MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE KINKS DELUXE EDITIONS

THE KINKS - KINKS, KINDA KINKS, THE KINK KONTROVERSY (Deluxe Editions)

The first three Kinks albums, now with plenty of bonuses, and each as a double disc with at least a couple of dozen of extra cuts on each.  That's huge and generous, unless you've been picking up the various reissues and collections over the years, in which case there's only a few previously unreleased versions here.  You collectors will have to be the judge on whether they're worth the new cost.  But of course, you're completists, and the compilers know that, so you've probably already bought these.

Like the rest of the British beat groups of the early 60's, The Kinks started out scuffling in clubs, playing R'n'B and mimicking American favourites.  The group was a little behind The Beatles and The Stones, by about a year, and actually didn't sound that great on the usual Chuck Berry, Motown and Little Richard covers.  Taking bold-faced advantage of The Beatles' popularity, The Kinks released a cover of Long Tall Sally as their first single, beating the Fabs to it.  It tanked anyway, as did a follow-up, but then the group did something truly awesome.  Whether The Kinks invented heavy metal with You Really Got Me is a great debate question, but there's no questioning it was the hardest thing on the radio in 1964.  Follow-up All Day And All Of The Night is the best Part Two song ever, but Ray Davies was about to show he had a lot more tricks up his sleeve.

Both those hits can be found on The Kinks deluxe edition, the first having been there in the first place, and All Day added as a bonus cut.  That points out the problem with the original albums; like those by the other British acts of the day, often the hit singles weren't on the albums.  It was still considered bad practice, even for The Beatles, to duplicate songs on the albums, so the best tracks were usually found on the singles and E.P.'s, with the albums padded with covers and filler.  Even Lennon and McCartney had a couple of clunkers on their first L.P.'s.  The Kinks album is, aside from You Really Got Me and Stop Your Sobbing, largely forgettable.  That is, unless you add on 25 single cuts, demos, BBC recordings and the entire album in stereo and mono.  Now, we're talking.  Flushed with success, Davies' writing immediately started to improve, with the Kinksize Session E.P. cuts showing maturity, and quality cuts such as Don't Ever Let Me Go not even being released.  Already Davies was being tapped as a songwriter of note, and his demos were being shopped around to other acts.  I probably wouldn't even bother to have The Kinks in my collection in its normal 12-track version, but this double-disc has lots of good tracks.

The pattern continues on Kinda Kinks, which did have Tired Of Waiting For You, but nothing else you'll recognize, except a dire cover of Dancing In The Street.  Don't blame The Kinks for this though, they had managers and record executives screaming at them for more product, to cash in on the fame.  The best stuff came flowing in a series of singles through 1964 and 1965:  Who'll Be The Next In Line, Set Me Free, See My Friends and A Well Respected Man were great compositions and productions, and thankfully, all here with their associated b-sides and E.P. tracks.  Meanwhile, the Davies demo factory continued pumping them out, with such gems as I Go To Sleep and This Strange Effect not even making The Kinks projects, but thankfully rediscovered and preserved here from solo Ray sessions or BBC radio takes.

The Kink Kontroversy is the last of the band's albums that sees them with any vestiges of the blues left.  Beat groups were transforming in England as the songwriters found their individuality.  Ray Davies, the melancholy son of lower-class suburbia, cast a questioning eye at Swinging London, and instead related more to his country's past.  Still in his early 20's, he was already pining for the old days, asking Where Have All The Good Times Gone while the rest of the groups were living it up.  So Kontroversy sees the group moving on wistfully.  They do their best-ever blues cover, Sleepy John Estes' Milk Cow Blues, as good as any Stones blues, but then change abruptly to the likes of Till The End Of The Day.  On the singles charts, Davies was belittling Carnaby Street dandies on Dedicated Follower Of Fashion, and admitting I'm Not Like Everybody Else.  1965 was turning into 1966, and when the rest of the world went psychedelic, Davies was about to go on a one-man quest to bring back the days of the music hall in England.

As mentioned, these discs explode with bonus cuts, unless one has already purchased the previous single-disc 90's reissues from Castle, the Kinks At The BBC double-disc, and the six-CD boxed set Picture Book from 2008.  But even with those under your belt, you'll still get three, five and eight previously unavailable cuts on these sets.  If you don't have them already, well perfect time, eh wot?

