LISTEN UP

Green Day stumbles; Rich tribute worthy

Album cover for Green Day's "Revolution Radio"
Album cover for Green Day's "Revolution Radio"

C+Green Day

Revolution Radio

Reprise

photo

Album cover for "Feel Like Going Home: The Songs of Charlie Rich"

"How did life on the wild side ever get so dull," sings Billie Joe Armstrong on the first track of this latest effort from Green Day, and then turns himself inside out trying to add some spice to the rest of the 11 songs here, never totally succeeding.

The fury of "Bang Bang," a critique of American mass shootings and gun culture, is righteous enough, though the lyrics ... well, umm -- "I get my kicks and I want to start a rager." Sigh.

Armstrong grows nostalgic for a fading youth on the trite "Outlaws," which pushes those arena rock, wave-your-lighters-in-the-air buttons with its quiet-loud-quiet construct, but is also stifled by eye-rolling lines like "we're outlaws of redemption, baby." And then there's the overly earnest "Troubled Times."

The title cut, though, nicely hits all those punky little Green Day sweet spots ripped straight from The Clash and bursts into an infectiously driving chorus of glorious power chords; and "Bouncing off the Wall" is a hoot of a pogoing singalong.

The band, which has two members from Arkansas -- guitarists Jason White and Jeff Matika -- who tour with mainstays Armstrong, drummer Tre Cool and bassist Mike Dirnt, will play Verizon Arena in North Little Rock on March 8. Starting off as zit-faced punks, Dirnt, Armstrong and Cool cleaned up their sound a bit, worked like dogs, became Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, made a Broadway musical and sold millions of albums, a few of which -- Dookie, American Idiot, maybe Nimrod -- are absolute classics. Revolution Radio, though, is a few notches below.

Hot tracks: "Revolution Radio," "Bouncing off the Wall"

-- SEAN CLANCY

BVarious Artists

Feel Like Going Home: The Songs of Charlie Rich

Memphis International

It's always hard to come around to tribute albums like this. You'd imagine it would be fun for the musicians to have a go at something by, presumably, their hero. On the other hand, if the original material was so great, why does there have to be a bunch of cover songs?

Ostensibly, one reckons, to expose the work to a new audience, for the participants to say, "Hey, we like this stuff a lot, maybe you will as well." If that's the case, then this 13-song release featuring folks like Shooter Jennings, Jim Lauderdale, Will Kimbrough, Keith Sykes, Charlie Rich Jr., and Preston Shannon is a laudable effort.

Steering away from the Natural State native's countrypolitan smashes from the '70s -- "The Most Beautiful Girl," "Behind Closed Doors," "I Take It on Home" -- the collection wisely focuses almost entirely on the early part of his career, when his music was more bluesy and raw.

We'd happily recommend the performances here to the Rich newbie to sample before seeking out the originals.

Hot tracks: "Lonely Weekends," Jim Lauderdale; "Don't Put No Headstone on My Grave," Johnny Hoy; "Sittin' and Thinkin'," Will Kimbrough; "Who Will the Next Fool Be," Holli Mosley

-- SEAN CLANCY

ANorah Jones

Day Breaks

Blue Note

Yes, Day Breaks does mark Norah Jones' long-awaited return to piano-based jazz. No, this isn't Come Away With Me II: Still Don't Know Why.

After all, it has been 14 years since Jones burst on the scene with the lovely jazz-tinged piano pop of Come Away With Me, which landed her five Grammys and more than 11 million sales. She has experimented with country, folk, Everly Brothers covers, punk rock and a bit of electronic music in the intervening years and those choices still inform her music.

Jones is a far more seasoned songwriter now, as seen in the sultry, poetic "Burn," the angry protest of "Flipside," and the patient first single "Carry On" with its gorgeous New Orleans vibe. And she can still deliver a knockout ballad like "It's a Wonderful Time for Love," while holding her own with greats like saxophonist Wayne Shorter in a classic like Duke Ellington's "Fleurette Africaine."

While Come Away With Me is the work of an undeniable talent, Day Breaks is the work of a master.

Hot tracks: "Burn," "Flipside," "It's a Wonderful Time for Love"

-- GLENN GAMBOA

Newsday (TNS)

BEric Johnson

EJ

Provogue/Mascot

Texas guitar hero Eric Johnson concentrates on piano, acoustic guitar and intimate ballads on EJ, a quieter effort with oscillating results.

Covering Jimi Hendrix, Les Paul and Simon & Garfunkel amid a set of original instrumentals and sung ballads, Johnson's patented fluid runs and clean tones provide the usual six-string excellence.

Whether on steel strings -- the rings-like-a-bell tones of "Once Upon a Time in Texas" and the playfulness of "Mrs. Robinson" -- or the nylons of "Serinidad," Johnson's guitar playing is never less than mesmerizing. On his guitar duet with Doyle Dykes on "The World Is Waiting for the Sunshine," you can practically feel the warm rays.

Johnson's vocals work well enough on ballads like the tender "Wonder" and the Stephen Duffy-like "Wrapped in a Cloud." But they falter on "Scarborough Fair," distracting from the otherwise dynamic, piano-led arrangement.

If "Water Under the Bridge" sounds a bit like Christopher Cross, it's only natural as they've both guested on each other's records, while Johnson plays a jazzy piano solo to carry "One Rainy Wish" -- from Hendrix's Axis: Bold as Love -- away from the original's psychedelic universe.

Hot tracks: "Once Upon a Time in Texas," "Serinidad"

-- PABLO GORONDI

The Associated Press

Style on 10/18/2016

Upcoming Events