ALBUMS
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’S “THE PROMISE: THE DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN STORY” (Columbia)
√ Bob Recommended
This marvelously designed retrospective is almost as thoughtful and inspiring as one of Springsteen’s best albums because it speaks to the heart of what makes rock ‘n’ roll great. The remastered version of “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” two discs of extra material recorded during the “Darkness” sessions and a DVD documentary of the making of “Darkness” all stress that it takes much more than craft and desire to make landmark music. An artist also needs a sense of vision and purpose. “Darkness” is a great album because you feel that vision and purpose in virtually every note. In the documentary, we hear Bruce tell us he wasn’t looking for “hits,” but songs that would define his goals as a songwriter and musician. If, for instance, he had put “Fire” or “Because the Night” on the album, he knew they had a chance to become huge hits, but he didn’t want to be represented by them; they weren’t building the bond he wanted with the audience. While several of the left-over songs are fun (and a few are close to the ambition of “Darkness”) , it’s clear listening to them now that Bruce made the right choices in assembling “Darkness” as the follow-up to “Born to Run.” He had moved way beyond most of the other material he recorded at the time. That said, a few of the tracks on the two new discs are noteworthy, including “Breakaway,” “Because the Night,” “Come on (Let’s Go Tonight)” and “Save My Love. And there is one great song: “The Promise.” The imaginative album packaging allows us to look through Bruce’s old notebooks as he searches, song by song, for the music that will prove that he wasn’t just lucky with “Born to Run.” Another thrilling chapter in a monumental rock ‘n’ roll legacy.
CEE LO GREEN’S “The Lady Killer” (Elektra)
√ Bob Recommended
“F—k You” is one of the most irresistible singles since “Crazy,” but it’s far from all that this Georgia mix of hip-hop, neo soul and dance fever has going for him in this album. If anyone wanted to do a remake of “Saturday Night Fever,” the opening track here—“BrightLightsBiggerCity”—would be the ideal centerpiece for the soundtrack. It comes complete with the boastful swagger of “Billie Jean.” But there’s also the early Motown silkiness of “It’s OK,” the funky, Stax edge of “”Satisfied” and the disarming regret of “Cry Baby.” In trying for variety, Green sometimes wanders too far from his strengths, but the heart of the album is surprisingly tender and, even, humble for a man who calls himself a lady killer. The production, too, is nicely tailored. Contemporary, yet classic in a winning, mainstream way.
LORETTA LYNN’S “COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER: A TRIBUTE TO LORETTA LYNN” (Columbia)
√ Bob Recommended
Six years after “Van Lear Rose,” the great comeback album she made with producer Jack White, Lynn returns—at least in spirit—in this tribute collection featuring versions of her songs by various contemporary artists. Among country music artists, Gretchen Wilson, Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson and Martina McBride stand out. But the real highlights are the contributions by the “non-country” forces: the White Stripes, Paramore and, especially, Lucinda Williams who turns in a show-stopping version of “Somebody Somewhere (Don’t Know What He’s Missing Tonight).” At the end, Lynn joins Sheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert on her signature tune, “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
FILMS
“WHITE MATERIAL”
√ Bob Recommended
There are so many life-defining social, political, racial and cultural issues circulating in this story of a West African nation’s struggle to deal with its bloody past and uncertain future that most directors would quickly succumb to melodrama. But Claire Denis and actress Isabelle Huppert never even come close—and their restraint is at the heart of the French film’s brilliance. Ignoring all advice to leave her family’s coffee plantation as anarchy sweeps across the country, Huppert clings to what she has been taught—people are basically decent and the land belongs to her and her family. But rules no longer apply and she is caught between a clash between corrupt government officials and a rebel army filled with drug-taking child soldiers. The result is a madness that is horrifying in its unrelenting savagery and detail. One of the best films of the year.
“LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS”
Nice touches, but flawed.
