Pictured: Jesse Harris, Dave Matthews, Dan Zanes, Elvis Costello.
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**Jeff Timmons @ the Chicago Theater on Nov. 29
** Dave Matthews @ Allstate Arena on Dec. 22
You never know what kind of trouble a man will get into when he is left to his own devices. Musicians are particularly at risk in this area.
On what is being billed as his 'first-ever solo studio album,' The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 (Nonesuch), Randy Newman revisits 18 with just a piano and his distinctive voice. In much the same way that Joni Mitchell reinterpreted several of her own songs from her earlier recordings on 2002's Travelogue, Newman looks back, in some cases more than 30 years, and performs them from the perspective of a man approaching 60 years of age. It's wonderful to be able to hear such early songs as 'I Think It's Gonna Rain Today,' 'Political Science,' 'Sail Away,' and 'God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)' alongside songs from his prolific mid-to-late-'70s period ('Louisiana 1927,' 'Marie,' 'It's Money That I Love'). Newman also includes some of his movie soundtrack work ('Ragtime,' 'Avalon,' 'When She Loved Me'), as well as a pair of more recent album tracks.
Jeff Timmons, the cutest and apparently the smartest (after all, HE didn't marry Jessica Simpson) member of 98 Degrees steps out on his own and shows what he's made of on Whisper That Way (New Majestic Entertainment). Not straying too far from the blue-eyed soul formula of his group, Timmons stays within his comfort zone, and the album is a pleasant, if not earth-shaking, distraction. Opening track 'Favorite Star' has a vintage '80s ass-shaking groove that made me think of Color Me Badd. The colorful 'Rainbow,' with its simulated storm, will make you want to get with whoever is near. 'Can't You See,' the edgiest track, is a bit of finger-wagging from a scorned lover that has a beat just waiting for the right club remixer, and 'Stay With Me' also has similar potential.
Popular and handsome piano man Jim Brickman, with whom Timmons will be touring in an upcoming series of Christmas concerts, tickles the ivories on 'Be The One.' A loving husband and proud father of two, Timmons expresses his domestic bliss and the pleasures of parenthood in the song 'Baby J.' The bonus tracks, remixes of 'Angel Eyes' and 'Better Days,' extend the experience.
Steve Wynn, former front-man of the seminal early-'80s L.A. modern rock band The Dream Syndicate, has been a solo disc artist for more than a dozen years. Static Transmission (DBK Works), credited to Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3, is his latest. Opening with the gentle 'What Comes After,' on which he sounds like a cross between John Lennon and Lou Reed, Wynn wastes no time before tearing into the electrifying 'Candy Machine,' which reverberates with echoes of both The Dream Syndicate and The Velvet Underground. Considerate of short attention spans, Wynn produces enough variety on this disc to keep even the antsiest listener with reasons to listen. Mellow tunes such as 'The Ambassador Of Soul,' 'Maybe Tomorrow' and 'A Fond Farewell,' are offset nicely by edgier cuts such as 'Keep It Clean,' 'Amphetamine,' 'California Style,' and 'One Less Shining Star.'
I'm probably in the minority when it comes to the solo albums by Paul Westerberg, formerly of The Replacements. For my money, the exquisite songs from Suicane Gratifaction, including 'Self-Defense,' 'Best Thing That Never Happened,' 'Born For Me,' 'Tears Rolling Up Our Sleeves,' 'Fugitive Kind,' 'Sunrise Always Listens,' 'Whatever Makes You Happy' and 'Bookmark,' are among his best. Which is why I'm less than enthralled with Come Feel Me Tremble (Vagrant). Album opener 'Dirty Diesel' sounds like the Stones, but it's old news. In fact, Westerberg conjures the Stones throughout, and frankly, I think we lose him in the avalanche.
There is also a companion DVD with the CD.
The underrated Deacon Blue was one of my favorite UK bands of the late '80s and early '90s. The band's first two albums, the majestic Prefab Sprout-ish Raintown and the somewhat more rocking When The World Knows Your Name (containing the single 'Real Gone Kid') got lost in the grunge heap. Later discs, such as Fellow Hoodlums and Whatever You Say, Say Nothing, were simply too sophisticated for the listeners' tastes of the period. Deacon Blue lead singer Ricky Ross has just released his first domestic solo disc This Is The Life (Evolver), and opening track 'Northern Soul,' easily recalls Deacon Blue. However, this isn't a Deacon Blue album, and on notable tracks such as 'London Comes Alive,' 'Angel & Mercedes,' 'Nothing Cures That,' 'Threatening Life,' 'Starring Love,' and 'The Way To Work,' Ross succeeds in establishing his own solo identity.
