GoodSound! "Music" ArchivesPublished November 1, 2002 |
Peter Gabriel: Up
Geffen 493388
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It is both funny and
exasperating to hear what critics have said about Up. Some have condemned its lack
of pop-sensibility, while others have attacked Up’s dark tone. I’m a bit
puzzled. When has Peter Gabriel’s music ever been about satisfying "pop"
conventions? Although commercial success did come with So, the balance of
Gabriel’s work is anything but conventional. Up is no different. Cuts
like "No Way Out," "Growing Up," and "I Grieve" not only
offer poignant lyrics, but also wonderfully dense and melodic arrangements that leverage
Gabriel’s trademark mix of Middle Eastern, African, and rock influences. If you want
conventional pop, throw on Genesis’ Invisible Touch. If you want music that
digs deep into the human condition and makes you think, then sit back and allow
this pristine recording to captivate your soul. This is the best album I’ve heard
this year and yet another jewel in the crown of Peter Gabriel’s unique body of work.
Brilliant.
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Nino Rota: Franco Zeffirelli's
Romeo & Juliet
City of Prague Philharmonic; Nic Raine, conductor.
Silva America SSD 1140
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Nino Rota’s
score for Franco Zeffirelli’s youth-oriented film of Shakespeare’s classic play
has always struck me as a perfect balance between historical and contemporary. It pays
homage to medieval chant and old dance music, while providing a voluptuous 20th-century
love theme, one that became a gold hit for Henry Mancini. The original soundtrack
recording has always been problematical. The score was not very well recorded, and one of
the discs contained a lot of dialogue from the movie, which pleased a few listeners, and
irritated others. This new version, which employs a larger orchestra than that afforded
Rota, fills the gap admirably. Conductor Nic Raine plumbs the music to its very soul, and
secures marvelous playing from his pickup orchestra. The recorded sound is lush, rich,
warm, and full, yet loaded with detail.
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Blue Rodeo: Palace of Gold
WEA 2 44915
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Even with two lead
singers sharing the limelight (Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy), Canada’s Blue Rodeo has
enjoyed a nearly two-decade-long career that’s spawned nine studio albums without a
clunker in the bunch -- a feat rarely seen. Palace of Gold maintains their
tried-and-true formula of country and pop with a healthy dose of blues and
rock’n’roll. Fans will readily identify their trademark sound, but they do
stretch out musically a bit with the addition of strings and horns on various tracks.
Keelor and Cuddy again share all songwriting credit, but it’s obvious whose influence
is where. Edgy, darker feasts like "Homeward Bound Angel" show off Keelor’s
psychedelic and sometimes Beatle-esque side; while Cuddy’s countrified crooning on
tracks like "Bulletproof" carry on their longstanding tradition of producing
country-pop gems that can raise concert-hall roofs. Then there’s the title track,
"Palace of Gold," which shows how skillfully the two still blend -- sung by
both, probably written by both. Blue Rodeo’s formed their reputation with topnotch
musicianship and album consistency. Palace of Gold holds true to that.
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Steve Earle: Jerusalem
Artemis 751147
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The raw, gritty sound
of "Ashes to Ashes" sets a dark tone for what follows on this riveting 11-track
disc. With Steve Earle almost snarling into the microphone you’d swear Tom Waits had
a hand in the production. Earle has something to say and he does it with a simple and
direct musical style that transcends his country-rock roots. Jerusalem’s
lyrics are politically charged, to the point of inspiring debate, but Steve Earle's
ferocious delivery intrigued me the most and kept me playing this disc over and over
again. The only track I never warmed up to is the third one, "Conspiracy
Theory." Musically it sounds out of place, and it simply doesn’t measure up to
the rest of what’s here. And if I have to gripe, "Shadowland" has a hook or
two that sounds too much like "Guitar Town." But those are minor complaints on a
disc that’s bristling with intensity. Earle’s voice is mostly close-miked,
perhaps a tad hollow at times, but is projected with immediacy that puts his words where
he wants ‘em -- in your face.
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French Ballet Music
(Delibes: Le Roi s’amuse - ballet suite; Debussy: Prélude à
l’après-midi d’un faune, Cortège et air de danse from
"L’Enfant prodigue"; Saint-Saëns: "Danse" and
"Bacchanale" from Samson et Dalila; Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust
excerpts; Massenet: "Valse" from Cendrillon; Gounod: "Ballet
Music" from Faust)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Sir Thomas Beecham,
conductor.
EMI 67900 Great Recordings of the Century
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No one, before or since, conducted smaller pieces, what might be
called musical bonbons, with greater spirit and joi de vivre than Sir Thomas
Beecham. There are also large measures of grace and lyricism involved in each performance.
The conductor’s interpretation of Debussy’s famous Prélude à
l’après-midi d’un faune moves along at a good clip without ever sounding
rushed. The result is ravishing. Fortunately, Beecham lived to record in the early days of
stereo, and the EMI producers and engineers of the period provided him the best sound
possible. Their combined efforts have been fully realized here, the excellent original
sound processed in the digital realm with Abbey Road Technology (ART). Put this disc on
from the beginning, and you’ll be hooked for 70 of the most delightful minutes you
will experience all year. "Blast from the past" is a phrase that can have
meaning for classical music as well as rock!
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