I can't, I can't, I can't stand looking...

The Police: The Synchronicity Concert (DVD)

Pros: It sounds really, really good...

Cons: ...but you could hurt yourself (literally) if you watch it

The Bottom Line: The visual effects in this 1983 concert are decidedly annoying. The Police's excellent performance is largely ruined by Godley & Creme's experimentation.

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Getting tickets to a concert by The Police this year was not easy - with this being their first tour in over thirty years, demand was very high for their shows. And so, seeing a show by these megastars of the early eighties remains a rare event - even if you want to see a show in the comfort of your own home.

The Police's Synchronicity Concert DVD is the only complete concert widely released on DVD (there is a South Korean DVD of a Ghost in the Machine tour show, but it's not really "official"). Despite the band's enormous popularity during the earliest days of the rise of MTV, and despite the known existence of recorded shows from various tours, this 1983 show at the Atlanta Omni remains the only filmed performance by the band to be brought up to date using today's technology.

Directed by Godley & Creme, who also directed three of the videos from the Synchronicity album, the concert video is basically seventy-five minutes of visual experimentation using some common video tricks of the era. Video and MTV were still relatively new, and at this point, there weren't any stereotypes or expectations for what live performances should look like when filmed.

Godley and Creme used several cameras and a lot of video post-production editing to attempt to create a new look for concert films. Some of it works, some of it does not. Unfortunately, there are some moments where the director's work overwhelms the music, and with the rarity of concert videos by The Police, it leaves fans of the band like myself wishing for more concert videos where the music gets the lion's share of the attention...


Read the entire review at epinions.com

Fighting familiar foo for Jesus...

Aaron Shust: Whispered and Shouted

Pros: Catchy pop-rock tunes, interesting personal stories for each song in the liner notes

Cons: It's not truly original, but it does "the usual" so very well...

The Bottom Line: Aaron Shust's brand of CCM pop-rock is a cut above the usual...

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Every so often, one of those recordings comes along, its sounds diving deep into my brain and circulating within my memory for weeks and weeks. Snippets of song will rise unbidden at seemingly random moments, phrases jostled out of the corners of my mind to begin looping in my head while I rush for the disc and my favorite headphones so I can listen to the song in full.

(...swirling electronics, a Foo Fighter-esque guitar hook, and a fast four rock tempo...)
There are always days when I don't feel like singin'
There are always days when I don't care at all
But I know the king of all creation reigns completely
Over every moment great and small

Long live the One who gives us
Life and peace and hope for tomorrow...
(and rock out on air guitar as more Fooey hooks are played…yeah!)

Aaron Shust's Whispered and Shouted is full of great moments like this - a solid offering of catchy contemporary Christian pop-rock that will have you listening to the album over and over. It's definitely one of those recordings that will have you pressing repeat on your CD player...


Read the entire review at epinions.com

These praises ring true, mostly...

Lincoln Brewster: Let the Praises Ring

Pros: Quality Pop Rock Sounds, Quality Worship Songs
Cons: A few mis-steps here and there
The Bottom Line: Lincoln Brewster is a versatile guitarist, with an engaging voice and a knack for crafting nifty pop-rock hooks. "Let The Praises Ring" is a solid collection of his best work.

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Does an artist whose discography contains just four albums truly deserve a "Best of" collection? Well, sure, if you’ve got talent and a knack for creating some of the more interesting music in your chosen genre...

Since he debuted in 1999, Christian music’s Lincoln Brewster has proved himself to be a quality guitarist, singer, writer and arranger; Integrity Music’s 2006 collection, Let the Praises Ring - The Best of Lincoln Brewster is a solid, seventeen track retrospective of this established worship leader’s best work.

Drawing equally from his three studio recordings and his recent live album, Let the Praises Ring showcases Brewster’s guitar-driven brand of pop-rock worship, a sound similar to that of Chris Tomlin, Newsboys, Charlie Hall, and David Crowder but with one notable exception: Brewster can bang out a terrific guitar solo at any given moment. Other popular worship groups write equally good music as Brewster, but just don’t have the advantage of having a really great guitarist in the band...


Read the entire review at epinions.com

My Escort ZX2 saves me from living in a van, down by the river...

Ford Escort ZX2

Pros: Great for in-town commuting, impressing teen-aged daughter with an itch to start driving
Cons: road noise, limited rearward visibility
The Bottom Line: A good value for the things I need from my car - decent mileage, decent room, responsive driving.

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Remember Chris Farley's inspirational speaker character, the guy with the big glasses who said he was "living in a van, down by the river?"

For a long time, I feared that might be me.

I've driven a Plymouth Grand Voyager to work and back every weekday for years. A nice, quiet comfy ride with a huge drawback: low gas mileage. The 24 mile round trip is completely in-town - no highways, no expressways, just some fairly straight avenues going through technology parks and a few neighborhoods at 40 miles per hour; 40 miles per hour, that is, when not stopping for lights or small traffic back ups.

