Abdullah Ibrahim - Knysna Blue 1994

After decades of self-exile, pianist/composer/bandleader Abdullah Ibrahim finally had an opportunity to return to his native South Africa in the early 1990s. This solo CD was recorded at Cape Town and has seven of his themes, all of which reflect his heritage; in addition, Ibrahim performs Thelonious Monk's"Ask Me Now." An excellent effort that must have been an emotional experience for the unique and masterful Abdullah Ibrahim. AMG.

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Neville Brothers - Fiyo On The Bayou 1981

Throughout their long careers as both solo performers and as members of the group that bore their family name, the Neville Brothers proudly carried the torch of their native New Orleans' rich R&B legacy. Although the four siblings -- Arthur, Charles, Aaron, and Cyril -- did not officially unite under the Neville Brothers aegis until 1977, all had crossed musical paths in the past, while also enjoying success with other unrelated projects: Eldest brother Art was the first to tackle a recording career, when in 1954 his high school band the Hawketts cut "Mardi Gras Mambo," a song that later became the annual carnival's unofficial anthem. Both Aaron and Charles later joined the Hawketts as well, and when Art joined the Navy in 1958, he handed Aaron the group's vocal reins.
Two years later, Aaron scored his first solo hit, "Over You"; in 1966, he notched a pop smash with the classic "Tell It Like It Is," a lush ballad showcasing his gossamer vocals. Art, meanwhile, returned from the service to begin his own solo career, and recorded a series of regional hits like "Cha Dooky Doo," "Zing Zing," and "Oo-Whee Baby." In 1967, he formed Art Neville and the Sounds, which included both Aaron and Charles as featured vocalists and quickly became a sensation on the local club circuit.
In 1968 producer Allen Toussaint hired the group as the house band for his Sansu Enterprises; minus Aaron and Charles, the Sounds evolved into a highly regarded rhythm section which backed artists as diverse as Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, and LaBelle before eventually finding fame on their own as the Meters. Consequently, Aaron resumed his solo career, although with only sporadic success; as a result, he also worked as a dock hand. Charles, meanwhile, relocated to New York City, where his skills as a saxophonist led to tenures with a variety of jazz units; after returning to New Orleans, he was arrested for possession of marijuana and served a three-year sentence at the Angola Prison Farm.
In 1975, the Meters backed the Wild Tchoupitoulas, a group led by the Nevilles' uncle, George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry. Both Aaron and Charles were enlisted for the session, as was youngest brother Cyril; when the Meters disbanded the following year, the four brothers backed the Tchoupitoulas on tour, and in 1977 they officially banded together as the Neville Brothers. Despite their gift for intricate four-part harmonies, their self-titled 1978 debut unsuccessfully cast the vocal quartet as a disco band, and following a dismal response they were dropped by their label, Capitol.

the Nevilles spent the following three years without a contract, but after signing with A&M, fan Bette Midler helped secure the services of producer Joel Dorn for 1981's superior Fiyo on the Bayou, which spotlighted Aaron's angelic tenor on standards like "Mona Lisa" and "The Ten Commandments of Love" along with renditions of "Iko Iko" and "Brother John." Despite widespread critical acclaim, the album sold poorly, and again the Nevilles were cut loose from their contract. After signing to the tiny Black Top label, they issued 1984's Neville-ization, an incendiary live set recorded at the Crescent City landmark Tipitina's which featured Duke Ellington's "Caravan" and Aaron's perennial "Tell It Like It Is" alongside the brothers' own "Africa" and "Fear, Hate, Envy, Jealousy."

After another concert album, 1987's Live at Tipitina's, the Nevilles signed with EMI and returned to the studio in 1987 with Uptown, which again met with commercial failure despite cameo appearances from Keith Richards, Jerry Garcia, and Carlos Santana. In 1989, they re-signed to A&M and recruited the services of famed New Orleans producer Daniel Lanois; the atmospheric Yellow Moon, the group's finest hour, finally earned them success on the charts, thanks in part to the anthemic single "Sister Rosa." 1990's Brother's Keeper fared even better, no doubt spurred by Aaron's concurrent success with Linda Ronstadt on the smash duet "Don't Know Much."

