Common goes home, remembers how to ‘Be’

Common goes home to remember how to “Be”, the Wallflowers enter middle age with “Rebel, Sweetheart” and Shelby Lynne just trying to “Suit Yourself” in this week's reviews.

"Be," Common
Sometimes you've just gotta go home to get the beats you need.

Common has hooked up with old friend and fellow Chicago native Kanye West for a poignant album that's as tight and soulful as his last CD was unfocused and disappointing. Seeming rejuvenated by West's creativity, he packs more thought and emotional punch into each verse here than many hip-hoppers spread across their entire albums.

A master storyteller with an exacting eye for detail, Com crafts characters in these 11 songs that won't simply "Be." They grow, make choices, learn. With all their flaws and glory, they form the city and the black community that he loves and wants to celebrate before the world.

Every track contains a revelation. The intentions of a woman in court to "Testify" at her husband's trial come gradually into focus through the course of just 2 1/2 minutes. A lust-filled relationship unfolds subtly and surprisingly in the soft-yet-slammin' "Go!"

With West behind the boards on those and seven other tunes, the soundscapes layered over boom-bip snare drums are lush and jazzy: A perfect fit for Common's blend of big, hopeful themes and eye-on-the-street reporting.

The ultimate example is the first single "The Corner," where Common raps at one point, "It's hard to breathe, nights/Days are thief like /The beast roam the streets, the police is Greek-like."

West is at his producing peak on the song and the inspiring intro "Be," but falters when he relies too much on his trademark sped-up vocal sample style in "Faithful." His raps, however, add a clever and light touch to the sometimes over-serious Common, like on "The Dave Chappelle Show's" live cut "The Food" and the John Legend-featuring "They Say."

Common's last CD was a letdown, with no clear themes or musical direction. He was desperately in need of a big comeback, and the Chi-town pairing with West has produced just that: a near-classic.
— Ryan Pearson

"Rebel, Sweetheart," The Wallflowers
The Wallflowers enter musical middle age gracefully with their fifth release "Rebel, Sweetheart."

Going on 15 years, the Jakob Dylan-led combo yet again delivers a nuanced, musically bright, and lyrically dense effort.

With an ever-shifting cadre of band members, the latest incarnation of the Wallflowers continues to sound more like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band than anything the elder Dylan ever produced (you know the guy, goes by Bob).

But like father like son, Jakob Dylan isn't above leaving listeners a little perplexed. Take the album's title, for example. In promotional material, the young Dylan says that the "rebel" in the title is a verb, not a noun. Beyond that, he won't explain what it means.

Listeners will find fertile lyrical ground to hunt for clues. The 12 tracks on "Rebel, Sweetheart" crackle with both musical and lyrical intensity. Particularly noteworthy is the opening track, "Days of Wonder," which isn't quite as full of optimism as the title may suggest.

What the album doesn't appear to have are any breakout hits like those on 1996's "Bringing Down the Horse," which propelled the band to stardom. Hits mean little to most Wallflowers fans, but without them, the band is not likely to attract many new listeners with this one.
— Scott Bauer

"Suit Yourself," Shelby Lynne
On first listen, the raw, unproduced accessibility of "Suit Yourself" can be a bit disarming.

"Suit Yourself," country-soul singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne's latest release, opens with Lynne giving her band instructions in her smooth Alabama drawl. She plays them the bridge a few times, asks for headphones, and offers encouragement. Seconds later, they launch into the catchy, upbeat "Go With It" and it's like being right there in the studio.

One of the CD's standouts, "I Cry Everday," begins with Lynne cracking a joke and laughing. At first, the band sounds like it's warming up and, at times, Lynne sounds like she's improvising with the lyrics. Then there's a heavy sigh, followed by an awkwardly long pause near the end of the song. (Lynne says it was midnight and they were all "pretty liquored up," which may have had something to do with it.) But, all in all, it's a groovy, sexy song and Lynne's rich, buttery voice lets her pull it off.

Several tracks, including the touching "Johnny Met June" penned by Lynne the morning she heard of Johnny Cash's death, are first takes Lynne recorded alone in her California home.

On "Iced Tea," Lynne's sweet and lovely lyrics are barely accompanied — only simple hand claps and a soft acoustic guitar are utilized for backup. "You're the cornbread and iced tea of life," she sings, and manages not to sound silly at all.
— Kim Curtis

"Face The Truth," Steven Malkmus
On Stephen Malkmus' third post-Pavement album, "Face The Truth," the indie-icon continues to refine his singular brand of elliptical rock. Going at it alone a la his self-titled debut (although his band The Jicks contribute heavily), the chameleonic "Face The Truth" moves effortlessly between boisterous electro-pop, bluesy workouts and hushed sing-a-longs.

Schizophrenic opener "Pencil Rot" gives a good indication of what's in store: Like anything Malkmus-related, expect the unexpected. Right on this schedule, "It Kills" slips into more comfortable terrain with the return of his signature guitar tone and a vintage Malkmus vocal melody that has no right to work, but does. The soft ballad "Freeze the Saints" shines in its unadorned simplicity: Instead of the usual piling on of effects and instruments, the wistful melody stands on its own while Malkmus earnestly sings pensive prose.

Centerpiece "No More Shoes" is the best song here and maybe his finest since Pavement split. All spiraling electric guitar and modest-but-timely flourishes, as is often the case with Malkmus, his brilliance shines through in the details. Right before tearing into the song's searing introductory solo he sneers, "Get your back," wielding the subsequent jagged guitar line like a weapon.

