Eminem - Curtain Call: The Hits

Shady/Aftermath/Interscope/Goliath/Geffen/A&M/Universal

Slim Shady has released his first hits album featuring all of his hit singles such as "Lose Yourself", "Just Lose It", "My Name Is" and "Stan". The album also features 3 new songs: "Fack", "Shake That" (Feat. Nate Dogg) and "When I'm Gone". I for one have never been a fan of Eminem, but I have always known that he is very talented. Songs like "Stan" and "Guilty Conscience" take a lot of work and skill to execute well. The Live version of "Stan", featuring Elton John on keyboard and vocals of the chorus, is done very well too. The new songs on the album are not as good as most of the others, especially "Shake That" (featuring Nate Dogg) which is a crunk styled club hit. "Curtain Call" is a good collection of the highlights of Eminem's career mixed in with some flops, but overall shows off his most skillfully composed tracks.

Linda McLean - No Language

Bongo Beat

Linda McLean has a very crisp and clean folk sound. Her "No Language" album is full of songs that are very heavy with emotion and feeling. Songs like "All Around" shows off McLean's songwriting abilities with lyrics such as, "Too long ago a broken dreamer shot herself down/ In broken dreams the years go fast days drag along/ and she says to herself, 'it doesn't really matter/ I'll move from this place, get my real life together." Linda McLean also has a stunning voice that can cover an impressivyle reflects the modern folk scene as far as the production of her songs is concerned: use of strings, back up vocals, effects, etc. This may be attributed to producer John Whynot who has worked with the likes of Bruce Cockburn and Blue Rodeo. "No Language" is sung in english, but Linda McLean's music transcends language barriers.

The Doors - Legacy: The Absolute Best

(2 CD Set) Elektra/Rhino/Warner Bros.

If one is unfamiliar with The Doors, then perhaps one has been living under a rock. But if one has been living under a rock, then one should seriously pick up this album: this album contains the best hit, and non hit, songs The Doors produced. This double album has so many hit songs on it that to name them all would take up too much space, suffice to say that classics include everything from "People Are Strange" to " L.A. Woman." Some songs on the album that were not hits, but are deserving of "The Absolute Best" title, include, "Spanish Caravan," "Five To One" and "Not To Touch The Earth." And all of my favorite songs are represented on the album including, "Back Door Man," "The Crystal Ship," "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)" and "Roadhouse Blues." The Doors, with their offbeat songwriting style, freak people out as much today as they did 40 years ago.

Denny Zeitlin - Solo Voyage

Maxjazz

Denny Zeitlin has released 30 albums in his career, usually working in groups and trios. His most known song, played frequently by Bill Evans, is "Quiet Now" featured on this album. All of the tracks on this album are solo recordings, Zeitlin claims, "I try to stay out of the way, and trust that my unconscious will guide me to the compositional integrity I seek." HIs work has come through masterfully, he begins the album with five solo songs, three of his own composition ("Cascade," "Quiet Now" and his improvisational "Walking, Prancing, Marching, Dancing"), and two by other musicians: "Bemsha Swing" by Thelonius Monk and "Miyako" by Wayne Shorter. His "Solo Voyage" is a series of eight songs beginning on track six. The "Solo Voyage" has a formal Prelude, a variety of piano styles and several intelligently composed interludes. Zeitlin's versatile style allows his to mix and match styles and genres throughout his "Voyage" : from his light, airy interludes, to his almost electronica composition "In Your Own Sweet Way", to his classical jazz styled "Moving Parts 1" and "Moving Parts 2." Zeitlin creates music without the constraints of preconceived borders and roadblocks that trap a musician into specific and characteristic styles.

Bimbo - Presenta: Reggaeton 11x30

B&E/UBO

Bimbo is hailed as one of the driving forces in bringing Reggaeton to the mainstream. Bimbo has a hardline, sturdy oldschool rapping style that sounds crunk, and also works very well with his reggaeton style. His first single from this album is "Fuleteame El Tanque" (Fill up the tank) is a response to "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee." Although I occasionally have trouble telling the songs apart, probably because I don't really speak spanish, Bimbo's style is entrancing with strong backbeats, steady rhymes and strong uses of horns and strings. Bimbo promises to captivate new and old fans alike; coming from a new fan: "I'm hooked."