In subsequent years, Aaron reignited his solo career while also remaining with his brothers; while the Nevilles retained their cult following with LPs like 1992's Family Groove, 1994's Live on Planet Earth, and 1996's Mitakuye Oyasin Oyasin/All My Relations, Aaron scored a Top Ten hit in 1991 with the single "Everybody Plays the Fool," taken from the Ronstadt-produced Warm Your Heart. In 1993, he notched a minor hit with "Don't Take Away My Heaven" from the LP The Grand Tour; a year later, he found success with "I Fall to Pieces," a duet with country star Trisha Yearwood. In 1990, Charles also issued the jazz collection Charles Neville & Diversity.

In addition, a second generation of Nevilles also began making their mark on music; in 1988, Aaron's son Ivan, a member of Keith Richards' backing band the Xpensive Winos, released his solo debut, If My Ancestors Could See Me Now. The Neville Brothers legacy continued in 1999 with Valence Street.

AMG.

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Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu Steps Ahead 2010

Mulatu Astatke already has a legendary status as the father of Ethio Jazz. But he hasn't been content to rest on his laurels. Instead he's forged ahead. This album proves very different from his work with theHeliocentrics (some of whom do feature here), or with the Either/Orchestra -- it's an album of what is essentially a meandering, laid-back groove that looks at music from two angles -- the Western and the Ethiopian. The former gets to stretch out on cuts like the opener, the reflective "Radcliffe," and "The Way to Nice." Ethiopia raises its head on "I Faram Gami I Faram," which some luscious Addis Ababa singing, a reworking of the style that made Astatke's name, and actually of one of his old compositions. But it can also be heard in the flute on "Ethio Blues," or the ways Astatke's vibraphone resembles a balafon in "Green Africa." "Assosa" is a true trip into rural Ethiopia, based on traditional music, while "Mulatu's Mood" crosses the continent to put another of the man's older pieces in a highlife framework and highlight the connections between styles. What's interesting is how much of a backseat Astatke is happy to take, rarely venturing out front for a solo (and even then they're brief, more like punctuations), but always powering things along as part of the rhythm section. The exception is on "Boogaloo," at heart Western enough until Astatke takes it to Ethiopia over the groove, and then an Ethiopian fiddle holds it in strange, beautiful territory. A beautiful album that adds to Astatke's stature. AMG.

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Al Kooper - Rare & Well Done 1964-2001

Using an uncommon format, this two-CD set is divided into a rarities disc and a kind of best-of disc. It features primarily solo material, but also throws in some cuts from his group projects with Blood, Sweat, & Tears, the Blues Project, and '60s collaborations/jam sessions with Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. As either a rarities compilation or a best-of collection, this anthology has its shortcomings. Those who want the rare stuff may already have much of the best-of disc; the interest of those who want the best-of section might not extend to rarities; and either way, one will have to pay for two discs, which might be more material than desired. The rare component is quite erratic, and his material from after the early '70s on that disc is far inferior to the tracks from 1964-1972. Some goodies are unearthed, like his 1964 "Somethin' Goin' On" gospel/blues demo, his quirky 1965 solo single "New York's My Home (Razz-A-Ma-Tazz)" (aka "The Street Song"), a 1971 live version of "Baby Please Don't Go," and a 1970 cover ofBob Dylan's "Went to See the Gypsy," which Kooper had in mind as an arrangement for Dylan's own version. Yet these are outweighed by tracks of more later vintage that offset his intact knack for gospel/pop/blues/jazz-rock songwriting with inappropriately heartless modern keyboards, drums, and production. The well-done section avoids that problem by taking all but three of its selections from the 1966-1971 era, including such highlights as the Blues Project's "Flute Thing," Blood, Sweat, & Tears' "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know," and the title cut of his I Stand Alone album. It also has some tracks that even those fairly familiar with Kooper might have overlooked, like 1969's "Bury My Body" (with Shuggie Otis on guitar). AMG.

