MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: KEITH RICHARDS - CROSSEYED HEART

This follows the usual results of Rolling Stones product since the mid-'80's: It's way better than a Jagger solo album, and quite a bit more listenable than a Stones one. Richards doesn't try to follow any current hit-making formula. Instead, he has his own, and all the Keith bases get covered here. There's a Chuck Berry-styled number (Blues In The Morning), a reggae one, a noir ballad, a country-soaked thing and a bunch of riff-rock songs.


Saying it's better than a Stones album from the past thirty years isn't really saying much of course, but there are moments here. It starts sluggishly, with a creaky acoustic blues, basically a re-write of Key To the Highway called Crosseyed Heart, and then a couple of by-the-books Keith numbers that show up as filler on all his works. But then things get going, and the middle of the album is a pretty cool listen.


Robbed Blind is a different kind of song for Richards, a narrative tale that feels like a musical mob story. Trouble is the first of the riff songs that really works, with a infectious chorus and the kind of groove you expect from him. The reggae number works well too, and there's a strong co-write/duet with Norah Jones, where Richards is able to hold his own, sounding better than you'd think or hope.


On the weak side, there's a pointless cover of Goodnight Irene, and a couple more of those Keith-by-numbers cuts, but overall there's both life here, and quality. Richards proves he can rise above the parody status he often invites.


Oh, just a question: What's a crosseyed heart?

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: OTIS REDDING - OTIS BLUE/OTIS REDDING SINGS SOUL (

In the mid-'60's, pre-Pepper, the pop album was still a slap-dash affair, for the most part. A few big thinkers such as Dylan were putting together a full effort over 40 minutes, but usually an album for most bands was the new single, the next single, a few covers and maybe an instrumental or two.


That was roughly the plan for Otis Redding when he entered the studio to record his third album in 1965. But the results were far from filler. The talent level was so high, there could be no lesser material included. You had the great engineer Tom Dowd behind the board, and the legendary house band of Stax Records, which included all the members of Booker T. and the MG's, plus Isaac Hayes on keyboards, and the Stax horns.


Then there was Redding himself, now fully aware of the vocal talents he possessed. Yes, they would record covers that session, but anything he handled would become soul gold, such as his incendiary version of the new Rolling Stones hit Satisfaction, or his take on the recent Motown chart topper My Girl. He was proving he could do anyone's material, and make it his own, even the late, great Sam Cooke, as he brought his own chills to a trio of his songs, notably Change Gonna Come (sic).


He was writing too. Not just trial cuts, this is the home of the brilliant I've Been Loving You Too Long, a tour-de-force soul weeper, Redding's voice crying out among the horns. Plus, another classic, the original Respect, quite different than Aretha's later cover but perfect for his huffing and puffing delivery. It is, from start to finish, one of the very best soul records of all time, and on par as a collection with such great concept albums as Sinatra's In The Wee Small Hours and Pet Sounds.


This 50th anniversary set is a reissue of a previous deluxe edition, and comes as a double CD. Disc one has the original album in mono, while disc two features stereo. There are also several bonus cuts on each, collecting all the existing studio and live tracks associated with the set, including single b-sides, an alternate version of Respect, several concert tracks from

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: BRETT KISSEL - PICK ME UP

Good timing for the rising Alberta country star. He releases his second major-label album today, Sept. 11, at the same time he's at the CCMA Awards in Halifax, as one of the leading lights. He's up for four awards, including Male Vocalist and Single of the Year, capping off a couple of stellar years that has seen him win over a national audience on radio, video and in concert as a headliner.


Maybe he's been too busy. What Kissel has going for him over most country newcomers is legitimacy. He's actually from the country, actually from a cattle ranch, and has actually been singing and loving real country music since he was very young. I want to hear more of him, his thoughts and stories, and unfortunately, there's not much of his writing here. Only three of the ten cuts feature him among the co-writers, the rest coming from the usual big songwriting factories that make artists sound the same as the next hat on the radio.


