The Dave Matthews Band has long been a joy for some, an irritant to others — musically gifted yet too often self-indulgent. The band’s albums tend to be less about songs than chops and Matthews’ persona of smoothness and warmth.
His 2003 solo album, the otherwise uneven “Some Devil,” showed increased focus and power, even straying occasionally into darkness. The experience seems to have guided the bandleader to trim back on the noodling that’s hobbled DMB in the past. The album opens with Matthews purring like Peter Gabriel on the promising “Dreamgirl,” and sounding right at home. Other arrangements are also more satisfying, beginning with a wailing sax melody on “Stand Up (for It).”
That soon gives way to a lengthy instrumental intro to “American Baby,” which begins with a lonely piano melody set against the found sounds of gunfire — a juxtaposition full of emotion and implication. But Matthews is still inclined to soften the rougher edges, more lover than fighter (“The first time I kissed you, I lost my legs”), drifting into smooth R&B or the island flavors of “Old Dirt Hill.” Pleasant enough for dinner music or your next jam-band fest, but anyone encouraged by the grit of “Some Devil” will find far less of it here.
- Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times
Lucinda Williams
‘Live @ the Fillmore’
In general, recent live albums by country artists have tended to focus almost as much on the rapturous crowd noise as the music — as if hearing the hoots and hollers allows the fan to enjoy a sense-around experience, minus the drunken idiot behind you who whoops it up in between Budweiser belches — but Lucinda Williams is a different kind of country artist.
There are no fist-pumping anthems on “Live @ the Fillmore,” and the crowd seemingly hangs on every word the storied songwriter sings, politely allowing Williams to do what she does best: Deliver her muted, poetic songs about the struggles of everyday life in her hardscrabble voice. The sound on the record is crystalline, and Williams’ famously tight band backs her with bare-bones instrumentation that bestows upon such standouts as “Ventura,” the aching “Fruits of My Labor” and “Bus to Baton Rouge” a minimalist quality that haunts the edges of Williams’ songs. One of Americana's best writers, the Louisiana native's Faulknerian Southern tales are wonderful in the studio, but Williams’ reading of the songs on “Live @ the Fillmore” is, if possible, even more powerful.
- Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out
Smokey Robinson
‘My World: The Definitive Collection’
The first compilation to bring together Smokey Robinson's ’60s hits with The Miracles and his solo successes since, “My World” is an excellent primer on one of the greatest singers and songwriters in pop and R&B history. Two new songs — “My World” and “Fallin’ ” — start the disc and show that both Smokey's writing and voice are still in fine form. Of course, they can't hold a candle to classics such as “The Tears of a Clown,” “I Second That Emotion” and “Cruisin’,” all of which are included, but they're not embarrassments either.
One of the architects of the original Motown sound, Robinson's never been accorded the same accolades as peers Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, but he richly deserves them. The 21 tracks on “My World” show why.
- Thomas Bond, Get Out
The Wrights
‘Down This Road’
That Adam Wright is country superstar Alan Jackson's nephew might cause one to muse on the benefits of nepotism in Nashville, but from the opening strains of the title cut it is apparent that this husband-and-wife duo didn't need uncle Alan to grease the wheels for them. This is a terrific slice of neo-traditionalist country that AJ himself would approve of. Wright and his wife, vocalist Shannon, wrote or co-wrote with each other every track on the disc, and the duo clearly knows how to craft a good country tune — there is sadness, humor and a clever dash of marital back-and-forth duets that recall the days of the ill-fated George Jones and Tammy Wynette professional and marital union in Nashville's golden era.
Adam has a fine tenor and Shannon's vocals are high and sweet, making the harmonies on this disc top notch, and Adam proves himself a terrific guitarist on the bluesy “On the Rocks.” The gorgeous, catchy “Butterflies” sounds like a surefire hit, as does the marriage-themed “Do You Love Me,” but the finest cut on the record is “You Got the Thorns,” a clever duet where the lovers tell each other “you got the thorns, and I got the rose.” A fine debut.
- Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out
Weezer
‘Make Believe’
It's been three years since Weezer released the disappointing “Maladroit.” During that time, frontman Rivers Cuomo returned to Harvard (he has yet to graduate). He's been celibate for the last two years and has been meditating a heck of a lot. These elements undoubtedly factor into the band's fifth album, “Make Believe,” Weezer's sincerest effort to date. In fact, the disc reads as a diary at times and provides insight into the enigma that is Rivers Cuomo.
Take the gem “Perfect Situation” — the CD's standout track — where Cuomo sings “What's the deal with my brain/why am I so obviously insane?” Other telling songs include “Pardon Me,” an apology to everyone the singer's ever pained and “The Other Way,” where Cuomo reflects on his insecurities.
The group's poppy single, “Beverly Hills,” which is reminiscent of Good Charlotte's “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” seems out of place on the album. Sure, it's catchy and screams radio single, but it seems like it was thrown in for good measure more than anything. We can get past that, however. With the assistance of über-producer Rick Rubin, “Make Believe,” which may take a few good listens to really catch on, is Weezer's most polished album to date. And the tightest they've sounded since the critically ignored “Pinkerton.”
- Kelly Wilson, Get Out
Dierks Bentley
‘Modern Day Drifter’
Phoenix native Dierks Bentley, whose platinum debut album launched two Top 10 singles, including the No. 1 smash “What Was I Thinkin’,” comes out swinging on his follow-up record in hopes of avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump. The lead track, “Lot of Leavin’ Left to Do,” is a lively outlaw country-rocker that would have done Bentley's idol Waylon Jennings proud, and the tune sets the tone for the rest of the record. Bentley is one of a crop of Nashville young guns who writes or co-writes most of his material, and it's refreshing to see a major label (Capitol) with the guts to develop a young artist without making him record the same old tunes written by the same old Music City cubicle-dwelling hit-makers.
Possessed of a gritty, likable voice, Bentley is equally adept at belting rowdy country rockers like “Cab of My Truck” and the honky-tonkin’ “Domestic, Light and Cold” as he is on ballads such as the delicate “Come a Little Closer.” Bentley even breaks out the bluegrass with the terrific Del McCoury Band for the rousing “Good Man Like Me.” He seems fully capable of carving out a career as one of Nashville's new outlaws, an artist who does things his way and gets quality results. No sophomore slump here.
- Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out
Spoon
‘Gimme Fiction’
It takes some strong songwriting for a band to consistently reshape their musical approach while maintaining a recognizable sound, and indie icons Spoon have that in spades thanks to tunesmith/singer/guitarist Britt Daniel. While complex in arrangement with literate and occasionally obtuse lyrics, his pop-rock songs are unfailingly engaging from the get-go and only get better with repeated listens. They teem with a menacing energy that sometimes explodes to the surface and is even more powerfully felt when it doesn't.
Just as 2001's “Girls Can Tell” album was a great leap forward from all that preceded it in Spoon's catalog, so is “Gimme Fiction.” What's new this time around is that Daniel incorporates strings to accentuate moods and is unafraid to lock into a groove and ride it for all it's worth. “I Turn My Camera On,” which features falsetto vocals, and “Was It You?” feel like vintage Prince as filtered through the sensibilities of a 21st century white boy from Texas.
“Great dominions they don't come cheap,” Daniel sings in lead track “The Beast and Dragon, Adored” and he's carving one out for Spoon — the band continually improves on their past work and haven't peaked yet. Along the way, Spoon have accomplished what's nearly impossible in rock anymore: they sound like no one else.
