Sunday, February 12, 2006
Bring in the Geniuses
Ever since Frank Sinatra's epitaph, music greats have put together a superstar tribute to their catalogue. It is as if they want to hear their epitaph before they go. While last year's Ray Charles album, "Genius Loves Company" seemed to be the last word, two releases this year take it over the line. Luckily these two don’t appear to be on death's door, so they may be able to absolve themselves from such hubris. But it causes you to stop and wonder—with B.B. King's recent retirement announcement and Buddy Guy's induction into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame, that maybe their time is too limited for new projects.
"Genius Loves Company" was the touchstone. One last time to define the signature Ray Charles sound. For me, though, much of it sounds like soundtracks to a sixties summer movie. "Here We Go Again" and "It Was a Very Good Year" (featuring Nora Jones and Willie Nelson respectively) in particular make me feel old. Perhaps the strongest tracks are the bluesiest ones: "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" featuring Bonnie Raitt, "The Sinners Prayer" featuring His Royal Highness B.B. King, and "Heaven Help Us All" featuring Gladys Night, help make "Genius Loves Company" a memorable disk. In the end, however, I am not left with a definitive picture of the Immortal Ray's music. I am left with a feeling that a bunch of (for the most part) lesser artists just wanted one last chance to perform with a saint. Is that the same fate left to HRH B.B. King?
B.B. King's "80" celebrates 80 years of Blues coming from the hands of the most eloquent guitarist alive. 80 years, of course, is meant to say that B.B. came out of the womb playing, and all those years of 50-week tours counted extra. "80" doesn’t sound like the King is going anywhere, though. His voice is still as strong as his finger-picking is high, and he often outshines his collaborators. Not for nothing—some of them do seem to be just phoning it in. Darryl Hall and Sheryl Crow especially seem to make little impact on this disk, and Elton John just seems to be farming out his piano to anyone's tribute album. It causes me to wonder if "80"'s producer just downloaded Elton's track and spliced it into "Rock This House." However, many other tracks more than compensate for this woeful shortcoming. To hear B.B. King and Eric Clapton, for instance, jamming together on "The Thrill Is Gone", recorded for all eternity, thankfully belies the song's title (Oh, what a thrill it is!) Glen Frey and Gloria Estefan also deliver surprisingly powerhouse vocals: two strong singers who I never thought could handle the Blues belt it out just right inside B.B.’s soaring sound.
Another major strength off this album is John Mayer's collaboration on "Hummingbird". Mayer is just amazing, and plays the song like being told "play the Blues" is as easy as being told "e-minor, cut time." The two make the best cut on the record: rather than melt into B.B. King's style like Clapton and Knoffler do, Mayer peppers the sound with a distinctiveness the song truly deserves. (After all, how many Blues songs are dedicated to the petit gal?) So "80" is uneven—poor song choices keep it from being a classic. Perhaps B.B. King should’ve included a few solo tracks like Buddy Guy did.
Mayer’s contribution to Buddy Guy’s "Bring 'Em In" is also pretty strong. "I’ve Got Dreams to Remember" should be the torch song of the year! Mayer’s whispers punctuate the song’s tone perfectly, and his guitar blends with Guy's like a smooth cabernet-merlot. "Bring 'Em In" is definitely the strongest of the three—perhaps because Buddy still relies on plenty of solo material. "Now You’re Gone" could’ve been improved with a solo from Miles Davis, but otherwise stands as a memorable standard; "Ninety-Nine and One Half" waves the rockin' blues standard that has signified B.G.’s music since the sixties. Truly the highlight of the album is a soulful version of Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay," with Robert Randolph and Anthony Hamilton sounding like Luther Vandross against Donnie Hathaway. And Buddy's duet with Tracy Chapman in "Ain't No Sunshine" stirs the soul as much as the original. This is a really hot album, easily the best of the three, and perhaps one of the year's best. It has Grammy written all over it. There hasn't been such a punchy super-guest star album since Robert Fripp's "Exposure" in 1977.
