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Turkeys
and Gravy
More
Thanksgiving leftovers; or, some stuff(ing) that got by us
this year
By
John Brodeur
With
the holidays approaching, it’s time to empty out the old Xmas
stocking and see what got stuck down there in the toe. Here’s
a recap of some records that we (almost) missed in 2006.
 Tom
Petty
Highway
Companion (American)
It seems like a cop-out to rate artists’ new work against
their catalog, but with Tom Petty’s body of work, there’s
really no other way. It’s a Petty record, man! There
are good Petty records, and there are not-as-good Petty records.
(Fact: There are no downright bad Petty records—a stunning
achievement for someone of his vintage.) His latest solo release
fits neatly into the grand scheme between his only two other
solo releases (Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers,
both outstanding). Highway Companion isn’t as good
as either of those, but Petty, working again with Full
Moon Fever producer Jeff Lynne, has packed it with so
many references to those earlier recordings that it plays
like one of those greatest-hits packages where the artist
has to rerecord all the old songs to avoid a contractual dispute.
Familiar, but disorienting. For instance: “Turn This Car Around”
borrows a familiar cadence from “Into the Great Wide Open”;
“Damaged by Love” practically is “Walls.” On “Big Weekend,”
the ripped-off hook is so obvious, you can imagine the conversation
in the studio:
Lynne: “That’s ‘Yer So Bad,’ Tom.”
Petty: “Yeah. Guess it is.”
Lynne: “Alright, then. Take two.”
That said, there are some classic Petty moments, including
the shimmering “Square One” (on which he dons that weird Spanish
mafia voice from “Breakdown”) and “Flirting With Time,” which
finds Petty and Lynne in full-on Byrds mode.
 Christina
Aguilera
Back
to Basics (RCA)
If
I had any indie cred to begin with, I’d be bracing myself
right now: This excellent two-disc release borrows many of
its ideas and hooks from the WWII era, and recasts them as
Top 40 gold. The smart, beat-driven first disc is tons of
fun, with Aguilera pledging allegiance to her one and only
(A&R) man, but promising that she is, in fact, “Still
Dirrty.” The Linda Perry-produced second disc gets bogged
down by theatrics early on, but it perks right back up when
Aguilera extends an invitation to “put your icing on my cake.”
Dirrty, indeed.
 New
London Fire
I
Sing the Body Holographic (Eyeball)
Dave Debiak, former brain of Per-nice Brothers-like retro-pop
outfit Sleep Station, assembled a team of multi- instrumentalists
to create his latest project, New London Fire. The title of
their debut disc—I Sing the Body Holographic—gives
the game away before it begins: It’s a dance record. While
Debiak’s way with a breathy pop melody is intact, those melodies
are now swathed in taut, melodic basslines; heavy-on-the-kick-and-hat
drumming; the kind of guitar playing that we critics like
to call angular; and the synths (and beats, often)
of ’84—which means it sounds very current, and, thanks to
Debiak’s often-on writing, very good. Fans of the Killers
and Snow Patrol should take to this like a goth to fishnet.
Akron/Family
Meek
Warrior (Young God)
A meek release. These guys can do so much better. Their 700th
album in two years is due next spring—here’s hoping they’re
back up to par by then.
 Various
Artists
Big
Star Small World (Koch)
After being shelved for eight years, this neat tribute to
Alex Chilton and company finally saw the light of day last
spring. With the exception of Big Star’s own stiff and unremarkable
reunion recording (“Hot Thing”), nothing stands out as below
par, but merely so-so. Only the Afghan Whigs’ macabre “Nighttime”
and the Posies’ clever reconstitution of “What’s Going Ahn”
make attempts at screwing with the tunes; otherwise, the results
are mixed: Kelly Willis’ country-fried “When My Baby’s Beside
Me” and the Gin Blossoms’ straight read of “Back of a Car”
are both reverent and fine. But while it’s fun to hear Juliana
Hatfield belt it out on “Don’t Lie to Me,” you won’t need
to hear it twice, and Matthew Sweet’s “The Ballad of El Goodo”
is note-perfect but lifeless. (It benefits, however, from
having Big Star drummer Jody Stephens on board, and pushed
way up in the mix.) Big Star devotees might want to give this
a spin or two, but they’ll return to their CD copies of #1
Record/Radio City in a heartbeat.
 |
 Mark
Eitzel
Candy
Ass (Cooking Vinyl)
Candy
Ass is a pointless toss-off coming from such a generally
reliable songwriter. While Love Songs for Patriots
(2004’s American Music Club reunion record) is Eitzel’s latter-career
triumph, this one ranks at the other end of the spectrum.
The programmed beats and electronic chatter that provide the
background (and much of the foreground) of Candy Ass
are simply off- putting. “Sleeping Beauty” is the album’s
sole keeper because it steers (mostly) clear of the clunky
electronica. Download that and skip the rest.
 Prince
3121
(Universal)
Hot damn. Half of this album sounds like Ween, which means
it sounds like old Prince, which means it’s the best Prince
release in ages. Way more fun than Musicology. Even
the ballads are good.
Frank
Black
Fastman/Raiderman
(Back Porch)
An overstuffed disappointment. Black packed nearly as many
songs (22, to this album’s 27) into his 1994 solo high-water
mark Teenager of the Year, but those were filled with
enough stylistic schizophrenia to float the project. The tracks
here, drawn from four separate sessions (including some left
over from last year’s very good Honeycomb) match Black
with some of the finest studio cats in the industry, but while
the players are top-of-the-heap, the songs aren’t always so
hot. With Black in full-on Nashville Skyline mode,
there’s precious little variety to keep things interesting
for two whole hours, and a great many of the tracks fall somewhere
between loping and plodding. However, there are flashes of
brilliance throughout that, compiled, would have made an excellent
single disc.
Various
Artists
The
Killer in You: A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins (Reignition)
Really? Does anyone really want to hear this? I’d bet that,
of the 250 copies this thing will move, Billy Corgan buys
50 of them.
Greg
Laswell
Through
Toledo (Vanguard)
Cali-based singer-songwriter- producer Greg Laswell falls
in line somewhere between Pete Yorn and the late Elliott Smith.
To specifically call on those two one-man bands isn’t a mistake:
Laswell plays all but violin and a few guitar tracks on this,
his second solo release. All the classic pop sounds—backward
guitars, Mellotron, Fender Rhodes, keyboard percussion—are
employed here, as are some more modern, er, alternative
touches, like the Siamese Dream wash of guitars he
lays on “Worthwhile.” His reedy tenor sometimes recalls Rufus
Wainwright and Thom Yorke, and the songwriting, especially
lead track “Sing, Theresa Says,” can be borderline gorgeous.
Don’t let this one slip through the cracks.
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