Jackson
Brown: The Pretenders
Jackson
Browne was one of the leading singer/songwriters of the '70s,
and THE PRETENDER, his fourth album, under the supervision of
Bruce Springsteen's producer, Jon Landau, remains his definitive
'70s record. Part of the cadre of L.A. musicians that included
the Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Joni Mitchell and Linda
Ronstadt, Browne stood out as the spokesman for baby boomer angst.
This low-key rocker sings in a plaintive tone, concentrating more
on lyrics than melody. But his music is complicated and off the
beaten-path of standard folk-rock songwriting, sometimes sounding
like the soulful Van Morrison, especially on "Your Bright
Baby Blues."
James
Taylor : J.T.
JT
finds a young James Taylor using a wide variety of molds into
which he pours his folksy, easy-going style. His considerable
songwriting skills are in full bloom, beginning with the jubilant
"Your Smiling Face." Some very different ground is explored,
however, with the funky "Honey, Don't Leave L.A." and
the authentic country of "Bartender's Blues," on which
Taylor gets a little help from Linda Ronstadt.
Tom
Waits : Frank's Wild Years
Ostensibly
a "concept" piece about the strange adventures of a
ne'er-do-well named Frank, FRANK'S WILD YEARS is an album full
of masterfully written songs and brilliant arrangements, whether
one follows the conceptual thread or not. This final album in
the loose trilogy that began with SWORDFISHTROMBONES expands upon
the advances of its predecessors both in terms of hazy, dreamlike
imagery and eclectic, exotic instrumentation.
-
Ranked #57 in AP's list of the `Top 99 Of '85-'95'
- "...Tom Waits at his rosiest....The best part about FRANKS
is that it [is] no rock record. It's truly a musical with Waits'
avant, freakish touch, including the hitting of some off-color
notes and Victrola-like warbles to add a touch of dementia to
the mix..." AP
Counting
Crows :
Recovering The Satellites
Three
years after AUGUST AND EVERYTHING AFTER paved the Triple A way
for the likes of Hootie & The Blowfish, Counting Crows take
a more aggressive tack with their sophomore release. As with the
debut, the sound takes its cue from singer Adam Duritz's introspective
lyrics, but Duritz deals with especially weighty topics this time--the
ups and downs of fame are on his mind now--and the band's approach
is more slashing than subdued.
The
yearning "Catapult" opens the record with a quavering
guitar and Mellotron, but it gives way to the crashing cymbals,
raging guitar and screaming organ of "Angels Of The Silences,"
a song about rejection. Even the strings on "I'm Not Sleeping"
attack with an angry urgency before they are finally consumed
by Dan Vickrey's squalling guitar. The Counting Crows showed off
their bark on their debut; now they're showing off their bite.
Red
Hot Chili Peppers:
One Hot Minute
Former
Jane's Addiction axe-man Dave Navarro climbs aboard the Chili
Pepper Express for ONE HOT MINUTE, which also marks the return
of Rick Rubin to the production helm.
Navarro's
arrival coincides with a more experimental approach by the group.
"Warped," the first single and leadoff cut, demonstrates
this with a balls-to-the-wall adrenaline rush that abruptly concludes
with a gentle outro. History gets revisited on "Deep Kick,"
a hyper-kinetic rap by Anthony Kiedis about the band's origins
that gives way to Flea's ruminations on kicking around with the
Butthole Surfers. While the house-party chants of "One Big
Mob" and the Eddie Hazel-inspired sass of "Walkabout"
lean towards the Chili Peppers' penchant for not faking the funk,
"Transcending" truly gauges the band's musical maturation.
Spin - Ranked #18 on Spin's list of the `20 Best Albums
Of '95.'
Ryan
Adams : Gold
GOLD
was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Rock
Album.
"New
York, New York" was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award
for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
Ryan
Adams follows his stripped-down solo debut with a two-disc, fully
produced set that finds him grasping for the mantle of alt-country
messiah. GOLD picks up where Whiskeytown's swan song PNEUMONIA
left off; a step removed from the country-rock hard line but still
full of rootsy, organic, Band-like warmth.
Mojo - Ranked #9 in Mojo's "Best [40] Albums of 2001".
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