September 2004

A Few You May Have Missed

Each month the stack of CDs I’ve set aside to review for SoundStage! keeps growing and I become frustrated when I realize there’s a lot music in that stack that I won’t get the time to write about. My solution is to use this space every few months to give you a few thumbnail sketches of CDs I think you might like. I hope these short descriptions point you in the right direction.

Joe Rathbone - I Can Hear the Windows of Your Heart Breaking
[Zakz Records]

Musical Performance ***
Recording Quality ***
Overall Enjoyment ***

Joe Rathbone announces his rock‘n’roll romanticism with the first line of I Can Hear the Windows of Your Heart Breaking. “There’s nothing that you’ve got except the moon and the sky,” he sings on “Learning to Fly.” Rathbone’s voice sounds a little like Marshall Crenshaw’s and like Crenshaw he writes melodic, hook-filled pop that feels effortless. He has a bright, sparkling guitar sound and a great ear for vocal harmony. Just when he seems to be going a little weak on you he throws in a tough rocker like “Take Me With You.” David Henry helped Rathbone produce the disc and adds some nice touches on cello and keys. Solid, smart pop.

Todd Rundgren - Liars
[Sanctuary Records 06076-86357-2]

Musical Performance ***1/2
Recording Quality ***
Overall Enjoyment ***1/2

With its drum machines, layered keyboard effects and majestic, multi-tracked background vocals, Todd Rundgren’s first major-label release since 1991 (Sanctuary is distributed by BMG) will sound familiar to his fans.  Even with all his skillful use of technology, Rundgren remains a humanist. His theme on Liars is “the paucity of truth” and, while he’s sometimes angry, he avoids smug self-righteousness. His melodic songwriting and soulful singing keep him from becoming too shrill. “Sweet” and “Soul Brother” are dance-floor ready and the hard-edged. “Mammon” takes an old saw, the corrupting influence of money on religion, and polishes it up. I’ve enjoyed a lot of Rungren’s discs over the last few years, especially The Individualist, but Liars is among his most consistent and enjoyable recordings.

Graham Parker - Your Country
[Bloodshot Records BS 106]

Musical Performance ***
Recording Quality ***1/2
Overall Enjoyment ***

Graham Parker covers Jerry Garcia’s “Sugeree” on this album of country-influenced songs, and he sings it with his usual gritty passion.  Lucinda Williams joins him for a tune, but Parker doesn’t need anyone to lend Americana credibility to his performance -- if anything, she’s the one who benefits from the duet with him on “Cruel Lips.”  Parker has always shown a firm grasp of American rock and soul, and here he shows he also has a strong feel for country, from the very funny “Tornado Alley” to the tender “The Rest is History.” The acoustic guitars don’t blunt his edge, and Parker’s skills as a guitarist seem to grow with each album. If he’s not careful, he’ll become a first-call session guy.

Joe Jackson Band - Afterlife
[Rykodisc RCD 10665]

Musical Performance ***1/2
Recording Quality ***1/2
Overall Enjoyment ***1/2

Last year, the Joe Jackson Band returned after a 23-year absence with Volume 4. Afterlife is culled from four performances on the band’s 2003 tour, and they sound as alert and dynamic live as they did on the studio disc. No overdubs (“ Spot the mistakes!” the liner notes suggest), and Jackson and the band play songs from throughout his career, including four from Volume 4. Tunes they first recorded over 20 years ago sound as fresh and exciting as the newer selections.   No one goes through the motions, and the recording captures the cool snap of Dave Houghton’s drums and the razor sharpness of Gary Sanford’s guitar. Jackson’s voice sounds terrific, more supple and expressive than it did when he was younger, and his keyboard playing adds color and depth. Jackson’s a restless musician, so he’s probably moved on to his next challenge, but I hope he comes back to this band often.

Philipp Fankhauser - Talk to Me
[Memphis International Records DOT 0210]

Musical Performance ***1/2
Recording Quality ***1/2
Overall Enjoyment ***1/2

Swiss blues singer and guitarist Philipp Fankhauser's economical, clean guitar style shows the influence of his mentor, Johnny Copeland. Copeland met Fankhauser while on tour in Europe in 1984 and ten years later he asked Fankhauser to join him in the US. Fankhauser sang with Copeland's band for a while and stayed in the US to record and play until 2000, when he returned to Switzerland. Talk to Me is his tenth recording since 1989, and the years of experience show in Fankhauser's sure touch on the guitar and his tough, confident singing. An occasional odd pronunciation clues you in that English is not his primary language (and that makes his periodic "y'all" seem a little contrived), but his feel for the music is gut-level and sincere. Since Fankhauser's concept of the blues takes in Malaco and Stax/Volt, his songwriting takes some unusual turns. Worth owning for the killer horn charts alone.

Peter Green - Man of the World
[Sanctuary Records 06076-86359-2]

Musical Performance ****
Recording Quality ***
Overall Enjoyment ****

Guitarist Peter Green wrote "Oh Well" when he was with Fleetwood Mac, and it remains one of the best-known songs by the band's original lineup. Green's severe mental-health problems weren't helped by LSD use and he spent quite a few years looking for meaning outside the music business, the pressures of which brought on some of his distress. Man of the World is subtitled The Anthology 1968-1988 and it includes some of Green's work with Fleetwood Mac (alternate takes and live material -- the band's original recordings are owned by other labels), but it’s mainly composed of selections from solo recordings he released after he left the band in 1970.  A live Fleetwood Mac recording of "Black Magic Woman" (Green's other hit, but for another band) shows how powerful Green and the band were at their peak. The material from Green's solo albums is deceptively laid-back, but a current of passion runs through all of it and Green plays brilliantly -- he never repeats himself or falls back on cliches. These recordings, along with the discs Green has made since 1996 with the Peter Green Splinter Group, are a testament to one man’s ability to outrun his demons.

...Joseph Taylor
musiceditor@soundstage.com

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