ALBUM REVIEWS
JUDAS PRIEST
Firepower Epic Records Firepower, the fast-paced title track is the best song Judas Priest has recorded in nearly three decades, kicking off a strong album that stands with any they’ve done before.
Firepower features songs from the viewpoint of soldiers or warriors, whether it’s the unnamed foes in the title track, the devil in Evil Never Dies, or mortal opponents in No Surrender. It also features a string of Blacklisttype villains, each given a sinister name that could have formed an episode of the James Spader TV show: Necromancer, Flame Thrower and Spectre.
Though not the vocal siren he used to be, Rob Halford is still scary, intense and convincing in the lower registers.
Firepower may also be the last album that founding guitarist Glenn Tipton plays on, having retired last month from touring due to Parkinson’s disease. His solos here with guitar colleague Richie Faulkner are definitely Priest-worthy.
JIMI HENDRIX
Both Sides of the Sky Experience Hendrix/Sony Legacy Both Sides of the Sky is the last in a trilogy, gathering assorted Hendrix studio recordings, following 2010’s Valleys of Neptune and 2013’s People, Hell and Angels. Ten of the 13 tracks are billed as previously unreleased, though several are alternate or instrumental versions of known Hendrix tracks.
A take on Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock, features Hendrix on bass, with vocals and organ by Stephen Stills.
Power of Soul was mixed by Eddie Kramer and Hendrix at his Electric Lady Studios weeks before his death. Hendrix was known to be a perfectionist and maybe he’d have continued tweaking the complex, upbeat, optimistic song, but it seems to provide the clearest sample of what may have come next.
THE JOHN L. NELSON PROJECT
Don’t Play With Love Maken It Music/Ropeadope Unless you’re a dedicated Prince fan, John L. Nelson’s name may not ring a bell, but there’s a good chance you’ve heard some of his tunes. A jazz pianist who named his son after his stage name (Prince Rogers), Nelson died in 2001. His daughter rediscovered some sheet music with her father’s handwritten charts. A belated tribute to his 100th birthday, Don’t Play With Love is a clear, straightforward and worthy jazz collection that stands on its own merits.
The album’s family ties go even deeper, as the elder Nelson’s nephew, famed drummer Louis Hayes anchors the band, which interprets the seven compositions with verve and style.
Album opener Lucky Am I has a spacious, cinematic quality. Don’t Play With Love is a lush ballad with a dizzying closing sax solo.
Despite the Prince connection — the album needs no nepotistic boost. It just swings, baby!