Music Reviews

Rhino Reissues Punk Classics from X

Fresh Air

November 29, 2001 • Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews three new re-issues from the LA band X.

Narco-Corrido Music

November 19, 2001 • NPR's Renee Montagne talks with Elijah Wald. He's a musician who's spent years researching Mexican "narco-corrido" music — ballads made from combining waltzes with border music that celebrate the lifestyle of borderland drug traffickers.

Rock critic Ken Tucker

Fresh Air

November 14, 2001 • Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Is This It, the debut CD of the New York quintet, The Strokes. (RCA Re

Jazz Musician Henry Threadgill 'Pops Up' With Zooid

Fresh Air

November 14, 2001 • Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Up Popped the Two Lips, one of two new records by composer, saxophonist and flutist Henry Threadgill. Threadgill recorded the album with a new sextet called Zooid.

Dr. John

November 8, 2001 • Scott Aiges reviews the latest CD from Dr. John, the New Orleans musician who mixes up blues, jazz, R&B, and Afro-Caribbean funk. It's called Creole Moon. The label is Blue Note.

Bach's Hidden Melodies

November 5, 2001 • A new CD called Morimurfeatures music by J.S. Bach, performed by violinist Christoph Poppen and the voices of the Hilliard Ensemble. The Chaconne from Bach's Partita in D is performed with solo violin, along with various church chorales. Then the Chaconne is performed again, this time with the singers bringing out secret melodies. Critic Tom Manoff says hearing the hidden layers beneath the music made him appreciate the genius of Bach even more.

Leonard Cohen Returns

November 1, 2001 • The brooding singer of sad and lonely songs is back. Leonard Cohen has just released his first new studio recording in 9 years. This record finds him still thinking about relationships gone wrong and romance but with some thoughtful distance perhaps attained through his 5 recent years at a Zen retreat. Our critic Tom Moon reviews Ten New Songs by Leonard Cohen, with music by Sharon Robinson. The CD is on Columbia records.

Music Review: 'The Complete Billie Holiday On Columbia (1933-1944)'

Fresh Air

November 1, 2001 • Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews The Complete Billie Holiday On Columbia (1933-1944).

Bjork Review

October 25, 2001 • Critic Will Hermes listens to the new Bjork cd titled Vespertine. The music composed on her laptop computer is full of unusual rhythms and textures. (4:45) The cd Vespertine, by Bjork, is on Elektra records.

Music Review: Babyface and Alicia Keys

Fresh Air

October 24, 2001 • Music critic Milo Miles reviews albums from neo-soul artists Babyface and Alicia Keys.

Beulah: 'The Coast Is Never Clear'

October 17, 2001 • Music critic Sarah Bardeen reviews a new CD by the band Beulah, called The Coast is Never Clear. Bardeen says that even if the coast is not, the band's sound is.

Two New Jazz CDs

October 10, 2001 • Charles de Ledesma reviews two new modern jazz releases. The first is Hyperion with Higgins, by Charles Lloyd, who plays the tenor saxophone. He has dedicated his album to the late Billy Higgins, who played drums with Lloyd. The second album is Not for Nothin, by the Dave Holland Quintet. Ledesma says both albums reinforce that modern jazz is still a potent creative musical force.
Both CDs are from the record label ECM.

Review: Bob Dylan's 'Love and Theft'

Fresh Air

October 3, 2001 • Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Love and Theft (Columbia) the new release by Bob Dylan.

Leos Janacek

September 24, 2001 • Tom Manoff has a review of a new CD of piano music by Leos Janacek, a Czech composer who lived and composed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It's called Leos Janacek, A Recollection. Janacek was known for infusing his classical compositions with the folk music of his native Moravia. This new recording features pianist Andras Schiff. It's on the ECM label.

Evan Ziporyn's 'This Is Not a Clarinet'

September 10, 2001 • Colin Berry reviews the CD This is Not a Clarinet, by Evan Ziporyn. The album offers incredible insight into the kinds of sounds the clarinet can deliver. The album has been released by Cantaloupe Music.