MUSIC BOX |
Josh Bell
Richard Abowitz
Martin Stein |
Guns N' Roses (4 stars)
Greatest Hits
It nearly brings a tear to my eye to listen to this disc. It's not a tear of pain, nor is it a tear of joy; it's a tear of regret, as the band represented here has come together lately only to file a lawsuit against this very release. Front-man Axl Rose has spent nearly a decade working on the next Guns N' Roses disc. Other key members are off on various side and solo projects, but Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan did all manage to agree that they didn't want Geffen Records releasing this collection.
Ostensibly, it's because they had no say in the mix or track selection, but it might just as well be that all the great music on here will remind people of how all their subsequent projects pale by comparison. All of the band's biggest songs, from the raw fire of "Welcome to the Jungle" to the operatic grandeur of "November Rain," are represented, as well as a couple from the 1993 covers album, The Spaghetti Incident?, and a version of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil," the last song Rose, Slash and McKagan recorded together.
If the package skews a little to the safe side, and features nothing new nor particularly notable, it still serves as a pointed reminder of, and perfect introduction to, one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and no lawsuit can change that.
Josh Bell
The Silent League (4 stars)
The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused
Some of the best, most complex art is about simple pleasures, and The Silent League's new release is a perfect example. It's blissful, elaborate chamber pop, with lyrics celebrating the wonders of nature, art, conversations and other people's fame.
To create The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused, singer-songwriter-ringleader Justin Russo, once part of the sprawling art-rock collective Mercury Rev, has recruited an all-star group of collaborators including Interpol's Sam Fogarino, Mercury Rev's Grasshopper and Grand Mal's Bill Whitten. The result is a disc of careless whispers and hopeful moping resembling both Pablo Honey-era Radiohead and what Grandaddy might sound like if Grandaddy lived in a city where it can be hard to stop and relax.
There may never be another Mercury Rev record, but the legacy lives on with former members collaborating on a wide variety of acts.
There's Wounded Knees, which sounds like pre-Nirvana indie and sometimes includes Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis; Grand Mal, specializing in grimy classic rock; and Hopewell, another Russo project. These bands are damn good, but the Silent League trump them all with this disc.
There are songs here that are perfect lullabies, and there are also boisterous melodies as exuberant as the Polyphonic Spree. Whether you feel like murmuring or screaming, this is an indispensable disc.
Andy Wang
Andy Narell (0.5 star)
The Passage
The steel-drum whiz composes "music for steel orchestra." Invites guest stars like Michael Brecker and Hugh Masekela. Will fill Caribbean elevators for the foreseeable future. Utterly irrelevant.
Scott Dickensheets