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Leonard Nimoy & William Shatner Spaced Out! (Space/Universal)
Xzibit Forty Dayz & Forty Nightz (Loud/BMG) I don't think Mr. X-to-the-Z gets half the respect he deserves. This official member of the Likwid crew could probably rhyme circles around half the MCs we know, and with his second album full of reasons to listen, I don't doubt that he will. Check "Handle Your Business" featuring Defari, or "Shroomz," a song that reworks the Ohio Players classic "Funky Worm." Xzibit's gruff delivery drives each song with a genuine roughness, with production choices getting the nod overall. No classical samples here--what you see is what you get. 7.5/10 (Scott C) Jaqueline Johnson Song in Blue (Jazz It Up) This former Montreal artist now works out of Toronto with the superb group heard here: Marc Auguste Jr., Pat LaBarbera, Kieran Overs and Ted Warren. Vocalist Johnson's excellent debut CD mixes jazz standards, like Ellington's "I Got It Bad" and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's "Four," with her own originals, including the title piece. Great stuff! 8.5/10 (Len Dobbin) At Maison de la culture Frontenac, Saturday, October 17, 10pm Alfred Newman The Greatest Story Ever Told Soundtrack (Ryko/Outside) André Previn Elmer Gantry Soundtrack (Ryko/Outside) Both films deal with aspects of religion, albeit very different ones. The religious angle of The Greatest Story... is devotion, that of Elmer Gantry provocation. Newman's score reflects a kind of secular religion--static, sterilized and self-serving--with gentle emotions and decorative ceremonies. Elmer Gantry is the exact opposite. It's an exercise in extremes: moral depravity and sincere faith, harshly dissonant sounds and superb orchestral technique. Previn's music shows the ragged edges of New World civilization, stylizing Louisiana jazz, revival hymns and marching bands. A masterpiece, deserving serious attention on its own merit. Newman 5/10, Previn 9/10 (Wolfgang Bottenberg)
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In the year 3000, visitors from another world will unearth this ridiculous tchochke and deem it a vital cultural artifact of our (extinct?) species. Swoon as Nimoy croons, "I'd Love Making Love to You"! Guffaw as Shatner brutalizes the Beatles and Dylan! Run screaming as Nimoy perpetrates "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins"! These musical mistakes from the early '70s have that car-crash quality: stomach-turning, but you know you gotta look. 8.5/10... for laff value! (Rupert Bottenberg)