Album Reviews

AIR
10,000HZ Legend
(Astralwerks)
Much to the apparent chagrin of longtime Air fanatics, 10,000HZ Legend is the French duo's pop record. Why this is some sort of betrayal is a mystery, as songwriters/instrumentalists Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin write and perform the same kind of dreamy, languorous melodies they always have. Now they have lyrics and vocals, both from guests and the electronically-altered auteurs, that's all. Joined by tour drummer Brian Reitzell, the duo uses analog synths, electric pianos and subtle touches of guitar to conjure up tuneful soundscapes than engage the brain (and the libido) more and more with every pass. The warm, intimate sound is immediately appealing—the musicians sound like they're performing in the room with you. "How Does It Make You Feel?" stands out with its Dark Side of the Moon verses and Beatles harmony choruses, but "Don't Be Light," "People in the City," "Lucky and Unhappy," with Lisa Papineau, and "The Vagabond," starring Beck, will also get the smile-muscles working. For those seeking old school Air, the orchestrally-enhanced "Radian" and brooding "Caramel Prisoner" will bring back memories of the band's soundtrack for The Virgin Suicides. 10,000HZ Legend is the work of a band eager to progress able to do it gracefully and successfully. Michael Toland

For fans of: Kraftwerk, White Town, Alpha

ROBERT BERRY
A Soundtrack For The Wheel of Time
(Magna Carta)
Exactly as billed, this record is a soundtrack for the best-selling fantasy novels called The Wheel of Time—it's even authorized by series scribe Robert Jordan. Produced, written and largely performed by Robert Berry (best known for the Emerson, Lake & Palmer spinoff 3), it's remarkable for its earnestness and craft. Aided by Tempest leader Lief Sorbye on mandolin and former Tempest bow-wielder Michael Mullen on the fiddle, Berry weaves Celtic folk, classical and progressive rock into a seamless blend. Unfortunately, it can be a vastly annoying brew, as its bombast more often than not outstrips its unimaginative melodic invention. Too many of these pieces strain to sound like the kind of anthems that inspire the legions into battle but come off instead as simply silly. The only song that sustains any kind of appeal is "Song For Moiraine," which, tellingly, is co-written and dominated by Sorbye. Indiscriminate fans of swords 'n' sorcery epics may find this gratifying, but even soundtrack and prog fanatics will be better off reading the books in blissful silence. Michael Toland

For fans of: Glass Hammer, Mannheim Steamroller, Highlander

DOYLE BRAMHALL II & SMOKESTACK
Welcome
(RCA)
Classic radio rock as any kind of musical genre has been pretty much dead in the water since the 80s. It's difficult to imagine any great art, or anything of any interest at all, coming out of the milieu of blues-based arena rock. In the early 90s the Arc Angels and Ian Moore tried valiantly to breathe life into that stiffened corpse, but were too hemmed in by the limitations of the style and the expectations of their audiences*. All of which makes Welcome, the third album from ex-Angel Doyle Bramhall II, incredibly refreshing. After spending his last couple of records proving that he's more than just a crowd-pleasing guitar slinger, here he fully embraces that facet of his personality with a high-energy set equal parts songcraft and firepower. Bramhall alternates between strangling and caressing his ax, coaxing the kind of burning licks most guitar heroes would give their lucky picks for, but never overdoing it, always pulling back just before things become preposterous. "Green Light Girl" explodes out of the gate with a memorable riff and runaway train momentum; the later "Soul Shaker" builds up a similar head of steam. There's more to Bramhall than six-string pyrotechnics, however, as he proves with soulful singing on ballads like "Send Some Love," "Cry" and "So You Want It to Rain." The songs themselves stand several heads and shoulders above the usual fare that hogs the main stage, and Bramhall knows how to use his honeysteel croon and flying fingers to bring out the best aspects of his meaty melodies. Add to all this the speaker-throbbing crackle of a well-rehearsed band performing live in the studio and you've got a record that could make AOR fun again. Michael Toland

For fans of: Derek & the Dominos, Ian Moore, Mother Superior

SCOTT MCGILL/MICHAEL MANRING/VIC STEVENS
Addition By Subtraction
(Free Electric Sound)
It's hard to find a record these days that's straight fusion, not some variation with pop or funk overtones and guest singers. It's even harder to find one that's good. Fortunately, the third album from guitarist Scott McGill is both. McGill, along with drummer Vic Stevens and monster bassist Michael Manring, proffers nothing less than 14 tracks of burning progressive jazz rock. The arrangements are complex, the melodies jazz-derived and the energy pure rock. McGill's finger-stretching riffs and Manring's hyperactive fretless licks coalesce into a glistening spider web of sound, just barely grounded by Stevens' kit work. Guest Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater adds some tinkling of the plastics on a few tracks, but it's McGill and Manring's show. The band's high-energy, high-density approach makes for a challenging listen and, stretched over 70 minutes, an exhausting one as well. Taken in small doses however, Addition By Subtraction is damned impressive. Michael Toland

For fans of: Allan Holdsworth, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Fire Merchants

RAINRAVENS
One Last Saturday Night
(Rainravens)
In Austin, Texas, a city that worships at the feet of Alejandro Escovedo, Andy Van Dyke, singer and principle songwriter in the Rainravens, has been churning out good material for longer than he would probably admit. On the band's fourth CD his songs hint at burgeoning maturity, optimism and intimacy. "We got everything but money/I call that everything," he sings on "Everything (But Money)," a sweet, natural sentiment. "Spin You Around" casts a similar spell, as he sings, "We ride away into the night toward the glow of city lights."

Van Dyke's pen can also stroke sadness quite effectively. "Now the sun shines down in a new way/And it feels like something's gone," he sings in the title track, with tasty slide guitar here and there. And "Love to Burn" could be today's Southern sequel to "Love for Sale." It's mesmerizing stuff as he sings, almost whispering, "Two hearts on fire together could melt this icy town," as sparse piano and throaty bass create an almost Keith Jarrett vibe behind him.

Van Dyke's voice is all character, whiskey-soaked, dirty and dusty. It's perfect for the Rainravens' soulful understatement: too smart to be country, too professional to be alt-country, too twangy to be rock, and too serious to be Southern-fried. Don't worry about what you call it, because after one listen this one will call you. Brian Briscoe

For fans of: Jack Ingram, Bruce Robison, Rodney Crowell