Buddy Guy's album brings out the best of Buddy Guy himself, though. This individualism is probably what distinguishes "Bring 'Em In" from the other two. There are moments when classic Buddy Guy shines through, while the best you hear from B.B. King is as a session musician for himself. That may be what the public wants from celebrity pop gods these days, though. Herbie Hancock, I hear, has jumped on the bandwagon...
"Genius Loves Company" was the touchstone. One last time to define the signature Ray Charles sound. For me, though, much of it sounds like soundtracks to a sixties summer movie. "Here We Go Again" and "It Was a Very Good Year" (featuring Nora Jones and Willie Nelson respectively) in particular make me feel old. Perhaps the strongest tracks are the bluesiest ones: "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" featuring Bonnie Raitt, "The Sinners Prayer" featuring His Royal Highness B.B. King, and "Heaven Help Us All" featuring Gladys Night, help make "Genius Loves Company" a memorable disk. In the end, however, I am not left with a definitive picture of the Immortal Ray's music. I am left with a feeling that a bunch of (for the most part) lesser artists just wanted one last chance to perform with a saint. Is that the same fate left to HRH B.B. King?
B.B. King's "80" celebrates 80 years of Blues coming from the hands of the most eloquent guitarist alive. 80 years, of course, is meant to say that B.B. came out of the womb playing, and all those years of 50-week tours counted extra. "80" doesn’t sound like the King is going anywhere, though. His voice is still as strong as his finger-picking is high, and he often outshines his collaborators. Not for nothing—some of them do seem to be just phoning it in. Darryl Hall and Sheryl Crow especially seem to make little impact on this disk, and Elton John just seems to be farming out his piano to anyone's tribute album. It causes me to wonder if "80"'s producer just downloaded Elton's track and spliced it into "Rock This House." However, many other tracks more than compensate for this woeful shortcoming. To hear B.B. King and Eric Clapton, for instance, jamming together on "The Thrill Is Gone", recorded for all eternity, thankfully belies the song's title (Oh, what a thrill it is!) Glen Frey and Gloria Estefan also deliver surprisingly powerhouse vocals: two strong singers who I never thought could handle the Blues belt it out just right inside B.B.’s soaring sound.
Another major strength off this album is John Mayer's collaboration on "Hummingbird". Mayer is just amazing, and plays the song like being told "play the Blues" is as easy as being told "e-minor, cut time." The two make the best cut on the record: rather than melt into B.B. King's style like Clapton and Knoffler do, Mayer peppers the sound with a distinctiveness the song truly deserves. (After all, how many Blues songs are dedicated to the petit gal?) So "80" is uneven—poor song choices keep it from being a classic. Perhaps B.B. King should’ve included a few solo tracks like Buddy Guy did.
Mayer’s contribution to Buddy Guy’s "Bring 'Em In" is also pretty strong. "I’ve Got Dreams to Remember" should be the torch song of the year! Mayer’s whispers punctuate the song’s tone perfectly, and his guitar blends with Guy's like a smooth cabernet-merlot. "Bring 'Em In" is definitely the strongest of the three—perhaps because Buddy still relies on plenty of solo material. "Now You’re Gone" could’ve been improved with a solo from Miles Davis, but otherwise stands as a memorable standard; "Ninety-Nine and One Half" waves the rockin' blues standard that has signified B.G.’s music since the sixties. Truly the highlight of the album is a soulful version of Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay," with Robert Randolph and Anthony Hamilton sounding like Luther Vandross against Donnie Hathaway. And Buddy's duet with Tracy Chapman in "Ain't No Sunshine" stirs the soul as much as the original. This is a really hot album, easily the best of the three, and perhaps one of the year's best. It has Grammy written all over it. There hasn't been such a punchy super-guest star album since Robert Fripp's "Exposure" in 1977.
Buddy Guy's album brings out the best of Buddy Guy himself, though. This individualism is probably what distinguishes "Bring 'Em In" from the other two. There are moments when classic Buddy Guy shines through, while the best you hear from B.B. King is as a session musician for himself. That may be what the public wants from celebrity pop gods these days, though. Herbie Hancock, I hear, has jumped on the bandwagon...
