ALBUM REVIEWS
The Killers Wonderful Wonderful Island
Wonderful Wonderful finds The Killers exploring different sounds, from straight-ahead rock to synth-led, New Wave-ish electronica and U2-like jangly guitars.
In Tyson Vs Douglas, Brandon Flowers recounts what it was like to be a child watching his boxing hero collapse and fears he, too, will one day fail his children. The album frequently returns to boxing and mothers — twin images of force and love.
Run for Cover — a driving, classic-sounding Killers tune — exposes the hypocrisy of men in power, while the twangy, foot-stomper The Calling — narrated by Woody Harrelson, no less — continues that theme in a religious way. “Lie, cheat, steal — hope they fix it up in post,” Flowers sings.
Leon Russell On a Distant Shore Palmetto Records
Leon Russell’s final album, On a Distant Shore, is a career highlight recorded over his last living year and released 10 months after his November 2016 passing.
On a Distant Shore has similar feelings of finality as Leonard Cohen’s farewell, You Want It Darker.
“Sounds like a funeral for some person here,” Russell sings on the title track in his trademark trill. “And I might be the one.”
His daughters, Sugaree Noel Bridges and Coco Bridges, add some “dip do waddy waddy” backing vocals and the instrumental track validates the lyrics — “I hear the sound of violins /Is this how the story ends?/And I’m lost on a distant shore.”
Russell also reinterpreted three of his best-known songs — This Masquerade, Hummingbird and A Song for You — with orchestral arrangements by Larry Hall.
Other high points include the bluesy Black and Blue, the epic On the Waterfront and Love This Way.
Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers The Long-Awaited Album Rounder Records
There’s a lot of excellent music on Steve Martin’s new bluegrass album with the Steep Canyon Rangers — sometimes, though, to quote Gloria Estefan, words get in the way.
Take Caroline — it has a cracking, virile refrain calling out for the object of the protagonist’s affection, but the verses are clunky and break down long before the end.
Lyrically sharper are Girl From River Run and On the Water. Santa Fe winningly combines bluegrass with Mariachi horns and Martin’s lyrics reach an accomplished balance between humorous and touching.
Of the instrumentals, shining brightest are the oddly named Office Supplies and So Familiar.
The Steep Canyon Rangers formed in 2000 by students at the University of North Carolina more than hold their own and Woody Platts’s lead vocals carry the best songs.