Record Reviews
📝 2096 reviews| Artist | Title | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons | Loud And Clear | |
| Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons | So Young | |
| Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons | Screaming Targets | |
| Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons | Screaming Targets [Expanded Edition] | <p>When Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons released Screaming Targets in late 1979 it pushed them into the premier league. They'd already established themselves as one of the greatest pub-rocking acts of the day, having slogged around the touring circuit for over three years. Unfortunately, their first two albums hadn't sold very well but they finally made a chart impact when the 1978 single 'So Young' hit the Top 30. The perfect break-through act (to use some kind of industry parlance) was just about to hit the crest of the music wave.<p>And Screaming Targets did not disappoint – it was exceedingly accomplished, with a tough but accessible production sound courtesy of English producer Pete Solley and full of absolutely first-rate songs. The band's funky and energetic mix of R&B and soul had already done the job but it was when singer Joe Camilleri infused the music with a large dose of reggae rhythms that the hit singles arrived: 'Hit And Run' and 'Shape I'm In'. The album also caught the New Wave mood of the times with such outstanding album tracks as 'Don't Wanna Come Down', 'Close To The Bone', 'Thin Line' and Paul Kelly's 'Only The Lonely Hearted'. Elvis Costello would have killed to have written some of those riffs; in fact he must have been listening closely because he went on to record a version of 'So Young'.<p>The initial pressing of the album came with a bonus, limited edition live album of material recorded in Melbourne during April 1979. This was the band playing at the top of its game, featuring swampy and rockin' covers of 'Security', 'Not A Woman, Not A Child' and 'Mona', matched by 'So Young' and the 10-minute progressive rock epic 'The Cthulhu'. All are present and correct on Disc One of this collection.<p>I'd often been puzzled in the past when occasionally Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons would be compared to the Rolling Stones. After listening to Disc One non-stop for a couple of days… I get it now! Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons were out-Stonesing the Stones by a mile at the time. Man, these guys could rock – and of course the rhythm section of bassist John Power and drummer Gary Young was one of the tightest in the land. Add the high-tensile, interlocking guitar riffs of Jeff Burstin and Tony Faehse and the wailing sax lines of Camilleri and brother-in-crime Wilbur Wilde and you have an iconic band up there with the best throughout the history of Aussie rock.<p>Disc Two (entitled The Rhythm & Blues) keeps up the pace but not surprisingly it ranges all over the place, mixing previously unreleased demos (from 1976 up to the 2003 Ricochet album) with a whole raft of live cuts. It is staggering to consider that such incredible tracks as 'The Rhythm & Blues' (the band sounding like Rose Tattoo!), 'Rock It', 'Fix It Up', 'Hard Luck Story' and 'Ain't Got No Money' have never seen the light of day before.<p>Another rarity here is 'Glad I'm Living Here', taken from the original movie soundtrack to Oz: A Rock 'n' Roll Road Movie (1976). Which begs the question: where is the only other Mushroom rarity, the cover of Chuck Berry's 'Run, Rudolph, Run' (and its B-side for that matter, 'Guess Who') produced by Ross Wilson, issued as a single in 1975 and credited to Jo Jo Zep and His Little Helpers? David Laing described 'Run, Rudolph, Run' as “only a novelty song” but I see it as a missed opportunity on an otherwise fabulous release.<p><strong>—Ian McFarlane</strong></p> |
| Billy Joel | Greatest Hits Volumes I & II | |
| Billy Joel | Storm Front | |
| Billy Joel | Interview With Billy Joel | |
| Billy Joel | Live At Yankee Stadium | |
