Rod Stewart Time Capitol A
The bright opening of “She Makes Me Happy,” with jangling instrumentation reminiscent of 1971’s “Mandolin Wind,” announces a welcome return to form for veteran rocker Rod Stewart. Time, featuring 12 songs - 11 written and produced by the spike-haired Brit superstar - takes fans back to his rip-roaring Gasoline Alley days, before he became enamored of material like 1977’s syrupy “Tonight’s the Night” and classic crooners on The Great American Songbook series of releases.
The new album is a celebration of his career with songs like “Can’t Stop Me Now,” a lyrical chronicle of his rocky but ultimately successful journey to the top of the charts, along with happy, beat-driven music that reflects a sense of satisfaction with love, family and life in general.
Along with energetic tunes kicking with high spirits, Stewart tackles a tough subject with poetic justice in “It’s Over,” the story of a marriage made in heaven that falls from grace after five years: “All the plans we had together/Up in smoke and gone forever/Poisoned by the lawyer’s letter/It’s over.”
And there’s a sad, sweet ode to lost love in “Brighton Beach,” setting the mood with its opening lines: “I remember when you were only 17/You were the finest girl that my eyes had ever seen/I guess you found it hard to simply just ignore/This scruffy beatup working-class teenage troubadour.”
The lyrics are so natural and comfortable that you’ll be singing along before you know it. Just like you used to do with “Maggie May.”
Hot tracks: “Brighton Beach,” “Beautiful Morning,” “Picture in a Frame.” - KAREN MARTIN Whale Fire Before You RunSelf released A
The first three songs on this album are so good you fear for the tracks that come next. From the springy opening guitar notes of “Dream of Me” through the driving“Wild Eyed Mistake” and the drama of “The Fabric,” this triumvirate is a bracing start to this fabulous debut full-length presentation from Little Rock’s Whale Fire.
We’re happy to report that the other six songs, radio-friendly indie pop anthems with introspective touches, hold up just as well. “Before You Run?” Nah, this band has hit the ground at a full sprint.
Hot tracks: Those first three, of course, the sneaky “U Will Find” and the sprawling album closer, “All Gone, All Along.” - SEAN CLANCY Randy Rogers Band TroubleMCAB-
You might not realize it until you hit the guest appearance by Willie Nelson, but the hard-touring Randy Rogers Band is going all in on this release. As far as standard country rock albums go, Trouble certainly has its charms and has a fair number of songs that stand out. The greatest is “Fuzzy,” the post-party anthem with a dirty sound that differs greatly from the rest of these straight-down-the-line tunes. But the melodies aren’t that sharp and the lyrics strain just to put a nominal spin on overdone country tropes.
Attractive in parts, for sure, but the sum is just not that satisfying.
Hot track: “Fuzzy.” -WERNER TRIESCHMANN Andrea McArdle 70s and Sunny: Live at54 Below 54 BelowB
Broadway’s original Annie shares her love for New York, the 1970s, and New York in the 1970s in this live recording.
Her brassy Broadway voice might not be to everyone’s tastes, but it fits well with these songs. She throws in some pop numbers like “Native New Yorker” and “Angry Young Man,” but it’s on Broadway numbers like “Nothing” from A Chorus Line and “Wherever He Ain’t” from Mack & Mabel that she’s at her best.
Naturally, she has a unique perspective on New York, the 1970s and show business, given her child-stage-star status, and she shares some of her stories with the audience.
And, yes, she sings “Tomorrow.”
Hot tracks: “Fallin’/Being Alive,” “Wherever He Ain’t,” “Nothing.” - JENNIFER NIXONKeaton Henson BirthdaysAnti-A-
Keaton Henson knowswhat it’s like to be the sad man, behind blue eyes. While I don’t know how much of his cover story - that he suffers from debilitating social anxiety, which prevents him from playing many live shows and often keeps him from going out at all - is legend-mongering, he’s made a couple of beautifully delicate, starkly depressive falsetto albums that might be received like passive-aggressive suicide notes if not for the finely wrought art.
This time, he allows more instrumentation than he did on his debut Dears, but the main attraction is still his naked, fragile Sufjan Stevens/ Elliott Smith death needle and his gently stroked electric guitar.
Hot tracks: “10am, Gare du Nord,” which includes the key line, “Please do not hurt me/ I am a fragile one,” while “Kronos” is a relative rave-up. - PHILIP MARTINLunasa Lunasa With the RTEConcert Orchestra Lunasa RecordsA
The temptation to crank up the volume after hearing the opening notes of this album will be strong. Don’t resist. Just do it.
The recording, in which the howling passion of traditional Irish pipes, whistles and fiddles bounds over a cushy bed of instrumentation provided by Ireland’s national orchestra, is meant to dominate. This isn’t background music. This is the star of the show.
Unlike many other Celtic bands, Lunasa doesn’t tempt listeners with several evocative instrumentals before launching into vocals that, while pleasant enough, are seldom as powerful. No singing here. Just spirited acoustic tunes from performers who are masters of their instruments.
The tasteful addition of horns, strings and percussion by the orchestra provides depth to the contemporary and traditional compositions that have roots not only in Ireland but in Spain, Scotland and Brittany.
Lunasa, a hot property on the Celtic music scene since 1997, is made up of Kevin Crawford (flutes), Sean Smyth (fiddle and low whistles), Trevor Hutchinson (double bass), Cillian Vallely (uilleann pipes and low whistles) and Ed Boyd (guitar). The orchestra is part of the Irish national broadcasting station Raidio Teilifis Eireann.
Hot tracks: “Morning Nightcap,” “Casu,” “The Last Pint.” - KAREN MARTIN
Style, Pages 34 on 05/14/2013