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Flair to spare...Divas on DVD...A gift supreme...Jolly anthologies
Cover story
Artists celebrate their influences, the influenced celebrate the artists
by MIRROR MUSIC STAFF
Paul Weller
Studio 150 (V2)
Various
Paul Weller: Under the Influence (DMC)
On the former, the Modfather and a fleet of supporting players offer light and stylish renditions of tunes by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Burt Bacharach, Sister Sledge, Oasis and more, largely avoiding the material you’d expect him to tackle. Weller’s contribution to the Under the Influence series isn’t merely a reflection of his mod-punk and blue-eyed soul bands the Jam and the Style Council. Instead, the disc’s classic jazz, blues, rock ’n’ roll, pop, soul and ska, and more modern funk, reggae, R&B and hip hop, make a solid primer for record collections bereft of blackness. (Lorraine Carpenter)
Various
Is It Rolling Bob? A Reggae
Tribute to Bob Dylan (Ras)
For the pot-smoking, beeswax-dreaded, patchouli type for whom you purchased a blown glass pipe last year, why not avoid head-shop shopping and pick this one up? After the mincemeat pie, get stoned and listen to Cool Ruler Gregory Isaacs try his hand at “Mr. Tambourine Man,” or Luci singing “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” (Erin MacLeod)
Various
Metallic Attack: Metallica—the
Ultimate Tribute (Big Deal)
As a rule of thumb, metal homage records are today’s ultimate lump of coal, but this tribute to the incredibly dysfunctional heavy-metal superstars is actually pretty damn good. Highlights include Motörhead absolutely killing on “Whiplash” and Helmet’s Page Hamilton gasping through “Motorbreath.” Also features members of Testament, Prong, Death Angel, Dark Angel and—wait for it—that shitty singer guy from Ugly Kid Joe. (Johnson Cummins)
Chaka Khan
ClassiKhan (EMI)
Khan has always dabbled with jazz and big-band music. Think of this as a follow-up, albeit a long overdue one, to her ’82 jazz set Echoes of an Era, substituting that line-up of A-list jazz musicians with the equally impressive London Symphony Orchestra, who deftly usher her through classic American Songbook staples like “The Best Is Yet to Come.” Actually, I think the best has already arrived. (Gerard Dee)
Various
Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon (Artemis)
This is your ticket to finally getting the thumbs-up from the in-laws. The late Zevon left a treasure trove of classics and this compilation has heavyweights like Steve Earle, Ry Cooder, the Pixies, Bruce Springsteen and even Bob Dylan paying tribute to the legendary songwriter. There are some definite skips here, like Don Henley’s contribution and Adam Sandler’s horrible “Werewolves of London,” but the good far outweighs the, uh, Henley. (Johnson Cummins)
Various
Spacelines: Sonic Sounds
for Subterraneans (Mr. CD)
The missing link between the hippies and the shoegazers, Pete “Sonic Boom” Kember and his trio Spacemen 3 were Britain’s late-’80s masters of cosmic buzz and drone. Kember has done a thorough job of compiling the oddities and obscurities that gave his band a template to work from—Bo Diddley and Lightning Hopkins, Red Crayola and the White Noise, the MC5 and Sun Ra. Freak out! (Rupert Bottenberg)
