Marr scales new heights
‘Call the Comet’ rich and deep
JBy Mark Kennedy
“Call the Comet” (New Voodoo Records) The two leading forces behind The Smiths have offered new music lately, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. This fall, we found Morrissey spending the day in bed in “Low in High School,” hiding in his sheets and warning us to “stop watching the news.”
Now it’s time for former bandmate, Johnny Marr. On his third solo album, “Call the Comet,” Marr couldn’t be more opposite — charging into the world, definitely watching the news and making vibrant, scintillating music in the process.
The 12-track rock album is easily his best as a solo artist, deep and rich both musically and lyrically. Playing “Call the Comet” is like biting into a meaty, hearty stew after years of getting by on just broth. Most of the songs are over four minutes, showing an artist less concerned with radio play and more with complexity and beauty.
Marr uses jangling guitars, progressive hooks and thick synths to create unexpected parings, like on “Bug,” a jaunty, foot-stomper about the virus of right-wing ideology (“Everybody feels the aching/Population is sick and shaking/Can’t think straight /Minds breaking.”)
The Cars, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues, Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The audience was treated to a hilarious
Kesha
Perry
Other standouts are The Curesounding “Spiral Cities,” the warm and smooth “Hi Hello” that nods to Patti Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot,” the dark and moody “Actor Attractor” and the spacy, brilliant “Walk Into the Sea.”
“Please Don’t Be Dead” (Blackball Universe/ Cooking Vinyl)
Fantastic Negrito has an incredible, inspiring backstory but it would be a shame to unwittingly allow it to overshadow the issue at hand, the truly fantastic blend of blues, funk, rock and R&B created on “Please Don’t Be Dead” by the man born Xavier Dphrepaulezz.
As Negrito’s songs feed on his personal experiences, you should at least know that he grew up with 13 siblings in a Muslim family which moved from Massachusetts to Oakland when he was 12, around 1980. He released an album (“The X Factor”) as Xavier in 1996 but a debilitating car crash in 1999 — the theme of this album’s cover — contributed to a prolonged interval. The debut of this new career phase was the 2014 EP “Fantastic Negrito” and “The Last Days of Oakland,” which won the Grammy for best contemporary blues album last year. “Please Don’t Be Dead” pulverizes any fears of the dreaded sophomore slump. (AP)
speech by presenter Howard Stern, who introduced Bon Jovi, and touching tributes to Tom Petty and Chris Cornell. (RTRS)
CHICAGO:
An honorary street naming in Detroit for the King of Pop was canceled Wednesday.
Michael Jackson Avenue was supposed to be officially unveiled Friday in Motor City, just as the late artist’s surviving brothers prepared to perform at a weekend concert.
But the ceremony was called off, as members of the Jackson 5 — the family act where Michael Jackson got his start — wondered why the entire group wasn’t being honored. (AFP)