MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: BRUCE COCKBURN - SMALL SOURCE OF COMFORT

BRUCE COCKBURN - SMALL SOURCE OF COMFORT

Thirty albums in, you know you're going to get high quality from Cockburn, so that means the real question is what's different? It would be churlish to look at what's the same, and it's easy to be bitchy after so long. Yes, there's an instrumental every three or four songs. Yes, he went somewhere war-torn (Afghanistan) and wrote about it. Yes, his songs have that jazzy, fast plucking with the droning bass note first, his usual style. Same old, same old then?

See, just turn all that around. That same old style is certainly one of the unique, individual examples of excellence in the guitar world. There's few artists that can mix in such fluidity while maintaining the structure of a well-crafted song, and fewer still that fuse world, jazz, folk and rock into something new. There's few that boil down the world's complexities into something easy to digest in four minutes, and still have something important to say. Few that would dare do it, too, few that have the conviction and the willingness to set themselves up as a target. And how many today know how to put priority on the instrumental track, can come up with different sounds for up to five of the fourteen cuts, where you don't feel ripped off?

So, back to what's new: He's co-writing, a couple of cuts with Annabelle Chvostek, ex-Wailin' Jenny. There's violin all over the disc, even on the instrumentals. Cockburn says much of the music came from being in urban apartments and going on long-distance drives, which resulted in more acoustic folk cuts, and yes, this is a gentler album, no rocket launchers, more coldest night of the year. The co-writes are two of the sweeter numbers, aided by Chvostek's harmonies. Placed in the middle of the disc, they break things up nicely, and the acoustic guitar and mandolin take us back to the mid-70's Cockburn a little, never a bad thing. The most interesting cut has to be Call Me Rose, which Cockburn says came to him in a dream. In short, Richard Nixon is reincarnated as a low-income single mom, but knows who he is, and hopes to rehabilitate his image. I may be going out on a limb here, but I think that may be a new songwriting topic.

There's not much flash on this album, but there's style and flair and class. Ya, same old-same old.

LOOK! A Canadian tour!
MAR 24 KELOWNA BC COMMUNITY THEATRE
MAR 25 VANCOUVER BC CHAN CENTRE
MAR 26 VICTORIA BC McPHERSON PLAYHOUSE
MAR 27 NANAIMO BC PORT THEATRE
MAR 30 CALGARY AB JUBILEE THEATRE
MAR 31 BANFF AB ERIC HARVIE THEATRE
APR 1 EDMONTON AB WINSPEAR THEATRE
APR 2 PRINCE ALBERT SK RAWLINSON CENTRE
APR 3 SASKATOON SK TCU PLACE
APR 5 WINNIPEG MB BURTON CUMMINGS THEATRE
APR 6 THUNDER BAY ON COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
APR 8 KINGSTON ON GRAND THEATRE
APR 9 TORONTO ON MASSEY HALL
APR 10 NORTH BAY ON CAPITAL THEATRE
APR 12 ST. CATHARINES ON SEAN O'SULLIVAN THEATRE
APR 13 MONTREAL QC L'ASTRAL
APR 14 MONTREAL QC L'ASTRAL
APR 15 OTTAWA ON NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE
APR 16 KITCHENER ON CENTRE IN THE SQUARE

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: SERENA RYDER - LIVE

SERENA RYDER - LIVE

Methinks you're going to see more of this type of release in the near future. This mini-album collects six live and three studio tracks, and has just come out to tie in with a major tour for Ryder. Starting tonight (March 07/11) in Charlottetown, she begins a Canadian jaunt with Melissa Etheridge. It's the kind of profile gig, including a Massey Hall show, that will get reviews, and new fans, and this could/should get some sales and help promote the shows and overall career. There's even a new duet single with Etheridge which Ryder wrote, Broken Heart Sun, which lets the similar-lunged singers duke it out.

