LITTLE ROCK — Robert Plant/Alison Krauss Raising Sand(Rounder) RockA
Unlikely pairings don't get much more unlikely than this one. Bluegrass sweetheart Alison Krauss singing with Led Zeppelin singer/shouter Robert Plant, aided and abetted by producer T Bone Burnett?
A "duets" album is not a really accurate description of the results, as you have varying degrees of their singing together, plus some interesting combinations of backing musicians.
Burnett dug up an inspired collection of songs to remove them from "their comfort zone," as he puts it in press materials. Gene Clark, that most mysterious of the original Byrds, is represented with "Polly Come Home" and "Through the Morning, Through the Night." Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'" gets the laconic Plant vocal treatment, augmented by Krauss' fiddle and Marc Ribot's banjo. The Tom Waits/Kathleen Brennan selection, "Trampled Rose," is hard to forget, and Mel Tillis' "Stick With Me Baby" is more mysterious than most country music ever tries to be.
Plant's voice shines on "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us," written by Burnett's ex-wife, Sam Phillips. The song has some dazzling fiddle by Krauss as the song crashes quietly along. The obvious standout cut here is a rollicking version of The Everly Brothers' "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)," onwhich the two singers really pour it on, with Plant audibly seeming to restrain himself from hitting that old Led Zep phrasing. Another rocker is Milton Campbell's "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson," in which Krauss tries some blues wailing on for size, and it fits.
Rowland Salley's "Killing the Blues," done famously by Chris Smither years ago, is given the royal treatment here, while the final song, Doc Watson's "Your Long Journey" is a fitting conclusion, with Plant restraining himself as if he were an Appalachian musician picking his way carefully.
And then there's Burnett, not just producing, but also stepping forward on either electric or acoustic guitar or bass on all but three of the 13 cuts. Fans of Krauss' fiddling will, on the other hand, note that she only picks up her signature instrument on three songs.Gregory Leisz provides his beautiful, wailing pedal steel touch on two songs and Norman Blake gets a couple of songs to show off his acoustic guitar work.
- JACK W. HILLBoyz N Da Hood Back Up N Da Chevy(Bad Boy South) Hip-hopC
Boyz N Da Hood is a four-man group that hit the scene two years ago with an underwhelming self-titled debut. The best thing about the album was that it introduced listeners to Young Jeezy.
Well, Jeezy has been replaced by Gorilla Zoe and he, along with Big Gee, Jody Breeze and Big Duke arrive with Back Up N Da Chevy and not much has changed.
As a group, there isn't any real chemistry here, and it's understandable since the group was originally put together as a vehicle to catapult each individual member toward solo success. Now the Boyz have a fill-in member and the chemistry takes yet another hit.
"We Ridin'" finds the fellas working hard over a sinister beat, while on the raucous "Everybody Know Me" Zoe offers a standout performance. But tracks like "Bite Down" highlight the glaring void left by Jeezy's departure as well as the pedestrian skills of the other members.
The problem is that Jeezy was the certified star of the crew, and withouthis charisma and swagger it's like a team built around a star player trying to compete without its star. When it gets down to crunch time, everyone starts looking around for that star to save the day but he isn't there anymore.
- SHON MCPEACEPinback Autumn of the Seraphs(Touch and Go) Indie rockB
With Autumn of the Seraphs' allusions to angels, Pinback hints at an ethereal experience and sets the bar high for the follow-up to 2004's Summer in Abbadon.
"From Nothing to Nowhere" sounds like a fully adrenalized Pedro the Lion. On "How We Breathe" frontman Rob Crow and multi-instrumentalist Zach Smith create a moody landscape in which the pianos wander empty streets haunted by the echoes of lonely drum loops and whispery falsettos. The dreaminess of the album continues with "Walters," a soft tune that erupts into a loud chorus of Crow chanting "get me down, put me down."
The only downside is Pinback's tendency to rely on modern rock guitar tones and repetitive riffs. However, Crow and Smith's lethargic vocals cull any teen angst that might be lingering. While Autumn of the Seraphs is far from a religious experience, the record is definitely worth a listen.
- KODY FORD
Style, Pages 66 on 10/28/2007