“Love…” is much more “serious” in theme than the trailers or even the first two-thirds of the movie would have you believe, and the transition from silly, romantic comedy to complex drama is frequently jarring. While there are some funny moments in the first two-thirds of the movie (though not as many as you’d probably like) and some touching ones in the final third, the juxtaposition between the serious and light leaves you feeling manipulated. Even the chemistry feels off. Anne Hathaway is effective as a troubled, free-spirit, but Jake Gyllenhaalnever really achieves the shift in tone his character demands.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’S “THE PROMISE: THE DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN STORY” (Columbia)
√ Bob Recommended
This marvelously designed retrospective is almost as thoughtful and inspiring as one of Springsteen’s best albums because it speaks to the heart of what makes rock ‘n’ roll great. The remastered version of “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” two discs of extra material recorded during the “Darkness” sessions and a DVD documentary of the making of “Darkness” all stress that it takes much more than craft and desire to make landmark music. An artist also needs a sense of vision and purpose. “Darkness” is a great album because you feel that vision and purpose in virtually every note. In the documentary, we hear Bruce tell us he wasn’t looking for “hits,” but songs that would define his goals as a songwriter and musician. If, for instance, he had put “Fire” or “Because the Night” on the album, he knew they had a chance to become huge hits, but he didn’t want to be represented by them; they weren’t building the bond he wanted with the audience. While several of the left-over songs are fun (and a few are close to the ambition of “Darkness”) , it’s clear listening to them now that Bruce made the right choices in assembling “Darkness” as the follow-up to “Born to Run.” He had moved way beyond most of the other material he recorded at the time. That said, a few of the tracks on the two new discs are noteworthy, including “Breakaway,” “Because the Night,” “Come on (Let’s Go Tonight)” and “Save My Love. And there is one great song: “The Promise.” The imaginative album packaging allows us to look through Bruce’s old notebooks as he searches, song by song, for the music that will prove that he wasn’t just lucky with “Born to Run.” Another thrilling chapter in a monumental rock ‘n’ roll legacy.
CEE LO GREEN’S “The Lady Killer” (Elektra)
√ Bob Recommended
“F—k You” is one of the most irresistible singles since “Crazy,” but it’s far from all that this Georgia mix of hip-hop, neo soul and dance fever has going for him in this album. If anyone wanted to do a remake of “Saturday Night Fever,” the opening track here—“BrightLightsBiggerCity”—would be the ideal centerpiece for the soundtrack. It comes complete with the boastful swagger of “Billie Jean.” But there’s also the early Motown silkiness of “It’s OK,” the funky, Stax edge of “”Satisfied” and the disarming regret of “Cry Baby.” In trying for variety, Green sometimes wanders too far from his strengths, but the heart of the album is surprisingly tender and, even, humble for a man who calls himself a lady killer. The production, too, is nicely tailored. Contemporary, yet classic in a winning, mainstream way.
LORETTA LYNN’S “COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER: A TRIBUTE TO LORETTA LYNN” (Columbia)
√ Bob Recommended
Six years after “Van Lear Rose,” the great comeback album she made with producer Jack White, Lynn returns—at least in spirit—in this tribute collection featuring versions of her songs by various contemporary artists. Among country music artists, Gretchen Wilson, Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson and Martina McBride stand out. But the real highlights are the contributions by the “non-country” forces: the White Stripes, Paramore and, especially, Lucinda Williams who turns in a show-stopping version of “Somebody Somewhere (Don’t Know What He’s Missing Tonight).” At the end, Lynn joins Sheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert on her signature tune, “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
FILMS
“WHITE MATERIAL”
√ Bob Recommended
There are so many life-defining social, political, racial and cultural issues circulating in this story of a West African nation’s struggle to deal with its bloody past and uncertain future that most directors would quickly succumb to melodrama. But Claire Denis and actress Isabelle Huppert never even come close—and their restraint is at the heart of the French film’s brilliance. Ignoring all advice to leave her family’s coffee plantation as anarchy sweeps across the country, Huppert clings to what she has been taught—people are basically decent and the land belongs to her and her family. But rules no longer apply and she is caught between a clash between corrupt government officials and a rebel army filled with drug-taking child soldiers. The result is a madness that is horrifying in its unrelenting savagery and detail. One of the best films of the year.
“LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS”
Nice touches, but flawed.
“Love…” is much more “serious” in theme than the trailers or even the first two-thirds of the movie would have you believe, and the transition from silly, romantic comedy to complex drama is frequently jarring. While there are some funny moments in the first two-thirds of the movie (though not as many as you’d probably like) and some touching ones in the final third, the juxtaposition between the serious and light leaves you feeling manipulated. Even the chemistry feels off. Anne Hathaway is effective as a troubled, free-spirit, but Jake Gyllenhaalnever really achieves the shift in tone his character demands.
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