ROCK
Golden Smog, "Another Fine Day" (Lost Highway) **1/2
The first release from this alt-country supergroup was a novelty back in
1992, but it was a revealing one, with moonlighting members of the Jayhawks,
Wilco and Soul Asylum paying tribute to their music heroes while getting
drunk and having some laughs. By the second and third albums, it was harder
to forgive the sloppiness and blatant derivation. Recorded in Spain by core
members Gary Louris, Dan Murphy, Marc Perlman and Kraig Johnson, "Another
Fine Day" breaks no new ground, but it is a tighter, more spirited and
better-crafted effort than "Down by the Old Mainstream" (1996) or "Weird
Tales" (1998) -- probably because these fellas' primary bands have more or
less dropped off the radar, so there's no need for them to hold out on the
best material.
You'll note that the credits above don't include Chicagoan Jeff Tweedy,
whose band Wilco is still very much at the top of its game; he makes a few
stray appearances, co-writing "Listen Joe" with Louris, and coming in to
make some unspecified contributions at the tail end of the recording. He
isn't really missed, and about half of this disc -- including the jangly
opener "You Make It Easy," the psychedelic "Beautiful Mind" and "Cure for
This," which features gorgeous vocals from Muni Loco, the wife of Spanish
producer Paco Loco -- easily stand as the best music the group has given us.
R&B
India.Arie, "Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship" (Motown) *1/2
You can't fault India.Arie for a lack of earnestness; there's hardly a
verse on the acoustic soul singer's third album, which debuted at No. 1 on
the Billboard albums chart last week, where she isn't baring her soul about
the road to recovery after the end of a passionate romance. Unfortunately,
she doesn't have much to say about the human condition beyond the sort of
"improve yourself, save the world" pop-psych platitudes so regularly
dispensed by Oprah and other denizens of daytime television.
"There's hope / It doesn't cost a thing to smile / You don't have to
pay to laugh / You better thank God for that," Arie croons midway
through the disc in the typically lulling "There's Hope." So it goes in tune
after tune, including the unremarkable cover of Don Henley's "Heart of the
Matter," with Arie admitting that, yes, the unnamed cad broke my heart, but
Christ forgives, and so can I. Noble sentiments, perhaps, but they just
don't feel real, and you wish that she'd flash just a little bit of anger
and slap the bum upside the head.
Despite the plethora of guests, including Keb' Mo', Bonnie Raitt, Bela
Fleck's Victor Wooten and country pickers Rascal Flatts, the piano and
acoustic-guitar-dominated sounds are nearly as superficial, bland and
generic as the self-help advice. Arie's octave-spanning, smooth and often
very sultry voice remains a distinctive and appealing instrument. If only
she'd put it to better use.