Kissel has hit chops all over his material, including the current and climbing single Airwaves, an old-school number that celebrates the magic of radio. It may be slightly retro, but Kissel is helping the sound move away from the contentious bro country trend, back to more of a '90's feel. In one of his own numbers, Cool With That, he even mentions a George Strait mixtape. I don't think jean shorts and pick-up trucks appear anywhere. However, on Feet Back on The Ground, both mom and apple pie show up, a bit too cliche.


However, on that song, Kissel shows how well he does on the emotional numbers, the topic being a son coming to appreciate his mother after trying desperately to get away in his younger days. There's a solid balance between the good time numbers and more thoughtful ones, again showing he has more depth than many others. Next time, hopefully he'll get to show more.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE BEATLES FEATURING TONY SHERIDAN - IN THE BEGINNING

This is the same old stuff that has been repackaged a dozen ways over the years, the tracks recorded in Hamburg with singer Tony Sheridan in 1961. The Beatles, then featuring Pete Best on drums, were asked to be the band for sessions involving the Elvis-style singer, a friend of theirs from the seedy clubs. The band even got to do two cuts on their own, Ain't She Sweet featuring Lennon on vocals, and the instrumental Cry For A Shadow, written by Harrison and Lennon.


Starting in 1964 after the Ed Sullivan Show explosion, these tracks were issued over and over in various combinations, and Ain't She Sweet even became a minor hit at the height of Beatlemania. This is a straight reissue of one of the best-known versions of the tracks, a 1970 album collection. The record label which by then had control of the tracks, Polydor, realized there could be significant sales if they were repackaged in a decent way, so there's a pretty good cover, and liner note reminiscing from Sheridan.


Still, there was barely an album here, just eight tracks featuring The Beatles, six of them as merely backing boys to Sheridan. Four more cuts padded out the set, credited to Sheridan and The Beat Brothers, who were merely whatever other players he used on later sessions. Sheridan was at best a bar singer, and while the band showed some spark and professionalism, there was little to indicate what would happen a couple of years later.


I guess if you're into the full history of The Beatles, you need these tracks, but I can't see them getting a lot of play, and I doubt there are any Tony Sheridan fans around, aside from some seniors in Hamburg. It's a nice job on the reissue of the original, that's about all to praise here.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: FACES - 1970 - 1975: You Can Make Me Dance, Sing, Or Anything...

It finally happened this past weekend, a Faces reunion. It's long been promised, and even Rod Stewart said it was definitely coming when he played PEI in July. It was just a one-off thing apparently, seven songs at a cancer benefit, but who knows, certainly there's lots of interest for a tour. It's just too bad it came too late for keyboardist Ian McLagan, who died last December, and of course Ronnie Lane has been gone since '97. I guess Rod finally figured he'd better stop delaying. The other two have long been open to anything.


The gig came at the same time as the release of this brand-new Faces box set, a collection of the four studio albums they issued in the '70's, plus a separate disc of various non-album singles and b-sides from along the way. Although vinyl is probably the coolest version of the box, the CD package features bonus cuts on each original album, including out-takes, live versions, BBC recordings and different takes, so it's a little more beefy than the LP set.


The first album, First Step, was still credited to Small Faces in North America, so that consumers would know those was a continuation of the hit-making British group. What a make-over. Small Faces had actually disbanded after Steve Marriott quit, but getting in the duo of Ron Wood and Rod Stewart fresh from the Jeff Beck Group was a great coup. The pair proved strong songwriters and Stewart's rasp and blues swagger was by then fully developed. Wood was finally able to let loose on guitar after being on bass for Beck, and was ready to go wild on slide. First Step showed much potential, and included the blues flight of Flying, the rollicking Three Button Hand Me Down and Ronnie Lane's folksy charm in Stone.


The Faces kept getting better with each album, a rare thing. 1971's Long Player gave nod to the growing reputation they had as a terrific concert band with two live tracks, including a version of Paul McCartney's recent Maybe I'm Amazed, featuring Lane and Stewart as co-lead singers. It was an embarrassment of riches, with Lane contributing his more bucolic, easy-going numbers in the middle of Stewart and Wood's rough-and-tumble numbers such as Bad 'n' Ruin.


