THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 19, 1996 TAG: 9609180035
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Album reviews
LENGTH: 81 lines
Various artists, ``Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, The Songs of Vic Chesnutt'' (Columbia)
When Hootie & the Blowfish impress, you know a project is blessed or the songs are really good.
Both are true of this anthology of tunes by Vic Chesnutt, the Georgia songwriter paralyzed in an auto accident as a teen-ager. Sweet Relief is a fund for musicians without health insurance. And Hootie, which teams with Nanci Griffith, isn't the only heavy hitter. There's also Madonna (helping out brother-in-law Joe Henry on the graceful ``Guilty by Association''), Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M. and Live.
Soul Asylum's overdone ``When I Ran Off and Left Her'' is one of several stylistic slips. But Chesnutt's cryptic, cranky and lovely tunes often lift their interpreters to new heights: Dog's Eye View and Indigo Girls have rarely sounded so good. Garbage's Shirley Manson gives the album a swift beginning with ``Kick My A**.''
Victoria Williams, beneficiary of the first Sweet Relief, and Chesnutt pare ``God Is Good'' to its folkie, hopeful essence.
Dan DeLuca, Knight-Ridder
Throwing Muses, ``Limbo'' (Rykodisc/Throwing Music)
Besides being the title of Kristin Hersh and Co.'s ninth album, ``Limbo'' is where the folk-punk vets are in their career and music.
Like last year's ``University,'' the trio's new album strikes a delicate balance between art and accessibility. Hersh favors a cleaner guitar sound instead of her signature swirling chords or the distortion of today's angst-ridden Top 40 acts.
The result is similar to Hersh's solo ``Hips and Makers,'' which emphasized the songs' striking structures and haunting lyrics.
It also opens up the band to experimentation. ``Freeloader'' does the flamenco, ``Serene'' uses an elegant cello, and the searing title track shows that Throwing Muses is still enigmatic after all these years.
Sara Sherr, Knight-Ridder
Jazz
Bireli Lagrene, ``Live in Marciac'' (Dreyfus)
Alsatian gypsy guitarist Bireli Lagrene couldn't have escaped the long shadow of Django Reinhardt even if he'd wanted to.
Reinhardt, the great Belgian swing guitarist who died in 1953, is still revered in the gypsy and jazz communities, and Lagrene, 30, is one of his most devoted acolytes.
Yet, while Lagrene has absorbed Reinhardt's impossibly fast picking, in overall sound he is much closer to the bop- and blues-based approach of, say, Wes Montgomery. On this 70-minute tour de force, he plays electric guitar, backed by bass and drums.
``Autumn Leaves'' gets a fresh approach: Lagrene avoids the melody for almost seven minutes, choosing instead to improvise from the get-go. On Henri Betti's ``C'est Si Bon,'' he echoes Montgomery's swinging lines. The set wouldn't be complete without a nod to Reinhardt, a dark yet playful ``Nuages.''
Guitarists will love this, but others may find Lagrene's showy style too much of a good thing. Maybe it's in his blood. Lagrene's playing is restless, wandering, like the gypsy life itself.
David Simpson, Virginian-Pilot
Dance
Nearly God, ``Heaven'' (Island)
Tricky has pulled together the British club scene's best and brightest for this collaboration. Though his presence is in the forefront, the trip-hop maestro insists ``Heaven'' is not a new Tricky CD; rather, it's a teaser for his upcoming sophomore release.
Still, from the opening ``Tattoo,'' Tricky's signature stylings reveal little difference with those of his debut, ``Maxinquaye.'' Samples, echoed vocals and curious notions are laid atop languid bass lines and arrangements, creating a unique bridge between the pop and ambient worlds.
Fun Boy Three's Terry Hall surfaces (with Tricky and Martine) on ``Poems,'' and the vocal deliveries resonate with eerie accusations of broken promises as an acoustic guitar is slowly picked. Bjork lends her girlish vocals to the sharp-edged ``Keep Your Mouth Shut''; Tricky's sometime partner Martine remakes Slick Rick's rap ``Children's Story'' for the trip-hop generation.
``New'' Tricky or not, ``Heaven'' is a sufficient space jam for the dawn of a new era.
Vickie Gilmer, Knight-Ridder by CNB