| Dr John | Duke Elegant | <p><I>Duke Elegant</I> certainly wasn't the only tribute to <a href="javascript:z('Bqbaxlffe5cqe')">Duke Ellington</a> put out in honor of the 100th anniversary of the legendary bandleader, nor was it even the first time Dr. John had tackled his material. But it would be hard to find a better homage than this one. Dr. John proves a surprisingly good match for Ellington's material, placing a tremendously funky foundation under the composer's tunes. The sound is dominated by the good doctor's incomparable New Orleans piano and organ, naturally, and the best tracks are those whose melodies are carried solely by his keyboard work, such as instrumentals "Caravan" and "Things Ain't What They Used to Be." The vocal cuts are fine — his takes on the Ellington ballad "Solitude" and especially the dreamy, elegant "Mood Indigo" show off Dr. John's uniquely expressive voice as well as any of his early-era recordings — though he occasionally tends to approach self-caricature, as on "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)." Any weakness, however, is more than made up for by the closing rearrangement of "Flaming Sword," one of three Ellington rarities here. Dr. John transforms the instrumental into a luminous, gorgeously melodic display of Professor Longhair-style piano over an astonishingly sexy New Orleans funk rhythm. Ultimately, <I>Duke Elegant</I> holds up both as an innovative twist on the Ellington songbook and as a solid Dr. John album in its own right.</p><p> — <B> Kenneth Bays</B> — AllMusic</p><p> </p><p>Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack playing songs from the canon of <A href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/17834/002-9958316-7028034">Duke Ellington</A> is as natural as the break of day. But the gris-gris king interprets Ellington in a way unlike anyone else. "Mood Indigo," arranged for Dr. John's six-man New Orleans group, takes on a fresh, heartfelt immediacy with the good doctor's vocals and piano locked into a relaxed groove. He sings another slice of essential Ellingtonia, "Do Nothing 'til You Hear from Me," with a lighthearted nonchalance that epitomizes the worthiest New Orleans performers. Dr. John packages snippets of his keyboard playing as panaceas for the soul on a funked-up interpretation of "Caravan," even spinning off on a "Wade in the Water" tangent before wrapping up the song. But with so many, many Ellington nuggets to dust off for reinterpretation, one wonders why Dr. John elected to go with popularnumbers that get covered again and again. To his credit, he does serve up the lesser-known "The Flaming Sword," where his piano is luminous in the Calypso fashion of Professor Longhair, and he offers delightful, fonkified updates of the Ellington obscurities "On the Wrong Side of the Railroad Tracks" and "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'."</p><p> —<I>Frank-John Hadley</I> — AllMusic</p> |
| Dr John | Sippiana Hericane | <p>Dr. John and the Lower 911 lay out this short (25:25), hastily recorded benefit for the New Orleans Musicians Clinic, the Jazz Foundation of America and the Voice of the Wetlands. Musically, it's Mac in his laid-back mode, but the band crackles a fair bit throughout. The centerpiece of this seven-track set is the "Wade: Hurricane Suite" consisting of the old spiritual "Wade in the Water," improvised and extrapolated into four parts revisiting the levee breaks, storms, and catastrophes that have visited the Crescent City since history has been written. Mac plays his best jazz piano and organ as it has been influenced by deep blues, second line and old-school gospel and funk. The band, which includes John Fohl on guitar, bassist David Barard, and drummer Herman Everest II, sits tights with Mac's strolling and sometimes dramatic groove. The tunes are fine though the production feels sterile, too clean for the music, and that's a drawback. One would have liked to hear this band stretch out more and really click in a rawer setting on the suite because the blues are so prevalent in its construction and ripe for improvisation. But this mini album was recorded in New York and not at home, as has been his wont for a few years now. That's not to say that Sippiana Hericane is a disappointment, but it's not fully satisfactory either. The heartbreak and desperation are pervasive, but the rave-up sections don't quite climb out on the limb or out of the emotional basement either. The dissonance on "Storm Surge," is wonderful, as each player follows Mac's lead into some angular yet no less vamp-based playing. The record feels ambivalent throughout, and perhaps it should, because the grief is genuine, but the rage that is touched on here, as well as the hope for a New Orleans that will be back "twice as strong," feels reined in, and not allowed its full expression.</p>— <b>Thom Jurek</b> |
| Elton John | Elton John | |
| Elton John | Tumbleweed Connection | |
| Elton John | Madman Across The Water | |
| Elton John | Honky Chateau | |
| Elton John | Don't Shoot Me | |
| John Butler Trio | Sunrise Over Sea | |
| Blind Willie Johnson | Blind Willie Johnson | |
| Blind Willie Johnson | The Complete Blind Willie Johnson | |
| Eric Johnson | Eric Johnson | |
| Jack Johnson | On And On |
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