A Nod Is As Good As A Wink ... To A Blind Horse came quickly after in late '71, By now the band had it down cold, and classic songs were coming from them. Stay With Me is one of the great party-rockers of all time, and Lane's Debris a matching one of beauty. Miss Judy's Farm and You're So Rude continued the good times. But all was not well; Stewart was becoming a much bigger star as a solo artist (Maggie May, etc.) and Lane was chafing to record more of his own material.


Lane would get a much bigger share on the Ooh La La album of '73, thanks to Stewart's long periods away from the group. Although Stewart famously dismissed the album, it is the equal to, if not better than A Nod..., thanks to the strength of Lane's songs and the engine that was the McLagan-Jones-Woods-Lane combo. Silicone Grown and Cindy Incidentally were smart and sassy, perfect for Stewart when he finally showed up for the sessions, and Lane's charming title cut something from the very top of his game.


That was it for Lane though, he wasn't going to wait around to be in Stewart's backing band, as the concerts were becoming. After he left to go solo, the band went on with Tetsu Yamauchi from Free joining, but only a live album and a couple of more singles would follow. Finally after much will they/won't they talk, Ron Wood gave up on his partner and joined up with The Rolling Stones, a painful and unsatisfying end.


The final disc wraps up those stray singles and b-sides, most of them quite good, including the studio version of Maybe I'm Amazed, a live take on The Temptations' I Wish It Would Rain, and the raucous Pool Hall Richard. In the small complaints department, I certainly think they could have included the 1974 live album Coast to Coast: Overture and Beginners, to make this truly complete. Don't expect a detailed history either, the skimpy booklet only has the track listings and credits. But if this reunion talk gets you interested, or reminds you of those days, you can't go wrong here.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: LINDA RONSTADT - JUST ONE LOOK

Not a greatest hits, not a best-of, this two-disc set is subtitled Classic Linda Ronstadt, which leaves it wide open. What it is primarily is a set of her country-rock and pop hits, leaving out excursions into jazz vocal standards, Gilbert & Sullivan and soundtrack schmaltz. So for the most part, it's the hits you know, at least on disc one: Tumbling Dice, You're No Good, It's So Easy.


The funny thing about disc two is that it concentrates on her later pop albums, which didn't have that many hits. So there's three from Mad Love, five from Get Closer and four from Winter Light. While it's nice to see some focus placed on good album cuts such as her version of the McGarrigles' Heartbeat Accelerating, the collection really slows down as the hits dry up.


The other issue is the focus on the latter albums on disc two means there's not enough room to fit all the fine stuff from the 70's on disc one. As always, there's the token appearance of Different Drum from her Stone Poneys days in the late '60's, but her earliest solo work, while she was at her most country, is barely touched, nothing else pre-1973. There's no Long Long Time, no Rock Me On The Water, no Silver Threads and Golden Needles. Heck, When Will I Be Loved isn't even here, a #2 hit. You know what? A think a four-disc box set was in order.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: DALANNAH AND OWEN - BEEN AROUND A WHILE

This is an interesting one, certainly one-of-a-kind. Both the musicians here are accomplished, and do their thing, but there's no one else at all for the entire album. Dalannah Gail Bowen has been singing since the '60's, and has recently been singing up a storm now that she's hit 70. On bass, owen Owen OWEN is one of most respected players on the West Coast, and here the pair do something to blues that's brave and different, in a field that is way too often dominated by the same old same old.


With Owen's plucking, grooves and occasional solos, Bowen stretches her pipes through a set of strong originals and classics. She's a full-throated singer, with lots of power, and the chops to sing all around the melody, like a jazz soloist. With the bass line doing much the same thing, this is all about listening to two strong talents finding the possibilities in each song.


It takes a while to get used to the concept. The first listen is interesting, the second you start to appreciate it, and by the third, once your ears are attuned, you can really enjoy the parts. Bowen's vocal on Marvin Gaye's Inner City Blues makes the song far more powerful than the original, at least as a protest song. The pair's own Heaven's Right Here swings mightily, both locked into a groove, proving they don't need anybody else. The covers of Come On In My Kitchen and Walking Blues are so far from the originals that these overdone chestnuts somehow sound new again. I was a doubter at first, but was quickly sold on this concept.