1995, Columbia
Soundtracks have change forms over the years. Initially, they simply reflected the music in the movie and were packaged as such. Then it was realized that serious money could be made from movie music (usually outta the pop genre), so songwriters were throwing together any old song hoping it would be a hit on a soundtrack. Part of having a hit movie seemed to make sure to have a hit song even if the hit song had little, if anything, to do with was the film was about. It became so bad at times, that normally the soundtrack's big-hit claim to fame hit was played while the closing credits were rolling! It begged the question, "what does this have to do with anything?"
Well, in recent years soundtrack producers have smartened up and have now included some great music to actually coincide with the film images. Particularly fun too have been the soundtracks blending the film's dialogue with the music (ala, Pulp Fiction and the wonderful Leaving Las Vegas).
Tim Robbins and crew have taken the soundtrack concept a notch higher, or maybe one step to the side. Maybe you can't even call this a soundtrack anymore since not all the music even shows up in the film. But this isn't like Brian Adams scraping thru "everything I do, I do it for....." at the end of Robin Hood. Rather, this is music from and inspired by. The intention was that artists were given the chance to write and contribute along the themeof the story from Dead Man Walking. The result is a wonderful collection of music from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Suzanne Vega, Johnny Cash, Eddie Vedder, and more. The mood and tone, like the movie, is solemn, yet rich and almost spiritual at times. It's simple, sparse, mainly acoustic, and surprisingly effective.
The sonics are very good throughout. There are obvious differences due to the varied amount of recording venues, however, the overall sound is full and rich with excellent clarity and detail. Two of last year's (and perhaps this decade's) best films, Dead Man Walking and Leaving Las Vegas, have spawned two of the best soundtracks at the same time.
.....DAS
1995, Sony
When another great Canadian artist surfaces I'm usually the first to blow my wad to the world to proclaim it (ie. Blue Rodeo, Sarah McLachlan, Bare Naked Ladies, Tragically Hip, etc.). Why? Because so few that deserve it receive true international success. Well, I had this disk for months before I knew this girl with the powerhouse vocals hailed from Toronto! And now knowing she's from 'round here it makes it all the better.
So we'll get the sonics dealt with first before we get down to business. The recording on this disk I'd rank simply as so-so. The dynamics are full scale, but at the expense of subtly. From the vocals to the guitars to the drums, it's closely miked and as a result, sizzly hot. Soundstaging? Well, her voice is in the middle, the guitars are here and there, and the drums are here, there, and everywhere. Basically not unlike most pop recordings.
Her music dives into the acoustic rock genre that I'd also lump those better known artists like Hootie and the Blowfish and The Counting Crows. Admittedly, I'm not a big-fan of this music although I do like stuff from here and there. But from the first time I heard Amanda Marshall pound out "Let it rayyyyy-ay-ay-ay-aaaayyyyn, let it rain....", her first hit off the disk, I said, "Wow, who's the girl with the pipes, this is great stuff!". There is some serious talent here and it's that voice, that beautiful, raw, powerhouse voice of hers is what make this disk a keeper. In a year dominated by another Canadian female success story whose first name also starts with an 'A' and is known for going down somewhere in a theater, Amanda's been getting overlooked. But hunt it down and mark this as another gem from that vast musical gold-mine above the Great Lakes.
.....DAS
Watching the fabulous movie Leaving Las Vegas I was struck by how well the soundtrack integrated into each scene. The music flowed so closely to the visuals that it was not too much of a surprise when I found out the score was composed by the film's Director and Screenwriter - Mike Figgis (it must be noted that guy's diverse talent is amazing). Unlike many soundtracks that serve solely to be Cash Cow musical backdrops to be marketed later, the music behind Leaving Las Vegas acts just as a soundtrack should, to help convey the feeling and the mood of each scene. The music is a wonderful blend of jazz and blues that conjures up images of the smoky, darkly lit bars that Nicholas Cage's character inhabits. Sting chimes in a few tunes, including a wonderful rendition of Angel Eyes, and Don Henley works in a good number too. And for those wondering, Sheryl Crow's cute little tune, likewise called Leaving Las Vegas from her Tuesday Night Music Club disk, isn't to be found here.
Sprinkled throughout the mainly acoustic score are memorable dialogue excerpts from the film that help to relate the meaning of each of the tracks. The sound varies throughout but is generally smooth and spacious with a good sense of acoustic space and image depth. Sting's Angel Eyes in particular stands out as a very good vocal recording. Audiophilesque for sure, all packaged up into one GREAT soundtrack. The movie is well worth seeing and this soundtrack is definitely well worth owning.
