some new releases

[woj <REWOICC%ERENJ.BITNET@pucc.Princeton.EDU>]

picked up a few cds today that some of you folks might be interested in
hearing about...

bel canto - _shimmering, warm & bright_

as others have mentioned, this is finally available domestically in the
unitd states. after one listen, i'm fairly pleased with it. it follows the
synthesizer vein that _birds of passage_ established, but there is more
emphasis placed on creating a rhythmic sound. i would hesitate to call
it "dancy", as etheriel is still the operative word in describing their
sound, but there are some specific sounds that i usually associate with
dance music rather than the blissed-out stuff that bel canto produces.
end result: an extension of the sound of the last album with a resurgance
of strong rhythms that were more apparent on _white out conditions_. i
rather like it. one thumb up.

robin holcomb - _rockabye_

the second album from this downtown new york city composer features much
of the same band as the debut (husband wayne horowitz, doug weiselman, bill
frisell) as well as a few new faces (marty erlich, and guest appearances
by peter holsapple and peter ostroushko). in a sentence, _rockabye_ is
poetry delivered in holcomb's deadpan, but delicate, singsong with music
ranging from country to nyc-jazz lite. it has its moments and for those,
it is worth it...but there are some bits that i could do without (like the
toned-down pseudo-noise chaos interlude in i-forgot-which-tune). holcomb's
voice is not for everybody either. i know that i like the album, but not
as much as i liked the last one (and certainly not as much as i like seeing
her live). one thumb up with reservations.

cowboy junkies - _live_

i don't recall seeing any mention of this four song live ep, but i saw it
and grabbed it anyways. features "this street, that man, this life", "if
you were the woman and i were the man", "hot burrito no. 1" and (you guessed
it) "sweet jane". the recording is crystaline, the performance is quite
good...and this rendition of "sweet jane" is very likely the most rocking
the junkies have ever been to date. if you wished that margo and michael
timmins took some speed before the next time that you gave them a chance,
this might be it (though i should add that speed would not affect their
music like it might affect, say, the sex pistols). one thumb up for the
music, one thumb down cos it's too damn short.

woj