October 2003,,,,,,,,,,,,...................................................................... ...................................

Recent CDs Reviewed

ZZ Top. Mescalero. RCA Records. *** of five.

The boys from Texas are back with a strong effort in Mescalero. I love early Top, everything through El Loco is pretty good and a few of them…Tres Hombres and Deguello especially…are great. Eliminator was the record that made them big stars, and deservedly so…the problem was with albums like Afterburner and Recycler that found them parroting the formula of that breakthrough LP (there’s even a tacit admission of that in the very titles they chose). Their last few albums have found Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard returning to their blues roots; this one brings them closer still with 17 fairly short (the longest is five and a half minutes), mostly rocking and sometimes suggestive tunes. The sound overall is fairly high tech, particularly Gibbons’ guitar tones—but the riffs themselves seem to emanate from an ancient swamp…or perhaps the Rio Grande mud. I especially like the rock-en-español lyrics of the title track and “Que Lastima” (which translates to something like “What a pity” and is actually one of the few Spanish phrases I regularly use). But the best track is one that isn’t even listed…the set closing, hidden cover of “As Time Goes By,” done as a country number complete with pedal steel. Hell, yes. Play it again, Billy.

Poncho Sanchez. Out of Sight. Concord Records. **** of five.

Conga master Poncho Sanchez has to be the hardest working man in Latin Jazz, so I suppose it’s appropriate that his latest CD is something of a tribute to the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, James Brown. It’s also a tribute to 60’s R&B more generally. The title cut is the Brown chestnut, and another track “JB’s Strut” is an original written by Poncho’s sax man Scott Martin in Brown’s style. Joining Poncho’s regular group for those and three other numbers are two of Brown’s old associates, trombonist Fred Wesley and saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis. Other guests include Sam Moore, Billy Preston and Ray Charles, brother Ray providing a vocal on “Mary Ann” while Preston plays organ on Sanchez’s excellent take on Charles’ “One Mint Julep.” On the R&B numbers the group does a wonderful job blending Latin rhythms with the funky pulse of the originals, while a handful of other tracks, most notably “El Tamor Del Mongo” for the late Mongo Santamaria, are more traditional Latin Jazz. This is easily the most infectiously fun recording I’ve heard all year.

Glossary. How We Handle Our Midnights. Undertow. **** of five.

I think the best compliment I can pay this CD is that, after receiving a review copy of it, its actually worked its way into the regular rotation of music that I listen to for fun—it doesn’t always work that way, even with albums I give a positive review to. Glossary’s sound encompasses such influences as early ‘70s Neil Young and Rolling Stones and such indie bands as Dinosaur and Galaxie 500, with country and folk sounds of pedal steel and harmonica informing tracks like “Hold Me Down,” jangly guitars everywhere and the wizened vocals of Joey Kneiser matching the mood of his lyrics perfectly. Maybe there’s nothing new going on here, but let’s see—catchy hooks, rocking guitars, meaningful lyrics with well-turned phrases, inviting harmonies—you know what, I believe those are the exact things that got me interested in rock and roll in the first place and it’s records like How We Handle Our Midnights that keep me from losing faith in the genre altogether.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Live at Berkeley. MCA Records. ***** of five.

I can only speak for myself, but having reached a certain point with the guitar whereupon I feel that I understand the relative ease with which it is possible to use the instrument to produce pleasing sounds, I’m relatively jaded about hearing supposed guitar virtuosi play. I don’t care how fast, how intricately, how whatever that so and so can play the damn thing. It’s not an athletic contest…I mean, you know, Dave Davies playing sloppily at age 17 on an early Kinks single is more entertaining than anything by 9/10ths of the guys who make the cover of guitar magazines. Of course, it should go without saying that that tenth guy is Jimi Hendrix. I’ll be honest, I get down on the electric guitar; but when I listen to Jimi…especially when I see him playing on film…I realize that it’s not all bullshit. The electric guitar can be a beautiful instrument…when Jimi plays it is an instrument of awesome, sometimes terrifying beauty. It sounds good and feels good to listen to, and you can tell it felt good to play. Jimi doesn’t impress you with his ability to play difficult runs, he blows you away with his ability to express deep emotions and generate catharsis.