Incubus
"My pen is a pistola," rages Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd on the blistering "Pistola" (which is Spanish for "pistol"), one of 14 tracks on the alt-metal quintet's fifth disc. Indeed, the band, formed in 1991 while three of its current members were high school sophomores in Calabasas, Calif., mounts an angry lyrical attack during much of this follow-up to 2001's double-platinum Morning View. On the album's No. 1 modern-rock hit "Megalomaniac," Boyd rails, "You're no Jesus/You're no Elvis/You're no answer," against a backdrop of searing guitars, pounding drums and thumping bass. Later, on the media-bashing "Talk Shows on Mute," he sneers, "You're so much more endearing with the sound turned off." All this fury makes for an intense, hard-rocking affair that proves that after 13 years together, the group has not lost its edge.
Boyd, with his trademark syncopated phrasing, uses his voice as a rhythmic weapon in a full-on musical assault with guitarist Mark Einziger, bassist Ben Kenney, drummer Jose Pasillas and DJ Kilmore. Even so, some of the CD's best moments are its most vulnerable. "If you're looking for an open book/Look no further, I am yours," Boyd croons on the lilting love song "Southern Girl," while on the piano-driven ballad "Here in My Room," he sings in a hushed tone, "Now that you're here/Love is a verb/Here in my room." In the end, when Boyd asks "The ride's over/Did you enjoy yourself?" on the album's roller-coaster closer "Leech," your answer will be a definite yes.
BLUES
Keb' Mo'
CRITIC'S CHOICE
As bluesmen go, Keb' Mo' (real name: Kevin Moore) is relatively easygoing. He never gets as self-obsessed, tight or anxious as his blues forebears. This album, his sixth, even includes an almost upbeat tune called "Prosperity Blues," hardly the stuff of Lead-belly or Bessie Smith. "Shave Yo' Legs," too, shows some wit and self-deprecation, with Mo' telling a woman, "You don't have to shave your legs for me." Vocally, Mo' sounds like a cross between Otis Redding and Robert Cray, and his relaxed guitar-playing calls to mind Bonnie Raitt or Eric Clapton more than such hardcore blues guitarists as Charlie Christian or Stevie Ray Vaughan. While in the past Mo' has covered such tunes as "The Flat Foot Floogie" and Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi," this disc contains only original material. More's the pity, since Mo' has displayed the ability to tap the blues roots in many genres of music, collaborating with everyone from Willie Nelson to Jackson Browne. Still, it's hard to complain about blues that makes you feel this good.
GOSPEL
Michelle Williams
Since Destiny's Child took a hiatus after releasing 2001's hit Survivor, Beyoncé Knowles isn't the only member of the R&B girl group who has been busy. Michelle Williams has starred on Broadway in the title role of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida and has released two solo gospel albums, Do You Know being the latest. While the disc won't win over as many fans as Beyoncé's solo smash Dangerously in Love, it shows that Williams has found her own niche as an inspirational artist. As with 2002's Heart to Yours, there is a contemporary R&B sound to these tracks that wouldn't be out of place on secular radio. The funky midtempo "The Movement," cowritten and coproduced by Beyoncé's younger sister Solange Knowles, has a hip-hop vibe, while glossy ballads like "The Way of Love" sound like they could be Destiny's Child slow jams. Still, though her raspy voice is pleasing, Williams lacks the presence and firepower of Beyoncé, who sings on the CD's closer "I Know." It's a previously unreleased Destiny's Child track that sets the stage for the trio's planned reunion to record a new disc later this year.
FOLK-ROCK
Indigo Girls
Like a perfectly worn pair of blue jeans, the Indigo Girls continue to make for a most comfortable fit on their ninth studio album. Singer-guitarists Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, who have made sweet harmony together since 1985, wisely don't attempt to fix something that isn't broken here. Instead the Atlanta duo, which splits songwriting duties (Saliers wrote six songs, Ray five), delivers more of the twangy, acoustic-based folk-rock that fans have come to expect. The CD kicks off with two deceptively upbeat numbers, the breezy "Fill It Up Again" and the ska-inflected "Heartache for Everyone." The latter is one of three tracks featuring background vocals by Joan Osborne, who also sang on the Indigos' 1999 disc Come On Now Social. The Indigos don't need any vocal assists, though, on quiet gems like the reflective title tune and the romantic "Free in You," which overcomes its Hallmark-card sentiments: "Love is just like breathing when it's true." Elsewhere, the Indigos think political on the bluegrassy "Perfect World" and the somber "Cordova," both of which were inspired by Ray's activism in the Native American community. They turn their concerns inward for the motivational "Rise Up," singing, "There's life in the old girl yet." Indeed there is plenty of life left in these Girls.
ROCK
John Frusciante
Singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea maybe the most famous Red Hot Chili Peppers, but guitarist John Frusciante has been the group's unsung hero since joining the Chili Peppers in 1988. Indeed, Frusciante, with his fluid guitar work and songwriting contributions, has been instrumental in the band's more mature, musical sound heard on releases like 2002's By the Way. On Frusciante's fourth solo CD, which improves upon 2001's To Record Only Water for Ten Days, tuneful tracks such as "Wednesday's Song" and "Song to Sing When I'm Lonely" evoke the kinder, gentler Chili Peppers of faves like "Under the Bridge," "Scar Tissue" and "Universally Speaking." Frusciante, who usually sings harmony for Kiedis, proves himself quite capable of taking the lead here. And he gets a little help from his friends Flea, who plays upright bass on "The Slaughter," and Chili Pepper Chad Smith, who plays drums throughout.
- Contributors:
- Chuck Arnold,
- Ralph Novak.
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!
