STACK #133 Nov 2016

MUSIC

REVIEWS

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Darlene Love Introducing Darlene Love

Keith Richards Crosseyed Heart

Like Richards' three previous solo releases, this one, his first in 23 years, finds him in the company of familiar and like-minded musicians: drummer Steve Jordan who co- wrote the album, guitarist Waddy Wachtel, keyboard player Ivan Neville, backing singer Sarah Dash and saxophonist Bobby Keys. His croaky vocal delivery is affective throughout, be it on folk, blues, country, all-out rockers, reggae, or ballads. One, Illusion , is a duet with Norah Jones. With or without the Stones, Richards is at his best when his guitar interplays with musicians who are prepared to serve the song first. ( EMI) Billy Pinnell

It's been an extraordinary couple of years for legendary singer Darlene Love. In 2013 her career was revived after decades of anonymity when the Oscar-winning documentary film 20 Feet From Stardom exposed the exploitation in the sixties of session singers by producer Phil Spector. Now, thanks to the E Street Band's Steve Van Zandt (whose robust arrangements and production offer a perfect fit) and Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and Jimmy Webb (who contributed new songs,) she's belatedly taking her rightful place centre stage, trading vocals with fellow Spector alumnae Bill Medley and covering Tina Turner's River Deep Mountain High . (Sony) Billy Pinnell

Russell Morris Red Dirt – Red Heart

It’s the most remarkable Australian trilogy since Crocodile Dundee – but whereas Mick Dundee lost his mojo third time around, this offering might actually be the best of Russell Morris’s Aussie blues series. A little more laidback than its predecessor, it finds Morris deep in the heart of the nation, telling

indigenous stories such as Bennelong , Kadaitcha Man and Pemulwuy . These are songs for the head and the heart. Who would have thought that Aussie history could be so entertaining? Morris makes you think and dance. You can easily get lost in Australia’s harsh interior and Red Dirt – Red Heart also features songs of salvation. “They say redemption sometimes comes at the darkest of dawns,” Morris sings in God Loves A Sinner . “You either want it or you don’t.” The album – masterfully produced by Mitch Cairns – showcases Morris’s dynamic vocals and Shannon Bourne’s expressive guitar playing. The beautifully reflective final song Nullabour Sand , written with guitar great Kevin Borich, sounds like closure. “Time will lead us all back home,” Morris declares. A fitting conclusion to an Aussie classic. ( Chugg Music) Michael Dwyer

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Gum Glamorous Damage

The Ocean Party Light Weight

The Wainwright Sisters Songs In The Dark You can hear the fire crackling in Prairie Lullaby but the "shadows slowly creeping" foretell an album as much about unspoken horrors as the comforts of the family hearth. Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche are sisters by different musical mothers, so they share a gift for heavenly parlour harmony as well an understanding of the darkness that weaves through folk tradition – hence the black humour and plain terrible tales herein, from the unsettling half-suggestions of Runs In The Family to the old-world wickedness of Long Lankin . With its default waltz time and soft, spare accompaniment, it casts a spell not easily shaken. (Inertia) Michael Dwyer

Bjork Vulnicura Strings

Best known for his sideman roles in mind-bending juggernauts Tame Impala and Pond, Jay Watson nabs the spotlight with his second solo album as Gum. It’s a glorious celebration of kitschy synth-funk, including all the requisite falsetto turns and squiggly synth solos, but there’s a lot of heart and many hooks involved. Elafonissi Blue sounds like vintage Super Furry Animals, while other tracks will appeal to fans of The Flaming Lips and Daft Punk. Gum may not overtake Watson’s other bands anytime soon, but it sure is fun. ( SpinningTop) DougWallen

It’s taken The Ocean Party five albums to finally get into a proper studio, but Light Weight doesn’t abandon their multi-songwriter intimacy or poignancy. It’s actually their most melancholy outing yet, with a dark streak that extends from the cracked skull on opener Black Blood through to the unnerving fixation of Phone Sex . Their songwriting more mature than ever, the Melbourne ensemble keep up some of the last album’s ’80s tinges but add some country licks. They’ve evolved nicely from slacker jangle- pop to something much more universal. ( Spunk/Universal) DougWallen

No artist has been more active than Bjork in the realm of fiddling up remixed versions of perfectly good albums. But why would she want to dwell on this, the harrowing post-mortem into her failed marriage? The short answer is to prolong the agony – for him, conceivably, but mostly for her. "If I regret us/ I'm denying my soul to grow/ Don't remove my pain/ It is my chance to heal," she sings on Not Get , as the strings saw at her bones. The cracking electronic undercurrents of the original album are gone and new viola parts added to close-miked arrangements. It's an altogether more raw and abrasive experience which, while not without beauty, feels more about closure than progress. (Inertia) Michael Dwyer

NOVEMBER 2015

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