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CDs of the week
Evening Standard 01.08.08
Happy days: Natty's Man Like li
Going solo: Conor Oberst
Still making music: ABC's Traffic
Outstanding: Enrico Rava's Italian Ballads
Mixed bag: Cafe de los Maestros
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POP
NATTY
Man Like li (Atlantic)
***
This 24-year-old Londoner is musically wise beyond his years, having worked as a studio engineer for years before releasing his debut. This experience is reflected in a clean sound that has reggae at its roots but branches out beyond its confines. The first single from the album, Cold Town, is quintessential Natty — an ebullient rhythm and pretty melody undercut by dark lyrics about a serial killer. But mostly, Natty's music is a cheerful affair, more likely to inspire a dance step than savage introspection.
PETE CLARK
CONOR OBERST
Conor Oberst (Wichita)
****
Despite his many aliases (Bright eyes being the best known), prolific Nebraska songwriter Conor Oberst has always effectively been a solo artist. even so, this is his first album under his own name after 12 years of releases. A regular recipient of the “new Dylan” tag, here he wholeheartedly embraces Bob's late sixties country-rocking sound. Overall, it's more focused than usual — fans may prefer Oberst when he sounds less clean. Nevertheless, some memorable moments are here.
DAVID SMYTH
ABC
Traffic (Borough)
***
Now denizens of the nostalgia circuit, ABC have spent the past 26 years attempting to emulate their masterpiece, Lexicon of Love. Traffic won't change anything, but it's their most rewarding collection since 1987's Alphabet City. Martin Fry's voice remains strong and The Very First Time and Ride suggest he can still pen a slinky song or two. But by the time we're grappling with the ghastly backing vocals which swamp the anodyne Caroline, we're cast adrift in a sea of stodge.
JOHN AIZLEWOOD
JAZZ
ENRICO RAVA
Italian Ballads (Egea)
*****
On first listen, Miles Davis came strongly to mind — the lucid, mellow Miles of porgy and Bess vintage. But no, it's italian trumpeter enrico Rava, in his best form for years. strong yet lyrical, his ideas flow with a rare sureness, conveying both melancholy and joy. The “electric five” behind him are actually six — two guitarists, double-bass, hand-drummer UT Gandhi, vocalist Barbara Casini and accordionist Richard Galliano — fine players, and sympathetic to the mood of an outstanding session.
JACK MASSARIK
WORLD
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Cafe de los Maestros (Wrasse)
****
It's hard not to call this splendid double CD the Buenos Aires social Club. Oscar-winning Argentinean composer and arranger Gustavo santaolalla reunites veteran tango singers and musicians of the Forties and Fifties in a wonderful new recording of classic tangos from the golden age. As well as assembling major artists, santaolalla's other success is in creating a variety of ensembles from tango big band to small chamber groups which make it very listenable.
SIMON BROUGHTON
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