05/07/07
LOTOS NILE
ABRA MOORE/On the Way: In which we find one of our fave angry, young ladies drifting into incipient middle age with a new outlook and understanding tempering the fire that drove her so well for so long into something that might seem demure to the uninitiated but is a real valentine for her long time fans (it has been 20 years since Poi Dog Pondering). Bristling with the energy that grabbed us in the first place, Moore gleefully turns on the mixmaster to genre blend styles that turn her on and affect us accordingly. On an indy label and returning her to her indy spirit, this is the kind of set that people who have been losing interest in new music will sit up and take notice of. Solid throughout.
11 (Sarathan)
RAVEN
STORIES/Stories-About Us: Twofer of the band’s Kama Sutra albums that yielded some super hits but basically found Mike Brown drifting off to the wayside and Ian Lloyd using it to a springboard to a solo career that hit a few high notes before faltering. Setting the standard for left field, early 70’s pop, they took a lot of pop excesses of the time and honed them for proper middle American consumption. And they must have pissed someone off since these sides are finally making their cd debut. Serious as a heart attack pop that is loaded with snap still today.
246
BOBBIE GENTRY/Patchwork-Fancy: I’ll say it loud and proud, hurray for our pals in Aussieland for giving Gentry the long overdue props she so richly deserves. Hitting out of the box with a pop high water mark that would be hard for anyone to top, Capitol subsequently proceeded to prove they didn’t know what to do with her and let he make some great music in semi-obscurity since the profits from “Ode to Billie Joe” were more than ample enough to keep her on roster and away from other companies that might take her to the heights again. The first time on cd, these two sets from the paragon fantasy of southern womanhood came back to the charts with a song about a mother encouraging her whore daughter. Add to that some mesmerizing work, whether dipping into the Bacharach/David song book or her own imagination, and you get two sets of real pleasers for those in the know. Hardly dated 40 years later, this is simply great stuff you should check out. Now.
251
VIRGIN
JOSS STONE/Introducing (deluxe edition): Hey, lay off the lovely, young Ms. Stone. She may be a touch headstrong in feeling her way in the world, but she has great instincts and pop smarts that really are wise beyond her years. Intuitively taking a bit of a left turn on her new set, it has a lot that connects at a contemporary urban/pop level. You can feel her building toward along running career here as she takes her vocal chops and talents to new levels only hinted at when she was still a teen. Smart, sassy and sexy, this date has some yummy legs, in addition to Stone’s.
80132
Volume 30/Number 188
May 7, 2007
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
(c)2007 Midwest Record