By Times Staff Writers
Published September 7, 2003
WARREN ZEVON, THE WIND (ARTEMIS):
When one of pop music's greatest satirists, Warren Zevon, was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer last summer, and given about three months to live, he shrugged off the grim news. "I'm okay with it," he said, "but it'll be a drag if I don't make it till the next James Bond movie comes out."
A year later, the 56-year-old most famous for his 1978 hit single Werewolves of London has survived for both another 007 flick and the release of The Wind, which he began recording shortly after his diagnosis.
As one might expect, the album is the most emotional and direct of the performer's career. "Please stay," Zevon softly sings across a sparse backdrop, "Two words I've thought I'd never learn to say."
Other poignant tracks include a love letter to an ex and two songs that directly address his own death: the closer Keep Me in Your Heart and a reading of Bob Dylan's Knockin' on Heaven's Door, which all but eclipses every other version of the oft-covered classic.
Zevon does not fail to deliver some sly, loose rockers, spiked with his famously acerbic wit. A sample from the rollicking opener: "I'm looking for a woman with low self-esteem/To lay me out and ease my worried mind/While I'm winding down my dirty life and times.
Bruce Springsteen, Dwight Yoakam, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty, Billy Bob Thornton, Ry Cooder, Jim Keltner and T-Bone Burnett all make low-key appearances on the album (mostly on background vocals), a testament to the love and respect accorded Zevon by his peers. A.
- WADE TATANGELO, Times correspondent
MARSHALL CRENSHAW, WHAT'S IN THE BAG? (RAZOR & TIE):
Marshall Crenshaw's maddeningly modest fortunes have usually condemned him to the same sales Siberia as scores of anticommercial acts. But that never blunted Crenshaw's irrepressible pop instincts. Long after it became obvious that his 1982 single Someday, Someway would likely remain his sole Top 40 hit, he never quit churning out gloriously catchy songs that seemed targeted at the hit parade.
But Crenshaw, who turns 50 this year, is aiming for something different on his rewarding ninth studio album, What's In the Bag? For perhaps the first time in his career, the guy isn't even pretending to have a shot at mass-market success. The clever melodies are still in abundance, but this time they cede center stage to mood and atmosphere. Surging choruses and hooky guitar-laced intros are out; mellotron, vibraphone and steel-guitar textures are in.
Songs such as Where Home Used To Be, From Now Until Then and A Few Thousand Days Ago are sharp and keenly felt. Nicely complementing the album's overall tone is a jaunty, almost folky take on Prince's Take Me With U and a cover of the Bootsy Collins hit I'd Rather Be With You. At the album's close he unleashes a sparkling instrumental surreally titled, AKA "A Big Heavy Hot Dog." The Ventures would have killed for a composition this lovely.
Those still catching up on latter-day Crenshaw may want to opt first for the more straightforward pop of 1996's Miracle of Science or 1999's #447. But What's In The Bag? captures a master of American guitar-pop at a moment of graceful transition. A-
- LOUIS HAU, Times staff writer
XIU XIU, A PROMISE (5RC)
Xiu Xiu has either crafted the year's most daring album, or an atrocious and self-indulgent batch of schizophrenic, wispy electronics pasted over Jamie Stewart's breathy, effeminate voice. Either way, Tracy Chapman's Fast Car will never sound the same.
Xiu Xiu strips away the melody, paring it down to sporadic acoustic guitar strumming with Stewart narrating in his tortured whisper. Sad Pony Guerrilla Girl conveys its solemnity with an eerie synthesized twinkle until a dramatic break, after which, the song deconstructs into squealing fits of fury. B+.
- BRIAN ORLOFF, Times staff writer
VERBENA, LA MUSICA NEGRA (CAPITOL):
Birmingham, Ala., trio Verbena matches a gritty blues sensibility - especially sloppy and delightful on Killing Floor (Get Down on It) - with a desire to rock. The album is informed by lead singer Scott Bondy's Southern upbringing; he questions spirituality on kinetic It's Alright, It's OK (Jesus Told Me So), three minutes of roaring riffs. Way Out West begins with a deceptive choir of tolling bells but dovetails into rock 'n' roll. B+
- B.O.
MYA, MOODRING (A&M/INTERSCOPE):
From Prince's Diamonds and Pearls, to Mya's latest album Moodring, jewels and jewelry have often been used to represent an album's theme, and it's a fitting metaphor for Mya's third solo release.
Mya takes the listener on a kaleidoscopic carpet ride through musical hues ranging from love songs to club anthems. My love Is Like . . . Wo is an elegant yet pert tune that hints at Mya's Lady Marmalade and Chicago days. Late is a Billy Holiday inspired mix produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis that fuses an old school jazz vibe with a hip-hop flair.
The neo-soul cola anthem Real Compared To What is a bonus track featuring a ferocious horn section laced with gritty piano breaks. If it doesn't inspire good feelings, it will definitely sway one's thirst for a cold beverage. B.
