ROCK DOC Reviews: May 8th, 2011

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Sunday, 08 May 2011 00:00

Written by John The Rock Doctor!

“Live At River Plate” AC/DC (Columbia) *****

Another AC/DC concert video… er, DVD? Yes- but the good news is, it’s also their best.

Filmed over 3 days in 2009 at one of Argentina’s most famous soccer stadiums, “River Plate” is an excellent rock & roll experience. Over the course of a two hour show, AC/DC works in 4 tunes from their then-current album “Black Ice”, along with the classics that 60 or 70-odd thousand fans came to hear. From the opening animation sequence featuring an animated train to the finale of cannon fire on “For Those About To Rock”, the whole place went stark raving mental. The entire field pogoed in unison, sang along, and cheered madly. Guitarist Angus Young, always the focal point, dropped trou to reveal a pair of AC/DC boxers, and he made use of the long walkway to a smaller stage near the center of the audience. All in all not as fancy as some others (Kiss), but likely their most elaborate stage show to date. Nearly 40 years into their career, the band is jaw-droppingly tight. Vocalist Brian Johnson has lost some top end but the guys grooves furiously throughout, conducted by Angus’s every leap, shimmy, head nod and gyration. Bonus features are excellent, including interviews with passionate South American fans (and a guy that flew in from Japan) and a behind the scenes featurette on the staging of the concert with a few words from the band themselves. AC/DC runs on adrenaline and instinct, and it’s a thing of savage beauty. Critics have long held that the Rolling Stones are ‘the world’s greatest rock & roll band’, but they’re wrong- it’s AC/DC, and “Live At River Plate” proves it.

Sweet Spots: bonus features plus “Rock & Roll Train”, “The Jack”, “Let There Be Rock”

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“God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise” Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs (Sony) ******

Well, better late than never. This came out in August of 2010 and though the record company sent it to me on DMDS, I passed it by because I didn’t know the dude. But last night (May 11^th) I’m watching Letterman, these guys play, and I’m flat out blown away.

Based on the song they played (“Repo Man”) I went looking for the album, only to discover I’d had it for 9 months already. In my defense, I’m offered literally hundreds of albums to review every year and it can get to be a bit of a blur. “Creek” is very rootsy, driven by LaMontagne’s passionate and intense vocals. The Pariah Dogs (his live band) play behind him with instinctive, preternatural grace as the songs shamble between folk, blues, rock and country, not unlike The Band and, occasionally, CSN&Y. “I’ve been wanting to capture what we’ve been doing live for some time” Ray said around the time of the album’s release, “the chemistry is really special.” Aside from enjoying the performance on Letterman I felt that chemistry- it had me looking for the record before I went to work this morning. I write this review after just one spin, and look forward to spending more time crawling into the grooves. Had I reviewed this last year when I SHOULD have, it would’ve made the top of my “Best of 2011” list. In a mediocre world a beautiful record like this shines like a beacon, and I am in awe.

Sweet Spots: “Are We Really Through?”, “Repo Man”, the title track

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“Strictly Whatever” Harry Manx & Kevin Breit (Stony Plain) *****

The latest collaboration between these two brilliant musicians is one of the most delightful discs I’ve had the pleasure of spinning all year.

“Strictly Whatever” opens with a deft remake of Bobby Hebb’s classic “Sonny” and wanders all over from there. That this disc strays often from Manx’s blues/ East Indian sound is something of a revelation, they split the lead vocals and there are 3 vocal duets. Kevin wrote 6 of these tracks, Harry wrote 3 and there are the cover tunes, but they all sound like Manx/ Breit songs. Delightful surprises include the playful instrumental “Hippy Trippy” and Breit’s Jeff Beck-like solo on “Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep”. Yes you could call “Strictly Whatever” a blues album, but its boundaries are broader than that- as you might expect when these guys get together. This is awesome!

Street date, May 24^th.

Sweet Spots: “Do Not Stand At My Grave & Weep”, “Nothing I Can Do”, “Hippy Trippy”, “Little Ukelele”

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“35 Years of Stony Plain” Various Artists (Stony Plain) *****

If you enjoy roots music, this 3 disc (2 CD’s, a bonus DVD) celebration of Stony Plain’s existence is money VERY well spent.

