Record Reviews
📝 2096 reviews| Artist | Title | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Messina | Messina | |
| Pat Metheny | We Live Here | Need to edit this record |
| Pat Metheny | New Chatauqua | |
| Pat Metheny | New Chatauqua | |
| Pat Metheny | Live In Marseilles, France - 1991 | |
| Pat Metheny | Beyond The Missouri Sky | |
| Pat Metheny | Trio 99-00 | |
| Pat Metheny | Speaking Of Now | |
| Pat Metheny | The Way Up | <p>The Way Up is the Pat Metheny Group's debut offering for Nonesuch Records. Comprised of a single, sprawling, 68-minute composition by Metheny and Lyle Mays -- divided into four sections on CD -- it is an unprecedented new direction for the band. The lineup is the same as on the live Speak of Now from 2003 -- Metheny and Mays on keyboards, bassist Steve Rodby, drummer Antonio Sanchéz, and trumpeter/vocalist Cuong Vu. New to the roster is Swiss/American harmonicat Gregoire Maret. While the sound here is instantly recognizable as PMG, it is dazzling and labyrinthine in shape, sound, and texture. Painstakingly composed, The Way Up also offers large open sections for solo improvisation and group interplay. The work's theme is stated in part one, unfolding gradually as skeletal layered guitars, samples, and other gentle electronics ease the frame into view, Sanchéz's drumming creating an insistent pulse. Mays' piano and Metheny's guitar engage in contrapuntal arpeggios and Vu enters haltingly with the actual line before the ensemble engages it as a whole. Brief melodic interludes usher in the longish second section seamlessly, where lyric fragments become full-blown statements, as the band's trademark restrained dynamic slips in unobtrusively before erupting into sheer euphoria with layered, crunchy, and fat six-strings, lilting harmonicas, and trumpets in tandem, all buoyed by Mays and Rodby, who underscore Sanchéz's skittering cymbal dance.</p><p>As it progresses, the band takes more chances, walking out onto a ledge and simply jumping off -- while never losing the deep, lush lyricism inherent in the composition's body. The thematic body and the hook at its core are infectious. These, too, open inwardly to an entirely new set of musical ideas in the middle of the section that changes no less than three times in its 26-minute duration. Mays' piano, an acoustic guitar, and Rodby's fretless bass tiptoe ghostlike into part three before Vu once more shimmers and spatters colorful notes across the top in a hush before allowing Maret to bring the entire line into being. Spare, careful, and emotionally moving, it builds until the entire band gels and cracks it into a breezy elegant walk through airy harmonics and slippery rhythms before notions of counterpoint, dense syncopated rhythmic figures (à la Steve Reich), and tight, tense dynamics segue into the final section. Here is where all previous elements come together into a swinging whole. Fueled by Mays' ostinato in the intro, Metheny's soloing winds around the outside, punctuating and stretching it as electronics paint the backdrop. The band locks into the groove before Maret and Vu add banners of expressionistic color. The Way Up feels more like a jazz concerto than anything else. If anything, it may actually be the record Metheny and Mays have been trying to make for over two decades. It is the place between the cracks, where defined genres disappear into a poetic whole and what emerges is something utterly new, guided and inspired by the limitless creativity of the jazz tradition.</p>— <b>Thom Jurek</b> |
| Bette Midler | Divine Madness | |
| Bette Midler | Beaches | |
| Bette Midler | Some Peoples Lives | |
| Midnight Oil | Oils On The Water | <p>At last -- Midnight Oil captured live at the peak of their prowess! Recorded on the Red Sails in the Sunset tour, Best of Both Worlds contains the best of Midnight Oil's material -- the songs from Red Sails and 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 -- right before Diesel and Dust and a certain song about burning beds turned them into international one-hit wonders. No, this collection is from Pete Garrett's political heyday -- when he wouldn't think twice about stopping a show in mid-song if his audience was misbehaving in his mind. A time when he wouldn't think twice about using Midnight Oil's arena-ready rock to encapsulate his political polemic. This was the tightest band on the planet for a time -- and this was that time. "US Forces," "When the Generals Talk," "Tin Legs and Tin Mines," "Power & the Passion," "Short Memory," "Only the Strong" -- and, of course, the showstopping, "Jimmy Sharman's Boxers." The list of highlights goes on and on. Anyone who was fortunate enough to see an early Oil show knows how dynamic and furious this record is just from having been there. For any other fans of the band, forget about the burning bed song not being on here: this is a better record for it. Best of Both Worlds is the sound of a legendary live band at the top of the their legendary live game. And as this collection clearly shows, they were ready for their close up.</p><p>—<strong>Tomas Mureika</strong></p> |