.....DAS
Television's 1992 eponymous return to the studio (after almost 15 years away) is a quirky joy. The songs are tuneful and haunting--they're puzzles built of cryptic, subconscious lyrics and the sublime guitar interplay of masters Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd. I literally hear something new each time I listen--most often by deciphering another line or two of the lyrics. The sound is spacious and clear, perfect for auditioning equipment--although this alone would be a great misuse of a mesmerizing recording.
...from Rising and Falling
Do I still think this album is as good as when I played it 4 times a day when I was 15? I think so. Do I still know the words to every song on its 4 - LP sides? I think so. Is this album so good it deserves much more discussion than this measly paragraph I'm writing? I think so. Does London Calling represent the pinnacle of The Clash's creativity? I think so. Are Strummer and Jones as synergistic of a combo as, say, Jagger and Richards or Lennon and McCartney? I think so. Does my old double LP version sound way better than the single CD I paid too much for? I think so. Did The Clash overdo a great thing and go way overboard on the marathon length, triple album follow-up, Sandinista? I think so. Is London Calling one of the top 3 rock albums of all time? I think so. Will you disagree violently with me on this point? I think so. Should you have it in your collection anyway? I think so.
....DAS
I remember a time, a glorious time, when Bruce Cockburn was the Canadian equivalent of Bob Dylan. Although he's achieved a marginal degree of international success since then (signed by Sony and all, a big deal for a Canadian artist), he's a far cry away from his late 70's heyday on the Canadian folk-club scene. Up in the snowy north, he was king.
Like Dylan, Cockburn went through a transitional phase from simple acoustic guitar to electric. The 1978 release of Dancing in the Dragon's Jaw and then Humans in 1980 represent the final installment of his acoustic days. In my opinion, Humans is his best release by far. Like much of his music,Humans is documentation of his world travels, capturing the essence of human life. Simple and provocative, it's the kind of album that demands a complete listen in one sitting. Those who know Cockburn from his most recent work should turn back the hands of time about 16 years, you'd never know it was the same artist.
Sadly though, the CD transfer, like many, is so pathethically-poor it defies description. Unbelievably shallow and lifeless, lacking dynamic range, resolution, and just about every other variable to good sound. It sounds as if they used a retail cassette as a master. Perfect sound forever? Maybe, but the LP would have been perfect forever if it sounded this bad - I would have never played it. Luckily for vinyl collectors this is a relatively unknown gem waiting to be unearthed somewhere.
....DAS
Here's a little number for all those 'philes whose demo world still begins and ends with Jennifer Warnes' Famous Blue Raincoat. That perennial audiophile favourite that serves to chill my bones whenever I hear it played at audio shows the world over (and it still is being played, believe it or not. It's not like it was ever that bad, it's just that we've heard it soooooo much). While No Frontiers isn't something I'd normally recommend too highly, I know that the same people who dig FBR will probably take a liking to this, if they don't know about it already. As well, introducing it is my little way of getting every one of those mega-overplayed disks out of demo-circulation for upcoming shows.
Mary Black cranks out tunes in that same vein of light duty, easy listening, popish folk/rock - commonly referred to as Contemporary Adult. Her voice is smooth and clean and the musicianship here, mostly acoustic, is wonderful. If I was Chief Equipment Demo Master and forced to choose between JW FBR and this disk, you'd see that silver disk'd Cohen Tribute as a glass coaster and nothing more. OK, for those that know this disk, I realize it's hokey, melodramatic and she even does a cover of Burt Bacharach's I Say a Little Prayer. But sometimes when I'm alone, and no one is around to ridicule and mock me, I actually listen that track - it's pretty good, no joke.
Not only is No Frontiers easy on the ears and nonoffensive, it's sonically very good. Ahhhh, the key words to make most audiophiles drop coin without even a care if the music is any good. Although a slight bit of 80's digital haze and tiz masks the minute details, it has a wonderful soundstage, smooth timbres, beautiful clarity, and the images float effortlessly in space. In particular, her voice floats dead centre, perfectly sized between most properly set up speakers. Recorded in Ireland, the engineers here were obviously trying to accomplish something any audiophile label would be proud of - and succeeded.
.....DAS
I hadn't heard of them, you probably hadn't either. That's the fun of this whole thing, new discoveries! Big Sugar is a four piece band, fronted by guitarist and vocalist Gordie Johnson. His voice is not refined, his guitar is not amazing, but he leads this band into a rocking frenzy.
This disc kicks you in the head right off the bat, with "Ride Like Hell". A guitar grinding, cymbal crashing, thrill ride. The gears shift on track three, with "Wild Ox Moan". A slower ballad with Gordie doing the old "slip into falsetto all over the place" thang. I can't get enough of this cut. "Standing Around Crying" is a slow blues number, with Gordie eliciting how his baby done made him feel awful bad. Harmonica solo by Kelly Hoppe really drives this tune home.