MASK - Heavy Petal: The Tenebrous Odyssey of Jack and Virginia

Globe Release Date: January 24, 2006

MASK is the collaboration between Sonja Kristina and Marvin Ayres. Sonja Kristina has a long musical history starting with the British sensation "Curved Air" and performing with the like of Buffy Sainte-Marie as well as Ozzy Osbourne. She has also acted in numerous TV shows and movies including Hair. Given Sonja's varied career thus far, it should be no surprise to hear her new album which is decidedly more ambient than any previous release. Ayres has had a less glamorous career, but is well known as a film composer. The duo's efforts have resulted in a very ambient and airy album. For the most part, the album is a sleeper... a hat grabber, but a couple of songs are more intriguing than others: primarily the ones involving vocals. The vocals in songs such as "Fall So Hard" give their songs a certain amount of structure that is generally lacking in the album. MASK just isn't sharp enough to cut the bread.

Sons Of The San Joaquin - Way Out Yonder

Western Jubilee/Dualtone

Sons Of The San Joaquin are a nostalgic journey, returning to the classic sound of Western B-movie soundtrack, very much like the Sons Of The Pioneers, started by Roy Rogers. However, Sons Of The San Joaquin is not a cover band, they mostly play and record their own material. Their western trio harmonization is nostalgic, but not a reproduction; their style of music is not often done, and the Sons do it very well. With a collective 15 gallons of hat between the three of them, they turn out classic sounding country tunes such as "Ridin' Up The Glory Trail," "Santa Fe Lights" and "It's The Open Range For Me." My favorite tune on the album is "The Ballad Of Joaquin Murrieta". "The Ballad" is in the style of a soft spanish cantina guitar leads and mixed with their signature cowboy music. The ballad's story is also very fitting, it is a story of a bandit/ folk hero. The Sons Of The San Joaquin are excellent story tellers, songwriters, singers, and vocal harmonizers; "Way Out Yonder" reflects their distinctive style and talent perfectly.

Our Lady Peace - Healthy In Paranoid Times

Columbia/Sony BMG

Our Lady Peace had a very difficult time writing and recording this album, it took 1165 days (a little more than three years). Throughout the process the band almost broke up numerous times as they decided what direction their music was taking. According to Raine Maida, "[My] trips [to the Middle East and Africa] have defined my life even more so than my music." Those trips have evidently influenced the band and the music to a strong degree as well. The album's booklet cites numerous statistics about the 1165 days it took to create the album such as, "54 million people died from extreme starvation" and, "9 billion dollars was needed for the third world to have clean drinking water" as well as, "29 billion dollars [were] spent on video games." The album has all the spark and energy of their earlier albums, with a new found maturity and political consciousness as well.

Lou - The Other Side

Cornerworld

Lou has composed a "three sided" cd. That is, this album is cut into three distinctive sections: the electronica/house section, the piano section and the "bonus" section which includes songs that overlap the previous two sections. Most all of the tracks on the album are instrumental, and personally I believe that instrumental music is highly under appreciated in modern mainstream music. However, Lou just isn't very good, in fact he's quite unlistenable. "The Other Side" features poorly compiled and simply layered electronica that has no outstanding features; the piano selections are all ballad style with occasional light strings and they all sound pretty much the same. The bonus tracks include "Only You": a slightly ambient electronic creation that has no more soul that a twinkie; "Beyond Slow Mix" a hideous attempt at smooth R&B jazz and "I Want To Be Loved" a ballad style, lyrical song whose singer, Lita Ford, strains to cover up the clichÚd, dull lyrics. "The Other Side" must be referring to the other side of my desk where the trash can resides.

Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband - Dream Big

Capitol/EMI

Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband are a fun bluegrass rock band with a violin, banjo and a great sense of humor witnessed in their first cut "Banjo Boy", "I want to be a rock star and travel really far/ and buy me a big expensive car/ and make lots of money and find me a honey/ and live in a nice big house where it's sunny/ with a pool and I'll be cool/ I'll always have a gig 'cause I'll be big/ I'll have parties and friends and places to go/ the only problem is, I play the banjo." With the virtuoso style of Bela Fleck and the laid back attitude of Dave Matthews, Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband rock out with soul and skill. Ryan Shupe is a talented songwriter and leadsinger, with songs focused on love, life and laughs. "Dream Big" is a out and out hit, not a song on the album is filler material, just pure talent and righteous songs.
***Sean's Single of The Week: "Banjo Boy"***

Arturo O'Farrill - Live In Brooklyn

Zoho

"Live In Brooklyn" O'Farrill played to the accompaniment of Andy Gonzalez on Bass and Dafnis Prieto on drums. We at www.jsitop21.com recently reviewed Prieto's "About The Monks" which was an amazing and intelligent album. Gonzalez, Prieto and O'Farrill are all virtuosos on their respective instruments, and the trio makes one hell of a group playing songs such as "In A Sentimental Mood" by Duke Ellington, "Peace" by Horace Silver, "Well You Needn't" by Thelonius Monk and Andy Gonzalez's own "Vieques." The performance was received extremely well by the attentive audience and performed to exception by the trio. Arturo's piano is not highlighted over any other instrument, as good jazz is supposed to be, the instruments worked together to culminate in an overall glorious sound.

