LILA DOWNS: "La Cantina"

Original released on CD Narada 0946-3-34248-2-1

(MEXICO 2006, March 27)

Ce disque est un chef d'oeuvre. La musique, au départ des soûlards, ranchera, cumbia, la tradition confortées par des textes intelligents et lumineux, dans la voix de Lila Downs deviennent des moments de magie et d'ivresse. Tout est délicatement enrichi des musiques et des idées contemporaines, modernes. Par exemple, écoutez "Agua de Rosas" et vous serez submergé par l'émotion, jusqu'aux larmes. Écoutez "La Cama de Piedra", par son interpretation, Lila Downs la rend un drame insoutenable, une violence retenue. A la fin, on titube, on se tient aux tables, aux murs... mais on finit plus heureux que quand on est arrivé. Ce n'est pas un disque c'est de l'ART. Lila Downs: je vous aime. (in RateYourMusic)

ANDREA BOCELLI: "Amore"

Original released on CD Universal 987 601-5

(EU 2006, January 31)

Even as "the fourth tenor" has become one of the world's most popular and renowned classical and operatic singers, Andrea Bocelli has been teasing pop fans over the years by recording brilliant duets with the likes of Celine Dion and Sarah Brightman. Who better to helm the Tuscan-born vocal giant's first pure pop album than David Foster, who has made foreign language singing all the rage by introducing the world to Josh Groban? "Amore" features songs from various musical eras, from the 1920s through the '80s, which Bocelli sings in his native Italian, Spanish, and French. He launches the collection with beautiful Spanish on the tender, soaring ballad "Amapola" and a graceful "Besame Mucho" before introducing his facility for French with the lush, film score-like "Les Feuilles Mortes," which becomes "Autumn Leaves." Foster then unleashes a successful Santana-styled duet approach on the singer, pairing him with Kenny G ("Mi Manchi"), a delightfully torchy Christina Aguilera (on "Somos Novios," which became "It's Impossible") and Stevie Wonder (who adds vocals and harmonica to "Canzoni Stonate"). Purists may balk at such tandems, but pop fans will be enchanted, and Foster handles the productions of these tracks with admirable restraint. Though he covers artists ranging from Edith Piaf to Luis Miguel and Frank Sinatra, the most engaging reworking is a sweet take on "Can't Help Falling in Love," which was recorded live at Lake Las Vegas. In typical Foster's tug-the-heartstrings fashion, the disc closes with Italian and English versions of the inspirational ballad "Because We Believe," but for the most part, this magical effort fully realizes its aim to become a trendsetter for romantic pop in the 2000s. (Jonathan Widran in AllMusic)

AMY WINEHOUSE: "Back To Black" + Bonus

Original released on CD Island 171.304.1

(UK 2006, October 30)

The story of "Back to Black" is one in which celebrity and the potential of commercial success threaten to ruin Amy Winehouse, since the same insouciance and playfulness that made her sound so special when she debuted could easily have been whitewashed right out of existence for this breakout record. (That fact may help to explain why fans were so scared by press allegations that Winehouse had deliberately lost weight in order to present a slimmer appearance.) Although "Back to Black" does see her deserting jazz and wholly embracing contemporary R&B, all the best parts of her musical character emerge intact, and actually, are all the better for the transformation from jazz vocalist to soul siren. With producer Salaam Remi returning from Frank, plus the welcome addition of Mark Ronson (fresh off successes producing for Christina Aguilera and Robbie Williams), "Back to Black" has a similar sound to Frank but much more flair and spark to it. Winehouse was inspired by girl group soul of the '60s, and fortunately Ronson and Remi are two of the most facile and organic R&B producers active. (They certainly know how to evoke the era too; Remi's "Tears Dry on Their Own" is a sparkling homage to the Motown chestnut "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," and Ronson summons a host of Brill Building touchstones on his tracks.) As before, Winehouse writes all of the songs from her experiences, most of which involve the occasionally riotous and often bittersweet vagaries of love. Also in similar fashion to Frank, her eye for details and her way of relating them are delightful. She states her case against "Rehab" on the knockout first single with some great lines: "They tried to make me go to rehab I won't go go go, I'd rather be at home with Ray" (Charles, that is). As often as not, though, the songs on "Back to Black" are universal, songs that anyone, even Joss Stone, could take to the top of the charts, such as "Love Is a Losing Game" or the title song ("We only said good bye with words, I died a hundred times/You go back to her, and I go back to black"). (John Bush in AllMusic)

PETER GRANT First Album

Original released on CD Universal Globe 987 7257

(UK, April 2006)

