Top Celebrity News
CD Reviews (Week of Nov. 24)
Hedley
The Show Must Go
(Universal)
There is hesitation in using the word mature to describe Hedley's third album because "mature" to some people means grave or serious. In this case, the band shows a willingness to try different approaches and embellish their songs with various textures. The irreverence is still there but there is more substance.
Rating: 3/5
--Tom Harrison, CNS
John Mayer
Battle Studies
(Columbia)
John Mayer has a lot of different arrows in his quiver and seems to use them all on this varied album. It starts with "Heartbreak Warfare," which is impressively imposing and introduces a tight, small ensemble that anchors the album. From there, Mayer branches into John Lennon territory ("All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye") Rumours era Fleetwood Mac ("Half Of My Heart" with Taylor Swift, a smart move), blues (his nifty take on Robert Johnson's "Crossroads") and generally keeps his writing standard high. While he might still be coming to terms with success and how these affect his relationships, he is yielding records of emotional range and musical colour.
Rating: 3/5
--Tom Harrison, CNS
Lil Wayne
No Ceilings
(Cash Money/Young Money)
Lil Wayne has appeared on nearly 20 (!) singles this year -- from Madonna's "Revolver" to his own "Prom Queen" -- and he's just released a new mixtape, No Ceilings, to promote the Dec. 15 release of Rebirth, his long-awaited rock/rap album.
Following mixtape tradition, Weezy grabs the beats from some of this summer's biggest singles and turns them into his own weirdo alien versions. The Black Eyed Peas' summer anthem, "I Gotta Feeling" becomes "I Got No Ceilings," a chronic-laced see-ya-in-a-year jam with the promise that, no matter what, anything can happen tonight.
3 Deep's "Watch My Shoes" becomes Weezy's sex anthem. Jay-Z's "Death of Auto-Tune" gives Lil Wayne the ability to show off his catlike ability to land on his feet, even though they will be shackled for the next year. Also featured is Hova's "Run This Town," Kid Cudi's Lady Gaga-sampled, "Make Her Say" and Beyonce's powerful electro-hop track, "Video Dreams."
Weezy's ability to take these established hits and make them his own shows, once again, that he can mash-up anything and turn it into gold.
(No Ceilings is available at www.weareyoungmoney.com)
Rating: 4/5
--Taz Dhariwal, CNS
Rihanna
Rated R
(Def Jam)
"I'm such a (expletive) lady," former R&B princess Rihanna warns on her latest album. She's now tough as nails -- an assault victim who had to deal not only with her lover's betrayal, but also the unrelenting glare of the spotlight. Rated R is also tough to sit through. On the one hand, Rihanna's fourth effort comes across as a gritty representation of an abuse survivor's range of feelings -- from sadness ("Stupid In Love") to fear ("Russian Roulette") to anger ("Hard"). On the other, Rated R feels too contrived -- like the Hollywood version of her life -- and too violent, thereby sending the wrong message to listeners. "Rock star 101" is an f-you anthem, complete with a slash of guitars and jostling beats, while "Russian Roulette" is peppered with gun references. Yet it's her softest track, "Photographs," that proves to be the most powerful -- couched in a breeze of synths, gentle acoustic strums and lyrics about loss and regret. "It should've been me and you / It could've been you and me / Before you broke my heart," Rihanna warbles. There's more anguish, soul and authenticity in those three lines than in the rest of the album.
Rating: 3/5
--Sandra Sperounes, CNS
Them Crooked Vultures
Them Crooked Vultures
(Interscope)
Vultures are crooked-looking -- with their broken necks, thug brows and beady eyes -- but of course, they serve a vital purpose, disposing of the carcasses that would otherwise toxify the planet. Nature's garbagemen.
Which brings us to classic rock. Never entirely dead, but long past its prime, rock's pachyderm lumbers around in pop's consciousness, looking for a place to keel over. Imagine all those riffs and grooves just putrefying all over the rock landscape? No. Someone has to devour, digest, regurgitate. And perhaps give birth to a new monster.
Which brings us to Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. On one level, Vultures make for a likely supergroup. Two Zep fans, one Zep legend, yeah, I can see that...
"Nobody Loves Me" opens with a lecherous grind. "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" lurches into the syncopations of "New Fang" before hi-falutin' playing reveals a catchy number in "Dead End Friends."
And they don't come more aptly named than "Elephants," trundling and proggy in the Physical Graffiti sense. Indeed, that Led Zeppelin record lurks in the shadows and the DNA here, especially later in the album.
But back to the personalities involved. There is a lingering surprise in finding JPJ here with the guy whose mindset produces titles like "Interlude With Ludes and Caligulove." Everything Homme plays has a louche swagger, a kind of prog-porn oomph. "Slick back my hair/ You know the devil's in there."
But to these guys, the IQ is in the playing, not the pretty words. "Scumbag Blues" drops an irresistibly funky Stevie Wonder breakdown on the keys (by Jones?) into its equally irresistible bad-acid stomp. "Bandoliers" drops little hints of "Ten Years Gone." "Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up" lives up to its epic title. The soon-to-be-classic "Caligulove" and "Spinning in Daffodils" illustrate a flair for the immensely, Cream-ily stoned. There's something very L.A. about it all. And Dave Grohl, who hasn't been mentioned here, can pretty much play anything on drums, give it weight and power it forward.
Rating: 4/5
--Mark Lepage, CNS
The William Blakes
Wayne Coyne
(Speed of Sound)
Thanks to a group of Danish musicians, Wayne Coyne is earning double the ink these days. Not only is he hawking his latest album with the Flaming Lips, his name is the title of this giddy pop debut by the William Blakes. It's apt -- considering the two bands share the same joie de vivre, if not some of the same weirdness. The William Blakes, led by Danish TV personality Kristian Leth, aren't quite as nutso on stage, but they often perform with two drummers and four guitarists. Gang vocals, goofy octaves, game-show synths, and nods to '80s hits (such as Lionel Richie's "Rhythm of the Night") make for a feel-good listen a la Edmonton's Christian Hansen and the Acoustics, but these sonic antics almost overshadow Leth's lyrics about religion, politics and science. Plus, their best song -- "Our Moment" -- is not even on Wayne Coyne. The Cure-meets-calypso number is on their second album, Dear Unknown Friend, not yet available in Canada. (Luckily, you can listen to the track on their MySpace page.)
Rating: 3/5
--Sandra Sperounes, CNS
