New album: In Each And Every One
Artist: Polar Bear
Label: Leaf
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Polar Bear is an experimental jazz group led by British drummer extraordinaire Seb Roachford. Most people know Roachford through his work with Herbie Hancock, David Byrne, Corine Bailey Rae and Brian Eno.
As part of the F-IRE Collective, Polar Bear have crafted several experimental jazz albums since their 2005 debut release “Held On The Tips Of Fingers.” Roachford – along with electronic musician/guitarist John Burton, bassist Tom Herbert and saxophonists Mark Lockheart and Pete Wareham – don’t play the dreaded “free jazz.” The experiments conducted by Polar Bear are unique and without noodle.
“In Each And Every One” isn’t the type of album you throw on for pleasant background noise. This stuff demands the listeners’ attention and in spots a bit of patience.
“Open Sea” is a stark opener that could be described as the darker, moodier cousin of Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” Against a backdrop of thick, droning analog keyboards, Wareham and Lockhearts horns cut through the murk like a machete. Their playing is melodic and concise, but it could still startle anyone who was lulled into a false sense of calm by the keyboards. The saxophone hasn’t been this important in a modern rock/jazz setting since Dana Colley emerged with Morphine in the 1990s.
“Be Free” and “There All Ks and Qs Lucien” are reminiscent of the unsettling but entertaining scores Angelo Badalamenti composed for many of David Lynch’s films. Off-kilter drumming underpins crosscutting shards of keyboards and saxophones, creating what sounds like a busy city where everyone is up to no good.
“Life and Life” pairs the wow and flutter of vinyl with Buton’s oscillating electronics and more tasty saxophone work from Lockheart and Wareham, while “Two Storms” comes off as a cross between Mickey Spillane and “Blade Runner.”
Although not for the fainthearted, “In Each And Every One” is a refreshing piece of work. Highly recommended to fans of Exploding Star Orchestra, Broadcast and The Focus Group.
Classic album: Goodbye Yellowbrick Road (Deluxe Edition & Super Deluxe Edition)
Artist: Elton John
Label: MCA/Mercury
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
When asked about the prolific output of Elton John, Randy Newman replied “he made five albums while I was brushing my teeth.”
Between 1969 and 1973, Elton John released seven studio albums. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” – one of two albums he released in 1973 - was a sprawling, everything-including-the-kitchen-sink affair. Released the same year as The Who’s “Quadrophenia” and Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” was definitely the most pop-oriented of that years mega-albums.
Along with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, Elton John poured every bit of his talent into “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” Be it ballads, rock, country or prog rock, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” was the early 1970s answer to The Beatles’ “White Album” - albeit with less filler and Yoko Ono.
The new deluxe editions of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” include enough goodies to entice even those who’ve already owned the album on vinyl, cassette and CD. As for the original album, it’s been remastered and truly does sound better than ever.
Radio mainstays “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting,” “Bennie & The Jets,” “Candle In The Wind” and the title track still maintain their original luster after zillions of spins. Naysayers will point out that these songs are available on any number of Elton John “best of” collections, but the songs actually work better when heard within the context of their original release.
There is nothing else in the Elton John catalog like the opening 11-minute salvo of “Funeral For A Friend (Love Lies Bleeding).” With its sweeping, cinematic synthesizer flourishes and wind effects, “Funeral For A Friend” falls somewhere between the dramatic side of The Moody Blues and the anthemic-side of early 1970s Who. John never dived headlong into prog rock, but with “Funeral For A Friend” he eased in about waist deep and came back with a stone classic.
By now anyone with ears knows the hits from “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” frontwards and backwards, but what about the deeper album cuts? “Grey Seal” is a soaring rocker that probably should have been pushed to album rock radio, as it’s cut from the same brilliant cloth as “Funeral For A Friend.” “All The Young Girls Love Alice” is another stunner that rocks just as hard as “Saturday Night’s Alright” and proved to be a real corker in concert.
The new two-CD edition features nine covers of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” songs by The Zach Brown Band, Fall Out Boy, Ed Sheeran and The Band Perry – among others. Although the inclusion of these covers may seem odd to fans who grew up with the album, it is an interesting way to showcase the potency of John and Taupin’s songwriting partnership. If a fan of Miguel discovers “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” thanks to his cover of “Bennie and The Jets” on disc two, then everybody wins.
The two-disc version also features nine live tracks from the Hammersmith Odeon in 1973, and it is a living testament to Elton John and his superb band’s ability to put on a top notch rock concert. A larger, five-disc edition includes rare b-sides, outtakes, a DVD documentary and the complete 1973 Hammersmith Odeon concert.
This will most likely be the last time “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is issued in a physical format, and as attempts to persuade people to buy an album they already own go, these packages are quite entertaining. Whichever format you choose, this is one of the must-have albums you should acquire before all music is related to those puny little mp3s.
Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase Jon’s new humor book “Counterfeit Sauerkraut & The Weekend Teeth” at the Free Press office or jondawson.com.