The CDs in this column were posted on the Internet before they appeared in the Herald Times Reporter, where I work as assistant managing editor. The new releases range from Circus entertainment to the time travel afforded by Alan Parsons on his lively release, with some trance music to wind down with in the end.
As always, e-mail me with any suggestions or to request the post office address of any record labels for the discs I review. If you have any requests for review, let me know and I'll try to oblige them. That's what I offer today - let the music play.
Alan Parsons, The Very Best Live (RCA Victor)
The late 1970s and early 1980s was the "Time" for Alan Parson's Project to be in the "Limelight." Now the man who has been respected in the business since engineering Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of The Moon" and who recorded so many great songs with his own band has released his first live album.
The thundering keyboard licks on "Eye in the Sky" make it sound fresh as Parson's anthem. Most Generation X music lovers still fondly remember that song as among the best from the 1970s supergroups. Parson's new recording of "Time" also sounds as good now, and makes listeners wonder what happened to these top-notch songs. Rock stations seem to have forgotten about the former, while adult contemporary stations should bring out the latter more often. As "Time" echoes, these songs should "go on forever."
"Psychobabble," "The Raven," "Old and Wise," from the early part of the Project's heyday, and "Prime Time" and "Don't Answer Me" from the band's twilight, the music here spans much of both volumes of Alan Parson's Project's best of releases. But some key songs are missing here - the live disc excludes "Let's Talk About Me," "Games People Play" and "You Don't Believe." Those holes conceivably come from Parson's new band's inability to imitate the vocals of his previous bandmates on those songs.
Again to borrow from Parsons, "I can read your mind." You think Parsons is just another aging musician who is touring now to cash in on his former fame, like any of several groups who tour the music festivals every summer playing the same songs that have been moldy for 10 or 15 years. But Parsons puts a little different, more updated sound, on his recordings now, and his band recorded three studio tracks for this release. "You're the Voice" is good enough to appear on a third volume of best of songs - hopefully Parsons will continue to record new music, especially before he becomes too "Old and Wise."
This is one of those discs that listeners can enjoy over and over again, even to the point of leaving the "repeat" button on. The songs, and more importantly the new recordings of them, are that good. Follow this link to the Alan Parsons home page.
Lenny Kravitz, Circus (Virgin Records America)
Kravitz's fourth album is a good mix of rock, funk and melody, although his Circus becomes a side show act in a few places.
He puts on a one-man show on three tracks, where he successfully pulls off all instruments, vocals, and writing duties. The disc starts off with a bang: "Rock and Roll Is Dead." It serves the same purpose as an opening act, to get listeners warmed up for the much better music to follow. On "Tunnel Vision," Kravitz sounds as though he has borrowed most of the sounds of his successful 1993 song, "Are You Gonna Go My Way." That song sounded better, however. This one has a lengthy bridge section that adds little and sounds annoying. As a whole, the song sounds alright - largely the funky fade out saves the whole track. The third song Kravitz performs alone is "Don't Go and Put a Bullet in Your Head." Here he features a catchy guitar riff and the smoother side of his vocals. The song may even shoot up the rock charts. Even the minute or so in which Kravitz repeats, "Oh my, oh my," sounds alright when listeners get into his groove.
The best songs on Circus are the mellower, where Kravitz slows down enough to show off his great vocal harmonies and gentler guitar playing. These songs are also the most religious. For example, "In My Life Today" is written for the "force and strength" in the singer's life. "The Resurrection" stands as the best track. It typifies as well as any Kravitz's 1970s sound, and this one is reminiscent of Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy." The difference, however, is that Kravitz is devout and his music is more real, more spirited.
Another of the better tracks is about love, but not spiritual love. "Can't Get You Off My Mind" is more about obsession. Two other tracks worth noting are more playful sounding, "Magdalene" and "God Is Love."
Taken as a whole, Circus is something to love. Follow this link to the Lenny Kravitz discography.
Michael Askill, Fata Morgana (Celestial Harmonies)
The CD starts out with some relaxing flute music with the short "Desert Wind." That song lulls listeners into a false sense of comfort.
Shortly after thinking they were in for a lazy river water ride, "Aman"'s strong, fast, furious drums and haunting chants bring the river rafter into the heart of darkness. The journey is vivid and the music creates as much imagery as the oft-read novella by Joseph Conrad.
Passengers can breathe a minute with the heart-pounding music in the distance, but the restlessness soon gets in your face with the third track, "Distant Call and March of the Janissaries." Then "Cool Water" feels good as it flows over the traveller's ears. Here the journey starts to mellow and become more of a jungle safari for a few passages.
That is until "Boiling Water," a very hot percussion jam that brings listeners to the center of a powwow.
Most of the songs inspire detailed images involving primitive people and their culture, as though the listener is eavesdropping on the action. Some of the songs are non-distinct - they usually last only a short time; some of the more interesting tracks are short, too. The instruments used in the recording are about as interesting as the music: ney, kavala, oud, tappan, chang-gu, thai gongs and about 30 or 40 others that are unique to Western ears. Nothing about this disc is ordinary.
(C) 1996 Daniel E. Klatt Enterprises.