Blinking Lights and other Revelations
EELS
Vagrant
Eels mastermind Mark Oliver Everett has never wanted for artistic ambition, but his new album raises a bar that he's already set very high. Blinking Lights and Other Revelations – two CDs, 33 songs and more than 93 minutes – is an engrossing and eminently listenable effort that charts the bumpy course of one man's life. It starts at birth ("From Which I Came/Magic World") and ends with a bit of redemptive contemplation ("Things the Grandchildren Should Know"). How autobiographical is it? We can never really know for sure, but ultimately it doesn't matter because Everett's chronicles of psychic pain, loss, love, God and deliverance artfully tackle universal themes.

His clipped poetry is vivid and moving. On "I'm Going to Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart," he sings "You see, I never thought enough of myself/ To realize that losing me could mean/ Something like the tears in your eyes." And it doesn't come off as some throwaway loser dross; the words carry emotional heft. Everett's voice certainly helps convey authenticity to his songs – it's cracked and raspy, at turns weary, angry and hopeful, and sometimes carries a hint of whimsy. Such grizzled (but in no way ravaged) pipes lend the songs a certain wisdom.

Perhaps Everett's biggest achievement with Blinking Lights is putting together a cavalcade of tunes that are simultaneously cohesive and offer enough variety to hold the listener's interest. All of them bear his stylistic imprint, but he delivers enough melodic diversity to give damn near each song its own personality. Most of the material falls more or less within the realm of pop-rock, with moments of singer-songwriter fare and a few lovely instrumental interludes. A niggling complaint: the album could stand a bit more uptempo energy; occasionally the music borders on mopey.

But then Everett solves this slight problem with painterly arrangements; built around acoustic and electric guitars, they dab in horn and string arrangements, piano and other analog keyboards, pedal steel, autoharp and, on a couple of tunes, swirling flutes that lend a quaint psychedelic texture. Everett uses a core group of regular studio cohorts, augmented with guest artists Peter Buck, Tom Waits, John Sebastian and others less famous.

Remember when double LPs were often considered gratuitous and flabby? Well, here's an artist who's made a double compact disc that doesn't fall prey to either pitfall.
-ERIC SNIDER

Deadwing
PORCUPINE TREE
Lava/Atlantic
Though Deadwing is only the second Porcupine Tree album widely distributed in America (the first, In Absentia, was released by Lava in 2002), British vocalist/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson has been mixing proggy influence with ever more contemporary rock overtones under that name since the very early '90s. By now, all but the most general elements of classic prog-rock – epic, movement-like changes, eccentric lyrical themes, protracted song lengths, Adrian Belew guest appearances – have been bred out of Wilson's particular strain. While it's moody, dynamic and more ambitious than most, Deadwing is essentially a very slick modern-rock album, albeit one for which no modern-rock niche currently exists. It's all very listenable, with the arrangements and instrumentation (particularly Gavin Harrison's flawless drum work) providing appropriate shifts in urgency, and certain heavier passages invoking some less adventurous incarnation of Tool. But it's also all very bloodless, and somewhat predictable. Wilson's formidable talent as a player and arranger aside, these songs never take on a life of their own, exhibiting their highs and lows not out of some emotional impact, but rather simply because that's what songs like this are supposed to do at given points.
1/2-SCOTT HARRELL

Birthright
JAMES BLOOD ULMER
Hyena
A one-time linchpin of the avant-jazz-funk-rock hybrid pioneered by Ornette Coleman, James Blood Ulmer has lately turned his attention to the blues. As expected, he has his own very personal take on the idiom, which is more evident than ever on Birthright, his first solo album. Ulmer attacks 10 originals and two remakes ("I Ain't Superstitious," "Sittin' on Top of the World") with his tremulous, marble-mouthed soul moan and terse, scratchy guitar style (using both electric and acoustic). Many of the songs are not categorically 12-bar blues, but droney, meandering workouts. The music is daring, hypnotic and unpredictable; Birthright is ultimately a worthy, idiosyncratic contribution to a genre that's often burdened by hidebound orthodoxies. (www.hyenarecords.com)
1/2-ERIC SNIDER Joyous Encounters
JOE LOVANO
Blue Note
Joe Lovano is among a handful of great modern saxophonists working today. Joyous Encounters, his 17th disc for the increasingly pop-leaning Blue Note label (home to Norah Jones), is an unchallenging set of straight-ahead tunes most suitable for late night chill-outs. The disc's best value may be as a good starting point for those who want to graduate from smooth jazz to the real thing. A good example is Lovano's almost-cool reading of Monk's "Pannonica." He plays curved soprano sax on this and other cuts, offering a nice change from his usual tenor. Oliver Nelson's "Six and Four" swings a bit harder and explores the edges more than, say, a 10-minute take on "Autumn in New York." Lovano's tone is, as always, distinctive, rounded and breathy, but with enough bite to keep the upbeat numbers interesting. He rarely strays on this disc into discomfiting realms, so that jazz novices can feel comfortable. Elder statesman Hank Jones is the real key; his piano playing is angular and percussive. The ensemble is rounded out by drummer Paul Motian and bassist George Mraz.