PAGE 10 • GO! MAGAZINE
THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2010
music releases Indigo Girls STARING DOWN THE BRILLIANT DREAM Vanguard Recordings Live recordings are tricky, especially because many artists prefer to capture one special evening on tape — even if the entire night wasn’t all that special. The Indigo Girls are veterans at this whole game, and “Staring Down the Brilliant Dream” is their second two-disc live recording, following 1995’s “1,200
The-Dream LOVE KING Def Jam Recordings Like Frank Sinatra, Garth Brooks and Jay-Z before him, Terius “The-Dream” Nash claims to be preparing for retirement with this, his alleged last album. I wouldn’t count on the superslick minor genius producer following through on it, but if he did, the auteur responsible for Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” would never want for work. But while The-Dream makes for a peerless man-behind-thecurtain, on his own he’s incon-
Curfews.” They smartly selected their favorite 31 recordings
sistent, with a propensity for finger-snapping, creamy vocal paeans to Prince like “Yamaha” that don’t always play to his strengths. There are a handful of great singles here, however, starting with the luxuriously catchy title cut, and including the satisfying, repetitive productplacement tour de force “Make Up Bag.” And The-Dream has no competition when it comes to concocting arrangements intoxicating enough to rescue impossibly inane rhymes such as “It’s like trying to rob me with a BB gun/ But my love gets it poppin’ like the Taliban,”
Macy Gray THE SELLOUT Concord Records Instead of chasing pop hits to reignite her career, Macy Gray decided to fill “The Sellout” with music she liked. She probably won’t be alone in appreciating this collection of upbeat, up-tempo, soul-tinged pop numbers. The first single, “Beauty in
from 2006-2009 for the compilation, and the result is a lovely collection of special moments. The song-ending harmony that closes “Closer to Fine.” Amy Ray’s casual, F-bomb- dropping storytelling in “Shame on You.” And the girls wink when they kick it all off with “Heartache For Everyone,” a dub-influenced good-times jam that is proof that these ladies aren’t just relying on their decades-old work — they’re still writing great music. — Ricardo Baca, The Denver Post
Miley Cyrus CAN’T BE TAMED Hollywood Records They grow up so fast nowadays. It seems like only yesterday Cyrus was a wholesome Disney Channel pixie. Oh, wait, that WAS yesterday. Can you say “makeover”? Glowering on the cover of her new CD in a midriff-baring (and then some) all-black outfit, her hair dyed dark, the 17-year-old singer looks like the Bride of Dracula.
which he does, with style, on the deliciously enjoyable “Sex Intelligent.” — Dan DeLuca, The Philadelphia Inquirer
the World,” is a straight-up pop anthem — a foot-stomping, hand-clapping sing-along about blue skies and sweet music. “Kissed It” is a stadium-rocker, while “That Man” twists an Amy Winehouse retro-soul vibe around some clever lyrics. It’s all so well crafted that Gray should be converting “The Sellout” into sold-out shows in no time. — Glenn Gamboa, Newsday
NorthWest Crossing SATURDAY FARMERS MARKET Every Saturday! June 26 - September 25 • 10 am - 2 pm live music • delicious food • fresh produce • artisan cheese and eggs • orchardfresh fruit • herbs • meat • baked goods and so much more!
NorthWest Crossing Neighborhood Center www.nwxfarmersmarket.com
Fortunately, her sound hasn’t turned sinister. The collection lifts off energetically with “Liberty Walk,” a popping dance number (Miley raps!); the Abba-esque “Who Owns My Heart”; and the electro-vamp of the title track, which she later reprises with Lil Jon. You want contemporary? Wrap your ears around the Ke$ha-like android-pop of “Permanent December.” The good is bundled with the bad, including a superfluous cover of Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and some swampy ballads on which Cyrus seems to be channeling Stevie Nicks. With “Can’t Be Tamed,” Cyrus’ image has undergone a radical change, but her music hasn’t changed much. The record is slightly more daring but far from untamed. — David Hiltbrand, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Robert Randolph and the Family Band WE WALK THIS ROAD Warner Bros. Records Since grabbing the national spotlight about a decade ago, the pedal-steel guitarist Robert Randolph has done a lot of his growing in public. A prodigy in all the ways that immediately counted, he was a late bloomer on the subject of secular music, owing to his formative years in the House of God Church. The same upbringing that ensconced him in the sacred steel gospel tradition, as it turned out, also blocked a lot of outside influences, including some pertaining to his own lineage as a musician. “We Walk This Road” is the corrective. Randolph’s third album with the Family Band, it was produced by T Bone Burnett, a wizard of humid atmosphere and oldfangled inspiration. The brooding but casual sound of the album points to Burnett’s active hand, and so does the studio ledger: that’s Mike Elizondo playing electric bass on one track, and Jim Keltner lending the whomp-thwack of his drums to a handful of others. But the crucial part of Burnett’s involvement here had to do with excavation. With the blessing of Randolph he brought a lot of archival material to the table: old blues and spirituals,
the stuff of folk anthologies and public domain. Some of these tracks — discoveries for Randolph, good-luck charms for Burnett — ended up inspiring new songs, which appear on the album alongside snippets of source material. There’s an unguarded directness to these translations, for better or worse. The Family Band, which features Randolph’s cousin Danyel Morgan on bass and vocals, seems likely to make hay with these new-old songs live. The same should be true of the covers on “We Walk This Road,” by artists including Bob Dylan (“Shot of Love”), John Lennon (“I Don’t Wanna Be a Soldier Mama”) and Prince (“Walk Don’t Walk”). The soulful urgency of those songs fits Randolph and crew, all doctrine aside. — Nate Chinen, The New York Times