This debut album from Yorkshire solo artist Peter Grant, was recorded when the young artist was 18 years old. And it's a magnificent album, which made the TOP 8 of the UK Album chart. A very nice voice, a good choice of the repertoire and an excelent taste on the musical arrangements make "New Vintage" an album which all romantic people should have, and preserve, in their private collection. Tony Hatch, songwriter who wrote "Joanna", considered Grant's version simply outstanding. Jimmy L. Webb, songwriter of "Didn't We", said: «I love Peter Grant's version. It's so refreshing to encounter a young performer with style passion and a sense of what makes up a perfect arrangement.» Don Black, songwriter of "On Days Like These" and "Walk Away" (this last one is, in my opinion, the best version ever), reported: «Peter Grant has come along like a much needed breath of fresh air... he doesn't just sing songs, he lives them.» So, put the CD on your player, relax, and live your best dreams again.

Walk away, please go

Before you throw your life away

A life that I could share for just a day

We should have met some years ago

For your sake I say

Walk away, just go

Walk away, and live

A life that's full

With no regret

Don't look back at me

Just try to forget

Why build a dream that cannot come true

So be strong, reach the stars now

Walk away, walk on

If I heard your voice

I'd beg you to stay

So don't say a word

Just run, run away

Goodbye my love

My tears will fall

Now that you've gone

I can't help but cry

But I must go on

I'm sad that I after searching so long

Knew, I loved you, but I told you

Walk away, walk on

Walk on

TONY JOE WHITE: "Uncovered"

Original released on CD Swamp Records SRCD 061

(US 2006, September 5)

Swamp Fox indeed. At this juncture, Tony Joe White should be called the Swamp Monster because on "Uncovered" he takes it to the limit. There are seven new cuts on "Uncovered", and reworked versions of "Rainy Night in Georgia," "Taking the Midnight Train," and "Did Somebody Make a Fool Out of You." White has been making records for a long time, though not many in the U.S. noticed after the late '70s. Since late in the last century, White has been kicking them out from his home studio in Nash Vegas. The sound is trademark, slow-burning, and growling. It's sultry as a late August night in the bayou. There are also, as is becoming de rigueur for legends these days, some surprise guest appearances. White has used them before and recently, on his killer "Heroines" set, where he played and sang with Shelby Lynne, Lucinda Williams, and Emmylou Harris. This time out he's got some great partners. He cut "Not One Bad Thought," with Mark Knopfler. The skittering interplay between them is worth the disc price to be sure. The pair apparently got together around a campfire with some food and beer and played the tune there first; they cut it in the studio shortly thereafter. Michael McDonald - yep, that one - guests on piano and vocals on "Don't Look Down," and it works like a charm, surprisingly. But the biggest news here is "Shakin' the Blues" with the late Waylon Jennings. It's one of the last performances he ever wrote or laid down on tape, and the pair feel like the old friends they are. 

White can sing or play with anybody, which is why his music translated so well to other performers - primarily soul and R&B artists - but when collaborating, that guitar and slow, drawling menace are so sinister, there's no mistake about whose tune it is. Only on "Shakin the Blues" does that feel different, because of the sheer strength of Jennings' enigma. On other tracks, such as "Louvelda," J.J. Cale contributed from Oklahoma, and wrote and sang two new verses for the song. Eric Clapton recorded his additions to "Did Somebody Make a Fool Out of You" from London and sent them - ahhhh - via digital technology. The whispering, funky blues of "Rebellion" when White lets it rip is another high point, and his band is perfectly suited to his pace and tension dynamic. "Rainy Night in Georgia," suffers not a bit from having been re-recorded. It's still one of the most beautiful songs to come out of the Deep South. The disc ends on an evil note with "Keeper of the Fire," with its fuzzed-out blues simmer and soulful backing vocals by Odessa Settles, and a horn section featuring Wayne Jackson on trumpet. White never needs to raise his voice because the power in its nearly whispered restraint has all the power of a slow-burning fire that becomes a blaze. For those who didn't already know, White is back - with a vengeance. (Thom Jurek in AllMusic)

"My Special Prayer" By PERCY SLEDGE

"The Dark End Of The Street" By PERCY SLEDGE

DIANA KRALL: "From This Moment On"

Original released on CD Verve 80007323-02

(EU 2006, September 19)

