New album: Someday World
Artist: Brian Eno/Karl Hyde
Label: Warp
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Brian Eno is known to most as a former member of Roxy Music, an ambient music pioneer and the co-producer of U2’s biggest albums. Karl Hyde is the lead singer of the band Underworld who initially gained international fame thanks to their inclusion on the “Trainspotting” soundtrack.
The pairing of Eno and Hyde makes sense on paper and in practice. Eno’s work with German band Cluster in the 1970s would eventually influence many of the techno-based bands — including Underworld — that followed. Although Eno has genre-hopped like a demented kangaroo over the years, his 2011 heavy-techno album “Drums Between The Bells” with poet Rick Holland pointed the way to this new collaboration with Hyde.
Hyde’s vocals on “Someday World” are as delightfully dreary as fans of Underworld would expect. Even on percolating tracks such as “The Satellites” and “Witness,” Hyde sounds as if he could dose off at any moment. This laid back approach to vocals is perfect fit to Eno’s shifting rhythms and quirky melodies. Everything on “Someday World” is suited for the dance floor, albeit a European one that still has Kraftwerk on their playlist.
“A Man Wakes Up” sounds like a late-period Police track played on 78 instead of 33, as if “King Of Pain” had been turned into a rave anthem. Eno’s instrumentation is as clean and precise as ever, while somehow giving off a slight whiff of spontaneity. The icy synthesizers on “Mother Of A Dog” wouldn’t be out of place on a Depeche Mode anthology, but since the 1980s are all over pop music these days it sounds thoroughly modern.
“Someday World” is probably as close as Eno will get to making a party album. Fans of Underworld or Eno’s modern forays into techno/glitch will no doubt enjoy this release, but there’s little chance they’ll remember it. Even though the sounds are arranged brilliantly on “Someday World,” there are no hooks to be found. Eno’s best entry under the techno banner is still “Drums Between The Bells,” while Hyde’s 2013 solo debut “Edgeland” is highly recommended.
Classic album: All My Friends - Celebrating The Songs & Voice of Gregg Allman
Artist: Gregg Allman/Various Artists
Label: Rounder Records
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
As far as all-star tribute concerts go, “All My Friends” came off pretty well.
What usually torpedoes such events are the artists that are chosen to perform. On the plus side, “All My Friends” features Allman Brothers Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks and, near the end, the entire Allman Brothers Band. Throw in John Hiatt, Susan Tedeschi, Robert Randolph, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Widespread Panic and Sam Moore of Sam & Dave, and you’d think this would be a five-star occasion.
The wrench in the works here is the inclusion of country artists Trace Atkins, Martina McBride, Eric Church, Zach Brown and Brantley Gilbert. While each of these artists have carved out successful careers of their own, one wonders what on earth they have to do with Gregg Allman. A cynic would guess they were included to make this a more palatable line-up for the TV special, and since I’m a cynic that’s the story I’m sticking with.
Minor unpleasantries aside, the high points on “All My Friends” far outweigh the low. Warren Haynes — the guiding light of the Allman Brothers for several years — and former ABB piano man Chuck Leavell open the show with a spirited reading of “Come And Go Blues.” Haynes is then joined by ABB guitarist Derek Trucks for a solid take on “End Of The Line,” although it’s odd hearing this song performed without the rest of the ABB.
Sam Moore brings the house down with his gospel-heavy version of “Please Call Home,” and John Hiatt’s reading of “One Way Out” really clears the carburetor out. Jackson Browne duets with Allman on “Melissa,” which is slightly marred by muted guitar work and an ill-advised inclusion of a harmonica.
The real corker comes when the Allman Brothers Band come out to perform Gregg Allman’s two signature songs — “Dreams” and “Whipping Post.” The level of chemistry this line-up of the ABB has amassed is nothing short of remarkable, and they prove to be the ultimate vehicle for Gregg Allman’s songs. The dynamic shifts and musical telepathy the band displays on these two tracks (clocking in at around 12-minutes each) are simply stunning.
“All My Friends” proves that Gregg Allman is one of the finest voices and songwriters of his generation, and it also proves that he should really reconsider shutting down the Allman Brothers at the end of the year.
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 book “Counterfeit Sauerkraut & The Weekend Teeth” at the Free Press office and www.jondawson.com.