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: T. BUCKLEY - ROLL ON

T. BUCKLEY - ROLL ON
T. is Tim, no relation the 60's-70's artist, and father of Jeff, but it does mean he has to go by the initial. That's okay, I like it, it's cool. This T. Buckley is from Calgary, one of the rising stars of the roots scene in the city, winning the Folk Festival songwriting contest there, plus a big recording grant. The result is his debut album, recently released, and an exploratory cross-country trip to spread the word, on one of those VIA Rail on-board entertainment programs. That's brought him out east to my neck of the woods and interest.

Buckley fits in nicely with the traditional Alberta country scene, which is crossed with the folk storytelling tradition and a little of the rowdy cowboy style as well. He's equal parts Ian Tyson and Corb Lund, both name-checked in the title track here. Like other non-Nashville writers, he comes up with better traditional country material than the freshly-scrubbed types of that city. His "A Thousand Times" is an excellent Everly Brothers-Louvin Brothers number, with the high, close harmonies. "Hank Williams Songs (Just Remind Me Of You)" is another excellent one, squeezing as many Hank song titles into the lyrics as he can, as another woman walks away. These are the tunes that follow the country line more, but Buckley can also Outlaw it up, with "Medicine Line" a strong rocker with a wild-at-heart storyline.

If Austin, Texas wasn't now filled with every alt-anything band and hipster scenemaker, I'd suggest Buckley fits in nicely with the kind of songwriter that city produces, or used to produce: the authentic roots performer who worries about the song first, the performance second, the audience next and the image last. Roll On is filled with strong images, concise writing and memorable melodies. Buckley's on the East Coast right now, at:

Vintage Bistro & Lounge, Hampton NB Thurs, Apr. 7
Backstreet Records, Saint John NB Fri, Apr. 8
The Company House, Halifax, NS Fri, Apr. 15

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ROSS NEILSEN & THE SUFFERIN' BASTARDS - LIVE AT THE ACOUSTIC GRILL

ROSS NEILSEN & THE SUFFERIN' BASTARDS - LIVE AT THE ACOUSTIC GRILL

New Brunswick axeman Ross Neilsen has been playing it slow and steady, still a relative youngster in the blues field, a decade into his career.  He's put out a handful of live and studio releases, and worked hard on the touring, whether solo or with the Bastards.  He keeps expanding his touring schedule, added new markets and venues.  He's recently been doing residencies in some profile Ontario clubs solo, once a week, getting in some face time in various communities.  Ya, it's that old approach, come out, impress a few people, and next time they'll bring more friends, and so it builds.

While the reputation grows, so does the talent.  Ross is the guitarist, the singer, the writer, the bandleader, and that's a lot on one person's plate.  Those are skills you need to work on, and I think he's better every time I check in with him.  Certainly the guitar playing continues to advance, as he works on his electric, acoustic and slide guitar.  I'd say he's to the point where you can go and check him out live just for the playing, and be impressed.  He plays around my home enough that you can catch him very relaxed and having fun, instead of putting on the show, and on those times, it's really cool, some of his best work.  As a front man, he can now command the stage with ease as well, that confidence is there, he knows he can put on a kicking show.

Neilsen is launching a new album this coming Saturday, the latest in his ongoing Official Bootleg Series. It's made up of live concerts at various spots, either Ross solo or with his full trio of Bastards.  Now, bootleg usually suggests a bit of a shoddy product, but that is not the case here.  These are well-recorded, fully conceived sets, and Neilsen puts a lot of care into the shows selected, and the quality of the discs.  This one from the Acoustic Grill, and is a full band, full hour-long set.  The Grill is in Picton, Ontario, a well-known club for folk and blues performers, including lots of favourites such as Garnet Rogers and Fred Eaglesmith.  Ross has a great reputation there, and the Grill is always up for a live recording, so it's an obvious choice.  The disc is clean and bright, they did get an excellent tape that night, and the full band sounds tight and strong, emphasizing the classic blues they can do, and the louder, let-loose style they can get going when it's okay to turn the amps to 11.  He drops some new material into the set, including a song called Daddy Taught Me, about his late father, and we also hear an old favourite about one of his old jobs, back at the Ganong Candy Factory in his home area of St. Stephen, NB, called Jelly Bean.

