Music Reviews

'Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2'

Fresh Air

June 12, 2000 • Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2 " by British folksinger Billy Bragg, and the American rock band Wilco. It's a sequel to "Mermaid Avenue" a collection of Woody Guthrie lyrics set to music.

'Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2'

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Kronos

June 6, 2000 • Banning Eyre reviews the latest recording from the adventurous California-based string quartet, the Kronos Quartet. The CD is called Caravan and is an exploration of music from places as far-flung as Portugal, Romania, Iran, India, and Argentina.

Kronos

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Youssou N'Dour

May 16, 2000 • Charles de Ledesma reviews a new CD from Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, called Joko. Ledesma says the album is a bit of a hybrid, with half the songs based in the classic tradition of West African music, and the other half with a more pop and hip-hop music sound.

Youssou N'Dour

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Rachel Podger's Bach

April 27, 2000 • Music critic Tom Manoff has been listening to a new recording of Bach's music performed by English violinist Rachel Podger. She performs using a Baroque violin with strings made from gut. This allows listeners to hear Bach performed as Bach himself would have heard his music. The CD is called Sonatas & Partitas Vol. 1.

Rachel Podger's Bach

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Zuco 103: Changing the Rhythms of Brazil

April 11, 2000 • Music reviewer Charles de Ledesma reviews the CD Outro Lado by the band Zuco 103. They are a trio from Amsterdam, headed by a Brazilian musician named Lillian Viera. She and her band incorporate the traditional musical forms of Brazil — bossa nova and samba — with electronica, funk and jazz. They are at the forefront of a musical movement in Europe called "NU Brazilian", which features this hybrid sound of European dance music and Brazilian rhythms.

Zuco 103: Changing the Rhythms of Brazil

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Susana Baca

March 28, 2000 • Banning Eyre reviews the new CD Eco de Sombras by Susana Baca. Considered by many to be the latest world music "diva", Baca is from Lima, Peru and her songs come out of a rich Afro-Peruvian music tradition. This is a tradition that has been largely ignored in Peru, and the musicians there who do play this material have had to act almost as archaeologists, locating songs, rebuilding old instruments, recreating a style.

Susana Baca

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Kepa Junkera

January 18, 2000 • Banning Eyre reviews the new CD Bilbao Zero Hour by Basque accordionist Kepa Junkera. Junkera has invited musicians from all around the world to join him on a recording that went gold in Spain. It's now become available in this country. (3:30)
The CD is Bilbao Zero Hour by Kepa Junkera. It is on Alula Records. For more information call 1-800-932-5852 .

Kepa Junkera

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Surf Music

January 11, 2000 • David Greenberger reviews the latest CD from the surf guitar band "Los Straitjackets". The band is from Nashville, and when they perform they like to wear Mexican wrestling masks, medallions, and matching black turtlenecks. But their music is distinctively surf music — with many original tunes, and some eclectic covers, like Louis Prima and the love theme from the film Titanic. The music is all about surprise, invention, and good taste. (3:30) Los Straitjackets latest disc is on the YepRoc Records label.

Surf Music

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Keith Jarrett

January 3, 2000 • Tom Moon reviews pianist Keith Jarrett's new CD The Melody at Night, With You. Jarrett has had chronic fatigue syndrome for several years, and has not been able to play or perform in public much. But he's used this time to record lovely and contemplative solo versions of jazz standards. (4:00) The CD is The Melody at Night, With You by Keith Jarrett. It's on ECM Records, catalog number 1675.

Keith Jarrett

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Musafir

November 16, 1999 • Banning Eyre reviews the first international recording by a northern Indian band called Musafir. The group was one of the standouts on last year's "Gypsy Caravan Tour" in the US.

Musafir

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Mozart and Brahms

August 30, 1999 • Music critic Tom Manoff listens to a new CD of Clarinet Quintets. The works are by Mozart and by Brahms performed by David Shifrin and the Emerson String Quartet. Manoff says he's heard these works many times, and was very pleased by the intimacy and passion in the performances. (5:15) The CD is called Mozart/Brahms Clarinet Quintets. Performed by David Shifrin and the Emerson String Quartet, on Deutsche Grammophon Records.

Mozart and Brahms

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Kandia Kouyate

July 27, 1999 • Banning Eyre reviews the first international release by Malian singer Kandia Kouyate. She is a "griot" singer, entrusted with the oral history of her people. On this wide-ranging recording, Kouyate sings some traditonal material, but also shows off her powerful voice in her first departure into dance and pop music.

Kandia Kouyate

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Chemical Brothers

July 15, 1999 • Charles de Ledesma reviews the latest CD from the Chemical Brothers, called "Surrender". It's in the same vein as their previous two albums -- rich, multi-layered, electronic dance music, with many high-profile guest vocalists including Bernard Sumner from New Order and Noel Gallagher from Oasis. The Chemical Brothers are credited as the pioneers of "electronica," and Ledesma says this CD once again proves their talent for pushing electronic dance music in bold new directions.

Chemical Brothers

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Steve Earle: 'The Mountain'

June 29, 1999 • Nick Spitzer reviews the latest CD by Steve Earle, a 25 year veteran of the Nashville country music scene. Earle got into drugs for a while, but says he's done with all that now. He's teamed up with one of this country's best bluegrass bands for a rollicking collaboration of country, rock and bluegrass called The Mountain.

Steve Earle: 'The Mountain'

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Dan Bern, 'Smartie Mine'

May 3, 1999 • Music Reviewer Will Hermes listens to music from energetic folk rocker Dan Bern. Hermes finds Smartie Mine, the new double-CD from Dan Bern, filled with rant and raves and lots of fun. The CD is self-released, something unexpected from someone with a contract with Sony Records.

Dan Bern, 'Smartie Mine'

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