CD Review Rack:
This Month:
Jon Albrink: Shimmer & Thrum Eric Wood: Illustrated Night Julie Miller: Broken Things by Richard CuccaroShimmer & Thrum Jon Albrink Rimanoah Records The pen is mightier than the sword. Combined with a guitar (axe) in the hands of an accomplished songwriter, it will cut a neat swath through a muddled present and a cloudy future. Jon Albrink wields a formidable weapon. He has a sharp command of melody and his burr-edged voice matches each melodic turn with precision. In the opening cut, "Miracle," "…she waits for a miracle…and she's hoping that it's cheap and it's free." Kind of like when the lotto goes over 25 million and I plunk down my five bucks to buy a bargain solve-all. And sometimes there's an inertia that leaves us earthbound. "She waits for the sun to rise, so she can finally get some sleep… Jon expresses it well. Looking back on a relationship in "Brother and Sister," declaring "…I know we're more than brother and sister…", Jon explores what happened between him and one particular female with aplomb, not hiding the hurt, but exalting it with a sweeping grace. Marc Shulman, an old favorite on lead guitar, adds some wrenching slide and solo work. One jewel on the CD, for me, is "Angel on My Shoulder." This has some surprising melodic twists and lyrics that Stevie Wonder would be proud of. The loss is mirrored so well… "I'm going far tonight…with an angel on my shoulder…suddenly it's colder than I had planned." I have no trouble imagining Stevie performing it. Marc again adds some beautiful background solo work. Another absolute gem is "The way I Look at You." Any singer/songwriter would be happy with a declaration of love such as this one in his repertoire. "When your dreams are broken…and your blood is shed…no one wants to take you into his bed…when your bridge is smokin'… river's running red… all of your friends have left you for dead…Nothing's gonna change… the way I look at you." The bridge, "…I know I sound like a fool, when I go on this way…" is like a hit of a spring flower's aroma. It's sensitive and catchy, with Beatle-like pop hooks. Allison Cornell provides some beautiful background violin and viola here. The entire effort is full of finely crafted songs and thoughtful production. Shimmer and Thrum is Available on www.songs.com
Illustrated Night Eric Wood Appaloosa /IRD The wind is driving off the river as I approach 10th Avenue, walking west on 34th Street. It's 13 degrees with a wind chill of minus 8 as I listen to Eric Wood's latest CD on the discman with the headphones. In the number, "Let My People Go,"A fierce Latin beat drives the song. Underneath my three and four layers of clothing, it's getting warmer. With his band: T Xiques on drums, Carlo DeRosa on string bass, Jeff Berman on vibes and Luis Perdomo on piano, Eric Wood (on acoustic guitar) cranks out a groove seldom heard on any contemporary singer/songwriter recording. He seems to have inherited the soul of an elderly black jazz diva. When I first heard his voice hit some of the higher registers, I thought he had gotten someone like Shirley Horn as a guest vocalist. Nope…it was still Eric. Writing with a sense of universal philosophy, directed at the failings of all mankind can be hard to pull off. Eric makes it work with an intelligence fueled by passion. In "Let My People Go," Eric yearns for freedom from the inescapable manipulation that seems to haunt all of us, from average person to monarch. He sings: "…The wisest of kings is most easily swayed from his power by his own hand-picked fool." "Fool's Gold" contains a similar desire "…Deliver me from this fool whose cravings rule…" This time he borrows middle-eastern melodic styles and combines them effectively with Latin stylings. "The Call," about a relationship that never finds the spark to let it burst into flame is, nevertheless, another fiery piece… "Over and over, she answers the phone, no one hears ringing and talks to the tone…" "Blue Impression" is a slow and relaxed contemplation that seems to pay homage to Tim Buckley, one of Eric's inspirations, and someone he is sometimes compared to. "Fade Into Love" is another hot laser to the eardrum… "I would have lost my heart to you any way… even if we hadn't been destine to fade…fade into love." If you don't mind a bit of jazz mixed in with your acoustic singer/songwriter fix, this should get you off very nicely.
Broken Things Julie Miller Hightone Records When I renewed my membership to WFUV during its recent pledge drive, I don't remember what the agreement was, as far as a recorded work in return for my money. I got this CD in the mail and, not being familiar with Julie's work, thought that maybe 'FUV was giving away some of these unsolicited CD's from unheralded and unknown songwriters that sometimes get raffelled off at small coffeehouse concerts. Wow, was I wrong! Julie Miller is a familiar name to friends of mine who write songs on a regular basis and she received support on this recording from some pretty heavy hitters. Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, and Victoria Williams, all friends of hers from many gigs ago, make appearances in harmony and backup roles. Other names still unfamiliar to me (like her husband, Buddy--great harmony vocals), help to create an engaging CD from beginning to end. After a web search, I find a number of sites and learn that she joined with her husband-to-be in 1976 in a band called Partners in Crime and that two other albums available are Invisible Girl and Broken Pony. Julie sang on three tracks of Buddy's 1995 Hightone debut album, Your Love And Other Lies, that was acclaimed by fans, critics and industry insiders alike as the definitive honky-tonk album of the year. I also read jottings from one admirer, that he saw her and Buddy open for Steve Earle for 3 nights in a row and was captivated from beinning to end. No surprise, by now! Julie's voice is compact in tone with a sharp, cutting quality that carries enough wallop to deliver each song's message in hard-hitting fashion. "Innocent, but worldly," one critic writes. She reminds me of Sam Phillips. The opener, "Ride the Wind to Me," immediately delivers the message that this woman can rock. Here come those twangy, janglin' git-tars again! God I love it! The song is a sad one for a friend to whom she sings hopefully, "In my heart I see you run free, like a river down to the sea. All the chains that held you down, will be in pieces on the ground…you'll drink the rain and ride the wind to me…" Another rocker, "I Need You" wails,. I need something like morphine only better I need something and I need more than I can earn, I need something like amnesia for things I know I need something like a mother 'cause I'm a child I need something like an asylum 'cause I go wild I need something, I need you" Ohhh yeahhhhh! Good for you, Buddy! The title cut, "Broken Things," is a beautiful, searingly poignant song about a lost love, but when we read in the liner notes that it was used in a memorial service in Northern Ireland to eulogize 27 innocent victims of the violence there, it gathers even more power. You can have my heart though it isn't new. It's been bruised and broken and only comes in blue. It's been down a long road and it got dirty on the way. If I give it to you will you make it clean and wash the shame away You can have my heart if you don't mind broken things Not a bad cut on this CD. Thanks, "FUV! Julie and Buddy Miller will be appearing at the Bottom Line, 15 W. 4th Street, in NYC on Friday, March 3rd. This show is a "Don't Miss!" I'll be there..I hope you can make it too!