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Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures - Dream Garden 2008

Adam Rudolph is percussion master, composer, arranger, and producer. His Moving Pictures group has been one of his three mainstays (along with HU Vibrational and Go: Organic Orchestra) since he founded the group in 1992 (despite having literally dozens of other projects including the Mandingo Griot Society and collaborating with Dr. Yusef Lateef on some 20 albums in as many years). Its members have shifted continuously, but jazz drummer Hamid Drake has been a member almost since the beginning;Ned Rothenberg has also been a contributing member in the past. On Dream Garden, however, his debut for Justin Time Records, Rudolph moves his group into an entirely new sphere, one in which the culminations of his hundreds of collaborations and his multi-disciplinary approach to composition and improvisation all come to bear on a single recording. That doesn't mean hodgepodge, either. This version of Moving Pictures contains perhaps its most talented lineup yet. Rothenberg is here on everything from shakuhachi, C-and bass flutes, to bass clarinet and alto saxophone; Drake, with his drum kit, gourds, and frame drums, is present. Trumpeter Graham Haynes has put his experimental electronic and club explorations on hold for the time being to bring his trumpet and flugelhorn to this mix, while Shanir Blumenkranz is here on bass and the three-stringed sintir (a bass-like lute). As if this weren't an already impressive ensemble, guitarist Kenny Wessel and multi-instrumentalist Brahim Fribgane (who plays not only his trademark oud, but also cajon, bendir, and tarija) are here as well. Finally, rounding all of this out is the great bansuri flutist Steve Gorn, who also plays a Pakistani oboe, clarinet, and various Indian penny whistles. AMG.

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Abdul Raheem - Che-Che 1995

Former Singer and Trombonist of One of the Most Famous African Bands: Osibisa. His Solo Project Includes a Mixture of Afro-reggae, Jazz and Traditional Ghana Music.

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The Disciplines - Virgins of Menace 2011

With the Posies, Ken Stringfellow was one of the leaders of a pop group that could rock out under the right circumstances; in his side gig as frontman with the Disciplines, he turns this formula upside down, showing he's a great rock & roll shouter heading up a band that knows how to wield some poppy hooks to their guitar firepower. the Disciplines' second album, Virgins of Menace, gives Stringfellow room to strut around like some punky glam rock hero, and it suits him just fine as he spits gleeful venom on "Fate's a Strong Bitch" (where he out-attitudes guest vocalist Lydia Lunch, no small accomplishment) and sounds lean and cocky on "The War's Not Over." Of course, it helps that Stringfellow has just the right band for this sort of act; guitarist Bjorn Bergene makes these songs catchy and tuneful even when he's laying out the power chords (as on the Buzzcocks homage "Complicated Times" and the straightforward rocker "Some Kind of Sickness"), or easing up with some ringing acoustic-based leads (cue up "Kill the Killjoy" for details), and bassist Bard Helgeland and drummer Ralle Vilnes are agile and muscular, keeping the beat lively and hitting gloriously hard. And the band has a clear talent for songwriting, with their pop inclinations never compromising their rock moves or their brief exploration of prog rock textures on "Everything Forever (Pig Wars)." Cruising through a dozen songs in just over 33 minutes, Virgins of Menace delivers the goods and wastes no time doing it; this is a satisfying dose of rock & roll fun with both brains and brawn, and this may well surprise folks who think Frosting on the Beateror Amazing Disgrace taught them everything they need to know about Ken Stringfellow. AMG.

