THE BEAT
Luscious Jackson, From Good Homes, Ominous Seapods
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 1, 1997) --
Luscious Jackson: Friends of Emmylou
While Emmylou Harris is in the middle of her set at the Berkshire Performing Arts Theatre in Lenox on Saturday night, another band whose latest album was likewise produced by Daniel Lanois will be performing nearby, when Luscious Jackson takes the stage at the Lansing-Chapman Rink at Williams College.In fact, the Lanois connection has led to some collaboration -- however unlikely -- between country singer Harris and the urban, female, neo-soul quartet. Harris lends her vocals to a few tracks on "Fever In Fever Out" (Grand Royal/Capitol), Luscious's latest album. And in a recent phone interview, Harris revealed that she has been working with Jill Cunniff, Luscious's chief singer and songwriter.
"Jill Cunniff and I have been writing some stuff," said Harris. "She's got great energy, and she's not daunted by the creative process, where I seem to cower before it as far as songwriting is concerned. So it's really good for me working with her."
The songwriting duo of Emmylou Harris and Jill Cunniff will certainly go down in history as one of the odder teams, perhaps the oddest couple since Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. Whereas Harris is firmly rooted in the country and honky-tonk tradition of the rural South, Luscious Jackson's sound is the heartbeat and pulse of contemporary urban America.
"Fever In Fever Out" takes the group into new territory. Previous albums were more rhythmic and sample-heavy, with more of a hip-hop influence, while the band's latest disk is more song-based, although one still firmly rooted in soul and funk of the '70s.
If you're feeling conflicted about having to choose between going to see Emmylou Harris or Luscious Jackson, don't feel so bad -- you're in good company. When informed that she was going to be performing at the exact same time as her friends just half an hour away, Harris herself was bummed. "Oh, that's frustrating, isn't it?" said Harris. "Maybe we can still hook up. I'd love to be able to see those girls. I like 'em a lot."
The Pulsars open for Luscious Jackson beginning at 9. Doors open at 8. Tickets are $10 and are available at Toonerville Trolley Records in Williamstown or by phone at 413-458-5229.
From Good Homes: Hick-pop
After playing up and down the East Coast for about five years, From Good Homes released its first major-label CD last year, "Open Up the Sky," on RCA Records. The disk showcased the New Jersey-based group's signature sound: a rootsy, acoustic-based melange of country-tinged folk-rock. In a typical Homes song, pop hooks rub up against funk grooves, bluegrass fiddles and soulful saxophones. It's a mixture the group itself has variously described as "heavy wood" or "hick-pop." In any case, it fits in comfortably with the growing trend of neo-hippie, alternative country bands like the Jayhawks, Son Volt and Wilco, and lead singer Todd Sheaffer shares a plaintive vocal catch that recalls Acoustic Junction's Reed Foehl. From Good Homes is at the Studio in Pittsfield on Friday, May 2, at 8. Tickets are available at all Strawberries record stores or by calling Berkshire World Travel at 413-663-7646.Ominous Seapods: Phishy-phunk
If you think there's something Phishy about a band called Ominous Seapods, you may be onto something. Maybe it's something about Lake Champlain. While the members of the Seapods were in college in Plattsburgh, N.Y., and first getting together and jamming, across the lake in Burlington, Vt., the like-minded Phish was already well on its way to neo-hippie, jam-rock stardom. Judging from the Seapods' phunky new CD, "Jet Smooth Ride" (Ripe & Ready), Phish-heads may well be phlocking to Seapods concerts in the coming weeks and months, because the band plays a similar brand of Grateful Dead-inspired hippie-phunk. See for yourself when the Albany-based Seapods open the show for From Good Homes at the Studio in Pittsfield on Friday night at 8.Backstage bits
The Mystery Cafe, at 137 Main St., in Sheffield, is now presenting music on Saturday nights at 8. Guitarist Jeff Neves performs this Saturday night, followed by singer-songwriter Jeffrey Folmer on May 9 and folksinger Mary Maddux on May 17. There is a $2 cover charge and a cafe menu available. Owner Jo Grossman is interested in hearing from performers who would like to be considered for a spot at the cafe. Give her a call at 413-229-0075....The Nields' album "Gotta Get Over Greta" is being re-released by Guardian/EMI Records next Tuesday. "Blue Greta" or "Re-Greta," as insiders have dubbed the new version of last year's album -- which this critic dubbed the best of the 1996 -- comes with three new tracks -- "Taxi Girl," which will be the first single, "Einstein's Daughter," and a version of the Beatles' "Lovely Rita" recorded with Dar Williams. An advance listen to the disk shows the Nields accomplished the impossible by improving upon perfection....
More than once over the last few months in this column we have drawn a comparison between Ani DiFranco and Bob Dylan. It seems we weren't the only ones thinking along those lines. DiFranco's record company, Righteous Babe, has announced that DiFranco will be joining Dylan on a concert swing through the Northeast and the Midwest in August....
The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival lineup has been finalized and flyers are being distributed. This year's festival takes place from July 25- 27, and includes such top names in the field as Janis Ian, David Wilcox, Cheryl Wheeler, Greg Brown, Dar Williams, Moxy Fruvous, Dan Bern and the Berkshires' own Roger the Jester. For more information call (860) 350-7472 or visit the Falcon Ridge web site at www.FalconRidgeFolk.com....
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on May 1, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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