I’m back again with the usual monthly assortment of music worth buying.
The Kennedys
West
The hardest working couple in show biz – seriously, just check out their touring, workshop, producing, and recording schedule – return with their first studio album in three years, one of the longest breaks since their 1995 debut. Pete and Maura Kennedy continue to revel in Byrds by way of Teenage Fan Club jangle pop, and few do it better.
West (the first of three albums planned for this year) showcases Pete’s extraordinary guitar work and throaty singing, Maura’s more expressive vocals, and the sort of instinctive interplay that only comes with two decades of touring and marriage. All the trademarks are here – gorgeous harmonies, irresistible hooks, and irrepressible energy – making West a more than solid effort. The strongest tracks, the powerful title cut and “Jubilee Time,” are written by Pete, while the collaborative “Bodhisattva Blues” and “Travel Day Blues” (nicely placed one after the other) give the album a bit of welcome oomph.
Things tail off a bit towards the end with a pair of sugary thick love songs that would have been better spaced apart, but that’s a relatively slight misstep on an otherwise excellent listen. If you haven’t yet heard The Kennedys than West is an excellent jumping on point. If you’re already a fan I doubt you’ll need much convincing. ****
Jack Tempchin
Room to Run
Blue Elan Records
This nifty four song sampler by famed songwriter Jack Tempchin (best known as having written “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and “Already Gone” for the Eagles) provides strong evidence that as he enters his seventh decade, time has dulled neither his musical acumen nor ability to tell a story in four minutes or less.
While penning songs for Johnny Rivers, Chris Hillman, Tanya Tucker and many others, Tempchin has maintained a steady solo career, touring with his band and keeping himself remarkably active. The title cut is classic Tempchin – the sort of chorus that will linger in your head for days coupled with a gentle vibe – but the star track is “Summertime Bum” a catchy tune that would be a perfect fit for Jimmy Buffett.
His voice might lack the distinctive tone needed in today’s market but given his proud history I doubt Tempchin much cares. Nor should he! ***1/2
Brian Lisik
Curtisinterruptedus
Cherokee Queen Records
On his fourth album – and the first with his new band The Unfortunates – Ohio based songwriter Brian Lisik serves up a healthy plate of grassroots power pop, straddling a territory somewhere between pre-Born To Run Springsteen and The Raspberries.
Fourteen tunes, with nary a weak link among them, cover as broad a range of topics as you’re likely to hear on any given disc. Not many songwriters would risk getting inside the mind of a wrongly convicted man, but Lisik does just that in “About Me Back Home” written from the perspective of Clarence Elkins, who spent decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
On the somber “St. Patrick’s Day” Lisik assumes the persona of a fan mourning the death of power pop icon Alex Chilton, whose own Memphis soul meets the top forty, certainly influenced Lisik and his band.
What helps set Curtisinterruptedus apart from the many perfectly acceptable albums made by other bands is the way in which Lisik nimbly shifts the mood from joyful to solemn and from naively optimistic to cautiously resolute. Not just in his thinking man’s lyrics but in the manipulation of sound; fortunately his band is more than able to pull it off.
A few nice touches around the edges might be in order, and at times Lisik’s voice is lost in the mix, but all in all Curtisinterruptedus is a fine step forward for an artist definitely worth seeking out. ***1/2
Paul Kelly
The Merri Soul Sessions
Rightly revered in his native Australia, Kelly has never quite been able to break big in America. That’s a real shame; as a songwriter he can go head to head with any of them and while his mid range vocals might not set the world afire they are more than sufficient to his material. Throw in a crackerjack band – currently anchored by his nephew Dan Kelly – and there’s much here to admire.
Following a lengthy tour in support of 2012’s Spring & Fall, his nineteenth studio album, Kelly took a much needed sabbatical, dabbling in stage production, producing a few efforts by his fellow countryman, and recording a live album with Neil Finn. So much for taking time off!
The Merri Soul Sessions, initially funded by a PledgeMusic campaign, began as a series of 7” vinyl singles that are difficult to find down under and darn near impossible to locate here in the states. Recognizing this, and not wishing to alienate his US fans, Kelly wisely decided to collect them into a proper release, add a few more tunes, and release the whole kit and caboodle in its entirety.
