New music

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This article was published 24/11/2016 (3597 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

POP / ROCK

Alicia Keys
Here (RCA/Sony)

On Holy War, the 11th and last song on her sixth studio album, Alicia Keys sings “…maybe we should love somebody instead of polishing the bombs of Holy War.”

(mageTag)Keys is a multi-platinum selling pop and R&B phenomenon, and she’s been criticized over the years for her hearts-and-flowers approach to songwriting, with some charging that her lyrics are often platitudinous. But now, as people ponder their responses to the election of Donald Trump, Keys’ message of love and respect should be more resonant than ever. That she repeats and hammers this point home on her most relaxed record yet is important, because Here is an album on which Keys stands up and says, “This is me. This is who I am now.”

Composed of 16 tracks (five of which are “interludes”), Here sets its table early with The Gospel, a slice-of-life, hip hop-meets-jazz joint built on a spitting vocal, a left-hand piano riff and a rat-a-tat beat. This is essentially Keys’ origin tale and the rest of the album — which switches from rootsy soul/gospel (Pawn It All) to sweet pop [Blended Family (What You Do For Love)] and spare balladry (Work On It) — explores her interests and sympathies. These range from ecological disaster (Kill Your Mama) to drug addiction (Illusion of Bliss) and perceptions of female beauty (Girl Can’t Be Herself). Some might say this collection, which was co-produced by Keys, her husband, Swizz Beatz, Mark Batson and Howard Lilly, lacks a massive pop hit. That may be true — but Here doesn’t lack heart. ★★★★

DOWNLOAD: The Gospel; Illusion of Bliss; Holy War

— John Kendle

 

ROOTS / BLUES

Big Dave McLean
The Devil You Know (Black Hen Music)

Five albums in and showing no signs of slowing down, David (Big Dave) McLean has once again trumped himself with the wonderful The Devil You Know. You have to think that the secret weapon here is Canada’s own Ry Cooder, Steve Dawson. As producer and top-level stringed instrument slinger here Dawson lifts the whole shebang to another level and McLean boils perfectly in this tasty blues stew. The Muddy Waters song covers have always been McLean’s personal strong suit and both You Can’t Lose What You Never Had and Deep Down In Florida will please longtime McLean fans. What really gets your attention are the tracks where Dawson nudges Big Dave just a little out of his blues wailing cosy zone. Old Time Religion is a swampy tale of bad luck and trouble that has McLean settling faultlessly into dark, Nick Cave territory. The spooky gospel music tension in The Side of the Road is striking, lifted to perfection with female backup singers and some swell electric slide guitar courtesy of Dawson. McLean proffers respect to his Winnipeg homeboy Jeff Hatcher’s (the Fuse, the Blue Shadows) Deliver Me and re-imagines the song as a churning soul blues number. Additional top marks for McLean’s own Talk About Revelation, which conveys the sharp-eyed, singer-songwriter side of the blues dude in full flow. ★★★★1/2

DOWNLOAD: Talk About Revelation; Old Time Religion; Where the Music Comes From

— Jeff Monk

 

JAZZ

Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra
Time/Life (Song for the Whales and Other Beings) (Impulse)

Bassist Charlie Haden, jazz giant and pioneer, was part of the free jazz movement, recorded gorgeous melodic duet albums and many small group sessions. And periodically he put together his Liberation Music Orchestra that over the decades commented musically on social issues — from apartheid in South Africa to painful realities in the United States. When Haden died in 2014, he was partly through a project that, for the last time with his input, makes reference to global issues. Two of Time/Life’s five tracks were recorded live with Haden leading, while the other three were recorded after Haden’s death with his designated successor, bassist Steve Swallow. The theme is clearly our abuse of the environment. Arrangements are by Haden’s longstanding colleague Carla Bley, and the result is an album of amazing power and depth. The mood is often reflective, with strong writing evolving slowly and building to great intensity. There are wonderful solos from folks such as Chris Cheek and Tony Malaby on tenor, Seneca Black on trumpet and Loren Stillmann on alto. The album ends with Haden thanking the audience and giving a brief, passionate plea to respect creation. This album is an extraordinary gift. ★★★★★

Download: Time/Life, Song for the Whales

— Keith Black

 

CLASSICAL

Grandes Antiennes O de l’Avent Ensemble Correspondances
Sébastien Daucé
Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Pastorale de Noel (Harmonia Mundi)

Just in time for the Christmas season comes this unusual montage of French baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s pastorales written for his arts-loving patron Marie de Lorraine, a.k.a. the Duchess of Guise.

Early music group Ensemble Correspondences, led by Sébastien Daucé, bring delicacy to the first Pastorale sur la naissance de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ H483 (1684) heralding the birth of Jesus. Its subsequent version (H483a, dated 1685) delves deeper into the actual moment of nativity, including effective tone painting laced within the work’s filigreed textures. The third and final incarnation (H483b, 1686) follows the shepherds home again at daybreak, with the multi-sectioned work sung in French ending serenely with the final chorus, “Source of light and grace.”

Also included, and arguably more straightforward, is the composer’s Grand Siècle: Antiennes ‘O’ de l’Avent (‘O’ antiphons for advent). Intended to be sung with the liturgy the week before Christmas, each of the compact pieces creates its own intimate sound world, allowing for the singers’ individual voices, as pure as angels, to rise and fall as they proclaim the mysteries of faith. HHH1/2

 — Holly Harris