Thirty
years into his career, Paul Weller has always flaunted exemplary
style. In 22 Dreams, his ninth solo album, the stylishly coifed
singer, songwriter and guitarist marks his 50th birthday with an
ambitious, eclectic mix of 21 tracks, from the psychedelic Echoes
Round the Sun to the classic piano-based soul of Invisible
and minimalist electronica of 111. This is Weller at his
experimental best. Each song shifts genres, snapping Weller’s
soulfully tuned voice from crooning to belting and back. What’s
impressive is the sheer breadth of musical vision in these
tracks, from the nu-folk opener Light Nights to its
obverse urban closer Night Lights, taking in all manner
of rock, soul and R&B variants, some quite unexpected and
some even shocking. Apart from being the most eclectic and
resourcefully imaginative solo album of Weller’s career, 22
Dreams also turns out to be one of his most consistent
efforts. The Light Nights starts off the album with
violin, cello and Steve Cradock’s 12-string guitar skirting
along on a Mediterranean melody, followed directly by the
horn-blaring stomp of the title track. Black River floats
along with springtime glee, carelessly following a light
lounge-piano and a relaxed strumming on sliding guitar, courtesy
ex-Blur guitarist Graham Coxon. All I Want To Do (Is Be With
You) is the record’s most approachable, easy-going
pop-rock tune. Noel Gallagher and Gem from Oasis lend their
talents to Echoes Around the Sun, a writing collaboration
between Weller and Gallagher. 22 Dreams has resulted as one of
Weller’s most spirited works so far and is sure to expand the
artistic canon of the one and only ‘Modfather’.
Best track: Echoes
Around The Sun
Worst track:
Push It Along
Rating: ***
John Mellencamp
— Life Death Love and Freedom
(Hear Music)
John
Mellencamp delves into American folk, blues and country in his
latest release, Life Death Love and Freedom. Of these
four themes, death seems to be the most prominent on Mellencamp’s
mind. With song titles like Don’t Need This Body and Longest
Days, it’s obvious that he’s feeling the effects of age
and pondering that disturbing, inevitable fate. "All my
friends are sick or dyin’/And I’m here all by myself"
he seethes on If I Die Sudden, while the lumbering notes
of an upright bass stalk his voice like mortality itself.
Mellencamp, however, isn’t just concerned with his own
passing, he’s also concerned with the passing of a nation he
has so thoroughly chronicled the past three decades. Tracks like
Without a Shot, Troubled Land, and Jena
portray an America that has lost track of its ethical vision,
where people are so consumed by creed and fear that they’ve
secluded themselves. Mellencamp has adopted the persona of an
old blues man here and rather than sounding pessimistic, he
sounds frighteningly realistic. The mood picks up on the rocker My
Sweet Love, an ode to romance with a 1950s feel and rolling
drums. Troubled Land harkens back to Crumblin’ Down
musically with its swampy groove and sings of bringing peace
while warning of the hurricane on the horizon. On A Ride Back
Home, he pleads with Jesus to take him home, saying that his
time has come and is wishing for the end. Life, Death, Love
& Freedom is an excellent, thoughtful album featuring
beautiful, insightful lyrics that look at life, the past and at
time passing away.
Best track:
My Sweet Love
Worst track:
For The Children
Rating: **
Randy Travis —
Around
The Bend
(Warner)
After
setting new standards for country music, Randy Travis made a
quiet transition to gospel a decade back, and crafted some of
his most personable, appealing records. With Around the Bend, he
returns to his roots with songs that are comfortably quaint and
rich with homespun charm. Though his method is different from
what passes for commercial country today. He applies his
flexible baritone to the breezy hook of Love Is a Gamble
and latches on to the simple ballad Dig Two Graves. He
performs convincingly on the contemplative You Didn’t Have
a Good Time, while on the cover Don’t Think Twice, It’s
All Right, he’s more playful and friendly than Bob Dylan
likely ever imagined. In truth, he hasn’t completely abandoned
spiritual themes; Faith In You, Love Is A Gamble
and From Your Knees feature Christian messages. Even the
playful Every Head Bowed spends a good amount of time in
church, albeit from the point of view of a young boy who’s
grumbling stomach has him praying for preacher to adjourn so the
family can head out to eat. The album’s most unforgettable
tune, You Didn’t Have A Good Time, dresses down a man
who has lost everything except the empty bottles piled around
his home. Around the Bend illustrates on such standout
cuts as Dig Two Graves and Everything That I Own (Has
A Dent), how modern production trends can combine with
traditional country styles in ways that can keep genre
conventions relevant and contemporary. Listening to anything
melodic that comes out of this man’s mouth is akin to wearing
your favourite pair of jeans. Everything fits so comfortably.
