| Page
1 / 2 / 3 - Home
On
MeShell Ndegeocello presents The
Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel
(Shanachie), acclaimed bassist and singer/songwriter MeShell
Ndegeocello shifts gears for an album of daring
jazz explorations. While her previous albums have all been infused
with the mettle of jazz, Ndegeocello explores her jazz jones to
the fullest on this disc.
 |
One-woman-band
Sandra Grace wrestles with matters of the
heart on her eponymous debut disc (sandragrace.tripod.com).
She poses the musical question “what do I do?”
on “This Attraction,” a richly layered harmonic
track, and addresses the question of whether or not a lover
knows how much she loves them on “Here With You.”
It’s
not all bouquets and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates as you
can hear on “Epiphany” (on which she is accompanied
by Zecarlos and Walker T. Pettibone), and Grace displays a
wicked good sense of humor on the “bad New Yawk accent
remix” of the funky and funny dance track “Do
You Have A Lover?” |
Recorded
live at Theatre Building Chicago, The Story Goes On…
(LMGKidsource), the live CD by acclaimed actress and cabaret vocalist
Alexandra Billings had the daunting task of capturing
the electric and eclectic performer’s bountiful energy, and
it is, for the most part successful. Highlights include “It
Goes Like It Goes,” “The Music That Makes Me Dance,”
“Angels, Punks and Raging Queens” and Billings’s
duet with Stephen Rader on “The Grass Is Always Greener.”
With
same-sex marriage still the hot button issue it was at the time
of the 2004 election, the LGBT music community continues to mine
it as a source of musical inspiration. Green & Root’s
“Marrying You” is one example. Another is “Outlaw
Wedding,” by Outmusic Award-winning lesbian folk duo Wishing
Chair. The song from the pair’s new album Underdog
(Terrakin) celebrates the Kentucky-based couple’s wedding
with wit and wisdom.
Continuing
in the political vein, “Bully Circus,” goes after the
current political administration and their friends in the media
all to a Klezmer beat.
I
admit to being a bit of a worrier, especially when it comes to musical
acts that I admire. When Indigo Girls released
their “Retrospective” hits compilation in 2000, I worried
that it was a sign that they were being pushed out by Epic Records,
their record label. Of course I worried for naught as two more Indigo
Girls discs, Become You and All That We Let In, followed in the
coming years.
But
that hasn’t stopped me from raising a concerned eyebrow
with the release of Rarities (Epic).
Mind
you, I’m not complaining. I love being able to have
tracks such as “Clampdown” (from the Burning
London Clash tribute disc), “I Don’t Want
To Talk About It” (from the Philadelphia soundtrack),
“Free Of Hope” (from the Sweet Relief II
Vic Chesnutt tribute disc), “Uncle John’s Band”
(from the Deadicated Grateful Dead tribute disc),
and “It Won’t Take Long” (from the Spirit
of ’73 Rock For Choice Benefit disc) all in one
place. |
 |
I’m
also grateful for the assorted live versions and outtakes, as well
as the incredible remixes of “Shed Your Skin” (by Tom
Morello) and “Free In You” (by Dave Cooley), that show
the Indigos in a new light.
I
just hope that this doesn’t signal some closet cleaning by
the label.
|
