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« February 10, 2008 - February 16, 2008 |
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| March 9, 2008 - March 15, 2008 »
March 6, 2008
By Mark Saleski
I'm always more than a little perplexed when a conversation about instrumental music ends up stalling at the "it's very soundtracky" gambit. Soundtracky? What does that mean? I love film music, so the idea of something being "too soundtracky" just doesn't add up in my musical brain parts. I'm drawn to the instrumentals created for moving images because they allow me to imagine the scenes that inspired the music. If that route provides no interesting results, I can always create my own visuals.
Stefan Németh has been creating such music for years. His work has centered around experimental videos, short films, and artist installations. For Film, the idea was to take previously created material and re-purpose it via some structural alterations and sonic additions (synthesizer, guitar, percussion). The result is a collection of electro-acoustic music that keeps the exact mix of organic and artificial a guarded secret.
Oooh, it's so soundtracky.
From the original visual contexts of sound design for an architectural film ("Field") to the soundtrack for Németh's own film about Brazil and utopian ideals ("Via L4-Norte"), we have what to my ears sounds like the ambient noise lurking behind the big, rusted metal door of that abandoned mill building we whistle our way past at night. Electronic (read: "constructed") music often does this to me. Of course, the obvious "industrial" moniker might apply here, but it's more than that. Urban landscapes, large rusted structures, decay...they have always had an odd appeal for me. Where some folks might just see an ugly pile of metal, I see a vibrant past and a spooky, foreboding future. This is exactly why soundtrack music, though meant to support a visual, can (and does!) project its own story.
By way of example, let's consider "Transitions," which begins with two single piano notes that are soon joined by another pair, and then another...and so on. There is a ringing swell that threatens to overtake everything before more notes are dropped in by an attackless guitar. In a circuitous way, some chords are being formed. As we near the end, a fizzy synthesizer glues together all of the shimmering notes. Without researching the track's "true meaning," I hear a number of possibilities including an aural account of the human physical aging process, the trials endured by the immigrant fitting into a new society, or perhaps just plain notes echoing through the interior of an empty factory — slowly being absorbed into the structure's natural resonant frequency.
I don't mean to step directly on the artist's original intent when talking about instrumental music. It just can't be helped. So, the next time you're faced with a soundtrack, remember that there's more than one way to approach it. Don't be surprised if the answers come from inside of you.
To comment on this and more reviews go to Blogcritics.org.
Posted by cphillips at 11:19 AM
March 6, 2008
By Donald Gibson
For all her flamboyance and showbiz kitsch, Dolly Parton is, at heart, an exceptional songwriter. Having written country classics like “Coat of Many Colors” and “Jolene” as well as crossover pop hits like “Here You Come Again” and “9 To 5,” Parton stands as one of music’s most inimitable storytellers. On Backwoods Barbie – marketed as her first mainstream country release in 17 years – she contributes 9 original compositions and, in doing so, delivers a rewarding album that plays to her greatest strength as an artist.
Actually, it seems a bit of a slight to pigeonhole this album as strictly country music, as the songs vary in style to include elements of Celtic, pop, and even jazz. The saucy lament, “The Lonesomes,” for instance, sounds like something Norah Jones could sink right into with its piano-bar melancholy. As well, “Only Dreamin’,” in its striking use of a tin whistle and bodhran drum, summons a mystical, almost primeval mood. And though the music never leans drastically toward disparate genres, it doesn’t sound entirely characteristic of the Grand Ole Opry either.
What’s invariable on this album is Dolly Parton’s distinctive ability to tell a story through song. In the poignant ballad, “Cologne,” she assumes the role of the other woman in an extra-marital affair, having to quit wearing perfume so as to not leave a scent on her man when he returns to his wife. Conversely, in “Made Of Stone,” she plays a woman scorned, the one forced to confront her husband’s transparent infidelity. And on “Shinola,” she’s been wronged one too many times as she sings with venom in her voice, “I’m calling you out ‘cause I don’t need this crap/I’m gettin’ myself out of Dodge.” If the latter was inspired by real life events, someone got seriously dissed by Dolly.
Perhaps because she’s a songwriter first and foremost, Parton understands full well how to interpret a song, even ones she hasn’t written. Of the three songs that didn’t originate from her own pen, “Jesus And Gravity” towers above the rest. To call it inspirational would be a vast understatement. The remaining two covers, “Drives Me Crazy” (edited from the Fine Young Cannibals’ original) and Smokey Robinson’s “The Tracks Of My Tears,” have their intrinsic merits, yet they pale in comparison not only to “Jesus And Gravity,” but also to Parton’s original contributions to the album.