Returning to the large ensemble sound of her 2005 success, "Christmas Songs", pianist/vocalist Diana Krall delivers a superb performance on 2006's "From This Moment On". Although having received a largely positive critical response for her creative departure into original singer/songwriter jazz material on 2004's "The Girl in the Other Room", here listeners find Krall diving headlong into the Great American Songbook that has long been her bread and butter. While she's always been a pleasant presence on album, Krall has developed from a talented pianist who can sing nicely into an engaging, classy, and sultry vocalist with tastefully deft improvisational chops. But it's not just that her phrasing and tone are well-schooled. Having long drawn comparisons to such iconic and icy jazz singers as Julie London and Peggy Lee, Krall truly earns such high praise here. In fact, tracks like "Willow Weep for Me" and "Little Girl Blue" are drawn with such virtuosic melancholy by Krall as to be far and away some of the best ballads she's put to record. Similarly impressive big swing numbers like "Come Dance with Me" showcase her muscular rhythmic chops both vocally and on the keys. Backing her here is the always wonderful Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, featuring some punchy and solid solo spots by trumpeter Terell Stafford, as well as the rhythm section talents of guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Jeff Hamilton. (Matt Collar in AllMusic)

A HERANÇA MUSICAL DE JOSÉ AFONSO

A LIVE TRIBUTE TO LEONARD COHEN (2006)

As a soundtrack for Lian Lunson's film "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man", Hal Willner's choices from the two overseas evenings of "Came So Far for Beauty: An Evening of Leonard Cohen Songs" recorded in Brighton and Sydney - the original was in Brooklyn - are exceptionally well done. The rest of this program, however, is utterly fine, beautiful, raw, and immediate. It helps when you've got great material, an arranger like Steven Bernstein, and bands that include Charles Burnham, Michael Blake, Kenny Wollesen, Briggan Krauss, Chris Spedding, Marc Anthony Thompson, Smokey Hormel, Don Falzone, and Maxim Moston. Hal Wilner picked the tunes after producing the Brooklyn show. And when you have Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla - longtime Cohen bandmembers - singing backing vocals on most every tune and taking their own leads as well, the performances move to another level and you have a feast. The multi-generational approach features young guns like Jarvis Cocker, Beth Orton, Teddy Thompson, the Handsome Family, and Martha and Rufus Wainwright along with first-generation Cohen countrywomen the McGarrigle Sisters (one of whom is mother to Rufus and Martha) and middle-years admirers like Nick Cave and Antony, not to mention Battala and Christensen.

It begins with Martha's wonderfully overwrought "Tower of Song." She catches the drama and the wryness in it and just pours it all out. Her brother does an acceptable job of "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" in his trademark nasally wheeze and foppish manner, but his version of "Everybody Knows" comes off with more authority. Nick Cave's lounge lizard sneer on "I'm Your Man" contains all the humor, false confidence, and desperate need of the original. The McGarrigles (with Martha) cover "Winter Lady"; it's light, airy, and gorgeously done, as is Martha's other solo, "The Traitor." Beth Orton is simple, from the gut, and completely raw and effective on "Sisters of Mercy." Listeners get Jarvis Cocker and the Handsome Family doing straight reads of "I Can't Forget" and "Famous Blue Raincoat," respectively - complete with attempts at imitating Cohen's low rumble. Cocker is truly great, while the Handsome Family are more than acceptable. Batalla's "Bird on a Wire" lends the song an entirely new dimension with its slipstream country backdrop and Cajun overtones, courtesy of a fine accordion solo. Cave, Christensen, and Batalla collaborate for a stunningly real midtempo "Suzanne" that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Batalla and Christensen's reading of "Anthem" is tender to the point of heartbreak. Teddy Thompson is, judging by his two recorded outings and his performances of "Tonight Will Be Fine" and "The Future" here, on the way to becoming a truly great singer. But it is Antony's performance of "If It Be Your Will" that is the showstopper here. With Bernstein's arrangement creating a gospel feel, Antony's white-hot vocal expressionism and humility tear the surface off every emotion and word in the song for the purpose of finding what they're really made of. If this one doesn't just blow you away, you have sawdust instead of blood running in your veins. It almost feels like the voice of God coming through the grain of his own.

The final cut, by perennial spotlight hogs U2 - of course, they weren't part of the festival - was the exception and was done in a burlesque club. Their version of "Tower of Song" is the last thing on the program and it belongs there; it's a collaboration between them, Cohen, and Anjani Thomas. Their overblown, over-arranged, and over-produced take on the tune almost steals the author's tough lyrical meaning and buries it under dross instrumental crap that sounds like an outtake from one of their albums - they never could cover other people's material well. Cohen and Anjani sound great on it, though. They keep Bono chained up until the very last verse, where he almost wrecks the tune with his undisciplined vamp on the melody, and the seemingly inauthentic (over)emotional ache in his delivery. Other than this blemish, which keeps "I'm Your Man" from being perfect, this is a fine and fitting tribute to an artist whose gifts are so massive that they cannot even be spoken of adequately. (Thom Jurek in AllMusic)

BACK IN BLACK

CBS’ decision to drop Johnny Cash after unparalleled 28 year partnership angered many people. Even at that time, in 1986, Cash still had a loyal following, playing sell-out concerts throughout the world and shifting more than 40,000 copies of every album he released. But this was not enough to justify the record company’s investment. Never one to consider retirement, Cash started looking for a new label.

