provoke many such tears from any
attentive audience. And her version of Bob Dylan's "Every Grain of Sand"
might be the finest performance of the song ever recorded.
Outstanding tracks: Every track is outstanding. Try "All My Tears",
"Deeper Well", and "Orphan Girl".
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: A Masterpiece
Emmylou Harris
Stumble into Grace (2003)
Comments: Emmylou Harris's new
release Stumble into Grace is a breathtakingly gorgeous piece of work, and
the finest record Malcolm Burn has ever produced. Emmylou really pushes
herself as a vocalist here, finding new textures, lighter touches, and a
newfound enthusiasm for her ethereal falsetto. Her backing musicians
couldn't be a more talented bunch: Buddy Miller, Daniel Lanois, Malcolm
Burn, Darryl Johnson, Brady Blade, with Julie Miller, Jane Siberry, Colin
Linden, Kate McGarrigle... After her first album of
original songwriting Red Dirt Girl, this is an impressive
improvement.
Outstanding tracks: "Here I Am," "Strong Hand,"
"Lost Unto This World"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Almost a Masterpiece.
Recommended in-depth review:
Allmusic.com
PJ Harvey
Is This Desire? (1998)
Comments: Arguably, this is PJ's strongest
record. Until now, she's been shocking, daring, and fearless in her willingness to
show us her naked thoughts, fears, and scars. Her unglamourous image has scared
many audiences away, but to those who crave honesty, Harvey's songs are a siren
song. On this release, there is ess attitude and shouting, more to think
about. I think that's an improvement, a sign of maturity and confidence in her
talents. PJ here tells stories of other characters that illustrate her ideas, rather
than reading tantrums from her journal. The music is more flexible and subtle, with
brushes of electronic effects reminiscent of U2's 90s albums. (Indeed, this album
was produced by Flood, who also produced U2's "Zooropa.")
The women illustrated here are wounded, desperate, running
toward or away from love. Sex seems to be the forbidden fruit, sweet and blissful,
but ultimately corrupting and destructive. The self-centeredness of some characters
give clues to the reason such affairs become so painful, but there are others too who are
merely abused, lonely, searching. "Angeline" follows a prostitute who has
heard of redemptive love, but finds herself doomed to these carnal, cruel exchanges.
In "The Garden", a man falls down in longing before the offer of love,
then finds that he has been deceived, and is left broken, looking jealously at a
songbird's wings, dreaming of grace. Hope shines through the deep sounds of
"The River", an abstract but beautiful symbol of love's ability to carry away
sins and burdens, hinting at something higher, something true. The album closes with
teh question every lover faces in those moments before they take that risk and make
themselves vulnerable: "Is this desire enough to lift us higher?"
She doesn't offer an answer, but clearly she's aware of the complications and dangers of
the question.
Outstanding tracks: "The River", ""A Perfect Day Elise"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Excellent
Joe Henry
Tiny Voices (2003)
Comments: On the map of contemporary music, this album is located at the
crossroads between Tom Waits'
Bone Machine, Bob Dylan's Time Out of Mind, and Leonard
Cohen's Ten New Songs. Henry tells abstract stories of life in a
fractured world, where we live with suspicions of the sublime, but often
settle for far less. The jazzy rock combo he has assembled for this
record is brilliantly improvisational, making each song like a small
miracle of spontaneity. "Loves You Madly" is as a punch-drunk pop number
that's as memorably sing-able as anything you're likely to hear this
year. A giant leap forward from his last release, the memorable Scar,
Tiny Voices is a must-listen for any adventurous musical
explorer.
Outstanding tracks: "Animal
Skin," "Tiny Voices," "Loves You Madly," "Your Side of My World"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up:
A Masterpiece
Joe Henry
Scar (2001)
Comments: Joe Henry started in a band called the Jayhawks and then went solo,
carving out one of the more interesting and distinct solo personas working in American
music today. He has the audacity and the courage of Tom Waits, a gift for lyrics that
twist, riddle, and subtlely suggest, and a razor-edged voice. On Scar, he
strikes the pose of a bar blues piano player and winds his way through punchdrunk songs
about sad and self-aware obsessions. "Stop", the most radio-ready of these
exploratory endeavors, is a strong and deceptively simple blend of pop and jazz, while
"Struck" and "Edgar Bergen" are beautiful, tear-stained poetry.
"Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation", the album's ambitious opener, is
strange and heartbreaking, a confession of wasted opportunities and yet a grateful and
affectionate tribute to a beautiful world. It's not the most accessible work in the world,
but the best things in life, and music, come with a little work.
Outstanding tracks: "Richard
Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation", "Edgar Bergen"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up:
Impressive
The Innocence Mission
Umbrella (1991)
Comments: They're an oasis in a sea of despair, a quiet place for meditation, prayer,
and delight. The Inncoence Mission are one of those bands that I hope never get
"discovered". They're best savored privately, their songs the sort that
should be played in a country chapel, quietly, for restoration of the spirit. This
is my favorite, but all of their albums are worthwhile.
