Archive for February, 2007

Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular - Tony Trischka

Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular marks acclaimed banjo innovator Tony Trischka’s return to acoustic bluegrass terrain - with a unique twist. Joined by a luminous roster of fellow five-stringers, Trischka travels down the rarely-explored avenue of full-band two-banjo bluegrass. Trischka’s innate gifts as a musician and arranger, coupled with his unrivaled knowledge of banjo history […]

February 3rd, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews

New Magnetic Wonder - Apples in Stereo

After a five-year absence, Apples in Stereo have returned with a sprawling and lush masterpiece. Their founding principle of the DIY approach to recording has remained in place, but the nearly 15 years of technological progress has made such ways of working yield significantly more robust sounds. Robert Schneider’s songs have always harked back […]

February 3rd, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews

Like, Love, Lust & The Open Halls of the Soul - Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter

Jesse Sykes is hard to pin down–and that’s a good thing indeed. She overlaps with current trends, but is completely her own artist. There are elements of alt-country, psych-folk, and singer-songwriter-troubadour, but also others that add alluring breadth to her sound, most notably in the band’s penchant for drawing upon the best aspects of […]

February 3rd, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews

African Spirit - Soweto Gospel Choir

In the short time since their first CD release, Soweto Gospel Choir has become one of the most celebrated world music groups performing today. Their releases have hit the Top Ten of the Billboard World Music Charts and their coast-to-coast tours have electrified audiences across the country. They have been featured on The Tonight […]

February 3rd, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews

The Journey & The Labyrinth: The Music of John Dowland

On the heels of his acclaimed recording, Songs from the Labyrinth, Sting furthers his fascination with Elizabethan composer John Dowland (1563-1626) on The Journey and the Labyrinth: The Music of John Dowland. This new DVD/CD package includes an extended version of Sting’s first-ever PBS special from Thirteen/WNET New York’s Great Performances (airing February […]

February 3rd, 2007 - Posted in Music News

David Lee Roth back as Van Halen singer

The rumors were true. Van Halen will reunite with original singer David Lee Roth for a summer tour of North America.
“I am very excited to get back to the core of what made Van Halen,” guitarist Eddie Van Halen said in a statement posted Friday on the band’s Web site announcing a 40 city […]

February 3rd, 2007 - Posted in Music News

“Walks” tall on new album

Last year, sibling trio Hanson spent time lecturing performance and entertainment law students in college about its bumpy five-year arc of major-label heartache, chronicled in the documentary “Strong Enough to Break.”
But this year, fans can expect talking, walking and rocking from the band in the form of a new album, “The Walk,” as well […]

February 3rd, 2007 - Posted in Music News

Oh, Inverted World - The Shins

Something extraordinary is afoot in Albuquerque. The Shins’ first big-time record, Oh, Inverted World, combines mysterious narratives with golden song structures, resulting in lavish and opulent indie pop. Touches of Neutral Milk Hotel’s lyrical majesty and the nostalgic swirl of Echo and the Bunnymen abound. But the Shins’ music–rich with acoustic guitars, flickering rhythms, […]

February 1st, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews

Facing Future - Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole

To gauge the magnitude of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s popularity in his native Hawaii, consider this: following his death in 1997 (at age 38, attributed to his profound obesity), Kamakawiwo’ole’s body lay in state in the state capitol, only the second person to receive such an honor. Kamakawiwo’ole’s appeal lies in his love for prestatehood, precondominium […]

February 1st, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews

St. Elsewhere - Gnarls Barkley

In 2006, Danger Mouse is King Midas of the music world. He has an uncanny knack for creating jagged, dense, frenzied beats and odd, eerie, vivid soundscapes that never compromise the music’s natural flow. Meanwhile, rapper and singer Cee-Lo, a veteran of Atlanta’s Dirty South scene, has never been one to be constrained by […]

February 1st, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews

Feels Like Home - Norah Jones

Norah Jones blew everybody away with her jazzy, country-tinged, Grammy-winning debut CD, Come Away with Me. On this recording, Jones doesn’t mess with her trademark formula. Under Arif Mardin’s cozy coproduction, Jones is supported by her writing partners, her Handsome Band, and some special guests (country legend Dolly Parton, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson […]

February 1st, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews

Bob Seger - Greatest Hits - Bob Seger

Bob Seger has racked up a lot of worthy tracks over the years, but it took until 1994 for a greatest hits package to appear. VoilĂ . The bad news: We’re missing an awful lot of songs here. Night Moves is Seger’s crit-pick album, and a great place to start if you don’t have any […]

February 1st, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews

A New Journey - Celtic Woman

Second only to Riverdance as an international Irish showbiz phenomenon, previous installments of this Platinum-selling extravaganza have become beloved PBS standards. The original buxom quartet of female singers, Lisa, Maev, Orla, and Chloe, have duly been joined by Hayley and are, as usual, backed by a full symphony orchestra and choir, plus enough traditional […]

February 1st, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews

Katharine McPhee - Katharine McPhee

Katharine McPhee has a cloudless voice and a warm, wide-eyed Alice in Wonderland quality that won her swarms of fans on American Idol’s fifth season–if Simon Cowell had a ready antonym for “ghastly,” there’s little room for doubt about which contestant he would have applied it to. While debates over whether McPhee’s considerable grace […]

February 1st, 2007 - Posted in Album Reviews