vindy.com | ‘Hard Luck Stories’

Sunday, February 21, 2010

‘Hard Luck Stories’

Ike Reilly (Rock Ridge)

Grade: A

Funny: Ike Reilly has always come up with intriguingly colorful titles for his albums — “Salesmen and Racists,” “Junkie Faithful,” “Poison the Hit Parade,” etc. Now, for the best album of a brilliant lot, the title is the rather generic “Hard Luck Stories.”

That title is the Chicago-area rocker’s only misstep. Reilly is still mixing the motor-mouth wiseguy dazzle and bent blues of “Highway 61 Revisited”-era Dylan with blasts of the Clash’s punkish intensity. But amid all the street-poet swagger, audacious humor, and industrial-strength hooks, he has sharpened his storytelling skills and revealed a lot more heart: “Lights Out,” “The Ballad of Jack and Haley,” and “The Golden Corner” help make this the most emotionally resonant of his albums.

“The War on the Terror and the Drugs” starts out sounding like a lark, a buddy singalong with Shooter Jennings. Then Reilly sledgehammers you with this: “Well I dreamed my children / Couldn’t catch their breaths / And they were falling off windowsills / Straight to their deaths ... And out of their heads leaked laughter not lies / Mixed in the flowerbeds with sweet lullabies. ...” Here’s hoping a broad audience finds all the riches brimming in his hard-luck stories.

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘preservation’

Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Preservation Hall)

Grade: A-

Preservation Hall has been a must-see New Orleans stop since it was founded in 1961 to give the city’s jazz musicians a performance space and a place to protect their unique genre of music.

“Preservation” (Preservation Hall), which pairs Preservation Hall’s house band with some of music’s best voices, was organized to raise funds for the music landmark and its outreach program. However, it’s these musicians who are providing the gift.

There’s a certain charm that comes with the New Orleans twist on “I Ain’t Got Nobody,” the playful horn arrangements and Buddy Miller’s delightful delivery lightening the sad-sack lyrics. There’s a sly defiance that comes with Steve Earle’s take on “’Taint Nobody’s Business.” And there’s a timeless quality to Tom Waits’ leering take on “Tootie Ma Is a Big Fine Thing,” a Mardi Gras number that’s kind of a forerunner to all of hip-hop’s current booty-shaking concerns.

But “Preservation” is at its best when it captures the magic of national treasures getting together. “Blue Skies” recalls Pete Seeger’s unique phrasing, as well as his delightful telegraphing of lyrics, and unites it with an extended trumpet solo opening. On “Rockin’ Chair,” the band works with Louis Armstrong’s vocals to build something new. And few pairings are as natural as Dr. John and the band on “Winin’ Boy.”

— Glenn Gamboa, Long Island Newsday

‘The Constant’

Story of the Year (Epitaph)

Grade: B-

Story of the Year’s “The Constant” feels like a study of niche marketing, of giving fans of various genres a little of what they want. The St. Louis rockers bounce so often between the piano-driven pop of “Holding on to You” to the raging metallic punk of “To the Burial” that it’s jarring. They are far better at the hard-core stomp of “Eye for an Eye” or the punishing “Won Threw Ate” than the poppier stuff, though the radio-friendly “I’m Alive” will probably get them more attention. Eclectic is one thing, but a contrast this wide makes the whole “The Constant” package hard to believe.

— Glenn Gamboa, Long Island Newsday

‘crazy heart’

Various artists (movie soundtrack)

(New West)

Grade: B

The soundtrack to “Crazy Heart,” in which Jeff Bridges plays a hard-living, seen-better-days country singer, boasts some impressive talents. The producers are T Bone Burnett and the late Stephen Bruton, both of whom also penned much of the top-flight original material. Up-and-coming Texas troubadour Ryan Bingham writes and sings, and the accompanists include such aces as guitarist Buddy Miller and pedal-steel player Greg Leisz. And sprinkled throughout are vintage cuts by the likes of Buck Owens, the Louvin Brothers and Waylon Jennings.

None of this would amount to much, however, if Bridges couldn’t pull off his role — if he couldn’t sound like a real country singer. But the great actor does. Mostly it’s in a Guy Clark kind of way — weathered and conversational and knowing on numbers such as “Hold on You” and “Brand New Angel,” but adding some vigor when the tempo picks up on “Somebody Else.” Fellow actor Colin Farrell also acquits himself well on the twang-fueled romp “Gone Gone Gone.”

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer