And on and on rolls Van, that rotund, irascible leprechaun, 51, and author now of some 27 albums. With the exception of How Long Has This Been Going On, a '95 tribute to '50s jazz, the last half-dozen years' worth of Morrison records have been virtually indistinguishable: an easy-rocking procession of well-produced, spare, R&B-based pop, featuring the star's idiosyncratic first-person narratives and inimitable baritone. He has settled into the business of making music for the faithful: a few hundred thousand 45-to-50-year-olds who remain stuck on rock, the sound of their youth, but whose aging eardrums require stroking, not high-decibel assaults.
With this automatic market, it's easy for the Irishman to coast, and coast he does. Only one song here comes within shouting range of the goose bump-inducing epiphanies Van used to reach with impressive frequency: "Piper at the Gates of Dawn," a nature anthem that strives for, though falls short of, the cathartic oomph of "Into the Mystic," "Tupelo Honey" or "Wavelength."
Three decades in the studio and on the road is a long time, and one hardly expects transforming moments from such a veteran. The Healing Game will satisfy Van's crowd, those too eager for the consolations of familiar-sounding music to spend much time remembering the heights to which their man once soared. (Polydor)
Charlie Rich
While he has been regarded primarily as a '70s crossover country star—thanks to such popchart hits as "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl"—Charlie Rich was one of the most versatile performers of his time, an era that extends way back to his '50s stint as Elvis's labelmate on Sun Records. Nicknamed the Silver Fox because of his slick platinum coif, Rich, who died of a blood clot in 1995, specialized in sensitive-man ballads like "A Woman Left Lonely" and "Life's Little Ups and Downs," but his recording roots were planted in rockabilly (exemplified by early rave-ups like "Lonely Weekends" and "Break Up"), and his heart belonged to the bluesy strains of jazz (which he fully explored on 1992's torchy Pictures and Paintings, his final album).
Although this double-disc compilation documents Rich's mastery of all the above styles (among others), it largely ignores his reign as a Nashville king. That means you'll have to turn elsewhere to enjoy the easy-listening riches of "A Very Special Love Song" and the soulful country of "Rollin' with the Flow." With its curious selections—we get yet another cover of "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" but no "On My Knees"—The Essential Charlie Rich ends up being far from complete. (Epic/Legacy)
Solomon Burke
They don't call Solomon Burke the King of Rock 'n' Soul for nothing. The preaching style he pioneered on such '60s classics as "If You Need Me" and "Cry to Me" not only became a cornerstone of soul music but also influenced many rockers—most notably the Rolling Stones, who covered several of his songs early in their career. And, as evidenced by his powerful new album, this father of 21 children is still going strong. (Guess you can also call him "the George Foreman of Soul")
While Burke is strictly an old-school soul man (anytime he says "use me," you can bet it'll be followed by "abuse me"), the present gospel-friendly R&B climate should welcome such offerings as the sensual "You're the One" and the wistful "It's So Hard." Throw in "Today Is Your Birthday," a bluesy shuffle, and a stand-out, driving duet with Little Richard ("Everybody's Got a Game"), and all you can say is, Long live the King. (Pointblank)
Chris Whitley
Although this is actually Whitley's third album, Terra Incognita sounds like an excellent, logical follow-up to Living with the Law, his stunning debut. It has been a long wait. Back in 1991, Whitley was heralded as a major artist, a young and gifted blues interpreter investing timeless sounds with modern direction. Then he disappeared for four years, returning with Din of Ecstasy, a harrowing, claustrophobic album driven by layers of detuned, clanging electric guitars; it left most fans scratching their heads.
Now, on Terra Incognita, Whitley comes up for air. His lyrical themes remain existentially heavy, covering alienation, addiction and powerlessness, but the music regains some breathing room and buoyancy, a highly original mix of blues, funk, groove-rock and folk. Whitley evokes U2 one minute and Delta great Son House the next, but the blues' emotional urgency remains at the heart of his muse. And he once again sounds like an artist with both a firm grip on the past and a clear vision of the future. Let's just hope we don't have to wait six years for the next act. (Work)
Roomful of Blues
If that first blush of spring has yet to arrive, try dropping in this frisky disc from the venerable New England blues-swing band to warm your sundeprived soul. While not bursting with as many scorchers as 1995's Grammy-nominated Turn It On! Turn It Up!, Under One Roof's pace never slackens because the members of this 29-year-old, nine-piece ensemble know one another's moves and grooves so well.
There's the easy swinging feel of "Running Out of Time," with Sugar Ray Norcia's warm baritone caressing the melody, and the original instrumental "We B 3," which features guitarist Chris Vachon's crackling riffs and sounds like a reverential nod to Stevie Ray Vaughan. But, as usual, it's ROB's crisp, taut horn section that keeps the joint jumping and, if you're in the mood, can turn a dull evening at home into a heel-clicking night of fun. (Bullseye Blues)
Space
They may hail from Liverpool, but there's not much even remotely Beatlesque about Space. For more pertinent influences, listen to the gleefully rude "Lovechild of the Queen," wherein singer Tommy Scott's rolling rs ("thrrrrone") drip with a bile that is decidedly rotten—as in Johnny. The four Space cadets appear to have been brought up on U.K. punk rock and U.S. slasher films, and have the go-mental material to prove it: "Drop Dead," "Mister Psycho," and "Kill Me," to name but a few of their loud 'n' snotty tunes.
Much of Space's music stays in your head (like it or not), thanks to the weird but infectious pop veneer with which they cover their crypt-kicking tracks. "Neighbourhood," for instance, is an immensely hummable ditty about an apartment building whose tenants include a thief, a terrorist and a serial killer. And those are the good neighbors. (Gut/Universal)
>Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses
ALTERNATIVE PARENTING
For Kristin Hersh, 30, making music has always been a family affair. In the early '80s she formed the postpunk alternative band Throwing Muses with her stepsister Tanya Donelly. They toured in a van, and her first son, Dylan (now 10 and living with his father), slept in motel bathtubs. When the band begins a tour next month behind Limbo (Throwing Music/Rykodisc), its seventh album, Hersh will leave her Rhode Island home with her other two sons—Ryder, 5, and Wyatt, 3 months—husband-manager Billy O'Connell, 32, and Captain, a terrier mix. (Dylan joins them this summer.) Writer-reporter Lisa Kay Greissinger caught Hersh between diapers and soundchecks.
What's it like touring with kids?
I'm nursing—I have Wyatt all day—so we have a nanny who takes care of Ryder. But we are also up until 3 or 4, so the nanny has to get up and pour the cereal. We try to do something with the kids in the afternoon—the zoo or a children's museum or lunch.
Do your kids like your music?
The first show I let the the older boys come to, they laughed at my jokes and clapped at the end of each song. When I came offstage they gave me hugs—they had tears in their eyes.
How have they handled the travel?
Once Ryder had his security blanket thrown away by a hotel maid, and he has never forgiven or forgotten. He thinks the maids ate his blanket. He is a little embittered, but other than that he deals. And he knows the difference between Seattle and Sydney—I didn't know that when I was 5.
- Contributors:
- Tony Scherman,
- Jeremy Helligar,
- Billy Altman,
- Alan Paul,
- Andrew Abrahams.
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!
