Madeleine Peyroux [2009] Bare Bones

[01] Instead
[02] Bare Bones
[03] Damn The Circumstances
[04] River Of Tears
[05] You Can't Do Me
[06] Love And Treachery
[07] Our Lady Of Pigalle
[08] Homeless Happiness
[09] To Love You All Over Again
[10] I Must Be Saved
[11] Somethin' Grand



amg: Madeleine Peyroux's fourth album isn't the normal mix of standards (contemporary or traditional) with a few songs of her own composing; each of the 11 tracks is a new song written by Peyroux, usually in tandem with producer Larry Klein or a guest. Still, she appears in her usual relaxed setting, with a small group perfectly poised to translate her languorous vocals into perfect accompaniment — organist Larry Goldings, pianist Jim Beard, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, plus producer Klein on bass, Dean Parks on guitar, and Carla Kihlstedt on violin. Fans of vocal jazz may be disappointed to see that all the songs are new ones — many a great conversation could consist solely of the standards she should perform — but they may regret the disappointment. Peyroux is not only a great interpreter of songs, she also knows how to write in what might be called the old-fashioned way, the type of song with a universal, direct, emotional power that became a rarity during the late 20th century. Also, the help she gets from her co-writers — Walter Becker of Steely Dan, Klein, and friend Julian Coryell — is priceless. Becker delivers a pair of special gems, including the title track and a song called "You Can't Do Me" that delivers the priceless cutting wit he perfected with Steely Dan (a sample: "You know I get so blue and I go/Down like a deep sea diver, out like a Coltrane tenor man.../Blewed like a Mississippi sharecropper, screwed like a high-school cheerleader"). Granted, Peyroux faces an uphill climb by delivering new songs in the same musical context that most listeners hear standards; after all, comparisons to the half-century of American popular song aren't fair, but they certainly come easy. Still, Bare Bones is a remarkable work from one of the best artists in vocal jazz.
(amg 8/10)

Magnum [1996] The Last Dance [Live]

[01] Intro
[02] Changes
[03] Back To Earth
[04] Just Like An Arrow
[05] Love Is A Stranger
[06] Les Morts Dansant
[07] Two Hearts
[08] Rock Heavy
[09] How Far Jerusalem
[10] The Tall Ships
[11] Wild Swan
[12] Start Talking Love
[13] Rocking Chair
[14] Vigilante
[15] Kingdom Of Madness
[16] Drum Solo (End To End)
[17] Tell Tale Eyes
[18] The Last Dance
[19] One Sacred Hour



cduniverse: A superlative double disc issue from the popular prog rock group; includes "Changes" and "Back To Earth." 1996, German import.
(cduniverse 8/10)

Motley Crue [1998] Greatest Hits

[01] Bitter Pill
[02] Enslaved
[03] Girls Girls Girls
[04] Kickstart My Heart
[05] Wild Side
[06] Glitter
[07] Dr. Feelgood
[08] Some Ol'Situation
[09] Home Sweet Home
[10] Afraid
[11] Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
[12] Without You
[13] Smokin' In The Boys' Room
[14] Primal Scream
[15] Too Fast For Love
[16] Looks That Kill
[17] Shout At The Devil '97



amg: Mötley Crüe parted ways with Elektra in the spring of 1998, releasing their second compilation, Greatest Hits, on their own label that fall. Weighing in at 17 tracks, including two pedestrian new songs, Greatest Hits duplicates much of Decade of Decadence, featuring no less than eight songs — "Looks That Kill," "Home Sweet Home" (original, not the Decade version), "Smokin' in the Boys' Room," "Girls, Girls, Girls," "Wild Side," "Dr. Feelgood," "Kickstart My Heart" (original, not the live version that was on Decade), "Primal Scream" — that were on the previous collection. Considering all that overlap, you can be forgiven for thinking that the two compilations are interchangeable, but Greatest Hits actually has the edge, not just because it doesn't feature the silly "Anarchy in the U.K." cover, but because it features a greater selection of hits from their masterpiece, Dr. Feelgood, including "Without You," "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)," and "Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)," all of which weren't on Decade. It has its flaws, to be sure — the sequencing is illogical, the newer songs are lame, and the original "Shout at the Devil" should have been featured instead of the atrocious Generation Swine re-recording — but it's still the best overview yet assembled.
(amg 9/10)