So while Dolly Parton’s often-cartoonish image may overshadow it at times, her talent as a musician, but especially as a songwriter, is considerable and evident in this effort. In the self-describing title track, she comes to a similar conclusion, singing, “I’ve always been misunderstood because of how I look/Don’t judge me by the cover ‘cause I’m a real good book.” And Backwoods Barbie is a real good album.
To comment on this and more reviews go to Blogcritics.org.
Posted by cphillips at 11:01 AM
March 6, 2008
By The Masked Movie Snobs
Written by Fantasma el Rey
Albert Collins hits the stage not once but twice on this new DVD from the Live At Montreux series. Collins dubbed “The Iceman” shows us why he’s known worldwide as such with every strum, pick, and lick that smokes off his guitar and freezes you in your tracks. Collins and his bands, let loose on eleven cuts presented here, seven songs from the 1992 performance at Montreux while the remaining four are from his 1979 appearance.
Born in Texas in 1932, Albert Collins started out by mimicking his cousin Lightin’ Hopkins, but quickly crafted a style all his own, evident by his first single release an instrumental titled “The Freeze,” which began a theme of song titles and killer instrumentals that included what would become his signature jam “Frosty.” “The Master of the Telecaster” would ride this theme until his final days with songs like “Cold Cold Feeling” and “Iceman.” Sadly Collins’ last days were not long after his 1992 appearance at Montreux. Just a year later, he would lose his long fight with cancer and join other guitar greats in the afterlife.
Collins and the Ice Breakers start off fast with his then most recent release “Iceman” and keep moving with “Honey Hush” showcasing his assertive yet playful blues vocals. Everything Collins is known for is on display in these two opening tunes. Featuring a driving beat, funky bass lines, soaring horns, and his guitar playing, he uses a capo, tunes his guitar to a minor key, and plays with his fingers only; that’s right no pick!
The funk-dripping “Put The Shoe On The Other Foot” has one of the oldest original Ice Breakers, bassist Johnny B. Gayden, chilling the room with groovy solo jam. It also finds Collins jumping into the crowd for his traditional walk in the audience, a move begun years before the cordless era when Collins would use a 150-foot cable to meet and greet his fans. Legend has it that he actually ordered a pizza one time and had the delivery boy follow him back on stage.
Collins shifts gears with ease, cruisin’ slow and low with “Lights Are On (But Nobody’s Home) and “Too Many Dirty Dishes,” providing a cooling-off period before the band starts to smoke again. “Lights Are On” shows Collins’ playful side, scatting along as he picks through the song. Not too be left out “Frosty” closes the show as always and has the band blasting full speed ahead, making this tune stick with you, infecting your brain for weeks. The spotlight is turned on the band as each member gets a chance to strut his stuff.
From 1992 we travel back to 1979 and a show that in Fantasma’s opinion is vastly superior to ’92. Hell, I was amazed that the second set was so stunning. Driven by a cast of seasoned blues vets, this version of the Ice Breakers is street mean and the sound is more solid and menacing. The rhythm section sounds like funky thunder from the gods, Casey Jones hits hard and heavy while keeping time like a jazz master. Larry and Aron Burton, second guitar and bass, sound like funk-filled hammers working together to bang out bass lines and chords that sum up jumpin’ blues perfectly.
This charging blues train doesn’t have a whistle, just one horn and that’s more than enough when that horn is sax legend A.C. Reed. His roaring, honking sax blows hot and cool, proving that he’s a true master sax man and why this kat’s solo album “I’m In The Wrong Business” was a long-time favorite of a teenaged Fantasma. Reed also provides back-up vocals that compliment Collins’ aggressive vocals very well.
Collins is in top form and more animated, moving and grooving while he sings and plays. Even his crowd walk during “Listen Here” is highlighted by his guitar showmanship, sitting in the crowd while picking and pounding out his one-handed hammer on and playing behind his head. All this before skipping back on stage to hit the next powerful jam and keeping the crowd in frenzy.
“This ain’t nothin’ but the blues,” Collins declares before the band creeps into “Snatchin’ It Back.” He is constantly laughing and playing with the band as he “loves” his guitar, and they jump and pound they’re way through the rest of the set which includes the slow “Cold Cold Feeling” and the closing show-stopper “Frosty.” Is it really any surprise that this working of “Frosty” is completely bad-assed and will have you bouncing on your feet. Adding more fuel to the ice fire is a guitar cameo by another Texas blues legend Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.
Albert Collins - Live At Montreux 1992 is a must for blues fans and the hardcore fans will be pleased to see the bonus set from 1979. The two shows together represent a master guitar slinger, who would inspire many young guns, frozen in time at his best. A CD of just the 1992 set has been released. To comment on this and more reviews go to Blogcritics.org.
Posted by cphillips at 10:56 AM
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