RYAN ADAMS Prisoner
( Pax Americana )
On his 16th (!) album , Prisoner , Ryan Adams wears his heartache on his sleeve . A quick perusal of the track titles (“ Do You Still Love Me ?,” “ To Be Without You ,” “ Breakdown ”) leaves little doubt that the mood here is decidedly maudlin . In fact , Adams makes no effort to mask the considerable toll his recent divorce has exacted . The 12 songs here rarely encroach mid-tempo , playing out in headache grey tones that refuse to let in any sunlight . The complexity and depth of the subject matter is amplified by the simplicity of the arrangements . There is simply nowhere for the sorrow to hide . When Adams pulls himself from the wreckage of the beautifully painful line “ I close my eyes , I see you with some guy / Laughing like you never even knew I was alive ” (“ Shiver and Shake ”) without coughing up blood , it somehow feels like the most morbid of victories . Throughout , Prisoner is unapologetically in love with its sadness . After a break-up this devastating , it is seemingly the only possession – debilitating as it is – that Adams has left .
– Curt Baran
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DEF LEPPARD And There Will Be A Next Time Live From Detroit ( CD / DVD ) ( Eagle Rock )
With the exception of the Viva Hysteria shows celebrating the diamond-selling album that shares the same name , Def Leppard hasn ’ t filmed a proper concert tour in nearly 30 years . Available on Bluray and DVD ( both of which come bundled with a double CD soundtrack ), And There Will Be A Next Time … Live From
24 illinoisentertainer . com march 2017
Detroit finally gives fans a career-spanning update beyond the Live : In The Round , In Your Face VHS , and surprisingly , the guys sound pretty close to how they did in those days . As a result , the newer kick-off track “ Let ’ s Go ” and “ Dangerous ” ( both of which return in
music video format as bonus features alongside “ Man Enough ” and “ We Belong ”) sound like they were plucked directly out of the ‘ 80s and fall right in line with melodic rockers “ Animal ” and “ Pour Some Sugar On Me .” Of course , Def Leppard also delivers all the other key hits along the way , wisely skipping any distracting special effects or interview interruptions for a lean , no-frills format . Even so , And There Wil Be A Next Time … is never short on clichés , but if the audience participation level is any indication , the cookie-cutter choruses and hair band bravado only amplify everyone ’ s “ Hysteria .” In fact , it ’ s those longtime listeners and the millions of others out there that this release is intended to please , and right up through the encores “ Rock Of Ages ” and “ Photograph ,” that straightforward mission is clearly accomplished .
– Andy Argyrakis Appearing with Poison and Tesla on 6 / 24 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre , Tinley Park
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DAN HICKS & THE HOT LICKS Greatest Licks - I Feel Like Singing
( Surfdog )
When Dan Hicks passed away one year ago , the world lost an idiosyncratic musical treasure . He was beloved , but probably not beloved enough . This collection of studio cuts , new tion of studio cuts , new arrangements and great-sounding live cuts is a fine introduction to Hicks ’ good-natured but wry worldview and his infectious blend of pop , jazz , cabaret , roots music and swing . Many ‘ 80s kids learned about Hicks through Thomas Dolby ’ s moody and brooding piano-based cover of “ I Scare Myself ,” originally released on Hicks ’ 1969 debut Original Recordings and reprised on 1972 ’ s Striking it Rich . The version included here blends New Orleans instrumentation and a heavy drum sample with the song ’ s original samba rhythm , amplifying the sexual tension with call-and-response between Hicks and one of his Hot Licks vocalists . A concert recording of “ Where ’ s the Money ” is followed by Hicks ’ hilarious send-up of an audience cat-caller with an impromptu parody of “ Don ’ t Get Around Much Anymore .” During the contrarian “ I Don ’ t Want Love ,” Hicks names all the culinary favorites he ’ s unwilling to give up for romance . Hicks toys further with affairs of the heart and uncorks his bona fide yodeling chops during the two-stepper “ How Can I Miss You When You Won ' t Go Away ?” He cracks up during an impression of Tom Waits before trying out a folkjazz cha-cha arrangement of Waits ’ “ The Piano Has Been Drinkin ’.” “ It ’ s hard to think with a lot on your mind ,” chirp the Hot Licks on “ Hey Bartender .” The recording catalog of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks spans 44 years . The group ’ s fine later material is represented by the tongue-twisting scat singing of the title track from 2009 ’ s Tangled Tales and a bonus cut of the album ’ s forlorn flapper-styled “ The Blues My Naughty Baby Gave to Me .” “ On my dying day I will explain to the world how lucky they have been to be alive the same time as me ,” said Hicks in 2013 . He was more inclined to self-effacing humor than braggadocio , but listening to this collection supports the point .
