Forty-five years since stamping his reputation on the Velvet Underground’s landmark debut record, The Velvet Underground and Nico, John Cale continues to compose and craft music that is in the vein of art rock. His excellent new album, Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood, sounds fresh and dynamic through the incorporation of contemporary beats and electronic textures. His embrace of the current sounds is evident of that is Cale’s collaboration with Danger Mouse “I Wanna Talk 2U,” which is kind of an electro/funk/folk hybrid. Despite their arty inclinations, the album’s tracks are also tight, focused and melodic: from the the industrial-sounding “Nookie Wood” and “Mothra,” and the aggressive and driving Scotland Yard and ; to the ethereal and dreamy “Sandman (Flying Dutchman)” and the slow and lovely ballad “Mary” and; the artist even displays a dance music sensibility with “December Rains.” Cale’s monotone and charismatic singing provides a chilly yet soothing counterpoint to the music, which borders on the avant garde and mainstream rock. Like that of the work he made with his former legendary band from the late ‘60s, Cale proves with Shifty that music has no boundaries—Rather than looking back in a musical sense, he’s moving forward.

(amazon.com)

Ben Folds Five
The Sound of the Life of the Mind
Imaveepee Records/Sony Music
By David Chiu

After a 13-year recording hiatus, Ben Folds Five –Ben Folds, Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee– returns with a fine new effort in The Sound of the Life of the Mind. Reunion albums are sometimes a tricky deal, but this comeback record from the trio is a return to form. The energy and chemistry of their previous works still remain albeit with some maturity that naturally comes with the passage of time as well: the angsty “Erase Me” and the country shuffle of “Do It Anyway” are rollicking numbers; “Michael Praytor, Five Years Later” is very catchy as it is poppy; and the terrific “Draw A Crowd” is a soulful quirky, almost danceable tune. The ballads on the new album are very lovely and lush as on “Sky High,” “Away When You Were Here,” and the devastatingly beautiful if melancholy “Thank You for Breaking My Heart.” If this record is any indication, The Sound of the Life of the Mind won’t be a one-off from Ben Folds Five but rather the start of a new chapter in their career.

(amazon.com)

The Beach Boys
50 Big Ones: Greatest Hits
Capitol/EMI
by David Chiu

As the title indicates, this 2-CD set collects 50 of the Beach Boys best known hits, fitting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the legendary band, whose original members reunited for a tour. It’s really THE compilation of all compilations ever issued by the band—spanning their entire career from the last 50 years and pretty much has all of the hits: from “Surfin USA,” “Help Me Rhonda,” and “California Girls”; through the Pet Sounds era of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “God Only Knows,”—to latter-day songs “Kokomo” and most recently “That’s Why God Made the Radio”—music that is stamped by lyrics of summer, beach, fun and girls; wonderful vocal harmonies; and the studio and technical genius of Brian Wilson. There are too numerous-to-count Beach Boys albums, so if you just want the hits, 50 Big Ones is the reliable bet. Speaking of studio albums are the reissues of the band’s early albums from the early ‘60s to early ‘70s, and most of them contain both the mono and stereo versions of songs, including those for Pet Sounds and Smiley Smile.

(amazon.com)

Freddie Mercury
The Great Pretender (DVD)
Eagle Vision
By David Chiu

One of the greatest singers in rock and roll history, Queen’s Freddie Mercury lived life to the utmost heights through his trademark extravagance and flamboyance. But offstage, Mercury was very private and shy– as told in a new documentary about the singer directed by Rhys Thomas. Featuring recent interviews with surviving Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor, manager Jim Beach, personal assistant Peter Freestone as well as archival footage of Mercury, The Great Pretender documents the singer’s solo music career in the ‘80s. It begins with with the Mr. Bad Guy album, which unfortunately didn’t set album sales on fire (how could it be when you’re in one of the most successful bands of all time?); and goes through the artistic triumph of Barcelona, which marked an unlikely collaboration with opera singer Montserrat Caballe; one of the interesting highlights on the DVD is a snippet of a duet between Mercury and Michael Jackson during the ‘80s. Of course, The Great Pretender examines Mercury’s private life from his time in New York, through his loving romantic relationship with Jim Hutton, and to his brave battle with AIDS, which he succumbed to in 1991 at the age of 45. The Great Pretender does a fantastic job of portraying Mercury not only as a tremendous and passionate artist, but also as a human being who protected his privacy in a quiet, dignified manner right until the end. It’s a loving tribute to a man who has certainly made his mark on rock and roll.

