Johnny Cash has recorded a great stack of music in his lifetime. The Man Comes Around is his fourth outing with producer Rick Rubin. I found the first three outings to be spare, difficult albums.
Yet The Man Comes Around is a glorious success, a masterful album and a beautiful expression of life and love. The album is filled with deeply-affecting songs, beginning with the apocalyptic images of the title track. According to Johnny, "I spent more time on this song than any I ever wrote. It's based, loosely, on the Book of Revelation, with a couple of lines, or a chorus, from other Biblical sources. I must have written three dozen pages of lyrics, then painfully weeded it down to the song you have here."
The resulting track is a deeply moving exploration of faith and the hereafter. So, too, "Personal Jesus," a pop song originally recorded by Depeche Mode. Johnny wrings the sardonic out of it, and makes it a humbling experience.
Johnny's always had a bit of the lawless side in him, or perhaps better stated, an attraction for the criminal element. Thirty-five years ago, he was the Eminem of his day, with "Folsom Prison Blues."
Now he works on his own terms, choosing songs that meet his criteria. Johnny's versions of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Desperado" are haunting, without pop effect. Likewise, his versions of "Danny Boy" and "In My Life," in which Johnny takes the Beatles song and either wrecks it (according to my son) or makes it into a sublime, Leonard Nimoy classic.
Absolutely mesmerizing is his version of "I Hung My Head" by Sting. "I Hung My Head" is a three-minute story song about a man who accidentally shoots a rider out of the saddle, then winds up walking to the gallows, in a classic Johnny Cash tale. See also "Sam Hall," another tale of a criminal.
The musicians are a stellar crew, including Randy Scruggs, Mike Campbell, Marty Stuart, and Smokey Hormel on guitars, Benmont Tench on piano, organ, and mellotron, with a guest appearance by Billy Preston on piano on "Tear Stained Letter." Guests vocalists include Fiona Apple on "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and Nick Cave on "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (the Hank Williams song).
The album concludes with the bittersweet "We'll Meet Again," in which Johnny confronts his mortality, without any sadness on his part.
And that's the greatness of The Man Comes Around. This album is really the culmination of a life's work as Johnny chooses songs that express his vision and belief, his recognition of past sins, and his willingness to both atone and understand those sins. The song that's getting the radio air play is Trent Reznor's "Hurt," but I don't think it's the best track on the album.
Johnny's voice is failing, his vision is failing, his health is failing. He makes no bones about any of that on The Man Comes Around. In his final outing with June Carter Cash, he stands, the man and his song, with excellent studio players (and lifelong friends) providing instrumentation. An excellent and deeply moving album, a very manly expression by a person who has given much thought to his life.
The Joe Jackson Band, Vol. Four
(Restless Records 2003)
The thing about Joe Jackson is, he makes music on his own terms. Ask what kind of music he performs, and you have to answer in broad terms - bright pop songs, love-torn ballads, classical instrumentals.
Vol. Four finds him reunited with his original band: Graham Maby on bass, Gary Sanford on guitar, and Dave Houghton on drums. This is the crew that played together from 1978 to 1980, recording such studio gems as "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" and "Sunday Papers." The band re-formed in the fall of 2002. Says Joe, "I knew these guys were good but they've surpassed all my expectations. The album is high-energy, fun, and in the spirit of the first couple of albums, but more mature. I'm a better writer now, and a better singer. But I've still got a 32-inch waist." To tell the truth, I always liked Joe's later work better, particularly when he formed the amazing band (including Joy Askew) that culminated in Blaze of Glory.]