| Midnight Oil | Best Of Both Worlds (CD/DVD) | <p>At last -- Midnight Oil captured live at the peak of their prowess! Recorded on the Red Sails in the Sunset tour, Best of Both Worlds contains the best of Midnight Oil's material -- the songs from Red Sails and 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 -- right before Diesel and Dust and a certain song about burning beds turned them into international one-hit wonders. No, this collection is from Pete Garrett's political heyday -- when he wouldn't think twice about stopping a show in mid-song if his audience was misbehaving in his mind. A time when he wouldn't think twice about using Midnight Oil's arena-ready rock to encapsulate his political polemic. This was the tightest band on the planet for a time -- and this was that time. "US Forces," "When the Generals Talk," "Tin Legs and Tin Mines," "Power & the Passion," "Short Memory," "Only the Strong" -- and, of course, the showstopping, "Jimmy Sharman's Boxers." The list of highlights goes on and on. Anyone who was fortunate enough to see an early Oil show knows how dynamic and furious this record is just from having been there. For any other fans of the band, forget about the burning bed song not being on here: this is a better record for it. Best of Both Worlds is the sound of a legendary live band at the top of the their legendary live game. And as this collection clearly shows, they were ready for their close up.</p><p>—<strong>Tomas Mureika</strong></p> |
| Midnight Oil | Diesel And Dust | <p>Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett has long been active in elective politics in Australia, and like any good politician, he knows that sometimes the most important thing is to get your message out to the masses, even it means speaking with a bit less force than might be your custom. While the hard edges and challenging angles of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and Red Sails in the Sunset made Midnight Oil bona fide superstars in Australia, they were little more than a rumor in most of the rest of the world, and for their sixth album, Diesel and Dust, Midnight Oil made some changes in their approach. On Diesel and Dust, there's less in the way of bruising hard rock like "Best of Both Worlds," nothing as eccentric as "Outside World," and very little as esoterically regional as "Jimmy Sharman's Boxers," while the production favors the tuneful side of the band's songwriting (which, truth to tell, was always there) and buffs away some of the group's harsher edges. As a result, Diesel and Dust isn't an album for hardcore Oils fans, but as a bid for a larger audience, it was both shrewd and well executed -- it was the group's first real worldwide success, going platinum in America and spawning a massive hit single, "Beds Are Burning."</p><p>While the album lacks the kick-in-the-head impact of their earlier work, Diesel and Dust also makes clear that the bandmembers could apply their intelligence and passion to less aggressive material and still come up with forceful, compelling music, as on the haunting "The Dead Heart" and the poppy but emphatic "Dreamworld." And as always, there was no compromise in the band's forceful political stance -- most of the album's songs deal openly with the issues of Aboriginal rights (hardly an issue pertinent only to Australians), and one of Midnight Oil's greatest victories may well be writing a song explicitly demanding reparations for indigenous peoples, and seeing it top the charts around the world. And the closer, "Sometimes," may be the finest and most moving anthem the band ever wrote ("Sometimes you're beaten to the core/Sometimes you're taken to the wall/But you don't give in"). Diesel and Dust is that rarity, a bid for the larger audience that's also an artistic success and a triumph for leftist politics -- even the Clash never managed that hat trick this well.</p><p>—<strong>Mark Deming</strong></p> |
| Midnight Oil | Blue Sky Mining | <p>Success didn't change Midnight Oil with their 1990 album Blue Sky Mining. The Australian band had finally broken through with their previous record, Diesel and Dust, but chart accomplishments didn't temper the group. Blue Sky Mining found lead singer Peter Garrett and the boys singing about familiar themes with their usual passion. The songs aren't quite on par with those from Diesel and Dust, but there's still enough here to make it a worthy follow-up. The lead track "Blue Sky Mine" deals with the oppression of the lower working class within the context of a mining company. The immediately catchy cut managed to find mid-chart success. Other notable tracks are the driving "Forgotten Years," which also managed a bit of airplay, and the menacing "Mountains of Burma." The band stumble only once, on the clumsy love song "Shakers and Movers."</p><p>—<strong>Tom Demalon</strong></p> |
