|
This is a brilliant hodge-podge. Scratchy-scratchy big beat, zingy guitars, poptastic melodies, the most ridiculous put-on ragga vo
His voice is back, his head is focused, the Beach Boy lost at sea is drifting ashore again. Granted, Imagination is no Pet Sounds--whaddaya want, a miracle?--but it is clearly a product of the same sad, brilliant brain that once exploded the rules of pop music production. Despite flagging a bit midway, this album is solidly bookended by the title track and the weird-assed "Happy Days." There's also the summer anthem "South American" (a Jimmy Buffett assist) and the long lost BB gem "Let Him Run Wild," about Wilson's father's infidelities. Therapeutic! 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) Billy Bragg & Wilco Mermaid Avenue (Elektra/Warner) Veda Hille Here Is a Picture (Songs for E Carr) (self/Page)
What could Billy Bragg, Wilco and Vancouver's Veda Hille possibly have in common? They're writing songs with dead people. Cool, huh? I actually mean that. Imagine you're socialist singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, and the daughter of Woody Guthrie, the father of all socialist singer-songwriters and an American to boot, rings you up to tell you that she would just be tickled if you'd write some music for some of the 1,000 lyrics she's got lying around in her father's archive. That songwriting credit is going to read Bragg/Guthrie! But Billy is no hog--and an Englishman to boot--so he brings in hotshot American roots rockers Wilco for authenticity. And it works wonderfully, with the two trading off songs like Bragg's lovely, lyrical "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key" (with beaut backing vox from Natalie Merchant), or Wilco's wildly whimsical "Hoodoo Voodoo." Veda Hille, on her tribute to rain forest painter Emily Carr, also sets old written words (from Carr's journals) to new music, but plays looser with them over her plaintive piano songs and spare chamber folk. Either way, projects like these can take the bad taste out of your mouth from seeing Elvis sing in a Pizza Hut spot. Both 8/10 (Chris Yurkiw) Veda Hille + Heather McLeod play Le Cirque this Fri. June 26, $5.
|
Asian Dub Foundation Rafi's Revenge (ffrr/London/Polygram)
ice ever, and the '98 cool of being part of the "Asian music revolution." Which means you get "conscious" messages too. I'll be damned if I know what the message is on the first (and best) single "Buzzin'," but I do know that I've played it about twice a day for the past month, and I haven't heard such an infectiously energetic Britpop/dance/rap mess since EMF's "Unbelievable." Like Cornershop meets Black Grape and Big Audio Dynamite at a council coke party. Eh, with tablas. Great! 8.5/10 (Mireille Silcott)
Brian Wilson Imagination (Giant/Warner)