When I read that Joe was playing in San Francisco, with Mary Lee's Corvette on
the same bill, I couldn't resist. It turns out that Joe has a remarkably enthusiastic fan
core, even after 25 years: the show at The Fillmore was sold out. And so I heard Joe
perform most of Vol. Four with an absolutely polished and dead-tight band. Tracks like
"Take It Like a Man" and "Fairy Dust" show four-piece power pop at its
best, while "Love At First Light" allows Joe to work in a ballad theme. The best
song on the album is "Awkward Age." I'll even pin it down for you - go to about
2:15 into the song. That's the part where Graham Maby lays down on of his classic bass
riffs. I was moved to a different place when they got into this groove in concert. Over
the years, Joe has continued to work with Graham Maby (who also recorded with Natalie
Merchant) while Gary toured and recorded with Aztec Camera and Kirsty MacColl, while Dave
Houghton stayed out of the spotlight, teaching drums and playing in the south of England.
Vol. Four represents Joe's first work with Dave since 1980. Adds Joe, "I think that
you need to get to a certain point of maturity to be able to indulge in nostalgia. Ten
years ago I would have laughed at the idea, because I was still evolving...At first I
thought it would be kind of cheesy, but then I realized I had written a bunch of songs
that would work quite well for the band."
Also included is a second disk, with six live tracks recorded in September 2002. This live material sounds a great deal like the band I saw at The Fillmore. Some folks have been raving about the Joe Jackson shows. People in the audience saying, "I've been waiting years to hear this stuff again." Personally, I best loved the Blaze of Glory show, when Joe came out and played the whole album live, at an outdoor venue on a beautiful fall evening.
But enough of reminiscing (which is what Vol. Four entices). Joe Jackson can still write and record a terrific album, be it in a power pop vein, a classical vein, or in a three-piece jazz mode (as in the sinfully overlooked Summer in the City). Joe won't set sales records with Vol. Four. He doesn't have to. The fans are there, and will never leave him.
Laurie Anderson, Live in New York (Nonesuch 2002) - Avant garde performer Laurie Anderson returns to the source with Live in New York. Recorded just a week after the attack on the Twin Towers, the 100-minute concert finds Laurie in fine form, performing on stage with the band for the first time in years.
Laurie Anderson has defined post-modern multi-media during her career, and her live performances have challenged audience expectations, including concerts lasting upward of four hours.
For Live in New York, Laurie provides vocals, violins and keyboards,
and is joined by Skuli Sverrisson on bass and concertina, Jim
Black on drums and electronic percussion, and Peter Scherer on
keyboards and samples.
Says Laurie, "This was really the first tour I have ever done with the band, and I found it exhilarating . . . The musicians learned the songs really quickly and invented new parts so fast that I kept adding pieces and it was great fun to bring these old songs back to life."
Amazingly, the slightly-off kilter world that Laurie has inhabited for the past 20 years has caught up with her, as computers and increased level of communications have brought new meaning to her droll and sometimes comic lyrics.
Laurie's principal instruments are her voice and her wit, which are showcased
on Live in New York. Laurie dips into a grab bag of old favorites, including
"Strange Angels," "O Superman," and the highlight of the album,
"Let X = X," with its gorgeous melodic interlude.
Without the video, sets, or costumes of her performance/productions, Laurie
focuses on the song and the times. Says Laurie of her performance in New York City,
"The atmosphere in the City was eerie, like during a strange holiday. The driven
people in New York had all suddenly experienced enormous fear and uncertainty. Unable to
predict, we were simply looking and listening."
With her post-modern tendencies, Laurie qualifies as one of the Bards of New York. The first disk clocks in at 37 minutes, while disk two stretches out to almost an hour, concluding with "Love Among the Sailors" and "Coolsville." Laurie also adds a couple of comic spoken word comic pieces, including "Beginning French." (On which it is clear that Laurie, for all of her smart lyrics, has never been a parent).
According to Laurie, the show was meant to be a live version of Life on a
String. That it is not is no big disappointment. Her preceding album, the first of
new material in seven years, was somber and dark, too unappealing for repeated listenings.
Yet the sharp three-piece combo on Live in New York helps flesh out the meaning in Laurie's words and strange timbres. Not for the faint hearted, Live in New York has tender beauty at its core.
