Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson: Break Up
The theme of Break Up is that Mr. Yorn and Ms. Johansson are at the back end of a passionate romance. Yorn’s inspiration for the songs was Serge Gainsbourg’s collaborations with Brigitte Bardot in the late ‘60s. I have no idea what the Gainsbourg/Bardot duets sound like, so I have no basis for comparison. Yorn and Johansson lack romantic chemistry, so the torrid break up isn’t all that convincing. However, I love the songs, I’m blinded by the mildly retro sound, and I think the duets are great—despite the lack of flame. Also, I like anything by Pete Yorn.
Rating: * * * * *
Celtic Thunder: Take Me Home
Take Me Home reveals a surprising cross-Atlantic relationship between Irish Celtic tunes and American country music. Uncanny. Replace the bagpipe with a slide guitar and the brogue with a twang, and voila. You end up with a shockingly similar collection of laconic, self-pitying dirges. The worthwhile tunes are the ones that most resemble sprightly Irish jigs. The worst include a dismal cover of “Every Breath You Take.” And “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen.” And “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” In fact, anything that sounds neither Celtic nor thundering is grating and awful, which covers nearly all of the 15 tracks.
Rating: * *
Iggy Pop: Preliminairies
The first song, a schmaltzy French ditty, made me think I had the wrong Iggy Pop. The punk icon attempts a literate (or more appropriately, literary) album filled with New Orleans ragtime with horns and rambling pianos. It takes a song called “Nice to Be Dead” to bring out the guitars and evoke from Mr. Pop his more natural vocal style. As it turns out, shouting suits the man far better than his unsteady, cringe-worthy baritone. In addition to the music, Preliminairies treats us to a few odd spoken word interludes, including a story about a dead dog. Bon appétit.
Rating: * *
Brian Wilson: That Lucky Old Sun
If you were a legend and could do anything you wanted, you might come up with something silly like That Lucky Old Sun. It might sound equally goofy and awful. You might be surrounded by people telling you what a legend you are, denuding you of your own internal editor. You might never ask yourself, “Is this any good? Should I record and sell it?” If it could happen to you, it could just as easily happen to Brian Wilson. With that in mind, we can forgive Brian Wilson for That Lucky Old Sun. He is a legend, after all.
Rating: *