Earlier this year, the expanded reissues of Get Happy, Trust and Punch The Clock, by Elvis Costello and The Attractions CDs were released. Now, a few months later, North (Deutsche Grammophon), the new Elvis Costello CD, has arrived. An assured and mature 11-track disc, the songs, in arrangements that favor jazz and cabaret settings, sound as familiar and lived in as the standards from the American popular songbook. On nine of the album's 11 songs, Attraction Steve Nieve accompanies Costello on piano. On 'Still,' Costello is reunited with The Brodsky Quartet, with whom he recorded the sumptuous The Juliet Letters 10 years ago. But the compass remains pointed at Costello, whose dramatic renderings of songs include 'You Left Me In The Dark,' 'Someone Took The Words Away,' 'When Did I Stop Dreaming?,' 'Let Me Tell You About Her,' 'Can You Be True?,' and the remarkably subtle 'When It Sings.'
As someone who is not an admirer of Dave Matthews Band, listening to Some Devil (RCA), the solo debut by Dave Matthews, was a way for me to determine whether it was his band or Matthews himself that was the problem. While Matthews hasn't entirely abandoned his jam band attitude and affiliation (Phish's Trey Anastasio plays on a few tracks), the songs feel less improvised and more structured. In fact, only two songs reach the five and half-minute point. There is a bluesy texture to more than a few tracks, including 'Gravedigger,' the title track, 'Grey Blue Eyes,' 'Save Me,' 'An' Another Thing,' and 'Up And Away' (which recalled The Band). There are also a few tunes, such as 'Dodo,' 'Trouble,' and 'Stay Or Leave,' that indicate Matthews's development as both a songwriter and a singer, although I am still not an admirer.
Warren Zanes was in his teens when he and older brother Dan were in the legendary Boston band The Del Fuegos. Dan has been a solo artist since 1995's Cool Down Time. It took Warren a little longer, but Memory Girls (Dualtone) was worth the wait. The dozen songs (including the sensational 'Sidewalk Sale,' 'First On The Moon,' 'World Of Concrete,' 'Where We Began,' 'Have You Once Recalled The Days?,' 'If You Could Stay' and 'Scrapbook') show that Zanes has kept in touch with current musical trends as you can hear via his use of loops, keyboards and his musical compositions. Guest artists such as Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris and Billy Conway (of Morphine and Twinemen fame), only serve to make Memory Girls more memorable. In the meantime, brother Dan (and friends) continues his exploration of music for people of all ages on House Party (Festival Five), and is joined in the revelry by Bob Weir, Angelique Kidjo, Deborah Harry and Philip Glass, to mention a few of the party guests.
With the release of the expanded editions of the seminal first two Television albums, Marquee Moon and Adventure, renewed interest in the band and its members is definitely in the air. Therefore, a CD reissue of a 1987 solo album by Television front-man Tom Verlaine makes perfect sense. That album, Flash Light (Collector's Choice Music), was Verlaine's fifth on his own, and is distinguished by Verlaine's trademark vocals and guitar playing, and includes the standout tracks 'The Scientist Writes A Letter,' 'Bomb,' 'At 4 A.M.,' and the most easily accessible song on the disc, 'The Funniest Thing (Work Of Art).'
Battle Of The Nudes (Zoe) is the second solo album by Gordon Downie, released shortly after In Violet Light, the most recent disc by his band The Tragically Hip. Unfortunately, there is nothing especially distinctive about this disc, although 'Pascal's Submarine' and 'Steeplechase' are certainly memorable.
As a member of both Dub Syndicate and Tackhead (among others) and with a reputation as a well-regarded producer, Adrian Sherwood is a household name in some households. On his solo debut disc Never Trust A Hippy (Realworld/Virgin), he further explores the marriage of dub and dance on rhythmic tracks such as 'No Dog Jazz,' 'Hari Up Hari,' 'Haunted By Your Love,' 'X-Planation,' 'Boogaloo,' and 'The Ignorant Version.'
Jesse Harris is a man with interesting baggage. Before he became known for his association with Norah Jones (an affiliation which earned Harris a Grammy award), he was one half of the underrated duo Once Blue (if you can locate a copy of their neglected self-titled 1995 disc, it's well worth it). In the intervening years Harris formed the band Jesse Harris & The Ferdinandos and has released a few albums. The latest, The Secret Sun (Blue Thumb) is the major-label debut and is a worthy introduction to Harris himself. Jones lends a hand, providing vocals and piano on 'What Makes You' and backing vocals on 'If You Won't.'
Sting, where is thy sting? It's hard to believe that the same man who helped to define modern post-punk rock with the Police and later redefined himself as a creative and awe-inspiring solo artist could be responsible for the watered-down and redundant Sacred Love (A&M). Attempting to cash in on the unexpected success of 1999's Middle Eastern-tinged hit single 'Desert Rose,' Sting gives us the recycled 'Send Your Love.' In what sounds like an effort to reach out to a different audience he teams up with Mary J. Blige on the leaden 'Whenever I Say Your Name.' I'm sure the born-again Sting (see 'Dead Man's Rope') will have a blessed career, but I miss the other one terribly.