Tour tie-ins aren't a new idea, and over the years have become staples especially in European and Far East countries. You'll often see editions of, say, a Bruce Springsteen album available as an import with extra cuts, as a tour edition, or a specific Greatest Hits title, with bonus this and that. I'm happy as a clam if they're offering up new stuff, and don't make me re-buy too many tracks. There's only a touch of that here, two cuts are from her previous albums, including her cover of Cohen's Sisters Of Mercy. But with seven of nine tracks new-to-you, and a lower price, it's a decent value. Today's desperate music market needs all the gimmicks it can find, including recycling, different formats than the traditional album, and the use of every tie-in trick in the book. This is old-style promotion where you fight for every dollar available.

The core of the disc is the six-track set recording in South Carolina, a bar show for the Canadian trying to build a broader fan base. Junos back home don't mean squat here, and she has to wow 'em from the start. With Ryder, it's all about the voice, and starting with a stunning a capella version of her Melancholy Blue surely must win over audience members immediately. With a voice that powerful, we often forget she's a strong writer as well, and three of her best are here with the full band, Little Bit Of Red, Weak In The Knees and All For Love. The mini-set closes with another of unaccompanied gems, her Sing Sing, which always fools me, I'm sure it's an old big band classic she's revived. Hearing the audience whoop and clap through it, you'd do well to put her on the list of singers you have to see one of these day.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD - TELL ME

Jessica Lea Mayfield - Tell Me

Mining the same kind of Southern Gothic/dark romance territory, and with a similar drawl, Mayfield is going to appeal to those looking for a young Lucinda.   There's some Tammy Wynette and some trailer trash, too.  But, as this is produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, as was her first album, there's lots of toughness and punk that ain't gonna go over too well on the right-wing side of the radio dial. 

The girlish qualities of her voice are appealing, since it gives all the songs the feel of old mountain music, like she's about to break into a chorus of "the cuckoo she's a pretty bird".  Even the most straight-ahead pretty song, Blues Skies Again, with it's oo-la-la vocals, has a sloppiness that's endearing, like this group of musicians couldn't hit the Top 10 even if they wrote a Rihanna song.  Mayfield could sing murder ballads that would scare Johnny Cash. 

On the fifth cut, Grown Man, and then sprinkled throughout, we are introduced to another quirk in the mix, a cheesy old synth.  It turns out it's a big part of her live group, as her brother David contributes the Casio to that song, and such keyed appliances as the Moog, Mellotron and Waterphone.  Along with Auerbach, he is the only other constant player, providing everything from bass (upright and electric), lead guitar and drums.  There's some downright wacky things going on with loops and vocal whooshes on Nervous Lonely Night, to accompany Jessica Lea's question of "Will you still be my friend when I go crazy?"  Somewhere in Ohio, there's a former boyfriend still looking behind him as he runs away.

Appearing at the ever-trendy Drake Hotel in Toronto on April 4th.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: TEDDY THOMPSON - BELLA

TEDDY THOMPSON - BELLA

T.T. may be the younger member of the warbling Thompson clan (spawn of Linda and Richard that he is), but he's an equally-old soul.  He's already put out an album of 50's and 60's-styled country ballads, and he's certainly a lot closer to Eddie Arnold than Eddie Vedder in his delivery and writing.

This time out, he's playing it more safe, and giving us a couple of directions.  The disc starts off with a trio of pop-rockers, something he can also handle.  Looking For A Girl is a good romp, where he's searching for one "who drinks and smokes" and "turns my bread into buttered toast".  It's basic, but well-done and would certainly make for a good radio rocker if anyone's looking.

But by mid-album, the real meat is on the table.  It turns out Thompson had a string section just waiting to get to work.  Now the songs are big and rich ballads, with the strings soaring along.  He digs out his old-school crooner voice, and at one point I could've been convinced Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb were involved.  There are some lovely chord changes, and Thompson's proving himself quite the vocalist, following along with the mighty melodies, and dancing with the strings.

