Shopping List: The New and the Notable
Leonard Cohen: Under Review 1934-1977 (Sexy Intellectual DVD)
More fun than reading a book about a favorite artist or act, the Under Review series (up to thirty-three and counting) gathers gaggles of critics and biographers to discuss a seminal performer and illustrate opinions with actual music/visuals. Cohen is a particularly interesting case: a published poet prior to taking up songwriting, he sprang fully formed with 1967's Songs of Leonard Cohen and continued to develop until hitting Phil Spector's legendary "Wall of Sound" with 1977's Death of a Ladies' Man.
Abbey Lincoln, Abbey Sings Abbey (Verve)
"It wasn't always easy learning to be me," admits Abbey Lincoln in "Being Me," the final track on Abbey Sings Abbey. The sandy-voiced, 76-year-old jazz iconoclast paints a refreshingly honest self-portrait on this album of originals arranged around accordion, cello, and longtime Bob Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell's pretty picking.
Gary Moore, Close As You Get (Eagle)
Manly meat-and-potatoes blues from an Irish guitarist who became a teenage star in 1970 as linchpin of the power trio Skid Row. Anointed by Fleetwood Mac co-founder Peter Green, Moore eventually recorded with the likes of Thin Lizzy and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. No real surprises on this album other than the strength, clarity, and confidence of a master of a tried-and-true musical form in its fast, slow, and midtempo variations.
Russian National Orchestra, Dead Symphony No. 6: An Orchestral Tribute to the Music of the Grateful Dead (Jammates)
Although these orchestral arrangements of Grateful Dead sound unexpectedly orthodox when compared to, say, the inspired reinventions of Joe Gallant's jazzier Blues for Allah big-band project, they still deliver a rich symphonic wallop. More melodically complex tunes such as "Saint Stephen" and (naturally) "Blues for Allah" fare better than the heartfelt Americana of "To Lay Me Down." And where's Bob Weir's "Weather Report Suite"? Available digitally via eMusic, iTunes, and elsewhere.
Richard Thompson, Sweet Warrior (Shout Factory)
Still one of the very finest folk-rockers around, Fairport Convention co-founder Richard Thompson plays taut, stabbing Celtic-tinged guitar on Sweet Warriorand sings downbeat songs with more plot than most movies. "Nobody loves me here," frets a freaked-out American soldier in "Dad's Gonna Kill Me," while divorce transforms "Mr. Stupid" into a "Neanderthal [of] an ex."
Comments
Joy Munsey says:
Bob Dylan's longtime guitarist who played on Abbey Lincoln's album is Larry Campbell.
06/09/07 04:02 PM
Richard Gehr says:
You're correct, of course. My fingers were thinking of the great roots reggae singer for some reason.
06/14/07 08:22 AM