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Jones’ roots are showing

Posted Apr 23, 2011 by Clarisa Gerlach

Updated Apr 23, 2011 at 10:16 AM

CLEARWATER Tom Jones no doubt could tour with the same set that wowed Vegas crowds in the ‘70s and still make a comfortable living.

Instead, he’s worked with producers from Art of Noise to Wyclef Jean, collaborated with Jools Holland and Stereophonics and recorded tunes penned by Bruce Springsteen and Iggy Pop.

His latest album, last year’s “Praise and Blame,“ seems to take him even further afield from what he’s known for, being a collection of somber meditations on sin and salvation.

But as Jones showed Friday night before a Ruth Eckerd Hall crowd of 1,796, the blues, gospel and country that make up “Praise and Blame” were at the root of where he was coming from in the first place.

Jones’ guitarist took the stage first, playing raunchy slide guitar. Backed only by that guitar and drums, Jones opened the show with John Lee Hooker’s ominous “Burning Hell,” ending the song in a growl only slightly less sinister than Hooker’s own.

A bassist joined for “Run On,” a gospel standard Jones told the crowd he learned from Elvis Presley.

When Jones began one of his earliest hits, “(It Looks Like) I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” it was clear that “Praise and Blame” was no departure. That country-ish tune, along with “Green, Green Grass of Home” and “Detroit City” established that Jones’ roots in American music run deep.

The set seamlessly blended “Praise and Blame” material with this both melodramatic (“Delilah”) and randy (“You Can Leave Your Hat On”).

If Jones has lost anything off his voice, he hides it well; and he’s a far more subtle and nuanced singer than he was as a young belter.

Crescent City standard “St. James Infirmary Blues” was a standout, as was the next selection, Bob Dylan’s “What Good Am I,” the song’s unflinching self-reflection bringing Jones’ interpretive gifts to the fore.

The reflective mood was broken soon after when a restless audience member cried, “Take your jacket off!”

The shout cracked up Jones, who humorously scolded the shouter before assuring them the jacket would be off in due time.

And it was, appropriately, for Randy Newman’s lascivious “You Can Leave Your Hat On.” “It’s Not Unusual” closed out the set prior to the encore of Prince’s “Kiss” and The Neville Brothers’ “Hey Pocky Way.”

No “What’s New, Pussycat?” though. 

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Deerhoof saves the world

Posted Apr 22, 2011 by Clarisa Gerlach

Updated Apr 22, 2011 at 04:12 PM

DEERHOOF: DEERHOOF VS. EVIL (POLYVINYL)

On the basis of this album I believe Deerhoof can defeat evil. Then it will end all wars, cure all diseases and give everyone a puppy. 

This is perhaps asking more than even Deerhoof can deliver. After all, as Tammy Wynette almost said, they’re just a band.  But considering that “Deerhoof vs. Evil” improves on last album “Offend Maggie,” which couldn’t be topped and which improved on “Friend Opportunity,” which also couldn’t be topped, it’s pretty easy to imagine Deerhoof possessed of super powers.

It must take super powers to create an album this strange yet cohesive. Deerhoof does to pop what “Rocky & Bullwinkle “ did to fairy tales – fractures it and then puts the pieces back together again in far more interesting ways. 

There’s a song by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis from an obscure ‘60s film, and several originals which could be from obscure ‘60s movies. Pop obsessives Pizzicato Five and High Llamas get a nod here and there but Deerhoof goes far further than either. And it’s still the most beguiling pop album of the year. And likely to remain so. Lend an ear so Deerhoof can continue saving the world, one listener at a time. 

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Rainbow rises and falls

Posted Apr 20, 2011 by Clarisa Gerlach

Updated Apr 20, 2011 at 05:42 PM

Ritchie Blackmore may have run Rainbow like a dictator, hiring and firing musicians at will. Interestingly, though, it wasn’t the ex-Deep Purple axe man’s instantly identifiable guitar tone which came to define Rainbow; it was the singers.

That’s apparent on two Deluxe Edition reissues, “Rising,” from 1977, and “Down to Earth,” from 1978.

Ronnie James Dio fronts the band for “Rising,” the second of his three studio albums as Rainbow’s front man. Dio, who passed away last year, was perfect for the epic hard rock of Rainbow’s early releases.

“Tarot Woman” and “Run With the Wolf” kick off the album in high gear, before settling into some standard, and less satisfying rock fare with “Starstruck” and “Do You Close Your Eyes.”

The album’s second half is made up of two eight minute-plus tracks, “Stargazer” and “Light in the Black.” “Stargazer” may be the definitive Dio tune, with its ominous fantasy lyrics and pomp-rock colorings. Blackmore borrows a bit from Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” in the middle, which does nothing to play down the song’s grandiose feel.