So, when the front end of the PGV started to get a bit wonky (the wheels started sounding like the engine of Sebulba's pod racer from Star Wars Episode 1 - womp, womp, womp, womp) and gas started to stick at nearly $3 per gallon, I knew it was time to find a new ride to work. If I tried to pay to get the van fixed, and continued to shell out $45 to fill up every several days, I'd end up living in the van, down by the river...

It's bad enough that sometimes people think I resemble Chris Farley.

Searching Craig's List in Dallas, my wife found a used Ford Escort ZX2 that turned out to meet all our needs. Low mileage, right price, clean and well cared for, we got a great deal on a used car. And now that I've had a few weeks to drive it around town, I have to say that the pros outweigh the cons...

Read the entire review at epinions.com

The first recording of Robert Levin's completion of Mozart's Requiem

Mozart: Requiem, Kyrie / Rilling, Stuttgart Bach Collegium

Pros: The quartets are simply exquisite, Rilling's feel for dynamics is marvelous
Cons: Some tempo interpretations just don't work for me
The Bottom Line: This is the first recording of the Robert Levin completion of Mozart's Requiem, and where it is good, it is very good, but I question some of the tempo choices

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Pianist, composer and Mozart expert Robert Levin was commissioned in 1987 by the International Bach Academy to produce a new completion of Mozart's Requiem in D minor (KV626). In August 1991, conductor Helmuth Rilling premiered Levin's work at the European Music Festival, winning Levin wide-ranging praise for his efforts. There is no need for me to go into details over the many, many scholarly arguments over the authorship of various sections of the work, nor to flog the details of each and every change made by Levin. Suffice to say, my personal feeling is that the Levin completion is much more satisfying and seemingly true to Mozart than the traditional completions that surfaced during the work's first two hundred years...

...Robert Levin's completion of Mozart's Requiem is convincing, stirring and true. Rilling's interpretation is consistent, disciplined and a touch slow throughout, and fatally so in the climactic moments of Confutatis. The vocal ensemble are the true stars of this recording, giving marvelously balanced performances that are a real delight. Overall, this disc is quite good indeed, but the listener may have to get around his own preconceived notions of Mozart's Requiem in order to really enjoy Levin's completion and Rilling's tempo.

Read the entire review at epinions.com

Diana Krall's Terrific First Album at GRP

Diana Krall - Only Trust Your Heart

Pros: Love the addition of saxophone to Krall's sound; Christian McBride is greatness
Cons: A minor nitpick - feels a little bit skimpy with nine tracks at forty-six minutes
The Bottom Line: Another incredible recording by Diana Krall and her hand-picked backing band of jazz greats. Krall got off to a fine start at GRP with this high-quality effort.

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After recording a stunning debut album with jazz greats Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton, Diana Krall jumped to the prestigious GRP label, and in 1995, released another fabulous album featuring outstanding jazz musicians. Only Trust Your Heart is a showcase for the immense talents of Lewis Nash on drums, Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone, and Christian McBride and Ray Brown sharing time on bass, not to mention Miss Krall's marvelous turn at vocals and the piano...

...I probably fall for Diana's music hardest when she turns out a quiet ballad; her throaty alto is perfect for a slow, contemplative work like The Folks Who Live on the Hill and wonderfully seductive in the bluesy All Night Long, penned by Nancy Wilson and George Shearing. I really would have liked to hear more of the quieter side of Diana Krall on this album; there are just three ballads to be found here - the album sounds a bit short to me with just nine songs in forty-six minutes, but then, I could listen to this sort of music all day long.

Read the complete review at epinions.com

Diana Krall Steps Out with her Debut Album

Diana Krall - Stepping Out (Remaster)

Pros: Fantastic jazz performances by three masters of the craft
Cons: Diana's rougher vocal interpretation might not suit fans of her later work
The Bottom Line: This is one of those albums I think any music collector should own ? if you don?t own any jazz, consider expanding your mind with Diana Krall's debut recording

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Owning a voice that is both lithe and luxurious, and possessing superb piano skills born of both a classical education and years training with jazz masters, Diana Krall is a doubly gifted musician who has crafted a niche for herself in the world of jazz. She has made a career of performing mostly long-time standards of jazz, exploring works both familiar and unfamiliar to many.

With her debut album, Stepping Out, released in 1993 by Justin Time Records (her only recording for that label), Diana Krall made an indelible mark on the genre, presenting fantastic interpretations of each song, tracks that still stand out as being among the best work she has ever produced...

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voices still carry, even twenty years later...

'til tuesday - Voices Carry

Pros: "Voices Carry" - the song - was an instant classic
Cons: "Voices Carry" - the album - is remarkably unremarkable outside it's signature hit
The Bottom Line: The only reason to buy it is if you're an eighties or Aimee Mann fanatic. If you just want the title song, you can find it in many 80's collections.

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How far can one track carry an album? Can one terrific song justify all the rest in a studio release? Those questions come to mind regarding til tuesday's 1985 CBS/Epic debut, Voices Carry and its hit single of the same name. ...

...Instrumentally, Voices Carry is a marvelous slice of mid-eighties pop/new wave (slowly chugging guitar chords, lots of the era's familiar analog wave sound) but it's Aimee's highly charged vocal performance that really sells the song. It's a terrific song, one that belongs in any music lovers library.

