Album Reviews

ROBIN EUBANKS & MENTAL IMAGES
Get 2 It
(Robin Eubanks Music)
Jazz composer Robin Eubanks has carved out a versatile career on a not so versatile instrument: the trombone. Actually, the 'bone's bad rep as the musical equivalent of flatulence is undeserved. In the hands of a skilled operator like J.J. Johnson or Benny Green, the trombone has the same stylistic range, from fluid beauty to raucous noise, as a saxophone. Eubanks is a master manipulator of the valve horn, and Get 2 It shows off the breadth and depth of his talent. He walks the New Orleans second line in "RNB - First Take," works a Pat Metheny vibe on "Cross Currents," strikes a Charles Mingus note on the dense "Sabanna" and gets funky on the title track. He also stretches out on electric 'bone (who knew there was such a thing?), which gives him the ability not only to imitate a guitar (as on "Blues For Jimi") but also the human voice (in "REM State"). He brings all the elements together for the stunning opener "Metamorphos," which is surely destined to become his signature tune. Add the ensemble work of his band Mental Images and guest shots from notables like bassist Dave Holland, percussionist Mino Cinelu and his guitarist brother Kevin and you have an album of awesome power and sheer musicality. Get 2 It. Get with it. Get it. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Ray Anderson, Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition, Steve Coleman

GARY MYRICK
Waltz of the Scarecrow King
(Tangible)
From new wave rocker in the 80s with the Figures to Latino reggaebilly flash in the 90s with Havana 3 A.M., Dallas native Gary Myrick has led a long and checkered career just under the radar of a mainstream audience. His latest incarnation as an acoustic balladeer may not make him any wealthier financially, but it's definitely making him richer artistically. Though known in some circles as a six-string hotshot, here Myrick's picking unselfishly serves the tunes. Backed only by sparse strings, he strips his playing down to the bare essentials, ignoring any stylistic constraints his past might place on him and simply concentrates on the songs. In his dry-as-dust voice he relates the effects of "The Ghost of Elvis," pays homage to the "Scarecrow King" and warns that "Fame is Dangerous." The record's apex is the thoughtful, melodic "Time," a meditation of the titular concept that's neither sentimental nor cynical. It's an honest statement about the passing of years with hard-earned wisdom and a lovely melody. Waltz of the Scarecrow King is a delightful surprise and an understated gem. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Cat Stevens, Peter Case, Tom Freund

GRAHAM PARKER
Deepcut to Nowhere
(Razor & Tie)
Living in Savannah, GA has its perks. Magnolia-bedecked squares, redolent living and gin and tonics on the verandah—don't feel sorry for me. Yet, when I need to get away from this lovely, cloying existence, how do I manage it? Well, if I depended on the kindness of strangers at the Savannah airport, the answer would be nowhere. Two airlines with exorbitant fees. What is a poor girl to do? Depend on the kindness of the Jacksonville airport! Southwest flies almost everywhere I want to go.

Why this anecdote, other than lulling the reader into a false sense of my Southerness? Listening to the new Graham Parker CD Deepcut to Nowhere salves my soul and reminds me again with the song "I'll Never Play Jacksonville" that Southerness is a state of mind, not geography. And Graham Parker rivals the best for Southern storytelling. Rain, floods and general calamity intertwine with chunky chords and Southern lyricism on this disk. "I'll Never Play Jacksonville" rivals some of his best tunes on the seminal Squeezing Out Sparks, giving me the same chills that cover my flesh when I listen to Elvis Costello or John Hiatt. Exquisite. "Syphilis and Religion" hearkens to the best that harmonica can be—accompanying, swaying, blending.

If you drive 15 more miles east from Savannah you will be at the end of the continent. The track "Last Stop Is Nowhere" evokes a late afternoon out on Tybee Island waiting for the tide to go out, wind whipping my hair around my eyes while trying to discern the signs of rain. Lonely, bereft, his spare vocals and subtle arrangements are stark and desolate to the marrow. Deepcut to Nowhere reminds me that there is nowhere I would rather be. Blythe Christopher [buy it]

For fans of: Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, John Hiatt

IGGY POP
Beat 'em Up
(Virgin)
All you have to do is look at the song titles on Beat 'em Up, Iggy Pop's umpteenth record, to see where the Iguana is coming from. "Howl," "The Jerk," "Go For the Throat," "Ugliness" and, of course, "It's All Shit" indicate a songwriting session that took place directly after someone urinated in the former James Osterberg's breakfast cereal. After exploring new, atmospheric sounds on his previous platter, the reflective Avenue B, Pop apparently feels the need to remind us of his huevos. This kind of attitude shift should be a good thing; after all, Iggy Pop and a bad attitude go together like jalapeños and chili. Alas, here the Igster may be ranting for all the wrong reasons. Rather than sounding genuinely pissed off, he comes off as an over-the-hill veteran trying a bit too hard to prove that he can go toe-to-toe with the young bucks. Rather than revitalize his vintage rock & roll sound, as he's done in recent years with 1996's underrated Naughty Little Doggie and his remix of the classic Raw Power, he instead works the already well-worn territory staked out by the latest generation of young white males. The buzzing metal riffs and thunderous drumming sounds more of a piece with the latest nü-metal gang playing the second stage at Ozzfest than his own past work. Fronting a competent but colorless hard rock band, Iggy spits up the usual amounts of bitterness and bile to no audible purpose, other than to prove he still can. Too many songs sound like a Korn clone with Iggy Pop as guest vocalist, and it doesn't help that nearly every track is twice as long as it needs to be. As the creator of some of the most brutal and primal rock & roll in music history, Iggy shouldn't feel the need to prove anything to anyone. All Beat 'em Up demonstrates is that he can follow trends as well as the next moron. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Korn, Metallica, Limp Bizkit

TOOL
Lateralus
(Volcano)
Five years after the dense Aenima, Tool's most fully realized statement of purpose, comes Lateralus. The new CD is, indeed, a lateral move more than anything else, a likely and logical companion to Aenima. The fact that no new ground is covered, thematically or sonically, should not be considered a detriment so much as a testament to where the bar was previously set.

Lateralus is stuffed to the gills with the focused loathing and pathos, whipcrack sonic maneuvers and queasy uneasiness that define Tool. Opener "The Grudge" lays it down pronto. "Wear the grudge like a crown of negativity," sings Maynard James Keenan, and seven minutes in he unleashes a primordial roar like no other. One track down, seventy more minutes of sonic catharsis to go.

Song after song, Tool marches out the stuff we've been waiting for. Keenan's voice is versatile, an instrument that's equal parts vulnerability and venom. "Schism" is the song getting radio play, with its impossible time signature and squirmy bass. "Parabola" thrives on its loping groove, tribal drums and juggernaut guitar. "Ticks and Leeches" is epic in its obscene anger—call your local classic rock station and dare them to play this as a twofer with Aenima's "Hooker with a Penis." That would be some hapless DJ's ticket to the unemployment line.

Over the course of a CD this ambitious and lengthy, occasional stretches lapse into unfocused meandering, but who cares? Tool carves out an inimitable sonic battery, a painfully beautiful noise. Brian Briscoe [buy it]

For fans of: Jane's Addiction, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, Alice in Chains