Mark Hollis [1998] Mark Hollis

[01] The Colour Of Spring
[02] Watershed
[03] Inside Looking Out
[04] The Gift
[05] A Life 1895-1915
[06] Westward Bound
[07] The Daily Planet
[08] A New Jerusalem



amg: Achingly gorgeous and hauntingly stark, Mark Hollis' self-titled debut picks up where he left off with Talk Talk's Laughing Stock seven years earlier, re-emerging at the nexus point where jazz, ambient, and folk music collide. It's quite possibly the most quiet and intimate record ever made, each song cut to the bone for maximum emotional impact and every note carrying enormous meaning. Hollis paints his music in fine, exquisite strokes, with an uncanny mastery of atmosphere that's frequently devastating. And if anything, his singularly resonant voice has grown even more plaintive with the passage of time, which — combined with the understated artistry and minimalist beauty of tracks like "The Colour of Spring" and "Watershed" — makes Mark Hollis a truly unique and indelible listening experience. His obvious understanding of the power of silence aside, one prays he doesn't again wait for the seven-year itch to strike before returning.
(amg 9/10)

Marianne Faithfull [1998] A Perfect Stranger - The Island Anthology

[101] Broken English
[102] Witches' Song
[103] Guilt
[104] The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan
[105] Working Class Hero
[106] Why D'ya Do It
[107] Sister Morphine
[108] Sweetheart
[109] Intrigue
[110] For Beauty's Sake
[111] So Sad
[112] Truth Bitter Truth
[113] The Blue Millionaire (12' Version)
[114] Falling From Grace
[115] Running For Our Lives
[201] Ballad Of The Soldier's Wife
[202] Trouble In Mind (The Return)
[203] Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
[204] Yesterdays
[205] Strange Weather
[206] Gloomy Sunday
[207] Hello Stranger
[208] As Tears Go By
[209] A Perfect Stranger
[210] Conversation On A Barstool
[211] A Waste Of Time
[212] Isolation
[213] Blazing Away
[214] When I Find My Life (Live)
[215] Times Square (Live)
[216] Ghost Dance
[217] Sleep
[218] Love In The Afternoon
[219] Bored By Dreams
[220] She



amg: Because more than half of the 35 songs on this two-disc retrospective of Marianne Faithfull's 1979-95 output come from her three great albums — Broken English, Dangerous Acquaintances, and Strange Weather — or are previously unreleased outtakes or B-sides from them, A Perfect Stranger: The Island Anthology makes a fine primer to Faithfull's often challenging, always mesmerizing (or would that be always challenging, often mesmerizing?) music. "Ballad of the Soldier's Wife," her solid contribution to 1985's Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill, is also included, giving Faithfull's hauntingly tragic voice the resonance and attention it demands. Weill and Faithfull seem made for each other, as the bulk of the second disc (comprised of songs from her 1990 live album and the underachieving A Secret Life, as well as the career-capping Strange Weather) makes clear. But there's also a strain to some of these tracks, as if Faithfull's aesthetic wandering eventually will bring her to that elusive cabaret of her dreams. On her best recordings, it indeed sounds like she's home.
(9/10)

Megadeth [1990] Rust In Peace

[01] Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
[02] Hangar 18
[03] Take No Prisoners
[04] Five Magics
[05] Poison Was The Cure
[06] Lucretia
[07] Tornado Of Souls
[08] Dawn Patrol
[09] Rust In Peace... Polaris



amg: A sobered-up Mustaine returns with yet another lineup, this one featuring ex-Cacophony guitar virtuoso Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza, for what is easily Megadeth's strongest musical effort. As Metallica was then doing, Mustaine accentuates the progressive tendencies of his compositions, producing rhythmically complex, technically challenging thrash suites that he and Friedman burn through with impeccable execution and jaw-dropping skill. Thanks to Mustaine's focus on the music rather than his sometimes clumsy lyrics, Rust in Peace arguably holds up better than any other Megadeth release, even for listeners who think they've outgrown heavy metal. While the whole album is consistently impressive, the obvious highlight is the epic, Eastern-tinged "Hangar 18".
(amg 9/10)

Magnum [1978] Kingdom Of Madness

[01] In The Beginning
[02] Baby Rock Me
[03] Universe
[04] Kingdom Of Madness
[05] All That Is Real
[06] The Bringer
[07] Invasion
[08] Lords Of Chaos
[09] All Come Together



amg: The debut from this Birmingham, England band featured a flute-laced progressive rock sound similar to that of Jethro Tull. (The band's sound would later become more mainstream.) The songwriting ranges from imaginative, mythical tales on "The Beginning" and the title song, to deeply philosophical tracks like "Universe" and "All That Is Right," to downright senseless on the track "Baby Rock Me," which is perhaps the worst song the band has ever recorded. Despite this one track, it is a very good album, especially for a band's first effort.
(amg 8/10)