These are the dog days in the life of Pearl Jam. With a career platform based on, among other things, the record company hassles and fighting concert ticket gouging, the band has released their latest effort Back Spacer (Monkeywrench) exclusively with Target.Be careful what you ask for PJ, you just might get it. You got a target all right, smack dab on your forehead. Sometimes with them it seems to be more about the other stuff than the music, and I think that affects this album.
Here, trying to sell records they sound like a band trying to sound like Pearl Jam. As energetic as it is, and this baby can hum, I get the feeling that they’re taking what’s worked in their past and adding it here when needed – even something from Eddie Vedder’s Into The Wild solo soundtrack.
Okay. I guess you have to save face when you bail on your record company and go with a corporate giant like Target. Reunited with producer Brendan O’Brien, the album really doesn’t impress until “Unthought Known,” otherwise it’s just another ho-hum of an album.
PJ has been kicking about for 20 years, and while others like Elvis Costello and even Bruce Springsteen have taken steps to spice up their musical life, Pearl Jam seem to be content being the spoiled little boy, arms folded, pouting, holding their breath, refusing to take off his flannel shirt and show a little growth.
Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel (Island) is the perfect title of the new Mariah Carey album. All things considered, it isn’t bad, it’s imperfect. The positives easily outweigh the negatives, but those negatives are doozies.
On the positive side, using only two producers as opposed to a slew of different guys makes a huge difference. Here you pretty much have the same direction, attitude and emotion throughout. Usually with multiple producers you have guys showing off their producing talent while the artist comes in a distant second.
The material is pretty good, despite the fact that Carey had a hand in 16 of the CD’s 17 tracks. Mariah Carey is a great many things, although unless extremely motivated, writing isn’t on the top of the list.
What hurts this CD is simply the fact it’s very vanilla. It’s pretty much the same song, over and over, again and again. There are no peaks and valleys, it’s ballad after ballad. Vocally, Carey sounds like she’s enamored with the sound of her own voice and is as monotone as ever, like she’s her own auto-tune.
It’s a very ballad-driven album; some stuff is mid-tempo at best. Whatever happened to the days of Carey letting it loose ala “Emotions”? It breaks up the monotony and gives the quiet stuff more oomph.
Anyway, listen to “More Than Just Friends,” “Obsessed,” “Up Out My Face” and “Betcha Gon’ Know” before her remake of Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is” puts you into a deep sleep.
An original member of Wu-Tang Clan, when Ghostface Killah’s solo career would stutter he’d slide back with The Clan to set the sails straight. His latest solo album Ghostdini Wizard of Poetry (Def Jam) is a good, hilarious, lively CD.
His Ghostdini character here is as crazy as can be. When I heard “Stapleton Sex” with all its sexual bravado, I laughed so hard I almost cried. His raps are layered on top of some of R&B’s greatest hits by the likes of Marvin Gaye, Willie Hutch and Joe Simon.
Standouts include “Guest House,” “Not Your Average Girl,” “Back Like That” with Kanye West, “Lonely” and “Let’s Stop Playin’.”
South Carolina’s Trevor Hall is the type of musician that I give a great deal of credit to. Here’s a guy that has dedicated his life to his music, the key here being his music. Reggae influenced acoustic roots rock isn’t an easy sell these days, but on his third release, simply titled Trevor Hall (Vanguard) he’s got a winner.
With years of touring with the likes of Jack Johnson, Matisyahu and Rusted Root, he’s built a grass roots audience that is hungry for Hall’s music. It’s easy to see why.
Produced by Marshall Altman (Marc Broussard), who lends a hand in writing six of the album’s 13 songs, he really let’s Hall give all of himself here. This is extremely important for an artist who embraces inspirational, thought-provoking music.
He has a few friends drop by to lend a hand, most notably Matisyahu on “Unity” and Colbie Caillat on “The Lime Tree,” otherwise this is all Hall.
Standouts include the above mentioned as well as “Volume,” “31 Flavors,” the quiet “Many Roads” and “Internal Heights.” If you missed his acoustic show Oct. 5, he’s back with his full band on Halloween night, Oct. 31, at The Pabst Theater.
(Bob Hanson)
(Bob Hanson)