Best track: Love
Is A GambleWorst track:Turn It Around
Rating: **
Album of the month
Coldplay —
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (Capitol)
Coldplay’s
highly-anticipated fourth studio album, Viva La Vida or
Death and All His Friends, displays evolution and new
confidence without straying too distant from the band’s
trademark sounds: rousing anthems, emotional ballads and
contemplative vocals. Recruiting acclaimed producers,
including Brian Eno (U2, Talking Heads) and Markus Dravs
(Bj`F6rk, Arcade Fire) for creative guidance, Coldplay
veer from their mass appeal musical formula and toy with
more experimental songs. As the title suggests, Viva La
Vida is a positively celebratory collection of songs
seeping-in melodies, hooks, and emotion that show Coldplay
stripping themselves of the self-imposed chains that held
back X&Y and letting it fly. There’s
something blissfully carefree in this record’s 10
tracks, evident in the shuffle beat of Lost,
Cemeteries of London or the Indie folk pop Strawberry
Swing. The self-described "very heavy soft rock
band" delivers Viva La Vida as a full on rock album,
and its drive propels the album past most typical Coldplay
issues. Ballads are conspicuously absent here, thus the
quartet avoids the snag that dragged down their previous
efforts. Violet Hill, in particular, struts
confidently, decked out with a stomping beat and Martin
disposing of his usual niceties to deliver the single’s
hook "If you loved me, why’d you let me go?"The opening instrumental, Life In Technicolour
is brilliant starting point, a mix of Eno’s electronics
and Buckland’s guitars that collide in breathtaking
fashion. Yes has a Middle Eastern flavour to it,
with Martin singing an octave or three dozen below his
normal range, while Lovers In Japan is a
quintessential Coldplay love song full of flowing,
piano-led melodies and Martin’s warm, reassuring vocals.
The track Viva La Vida showcases perhaps Martin’s best
lyrical work on the album. The track, at once layered and
pulsing with strings, combines urgency with
built-for-sing-along refrains including: "For some
reason I can’t explain/ I know St Peter won’t call my
name/ Never an honest word/ But that was when I ruled the
world." Death And All His Friends draws the album
to a pensive close, slow-building its way to another
majestic finale, before a reprise of Life In
Technicolour holds us mesmerised once more and leaves
us yearning for more. The album is executed on a grand
scale, the layers of instrumentation suggesting an
enormous, jubilant ensemble, and the result is easily
Coldplay’s best album to date, a record filled with
exuberance, charm, and the heart they’ve been feigning
for years. While Coldplay paints a darker picture
lyrically, musically the album is filled with fun
syncopation, an assortment of tones and instruments, and
is a very pleasing listen.
Thirty
years into his career, Paul Weller has always flaunted exemplary
style. In 22 Dreams, his ninth solo album, the stylishly coifed
singer, songwriter and guitarist marks his 50th birthday with an
ambitious, eclectic mix of 21 tracks, from the psychedelic Echoes
Round the Sun to the classic piano-based soul of Invisible
and minimalist electronica of 111. This is Weller at his
experimental best. Each song shifts genres, snapping Weller’s
soulfully tuned voice from crooning to belting and back. What’s
impressive is the sheer breadth of musical vision in these
tracks, from the nu-folk opener Light Nights to its
obverse urban closer Night Lights, taking in all manner
of rock, soul and R&B variants, some quite unexpected and
some even shocking. Apart from being the most eclectic and
resourcefully imaginative solo album of Weller’s career, 22
Dreams also turns out to be one of his most consistent
efforts. The Light Nights starts off the album with
violin, cello and Steve Cradock’s 12-string guitar skirting
along on a Mediterranean melody, followed directly by the
horn-blaring stomp of the title track. Black River floats
along with springtime glee, carelessly following a light
lounge-piano and a relaxed strumming on sliding guitar, courtesy
ex-Blur guitarist Graham Coxon. All I Want To Do (Is Be With
You) is the record’s most approachable, easy-going
pop-rock tune. Noel Gallagher and Gem from Oasis lend their
talents to Echoes Around the Sun, a writing collaboration
between Weller and Gallagher. 22 Dreams has resulted as one of
Weller’s most spirited works so far and is sure to expand the
artistic canon of the one and only ‘Modfather’.
John
Mellencamp delves into American folk, blues and country in his
latest release, Life Death Love and Freedom. Of these
four themes, death seems to be the most prominent on Mellencamp’s
mind. With song titles like Don’t Need This Body and Longest
Days, it’s obvious that he’s feeling the effects of age
and pondering that disturbing, inevitable fate. "All my
friends are sick or dyin’/And I’m here all by myself"
he seethes on If I Die Sudden, while the lumbering notes
of an upright bass stalk his voice like mortality itself.