John Hiatt, The Tiki Bar Is
Open (Vanguard 2001) John Hiatt, a veteran with a career extending back 25 years,
returns with the energetic The Tiki Bar Is Open. The new album is plugged-in
Hiatt, with plenty of electric guitars, wailing harmonicas, and found sounds.
Hiatt (who started recording in 1974) falls in a class with Bruce
Cockburn and Richard Thompson with a country bent and sometimes intimate sound. His songs
have proven successful for other artists, including Don Henley, Jewel, Willie Nelson and
Kelly Willis. In addition, Eric Clapton and B.B. King scored a big hit last year with
their cover of "Ridin' With The King."
Yet Hiatt's best work has always come when he rocks out, and The Tiki Bar Is Open hits on all points. The new album was recorded in Nashville at Woodland Studio, and features Hiatt on keyboards, mandolin, and electric, acoustic, and twelve-string guitars, Kenneth Blevins on drums, Dave Ranson on bass, Sonny Landreth on guitar and backing vocals, and producer Jay Joyce on guitar, keyboards, and loops. Also appearing is session hand Julie Miller who provides backing vocals on two songs.
The Tiki Bar Is Open finds Hiatt reunited
with the band that made the acclaimed, Slow Turning. Says Hiatt, "We toured
for about a year, and we made Slow Turning together. Then we kind of drifted
apart for no particular reason . . . It took us about eleven years to get back together,
mainly just to have some fun and play some shows. Then we wound up making this
record."
While Hiatt has a rustic side, the new album shows him at full creative strength. The concluding "Farther Stars" finds him experimenting in the studio on an eight-minute, From & Blake-inspired opus, while the opening, "Everybody Went Low," is a full-tilt rocker. And Hiatt's more countrified sound is reflected on the ballad, "Come Back to You," as well as the steel guitar and dobro sound that marks "Rock of Your Love."
Hiatt's fans are heaping praise on the new album,
calling it his best effort in years. Hiatt packs a one-two punch in the middle of the
album, with the ballad, "I'll Never Get Over You," leading into the
comfortable-as-an-old-shoe jam of "The Tiki Bar Is Open."
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Bob Dylan, Love And Theft
(Columbia 2001)
Bob Dylan - an icon in our minds, even if he disdains the honor - delivers a smash
performance on Love And Theft. Backed by his well-oiled touring band, Dylan
delivers a rocking performance with absolute clarity of mind. While Dylan's last album, Time
Out Of Mind, won the 1997 Grammy for Album of the Year,I found it too dark. The new
album is Dylan with a bullet ready to invite you in, ready to let it hang out.
And that seems to be the characteristic that has distinguished Dylan during the last half decade. While some of his early 90s work found Dylan almost mumbling his recent efforts have reestablished him as one of the most compelling performers in American pop, even at age 60.
The band on Love And Theft includes Charlie Sexton on electric guitar, Tony Garnier on bass, David Kemper on drums, Larry Campbell on guitar, violin, banjo and mandolin, and Augie Meyers on vox organ, B-3 and accordion. The album was produced by Dylan under his clever nom de plume, Jack Frost.
"Lonesome Day Blues" has a steady, chugging
feel. Dylan also shows a more lighthearted side on "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle
Dum" (also appearing in the new movie, Bandits). Yet Dylan the pissed-off
social commentator remains alive and well on songs like "Honest With Me" and
"Mississippi."
Dylan also won an Oscar last year for his contribution to The
Wonder Boys. Dylan still has the odd little mustache that he wore for his affecting
performance at the Academy Awards. Dylan was recently interviewed at length by Rolling
Stone. Here's what he had to say:
About Time Out of Mind:
"There were myriad of musicians down there. At that point in time, I didn't have the
same band I have now. I was just kind of auditioning players here and there for a band,
but I didn't feel like I could trust them man-to-man in the studio with unrecorded songs.
