High Bias aural fixations
December 2, 2001

BIG ASS TRUCK
The Rug
(Terminus)
The Rug Is funk really so hard to do? Big Ass Truck misfires on all cylinders. Sure the band has opened for Fishbone, 311, and Medeski Martin and Wood over their seven-year career. The press material for The Rug, their fifth CD, gleefully points out that the band only had "two and a half songs" written when they hit the studio, and that the rest "emerged spontaneously during recording." In the spirit of spontaneity, perhaps a review will emerge from the notes I gathered from repeated listens to this CD:

So the overall impression is that this is mostly wooden funkzak with pervasive electronic hoo-ha that in no way complements the material. Brian Briscoe [buy it]

For fans of: Mannheim Steamroller, the Moog Cookbook, Emerson, Lake and Palmer

DON DILEGO
The Lonestar Hitchhiker
(Kingcut)
"Based on a True Story" reads the back cover of The Lonestar Hitchhiker, and with a quick scan of the song titles (like "Travelogue," "The Vegas Man," "Border Song, "Texas Motel"), the listener is prepared for a musical journey. Don DiLego's debut proclaims his strengths and weaknesses with equal clarity. DiLego has a knack for putting together a mishmash of acoustic instruments and electronic sounds that recalls Beck or Fred Eaglesmith. He certainly has a streak of pop songster in him; "Nicotine Prom Queen", with its sweet harmony vocals and honkytonk piano, exhibits a Jellyfish-like flair. "The Vegas Man" is a nouveau-Western guitar and electronica toe-tapper with sugary falsetto vocals.

For a "travelogue" CD, though, there's not much meat to this story. Themes, people and places are portrayed in charcoal instead of color. The title track, with its chugging slide guitar and mid-fi percussion, poses as an overture. "Would you like to take a ride/Take me for a drive?" sings DiLego, though the anecdotes never come to light. On "New Road," he relates "I had somehow found a drink in my hand/Face to face with a blind man who showed me the way." We never find out how he got the drink, or what direction or lesson "the way" is.

DiLego is a respectable singer who knocks out a fine melody as long as he's pushing his voice and not bleating the low notes. He's also got a knack for piecing together disparate elements to create a raucous sound collage. Unfortunately, his songwriting serves only to tease instead of satisfy. (And by the way, on the uncredited twelfth track, a jazzy instrumental, that scratchy album sound is superimposed; it's time for musicians and producers to realize that this little trick is tiresome.) Brian Briscoe

For fans of: Fred Eaglesmith, Brendan Benson, Beck's Odelay

JEFFREY HALFORD AND THE HEALERS
Hunkpapa
(Shoeless)
Hunkpapa Hunkpapa opens impressively with a couple of lightning fast guitar runs from guitarist/singer/songwriter Jeffrey Halford. Unfortunately it quickly descends into a realm of unimpressive roots rock we've all heard before—fairly basic blues-rock song constructions, no crazy key changes or time changes, and usual enough roots rock lyrical subject matter. You've heard this all before: a song about Memphis, a couple about murder, a nostalgic look or two back at the good old days, even a song about baseball.

The best songs showcase San Francisco-based Halford's decent slide guitar playing and his adequate storytelling skills. But most of the time it sounds as if he has yet to find his musical stride or identity. He tries on the blues-rock, folk rock, and roots rock hats, but none of them seem to fit perfectly. His voice can sound a bit plastic at times; singing about such gritty and passionate subjects might benefit from either direct experience or a believable narrator's tone, neither of which Halford convincingly conveys through his voice.

Hunkpapa is a worthwhile listen and Halford is obviously a talented artist, but roots rock purists might be better off throwing some Dylan, Uncle Tupelo or old Big Head Todd and the Monsters into the CD changer and waxing philosophic on those instead. Ben A. Johnston [buy it]

For fans of: John Mellencamp, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan

THE HELIO SEQUENCE
Young Effectuals
(Cavity Search)
Young Effectuals, the second album by Beaverton, OR duo the Helio Sequence, is not so much a departure from as it is an alteration of the formula introduced on the debut album Com Plex. Guitarist/vocalist Brandon Summers and keyboardist/drummer Benjamin Weikel are still earnestly trying to combine and recombine the mid-fi sound of the current psychedelic revival with the British shoegazer and arena pop they so obviously love. The difference between this record and the previous one is that the appealing melodies take a back seat to a hairnet of electronic noise. Like Sparklehorse, the Sequence can't seem to let an otherwise sharp song pass by without adding on all sorts of whooshes, beeps, buzzes, blips and distortion. They also seem to be suffering from an inability to tell when a song should end; otherwise strong tunes like "Knots" and "[Square] Bubbles" outstay their welcomes. That said, the album contains some fine songs—"Give, Give, Give," "Nothing's OK: Everything's Fine" and the epic "Cut the Camera" are particularly impressive—and no amount of noise can obscure the duo's winsome sense of melody. Repeat listens reveal new charms, so patience is definitely a virtue for contact with Young Effectuals. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Olivia Tremor Control, the Stone Roses, the Flying Saucers

CHRIS LEE
plays & sings torch'd songs, charivari hymns & oriki blue-marches
(Smells Like)
plays and sings It's with no small amount of tact that one must approach the real, deep-down gut reaction to Chris Lee. See, it only takes one spin of this heartfelt, soulful dream-waltz to start to hope that Lee will assume the Jeff Buckley throne.

