** Ben Taylor Band @ The Vic (312/559-1212) on 4.25
** The Wallflowers @ The Vic (312/559-1212) on 5.2 & 3
First things first; Lisa Marie Presley can sing! In fact, she can purr, growl, or belt it out with the best of them on her debut CD To
Whom It May Concern (Capitol). She can also curse like a trucker, but that's another story. So, what took her so long? It couldn't have
been her short-lived marriages to Michael Jackson or Nicolas Cage, could it? Whatever it was, I'm glad she put it behind her and that
she has a promising musical career in front of her. Four years after we first heard about the proposed album, Presley borrows her
father's sneer on 'S.O.B.' and then sings about her musical heritage on 'Lights Out' ('Someone turned the lights out in Memphis/
that's where my family's buried and gone'). A gritty Sheryl Crow quality permeates the album and songs such as 'The Road
Between,' 'Better Beware,' 'So Lovely' (with its 'Theme From Midnight Cowboy'), 'Sinking In,' and 'Indifferent,' should have no
trouble getting radio play and earning Lisa Marie the audience she deserves. Sadly, 'Savior,' the song she co-wrote with Zwan man
Billy Corgan may only be available on the Japanese version of the album, but the 11 songs on To Whom It May Concern are a fitting
musical letter of introduction.
Amanda Green, daughter of Adolph Green and Phyllis Newman, has theater coursing through her veins. On the live recording,
Put A Little Love In Your Mouth (By Hook), Green lets all the voices in her head out in 'the fantasy opening number sequence' which
begins with the suitably titled 'Voices In My Head.' For a New Yorker, Green has a knack for writing country-inspired tunes as she
proves on 'A Ladies' Man' (which she co-wrote with, as she puts it, 'that old sidewinder John Bucchino') and 'Blind Again' (sung by
Jonathan Dokuchitz). The recording gets positively theatrical over the course of the next few songs, 'Oops! My Bad' (a phrase I
positively abhor), 'Put A Little Love In Your Mouth,' and the obi/gyney tune 'The 'V' Song,' which tell the story of Nora, a woman who
is pregnant with her best gay friend Dennis's sperm. Dennis is uneasy about the prospect and his dentist lover Dr. Dennis and Nora's
doctor also pipe in for some musical amusement. Other hilarious and harmonious highlights include 'Marcie From Canarsie,' 'If You
Leave Me…?' (with the chorus 'If you leave me … can I come too?'), the Mario Cantone/Jonathan Dokuchitz duet 'Over-Estimated,'
Green's duet with Billy Stritch on 'Together, Just Like This,' the touching 'Daddys's Shoulders' and the closing group number 'When
You Know Me Better.'
The late Ian Dury's son, Baxter Dury, has released one of the most unusual and distinctive albums of 2003. Len Parrot's Memorial
Lift (Rough Trade) is a sumptuous affair, reminiscent of The Flaming Lips, Beck and Pink Floyd at their most pink. With assistance
from Portishead's Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley and Pulp's Richard Hawley, Dury has constructed a haunting musical landscape on
songs such as 'Oscar Brown' (which contains elements of Velvet Underground's 'Oh Sweet Nuthin'), 'Auntie Jane,' 'Bachelor,' and
the titular track. Echoes of Dury's father, famous for such classics as 'Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll,' 'Wake Up And Make Love To Me,'
'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick,' and 'Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3,' can be heard on 'Gingham Smalls 2.'
Of all the progeny of famous fathers in this column, it is Ben Taylor who sounds the most like his father James Taylor. So much so
that it borders on being scary. Famous Among The Barns (Iris), the full-length debut disc by The Ben Taylor Band, features both of
Taylor's parents, including mother Carly Simon on backing vocals. Older sister Sally has already released a couple of albums and it's
nice to hear what Ben is up to. From his unique cover of The Zombies' 'Time Of The Season,' which exhibits a distinguished taste in
musical and the will to take a risk, to his original tunes, Taylor appears ready to step out of his famous family's shadow. With songs
such as the front porch stomp of 'Just Like Everyone Else,' the hazy 'I Am The Sun,' the upbeat pop of 'Day After Day,' the reassuring
'Safe Enough To Wake Up,' and the mellow narcotic of 'Mushroom Dance,' Taylor's fame has the potential to reach beyond the
barns.
