MusicSTAR Music
Van Morrison, Jason Aldean & Off Kilter
Worth Buying By Robert Kinsler
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Legendary singersongwriter Van Morrison, modern country singer Jason Aldean and the genrebusting Celtic outfit Off Kilter have issued releases worth a multitude of listens.
Artist: Van Morrison Title: Born To Sing: No Plan B (Blue Note Records) You might be interested in buying this if you like: Mark Knopfler, Donald Fagen, John Hiatt. Tell me more: Van Morrison’s sound has always boasted an amalgamation of rock, soul, R&B, folk and jazz. So it’s not surprising that the Northern Irish singersongwriter’s new album “Born To Sing: No Plan B” is immersed in that like-minded intoxicating sweet brew that wisely branded albums such as 1968’s “Astral Weeks” and 1970’s “Moondance” landmarks. The six-time Grammy Award winner’s new album finds the 67-year-old Morrison at the top of his
game with his potent vocals dancing amidst the horns on the bouncy “Open the Door (To Your Heart)” and singing tenderly on the extended jazzy ballad “Goin’ Down to Monte Carlo.” “End of the Rainbow” is otherworldly in its beauty and “Mystic of the East” s h owc a s e s M o r r i s o n’s uncanny ability at phrasing a lyric like no other singer. The biggest surprise? M o r r i s o n’s heavy blues gem “Pagan Heart” that conjures up memories of John Lee Hooker and Robert Johnson. Information: www. vanmorrison.com.
modern country music’s biggest stars, Jason Aldean headlined at the first night of Stagecoach in Indio earlier this year and topped the Go Fest country music festival in nearby Orange County last month. Based on the strength of his just-released fifth album “Night Train,” there is a good chance that Aldean will continue to be packing in fans whenever and wherever he is performing. From the beautiful power ballad “I Don’t Do Lonely Well,” to his first hit single off “Night Train,” the infectious “Take A Little Ride,” Aldean blends arena rock and authentic country with a magical touch that has eluded most of his contemporaries. The icing on the cake is the up-tempo “The Only Way I Know,” where he collaborates up with fellow country superstars Luke Bryan and Eric Church. Information: www. BrokenBowRecords.com.
any major U.S. city and it’s not unusual to find an Irish pub hosting young rockers playing amped-up versions of traditional Irish tunes such as “Dirty Old Town” or “Drunken Sailor.” But Minneola, Floridabased Off Kilter is not your common Celtic troupe; the quintet blends Emerald Isle melodies and rhythms with the explosiveness of the American Wake and Young Dubliners layered with the progressive rock appeal and virtuoso musicianship of ASIA. On “The Live Tracks,” the winning mix of bagpipes, whistles, bass, guitar and drums comes in support of strong vocals and astounding arrangements on well-known standards (“Whiskey in the Jar,” “Wild Rover”), unearthed treasures (“Fields of Athenry”) and even reworked rock classics (Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Good). Information: www. offkilter.net.
“Just 45 Minutes From Broadway” By Alejandro Paiz PALM SPRINGS, CA – “Just 45 Minutes From Broadway,” from maverick writer and director Henry Jaglom’s (“Déjà Vu,” ”Eating,” “Festival in Cannes,” “Venice Venice”) is a wonderfully insightful and disarmingly comic celebration of actors and those who love them, opens Friday, Oct. 26 at the Camelot Theater. The show opened in Los Angeles on Oct. 3 and in New York on Oct. 17. “Just 45 Minutes From Broadway” stars the extraordinary and effervescent Tanna Frederick (“Queen of the Lot,” “Irene in Time”) and in a revelatory performance, Judd Nelson (“The Breakfast Club”). Whether trodding the boards for paying audiences or performing at the kitchen table for her theatrical family, the only place Pandora Isaacs (Frederick) has ever felt truly safe and entirely at home is onstage. Like so many actors, she is not completely sure about the difference between real life and the theater and - as she willingly admits - she really doesn’t want to. Stinging from a recent romantic break-up, she retreats to the safety of her parents’ ramshackle upstate country house — “Just 45 minutes from Broadway”— where her non-theatrical sister (Julie Davis, “I Love You, Don’t Touch Me!) and her sister’s non-Jewish fiancée (Nelson) are also arriving for the weekend and the family’s yearly Passover Seder, which is presided over by another uncle (Michael Emil, “Insignificance”). Family secrets, sibling rivalries and the possibility of true love as rare as a blue bullfrog all emerge, but at what cost? Evoking the pathos of Phillip Barry’s “Holiday,” Just 45 Minutes From Broadway is a bravura observation of the machinations that involve and intertwine family, love and the dynamics of the theater. The film co-stars David Proval (“The Departed”), Diane Salinger (“Carnivale”), Jack Heller (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”). and singer/ songwriter Harriett Schock.
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Artist: Jason Aldean Title: Night Train (Broken Bow Records)
Artist: Off Kilter Title: The Live Tracks (Off Kilter)
You might be interested in buying this if you like: Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Jason Aldean’s previous albums. Tell me more: One of
You might be interested in buying this if you like: The Young Dubliners, the Fenians, the American Wake, ASIA Tell me more: Go into
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