One of these days, some producer will show the prescience to commission a big budget, country-music-themed Broadway and/or Hollywood musical. Berg is not just the woman who should write the music; she should sing it too.
Her pungent, literate songs have been converted into hits by, among others, Reba McEntire ("The Last to Know"), Suzy Bogguss ("Hey Cinderella"), Trisha Yearwood ("Wrong Side of Memphis" and "Lying to the Moon") and Patty Loveless ("That Kind of Girl"). In most cases, Berg sings them at least as well as the bigger names do—in a bluesy, resonant style reminiscent of Bonnie Raitt's.
This is Berg's second vocal album, and, like her first, it includes the wistful "Lying to the Moon." But she also sings such striking tunes as the hunk-worshipping "Tall Drink of Water," the honky-tonkish "Jolene" and the seductive "Come to Momma." Although the mellow-voiced Kieran Kane contributes a backup vocal to "River of No Return," there is, unhappily, no real duet—Berg would be an ideal partner for someone like Alan Jackson or Cajun singer-accordionist Jo-El Sonnier.
While Berg occasionally collaborates on her material, she doesn't really need anyone else to write her songs, and she doesn't need anyone else to sing them either. (RCA)
Elvis Costello
Listening to this disc is like meeting an old friend and finding you're still in sync. Though Costello's solo efforts have been mostly satisfying since splitting with the Attractions in 1986, there's something reassuring about the music he makes with his band.
Brutal Youth—which picks up where the group's last album, Blood and Chocolate, left off—has the spunk of an old New Wave disc, with such power-pop ditties as "Pony St." or "My Science Fiction Twin." There's a jazzier groove in "Clown Strike" and an off-kilter, Tom Waits-like bounce to "20% Amnesia" that lend a stylish sophistication few other rock bands can match.
Costello remains the wise guy, tossing off lines like "If you're going out tonight, I won't wait up reading Das Kapital and watching Home Shopping Club" to an unfaithful love. Sarcasm. Anger. A touch of nastiness. Just like the good old days. (Warner Bros.)
Ben Harper
For the last year, Ben Harper's mesmerizing live performances in L.A. clubs have generated the soaring expectations that often ruin careers before they are even launched. However this debut album more than rises to the challenge. Harper, 24, plays these 13 songs, ruminations on rage and renewal, with haunting sparsity on a Weissenborn—a rare Hawaiian steel lap guitar from the 1920s—and delivers them in a burgundy voice that gives each an old soul flavor. Harper's world may be a cruel one, but his strong vision and appeal makes this effort entirely welcome. (Virgin)
Joe Lovano
A big, burly guy with a big, meaty sound, tenor saxman Lovano is a sort of instant elder statesman in '90s jazz: too old at 41 to be one of today's heavily hyped "young lions," he has nonetheless only recently entered the public eye, mostly for his work with guitar star John Scofield.
Lovano has a wide romantic streak—he can milk a slow ballad like this album's "Laura" for all it's worth—but he also has a quester's rigor. He couldn't, as they say, go pop with a mouthful of firecrackers.
Still, this is Lovano's most accessible album. The reason isn't the celebrity guest, saxophonist Joshua Redman; it's the beefed-up rhythm section. Joining Lewis Nash—one of jazz's half-dozen best drummers—is veteran percussionist Don Alias, and with these two stoking the fire, Tenor Legacy is loads funkier and more infectious than today's usual politely swinging mainstream jazz. Pieces like "Miss Etna" hiss and crack, while "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" synthesizes Lovano's twin passions, rhythm and romance. As the drums boil, the sweet horns seduce. (Blue Note)
David Lee Roth
Hello, Mr. Roth. It's your doctor. We've finished all the tests on your fourth solo album since leaving Van Halen, and we've got first some good news and then some bad.
The new direction you're taking could be a healthy one for you. You're trying to mix things up. Following in the tradition of your hit, "Just a Gigolo," you've expanded your repertoire to include everything from country to blues to reggae. And songs like the jangly duct with Travis Tritt, "Cheatin' Heart Cafe," could get you back on your feet soon.
Unfortunately you haven't mixed things up enough. From the tedious blues of "Experience" to the bloated rock songs like "She's My Machine" and "Big Train," you seem to be all show and no tune. These numbers approach self-parody. We'll need you to come in for further analysis regarding your solo career. Please bring the charts from your Van Halen days. We've booked a room for you in the Shelley Long Career-Counseling Clinic. (Reprise)
- Contributors:
- Ralph Novak,
- Craig Tomashoff,
- Todd Gold,
- Tomy Scherman.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