Ben Taylor and his mother Carly Simon (herself the daughter of a famous father, Richard Simon, co-founder of publishing house
Simon & Schuster) also perform together on the soundtrack to the Disney animated feature Piglet's Big Movie (Walt Disney Records).
Separated into three 'chapters' ('the songs,' 'the score,' 'the bonus tracks'), the first chapter features two songs performed by Carly
and Ben ('With A Few Good Friends' and 'Comforting To Know'), as well as a few songs sung by Carly, as well as Carly, Winnie The
Pooh (Jim Cummings), Piglet (John Fiedler) and some of the other cartoon characters.
Red Letter Days (Interscope), the fourth full-length album by The Wallflowers, was released 10 years after the band's self-titled
debut disc, and six years after their breakthrough disc Bringing Down The Horse. The Wallflowers have earned a reputation for being
a solid live band and Jakob Dylan, son of Bob, is developing into a respectable songwriter, as you can hear on standout tracks such
as 'When You're On Top,' 'How Good It Can Get,' the back-to-back 'If You Never Got Sick' and 'Health And Happiness,' and the
gorgeous 'Three Ways.' The disc also includes the unlisted bonus track 'The Empire In My Mind,' which is the theme song to the CBS
drama series The Guardian, starring the very cute Australian actor Simon Baker.
Thicke (first name Robin, although he's not currently using it) is the son of sitcom dad Alan Thicke. His debut disc Cherry Blue
Skies (NuAmerica/Interscope) was originally scheduled for release in 2002, but for some reason was postponed until Spring of 2003.
Thicke, who fancies himself a blue-eyed nu-soul singer along the lines of Jamiroquai's Jason Kay and Remy Shand, recreates a
Prince vibe on the opening track 'Oh Shooter' and aims for and hits Prince's high-notes on 'I'm 'A Be Alright' and 'Suga Mama.' He
also shows a healthy respect for vintage soul and dance music on the 'Fifth of Beethoven' sampled 'Alone' and the flying funk of
'Lazy Bones,' and an ear for '60s pop on 'Make A Baby.'
On her third album, Cinema Paradiso (Concord Jazz), Monica Mancini (daughter of Henry) does her own renditions of her favorite
songs from movies. Fittingly, she includes a song by her father ('Soldier In The Rain' from the movie of the same title), as well as
several by his one-time contemporaries including Ennio Morricone ('Cinema Paradiso'), Michel LeGrand and Alan and Marilyn
Bergman ('The Summer Knows' from Summer of '42), Burt Bacharach and Hal David ('Alfie' from the movie of the same name),
Johnny Mandel ('The Shadow of Your Smile' from The Sandpiper), and David Shire ('I'll Never Say Goodbye' from The Promise).
Mancini also performs a nice mix of classic Hollywood material ('Over The Rainbow,' 'Baby Mine') and more recent selections
including 'A Love Before Time' from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I was counting on my review of Shut Up (Epic), the debut disc by Kelly Osborne (daughter of Ozzy) to be super brief. Something to
the effect of, 'Kelly, dear, why don't you do what your album title suggests?' However, I was unexpectedly taken by Osbourne's
natural sneer and punk pose. Sure, it's an act, but it's entertaining. Easily as annoying as fellow poseur Avril Lavigne (Avril, dear,
Annie Hall called and she wants her tie back), Osbourne is pure show business. With the aid of a competent commercial record
producer (Ric Wake) and a team of songwriters, Osbourne delivers a jolt, like a spike heel in the toe, on songs such as 'Come Dig Me
Out,' 'Contradiction,' 'Right Here,' and 'Too Much of You.'
Speaking of Kelly Osbourne and her famous father, the 'totally uncensored' edition of MTV's reality series The Osbournes: The
First Season (Miramax) is currently available on a two-disc DVD set. Thoroughly entertaining and consistently very funny (and
occasionally scary), I found myself admiring Ozzy (although I still can't take the music he makes seriously) and wishing that Sharon
Osbourne was my mother. The often-warring Kelly and her brother Jack don't come off nearly as well as their parents. The DVD
contains games including 'Name That Dookie,' in which viewers pair up the dog with its respective bowel movement, cast interviews
and a bizarre blooper real. Not everyone's taste, to be sure, but you have to give this twenty-first century Ozzie and Harriet credit for
exposing themselves in this way. Besides, how can you fault a family of dog-lovers for their erratic behavior?