But let's back up. On plays & sings, his second CD, Lee's gorgeous, versatile tenor is wrapped in horns and acoustic bass and organic guitar tones, lending an atmosphere of a special gathering of creative minds. And without this earnestness and abandon, he might not be able to pull off lyrics like "I need a hog between my thighs/A steed of steel to share the ride" ("Lonesome Eyes"). "Mount Venus" sounds like midnight in a bottle, a whispered, eyes-closed-tight voice and guitar gift to a lover. "The Politics of Sway," with touches of falsetto and an airy, busybody sidestick groove, is so thick with cool it will surely be nicked as some rapper's sample someday. Neil Young's "On the Beach" is right at home, milking the alone-in-a-crowd vibe with subtlety and heart. The CD makes its point in about a half hour, thankfully, and doesn't stretch to capacity simply to use disc space.

So yes, Lee explores some of the same dynamics and instincts as Buckley, but his own vision is clearly what's at work here. Plays & sings does more than comfort and seduce; it leaves a brilliant thumbprint. Brian Briscoe [buy it]

For fans of: Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, Van Morrison

MARIO PAVONE OCTET
Totem Blues
(Knitting Factory)
Big Apple jazz bassist/composer Mario Pavone follows up Remembering Thomas, a tribute to his late partner Thomas Chapin, with Totem Blues, a straightforward octet date featuring his own compositions. He's a remarkable four-stringer, taking excellent advantage of his instrument's woody qualities as he lays down the grooves and spikes the cuts with forceful solos. He's a playful, melodic writer, adding grin-inducing sonic touches to his memorable tunes. As impressive as Pavone is on the upright and the sheet music, however, his real talent is as a bandleader. Like Charles Mingus, his most obvious inspiration, he uses his seven musicians as an instrument of his compositional will. Three saxes, two trombones, piano and drums come together with the bass as if played by the same person. From the hot post-bop of "New Socks" to the atmospheric textures of "Bello Avo Fero" and the bluesy drive of "Totem," Pavone and band exhibit buckets of musical invention, passion and just plain ol' good vibes. Pavone proves himself a worthy heir to the Mingus legacy without overtly aping the master. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Charles Mingus, the Dave Holland Quintet, early Sun Ra

STEVE VAI
Alive in an Ultra World
(Epic)
Alive in an Ultra World It's the right time in the career of guitar virtuoso Steve Vai for a concert album, but his creative restlessness doesn't allow him to simply record live versions of his greatest hits. Instead he quickly wrote and rehearsed 15 new songs inspired by the countries he visited during his millennial world tour, recording them at soundchecks and shows. Alive in an Ultra World contains fifteen tunes spread over two disks, and is one of Vai's most ambitious and satisfying albums. Rather than try to forcefeed each region's ethnic melodies into his hard rock/prog approach, Vai allows certain native tonalities to color the music, giving an impression of a culture instead of an impersonation. Only "Babushka," the song inspired by Romania, is overt about its ethnic focus. Mostly Vai and his crack band caress, frisk and manhandle some strong melodies to the delight of enthusiastic crowds. Vai can be surprisingly sentimental ("Being With You (in Paris)," "Light of the Moon"), but his muscular tone usually keeps even his sappiest tunes out of trouble. Alas, the same can't always be said for his lead breaks, which are the reason for the existence of a million guitar geeks. He's quite good at playing catchy riffs with enough subtle variations to avoid repetition, but his solos quickly descend into anonymous wankery, and his guitar tech really ought to rip the whammy bars off all his instruments. Overall, though, this is not a bad disk; it's a tribute to Vai's artistic integrity that he would do something like this in the first place. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Bozzio Levin Stevens, Gordian Knot, the G3 tour

VARIOUS ARTISTS
World Playground 2
(Putumayo World)
World Playground 2 The second release in Putumayo's award-winning cultural and educational world music series for children is just plain wonderful. As any lover of music will understand, there's a lot of crap out there not only in popular music, but in EVERY type of music. Putumayo culls through the mediocre and offers sparkling gems that show how fun world music can be.

The album not only offers the obligatory African/Latin American/Caribbean tunes, but little-heard music from such countries as Canada (sounds like Cajun and tastes like chicken), Algeria and India. Baka Beyond's Cameroon-inspired "Adukbe" kicks things off with a bang. "Old McDonald" mixes with reggae in Xtatik's "Music Farm," and Toots & the Maytals touch on a more serious note with "Freedom Train," a song inspired by the Underground Railroad. There's the silly—the Barachois, Acadian romp "La Marmotteuse"—and the exotic, including Djamel Allam's "Nezha" and Lucky Ali's "Teri Yaadein." One band that invites further exploration is La Sonora Dinamita, one of the biggest cumbia bands in Colombia. "A Mover La Colita" ("Move Your Little Tail") is a great little song that does just what it says. It all ends with a remake of the international hit "Pata Pata 2000" by Miriam Makeba, who has performed with such musicians as Harry Belafonte and Paul Simon.

In a world that's shrinking and where children (and adults) are burdened with images of violence and hate, it's refreshing albums such as this that make it fun to be and feel like a kid. So turn this one on and shake your "colita." Kelli Briscoe [buy it]

For fans of: Lady Blacksmith Mambazo, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel

Copyright © 2001 High Bias

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