MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: JACLYN REINHART - ADVENTURES

Surprisingly harder pop-rock from the New Brunswick songwriter on her second full release, at least compared to her first, more singer-songwriter styled release from way back in 2011. She's actually been sitting on these tracks for awhile, and it's good to see strong rockers such as Won't Do This finally arrive. They are all full-band rockers, heavy on the crunchy lead guitar courtesy of Aaron Currie.


Waiting a couple of years to release them probably works out pretty well for Reinhart, as they fit in well with the current 80s fixation. I can think of a few spandex-clad bands from then that would have killed for Liam, Shut Your Mouth or some of the other nasty-edged, emotional cuts. Her short, sharp lyric lines fit with the power chords, and rattle a few bones along the way.


Reinhart will be in Saint John in Kings Square on Thursday, Aug. 18, again in Saint John on Saturday, Aug. 27 at Decimal 81, in Moncton at Plan B on Monday, Aug. 29, and will have a CD release party in Fredericton on Sept. 12 at Planet Hatch.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: VAN MORRISON - IT'S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW VOL.'S II, III, IV & DVD

If you aren't familiar with Van Morrison's landmark live album It's Too Late To Stop Now, you should stop right now and get it. Like many other fans, I'm of the opinion it ranks among the great live documents, the great singer with his best band, and some amazing performances put together from a series of shows in 1973. Morrison is on fire, approaching the material as more of a jazz singer, finding new melodies and different places in the rhythm to inject the lyrics, or scat into the proceedings, an equal instrument in the proceedings. Anyway, go get it, listen, love.


This is not that original album. Instead, it's more and more of it, with no duplication from the original. They've gone back to the original shows, and found a further three CD's worth, over three hours of material from four separate nights. Plus, there's a DVD of 50 minutes of the shows at London's Rainbow Theatre, so we now get to see the magic of that band in action, a very exciting addition indeed.


The band was named the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, a huge band featuring 11 members, including four string players and two horns. They had the groove and energy of one of those great soul revue bands of the past, with everything being played just a bit faster than normal, with a sense of urgency. This wasn't just a show, it was potentially the most important sound in the world that night, and in case it was, they weren't going to let anybody down.


Oh, and there's something else of note. Unlike almost every other live album released, there's no doctoring after the fact. The original album, and these other shows are just as they were played, no overdubs or edits. That makes it all even better, because you know, for sure, this is how it went down, it was that good.


The only problem is that since Morrison cherry-picked the best performances for the original album, some of the songs aren't quite up to those standards. We've heard the very best, now we get the rest. Don't get me wrong, it's still pretty awesome, but there are now some sloppy moments, sometimes Morrison's ad-libbed vocal noises are more distracting than enjoyable, and the concert flow isn't there, since there are gaps where tracks from the original album have been removed. Anyway, it's a minor gripe. I used to have a two-album live set I thought was the best in the world, 80 minutes total, and that's now four times longer.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - SONNY & CHER IN "GOOD TIMES"

Well, who knew that William Friedkin made an even scarier movie than The Exorcist? Back in 1967, the future top Hollywood film director had only done documentaries and TV shows, until he was approached by none other than Sonny and Cher, then two of the hottest stars around. Like The Beatles and Elvis, they wanted to expand their audience by moving to movies, and the team concocted a comedy based on the duo's wacky personae.


Sound familiar? Yes, it was a trial run for what the couple would do on their hit TV show several years later, and as a series of vignettes, it was not far off the whole MTV concept either. The trouble was, is also stunk a whole lot. Not that man people saw it then, or have seen it since. Between the time they started it, and the time it was released, the pair's fortunes had plummeted in the fast-moving pop world, and it would be four years before they would surprisingly reappear.


What was pretty good was the interesting soundtrack album. Sonny composed a group of songs to go with each vignette in the movie, including the decent, although minor hit, It's The Little Things. Since they played a version of themselves in the film, he reprised their big hit, I Got You Babe, but in two new versions, one a take with an orchestra and children's choir, and the other, a cool acoustic version. There were only eight cuts on the original, but they certainly showed how much Sonny had learned working closely with Phil Spector, and that he had come into his own as a producer.