(amazon.com)

Michael Jackson
Bad25
Epic/Legacy
By David Chiu

Bad, Michael Jackson’s 1987 album, had the big task of being the follow-up to the massively popular Thriller five years earlier. While it certainly doesn’t measure up to Thriller (in essence, what does?), Bad became hugely successful in its own right, with five Number One singles, an impressive feat at the time. This new set celebrates Bad’s 25th anniversary by featuring not only the original album, but also tracks recorded during the sessions that didn’t make it on the final cut, and a DVD/CD recording of a concert at Wembley from the period. Working with the state-of-the-art sound of the time, Bad is essentially abundant with hits  that have since become iconic with the singer, echoing the stylistic variety of Thriller: the balladry of “I Can’t Stop Loving You”; the funky title song; the catchy “The Way You Make Me Feel”; the empowering call-for-unity “Man in the Mirror”; the dramatic “Smooth Criminal”; and the rocking “Dirty Diana.” The bonus material contains tracks that offers glimpses of songs that still sound like works in progress, such as “Don’t Be Messin’ Round,” “I’m So Blue” and “Song Groove (aka Abortion Papers),” the latter would have generated tremendous controversy had it seen the light of day; “Al Capone” is an ancestor to the song that would become “Smooth Criminal”; and rounding out the material are remixes of Bad and “Speed Demon.”
The DVD Live at Wembley captures the hysteria of Jackson in London in his first world solo tour and only North American tour. Not surprisingly, it’s a spellbinding performance by the King of Pop and the  set list draws material from Bad, Thriller, Off the Wall and even a medley of Jackson 5 hits. As an entertainer, Jackson pulls out all the stops, including recreating the werewolf from the Thriller video. It’s also interesting to notice a then-unknown Sheryl Crow singing backup and sounding quite a bit different when she duets with Jackson on “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” Overall, Bad25 makes a strong case not as the sequel to or son of Thriller, but as a work that deserves to stand on its own.

Roxy Music
The Complete Studio Recordings
Virgin/EMI
By David Chiu
They may not have achieved greater popularity in the States during their career, but Roxy Music were certainly one the most unique bands to come out the ‘70s. Like David Bowie, the band, led by the dapper Bryan Ferry, was ahead of its time as far as the music and visual look that was both a nod to the past and what the future might be. Over the course of 10 years and eight albums, Roxy’s output progressed from its avant garde/art rock beginnings, to smooth romantic pop. It’s now collected in this new  boxed set celebrating the 40th anniversary of the band’s self-titled debut, showing why Roxy still continues to influence generations of rockers.

In the early days of Roxy, the band’s focal points were Ferry and keyboardist Brian Eno, who definitely left an indelible mark with his soundscapes, especially on the first two records, Roxy Music and For Your Pleasure. The music from those albums was a collision of retro rock and futuristic electronic music as evident on such classic tracks as “Re-Make, Re-Model,” “If There Is Something,” “Editions of You” and “Do The Strand.” When Eno left after For Your Pleasure, Roxy became Ferry’s vehicle as he furthered his unrequited romantic/crooner persona on Stranded (“Mother of Pearl” from that record is a gem) and Country Life—augmented by the fiery guitar work of Phil Manzanera, the soul-inspired sax of Andy McKay, and the skillful, hard rock drumming of Paul Thompson. 1975’s excellent record, Siren, contained the band’s most popular hit at that time, the funky-disco driven “Love is the Drug.” After that, the band went into a four-year hiatus.

When Roxy Music reemerged in 1979, the band was faced with new musical trends punk, disco and later New Wave—those styles were reflected on Manifesto with “Trash,” “Dance Away and “Angel Eyes.” It would mark the shift from the edgy rock of the early albums towards more beautifully-crafted pop, first on Flesh + Blood (key tracks from that record are the dazzling “Same Old Scene” and “Oh Yeah”) and culminating in the brilliant and lush Avalon. If there was a record to end a recording career on, Avalon, with its notable singles “More Than This” and the title song, was absolutely perfect.

