Annabelle de St. MauriceWidespread Panic
Live in the Classic City
(Sanctuary)
by Jess Minnen
Reviewing an album that is not really an “album” in the typical collection-of-songs meaning of the word is difficult enough, but when the album is a live show put on in the home town of one of the dominant jam bands in the industry, the task becomes even more daunting. Luckily, Widespread Panic is one of the more accessible jam bands, melding with vibrant simplicity stylish riffs of psychedelic rock with nuances of funk and a touch of southern flavor. Selected from the three-night run Panic performed in Athens, Georgia at the Classic Center on April 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of 2000, Live from the Classic City is not only a must-have for Spread-heads (as die hard Panic fans are known). The album also serves to create a true impression of the band in a way that their studio albums cannot, and is therefore perfect for any newcomers who want to try their hand at a little Panic.
Disc one opens with the instrumental “Action Man,” that leads into the fantastic rock jam from “Chilly Water” into “Pleas” and then back into “Chilly Water,” followed by a longstanding Panic favorite “C Brown,” about Charlie Brown getting violent with Lucy. Other highlights among the three discs include “Climb to Safety” on disc two, and the whole middle part of the last disc, from “Dyin’ Man” until the George Clinton cover “Red Hot Mamma.” The show is even more of a treat due to recent events concerning the health of Michael Houser, Panic’s lead guitarist. After months of rumors swirling about Mikey’s health, the band finally issued a statement that Houser is officially off the summer tour until further notice. Filling in for him are George McConnell from the Kudzu Kings on guitar and Randall Bramblett on sax.
This is the biggest shake-up in the band since their formation in 1985. Listening to Live in the Classic City takes on new meaning now, not knowing when or if Houser will be back with the band. People who have seen the past few Houser-less Panic shows have admitted that you didn’t realize how much he added to the band until he was gone, but that McConnell and Bramblett, who have both sat in with the band before, are giving Panic a new sound that, while different, is just as good. But for a taste of the band as it should be, one can always revert to this recently released show. Another highlight of the discs is the constancy of Dave Schools on bass, always a reason to see Panic even if you’re not a fan. And the drum solo on disc two is as good as it always is.
Widespread Panic has had a rough year. What with 200 fan arrests at a three-day concert this past spring, and the absence of Houser on their summer tour, the band has been facing challenges from all fronts. Live in the Classic City is more than just an example of a great Panic show. It is a slice of life from a band that may not ever have the same sound that was captured that April in Athens. For any fan of rock’n’roll, from classic rock to jam bands, this is a great recording, and will probably end up being, in its own right, a classic.
Grade: B
White Stripes
White Stripes
(V2/BMG)
by Dan Carlin
After seeing them thrash out a blistering medley from a grandiose red and white stage at the recent MTV Music Video Awards, it’s hard to deny the obvious: Meg and Jack White, the sibling duo better know as The White Stripes, have become bona fide rock icons. And as improbable as it seems, their ballsy, punkish, blues rock has earned the MTV2 stamp of approval and whisked the Stripes into commercial success.
There certainly are a number of peculiarities about the popularity of their gritty and energetic 2001 album White Blood Cells, not least of which is the fact that their hit single (“Fell in Love with a Girl”) clocks in at less than two minutes, and borrows its chorus from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Stranger yet is the fact that their excellent self-titled debut, which sounds a hell of a lot like White Blood Cells, hardly made a blip when it was released three years prior in 1998.
In fact the White Stripes recorded two albums before hitting it big with White Blood Cells (White Stripes and De Stijl), but while De Stijl marks a bit of a departure from their core bluesy sound, White Stripes is very much in the same spirit of White Blood Cells. It features the same thumping drums and raw, bluesy guitar/vocals found on White Blood Cells tracks like “Dead Leaves,” and “Offend in Every Way.”
If anything, White Stripes is a bit rawer and simpler than White Blood Cells. It doesn’t have the same variety of songs like the innocent ballad “We are Going to be Friends,” or the punkish “Fell in Love with a Girl.” Instead the Stripes stick to a stock sound of mid-tempo, ultra-heavy, true-grit blues rock. Tracks like “The Big Three Killed My Baby” or “Stop Breaking Down” showcase White’s remarkably forceful howl, and his gift for odd lyrics: “Don’t let them tell you the future’s electric/’cause gasoline’s not measured in metric/ten thousand wheels are spinning/blah blah blah blah’s are grinning/everything that involves me’s shady, and the big three killed my baby.”
Armed with just a drum kit, an electric guitar, and White’s lungs, the duo crafts a thoroughly satisfying and remarkably diverse album of power chord choruses, simple, rich melodies, and raw vocal emotion.
Grade: B+
Nora Jones
Come Away with Me
(Blue Note)
by Brendan Watson
By now you must have heard Norah Jones’ cabaret-jazz single “Don’t Know Why.” Despite being an odd fit on top-40 pop radio stations, the song has gotten extensive play on the airwaves across the country. Every time I heard the song driving cross-country from St. Louis to Boston, I blasted the radio and played along on the dash board. There is nothing particularly special about the song. The lyrics are run of the mill: “I waited ’til I saw the sun/I don’t know why I didn’t come left you by the house of fun/I don’t know why I didn’t call.” Furthermore, the quartet or piano, bass, guitar and drums laid down a simple melody that did not challenge Jones’ vocals, which while distinctive are not particularly strong. But this was it! She was the one! It has been nearly 40 years since a jazz artist has gotten such wide radio play, but Norah Jones was going to end that long hiatus. She was going to usher in a jazz renaissance in contemporary popular culture.
Boy, was I wrong. Instead of Jones coming across as a serious jazz musician on Come Away with Me, she aimlessly drifts between weak jazz numbers, contrived folk and overproduced pop. The title track, “Come Away with Me,” says it all. Jones’ sings, “I want to walk with you/On a cloudy day/In fields where the yellow grass grows/..So won’t you try to come.” It’s a nice invitation, but not a particularly convincing song. It’s an overly simplified three-chord song in which the guitar solos take on a hint of country-twang, Jones’ plays maybe eight notes on the piano while the drum does little more than to keep time in the background. This while Jones’ vocals continue to sound like the same drowsy, mid-range yawn that began on the first track and continues throughout the entire album.
My first reaction was to write a negative review of this album, but after seeing the the glowing reviews she’d received in The LA Times, Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly I felt that I owed it to Jones to reconsider my initial stance.
In reconsidering my stance I discovered what was needed was a standard for judging Jones. Based on the different musical styles in her album, she could be a jazz, folk or pop artist. As a jazz artist her voice lacks depth, range, and strength. Furthermore, her tracks don’t have the improvisation or energy requisite to jazz. As a jazz artist she simply does not measure up.
Jones could also be judged as a folk artist. She claims folk roots that date back to her upbringing in Texas, and these roots are evident in a number of tracks such as “Nightingale,” which is one of two tracks she wrote. But she sings almost solely love songs, and fails to convince the listener that she’s a serious folk musician.
But it’s not too late. At 22 years old Jones is young, and offers just enough hope in this album to make me reconsider my inclination to it.
Grade: C-