VariousStax 50th Anniversary Celebration(Concord)Any soul fan worth his grits will have a dozen of these 50 tracks from the heyday of Memphis’ Stax label. That still leaves room for some thrilling discoveries and happy memory-stoking. The span of 1961 to 1974 closely parallels the rise of Motown, but Stax is just a bit more Southern. […]
Doug Taylor
Posted inArts + Music
The Free Design
The Free DesignThe Now Sound RevisitedLight in the atticFalling somewhere between tribute and blender, this album features an astounding array of artists exulting in the legacy of a band you likely never heard of. The Free Design (basically the Dedrick family band) played sophisticated breezy pop 35 years ago a la Beach Boys or Spanky […]
Posted inArts + Music
Shivaree
ShivareeWho’s Got Trouble? (Zoë/Rounder)Ambrosia Parsley’s seductive coo moves blood briskly from men’s knees to their, um, ears, but Shivaree has seen more success in Europe than at home in the States. The band’s cabaret cool makes no play for mass appeal. “Little Black Mess,” with a scent of Weill, could be an anthem for thoughtful […]
Posted inArts + Music
Alicia Keys
Published January 15, 2004. Alicia Keys The Diary of Alicia Keys (J) No one should have to follow a huge-selling disc before turning 23, but Alicia Keys demostrates it was no fluke. Her piano and command of the pivotal role it plays in sweet soul music sets her apart. The mix of samples and reality […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Windom Earle All-Stars
The Windom Earle All-StarsA Series of Minor Personal Tragedies (Independent)What is arguably the most exciting live act to surface recently in Halifax backs it up on record. Windom Earle, the Jeff Coll Five and Operation Impact arrived from PEI a few years ago and are featured interchangeably here. Stephan MacLeod is a creative force in […]
Posted inArts + Music
Lori McKenna
Published December 08, 2005. Lori McKenna Bittertown (True North) Could this be New England’s answer to Lucinda Williams? If family life delayed McKenna’s blossoming, a willingness to lay it all out seriously stokes her songs. Pinched old-timey vocals give her battles and worries an eternal quality. With such a crack band, tales of small-town decay […]
Posted inArts + Music
Erin Costelo
Erin CosteloThe Trouble and the TruthIndependentThere is a maturity in Costelo’s voice and approach that is disarming in a debut. When she extends the “I” in “Pale Moon” into three and four notes, it has the heartiness of someone delighting in finally getting her song out there. Costelo is an alto who can reach higher […]
Posted inArts + Music
Four Tet
Four TetEverything Ecstatic(Domino)Initial reaction to Four Tet will ride on how you feel about machines. UK laptop maestro Kieran Hebden cleverly fuses mechanical and seemingly random elements to snare even the ear that associates beeps and buzzes with the call to drudgery. His achievement is showing how far it can go. The frenzied machine beats […]
Posted inArts + Music
Joni Mitchell
Joni MitchellThe Beginning of Survival(Geffen)Inside a handsome package featuring 10 of Mitchell’s paint- ings lies a selection of ’80s and ’90s tracks deserving a fresh listen. Few people would call this her peak period, but loss of upper register did nothing to erode her wit and inventiveness. “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” (1991) is an apocalyptic entrancer […]
Posted inArts + Music
Kraftwerk
Published October 02, 2003. Kraftwerk Tour de France Soundtracks (EMI) To listen to this is to understand music as the breath of technology, not some human ideal to which technology aspires. If not the inventor of techno, the group is its embodiment, and Kraftwerk’s first album in 17 years displays a clarity and range of […]
Posted inArts + Music
Kelis
KelisKelis Was Here (Jive/Sony)There must have been a line around the corner to produce this volatile talent now that she’s split with the Neptunes. will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), Raphael Saadiq (TonyToniToné) and Cee-lo each help make this one of the more multi-textured R&B albums in memory. Kelis is a force, with a desire to leave […]
Posted inArts + Music
Mika
MikaLife in Cartoon Motion(Island)Mercury on the single “Grace Kelly” has made strong first impressions for this flamboyant native of Lebanon, now based in Europe. An elastic falsetto and variety of characters could register initially as Teletubbies for adults. Further attention reveals sophistication. The cellos of “Any Other Day” inject substance into a twee ballad, with […]
