Jamie Cullum - "Catching Tales"
(Verve, 2005) * * * *
Saul Williams - "Saul Williams"
(Red Ink, 2004) * * * 1/2
See the article as it ran in the Daily News:
http://jonathansanders.0catch.com/cullumwilliams.bmp
File This Under ...
... ALBUMS WITH "GRAMMY" WRITTEN ALL OVER THEM
Jamie Cullum - "Catching Tales" (Verve, 2005) * * * *
Jamie Cullum is reinvigorating the art of jazz pop. Blending the art pop sounds of Rufus Wainwright with the crooning style of Harry Connick, Jr., he's crafted a sophomore album that crosses more (sonic) borders than the Red Cross! The album is loaded with potential addictive substances. "London Skies" opens with an intricate guitar melody that provides the perfect base for Cullum's gravelly vocals, leading up to a hook that's undeniable. "Nothing I Do" is a hilarious lounge act with lyrics I cannot print here; suffice it to say the banter between this couple is priceless. "Mind Trick" has a sultry r&b-infused vibe that leads into a chorus that would sound right at home on an Al Green record. And the best is saved for last on "7 Days To Change Your Life," another bare-bones piano lounge track on which Cullum plays a TV infomercial announcer hawking a cure-all to life's ills. "Send me your money and I'll change your life," he sings in a spot-on parody. A vocal chameleon, Cullum's album is impossible to fully describe, you've really got to hear it for yourself. Catching Tales is an album that will take many repeat listens to fully reveal its brilliance, but rest assured it's worth the time and effort.
... ALBUMS YOU HAVEN'T HEARD BUT SHOULD
Saul Williams - "Saul Williams" (2004, Red Ink) * * * 1/2
Saul Williams is perhaps best-known for his debut with KRS-One as one of the performers in the film "Slam." But his blend of beat-hop poetry continues to impress on his second solo album on the Red Ink label. This isn't your everyday hip hop experience. Williams is an angry voice in a ghetto-saturated rap wasteland, and he's wanting to take his genre back for the street poets who invented it. "I've got a list of demands written on the palm of my hand," he yells. "I ball my fist so you will know where I stand ... we're living hand to mouth!" The music inventively blends traditional rap beats with live punk rock instrumentation, Williams' attempt to inject his music with raw power. Some of the more notable tracks, however, are the most sparse. "Black Student Movement" features a raw percussive backdrop as Williams speaks on the state of race relations today, particularly regarding the war on Iraq: "Uncle Sam signs you up. Benefits ... and a gun. Now tell me where my niggas at?" The album is a stunningly solid change of pace from the gang warfare norm. Too bad no one's heard it.
See the article as it ran in the Daily News:
http://jonathansanders.0catch.com/cullumwilliams.bmp
File This Under ...
... ALBUMS WITH "GRAMMY" WRITTEN ALL OVER THEM
Jamie Cullum - "Catching Tales" (Verve, 2005) * * * *
Jamie Cullum is reinvigorating the art of jazz pop. Blending the art pop sounds of Rufus Wainwright with the crooning style of Harry Connick, Jr., he's crafted a sophomore album that crosses more (sonic) borders than the Red Cross! The album is loaded with potential addictive substances. "London Skies" opens with an intricate guitar melody that provides the perfect base for Cullum's gravelly vocals, leading up to a hook that's undeniable. "Nothing I Do" is a hilarious lounge act with lyrics I cannot print here; suffice it to say the banter between this couple is priceless. "Mind Trick" has a sultry r&b-infused vibe that leads into a chorus that would sound right at home on an Al Green record. And the best is saved for last on "7 Days To Change Your Life," another bare-bones piano lounge track on which Cullum plays a TV infomercial announcer hawking a cure-all to life's ills. "Send me your money and I'll change your life," he sings in a spot-on parody. A vocal chameleon, Cullum's album is impossible to fully describe, you've really got to hear it for yourself. Catching Tales is an album that will take many repeat listens to fully reveal its brilliance, but rest assured it's worth the time and effort.
... ALBUMS YOU HAVEN'T HEARD BUT SHOULD
Saul Williams - "Saul Williams" (2004, Red Ink) * * * 1/2
Saul Williams is perhaps best-known for his debut with KRS-One as one of the performers in the film "Slam." But his blend of beat-hop poetry continues to impress on his second solo album on the Red Ink label. This isn't your everyday hip hop experience. Williams is an angry voice in a ghetto-saturated rap wasteland, and he's wanting to take his genre back for the street poets who invented it. "I've got a list of demands written on the palm of my hand," he yells. "I ball my fist so you will know where I stand ... we're living hand to mouth!" The music inventively blends traditional rap beats with live punk rock instrumentation, Williams' attempt to inject his music with raw power. Some of the more notable tracks, however, are the most sparse. "Black Student Movement" features a raw percussive backdrop as Williams speaks on the state of race relations today, particularly regarding the war on Iraq: "Uncle Sam signs you up. Benefits ... and a gun. Now tell me where my niggas at?" The album is a stunningly solid change of pace from the gang warfare norm. Too bad no one's heard it.
posted by Jonathan Sanders @ 2:52 AM
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