Here's some Neilsen dates:  

Friday, April 8 at Bourbon Quarter, Saint John NB (solo)
Saturday, April 9 at The Playhouse, Fredericton NB (w/Bastards, album release show)
Thusday, Apr. 14 - Sunday, Apr. 17 at East Coast Music Awards, Charlottetown, PEI

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: JILL BARBER - MISCHIEVOUS MOON

JILL BARBER - MISCHIEVOUS MOON

For her fourth album, Barber believes she has found her true voice.  Actually, she thinks she found it last time out, with her Chances album of 2008.  That well-received set saw her team up with producer Les Cooper, open up her songs to lush and large orchestral arrangements, and embrace classic sounds of romantic music from decades past.  Now, on Mischievous Moon, she finds herself free to move forward with fewer fears:  "I am more confident," says Barber, primed and excited for the record's release.   "I feel more confident with every record.  I feel I'm building a body of work.  I'm at a place where I'm looking forward, but I can also look back.  I have a foundation and I can build on it."  Barber has always had the voice, and the songwriting chops, and has been a rising star since arriving in Halifax as a young folk singer last decade.  Now Vancouver-based (blame new husband and full-time wage earner, CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence), she's developed a highly-individual style.  "With Chances, it was the first record where I found I was doing a Jill Barber album.  The earlier ones were more experimental, I was trying things on.  Now I know what my style is.  Now I'm comfortable with who I am, and for (Mischievous Moon) I made a conscious decision to push myself past that comfort zone."

The new album sees Barber embrace more sounds, and eras.  Chances evoked 1930's to 50's productions, but with the first three songs of Mischievous Moon, she breaks out of that era.  The lead, title cut reestablishes her vocal control of that type of material, but Took Me By Surprise is breezy and fun, and takes us to the poppy early 60's, the track a potential hit for the Mad Men fans.  First single Tell Me follows, and it has a darker and far more modern sound, but still with Barber and company's rich and stylized orchestral production.  "I wanted to make a record that celebrated the signature sound we make, the six of us, and push it to a new level.  It's an evolution and a growth from Chances.  It's a little heavier than that, more serious.  I'm trying to make myself more serious, without taking myself too seriously.  I sing about love and matters of the heart, and I try to create a mood with my music."

Where Chances was easily set in the past, Mischievous Moon is much harder to date:  "I don't want to be locked into any one decade.  I'm influenced by all the decades past, it's not the sound, it's the classic forms of songwriting and production that I'm trying to preserve and work in.  The connective tissue is that these are real musicians, and we are making music the way people used to do it.  I love songs that sound classic, and I'm trying to write songs that sound that way.  I think classic sounds is what I'm going for."

Even the title hints at where she's going:  "There's a reason I called it Mischievous Moon.  I wanted it to have that evening feel.  I want to play in the shadows a bit."  One thing hasn't changed in all of this.  Barber remains a true romantic, and love is always in the air in her songs.  "I want it to be a soundtrack to people's love stories.  The album sounds like a soundtrack to a film, and I like to hope people can insert themselves into these songs.  Every love story needs a soundtrack, and I hope I can be that for some people." 

For upcoming Jill Barber tour dates in Quebec, Ontario and B.C., visit www.jillbarber.com

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: MICHAEL KAESHAMMER - KAESHAMMER

MICHAEL KAESHAMMER - KAESHAMMER

Album #3 for the Toronto piano pro, and it's the one that best shows all his sides and styles.  A vibrant showman, Kaeshammer has chops to spare, and an all-around interest in entertaining you, and that really comes alive on this disc.  It feels like a concert, well-paced and varied, with Kaeshammer bringing out all his party tricks.  It's also his most mainstream disc, with songs here that will tickle the fancy of Buble fans, as the jazzman shows he can pop it up on the potential hits A Little Bit Of Love and The You-And-Me.

Kaeshammer's also in excellent voice on this material, which is not something I've really paid too much attention to before.  Normally it's been the piano doing the talking, and that's here of course, but the whole package seems to impress me more, probably because the choice of material is uniformly strong, and geared towards showmanship, voice and fingers.  He has a playful voice, and with the fun, uptempo tunes here such as Heartbeat (featuring Divine Brown doing the backgrounds), he hits a groove like those 60's sides from Georgie Fame.

