Monday, July 13, 1998
Soundbites
Cowboy Junkies, "Miles From Our Home" (Geffen) Lulled into a
melancholic state, sedated into sadness, listeners slip away from
the new Cowboy Junkies album in a blissful despondency. "Miles From
Our Home" maintains siblings Michael Timmins’ trademark guitar
twang and Margo Timmins’ haunting vocals.
Although the songs continue to tread the Junkies’ already
well-laid tracks, no other band can expand on a chord as soothingly
and yet so mournfully. The painfully deep, yet fulfilling, sounds
enchant like a lonely, midwestern day in a small, abandoned town.
Warm winds seem to drift heartachingly over the senses, attached
mystically to the soul-caressing notes.
Lyrically, the Junkies maintain its knack for creating a proud,
lonesome world. The title track, for instance, begins, "No one in
sight for 50 miles/ sleeping fields sigh as I glide across their
spines./ If I can just reach the crest of that hill/ this whole day
will tumble, out the night will spill." Oh, so satisfying. Vanessa
VanderZanden A
Telestar Ponies, "Voices From the New Music" (Velvel) The droney
guitar swirls smack of Sonic Youth. The beat poetry-esque lyrics
call to mind Allen Ginsburg. The culmination of word and music
become a sound peculiar to Telestar Ponies.
"Don’t you think sometimes, it’s the past that’s more
frightening than the future, she had said as she undressed. On the
beach in Kilkee she was like that."
Stemming from the song "Last Outpost," this wise, yet abstract,
line best reflects the album’s avant-garde edge. Unnervingly hollow
in some places and indignantly forceful in others, "Voices From the
New Music" echoes the oftentimes drowned out voice of one’s inner
self. Slow rhythms stabilize the melodically sparse pieces, keeping
a simple, dressed-down musical aura.
Although the stark sounds may appeal to only a handful of
disenchanted Gen X-ers, Telestar Ponies will no doubt delight those
tortured few. Vanessa VanderZanden A
George Benson, "Standing Together" (GRP) A good jazz album is
not just a collection of songs thrown together but something to be
experienced. Sometimes it simply cools out on the stereo in the
background. Other times it grabs hold of you, forcing you to pay
attention to every note and every beat. George Benson’s latest
release does both. Benson’s expert guitar work and honey sweet
vocals invite refreshment, and his musical precision commands
attention.
Benson is no newcomer to the jazz scene, and it shows. He avoids
some of the irritating experimentation that can plague guitar-based
jazz, playing his axe clean and straight-up, the way it should be.
The instrumentals on this album are impressive, from the bee-sting
solos of "C-Smooth" to the confident wah and easygoing bluesy
noodlings of "Keep Rollin’."
Though his true prowess is guitar playing, Benson can also turn
out some nice vocals. "Standing Together" and "Back To Love" come
across like light R&B, but his scats on the up-tempo "All I
Know" and "Keep Rollin’" remind the listener that he’s a jazzman,
first and foremost. The album’s most endearing track, "Still
Waters," mixes both his thoughtful vocalizations with slick,
Spanish guitar fills (provided by collaborator Marc Antoine). This
song is typical of "Standing Together" – laid back and enjoyable.
The album is a 44-minute deep breath, slowing the heart rate,
soothing the mind and putting life on hold for a bit. Brent Hopkins
A-
Sean Lennon, "Into The Sun" (Grand Royal) Bob Dylan begat Jakob.
Folksters Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle begat Rufus.
The latest musical offspring striving to step out of the shadows of
his pedigree is 22-year-old Sean Lennon. Sean’s debut album is
interestingly eclectic, sometimes a slight amalgamation of diverse
musical styles.
Inspired and produced by girlfriend Yuka Honda (of Cibo Matto
fame), "Into The Sun" provides an interesting hybrid of everything
from the average alternative-pop standards to improvisational jazz
songs and country-style croonings. Highlights on the album include
the title track, a kitschy lounge-pop duet with Honda’s bandmate
Miho Hatori that reminds one of the Cardigans. The soulful "Two
Fine Lovers" displays the most overt example of Lennon’s
bright-eyed optimism.
Scattered throughout the album, his positive outlook offers a
refreshing change from the bitter views of angst-ridden ’90s
artists. Though "Into the Sun’s" diverse mix of songs is admirable,
one easily gets the sense that much of Lennon’s brand of
eclecticism seems forced. This especially comes through in silly
country tunes like "Part One of the Cowboy Trilogy" and
"Photosynthesis," an instrumental jazzpiece that many will end up
skipping over with their CD players. As a whole, however, Lenon’s
debut album brims full of potential, demonstrating his musical
talents to be more in line with father John than brother Julian.
Tristan Thai B
Michael W. Smith, "Live the Life" (Reunion) If there’s one thing
that Christian pop suffers from most, its mediocrity. Smith, who
had a Top 10 single in 1990 with the inspirational "Place In This
World," has yet to branch out musically from the sugary,
synth-driven styles he has always used. "Live the Life" continues
that tradition, and it’s obvious that breaking from that format
isn’t foremost on Smith’s mind. Rather, Smith looks to convey
soul-searching messages through light, hopeful atmospheres. Even
with the songs that explore eroding faith ("Missing Person"), the
death of youth ("Hello, Good-Bye") and temptation ("I Know Your
Name"), Smith remains optimistic, and not in that 1998
party-your-troubles-away manner. Once in a while, an interestingly
introspective lyric pops up ("I conquer the world for a moment,
then the moment is gone," from "Love Me Good"), but otherwise
Smith’s lyricists lay the schmaltz a little too thick. He even
includes a song he sent in for the "Titanic" soundtrack ("In My
Arms Again"), and despite its sweetness, you can’t blame that
album’s producers for sticking with Celine Dion. We can all agree
that songs of faith and appreciation are sadly few and far between,
but this collection of Top 40 fluff weighs the sentiment down. Mike
Prevatt C