Seven years later, and still with no recording contract, Cash met Rick Rubin during a show in California in early 1993. Rubin, who had produced the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ was forming a new label, Def American (American Recordings) and wanted to sign the legendary country songer. «To work with Johnny Cash will be an honour», Rubin said at the time. «I have respected him for years, both as a performer and a writer, and it’s going to be a pleasure having him with American». Many of the early sessions were experimental. Cash would revisit old songs and pick a few favourites, then Rubin would suggest other material for Cash to cover. Many of Rubin’s suggestions seemed strange to Cash, but he recorded them, nonetheless, only to discover that they ‘felt’ right.

The first album that resulted from those sessions was released in April 1994 and called, simply, "American Recordings". The sleeve pictured Cash with two dogs, one white and one black, to illustrate the themes of sin and redemption that the album embodied. It was the first release to feature only the word “CASH” in big, bold letters on the front, a stark and iconic design that would appear on all five of the main American releases. «I think I’m more proud of this than anything I’ve ever done in my life.» Cash said on its release. «This is me. Whatever I’ve got to offer as an artist, it’s here. I don’t think I ever worked so well with a producer.» The album received rave reviews. The Los Angeles Times called it ‘a milestone work for this legendary singer’, and Billboard went even further, saying, ‘Never has the Man In Black produced a work of such brilliance.’ It went on to win a Grammy.

The second set was called "Unchained" and appeared in November 1996. It would be almost four years before Cash would release another new album. In that time, he was diagnosed with a nervous disorder, having been twice misdiagnosed. In fact he was suffering from autonomic neuropathy, a disease which affects the nervous system. As time went on, it became clear that Cash’s touring days were over. Apart from the occasional appearance at places such as The Carter Fold, he would not take to the stage again. Life on the road had been a major part of Cash’s life and it was hard for him to accept that he would never tour again. But being off the road did give Cash more time to concentrate on writing and recording. He started researching new material and turned to songs he remembered from his youth, as well as the contemporary material suggested by Rubin and his own compositions, which had been the staple of his last two albums. Work on a third American album started in late 1999, with members of The Heartbreakers, Cash’s daughter-in-law, Laura Cash, Norman Blake, Randy Scruggs and Marty Stuart.

"American III: Solitary Man" was released in October 2000 and Cash wrote in the sleeve notes: «This album has been a long time coming, and I feel another in there somewhere». He certainly didn’t waste time finding it, and started writing again almost immediately. But there was no doubt that Cash’s voice was getting weaker and, though keen to record, some days he struggled to finish a song. His vocal style had changed from the low baritone that had become his trademark, and was now closer to spoken word. The title track was one of Neil Diamond’s many hits and, while not at the cutting edge of much of his work with Rubin, reflects his lonesome persona.

"American IV: The Man Comes Around" was released in November 2002 and became Cash’s first-ever platinum studio record. It has moments that are simply stunning, and Cash had no doubts about how the album stacked up next to its predeccessors. «I firmly believe that it’s the best record we’ve done,» he said, «It reaches out even further than the others did. It goes in so many directions, but they all come together with me and how I could make these songs my own. They come together in being my songs.» He described the theme of the album as being «the human spirit fighting for survival», adding, «It probably reflects a little of the maturity that I’ve experienced with the pain that I’ve suffered from the illnesses that brought me so close to death.» The album’s closing song was the old Vera Lynn favourite,”We’ll Meet Again”, with accompaniment from the whole ‘Cash Clan’. It was a touching, but chilling finale.

When June Carter Cash died in May 2003, after complications following an operation to replace a heart valve, Cash was devastated. Due to his ill-health, the recording sessions to the next album went slowly and there were many days that he would not feel like recording at all. Cash began work on about 60 songs at this time, but was admitted to hospital in late August. He was discharged in early September, and intended to head back to the studio to select tracks for the new album, but it was not to be. He quickly returned to hospital, and on 12 September 2003 the news came that Johnny Cash had passed away.

"American V: A Hundred Highways" was only released three years later, on 4 July 2006 in the States. One of the best tracks on the album is “Rose Of My Heart”, about his love for his late wife. “We’re the best partners this world’s ever seen”, he sings. “Together we’re close as can be / But sometimes it’s hard to find time in between / To tell you what you mean to me.” Cash’s voice may not have been strong, but the emotion he wrings out of almost every word is outstanding.

Once more Rato Records made all the homework and selected the very best from these five albums to assemble a great and lasting collection: 32 tracks in a double CD, representing the legacy of this Country True Legend. Hope you like the selection and the art work as well. Enjoy, this is for you.