My favourite part of his piano work has always been his New Orleans-flavoured numbers, and there are a few of them here, as he does a few roles that would make Allen Toussaint nod in agreement.  The slow ballad Shalamar Wind, a duet with frequent tour partner Jill Barber, lets him take an emotional solo in the middle, but the real piano showcase comes in the middle of the disc, on his version of the Curtis Mayfield classic People Get Ready.  As a good jazzman knows, you don't always have to sing, sometimes your fingers can do a well-known melody justice, and here he nails it, just as he does live at most of his shows, as the song has been a concert highlight for awhile.  This feels like a major release for Kaeshammer.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: NICK LOWE - LABOUR OF LUST

NICK LOWE - LABOUR OF LUST

The next installment in the Nick reissues sees his second solo disc tarted up, although not to the extent of the previous issue, Jesus Of Cool, which saw a whack of bonus cuts.  This time, the 1979 album gets just a couple of familiar b-sides added to the platter, Endless Grey Ribbon and Basing Street.  Meh, no matter, the original disc is fine and dandy and sweet as candy, and it's been a long time since it's been in print.  This is Lowe's solo high point, with the album a strong seller, and its single, Cruel To Be Kind, nearly making the Top Ten.  It was also a high-water mark for New Wave, with Nick and Dave Edmunds and Rockpile, plus Elvis Costello, Squeeze and Graham Parker all looking like the next big thing.

It didn't quite work out that way, but apart from Edmunds, all have enjoyed long and excellent careers, and this disc remains a strong favourite of Nick fans.  Recorded with his Rockpile pals, Lowe and the group spit out classic rock and pop, with every imaginable hook shoved in.  Lowe was Abbott to Elvis's Costello, the composer of some of the great puns in pop, a British Chuck Berry.  There's A Dose Of You with it's "I need a stiff shot badly" line.  American Squirm features the memorable "tried to mate in a horrible state", and Cruel To Be Kind itself is just chock-full of the best rhymes, including "you say your love is bona fide/but that don't coincide...".  It's just a joy to listen to these songs every time.

Lowe could seemingly knock off these homage numbers at will, with a complete love and knowledge of roots rock.  Without Love was a classic rockabilly tribute, and at any moment, any song could have a little soul moment.  But you never felt like it was retro, as Lowe and Rockpile piled so much energy and modern slang into the mix, it was the hippest thing on the block.  Umm, in 1979 at least.  Look, to my ears this sounds as fresh as ever, and it's still one of my all-time favourite disks.  Given the hipster love of roots stuff these days, I think there's lots of 20-somethings that could dig his mood these days as well.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: STEVE DAWSON - NIGHTSHADE

STEVE DAWSON - NIGHTSHADE

Steve Dawson is one of my most favourite Canadian players and producers.  The Juno-winning multi-instrumentalist and former member of Zubot and Dawson works out of Vancouver, runs the cool Black Hen label, and has produced some of the best all-Canadian music of the past few years.  That includes Juno winners for Old Man Luedecke, plus discs for The Sojourners, The Deep Dark Woods, Kelly Joe Phelps, Jim Byrnes, and more.  His project A Tribute To The Music Of The Mississippi Sheiks was named the best blues album of 2010 by England's respected Mojo Magazine.

Dawson serves up a mighty fine set of originals here, all with a solid groove and great ensemble playing.  He has the ability to hear exactly what moment to fill in the holes with a little lick, or a keyboard part, tasty keys supplied here by Chris Gestrin.  And note-for-note, you're going to be hard-pressed to find a better roots/blues guitar player in the country, which also goes for his work on a bunch of other stringed and keyed instruments here.  The songs too need to be praised.  In a genre rife with cliches, Dawson rarely falls into the usual 12-bar traps, lyrically or musically.  Darker Still, a trip into lonely nighttime, ends with an extended coda where Dawson plays off Gestrin's Wurlitzer.  The title track continues the evening theme, with "the nightshade the deadliest of them all", a cool song that completely switches gears and tempos in the middle, for a big slide solo.  Jill Barber joins for harmonies on the relaxed and fun Walk On.  On each song, there's a moment worthy of sitting up and smiling, especially for blues fans looking for something different.

I repeat, Dawson is one of my favourite players and producers.  Unfortunately, he is not one of my favourite singers.  Blues doesn't require the greatest singers, but it does sound best when the singer has some unique personality or force.  Dawson's lone weak spot is a soulless voice.   There's no presence or strength, no guts or gravel.  That's a hard problem to fix, especially for such a good songwriter.  He's the producer, so nobody is telling him to bury his voice in the mix, but maybe that might help.  You want to hear the fine lyrics, but listening to him sing "hey hey mama" in Gulf Coast Bay, the lone cover here, is a bit of an advertisement for why some have said white men shouldn't sing the blues.  That's not true of course, but he does sound like his mom packed his lunch for him on the way to the studio.  Howlin' Wolf, he ain't.  Everything else about Steve Dawson and this album I love, so you'll have to judge how much the vocals mean to your listening experience.