Outstanding tracks: "Every Hour Here", "Umbrella",
"Revolving Man"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Excellent
The Innocence Mission
Glow (1995)
Comments: While it doesn't have as many songs that stick in your head as its
predecessor "Umbrella", "Glow" sounds like "Umbrella Part
Two". The same "glowing" sound, the same knack for harmony and
hauntingly beautiful melodies that remind you of Simon and Garfunkel. This album
focusses on memories of growing up, and on relationships that remain even though family
have moved off in different directions. The Innocence Mission do indeed have a sunny
sound, but it's joy in the midst of hard times, not merelysuperficial happiness, at the
heart of these stories.
Outstanding tracks: "Bright as Yellow", "That Was Another
Country", "Everything's Different Now"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Excellent
The Innocence Mission
Birds of My Neighborhood
(1999)
Comments: It was rather startling, to hear this "dark" album from the
Innocence Mission for the first time. Written during a time of struggle and
desperate prayers, this is a collection of initmate moments. A cover of John
Denver's "Follow Me" is offered in tribute to the recently deceased legend, and
it's hard to imagine a more heartbreaking rendition of the song. "I Have Not
Seen This Day Before" is a fragile, beautiful expression of faith in spite of
hardship, and "The Lakes of Canada" is a strong picture of the singer venturing
out against all odds to row across the famous lakes of ice. Somehow, even when
they're suffering and struggling with doubt, the Innocence Mission are still a source of
comfort and encouragement.
Outstanding tracks: "July", "The Lakes of Canada",
"Follow Me"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: A Masterpiece
J
K
L
Daniel Lanois
Rockets
Imagine this: Daniel Lanois shows up and
offers to give you an impromptu an impromptu concert in your living
room. He plays a bunch of his best songs, most of them in surprising
new, low-key arrangements, and then invites in Willie Nelson and Emmylou
Harris to back him up on a number.
That’s
what Rockets sounds like.
It’s a
bunch of quieter, gentler Lanois numbers gathered from his archives.
Highlights include an alternate, stripped-down takes of “The Power of
One” and “The Maker” and instrumentals like “JJ Leaves L.A.” and the
Sling Blade-style scorcher “Panorama”.
You can
order the album, read his comments and the
album credits at
daniellanois.com. It’s not as significant a release as last year’s
brilliant, poetic Shine, but as a bonus for the fans, it’s a
lovely offering.
Lone Justice
Lone Justice (1985)
Comments: This debut album introduced a country-rock band that would soon reach
legendary status. Maria McKee's searing, soulful vocals are a force to be reckoned
with on any Lone Justice recording. This album was heavier on the country, lighter
on the rock, featuring a reckless, loud cover of Tom Petty's "Ways to Be
Wicked", but their own songs made it clear they weren't going to be remembered as a
cover band. Producer Jimmy Iovine, who has worked with U2, had his hands at the
controls for this recording, which quickly gained Lone Justice the reputation that they
would become "the next U2." Unfortunately, after only one more album, they
would break up and become a part of music history.
Outstanding tracks: "Sweet Sweet Baby (I'm Falling)", "Wait 'Til
We Get Home", "You Are the Light"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
Lone Justice
Shelter (1986)
Comments: "Shelter" was an ambitious leap for Lone Justice, transforming
them into a rock band capable of matching U2 for intensity, passion, and spiritual
convictions. Maria McKee's voice reaches a fever pitch here; just check out
"Inspiration", in which her voice takes on an almost superhuman force. Her
lyrics were equally impressive, a vigorous call to arms for people of faith.
"Shelter" became the band's banner song, and their biggest radio hit. The
pictures of life in the deep American South weave naturally through the prayers and torch
songs, giving us a powerful sense of the band's origins and, at the same time, the feeling
that we've just come from a revival.
Outstanding tracks: "Shelter", "The Gift",
"Inspiration"
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: A Masterpiece
M
Aimee Mann
The Forgotten Arm
The new concept album from Aimee Mann was
produced by Joe Henry, which is reason enough to check it out. It
doesn't have the strong, stand-alone tracks Mann has delivered so many
times in the past. And the music serves primarily to support Mann's
lyrics rather than to impress us on its own. But as a song cycle, these
lyrics will reward frequent and attentive
listens.
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Impressive
Maria McKee
Life is Sweet (1996)
Comments: With this intense, intimate, honest tour de force, Maria McKee, armed with
her own guitars, storms back from a slump with an album that equals in craftsmanship,
poetry, and power anything she did with Lone Justice. This is as raw and soul-searching as
anything I heard this decade, and I doubt you’ll find a more gifted vocalist with the
songwriting talents and courage to match. Her faith sounds out strong amidst sexual and
spiritual crises, and the dissonant guitars carry her anxiety and her prayers from punk
rock to an almost operatic melodrama.