The real shining moment here though, is a cover version of Traffics' "Dear Mr. Fantasy". This song always needed a little more "edge" to it, in my opinion, and here you get it. After this, the band slips into a little surf music kinda instrumental on "AAA Ardvark Motel, (how's that for a title), and then back to a blues ballad on "Still Waiting". Big Sugar's giving you a lot of looks, on this one, but it all works together pretty well.
The bad news? T'aint the best production quality I ever heard. It's got your basic "we recorded this in the garage" type sound. A little too bright, but tolerable. The deal on this one is FUN! Big Sugar is a band you gotta at least give a try; there's something about the sound of the band that is alluring. These guy's are a Hoot!
.....Workin' Man
Although released in Canada more than two years, this disk has just recently trickled down to the U.S. in domestic release through the Discovery label. For their fifth and arguably best album, amidst a trail of strong releases, Blue Rodeo has eschewed lavish studio production, hauled some recording gear to co-lead singer Greg Keelor's Ontario farm, and laid down a lavish blend of acoustic and electronic blues, country, pop, and rock. Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor share the lead singer and songwriting spotlight. Cuddy's voice is stronger and smoother than ever, showing wonderful range. Keelor takes the band in a more eclectic direction on a number of cuts, lending what I feel is the disk's strongest track, the wonderfully simple, acoustic ballad Dark Angel. Each song shows the band's maturity into a diverse international talent. Seriously sexy fellow Canadian Sarah McLachlan turns up for some hauntingly beautiful background vocals on three of the tracks, including Dark Angel.
Legend passed down from the hills has it that they actually recorded this in five days in July, 1993 in Greg Keelor's barn (hence the title, although rumour has the time upwards of a week or two). One reviewer called this the best sounding pop album he'd ever heard! (I've since found out that someone was Peter Braverman in The Abso!ute Sound, TAS, issue 102 - check out his review too, as well as some other great stuff he's written in TAS on the band) I wouldn't go quite that far, but it does rank high. The production is great. Recorded using mobile gear in live surroundings, it sounds exceptionally natural and real. Dynamics are not compressed, vocals have tremendous presence, and the sense of room space is captured nicely. Overdubs and edits are reportedly minimal, except where they 'really screwed up.' The overall sound that results feels just like a hot, humid, Ontario summer night, where the only thing missing is a 'two-four' by my listening chair.
.....DAS
Check out DAS' Blue Rodeo Discography
For Springsteen fans it's been a long dry road since his stunning 'Nebraska.' With notable exceptions like the late eighties 'Tunnel of Love,' the last decade or so haven't been banner creative years for The Boss. However, for 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' he's shunned his loud-is-proud backup band, pulled on his unplugged cap, and churned out some of his most compelling and thoughtful work to date. With Nebraska-esque instrumentation and style, Springsteen weaves some of his darkest tales about down and out losers and trying times for the common man. Few middle-aged millionaire rock stars could pull this charade off, but that's always been Springsteen's gift.
I can't think of any Springsteen disk that knocks on any high-end sonic doors. Unfortunately, this is no exception. However, Ghost does come the closest to being half-way decent, bordering on pretty good. Acoustic and simple, it begs for some audiophile treatment. Overall, the result is a smooth, musical sound with good frequency extension and dynamics. Although room ambience vital signs are nowhere to be found, a credible soundstage with depth can be made out on many tracks. The vocal recording is done particularly well, lending a full, palpable and natural sound to his textured voice. A 7 outta 10 sonically for this first rate musical effort.
.....DAS
Leave it to Hollywood to sell Beethoven to the mainstream public by weaving a story around his sex life. Surprisingly though, it wasn't too bad. Watchin' the old boy scope chix did spice things up.
More surprising is the quality of this recording. Comprised of what seems like top-40 Beethoven, the disk is a showcase for Sony digital recording featuring Super Bit Mapping. And I mean that in a good way. Wonderfully smooth, natural, with startling resolution. The delicate piano recordings are particularily enticing, showing excellent low-level detail.
.....DAS
I found previous Holly Cole releases to be musically nice, sonically pleasant, but ultimately boring. A number of years ago Leonard Cohen was cover boy of the month, nowadays it's gravelly voiced Tom Waits' turn to collect some royalty checks. With covers spanning his career, Temptation could almost have been mistaken as a tribute, except that Cole and her band make these songs sound as if they're their own. Waits' quirky yet strong songwriting has added that needed edge that Holly Cole's sultry voice has been dying for.
Sonically this disk is a knockout. Full frequency extension out both ends, beautifully natural timbres, wonderfully detailed soundstaging, and depth out to my neighbour's backyard. Another gem, sonically and musically, from the Great White North.
.....DAS
