Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers' CD Reviews

SELECTED SHORT REVIEWS
From Amazon.com (Martin Sexton, Doc Watson) and Acoustic Guitar (all others)

LAURA LOVE, FOURTEEN DAYS

The world's leading Afro-Celtic old-timey funkadelic party band (hey, there's nothing like owning a category) is in fine form on their latest. There are fewer songs about bountiful butts compared to 1998's Shum Ticky, but there is still plenty to recommend this CD: a more fully developed soft side, with some lovely vocal harmonies and sparkling acoustic arrangements, along with the always-tasty guitar work of Rod Cook (now supported by Jennifer Todd on flattop guitar and mandolin) and, of course, plenty of bodacious grooves. This band truly comes into its own in front of a boogying festival audience, but there is still plenty of fun and frolic to be found here for these chilly winter months. (Zoë/Rounder)

DAYNA KURTZ, POSTCARDS FROM DOWNTOWN

A longtime denizen of the singer-songwriter underground emerges at last with a full studio CD, and it's potent stuff. Kurtz' singing is deep and dramatic, at times hair-raisingly intense, on songs that touch on everything from alt-rock to classic crooner pop to cabaret jazz. Her strong, soulful guitar work underpins the arrangements, which skillfully add strings, accordion, and such things as "weird ass ambient guitar" without obscuring the image of the solo troubadour. Those drawn to the dark shades of Tom Waits, Chris Whitley, and Indigo Girl Amy Ray will find much to admire in these vivid musical postcards. (Kismet)

MARTIN SEXTON, LIVE WIDE OPEN

Martin Sexton is one of those musicians who are so spectacular in concert--without a band, without a net--that their recordings can be a bit of a letdown. Sexton's two major-label efforts, The American and Wonder Bar, had their moments but tended to muffle his extravagant gifts as a singer and performer with conventional pop production; Black Sheep (1996) fared much better by only lightly supplementing his solo style. The double-CD set Live Wide Open, which inaugurates Sexton's own label, finally brings to record the essence of his high-wire shows: from blissed-out Ray Charles-style R&B/gospel to soaring pop ballads to his campy transformations into a '70s heavy-metal god. To accomplish all this, Sexton needs nothing more than his megawatt voice, deep-pocket guitar (jazz comping, rock lead, and funk bass rolled into one), and the sly grooves of his longtime drummer Joe Bonadio. Live Wide Open is the next best thing to the sweaty in-person experience. (Kitchen Table)

EASTMOUNTAINSOUTH

On their debut CD, the young duo of Kat Maslich and Peter Adams delivers a smooth, poppy take on Americana and troubadour folk. The central attraction of Eastmountainsouth is their silky voices, which blend to mesmerizing effect on Stephen Foster's "Hard Times" and a slate of originals. The arrangements (by Adams and coproducer Mitchell Froom) are soft and dreamy, a wash of acoustic and electric guitars, bouzouki, mandolin, pedal steel, and keyboards over understated bass and drums. Although the band name points toward Appalachia (and Maslich does come from Virginia), the musical vibe is closer to southern California--more Jackson Browne than Iris DeMent. (DreamWorks)

DOC WATSON, AT GERDES FOLK CITY

This flashback to Doc Watson's very first solo performances--1962 in the heart of New York City's folk revival--is most remarkable, perhaps, for its lack of surprises. Despite the fact that the soft-spoken man from Deep Gap, North Carolina, didn't even own an acoustic guitar to bring to the gig and had, as the liner notes attest, "a belly full of butterflies," everything that has made Watson a legend of traditional music was already in place: the warm, unvarnished singing, the folksy humor, the awesomely clean and precise guitar work (in this set, more Merle Travis-style fingerpicking than Watson's trademark flatpicking), the effortless segues from ballads to blues to old country hits. . . . Surprisingly well recorded and richly annotated by Peter Siegel, this is a welcome addition to the Doc discography. (Sugar Hill)

THE CASH BROTHERS, HOW WAS TOMORROW?

Miss your Uncle Tupelo? The debut of the Canadian brothers Andrew and Peter Cash delivers a similar sort of alt-country vibe, switching between austere acoustic strumming and pure garage rock. Their sibling harmonies are deadpan and dead-on, and their collaborative songwriting turns up a few gems. In particular, they take us into the mind of a 7-11 clerk who imagines himself performing on TV ("Night Shift Guru") and the daydreams of a cubicle serf ("Guitar Strings and Foolish Things"), vividly depicting what you might call the dust bowl of the new economy. Musically, the arrangements are simple and effective, emphasizing the rough-cut melodies and some very sturdy hooks. (Zoë/Rounder)