Hell Hath No Fury
CLIPSE
Re-Up/Jive
Clipse's second album Hell Hath No Fury has received the kind of universal critical acclaim reserved for sacred cows like Wilco and Bob Dylan. Its supporters thrill at the Neptunes' slick, primal beats and Clipse brothers Pusha T and Malice's fluorescently hollow raps. Indeed, Hell Hath No Fury works best as a neon "crack rap" fantasy of the drug trade. "Ride Around Shining" bears a ghostly 808 kick drum worthy of the late hip-hop producer Scott La Rock, while "Nightmares" hovers in the air, a doped-up blues. At one point, Pusha T references Geto Boys' "Mind Playing Tricks on Me": "I make big money, drive big cars/ Everybody know me/ It's like I'm a movie star/ Virginia nights/ Selling hard white/ To selling out shows/ Every gangsta love my flow,"
But Hell Hath for Fury has none of that classic lament's dirt and grime. There's no acknowledgment of the drug busts, incarcerations and senseless murders that follow a criminal's wake, just the violent and seamy celebration of conquest. It's admirably hallucinatory, and as beautifully and stylishly unreal as Superfly. As Pharrell Williams chimes, "Mommy I'm so sorry/ I'm so obnoxious/ I don't fear Tubbs and Crockett." 4 stars —Mosi Reeves
The Scenic Route
MATT WILSON'S ARTS & CRAFTS
Palmetto
Drummer/composer Matt Wilson understands that jazz need not be a deadly serious endeavor, that it can be lively, entertaining and — dare we say it? — fun. A whimsical sensibility permeates a good portion of The Scenic Route, manifested in a jaunty New Orleans flavor here, a cheesy organ sound there, an accordion that serpentines through Albert Ayler's "Our Prayer" (which segues into John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance," sung by a vocal ensemble called The Swayettes). The album has its more serious moments, of course, including lovely renditions of Pat Metheny's "The Bat" and Bobby Hutcherson's "Little B's Poem," and also finds room for a blast of shuffle blues during Wilson's "In Touch with Dewey" as well as other diversions. Wilson is a fine drummer, but does not use his Arts & Crafts quartet as a showcase for flashy stick skills. He thinks of the music as whole, in part because he wrote four of the 10 tunes. Trumpeter Terell Stafford (who brings a nice brassy tone to the affair), bassist Dennis Irwin and pianist/organist Gary Versace are all obviously on board with Wilson's egalitarian vision, playing beautiful stuff that avoids the exclusionary tenor permeating so many contemporary jazz records. 3.5 stars —Eric Snider
Kickin' Out the Footlights … Again
GEORGE JONES & MERLE HAGGARD
Bandit
Certainly the more cynical among us could be forgiven for raising an eyebrow at the rather novel notion of country music's two greatest surviving legends — 70somethings Merle Haggard and George Jones — trudging into the studio to take on some of the other's classics. And there are, indeed, times when it at least seems like Jones (the elder of the pair) can't get his vocals into high gear. But Haggard and Jones pull out their greatest weapon: familiarity. Haggard makes Jones' "She Thinks I Still Care" sound almost too easy to sing, while Jones' weather-worn vocals actually serve him perfectly in the death-row lament "Sing Me Back Home." Kickin' Out the Footlights … Again shows there's plenty still left in the tank with these two giants. 3 stars —David Lee Simmons
Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
GRAHAM COXON
Parlophone
Former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon has been very prolific since his departure from that group. Love Travels at Illegal Speeds is Coxon's sixth solo full-length and his most fleshed-out work to date. Love owes a lot to British intelligent-punk mainstays the Buzzcocks and the Jam. But Coxon doesn't limit his considerable abilities to barking out easy lines such as "give me some love" on the song of the same name. Instead, he slows down to a moderate pace, showing some gentle emotion on "Just a State of Mind" and beautiful movements on "Don't Believe Anything I Say." Not that the rest of Love isn't emotional. On the contrary, Love is all about emotions: anger, hurt, happiness and all the other ones that come with liking/disliking girls. A nice power-pop of a musical postcard. 3 stars—Lisa Moayeri
This article appears in Jan 10-16, 2007.