Billboard CD reviews: Glen Campbell, Dandy Warhols
There are more examples of cover albums gone wrong than gone right. Thankfully Glen Campbell’s new set, which finds him ably putting his own twist on tunes from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Foo Fighters, U2, Green Day and John Lennon, among others, fits into the latter category. Producer Julian Raymond, who says he’s been a Campbell fan since age 9, does a fine job bringing the songs to the artist’s identifiable style rather than painting him into a difficult corner. “Meet Glen Campbell,” indeed. Far and away, the best cut is the 72-year-old’s romp through Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” which in his hands sounds as if it might be found on a greatest-hits collection. His handling of Petty’s “Times Like These” and U2’s “All I Want Is You” are among the other highlights.
ARTIST: DANDY WARHOLS
ALBUM: EARTH TO THE DANDY WARHOLS (Beat the World Records)
If “Odditorium or Warlords of Mars” was a low point in the Dandy Warhols’ career trajectory, “Earth to the Dandy Warhols” does little to blast them back into the memorable pop music stratosphere. The set is somewhat of a shambolic affair, wherein kernels of good ideas get blown out, jumbled up or lost in execution. Take, for example, the awkward white-boy funk/Talking Heads-ish mashup of “Welcome to the Third World” or album closer “Musse D’Nougat,” an unnecessary near 15 minutes of ambient strings smothering irritatingly low-in-the-mix vocals. A few moments hit the right notes: The shuffling mariachi vibe of “Mis Amigos” finds the band feeling playful, and the airy psych-rock layered over a dance-y bass groove of “The World Come On” strangely work well together. But the usual droning rockers (”Wasp in the Lotus,” “Beast of All Saints”) provide little to get excited about.
ARTIST: TRICKY
ALBUM: KNOWLE WEST BOY (Domino Records)
Thirteen years after debut album “Maxinquaye” was hailed as the zeitgeist of the mid-’90s U.K. trip-hop scene, Tricky is still spinning his rugged, moody dance/rap/rock tunes on “Knowle West Boy.” Ne breaks no exceptionally new stylistic ground in the process, but all the components of a classic Tricky joint are here. “Puppy Toy” starts off as a demonic lounge act, Tricky murmuring directly into your ear until his female duet partner takes over in the soulful, electric chorus. At the other end of the spectrum, “Council Estate” is a jittering cyber-punk number. In such moments the artist takes center stage, but he’s just as happy to act as party director, making way for the dance-hall toaster on “Bacative” and the cold, furious female ranter on “Veronika.” Regardless of era, Tricky does his thing and does it well.
ARTIST: STEREOLAB
ALBUM: CHEMICAL CHORDS (4AD)
In the six years since singer Mary Hansen’s death, Stereolab has mildly oscillated from the up grooviness of 2004’s “Margerine Eclipse” toward dulcet new effort “Chemical Chords,” its first full album since then. While the 18-year-old Moog-y European collective has retained the signature sighing, oft-French vocals of Laetita Sadier and the synths and rhythm guitars of Tim Gane, esoteric nuggets like “Vortical Phonotheque” prove that Stereolab has firmly moved from its sans-serif midcentury pop into an early-’70s lite-rock mode defined by bounce, slight strings, muted horns and fuzzed guitars turned way down low. Some tunes, like the “Columbo”-background-music-ready title track, suffer for their weightlessness, but the Motown-meets-Esquivel “Self Portrait With Electric Brain” and beat-oriented electro of “Valley Hi!” and “Pop Molecule” are exquisitely wrought.
ARTIST: LYKKE LI
ALBUM: YOUTH NOVELS (Atlantic Records/ADA)
With a tiny voice, minimalist arrangements and simple lyrics, this Swedish songwriter has crafted what seems like a magical album, where all its small elements coalesce into something quite big. Li is 22 but sounds half that, although her lyrics are quite wise beyond her years. The drone of opener “Melodies & Desires” is like a moaning trumpet introduction to the quaintly celebratory “Dance Dance Dance,” but the real dance comes with a string of more beat-laden tracks like “I’m Good, I’m Gone,” “Complaint Department” and “Little Bit.” The poppy vocal rhythms of “Let It Fall” make the track a real standout, while such songs as “My Love” are like lullabies, recalling ’60s pop icons like the Beach Boys.
ARTIST: TAMMY TRENT
ALBUM: STRONGER (September Day Records)
The production is light and breezy on this infectious pop collection, but Tammy Trent addresses complex matters. The dominant theme is hope shining through the darkness, and Trent, who lost her husband in a 2001 scuba accident, delivers it with authority and compassion. “I’m Letting Go” is a poignant song of surrender, while “You’ve Already Shown Me” serves to remind us that God amply demonstrates his love. The centerpiece of this collection is the achingly vulnerable ballad “Edge of the Water,” penned by Trent and Alisa Childers. This is powerful music from a survivor who continues to move forward with a sweet spirit and a voice filled with unfailing hope and faith.