| Midnight Oil | Scream In Blue - Live | <p>Scream in Blue Live is a worthy addition to the group's catalog. The Oils' music has always had more edge and power in a live setting, and this captures it perfectly. All that's missing is the visual dimension of frantic and imposing frontman Peter Garrett stalking the stage. Great songs that were delivered too tamely in their studio incarnations -- "Dreamworld" from Diesel and Dust and "Stars of Warburton" from Blue Sky Mining, for example -- erupt in full bloom live from the Brisbane Boondall Centre. Other highlights include "Progress," recorded in 1990 at a protest rally in front of Exxon head offices on 6th Avenue in New York, and a passionate plea for aboriginal rights that serves as an introduction to "Beds Are Burning." </p><p>—<strong>Roch Parisien</strong></p> |
| Midnight Oil | Earth And Sun And Moon | <p>If Earth and Sun and Moon isn't Midnight Oil's best effort, it's certainly close. The band still sticks to themes that are close to its heart -- the environment, native peoples, and other social causes -- but rarely has it managed to fashion an album full of songs that are as musically intoxicating as on this 1993 release. "My Country" is full of jangling guitars and keyboards; the punchy title track has an infectious singalong harmony; and "Bushfire" adds some mean wah-wah guitar. The Oils managed to score some radio play on AOR and modern rock stations with the bracing "Truganini," the dramatic, piano-tinged rocker "Drums of Heaven," and the grinding shuffle of "Outbreak of Love." A satisfying release for longtime fans and new converts alike.</p><p>—<strong>Tom Demalon</strong></p> |
| Midnight Oil | The Real Thing | <p>With Midnight Oil's live album (Scream in Blue) and their first "greatest-hits" collection (20,000 Watt R.S.L.), it might seem strange to learn of the band releasing yet another concert album of past favorites. However, there are a few important distinctions. First, The Real Thing has four new songs straight from the studio. Second, all these live songs are from the band's more subtle acoustic performances. And third, it is one of the most definitive collections the band has ever recorded. "The Dead Heart" sounds utterly magnificent, injecting restrained aboriginal majesty into one of the band's most over-played songs. However, "In the Valley" (taken from the band's MTV Unplugged show) is the most telling: Completely subverted into a piano-led solo instead of the original's searing peaks, Peter Garrett vocalizes the loss of the recent death of a loved one with such vulnerability it is nothing less than astonishing. So with this in mind, are the new studio tracks even worthwhile or just distractions? Well, both "Say Your Prayers" and "The Last of the Diggers" retain the renewed vitriol of albums like Redneck Wonderland, yet more with the natural tones of Earth and Sun and Moon this time around. One may feel that The Real Thing as a whole might lack the sheer onslaught of a more varied, "plugged" Midnight Oil, but even an embittered listener would have to admit that the band is first and foremost a live group. Because to showcase such strengths in this enormously rewarding collection of acoustic live selections is a welcome open door for a casual listener as well as a blowing kiss to longtime, loyal fans.</p><p>—<strong>Dean Carlson</strong></p> |
| Midnight Oil | Capricornia | <p>With Capricornia, the Australian political rockers return with their first album of new material in four years. More than 25 years into their career, there's nothing surprising about Midnight Oil's approach at the turn of the millennium, but Capricornia finds them delivering their expected blend of melodic, muscular, and thoughtful guitar rock. They're still as righteously indignant as ever over the plight of the common man, although perhaps not quite as direct or focused. There's plenty of fire in the belly, though, on driving cuts like "Golden Age" and the tempered optimism of "World That I See," while they exhibit their trademark resilience on "Tone Poem." From its lovely, stripped-down intro, "Under the Overpass" (about the homeless) builds to a powerful climax, providing one of the album's highlights, and they work up a good head of steam on the forceful "Say Your Prayers" (which, musically, is reminiscent of U2's "Zoo Station"). Capricornia isn't likely to garner them a new audience, but it's equally unlikely to disappoint Oil's devoted fan base.</p><p>—<strong>Tom Demalon</strong></p> |
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