Arrogance about his place in the pantheon could have made this album more than the "Rock Band" download it might as well be. He could have shed the Clive Davis-engendered, chart-aimed, guest-heavy slickness of everything since his 1999 comeback "Supernatural," but the presence of Rob Thomas (singing Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love"), Chris Cornell (singing Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love") and Scott Weiland (singing the Rolling Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking") indicates an unwillingness to ditch the Davis approach.Įven when rapper Nas steps up for AC/DC's "Back in Black" and India.Arie and Yo-Yo Ma sweeten the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," this album barely recalls the gritty, smoking energy of Santana's 1960s and 1970s prime. what does Santana think he's doing on "Guitar Heaven," a covers album of rock-radio favorites? But second-guessing is also often a critic's job, so.
It is the height of arrogance to second-guess a musician's choices, especially when that musician is as lauded as Carlos Santana. Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time Sam Seiler, Special to the Journal Sentinel At the moment, what he has is another fine blast of power-pop wind. Ultimately, Yorn determines that he's done pretty well and would do even better to sit back and appreciate what he has. Later, he channels Eddie Vedder for an intimate list of introspective questions about whether taking a more commonly traveled path in life might have served him better in the end. On "Rock Crowd," Yorn showers moaning acoustic adulation atop his own adoring fans. Perhaps it wasn't just the compressed schedule that created the sense of immediacy here, but rather Yorn's growing understanding of his own mortality: against a rip current of guitars just dirty enough to make the Foo Fighters proud, he opens the album wishfully singing, "Come on, come on, we're gonna get there/Come one, come on, we've gotta go . . . There don't seem to be too many roster spots remaining for solo males in the world of mainstream power pop, but that hasn't stopped Pete Yorn from delivering first-string caliber performances time after time.įresh off a two-release 2009 that included a duet album with actress Scarlett Johansson, Yorn released his eponymous seventh album, produced by Frank Black (Pixies) and recorded over five days in western Oregon. Geraud Blanks, Special to the Journal Sentinel "Lyrics" won't propel Jones to stardom, but it will satisfy loyal followers. Uptempo, club pop songs aren't Jones' forte, but "What's Next" and "You Can Burn" mesh fairly well with his bread-and-butter tunes like the guitar-laden track "Just A Little." He spins a tangled web of deceit on "Blackmail" and reverses the male/female paradigm on "Imagine That," much like Beyonce's hit song "If I Were a Boy." There isn't much Jones doesn't do well when contemplating love, lust and life's consequences. His new album, "Lyrics," continues his tradition of mixing seductive pronouncements, such as the exceptional "Your Place," with the "good guy" mantra of "All about the Sex." He's honest about what he wants without being callous, a skill many of his younger counterparts have yet to master. Typical of Jones' work over the past decade, it showcases what makes him unique. "Where I Wanna Be", Donell Jones' 1999 single, should be required listening for any woman who wants a candid look into the male psyche. Erik Ernst, Special to the Journal Sentinel Kenny Chesney will perform Saturday as part of Farm Aid 25 at Miller Park. But when Chesney's rich vocals blend with Grace Potter's to explore the delicate nature of love on "You and Tequila," it works perfectly. In some cases, the reflective focus goes too far, making "Coastal" a clichéd tongue-in-cheek litany of Gulf Coast images.
With "Hemingway's Whiskey," Chesney largely eschews his usual Southern party rock to focus on melodic emotional glances back in time, exploring the long-lost summer love of "Seven Days," the hard-learned life lessons of "Where I Grew Up" and the small-town revelry of high school football on the album's first single, "The Boys of Fall." Kenny Chesney understands the power of nostalgia on a country record.