Various Artists - Grandma's Boy: Music From The Motion Picture

DAS/Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax

The soundtrack features hysterical dialogue interludes from the movie in between an eclectic mix of music from some of the hottest alternative bands around (Bloc Party, The Futureheads, Fischerspooner, VHS or Beta), classic acts (Aphex Twin and The Spin Doctors) and alternative hip hop artists (Paul Wall and Zion I). The lead single "Another Day" is performed by Epic recording artist The Twenty Twos, whose debut album will be released May 2006. the band's video for "Another Day" features cameos from several cast members on the set of the movie. In addition, the legendary Kool Keith contributed an original titled "Grandma's Boyee."

Various Artists - Coal Mining Women

Rounder

As mining as contributed to the birth of many Americana genres, it has definitely helped to create bluegrass. This bluegrass collection now returns to the mines and focuses on the strong roles that strong women have played in the coal mining community from Mother Jones, the turn of the century union organizer, to all the woman coal miners. The songs focus on not just the organization and work that went on in these communities, but also the poverty and depravation of the people who lived in these communities with songs such as, "Blacklung," "That 25 cents That You Paid" and "The Mannington Mine Disaster." Women have been a minority in the coal mining community but always a strong force to be reckoned with; women were responsible for much of the organizing of unions and the protests of corrupt mining companies. The "Coal Mining Women" album focuses squarely on the life, troubles and culture in and around women's involvement in their own community.
(Editor's Note: This extraordinary album is dedicated to the twelve miners who recently died at the Sago mine explosion, and the thousands who have died working in coal mines for rich mine owners, including the International Coal Group. As the on and only Marty Stuart said, "I always wondered where the heart and soul of American Music lives. I should have known it's at the bottom of a coal mine where it runs deep, dark and dangerous. This is some of the purest music that's ever been made regarding the true life blues of a coal miner. These songs take you to a world where few belong. When it's over, ask yourself, 'WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?'")

Various Artists - Pickin' On Beck

CMH

Crown Prince of the boho scenesters, Beck, scored a surprise monster hit with his slacker anthem, 'Loser' and with a Geffen record deal in hand introduced the world to his nonsense lyric fueled hip-hop/indie rock mash up. he then followed his major label debut with the massive 'Odelay' album which put him right up there with the most influential musicians of his generation. Never an easy artist to pigeonhole, Beck has gone on to produce a succession of increasingly experimental pieces from sixties 'Tropicalia,' to acoustic blues/folk singer/songwriter to Prince-inspired funk workouts. The only consistent element is his refusal to follow one single path.
The "Pickin' On Beck" album which takes a selection of his most recognized songs and gives them a five star bluegrass workout. Hits such as 'Loser,' 'Devil's Haircut' and 'E-Pro' are tackled with barn-storming banjo, guitar, dobro and fiddle with fascinating results. Beck's melting pot style is synthesized in molten bluegrass gold and each essential melody is superbly transformed by the flying fingers of these stunning musicians.

Pitbull - M.I. Still A.M.I.

TVT

Pitbull's "M.I.A.M.I" (Money Is Still A Major Issue), release is a Crunk piece of gang turf wars, money, guns, strippers, prostitutes and a number of things that I somehow managed to drown out. Listening to this album, I feel as though I should be leaving town, very soon, to avoid getting killed execution style. every other song is about killing people who fly the wrong colors or who were born on the wrong side of town. The other half of the songs are about pimping and fucking. Pitbull is barking, the man is a serious woofer.
***So Nice, Gotta Do It Up Twice (Created by the Original NYC DJ, Jocko, 1955)***

Various Artists - Sacred Ground: A Tribute to Mother Earth

Silver Wave

Silver Wave Records has released an interesting new compilation produced by Jim Wilson (Robbie Robertson, Walela, Little Wolf Band). The compilation, Sacred Ground, features Native American musicians, like Bill Miller and the Little Wolf Band, who have released new songs on this album. The album switches between electronic pop and synthesized folk, but also has a broader range of genres. Many of the songs, such as "Mountain Song" and "Raven," feature traditional instruments like the flute and drum, but the artists on the album are also very contemporary as well. The songs on "Sacred Ground" mostly focus on the problems that the earth is facing with titles such as, "Sacred Ground," "Mountain Song," "People of Yesterday" and "Mother Earth." And occasionally the featured artists bless us with some very incorporated Native singing, on songs such as "Raven" and particularly "Mountain song" by Star Nayea, Primeaux and Mike. "Sacred Ground" is a extraordinarily blessed compilation full of incredible talents and voices.

