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Perfectionist, master of the recording studio, all-around control
freak, Frank Sinatra has never authorized many live albums. So the
official release of Live in Australia, 1959 (Blue Note)
isn't one
of those exhumations with which labels dishonor demigods past their
prime. In fact, this hour with the Red Norvo Quintet is regarded by
bootleg connoisseurs as one of Sinatra's finest club sets ever, far
superior to the Paris performance Reprise put out in 1995. Its
characteristic tempo a confident, medium-fast swing, it breathes
mature, unforced optimism into such signature Sinatra standards as
All of Me, Night and Day, and I've Got You Under My Skin.
Those who thrill to every detail of the man's timbre may be slightly
disappointed by an audio quality that is superb by any normal
criterion. But especially for the jazz-inclined, and anyone else
who finds Sinatra's studio arrangements too ornately pop, the easy,
economical freedom of these renditions should prove the perfect
setting for one of the most undeniable voices and masterful styles
of the 20th century.
With a desperate biz suddenly hot for the genre now rechristened
electro (techno to you), England's Chemical Brothers have moved
into next-big-thing territory. Their new Dig Your Own Hole
(Astralwerks) is unrelentingly uptempo in a humorous rather than
punishing way, abjuring guitars but not guitar sounds, which they
unite to hectic dance beats, and is capable of detached lyricism as
well as high energy as the occasional laugh. Nonvocal musics rarely
go pop. But give the Chemical Brothers credit for trying to do it
right.
A once and future Mekon who doubles as "Cowboy Sally" on a Turner
Network kiddie show, Sally Timms has just issued the best of her
periodic EPs: five country songs of five different attitudes and
origins, every one played for soul. The title? Cowboy Sally,
natch. (Bloodshot.)
Playboy, Mar. 1997
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Feb. 1997 |
Apr. 1997 |
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