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Montgomery hits home

Bonnie Montgomery album cover
Bonnie Montgomery album cover

B+ Bonnie Montgomery

Bonnie Montgomery

Fast Weapons

White County native Bonnie Montgomery follows up on the promise of her early singles with this debut studio album of stone-cold, boom-chicka-boom, honky-tonk hymns.

Montgomery's a classically trained vocalist but has this high, lonesome tone that oozes with rural, church-choir elegance. Her backing band -- Paul Griffith, drums; Alex Piazza, steel guitar; Geoffrey Robson, fiddle; John Willis, piano; Nathan Howdeshell, guitar; Jimmy Young, bass -- is aces.

Howdeshell, also a White County native and guitarist for Gossip, is releasing the album today on his Fast Weapons label.

"Black County" launches these 10 songs with a lazy lope highlighted by a vibrato-laden guitar while Montgomery sings of a woman pining for home. "Diamond" is highlighted by Mandy McBryde's achingly beautiful backing vocals and "Blood From a Turnip," with Robson's mournful fiddle, is a gentle tale of compassion. "Joy" is Montgomery's story of a hillbilly boss "born up in the sky" on Joy Mountain and, like the poignant "Daddy's" and "Cropdust Skies," has been previously released.

The outlaw imagery of "Take Me or Leave Me," though, sounds forced and is a bit of a misstep on this otherwise strong debut.

Hot tracks: "Black County," "Joy," "Blood From a Turnip."

-- SEAN CLANCY

B+ "Weird Al" Yankovic

Mandatory Fun

RCA

Quick, name one of the first songs parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded.

If you remember Toni Basil's "Mickey" as an I Love Lucy takeoff "Ricky," you're right! Ditto "My Bologna," a slice of The Knack's "My Sharona." That was 1983 and over the past 31 years, Yankovic has targeted Madonna ("Like a Surgeon"), Michael Jackson ("Eat It") and others. Yankovic's latest, his 14th album, is his first to hit No. 1.

It's no wonder. The delightfully tart and funny take on Pharrell Williams' mega-hit "Happy," titled "Tacky," is a wonderful send-up that rolls with wit and charm. "Word Crimes," his take on Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," is even better. It's one of his very best, with brilliant wordplay that pleads for proper grammar.

Other parodies target songs by Lorde, Foo Fighters, Iggy Azalea and others.

Fun. Mandatory and guaranteed.

Hot tracks: "Word Crimes," "Tacky" and "Foil," a spoof of Lorde's "Royals."

-- ELLIS WIDNER

B Pepperboy, S. Ray

Hard2Cope

Greenova South

Little Rock hip-hop veteran Pepperboy introduces protege S. Ray on this powerful 11-song mix tape.

Combining Pepp's slinky vocals with Ray's straight-ahead flow, the two MCs report from the streets -- "A hustler still gotta eat" -- with cautionary tales and classic, minimalist, head-bobbing beats. Greenova label head Squadda B and Kobizzie join the pair on the brutal "Studio (G.O.S.) Remix," while "When We Ride" is a celebration of cruising through summer evenings with the speakers booming. Things get wicked gritty on "This Is Hustle," but the downside of running the streets comes out on the very next track,"Target," with its ethereal beat.

Pepperboy's been on a roll this year -- this is his third release since January -- and he and Ray keep riding that momentum on Hard2Cope. It's available at http://greenovasouth.com/album/hard-2-cope-2.

Hot tracks:: "When We Ride," the anthem "What U Live 4."

-- SEAN CLANCY

B Jeff Black

Folklore

Lotos Nile

If anyone deserves a moment of reflection, it's Nashville, Tenn.-based folk singer Jeff Black. Thirty years of live performances and collaborations with artists like Alison Krauss, Waylon Jennings and Blackhawk easily earn him veteran status.

The 13 tracks are stripped to bare bones of traditional folk, carried by his soft, rumbly vocals.

Folklore was inspired by old family photos, Black says in the liner notes. With only a five-string banjo, six- and 12-string acoustic guitars and occasional harmonica, Black conjures memories, real and imagined, with Great Depression-era musical storytelling.

The album yearns for simpler days and occasionally imparts dusty proverbs, like in opener "Rider Coming": "Time will never leave you lonely/it'll be there until the bitter end/luck and money won't make you happy/best to seal those letters you send."

Black never shifts from his sad tune and, if it wasn't for a smooth and thunderous voice filling up the slow spaces, Folklore might get monotonous. Still, it's a tribute to what has made Black the man and musician he is today, a scrapbook he has offered to share.

Hot tracks: "Rider Coming," "Folklore," "Tom Domino."

-- ANNA GRONEWOLD

A- Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden

Last Dance

ECM

Joy and haunting beauty pervade this music by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett and bassist Charlie Haden.

The album's title proved prophetic; Haden died July 11 from post-polio syndrome, which surfaced after the release of the duo's previous collaboration, 2010's Jasmine.

The selections on Last Dance (not the Donna Summer song) come from the same 2007 sessions that gave us Jasmine. These masters have pushed the boundaries of jazz and broadened its playing field; Last Dance has an effortless-sounding depth and a dazzling unity.

On "My Old Flame," they define what being a duo is all about, as Haden and Jarrett's intuitive playing offers support and inspiration. Rodgers and Hammerstein's "It Might as Well Be Spring," the cool and lightly swinging "'Round Midnight" and a cool redo of Bud Powell's "Dance of the Infidels" sparkle.

But an undeniable melancholy, probably as much from the listener as the musicians, infuses the last three tracks: "Where Can I Go Without You," "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" and "Goodbye." (The first and third tunes are alternate versions of the ones on Jasmine).

A brilliant farewell.

Hot tracks: All.

-- ELLIS WIDNER

Style on 07/29/2014

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