(Ultimatum Music)
With a band name like Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, one would think of a country sound reminiscent of old school stars like Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and, of course, Johnny Cash. However, these kids are closer to being sons of Garth Brooks than Mr. Cash.
Their debut album originally titled is now being re-released as and includes additional tracks and remixes.
The band hails from San Diego rather than the South and the difference is noticeable right away. The sound is closer to pop than country, and the mood is upbeat rather than low-down blues. Founder Mark Stuart's voice is clear and polished where it should be rough and gritty.
Even the lyrics are closer to boy band pop than to country. \Seven Steps"" features cheesy lyrics like ""7 steps from your heart/When I'm close to you I'm 7 steps from your heart."" Other songs feature country clich??s like drinking the blues away, trucking down a lonesome highway and being down in the gutter.
To call the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash renegade country would be wrong, but they aren't necessarily as bad as a Tim McGraw/Faith Hill combination. is not a complete loss. There are moments on the album that do get close to the real classic country sound. The cover of Merle Haggard's ""Silver Wings"" is slow and somber. Stuart's voice still sounds contemporary, but the band takes a step back resulting in the simple old country approach.
Johnny Cash's son, John Carter Cash, produces the two bonus tracks on the album. The younger Cash knows what country music should sound like and his influence shows. The songs are still polished, but less peppy. On ""Nowhere Town,"" probably the best track on the album, Stuart's voice is finally low and rough. He sings about being down and out like most country songs, but it's also sincere.
Real emotion is needed for good country music more than twangy guitars and a pedal steel. Unfortunately, the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash have too little of the former and too much of the latter, leading to an unsatisfactory album.
(Capitol)
On the basis of her debut album, , Shannon McNally is being marketed as the thinking-girl's pop star. She actually writes her own songs, plays an instrument (the guitar) and claims to draw from Bruce Springsteen and the Band as influences. The result of this hype, though, is a folksy album that shows much potential but is ultimately only marginally above average.
Buoyed by superb production and a backing band comprised mainly of studio veterans, sounds great most of the time. Crisp percussion, good-natured guitar work and trilling organ fills abound behind McNally's throaty, powerful voice. The sum of these parts is a remarkably agreeable but never really exceptional backing track. No weird chord changes or guitar solos here: The musicians are content to let McNally's lyrics take center stage.
This, unfortunately, sometimes poses a bit of a problem. At its best, the catchy choruses and precise production allow the listener to ignore an occasional contrived lyric, but this isn't always the case. McNally is not a bad songwriter, but she's not consistently good either. She forces awkward lines all too frequently, and consequently, the moments where the lyrics are forced to carry the song usually fall flat.
Nowhere is this more obvious that the title track, which closes the album. Minimally backed by drums, a toy piano and a dissonant saxophone, McNally half-speaks, half-scats fondly about a scene in a bar. Seemingly inspired by beat poetry, the song hinges on a flow and rhythm of the lyrics which just isn't there. It doesn't help that her potent delivery infuses her lyrics with a sense of depth and energy that they don't really deserve. This incongruity doesn't gloss over the lyrical weakness so much as call attention to it.
Missteps such as these aren't constant, but they're frequent enough to significantly affect the album. Aside from these aforementioned lapses though, is a decent album. ""Down and Dirty,"" the first single, and ""Bitter Blue"" are both excellent pop songs, simultaneously intelligent and hummable. Most of the other songs are likably satisfactory as well, but they don't really stick with the listener.
Again, despite the seeming harshness of this review, by no means is this a bad album. Many people will enjoy it, and with good reason. It is a decent straight-ahead pop album in an era when they are increasingly hard to come by. For those only searching for cursory depth in their lyrics, should be downright pleasing, for it is markedly more satisfying than most new pop songs dominating the radio airwaves. Those looking for profundity with a folk-country bent, however, should reach past McNally for Lucinda Williams or Gillian Welch.
Soundtrack
(Hollywood Records)
The soundtrack to the last Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson movie, ""Rushmore,"" was filled classic delights of early British pop from the Who, John Lennon and the Faces to just name a few. This time, the soundtrack to ""The Royal Tenenbaums"" uses music from a later decade. Made up of mostly punk and new wave bands like the Ramones, the Clash and their influencer, the Velvet Underground, The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack is a unique mix that fits its even more unique movie counterpart.
The punk songs are not necessarily obscure, but they aren't known classics either. Both the Clash's ""Police and Thieves"" and the Ramones ""Judy is a Punk"" are both pure mid-seventies punk. The high intensity of these songs are a nice contrast to the Velvet Underground's playful ""Stephanie Says.""
Other standouts on the album are the two Nico tracks, ""These Days"" and ""The Fairest of the Seasons."" Both songs are remakes from Jackson Browne's early years. Her rich deep voice flows through the songs and the listener can't help but be mesmerized and actually believe that Nico is in as much despair as the songs convey.
A very odd choice for the soundtrack as well as the movie is the Bob Dylan selection. Of all the songs this great poet has written, Anderson chooses one without any words. ""Wigwam"" originally appeared on Dylan's joke album, Self Portrait. The song features Dylan singing la-da -da-dees accompanied by a brass band. Perhaps Anderson, looking for only an instrumental, thought Dylan's music fit the mood perfectly and had no need for brilliant lyrics.
Like the ""Rushmore"" soundtrack, the main songs are intermixed with instrumental pieces composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. These themes are a nice break in between the standout vocal tracks and are good songs themselves.
Some songs from the movie are left off the soundtrack like Paul Simon's ""Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,"" and the Rolling Stones' ""Ruby Tuesday,"" but its probably for the best. A song like this doesn't seem to fit the odd mix that Anderson has put together. They're both well-known songs, where the others are deeper cuts from the artists' catalogue.
The ""Royal Tenenbaums"" soundtrack is a decent collection that can be liked without seeing the movie. Though it may not be as crowd pleasing as the ""Rushmore"" soundtrack, it will satisfy the tastes of noncommercial music lovers.