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The Beach Boys - ...That's Why God Made The Radio 2012

Plans for the Beach Boys' 50th anniversary tour came together surprisingly quickly, but nothing prepared fans for a full studio album just six months after their official reunion. Further surprises included apparently cordial relations between all surviving members, Brian Wilson in the producer's booth, the presence of 12 original songs on the album, and the complete absence of any attempt to cash in on fond memories of "Kokomo" or Endless Summer or "Do It Again" or "Help Me, Rhonda" -- depending on which generation the band might want to court. That's Why God Made the Radio is as good as it gets for those who love their Beach Boys. It includes frequently gorgeous charts from Wilsonand just a little sweetening to the songs (musically with help from Wilson's regular band and arrangerPaul Mertens, lyrically with help from Joe Thomas and Jim Peterik). The album is a record of two halves -- or sides, in case the band was thinking back to famous side-by-side classics like 1965's Today! The first half is mostly upbeat, with highlights "Isn't It Time" and the title track evoking pleasant curios from late-'60s LPs like Wild Honey or Friends. The second half is largely reflective, with songs that reveal the band's feelings about time passing and life ending (much more than any other material in their entire careers). Granted, no latter-day Beach Boys record comes without missteps, but fortunately there are only two. "Spring Vacation" is embarrassingly chummy, with the lines "As for the past, it's all behind us/Happier now, look where life finds us/Singing our songs is enough reason/Harmony boys is what we believe in/Some said it wouldn't last/All we can say is we're still having a blast." Meanwhile, the downright odd "Private Life of Bill and Sue" takes a fictional couple into the reality-show realm for a misguided cultural critique. For those worried about either Love or Wilson dominating the proceedings, it's clear to see that not only Wilson gets his moment in the sun. For Mike Love, it's "Daybreak Over the Ocean," which could have come off as an update of "Kokomo"'s tropical motif (with Mike crooning a little too close to your ear), but is thankfully treated very lightly. For Al Jardine, it's "From There to Back Again," easily the most beautiful song on the album, a Side 2 ballad epic that Wilson frames impeccably around Jardine's voice, aging but still sweet. (It ranks as one of their best ballads since the '60s.) These may not be the songs that will ever light up their live sets, but together they form what is easily the bestBeach Boys record in 35 years -- and a surprisingly cohesive, reflective, listenable one at that. AMG.

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Chavela Vargas - Cupaima 2007

Chavela Vargas is a woman who manages to be both a Mexican institution and an iconoclast at the same time. Almost 90 at the time of this release, she has shown that ranchera and bolero can be feminine forms, and not exclusively the preserve of very macho artists like José Alfredo Jiménez. Titled for her nickname, this CD/DVD package is a remarkable piece of work about an artist who deserves wider recognition outside her homeland. The DVD is fascinating, with an excellent interview that illustrates her philosophy of life, but it's the music that's most telling, like "Las Simples Cosas," where her voices aches with passion over a spare, very Mexican sound. Even at her age there's an almost magical presence in her singing, full of lust, romance, and fate. Her take on the classic "La Llorona" is a prime example -- you can practically feel the desire dripping from her words. She's one of the most important singers ever to have come out of Mexico, and this does her proud. AMG. 

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Gil Scott-Heron - Spirits 1994

With Spirits, Gil Scott-Heron made a triumphant return to the studio after a 12-year absence. Though the politically charged R&B singer's voice had deteriorated, much of his soulfulness comes through. His songwriting is consistently excellent, and songs ranging from "Message to the Messengers" (which advises young rap artists to use their power wisely) to "Work for Peace" leave no doubt that his sociopolitical observations are as sharp as ever. One of the most riveting cuts is "The Other Side," an extended remake of his early-'70s classic "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" (which describes a drug addict's struggle). The East Coaster had been battling addiction himself during his absence from recording, and this heartfelt song isn't for the squeamish. Scott-Heron had successfully dabbled in jazz over the years, and in fact, among the CD's many strong points are the lyrics he adds to John Coltrane's "Spirits." One cannot help but wish Scott-Heron still had a great voice to go with this material, but even so, Spirits is powerful listening. AMG.