– Jeff Elbel
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DREADZONE Dread Times
( Dubweiser )
Dreadzone brings together members of Mick Jones ' rhythm section from Big Audio Dynamite and assorted DJs and musicians from the B . A . D . family universe . While operating in the same electro-dub reggae zone as their contemporaries , Dub Pistols , the band has primarily flown under the radar in the States , but Dreadzone ' s early sponsors included John Peel and Creation Records ' Alan McGee . Now on their 8th album , it was obvious to those early champions that Dreadzone had the chops for a long career . 25 years later and the one-two punch of " Rootsman " and " Mountain " will be the best ambient reggae vibes you ' ll hear all year . The former is heartened by massive hooks and MC Spee ' s Yello-style flow that demand to be played on repeat . The chilling " 16 Hole " could be a soundtrack to Chicago ' s senseless gun violence in 2017 . Beneath a galloping d & b-reggae vibe , it warns " rude boys don ' t take your guns to town ." " Black Deus " yolks straight electrocore beats with samples of MLK and Malcom X vocal drops . Hopefully somebody is listening , and taking dread advice to heart . Like a few other songs from this West London band , Dreadzone gets a little too laid back and repetitive for for its own good . " Music Army " suffers with its ragganursery rhymes that might be better left for a remix album . Considering the political turmoil in the U . K . and the U . S ., for a brief moment , Dread Times lets us forget all about it , and that ' s no small feat .
– John Vernon
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COLIN HAY Fierce Mercy
( Compass )
Colin Hay left Men at Work behind with his 1987 solo debut , Looking for Jack . By all accounts it was an optimistic time . How could the frontman for one of the ‘ 80s biggest smash successes fail ? Hay spent some wilderness years after that solo spark failed to ignite . 30 years later , however , Hay ’ s legacy has grown toward richlydeserved acclaim – one song , album , and wise-cracking one-man show at a time . 2015 ’ s Next Year People was a tower of song that centered upon its title track , a tale of folk who had lost every good thing but kept striving toward slim hope for a better tomorrow . “ The Last to Know ” from Hay ’ s lucky 13th solo album Fierce Mercy suggests that gut-wrenching experiences of different kinds might even be good for you , if you ’ ll at least slow down and absorb whatever wisdom they offer . Like the old saying goes , “ Whatever doesn ’ t kill me …” “ Come Tumblin ’ Down ” is Nashvillemeets-New Orleans folk-rock to celebrate your personal apocalypse , and encouragement to have the heart to care about the essentials when life dishes out too much gloom and destruction . “ I dropped a coin in the wishing well , but it ’ s a long time dry ,” Hay begins . Later , he surveys glittering towers brought low . “ It ’ s not worth all that much ,” he concludes . It ’ s better , then , to keep on dancing . At 63 , Hay ’ s voice remains paradoxically youthful and strong , hitting keening high notes that once sent shivers through “ Overkill ” and applying them to heart-tugging , emotive melodies . If there ’ s any track here that draws a thread to Men at Work , it ’ s “ Secret Love ,” sharing wisps of the Spanish flair running through the tragic tale of “ Maria ” from Two Hearts . More often , though , we hear from the deep
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