Outstanding tracks: "Absolutely Barking
Stars", "I'm Awake", "Human", "Carried'
Jeffrey's Sum-Up: Excellent
Maria McKee
Peddlin' Dreams
For me, listening
to Maria McKee's Peddlin' Dreams is
like being reunited with an old, dear friend that I haven't seen... or
heard from... in years.
McKee's performances her make her a strong contender for the year's
strongest vocal performance (alongside Karin Bergqust of Over the
Rhine). Even though it's largely a collaborative effort with husband and
producer Jimmy Akin, McKee sounds more comfortable, and the songs sound
more lived-in; and, in fact, the opener is something she wrote about
twenty years ago. They'll make for a great live show.
She's tried on a lot of styles over the years, but this is the approach
that most suits her--a uniquely personal brand of Americana-rock that
allows her voice, one in a class with Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams,
and Patti Griffin, to soar. Peddlin' Dreams feels more like a
Lone Justice album than anything she's released since the unfortunate
demise of that legendary band. It's mostly an acoustic affair with
occasional and thrilling resurgences of the anarchic electric guitar
stylings McKee unleashed in the fiery art-rock of Life is Sweet.
A couple of tracks are as simple and elegant as the work on her
self-titled solo debut. There are only a few hints of the emotional
histrionics and showtune-style bombast of High Dive, and that's
a relief. (McKee was clearly venturing into territory that meant
something to her on that record, but it was so ambitious and
melodramatic that we lost touch with the subtle poetry that has given
previous records such heart and soul.) McKee has said in interviews that
this record was recorded far more spontaneously than High Dive,
and that explains a great deal--every inch of High Dive felt
deliberate, where this one feels more authentic and exquisitely
rough-edged.
Some songs, like the soulful, introspective opener "Season of the Fair,"
the anthemic Neil-Young-rock of "Sullen Soul," and the heartbreaking
poetry of "People in the Way" unfold effortlessly, as if the songs are
covers of classics, reminding us that McKee is still one of the best
American songwriters around.
"Turn Away" is a plaintive plea to a lover to stay, as heartfelt as Over
the Rhine's "Suitcase."
Her interpretation of Neil Young's "Barstool Blues" fits in so perfectly
that many are likely to assume she wrote it.
"My One True Love" is one of those lovelorn ballads that could be
hundreds of years old, the kind of thing that Linda Thompson could sing
with a trace of menace, but in McKee's voice, it's whiskey sour.
The most startling departure is a soulful, fleeting trifle called "(You
Don't Know) How Glad I Am" that plays the same part on this record that
"Hush Now (Stella's Tarantella" plays on Over the Rhine's Drunkard's
Prayer. In fact, I'd love to hear Karin Bergquist take this sexy
little number for a spin.
It's an album full of the jagged shards of broken hearts, the tatters of
lost innocence, the ache of nostalgia for a day before dreams were
ruined. There's not a lot of hope threading through these songs, and she
admits, "... I just don't know what I believe in now / What is love but
ties, lies and broken vows." In "Drowned and Died," she laments the
let-downs of human redeemers and lovers: "All of my days, I pray for a
savior to find / Taking you down to swim in the river / Holding my hand,
praying you won't let me go." The days when she could sing of gospel
comfort, as she did on Lone Justice's Shelter, would seem like
the songs of a completely different person in a time long past, if it
wasn't for the fact that the voice is the same bold, brilliant beacon
burning in the dark. Where she once was the lighthouse calling weary
ships home to safety, now she's a lantern on a wandering, battle-scarred
ship, singing tales of loss and sadness. A more compelling work of
longing you're not likely to hear again anytime soon.
Lyrics like those in the title track also make it clear that the
singer's still wrestling with the elusive nature of fame, the distance
she's fallen from the popular glory of Lone Justice, and the frustration
of the artist who feels betrayed by the industry. (It's hard to believe
she was ever familiar enough to rock the stage on Saturday Night Live)
But she can hold her head high knowing that she has never betrayed
herself in her recordings; she has followed where her vision led, even
when her biggest fans (and I include myself in that lot) didn't
understand where she was going. In the long run, that will have proven
the best decision as she remains a unique artist, that rare combination
of vocal talent, integrity, and songwriting vision that burns too
brightly to be tied down to a band.
Buddy Miller
Universal United House of Prayer
Buddy’s
closest thing to a rock and roll record is still laced with
southern-fried Nashville twang. Backed up by the fiery gospel soul of
Ann and Regina McCrary, with the help of his
wife Julie, Emmylou Harris, and Jim Lauderdale, he delivers an energy
and war-year passion that’ll burn down any house he plays in. It’s also
an unapologetic gospel album that will break your heart and then put it
back together again. Opening with Mark Heard’s anthem “Worry Too Much,”
soaring with the soul-shaking “Shelter Me,” climbing higher with a
superlative 9-minute delivery of Bob Dylan’s “With God On Our Side,” and
concluding with the grin inducing gospel fireworks of “Fall on the Rock”
(try not to chuckle at the audacity of the refrain), this is Buddy’s
strongest album yet.
Jeffrey’s Sum-Up: Excellent
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