Tagging themselves “Canada’s roots, rock, folk, country and blues label”, Holger Petersen and the other folks at Stony Plain are on a mission. Over the two discs we get sweet tracks by past and current label artists such as Ian Tyson, Amos Garrett, Steve Earle, Duke Robillard, Maria Muldaur and Jeff Healey. An unexpected bonus on disc 1 is 3 previously unreleased songs by Bob Carpenter. On disc 2, we get 4 unreleased tracks by Robert Nighthawk, and one from King Biscuit Boy. It’s a great introduction to Stony Plain and their mission of finding the best in roots and blues, and releasing it to the world. The bonus DVD is a highlight for me, including a new tour of the label offices and some chat with Holger Petersen that makes me want to wind my life back 30 years and try something as cool as starting a label. There are several videos too, including Jeff Healey, Duke Robillard, Jay McShann & Johnnie Johnson, and a few more. I could go on about this set for pages, but I’d rather turn off my computer, grab a tumbler of something brown, and listen again. Yeah- think I’ll do that.

Sweet Spots: “The Wildcat” (Jeff Healey), “Blaino’s Song” (Ian Tyson), “No More Doggin;” (Rosco Gordon), “Mississippi Man” (Rory Block), plus “A Tour Of The Stony Plain Offices” on the DVD.

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“Matthew Morrison” Matthew Morrison (Mercury) * * * ½

Even as a “Glee” fan I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this album is. And at just 10 cuts, he (wisely) doesn’t over stay his welcome.

For those that don’t know, Matthew Morrison plays Will Schuester on the show. “M-M” is a likeable collection of tunes that will no doubt be welcomed by (I hate to say it) ‘Gleeks’. Matt combines classic crooning with modern pop elements and light jazz undercurrents for a totally refreshing sound. He scored some nice duets for his first time out too; Sting on a sweet remake of “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot”, a mash-up of “Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters/ Rocket Man” with Elton John, and Morrison recreates the mesmerizing version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” with Gwyneth Paltrow that was first heard on “Glee”. Smart-ass critics will likely dismiss “Matthew Morrison” as a fluffy pop confection, but I’ve liked this Broadway vet’s voice since the first show. This is a fine debut that will be spending some serious time in my CD changer.

Sweet Spots: “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot” (with Sting), “Summer Rain”, “Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters/ Rocket Man” (with Elton)

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“Collider” Sam Roberts (Universal) ***

4^th album on the shelves here for these multiple Juno Award winning Montreal rockers is tasty, melodic work- but it may not be what longtime fans are expecting.

The band’s circle has expanded on this record to include Chicago based producer Brain Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine) and in fact “Collider” was recorded in the Windy City. “I heard the Modest Mouse records that Brian made” says Roberts. “There was something that just clicked for me, especially his treatment of rhythm and sounds.” Indeed, monumental riffs have taken a back seat this time, with Deck extracting more of an overall rolling funk undercurrent at times. As for the emotionally taut subject matter of songs like “Twist The Knife” or the album opener “The Last Crusade” Sam says “I tried to bring the songs back to my own personal fears- what life might be like if you had just done this or that. You always find yourself walking the line.” And though I wish the sounds were cleaner, “Collider” is absolutely the right album at this point in their career.

Sweet Spots: “Longitude”, “The Last Crusade”, “Tractor Beam Blues”

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“Move Like This” The Cars (Universal) **½

I woke up this morning with a strange feeling that I had time warped back to the 80’s, then I remembered- I spent most of last night listening to The Cars new album.

It’s their first time out since, what… 1984 and “Heartbeat City”? With the death of bassist/ co lead singer Benjamin Orr in 2000 (he sang on such hits as “Drive”) keyboardist Greg Hawkes has taken over on the fat strings, but the results are still classic Cars. Ric Ocasek had a fistful of songs and was deciding whether or not to do another solo album. Good thing he called the guys up, because I don’t think ANYONE has ever given a shit about an Ocasek record. As you might expect “Move Like This” is, in most ways, a classic Cars album- taut, economical alt-pop/rock tunes decorated with keyboard textures. But for my money this disc, like everything that followed their amazing self-titled debut, lacks the sizzle of that opening salvo. “Move Like This” isn’t a BAD record, but it’s not a great one either. Who knows? Maybe I just need to give this a little more time to grow on me- stay tuned.

Sweet Spots: “Sad Song”, “Blue Tip”, “Hits Me”