Released under the banner of “Paul Kelly Presents” The Merri Soul Sessions are in no way a typical Kelly album. While the songs are his (some newly written and others reconstructed from his vast catalog) he serves largely as bandleader, playing rhythm guitar and taking lead vocals for only two of the 11 cuts.
Most of the lead vocals are taken by some of Australia’s best known singers, including many whom Kelly has previously worked with. Half the songs are sung by woman – Kelly is one of the very few male artists who convincingly write from a feminine perspective – which gives the album a peculiar feel.
Despite its strengths, including the diversity of musicians involved and the sheer force of Kelly’s songwriting, The Merri Soul Sessions sounds more like a Paul Kelly tribute album (of which there are already a few) than a new entry into the register. Longtime fans (those most likely to buy this record) may be a bit perplexed but while The Merri Soul Sessions doesn’t noticeably add to the Paul Kelly canon it certainly serves as a nice refresher course. ***1/2
Todd Rundgren / Hans-Peter Lindstrøm / Emil Nikolaisen
Runddans
Small Town Supersound Recordings
Todd Rundgren, in tandem with eccentric ambient artist Emil Nikolaisen, and free form Sun Ra devotee Hans-Peter Lindstrøm, join forces to create what might be one of this year’s strangest efforts and yet another head scratching moment in Rundgren’s long and often perplexing career. Originally conceived in 2014 the album took a back seat to Todd’s solo career and the extensive and much ballyhooed Utopia reunion tour. As such, and given the massive amount of pre-release attention it was given, Runddans seems almost destined to fall short of its lofty expectations.
Recorded both in Nikolaisen and Lindstrøm’s native Norway, and Rundgren’s own Hawaiian home studio, it’s a 40 minute excursion – divided into 12 unequal segments – that began as a series of improvisational nods but gradually coalesced into… well, a slightly less erratic collection of whatever Todd and his erstwhile companions tossed at the wall of sound and stuck. It’s a true mutual effort; while Rundgren is certainly the most internationally celebrated of the three, both Nikolaisen and Lindstrøm have a significant European following.
What results is a trippy, off beat, ever shifting collage of sound, texture, and atmosphere. It’s only when he assumes lead vocals (on an album that is largely instrumental) does it sound vaguely like a “proper” Todd Rundgren album; he still has that majestic voice and can play one heck of a guitar. The bits of sampling – ranging from Little Anthony style doo wop to Hawaiian slack-key Reggae – are interesting enough but the sum is often less than the parts.
At the end of the day Runddans is no more or less arresting as any of Todd’s many other music diversions. But it’s hard not to give them some points for trying. ***
Jack Bruce
The 50th Birthday Concerts (DVD)
MIG Music
Since Jack Bruce turned 50 back in 1993 it’s obvious how long this coveted set has been lingering in the vaults of the German television program Rockpalast; the cynical among us might assume it’s finally seeing the light of day to cash in on Bruce’s October 2014 passing, but no matter. Regardless of the motives it’s a terrific set, a grand sampling of the range of Bruce’s prodigious talent and a testament to why any musician worth their salt begged to collaborate with him.
Who else but Bruce could open with an acoustic bass rendering of J.S. Bach’s “Minuet No. 1”, glide easily to piano and vocals before bringing out a who’s who of rock and blues royalty? And what a gathering it is: guitarist supreme Gary Moore, saxophonist Dick Hecksatll-Smith (whose friendship with Bruce goes all the way back to the Alexis Korner years) keyboardist Bernie Worrell, along with a slew of singers and players. And oh yeah, some cat named Ginger Baker takes reign of the drum kit.
With so many guests on stage you’d think Bruce might get lost in the mix but such is the power of his voice and playing – few bassists can match him for pure technique and audacity – that such perennial favorites as “White Room” and “Sunshine of Your Love” sound as vibrant as lesser known gems including “Bird Alone” and “Golden Days.” It’s a fine tribute to an artist whose contributions cannot be overestimated, and are already sorely missed. ****