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dEUS - Following Sea 2012

Announced and released on the same day, Following Sea is the rather unexpected seventh studio album from Belgian experimental art rock quintet dEUS. Arriving just nine months after 2011's Keep You Close, the closely guarded secret was recorded on tour with producer Adam Noble and features songs that tackle the subjects of soldiers' post-traumatic stress ("Hidden Wounds") and the Costa Concordia tragedy ("The Give Up Gene") alongside their first ever French-sung track ("Quatre Mains"). AMG.

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Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Alone In Iz World 2001

The most popular entertainer in Hawaii until his tragic death in 1997, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole formed the traditional Makaha Sons as a teenager in the mid-'70s, went out on his own in more of a contemporary style by the 1990s, and released four immensely popular recordings before passing away just after the release of 1996's N Dis Life. Born in the Honolulu suburb of Kaimuki, Kamakawiwo'ole later moved to nearby Makaha. In allegiance to his new home, Israel formed the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau with brother Skippy plus Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, Sam Gray and Jerome Koko. The Makaha Sons recorded No Kristo in 1976 and released five more albums during as many years, though Skippy's death of a heart attack in 1982 came as quite a blow to his younger brother. The group soldiered on, and became Hawaii's most popular traditional group with breakout albums like 1984's Puana Hou Me Ke Aloha and its follow-up, 1986's Ho'ola.

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole decided to begin recording on his own with 1990's Ka 'Ano'i, which became the most popular Hawaiian album of the year. Though he continued his solo career, by 1991 he had recorded with the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau again, and that year's Makaha Bash 3 set still more records in Hawaii, thanks in part to the single "Broken Promise." Another Makaha LP, Ho'oluana, appeared in 1992, though it was the last with Israel. His second solo effort, Facing Future, appeared in 1993, and 1995's E Ala E featured a reunited duet with Skippy, thanks to studio technology. Israel continued to win awards and sell very well with 1996's N Dis Life, but his ballooning weight problem (at times, he weighed over 750 pounds) caused his early death at the age of 38. AMG.

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Spiritualized - Amazing Grace 2003

After the arduous process of making 2001's hyper-orchestrated Let It Come Down and hearing the fierce, back-to-basics rock of bands like the White Stripes and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Jason Pierce vowed that the next Spiritualized album would be a departure from the excesses of his previous efforts. In some aspects, Amazing Grace makes good on his word: right down to its cover art -- a photo of a naked arm, free of any ornament (or track marks) -- the album makes a show of its simplicity. The pair of rockers that begin Amazing Grace are just as driven as anything that has come out of the recent wave of garage rock revivalism, but save for some lo-fi affectations, could easily appear on any of Spiritualized's other albums. Indeed, lyrics like "This little life of mine/I'm gonna let it slide" and song titles like "She Kissed Me (It Felt Like a Hit)" are so quintessentially Spiritualized that they border on parody. The album's softer moments also have a slightly rehashed quality and are still fairly ornate. While "Hold On" and "Oh Baby" are more restrained than Pierce's Let It Come Down material, that just means that their excesses are less excessive -- there's only one orchestra and gospel choir per song. However, the processes thatPierce used to craft the album aren't as important as the fact that its songs aren't especially distinctive.Amazing Grace touches on all of Spiritualized's song archetypes: fiery rockers ("Never Going Back," "Cheapster"), gospel-tinged pleas for salvation ("Lord Let It Rain on Me"), ethereal laments ("Rated X"), and forays into jazz ("The Power and the Glory"), but, despite energetic performances and a relatively simple approach, very few of the songs connect. If anything, the stripped-down production magnifies the album's nondescript songwriting. The standout track is "The Ballad of Richie Lee," a bleakly beautiful song that truly does use the orchestra in a restrained and powerful way, making a logical progression from where Pierce's music has been to where it could be going. Amazing Grace is far from a bad album, but it's not an especially compelling one, either. The yin and yang of Spiritualized's symphonies and rock make for a sharp contrast in his work, but they can also settle into a rut, as is the case here. Die-hardPierce fans may find a lot to like about Amazing Grace, but then again, they may find another spin ofLadies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space more rewarding. AMG.

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