Born in the '60s country rock of the Byrds, resurrected by such California country-punk bands as Lone Justice and flourishing today thanks to neocountry outlaw Steve Earle and groups like Son Volt, alternative country music (newly dubbed y'all-ternative) is rich, rootsy and above all nonformulaic. Cheri Knight, a Massachusetts-born devotee of the genre, delivers an ambitious, imagery-rich second solo album more evocative of Appalachia than the Berkshires. Knight weaves 12 gothic tales that introduce listeners to an intriguing, shadowy world in which neighbors endlessly feud and jilted lovers dream of revenge. With music that swings from Celtic folk to twangy rock, and a court of spooked and spooky characters, Knight's Kingdom is one wild and dreamy realm. (E-Squared)
Various artists
Anyone who has seen and heard the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation (due Jan. 30) of Charles Dickens's 19th-century novel knows what not to expect: This is no but-toned-up-to-the-chin period piece with some wooden instrumental score. The story now unfolds in 1990s New York City as Ethan Hawke's and Gwyneth Paltrow's characters yearn, burn and exchange come-hither looks, and much of the soundtrack expresses equal passion. Tori Amos is all breathless ecstasy on "Siren," Mono's "Life in Mono" slinks along like a four-minute sigh, and solo efforts by former Soundgarden front man Chris Cornell and Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland abandon the hit-and-run wallop of grunge for more sensual sonics. Modern rock has rarely sounded so seductive. (Atlantic)
Mary Ann Rossoni
An enlightened feminist folksinger, Rossoni is a hearty-voiced Rhode Islander whose very personal, empathy-arousing songs are reminiscent of fellow New Englander Patty Larkin. A former housekeeper, bartender, restaurant manager, real estate agent and house painter, among other things (she's currently working as a graphic artist), Rossoni is not a performer who has been isolated from the world beyond music. When she sings about the ardors of hard work, she's convincing: "What do you care if I drink all day but bring you home a decent pay?" Like her early idols Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, Rossoni is able to extrapolate her personal experience into universally relevant little tales. Whoever is in charge of the folk resurgence has to make room for Rossoni up in the front of the ranks. (Second Story)
Cybill Shepherd
You have to admire the woman's game, critics-be-damned daring. Running the risk of inclusion in the next Golden Throats collection of classic pop songs fractured by celebrity Streisand wannabes, Cybill Shepherd never embarrasses herself in this album of blues, rock and gospel tunes. That she grew up in Memphis and at one time even dated Elvis seems justification enough for singing such odes to the Mississippi as "Roll Big Muddy" and "Muddy Water," as well as the inoffensive title song, which she cowrote with Tom Adams. A reasonably talented singer with previous CDs to her credit, Shepherd shouldn't be barred from recording studios just because she seems more at home as a sitcom actress. But when she turns to covers of W.C. Handy's "Beale Street Blues," which was recorded by the unreasonably talented, non-Memphian Louis Armstrong, and Rufus Thomas's lascivious rock classic "Walkin' the Dog," well, it makes you think there oughta be a law. (Drive Entertainment/River Siren Productions)
John Forster
The discovery of Songs by Tom Lehrer, the 1950s mother of satiric musical comedy albums, was the best and worst event in John Forster's life. Just 7 at the time, Forster, now 49, began writing and performing songs in a similar vein, and he is still doing so. Unfortunately, Lehrer—who last cut an album in 1965 and now teaches math at the University of California at Santa Cruz—will always be king of the row Forster has chosen to till. Undeniably inventive, Forster is best when he's singing about politics and—what else?—sex. He razzes those who vote to keep gays out of the military in "In the Closet" ("It can't be done said Senator Nunn") and in "Spores" reckons that war between the sexes could be averted if reproduction was left to tiny, free-floating "particles of ecstacy" ("You could date a girl and never leave your chair/ Or have every woman at the county fair/ And still have spores to spare"). At times merely clever ("The CEO of an S&L was a class-A s.o.b.," he sings in "Type A"), Forster seems to take a decidedly wrong turn in "The Juice a la Seuss," assembling a string of O.J. trial-inspired nursery rhymes ("I did not kill my former wife/I did not do it with a knife"). But then comes the absurd, chillingly real punch line: "It does not fit/You must acquit." While a gas at times, Helium doesn't quite reach Lehrer's level—sublime. (Philo)
2Pac
As was the case throughout his brief but turbulent career, the latest offering from Tupac Shakur is creatively schizophrenic. On one hand, Tupac, who was murdered in Las Vegas in September 1996, boasts and bluffs his way through a series of odes to his beloved Thug Life. Then, with equal passion and thoughtful intelligence, he delivers a moving track like "I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto," one of several reflective songs on this 26-cut double CD. As an artistic statement this package is, like much of Tupac's work, uneven. As a tribute, R U Still Down? (Remember Me) is a sad reminder of what could have been. (Amaru/Jive)
>Chet Atkins
KING OF THE NASHVILLE CATS
After a five-decade recording career and 14 Grammy Awards, Chet Atkins isn't letting any dust gather on his guitar. Atkins, 73, who has worked with everyone from Willie Nelson to rocker Mark Knopfler, teamed with Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel on his latest CD, The Day the Finger Pickers Took Over the World (Columbia). Last month he received the prestigious Century Award from Billboard for "distinguished creative achievement."
What was it like playing on Elvis's first RCA recordings?
We all knew he was going to be the biggest thing that ever came down the creek. You couldn't get him off the stage with a fire hose.
Was Willie Nelson always an outlaw?
I produced Willie back when he looked like a banker. I tell him when I see him, 'You never did start selling until you started getting ugly and funky.' It's true. He went out to Texas and kind of uglified himself up and got smoking dope, and people started writing about him.
Do you enjoy producing?
It was great fun but it was too stressful. I stopped producing when I went into the office one day and my shoes didn't match, and I said, "I've been on the job too damn long."
- Contributors:
- Steve Dougherty,
- Jeremy Helligar,
- Ralph Novak,
- Amy Linden,
- Jane Sanderson.
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!