So, it's a bit of a schizophrenic outing, and you can almost tell Thompson and producer David Kahne were worried about only having these orchestrated numbers out there, so in came the electric pop.  I'm good with it all, the guy makes some sweet tracks no matter what he's into at the moment.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: LUCINDA WILLIAMS - BLESSED

LUCINDA WILLIAMS - BLESSED

Williams say she is blessed, and she's certainly a might happier of late, not torn up about love now that she's settled into a solid relationship. Of course, some might long for the torment she could pour out in the old days, about three-day love affairs, and how they rip her up. The good news is that happier times don't dull her nasty sounds, or her ability to lay out the blues. Instead she simply sees it in other people. Plus, on the new disc, she tries to pass on some soothing words, telling all those down-and-out that they too are blessed.

If you want that Lucinda heartbreak, you can find it in a tune such as Born To Be Loved, where she couches the abused, the suffering, the forsaken and abandoned, telling them all they were born to be loved. In lesser hands, this is Dr. Phil advice, but when you here it from somebody who has felt that sorrow, it's empathy. In Seeing Black, she's speaking to someone carrying a lot of pain and hate, who can't see the good for all the bad in their eyes. This dramatic shift in William's life hasn't dulled her pencil one bit, and she's still studying the darkness in the soul and sadness in this sweet old world. It's just that her position is a better one.

The disc has a good mix of loud and soft, and Williams does both well, with her dirty southern funk always able to hit you in the guts. Nobody sings more true, with every word seemingly coming direct from her heart and soul. And when she moves to ballads, if you listen too close, you're in danger of an intense emotional experience.

Blessed is one of those few sets where you'll want to get the deluxe edition instead of the regular single-disc version. It's going to cost you a couple of extra bucks, but disc two is every track, in order, but this time just Lucinda and her acoustic, playing the songs at the kitchen table. With every song stripped to the bone, you are fully exposed to the white-hot intensity of her lyrics, and it's almost scary being that close to her. In some ways I like it better than the produced versions, but I'd hate to have to choose between one or the other.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY - VINYL FROM NEW SCOTLAND RECORDS

VARIOUS ARTISTS - 7" SINGLES FROM NEW SCOTLAND RECORDS

Fact 1:  Nova Scotia = New Scotland.  Fact 2:  Joel Plaskett is from Nova Scotia.  Fact 3:  Joel Plaskett likes vinyl records.  Put it all together, and you have Plaskett's boutique label, New Scotland Records.  Yes, they put out CD's and downloads too, but around the office, vinyl is king.  And over at Plaskett's home studio, where much of the label's music is created, don't look for the latest gear.  Tunes are put to tape only, and that goes for all the outside artists Joel is producing, such as Sarah Slean and Andy Maize.

I know I'm a little late on the vinyl bandwagon, but hey, I was knee-deep in it way back when, and still have all my old albums and singles.  Thousands of singles.  I tried the trusty 30-year old Dual the other day, and I'm afraid it finally bought the farm.  So off I went for a new table, as I'm sitting on some sweet 180-gram pressings.  Geez, I'm actually pretty impressed with what you can get for $125 at The Future Shop, a brand-new Sony turntable which sounds just great.

I needed the table because the ever-friendly and smiley David Myles laid his new 45 on me the other day.  Myles, one of my Fredericton homies, now lives in the HFX, and Plaskett did the honours on his five-time East Coast Music Award-nominated Turn Time Off album.  It seems that wasn't all the music they had ready.  Myles' single features one of those album cuts, Out Of Love on the A side, but the flip is the out-take Wrong So Wrong, a kicking little rock 'n' bluegrass number, perfect for the all-important non-LP b-side just like they used to do it back in '78. 

It's just one of eight recent singles on New Scotland.  Plaskett has one of them, a three-song affair that features demo/alternative versions of tracks from his recent Three LP.  Oh, I should also mention New Scotland features that beloved, Polaris-nominated set on triple vinyl.  The other six 45's belong to local artists in the Plaskett clubhouse.  They are Ana Egge, Myles Deck & the Fuzz, Matthew Grimson, Tyler Messick, Yellow Jacket Avenger and Peter Elkas.  Cool, you can tell it's one of those 'if you like one, you'll like 'em all' labels.  It reminds me how we used to buy singles just because it was on Sub Pop or Stiff or even Motown way back when.  Hopefully your local indie shop is carrying them, but if not just head to newscotlandrecords.com to order.

