CD Spins - Reviews - S
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Comp
THE 6THS
Wasps' Nests (London)
A project of alt-rock cult artist Stephin Merritt
of Magnetic Fields, this album pairs Merritt's faux-
naif compositions with the voices of fellow alt-rock
cult artists, including members of Yo La Tengo,
Sebadoh, Luna, Helium, Let's Active, Superchunk and
Velvet Crush. What ties it all together are Merritt's
love of melody and pop sensibility filtered through
his somewhat psychedelic production, very English and
very 1969. The variety of voices only adds to the
kaleidoscopic effect.
LES SAMPOU
Fall from Grace (Flying Fish)
Far from a "fall from grace," Les Sampou's Flying
Fish debut and her second album overall is a great
leap forward, highlighting her sexy, muscular vocals
and her confident blues picking on a dozen, carefully-
drawn original songs. From the Rory Block-school of
blues mama-hood, when Sampou really lets loose she
hits the spot that Melissa Etheridge can only dream
of.
JIMMY SCOTT
Heaven (Warner Bros.)
Backed simply by a trio featuring wunderkind pianist
Jacky Terrasson, vocalist Jimmy Scott takes on a mix
of contemporary tunes by the likes of Bob Dylan,
Curtis Mayfield and David Byrne, along with some
traditional folk and gospel songs. The Craig Street-
produced album takes its title and theme from the
Talking Heads tune of the same name, and many of the
songs address otherworldy concerns. Scott's
otherworldly vocal style, with its wavering pitch and
broken lines, is so weird to begin with it works best
on the more conventional material, where the stark
contrast between the text and the execution speaks
volumes.
SEAL
Human Being (Warner Bros.)
There's always been a need for the kind of music Seal makes -- call it
Grammy pop. It's lush, state-of-the-art pop music that in its rhythm and
production alludes to contemporary styles, while being polished to a sort of
timeless sheen. What Seal in particular brings to it on his third album is
an edgy voice that dances around the warm, smooth surfaces. In that sense he
is a classic-style soul singer, and on ballads and uptempo numbers -- some
with hyped-up Eurobeats -- Seal can occasionally sound as convincing as
Marvin Gaye or Al Green.
[ 12/6/98 ]
BOB SEGER AND THE SILVER BULLET BAND
It's a Mystery (Capitol)
In Seger's case, a guy gushing over with sincerity,
a little irony might go a long way toward relieving
the preachiness and didacticism of his latest work. He
has lost the sense of drama that fueled such classics
as "Night Moves" and "Against the Wind;" the
closest he comes to narrative is "Manhattan," a
story about an urban desperado in grave need of a New
York City street map. Battery Park is south of
Washington Square, Bob. Why not stick to singing about
the Motor City? He still boasts those great, blue-
collar, rock 'n' roll pipes, however.
MARTIN SEXTON
Black Sheep (Eastern Front)
This marks the debut of an immensely and uniquely talented singer-songwriter. Like some bastard spawn of Jackie Wilson and Aretha Franklin, Sexton is really a soul singer in new-folk disguise. In any lesser talent's hands, his road-oriented, original compositions would be gems. For Sexton, however, their carefully drawn if somewhat mundane detail don't always live up to his extraordinarily over-the-top performance. This is where a real producer -- one who could impose a more disciplined musical vision -- would be of immense service to an artist who most definitely should be watched.
TALVIN SINGH
OK (Island)
Londoner Singh embodies both the ties that bind and the fractures of
dissonance that characterize contemporary cosmopolitan culture. An
Englishman by birth who has never been accepted as English, an Indian looked
upon as English by his ancestral countrymen, he responds with "OK," an
end-of-the-century tour through soundscapes in which tabla vies with beatbox
for primacy -- a dance of ancient and modern. With help from the likes of
Bill Laswell and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Singh draws equally on Asian and Western
classical traditions, found sounds, jazz instrumentalists and traditional
vocalists for his multi-hued, sonically synthetic tapestry. The result is a
splendid, state-of-the-art jet ride through time and space.[ 11/22/98 ]
SOUL COUGHING
l Oso (Slash/Warner Bros.)
On his group's third album, Simon's Rock alumnus and avant-poet M. Doughty
continues to intone his cryptic, Beat-influenced lyrics over some deep,
heavy funk-rock beats. "El Oso" finds the group reunited with producer Tchad
Blake, who has fun tinkering with their sound, adding his usual electronic
and industrial doodads. The album also features some of the group's
catchiest and most accessible melodies ("Circles") since it was spawned on
New York's downtown scene, and boasts some state-of-the-art jungle beats
courtesy of British techno-wizard Optical. In all, another great effort from
one of America's greatest bands.[ 11/22/98 ]
rogovoy@berkshire.net
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Copyright © 1996 Seth Rogovoy
Produced bt The BerkshireWeb