Cesaria Evora Mae CarinhosaLusafricaA
It’s all about the voice. This Cape Verde diva, who died in December, 2011, was one of the world’s great singers. Cesaria Evora’s husky contralto, rich and imbued with deep emotion, seemed to embrace and embody all the pain in one’s life and set it free. In the songs, which are not sung in English, she embodies loss and longing and, in her performance, she can break your heart as she liberates it.
The feelings and emotions are so strong they transcend language. That is especially true on the poignant “Essencia d’Vida” (“The Essence of Life”).
With exquisite and haunting instrumentation to support it, Evora’s voice is sweet and heartfelt.
Hot tracks: “Essencia d’Vida,”“Esperanca” with Manu Dibango, the yearning of “Dor di Sodade” and the moving “Mae Carinhosa.” - ELLIS WIDNER Pistol Annies Annie UpRCAA-
Hell on Heels, the first album by this country girl singer-songwriter super group headlined by Miranda Lambert, was spare, seamless and transcendent. Now Pistol Annie Ashley Monroe has released Like a Rose, which will last the whole of 2013 being one of the great country records. Annie Up is a different and only slighter kind of wonderful,being more electric and oddly indulgent and slow in places.
For the couple of tracks here that misfire (“Blues, You’re a Buzzkill” doesn’t want to end), there’s “Unhappily Married” that sums up a functionally dysfunctional union in a track that’s spring loaded like a string of firecrackers. Monroe’s “Dear Sobriety” is what she does like nobody else - pure, gorgeous heartacheset to music. So they prove they aren’t perfect but, goodness gracious, as they sing in another great track “Girls like us make the world go ’round.”
Hot tracks: “Dear Sobriety,” “Damn Thing,” “Unhappily Married,” Girls Like Us.” - WERNER TRIESCHMANNRondi Charleston Signs of LifeMotema MusicB◊
Although most of the original compositions on Signs of Life are inspired by Chicago native Rondi Charleston’s travels, the title song is more interesting. It’s about a trip down the stairs into the dirt-floored cellar of her house, built in 1844. Charleston’s thoughtful lyrics invite the listener to experience the smell of air from another century, the sights of old spoons and aged newspaper clippings, and the history of former residents that she encounters on her short, emotionally charged journey. What makes the song remarkable is its jazzy arrangement and Charleston’s precise and distinctive voice.
Along with originals, Charleston competently covers sophisticated material such as “Reflections” from Thelonius Monk while offering self-composed songs like “How the River Flows,” a recounting of a harrowing family experience while whitewater rafting in Costa Rica.
The 11-song release is an impressive step forward in the musical progress of this Juilliard-trained vocalist who took a 6-year sidetrip into journalism, working with Diane Sawyer at PrimeTime Live and on NBC News before pursuing motherhood and music.
Hot tracks: “DNA,” “The Wind Speaks,” “The Cave Knows.” - KAREN MARTINVarious artists The Music of NashvilleSeason 1 Volume 2 Big MachineB◊
There are probably doctoral dissertations to be written about how The Music of Nashville doesn’t sound like current country, which sounds like ’80s hair metal, or old country, which was pedal steel honky-tonk tomfoolery and heartbreak. Instead the soundtrack to the ABC’s prime-time soap opera (one that has all sorts of problems in telling a compelling story for its myriad of characters in the country music biz) is female-centric and driven by noted album producer T Bone Burnett.
What you get is a series of shifts from lovely acoustic-driven numbers such as “Looking for a Place to Shine” to more aggressive tunes like Lucinda Williams-penned rock scorcher “Bitter Memory.” Taken alltogether, this soundtrack is oddly formal and distant with only Connie Britton’s “Stronger Than Me” breaking through the emotional ice. With all the talent amassed here, it seems it could and should be more but in that way it does mirror the show itself.
Hot tracks: “Stronger Than Me,” “Looking for a Place to Shine.” - WERNER TRIESCHMANNCarol Duboc SmileGold NoteB◊
Breezy as a spring day, Carol Duboc’s vocal stylings skim along the surface of her romantic material. The 10 tracks on Smile, nine of which the Kansas City, Mo., native co-wrote with keyboardist /composer Jeff Lorber, deal with the challenges, frustrations and excitement of love.
Of particular interest is her emotional exposure of long-term relationship difficulties. The best example is “Unpredictable,” which pretends to celebrate the lack of routine inevitable in a relationship with someone who is, to put it politely, flighty (which is not nearly as much fun as it sounds).
The airy magic of flutist Hubert Laws contributes to three of the album’s jazzy sensibilities, which belie the occasional sadness of coping with love’s tough times.
Hot tracks: Songs of romantic strife such as “Elephant” and songs of hope, including the title track.
- KAREN MARTIN
Style, Pages 31 on 05/21/2013