ALBUM REVIEWS
ROGER DALTREY As Long As I Have You Republic Records
Roger Daltrey has embodied many characters on record, stage and screen but his personality never gets lost in the song. Instead, his credibility and authenticity as a vocalist make the tunes his own no matter who wrote them.
Pete Townshend plays acoustic guitar and a few electrifying solos on seven of the 11 songs on the album, an exquisitely chosen selection of tunes by Stephen Stills, Parliament, Stevie Wonder, Nick Cave, K.T. Oslin by way of Dusty Springfield and Boz Scaggs.
The end of the album brings a rarity: Daltrey originals — the tender Certified Rose, with Stax-like horns, dedicated to his daughter, and thoughtful closer Always Heading Home.
XAVIER RUDD Storm Boy Nettwerk Records
Musically, Rudd fits effortlessly into the contemporary singersongwriter vernacular — some acoustic sounds, some strings, some reggae beats, plenty of soaring choruses. And a didgeridoo and ample earnestness. At his best, he sounds a little like Tim Finn.
Opener Walk Away has a prime example of the soaring chorus, while Fly Me High is about being in Peru, a vision of his future wife and a butterfly sitting on his feet while in the Amazon rainforest. Best That I Can mentions Mother Teresa and current affairs and Times Like These waxes philosophical.
Rudd has the ability to integrate each song into a single flow, like a river winding through varied landscapes. The journey on Storm Boy has plenty of captivating tunes and if sometimes it feels a tad long as the 13 songs stream by, Rudd’s personality and musicianship make for amiable travelling companions.
JENNIFER WARNES Another Time, Another Place BMG
You may remember her tremendous 1987 collection of Leonard Cohen songs, Famous Blue Raincoat — and her soundtrack hits from Norma Rae, An Officer and a Gentleman and Dirty Dancing.
There are no Cohen compositions on Another Time, Another Place, but Warnes and producer bassist Roscoe Beck have found plenty of songs worth of their attention and talent.
The opening track, Eddie Vedder’s Just Breathe, is imbued with a dose of elegance both in Warnes’ vocals and in the arrangement, which chooses strings and a French horn to layer emotional heft.
Greg Leisz’ pedal steel and Dean Parks’ mandolin help guide Newbury’s So Sad and Ray Bonneville’s I Am the Big Easy is like a New Orleans encyclopedia.
If it took Warnes a long time to commit to making another album, the clarity and confidence of her performances on Another Time, Another Place validate her decision with style and grace.