Michael Buble - Caught In The Act

(CD/DVD) 143/Reprise

My editor, John Shelton Ivany, has just suggested that Michael Buble is like Frank Sinatra. I had to yell at him for several minutes, but after that was done I heard the Sinatra in Buble, but a mere representation, not likeness. Buble has a big band act with a full 23 person ensemble and he sounds like a mix between big band and lounge. When Laura Pausini does a duet with Buble on track six, the musical style goes soft bossanova while the two do a lover's duet. Buble is either embarrassing to listen to, or he's soft background noise.

Code Red - All Aboard

Toucan Cove

Code Red's "All Aboard", is an inspirational hip-hop record. All the tracks are mastered beautifully. The content of "All Aboard" is a blend of party music and very serious, powerful and dramatic songs. Some of the great party tracks are "Atomic," "Elbow Room," and "Summer Jam." "Summer Jam" takes a telling sample of, "ooooo and I like it" from the 1982 Top 10 El De Barge hit "I Like It," and spins it into a flowing lyrical experience that makes you want to quit your job and spend your time on the beach with a 40 and an eighth. "Brother Louis" is a heartfelt song of a cross racial couple and their harrowing experience with a skillfully composed musical arrangement. "Give Me A Reason" is best contemporary antiwar song today. It is taken from first hand experiences of two of the group members and it shows. The song is today's equivalent of "I Ain't Marching Anymore" and "Fixing to Die Rag." The album is pure gold through and through, I have nothing bad to say.
***Sean's Single of The Week: "Brother Louis"***

Various Artists - I Am The Resurrection: A Tribute To John Fahey

Vanguard (Release Date: 2/14/06)

I have honestly never heard of John Fahey before popping in this tribute CD and doing some research. Here's what I found: he helped start Leo Kottke's career, helped form Canned Heat and is incredibly talented. Just listening to other people do his works I can hear the influential impact he has made upon many other musicians. A few of my favorites on the album are "Joe Kirby Blues," "Medley: John Hirt Silva Shankarah" and "Dance Of Death." The musicians playing his music are also very talented if they can play works like these. If reproductions of Fahey's music is this good, then Fahey must be fantastic. Next time you see me I'll be listening to the real John Fahey.
(Editor's Note: I said a few weeks ago that Mark Knopfler, the legend of Dire Straits, was the best guitar player ever. Well, I lied. That's right, I lied straight to your face. The greatest guitar player, really, is John Fahey. No, make that B.B. King. Oh, let's just leave it open.)

John Cale - Black Acetate

Astralwerks/EMI

John Cale has had an illustrious career, working with the likes of Lou Reed, Andy Warhol, Super Furry Animals, Nico, The Stooges and Patti Smith. The only thing that Cale seems to do consistently is to do everything different. His career, and this album, are all over the map as far as musical interests, genres and styles are concerned. "Black Acetate" goes from folk rock to avante guard; from experimental lullubies to hip-hop. John Cale obviously has fun with his music and does not let convention stand in his way. Cale says that his contemporary influences include the Gorillaz, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu, which fits right in with Cales style: nothing seems to far out of Cales grasp. "Black Acetate" is just one more pleasing surprise. Our editor would also like to say that John Cale will take you to a special place... if you let him.

Townes Van Zandt - A Private Concert

Varese Sarabande/Universal

This "Private Concert" was indeed private, recorded in a Holiday Inn Suite at 3 AM for his friends Harold F. Eggars, Jr. (road manager) and Hank Sinatra, who video taped the performance. The CD plays straight through the concert with no breaks, you hear the side conversations between songs as well as the exquisite explanations of his songs: where they came from or some other anecdote. His performance is low key yet passionate, his songs come across as folk songs are meant to: with feeling and a true will to share the stories. John Cale was a musician and story teller, and his songs and stories speak volumes, even after his death in 1997. Check out Hank Sinatra's site at www.austinmusicvideo.com.
(Editor's Note: I always check out important music magazines, and none of them have mentioned the last three spectacular album where the artist will take you to a special land, if you let him. Do we have the nerve to go to that special land.)
***Shelton's Pick of The Week: "Poncho And Lefty"***