By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK and LOUIS HAU
Published April 4, 2004
INCUBUS, A CROW LEFT OF THE MURDER (EPIC) Seems like Incubus worked so hard to come up with a clever CD title - FYI: flocks of crows are called murders - that there was little left for lyrics. Images of 1984, uncreative rants against world leaders and uninspired messages to save the world - get this, the word from "on high" is "quit blowing each other up" - are bland at best.
The music is more intriguing. The quintet blends metal, psychedelic rock, long-form guitar solos, jazz riffs and blues into something unpredictable and unusual. Incubus certainly is no slave to radio trends as it seeks to craft a sound of its own. It's perhaps odd, then, that the overall effect is to evoke memories of Styx on the downside of Paradise Theater.
In total, this CD offers an interesting listen (at least once), but really, it's nothing to crow about. C
- JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times staff writer
KENNY CHESNEY, WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN (BNA) Unless you're in a rodeo or out on a prairie herding cattle, wearing a cowboy hat can send out any number of possible messages: "I'm playing Bonanza with my friends." "I've got a bald spot I need to cover." Or most likely, "Hey, babe, check me out, don't I look cool?"
In the case of Kenny Chesney, the hat declares, "I'm a country music singer." And for better or worse, this is what contemporary Nashville hitmaking sounds like: Tossed-off steel guitar licks? Check. Predictable piano ballads? Check. Gratuitous references to Mason jars, raspberry wine and other things y'all miss from back in the holler? Check.
When the Sun Goes Down feels so calculated it'd be easy to write off completely. But Chesney has a fine voice and he occasionally puts it to good use, such as on the reflective Old Blue Chair and Outta Here, a breezy, Jimmy Buffett-style pop trifle written by ex-Coral Reefer Josh Leo.
This stuff might be easier to stomach if country radio playlists didn't program Chesney and his hat-hunk brethren to the exclusion of less commercial but more rewarding acts. Maybe someday that will change. Perhaps when pigs fly. Or when peace breaks out in the Middle East. Or when Chesney finally takes off that darn hat. C
- LOUIS HAU, Times staff writer
MICHELLE WILLIAMS, DO YOU KNOW (SONY) Destiny's Child fans who weren't so crazy in love with lead singer Beyonce's sexed-up image might find comfort in the squeaky-clean music of Michelle Williams' sophomore solo effort.
There's no writhing and moaning here. Just a lot of upbeat, positive messages about love, life and the Lord. Williams' harshest words are a complaint that "we killing one another for greed and jealousy," which she follows quickly with the don't worry, be happy refrain, "I know what you're going through/ Don't let it get the best of you."
Williams incorporates her gospel into a variety of slickly produced sounds, such as the Brazilian-tinged Purpose in Your Storm and the '70s R&B of Never Be the Same. If there's a downside to this CD, it's Williams' thin voice, which probably is better suited to be part of a trio. Destiny's Child, anyone? B-
- J.S.S.
KATY ROSE, BECAUSE I CAN (V2) Welcome, Katy Rose.
The teen offers unusually smart, honest lyrics and a refreshing rock-pop sound to a world oversaturated with made-for-mainstream music. (That's not to say she doesn't delve into that world. The opening track,Overdrive, would have fit just fine on the chirpy Legally Blonde soundtrack.)
The package is good enough to make Rose's limited vocal range and often flat delivery come across as a quirky personality thing, rather than a turnoff. With time, she's likely to improve.
This CD won't sell millions, and Katy Rose may never become a superstar. But at the very least, her debut release demonstrates that she could. B