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 Natalie Merchant,
Motherland
(Elektra 2001) On her third studio solo album since leaving the 10,000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant settled in with producer T-Bone Burnett. Burnett favors a subdued, folk-influenced sound, leading to the somber overtones on Motherland. Natalie Merchant's recording career goes back almost 20 years to her early efforts with the 10,000 Maniacs. Her first two solo efforts, (Tigerlily 1995) and the astonishing Ophelia (1998) were worthy successors to the 10,000 Maniacs sendoff, MTV Unplugged (1993).
Unfortunately, the new album slips, as Merchant spends too much time focusing on the political, and not enough time bringing out her pop sensibilities. Try "This House is on Fire," "St. Judas," and "Just Can't Last."
It is not easy to penetrate Motherland on
the first go (or even after several listening). The voice is great, but the material
leaves me wondering.
It's interesting to note the shifts in her career, from her original softer country, including "Have You Never Been Mellow?", through the breathy pop of "Please Mister Please" to the Hollywood sheen of Grease, the biggest-grossing movie musical of all time (represented by "Hopelessly Devoted to You"). Also included is "Magic," from her 1980 follow-up film, Xanadu, and "Suddenly," a duet with Cliff Richard.
Continues Olivia, "I never had the teenage school experience that Americans have, where you don't have to wear uniforms and you can mix with the guys. And the school I went to, it was all segregated and we wore uniforms. Doing Grease, I kind of felt like I was having my second childhood and it was so much fun." A real trouper, and an inspiration to clean
living, Best of Olivia Newton-John will find new fans.
You can't, which reflects the enormous change in Madonna's music as it shifted from straight pop to the dance hall. While songs like "Deeper and Deeper" and "Frozen" (the later produced by William Orbit) may be effective in a disco, they don't hold up by themselves.
So you won't be surprised when
the highlight on GHV2 is the lovely ballad, "Don't Cry for Me,
Argentina" from the movie musical, Evita. The soundtrack to Evita is one of
the highlights of Madonna's career, a real meeting of voice and material.
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Merchant works with a stellar
band, including Erik Dela Penna on guitar and banjo, Gabriel
Gordon on guitar, Graham Mahby on bass, Elizabeth Steen
on keyboards, Matt Chamberlain on drums, and David Ralicke
on sax. Making guest appearances are gospel legend Mavis Staples and Stephen
Barber, who provides string arrangements on three songs.
I remain a fan of Merchants singing style
and enunciation. Yet the big issues she tries to tackle are too much for pop songs. For
example, Merchant explains the song "Golden Boy" as follows: "I suddenly
realized that I was addressing the unhealthy tendency we have as a culture to fix our
tension upon the deviant and violent outcast (such as Columbine High School). Names of
serial killers are easier to conjure than names of great humanitarians. We repeatedly make
celebrities out of psychopaths, whether we intend to or not."
Also included is the intriguing
"Henry Darger," with an eerie chamber orchestra arrangement. It turns out that
Henry Drager (1892-1973) is the author and illustrator of one of the longest unfinished
fictional works of all time. His towering hand-bound manuscript of 17,000 pages was found
in the apartment of the retired hospital janitor after his death, and include hundreds of
illustrations depicting the battle between the forces of good and evil as seen through
Darger's imaginative fantasy world.
Universal Records is planning a major Olivia
Newton-John rollout, including a 2000 live album, "Compilations of Dance and
Lovesongs," and a box set. Yet Best Of will give you a good taste of this
Australian-born singer (who started performing in the United States at the request of
Helen Reddy).
Grease came from real inspiration. Says
Olivia, "The characters were larger than life. I think everyone knows one of those
people at their school - the nerd, the prettiest girl, the cheerleader, and the leader of
the gang - and they can relate to all their characters. There was an incredible energy in
the film that's vibrant."
Compare this with Madonna's first hits volume, The
Immaculate Collection, which included such songs as "Holiday," "Like a
Virgin," and "Papa Don't Preach." The old Madonna looked for melody, but
the new Madonna looks for groove, as exemplified by the picture-perfect "Beautiful
Stranger."