The Complete Studio Recordings is a godsend to American fans of Roxy Music because it not only contains all eight records but also two discs’ worth of singles-only tracks (“Virginia Plain,” “Pyjamarama,” the Lennon tribute “Jealous Guy”), B-sides and rarities that one would have probably had to find as imports or through eBay — among those tracks are “Always Unknowing,” “Your Application’s Failed,” and “Sultanesque.” This boxed set is a testament to Roxy Music’s continued importance and influence 40 years later.

Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra
Theater Is Evil
8 Ft Records
By David Chiu

Theater Is Evil is the latest solo work from the Dresden Doll singer, a dazzling collection of grandiose, theatrical-influenced rock music that is sexy and ironic with a dash of humor and poignancy. With the sensibility of a 20th century torch singer a la Dietrich, Palmer reimagines Tin Pan Alley on steroids from the bombastic rockers of “Smile (Pictures That Didn’t Happen)” and “Do It With a Rock Star” to the melodic quirky Ben Folds-like pop of “Massachusetts Avenue” and “Want It Back”; there are also some melancholy moments like on the lovely “Grown Man Cry” and the haunting piano ballad “The Bed Song.” Dullness is not in Palmer’s musical vocabulary—her sound soaks in the old fashioned melodic pop of yesteryear with 21st century attitude.

(amazon.com)

Art Garfunkel
The Singer
Columbia/Legacy
By David Chiu

Recently, Paul Simon released a double-CD collection titled Songwriter that focused on the many great songs he wrote throughout his career. Now his equally famous musical partner has just put out his own collection that surveys his solid and impressive body of work.The Singer is appropriately titled given that Art Garfunkel possesses one of the greatest and unmistakable voices in pop music. Certainly his work in Simon and Garfunkel speaks for itself, as indicated on some of the duo’s tracks are on The Singer (“The Sound of Silence,” “Scarborough Fair” and of course the immortal “Bridge Over Troubled Water”) —  but his solo career sometimes gets overlooked. Aside from the Paul Simon songs, Garfunkel has proven to be a great interpreter of other people’s compositions, whether it’s by Jimmy Webb (“All I Know,” “Scissors Cut”) or the masters of popular song like Rodgers and Hammerstein (“Some Enchanted Evening”). The collection features some of Garfunkel’s best solo work (“Breakaway,” “A Heart in New York,” “I Only Have Eyes for You,” “99 Miles from L.A.”) as well as some recent material from the album Everything Waits To Be Noticed (“The Thread” with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock) and a new song “Lena.” The Singer definitely puts Garfunkel’s solo career in much needed perspective.

Frank Veronsky

Listen to “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” by Joe Jackson and Iggy Pop, off of Jackson’s new album,”The Duke.” Jackson will be touring starting on Sept. 15 in Maryland. For info, visit www.joejackson.com.

(Eagle Rock Entertainment)

Pink Floyd
The Story of Wish You Were Here
Eagle Rock Entertainment
By David Chiu

After making probably the most commercially and artistically successful album of all time, how does a band live up to that for the next record? In the case of Pink Floyd, the result was 1975’s Wish You Were Here, the follow-up to the mammoth record Dark Side of the Moon. But it wasn’t exactly easy, as documented in this excellent new documentary that goes into the making of truly one of Floyd’s best records. Featuring new interviews with surviving members David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Nick Mason, the DVD shows a band that was kind of at a creative crossroads in to follow-up Dark Side of the Moon. In the end, Floyd came up with a perfectly seamless record that dealt with several themes: the sense of absence (also reflected in the classic album artwork by designers Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell); the record industry; and most importantly, Syd Barrett, the group’s former member and chief songwriter. It’s tragic of what became of Barrett after he left the band, especially when he showed up looking physically different to people at the studio where Floyd was making Wish You Were Here—he’s certainly the focal point of the record as he was in the early history of the band. As for the album itself, the documentary tells the behind the scenes stories of each of five songs: the  epic “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” “Welcome to the Machine ,” “Have a Cigar,” and the poignant title track. Other interesting touches are the interviews with Roy Harper, who sang lead on Have a Cigar; backing singer Venetta Fields, and the stuntman whose burning image graces the album cover. Although a commercial success in itself, Wish You Were Here seems underrated when compared to Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall—however, one can make the argument that Wish You Were Here kind of surpasses those records in its own unique way.