To bulk up the CD for reissue, it now includes three extra cuts: The original, hit version of I Got You Babe, the single Plastic Man from the same time period, and the single edit of It's The Little Things, of the best non-hits by the pair. This is a good one for 60s pop fans and history buffs.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ARKELLS - MORNING REPORT

The Arkells have a couple of big things going for them, that keep them ahead of the alt-rock pack. First, the songs are always interesting. They are captivating narratives, non-rhyming short stories that often immediately grab you. It's off-beat and surprising, with songs such as Round and Round which opens with the line "I had the grace of a diplomat on his best behaviour," which makes you want to know where that song is going to go. And Drake's Dad? Who even thinks about having Drake's dad show up at the start of their song?


The other big thing is that all these songs are ridiculously catchy. How they can manage to shoehorn all those words and story lines into easy-on-the-ears. compact rockers is a wonder in itself, but they always make 'em like hit singles. Although they don't sound much the same, the group's approach reminds me of The Tragically Hip: smart, interesting, catchy.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE HAPPENINGS - THE VERY BEST OF

A largely forgotten vocal group from New Jersey in the mid-to-late-60s, The Happenings scored four Top 20 hits, plus several more charting ones before their sound plummeted out of style. Discovered and produced by fellow vocal group The Tokens, they had a mix of The Lettermen and Four Seasons, old barbershop harmonies and big production, they specialized in new pop arrangements for old, familiar tunes. The group's breakthrough, See You In September, had been a minor 50s cut but a #3 smash for them. They followed that with an update of Steve Lawrence's Go Away Little Girl, landing another hit.


And so the formula was set, with the only change coming when the group went even further back for source material. Covering the Gershwin's I Got Rhythm proved a novelty hit, and then they even went to the Al Jolson catalog, with My Mammy. But they went back to that well too many times, and the old Theresa Brewer number Music Music Music barely cracked the Top 100, despite a Beach Boys-styled harmony opening.


The last gasp for the group came in 1969, when their label tried to drag them into the peace and love generation, getting them to cover a song from the hit musical Hair, Where Do I Go/Be-In/Hare Krishna. Nothing doing, these Jersey boys were too white bread and old-school to pull off that transition. Fans of sunshine pop may find enough joy here, and it's certainly the most comprehensive and well-packaged collection of the band out there, with every one of their chart entries included among the 16 cuts.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: BRANDI DISTERHEFT - BLUE CANVAS

North Van's bassist extraordinaire, Disterheft recruited a couple of awesome pals for this trio album. 80-year old Harold Mabern is one of the few remaining piano giants, best known as an in-demand sideman for decades, accompanying everyone from Miles to Sarah Vaughn to Lee Morgan to Wes Montgomery. On his own, or in small groups like this, he's a confident, energetic player with lots of blues in his bop, making for melodic and exciting tunes. On drums is Joe Farnsworth, a former student of Mabern's, known for his time with Diana Krall and Pharoah Sanders.


It's her name on the cover, but Disterheft treats this much more as a trio album, with lots of space for both Mabern and Farnsworth to lead. A mix of originals by her, and one from Mabern, plus some lesser-known covers, this is all pretty much fresh music to most ears. It's all lively, even the ballads; as the tempo slows, both Disterheft and Mabern play some of their fastest work, a smart style, and certainly a great way to appreciate the skills. Disterheft also treats us to two vocal numbers. She's a capable singer, and it helps pace the album, making sure there isn't a chance anyone could tire of the trio format. I don't see how that could happen though, this music smokes right along with strong melodies and imaginative moves at every turn.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: COUNTERMEASURE - MADE TO MEASURE

What's the most fascinating instrument in the orchestra? The one that can do it all, hit every note, make all the chords, and mimic all the other lesser one? The human voice of course, on its own or with plenty of pals. A cappella groups are pretty much always treated as novelty acts, but they are always pretty fascinating too. Toronto's Countermeasure gets placed in the jazz vocal world, but the large group of 14 fabulous singers can handle everything and anything, doing a pretty solid rap-based cut, soundscapes, choral work, re-imagined rock tunes, and show tune styles.


Behind it all are the complex arrangements of Aaron Jensen, envisioning new and wildly different arrangements for the works, several of which you'll know, but certainly not like this. Bruce Cockburn's Lovers In A Dangerous Time is just as much about the tones and sounds, the melody removed. The Beatles' I Saw Her Standing There becomes a mix of elements from several of their songs, bass lines here, little melody moments there. The specialists involved come through with more than just the basic beat box sound; there are saxophones, trains, all manner of percussion, electric guitar, whatever is called for, or whatever comes to mind to surprise. It's no novelty for sure, it's inspired and something to dig into and repeat.