Reviews

Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator) (Acony Records)

On her first two albums, Revival (1996) and Hell Among The Yearlings (1998), Gillian Welch staked out a sound and vision based in old-time Depression-era country traditions. From this space, she connected listeners to stark emotional and economic realities most entertainment prefers to ignore. While the newly released Time (The Revelator) retains the same roots, Welch is stretching toward a looser, more personalized expression of themes and values that once seemed historical or second hand. With her partner singer-guitarist-writer David Rawlings producing, Welch now seems fully relaxed in her adopted tradition, singing woes and yearnings as if they were her own. The real news, however, is in the writing. Over the course of three albums, Welch and Rawlings have come to craft old-time imagery and narrative that sets comfortably alongside the work of revered originators.

Kelly Jo Phelps, Sky Like A
Broken Clock (Ryko)

Like Welch, singer-songwriter- guitarist Kelly Jo Phelps seems bonded to an ancient muse, but in this case rural blues. On previous albums, Lead me On (1994), Roll Away The Stone (1997), and Shine Eyed Mister Zen (1999), Phelps has employed his smoky voice and virtuoso slidework to pursue questions of meaning, mortality, love, and loss. Accordingly, the reference points for Phelps quest have been the deep blues of Skip James, Robert Pete Williams, Roscoe Holcomb, and Dock Boggs. On his new live album Sky Like A Broken Clock, Phelps continues to extend his meditative approach to the blues, but this time with instrumental support from bassist Larry Taylor and ex-Morphine drummer Billy Conway. With these sensitive, veteran players complementing his words and moods, Phelps lays aside his slide in favor of deft and subtle fingerpicking. As always, a trip through dark, painful emotions to hard won, comforting release.

The White Stripes, White Blood Cells (Sympathy For The
Record Industry)

Detroit's Jack (guitar and vocals) and Meg White (drums) make up the very back-to-basics rock duo known as The White Stripes. Like other garage punks before them, the Whites (a brother and sister act) favor no frills noise, brash attitude, and blunt words. The difference with The White Stripes is a connection to rock's most primitive roots. Lovers of folk, blues, and country, the Whites keep their eye on the surface rudimentary sound rooted in imagery, melodies, and riffs springing from Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta. Mix that up with a little Kinks, Cole Porter, and punk and you've got a messy originality that fits no current corporate formula.

Tricky, Blowback (Hollywood)

Since his 1995 breakthrough, Maxinquaye, the trip-hop innovator known as Tricky has been on a critical and commercial downslide. Music fans originally mesmerized by his scary urban soundscapes bristling with economic and racial tensions have slowly turned off to a dense and pessimistic ride to nowhere. Blowback may turn the tide a bit as Tricky makes moves toward songs, melodies, and hope. The air of foreboding has not entirely evaporated, but with a little help from the Chili Peppers and Cyndi Lauper, Tricky is finding ways to throw light on a path forward.

Caetano Veloso, Noites do Norte (Northern Lights) (Nonsuch)

Since the early 1960s when he emerged as a leader of the radical tropicalista movement, singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso has reflected the heart and soul of Brazilian politics and culture. As a result, Veloso is now regarded as a national hero and poet of the people. Released earlier this year, Noites do Norte (Northern Lights) is another of his landmark works showing the power of socially conscious art. The album offers an intoxicating blend of the nation's rich musical traditions including samba, bossa nova, 19th century classical music, African folk, and indigenous variations of American rock and hip-hop. This extraordinary soundtrack, however, carries along a critical examination of the Brazilian legacy of racism and slavery. In songs such as “Zumbi,” “Zera a Reza,” and “13 de Maio,” Veloso conveys facts and personal histories tracing the horrors of social dislocation, slave rebellions, and enduring inequality. A sad, provocative, and angry work meant to provoke argument and change.

Los Super Seven, Canto
(Columbia/Legacy)

On their debut outing of 1998 the loose knit group convened as Los Super Seven introduced Tejano and traditional Mexican music to listeners just waking up to the glories of indigenous Latin music. On Canto the mission is broader in scope. With Ruben Ramos, Rick Trevino and Los Lobos members Cesar Rosas, David Hidalgo, and Steve Berlin staying on from the first group, and a host of new singers and players including Raul Malo of the Mavericks, pianist Alberto Salas, Peruvian vocalist Susana Baca, and Brazil's Caetano Veloso, Los Super Seven display a stunning multifaceted panorama of Latin sound. Another gorgeous and essential record owing nothing to calculations of crossover.          Z