But is it strong enough to support Voices Carry, the album? Is any album worth ONE song?

...Answer that question by reading the complete review at epinions.com

Jose Saramago - The Stone Raft

Jose Saramago - The Stone Raft

Pros:
Saramago tells a fantastic tale set within our own world, fascinating and thought-provoking
Cons:
Perhaps the reality is too much. I find his other works more satisfying
The Bottom Line:
Jose Saramago is a master story-teller, and The Stone Raft is no exception. You owe it to yourself to read all his works...

In The Stone Raft, Nobel Prize winning author Jose Saramago takes us to the Iberian peninsula of modern day Portugal, Spain and France. There, he presents five strangers and a dog, all drawn together by oddly unique, super-natural experiences and one extraordinary event.

Joana Carda draws a line on the ground that cannot be erased. Joacim Sassa lifts a large stone and tosses it hundreds of yards into the sea. Pedro Orce gets out of bed one morning to feel the earth shaking constantly beneath his feet. A flock of starlings follows Jose Anaico wherever he goes. Maria Guavaira picks at a thread on a sock, and the thread keeps pulling loose, a never ending pile of thread that grows and grows.

And Ardent, the dog, is the first to find the crack in the earth…
Read the complete review at epinions.com

Josh Groban - Awake

Awake

Pros: Yay! More Josh Groban! Love his music...
Cons: ...when it's performed LIVE. Hmmm...
The Bottom Line: Josh -put out another CD/DVD combo. Make me fall in love with these songs. You're a great theatrical vocalist; keep it on the stage from now on, OK?

Vocalist Josh Groban returns with his latest recording, Awake, and while this is the first of his studio albums that I've managed to really connect with, the problem is that I'm not completely convinced by this effort either. Maybe I just need to wait for the next PBS special / DVD release to come out and be happy with that.

I've always enjoyed listening to Josh sing, but I've always preferred the sound of his live albums over the studio albums. I think that the reason is pretty simple – the theatrical quality of his voice and his music just seems to lend itself better to the stage rather than the studio...
Read the complete review at epinions.com

Songs from the Labyrinth

Pros: Music made simply for the love of it succeeds in becoming music to be loved
Cons: None from me. Some will be turned off by it simply because it's "classical"
The Bottom Line: A loud and enthusiastic ovation for Sting - for working so hard to present us with music he cares deeply about, and for presenting it so authentically. A masterwork, indeed...

Sting has faced this perception before – some might view his latest album, Songs From The Labyrinth as nothing more than a conceit. In 1985, his move into the world of jazz was widely commented upon, even derided and dismissed as a misguided attempt to prove his jazz roots and his own genius – dismissed, that is, until the world heard his debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Sting captured audiences old and new alike with his unique jazz, pop and rock fusion, and in the process, re-energized his own love of making music. Now, more than twenty years later, an older, wiser, definitely less brash Sting has reached into new territory again, this time fully immersing himself in the songs of John Dowland, a widely traveled and popular minstrel of the Elizabethan Renaissance who never found favor with his queen...

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Sting's Greatest Work to Date

Nothing Like The Sun
Released October 1987 by A&M Records



Sting's first solo album, The Dream Of The Blue Turtles, was deliberately crafted to showcase Sting as a solo artist, to break him free of the mold of The Police - the highly successful band that he had fronted for several years. Sting's first solo recording drew heavily on jazz influences, and accomplished the clean break from The Police that he desired. With his second solo album Nothing Like The Sun, released in 1987, Sting began the process of creating a signature style. Sting has always maintained his that he is a “pop” music artist, while consistently producing music that defies pop convention, transcending most other artists who are considered “pop”. Nothing Like The Sun was made up of songs that took a familiar form in pop music, such as a dance single, rock anthem, or ballad, and fashioned them into something more elegant, powerful, and poignant. With Nothing Like the Sun, Sting made music that mattered...


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Sting Takes Flight in a Dream...

The Dream of the Blue Turtles
Released June 1985 by A&M Records


...To many, this first glimpse of Sting as a solo artist did not match his Police profile - I was familiar with an arrogant prince, not a thoughtful and beguiling troubador fronting a band of accomplished musicians who, more often than not, seemed to be creating the music around Sting. Janice Pendarvis and Dolette McDonald were the first voices heard on the album: "Free, Free...set them free", Branford Marsalis graced each phrase with a fluid saxophone, Omar Hakim provided rhythmic flourishes that still touched on Stewart Copeland's skills with the hi-hat and toms yet suggested that something new was happening, Kenny Kirkland infused jazz and gospel into the sounds with his amazing command of the keyboards, and Daryl Jones aptly handled the bass, given rein over Sting's own instrument. Here was something new, something different, and after first hearing, something exciting. From the very start, The Dream of The Blue Turtles lifted above The Police, above the murky English new wave favored by the Breakfast Club wannabes walking in my footsteps after my graduation from high school. And, it lifted me into a new appreciation for Sting as a lyricist and composer...

Read the full review at Epinions.com