Mellencamp, however, isn’t just concerned with his own
passing, he’s also concerned with the passing of a nation he
has so thoroughly chronicled the past three decades. Tracks like
Without a Shot, Troubled Land, and Jena
portray an America that has lost track of its ethical vision,
where people are so consumed by creed and fear that they’ve
secluded themselves. Mellencamp has adopted the persona of an
old blues man here and rather than sounding pessimistic, he
sounds frighteningly realistic. The mood picks up on the rocker My
Sweet Love, an ode to romance with a 1950s feel and rolling
drums. Troubled Land harkens back to Crumblin’ Down
musically with its swampy groove and sings of bringing peace
while warning of the hurricane on the horizon. On A Ride Back
Home, he pleads with Jesus to take him home, saying that his
time has come and is wishing for the end. Life, Death, Love
& Freedom is an excellent, thoughtful album featuring
beautiful, insightful lyrics that look at life, the past and at
time passing away.
After
setting new standards for country music, Randy Travis made a
quiet transition to gospel a decade back, and crafted some of
his most personable, appealing records. With Around the Bend, he
returns to his roots with songs that are comfortably quaint and
rich with homespun charm. Though his method is different from
what passes for commercial country today. He applies his
flexible baritone to the breezy hook of Love Is a Gamble
and latches on to the simple ballad Dig Two Graves. He
performs convincingly on the contemplative You Didn’t Have
a Good Time, while on the cover Don’t Think Twice, It’s
All Right, he’s more playful and friendly than Bob Dylan
likely ever imagined. In truth, he hasn’t completely abandoned
spiritual themes; Faith In You, Love Is A Gamble
and From Your Knees feature Christian messages. Even the
playful Every Head Bowed spends a good amount of time in
church, albeit from the point of view of a young boy who’s
grumbling stomach has him praying for preacher to adjourn so the
family can head out to eat. The album’s most unforgettable
tune, You Didn’t Have A Good Time, dresses down a man
who has lost everything except the empty bottles piled around
his home. Around the Bend illustrates on such standout
cuts as Dig Two Graves and Everything That I Own (Has
A Dent), how modern production trends can combine with
traditional country styles in ways that can keep genre
conventions relevant and contemporary. Listening to anything
melodic that comes out of this man’s mouth is akin to wearing
your favourite pair of jeans. Everything fits so comfortably.
Coldplay’s
highly-anticipated fourth studio album, Viva La Vida or
Death and All His Friends, displays evolution and new
confidence without straying too distant from the band’s
trademark sounds: rousing anthems, emotional ballads and
contemplative vocals. Recruiting acclaimed producers,
including Brian Eno (U2, Talking Heads) and Markus Dravs
(Bj`F6rk, Arcade Fire) for creative guidance, Coldplay
veer from their mass appeal musical formula and toy with
more experimental songs. As the title suggests, Viva La
Vida is a positively celebratory collection of songs
seeping-in melodies, hooks, and emotion that show Coldplay
stripping themselves of the self-imposed chains that held
back X&Y and letting it fly. There’s
something blissfully carefree in this record’s 10
tracks, evident in the shuffle beat of Lost,
Cemeteries of London or the Indie folk pop Strawberry
Swing. The self-described "very heavy soft rock
band" delivers Viva La Vida as a full on rock album,
and its drive propels the album past most typical Coldplay
issues. Ballads are conspicuously absent here, thus the
quartet avoids the snag that dragged down their previous
efforts. Violet Hill, in particular, struts
confidently, decked out with a stomping beat and Martin
disposing of his usual niceties to deliver the single’s
hook "If you loved me, why’d you let me go?"
The opening instrumental, Life In Technicolour
is brilliant starting point, a mix of Eno’s electronics
and Buckland’s guitars that collide in breathtaking
fashion. Yes has a Middle Eastern flavour to it,
with Martin singing an octave or three dozen below his
normal range, while Lovers In Japan is a
quintessential Coldplay love song full of flowing,
piano-led melodies and Martin’s warm, reassuring vocals.
The track Viva La Vida showcases perhaps Martin’s best
lyrical work on the album. The track, at once layered and
pulsing with strings, combines urgency with
built-for-sing-along refrains including: "For some
reason I can’t explain/ I know St Peter won’t call my
name/ Never an honest word/ But that was when I ruled the
world." Death And All His Friends draws the album
to a pensive close, slow-building its way to another
majestic finale, before a reprise of Life In
Technicolour holds us mesmerised once more and leaves
us yearning for more. The album is executed on a grand
scale, the layers of instrumentation suggesting an
enormous, jubilant ensemble, and the result is easily
Coldplay’s best album to date, a record filled with
exuberance, charm, and the heart they’ve been feigning
for years. While Coldplay paints a darker picture
lyrically, musically the album is filled with fun
syncopation, an assortment of tones and instruments, and
is a very pleasing listen.