Upcoming, there's a split singles with the king of Sackville, N.B., Shotgun Jimmie, with Plaskett on the other side.  Joel does "Jimmie's Still Jimmie" and the double-barreled one counters with "That's Not Joel".  That should arrive in April followed by vinyl from Jeremy Fisher and Ben Gunning.  And the label boss tells me his new album will be ready in the fall, and he'll release a single a week of the tracks for ten weeks leading up to the whole disc arriving, or at least that's his current thinking.  I like that thinking.

The only beef I have with any of this is the generic picture sleeves the label is using.  One of the great things about 45's and vinyl in general is the artwork, and the greatest labels always had art directors high up on staff, knowing that the cover sold copies.  Surely some smart NSCAD art student wants to pick up some valuable experience.  In the meantime, I look forward to returning to the days of stacks of wax, and I'm glad I saved my 45 adapter. 

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: RON SEXSMITH - LONG PLAYER LATE BLOOMER

RON SEXSMITH - LONG PLAYER LATE BLOOMER

Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Ron Sexsmith.  One of these things is not like the other.  Yet, that is a list of artists that have all used veteran hit-maker Bob Rock as producer.  The idea is clear here.  Sexsmith is regarded, hell, revered as one of the cosmos' most brilliant songwriters.  Artists line up to sing his praises and products, but somehow over his career that breakthrough hit has never come his way.  Some critics have been sniping about all his albums sounding the same.  So, who better to push him out of a perceived rut than a man with a golden touch, and a sympathetic countryman as well?

Here's the problem I have with the above scenario:  It is a perceived rut.  Sexsmith's only artistic problem is that his first album was so strong he set the bar very high.  He's consistently reached that height since, and excuse me if continued excellence is some sort of music crime.  In a just world, benevolent patrons would shower him with commissions and Polaris prizes, but this is a biz where, if a Chris Martin tips his hat, wags expect Coldplay-level sales.  Art and hype don't always come together, and Sexsmith, with his hang-dog looks and 70's pop perfection, is only going to appeal to a select audience in all probability.

However, I don't have a big problem with bringing Rock on board, since he's obviously a smart guy, and has his own pop credentials, a Payola$ member for gosh sake's.  And it's not like he's going to have Sexsmith doing Love In An Elevator.  I'll go as far to say Rock pushed him in just the right directions on this disc.  It is, on the Rock-Bon Jovi-Crüe scale, the softest thing the producer's ever worked on.  But on the Sexsmith side, it's the punchiest, power pop he's attempted.  Yes, the drums are bigger.  So are the vocals, the strings, the overdubs.  There are female vocalists doing some doo-be-doo's at one point, surely a first for Ron.  Yet, it's never drastic.  The arrangements and add-ons only ever serve the songs.  The bigger sounds seem to bracket the typical Sexsmith bon mots, and make them stand out as that much more witty.

I had a different introduction to the album, hearing the new songs first on a TV concert on CMT the other day.  Even though it was a full band show, I was quite worried about the new material, which seemed flat and sub-par.  But then, two days later, I hit play on the actual cuts, and found the album full of life, the same songs now raising the hairs on my neck, with the most beautiful melodies in the current recording world.    TV's often a crappy place to watch a concert, especially when there's no audience, plus it also speaks to how Bob Rock has added to the bare bones brought his way.

In the end, Ron Sexsmith will always be exactly what he is, a songwriter striving for perfection in under three minutes.  He combines McCartney's melodic sense, Lightfoot's lyrical directness, and Squeeze's playfulness. I myself would love it if he sold a million some day, but I'm not going to criticize my favourite Canadian musician just because he doesn't, and act like I know why.  I do know why I love this album even a bit more than some of his others, it's precisely because the production is more commercial and bigger, and if that brings some new fans into the club, I think that's just great.