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Obviously saving his better stuff for the later innings, the album's second half constitutes his best run as a solo artist. The sunny afternoon-folk of "Mama" — the perfect chaser to "No More Shoes" — has him going on about her cooking and living miles from a "fortified town." On its heels, "Kindling for the Master," the weirdest thing here, thankfully ushers his return to meaningful/meaningless wordplay and his patented blend of fractured disco and psyche-hop.

Closer "Malediction" sums up the record's reassured stance: "So long/ goodbye to the nervous apprehension/ I certainly won't miss you." In truth, this is world's away from the messy ramshackle of early Pavement singles or even classics like "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain." On "Face The Truth," Malkmus almost completely ditches the irony for conviction.
— Jake O'Connell

"Twenty," Robert Cray
Robert Cray's latest album, "Twenty," is quintessential Cray for those who know of his work. The 11 tracks are a study in how routine modern blues can be when presented without any fire in the belly, from a frontman who refuses to command attention.

Cray's brand of blues is musical pabulum, weak in ambition and rote in execution. Or perhaps this isn't supposed to be blues at all.

"Poor Johnny" sounds like a Wilson Pickett vs. pop song mash-up; "My Last Regret" is a corny torch send-up (though the Kevin Hayes' soft drumming is nice); and on "I'm Walkin'" Cray should have really heated up the fret board, but instead he merely delivered an even-paced treatment of riffs that could have fallen out of the pages of any intermediate blues guitar lesson book.

This is the riskless blues and you can feel every note coming from a mile away. Cray proves he's not a bluesman himself, merely a talented practitioner who gives the listener chords and construction commonly associated with the genre.

I remember seeing Cray open for John Lee Hooker in Palo Alto, Calif. many years ago. The crowd was generally appreciative during Cray's set, but the audience really lit up just a few notes into Hooker's performance. The difference between some who lived the blues and someone paying homage to it was inescapable.

That night, Hooker left the venue and headed for a large, shiny luxury car with women about half his age on each arm.

Cray probably left his guitar in one hand and the keys to a Honda in the other.

"Twenty" lacks any luster.
— Ron Harris

"Howl Howl Gaff Gaff," Shout Out Louds
The Shout Out Louds hail from the land of interlaced bridges, Stockholm, and their American debut album, leading listeners through a twisting array of uniquely fashioned indiepop, could very well be reminiscent of their hometown.

The five Swedes interweave everything from country styles to marching band-drum beats on their distinctly European-flavored album, which is a compilation of their hits in Scandinavia and several new mixes. Relying heavily on infectious drumbeats and the synthesized keyboard-playing of Bebban Stenborg (the sole female band member), the Shout Out Louds produce tracks that are reminiscent of the 1960s in their catchy simplicity while still maintaining an unquestionable modern indie sound.

The band begins the album with "The Comeback," a head-bobbing tune that first introduces listeners to the gritty voice of lead vocalist Adam Olenius: He talks his way through songs in a plaintive croak so choked with emotion that it seems, at times, as if he may not get through the end of the track. While his anti-melodic rasping can become tiresome, it's impossible to resist the catchiness of the music behind him. After the similar-styled "Very Loud," the band hits hard with an unexpected alternative turn on country that surprisingly works against the symphonic synth sounds in "Oh Sweetheart." The band adds another twist on the last track of the 10-song album, throwing in the melodic trills of a flute amid crashing drum beats in "Seagull."

Overall, the album is an impressive work for a group that stumbled into music only four years ago, when bassist Ted Malmros could barely play an instrument. The former graphic design, film and economics students came from varied backgrounds to produce a winningly pieced-together album, and that offbeat quirkiness is sure to gain the same popularity with American indie fans as it did with their Scandinavian counterparts.
— Sheila Flynn

"Army of Me," Various Artists
Inspired to do something in response to last year's South Asian tsunami, Bjork invited musicians to submit their own remixes and cover versions of her popular track, "Army of Me," for a charity album for UNICEF. Over 600 submissions came in. Bjork and the song's co-writer, Graham Massey, chose twenty versions for the album. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, than the various transformations offered up by this slew of eclectic artists must be representative of the sincerest forms of devotion.

One hasn't heard "Army of Me" until you've heard it arranged for accordion, or done over like the soundtrack to a video game, or crooned to a bossa nova beat, or twanged out on a Hawaiian guitar, or ... well, it has to be heard to be believed.

"Creepiest Version" award goes to Dr. Gunni, who does the whole track over a looping electronic bass line and a voice that sounds like Darth Vader's perpetually evil cousin whispering directly into your ear. The German "Bersarinplatz Mix" is by far the funkiest, and nearly worth the album price all by itself.
— Aimee Maude Sims

"Di Korpu Ku Alma," Lura
Following in the footsteps of Cesaria Evora, who put the archipelago nation of Cape Verde's Sao Vicente island on the map, the fresh-faced and honey-voiced Lura brings us the musical style of one of the islands to the south, Santiago, on "Di Korpu Ku Alma(Of Body and Soul)." Santiago would be hard-pressed to find a more worthy musical ambassador.

The CD/DVD package features eleven tracks, many of them originals, plus a nearly hour-long video of a live concert at Paris' Grand Rex where she opened for Evora. Lura's voice has the depth and sultriness of Toni Braxton with a much more refined delivery and broader range of expressions. Her elegant stage presence is matched by her top-notch band _ equally skilled at conveying the Portuguese and West African influences that are the bedrock of the music. Also included on the DVD is a brief profile of the artist, two music videos and a photo slideshow.
— Aimee Maude Sims

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