London,

CDs of the week

Artic Monkeys: their days of chip-shop rock are behind them

Willie Nelson: The American artist has given his best shot here

Mos Def: Ecstatic is a tremendous composition

John Surman: returns to what he does best

Syran Mbenza & Ensemble Rumba Kongo: Syran Mbenza pays homage to Franco, Africa’s great guitarist

Among the CDs of the week are the brilliant Arctic Monkeys with Humbug and John Surman returns to what he does best - playing baritone sax

ARCTIC MONKEYS
Humbug (Domino)
****
With his It Girl girlfriend, Brooklyn apartment and rock-star coiffure, Alex Turner and his Arctic Monkeys are no longer sulky Sheffield oiks, outsiders who surprised even themselves by crossing into the mainstream.

This third album comes with all the trappings of success. Once “bi-coastal” would mean a gig in Blackpool one night and Bridlington the next. Now it means recording half of Humbug in California and half in New York. And if being parochial was part of their charm — who else would have titled a song Mardy Bum? — no one should begrudge them the right to evolve.

Their days of chip-shop rock may be behind them but they’re progressing in leaps and bounds, although they may regret being held back by Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme’s unimaginative production.

The most startling aspect is not that 23-year-old Turner is singing of sexual dysfunction in My Propeller but how slow Humbug is. They learned to run before they could walk, but now there’s nothing punk about Arctic Monkeys.

You’d mistake Turner’s croon for Morrissey’s on Cornerstone, while the bitter Dance Little Liar barely trudges beyond waltz pace and Pretty Visitors is part Led Zeppelin, part rap and asks: “What came first, the chicken or the dickhead?”

This all makes Humbug rather dirge-like but once it unveils its charms, you’re hooked by 10 expertly crafted songs. They’re unambiguously major league now. As if we could have doubted them.
JOHN AIZLEWOOD

POP
WILLIE NELSON
American Classic (Blue Note)
***
This banishes the traditional image of Willie Nelson, in outlaw bandana, spliff dangling from weathered lip, just one step ahead of the tax man. Producer Tony LiPuma and engineer Al Schmitt have mapped out a selection of suppertime classics, wrapped in elegantly supple jazz arrangements, and Willie has evidently popped into the studio, possibly in a tuxedo, and given them his best shot.

The album could have been called American Chestnut. If you need a careworn, relaxed take on Fly Me to the Moon or Ain’t Misbehaving, this is for you. Unlike Johnny Cash, who garlanded his late recordings with audacious covers, Willie has chosen the safe road. I’d hazard a guess that he’s the first man to fit a joint into a cigarette holder.
PETE CLARK

MOS DEF
The Ecstatic
(Downtown/Cooperative)
****
Brooklyn rapper Dante Smith was heavily praised when he released music as Mos Def in the late Nineties but has since seemed all but lost to Hollywood as patchy albums were outshone by roles in movies including Be Kind Rewind and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. A musical comeback of any quality is unexpected, let alone one of such varied thrills.

There’s rowdy guitar funk on Supermagic, infectious tribal beats on Quiet Dog and eastern flutes on spooky standout Auditorium, which features a superb cameo from troubled veteran Slick Rick. Smith’s unflustered rhyming style is the glue holding these disparate sounds together. The Ecstatic is a tremendous belated indication of what he can do away from the cameras.
DAVID SMYTH

JAZZ
JOHN SURMAN
Brewster’s Rooster (ECM)
****
At last, as its cover note blurts out with unusual candour, a jazz album from John Surman. The Devonian multi-reedman has been flirting with Arab modes, church organs and even Dowland’s mediaeval English music in recent years. Here, reunited in New York with guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Jack DeJohnette, one of Britain’s undisputedly world-class soloists returns to what he does best.

Mostly playing his best instrument, baritone sax, he delivers seven lively originals and two ballads with prime dexterity, poise and authority. His hard-grooving duet with DeJohnette on Kickback and unfussy reading of Billy Strayhorn’s classic, Chelsea Bridge, are particularly enjoyable.
JACK MASSARIK

WORLD
SYRAN MBENZA & ENSEMBLE RUMBA KONGO
Immortal Franco: Africa’s Unrivalled Guitar Legend (Riverboat)
****
It’s 20 years since the death of Franco, Africa’s greatest guitarist. In this glorious album guitarist Syran Mbenza, who grew up listening to the master, pulls together a superb group of Congolese musicians to pay homage. These include vocalist Wuta Mayi and bassist Flavien Makabi from Franco’s band OK Jazz.

The disc opens with Syran Mbenza’s Heritage Ya Luambo, a tribute to Franco that cites his influence across the continent, and then follows with several of his best songs. There are luscious vocals, inspirational guitar lines, infectious sax and percussion. It’s a great reminder of the musical powerhouse that is Congo.
SIMON BROUGHTON

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