The closer, “Light in the Black,” ranks with the best tunes Blackmore and Dio ever recorded, together or apart. The hell-for-leather riff is reminiscent of Deep Purple’s “Burn,” while Dio’s vocal drives the all-around intensity of the song.

The reissue features three mixes of the album over two discs, with only minor noticeable differences.

Dio lasted one more album, 1978’s “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll,” before departing, soon to replace Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath.

Blackmore brought in singer Graham Bonnett with the intention of giving Rainbow a more commercial, radio-friendly sound. It worked. Rainbow scored its first significant U.S. FM airplay with the Russ Ballard-penned “Since You Been Gone,” although some stations remained loyal to the more distinctive 1978 recording of the tune by Midwesterners Head East.

“Distinctive” is not the word to describe either Bonnett’s vocals or the album in general. Despite the presence of a potentially blistering rock trio – Blackmore, ex-Purple bassist Roger Glover and drummer Cozy Powell – “Down to Earth” is a tamed and declawed beast, a bit less polite than the reigning arena rock gods of the era – Foreigner and Journey – but not by much.

Rainbow would continue on with its watered-down sound, scoring occasional airplay for tunes such as “Jealous Lover,” but by 1984, Blackmore himself split for a Deep Purple reunion. Now he plays medieval folk music.

The “Down to Earth” reissue features a bonus disc of demos and instrumentals versions.

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Iron Maiden Shows No Signs of Age

Posted Apr 18, 2011 by Clarisa Gerlach

Updated Apr 18, 2011 at 01:44 AM

TAMPA More than 20 years after its last Tampa appearance, Iron Maiden finally returned Sunday night, a little bit older but no less powerful.

The British metal veterans drew a crowd of 12,556 to the St. Pete Times Forum.

The band’s members all are in their early to mid-50s, but played and performed with an intensity that would shame most younger bands.

Bruce Dickinson didn’t just hit the notes, he KO’d them, and did so while running and leaping throughout the show. Guitarist Janick Gers also was in constant motion. Spinning, sprinting, hiking his leg onto a chest-high speaker cabinet and tossing his guitar into the air. (For a finale, he let it hit the floor and played it with his feet, a la Richie Blackmore).

Band founder Steve Harris’ stance – left foot atop a monitor cabinet, aiming his bass like a gun as he sprays the audience with eighth notes, is as memorable in metal circles as Ozzy Osbourne’s peace signs. Harris also spent a good portion of the set tearing around the stage and occasionally pogoing to the beat.

The band played much of its most recent album, 2010’s “The Final Frontier,” asserting that it’s still a vital, active band, far from ready for a greatest-hits tour.

Fortunately, “The Final Frontier” has been welcomed as one of the band’s better efforts in recent years; and the opening one-two punch of “Satellite 15 … The Final Frontier” and the Grammy-winning “El Dorado” challenged the notion that more than 30 years after its debut, Maiden is past its prime.

“The Talisman,” also from “The Final Frontier,” was epic, featuring the intertwining guitars of Gers, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith.

The band broke up the newer numbers with some earlier crowd-favorite such as “Two Minutes to Midnight” and “The Trooper.”

The pace slowed a bit mid-set, as the lengthy “Where the Wild Wind Blows” was paired with the slow, anthemic “Blood Brothers.”

The band went back to its eponymous 1980 debut album for the title track as well as the closer, “Running Free.” 

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Fans go gaga for Gaga

Posted Apr 17, 2011 by Clarisa Gerlach

Updated Apr 17, 2011 at 03:19 AM

TAMPA With more costume changes than an Academy Awards presentation and sets more elaborate than many Broadway productions, Lady Gaga’s “Monster Ball” was pure visual overload with a booming soundtrack.

But Saturday’s show before a crowd of 16,373 at the St. Pete Times Forum also was a huge love fest between Gaga and her fans.

Gaga, “Mother Monster” to the fans she’s dubbed “Little Monsters,” thanked and praised her followers repeatedly during the two-hour show.

“I feel very protected by you,” Gaga said at one point. “I feel like nothing can go wrong because you’re protecting me.

“You make me brave,” she continued. “My religion is you.”

As hokey as that may read, the moment felt genuine, and for all the (mostly deserved) Madonna comparisons Gaga draws, it illustrated the primary difference between the two.

Madonna’s haughty, self-absorbed ice queen was a perfect me-decade metaphor. Gaga, on the other hand, is openly vulnerable, flaunting her scars and flaws. It’s unusual to hear a performer so openly expressing he need for her fans’ support.

The Little Monsters, and any non-believer who happened to wander in, were rewarded with a two-hour show that let up only intermittently.

The four sections of the show followed Gaga and friends’ attempt to find the Monster Ball, and involved a broken-down car, a subway ride, a spooky park and finally, the Fame Monster itself, a Monty Pythonesque reptilian beast which Gaga defeated with the help of a sparks-shooting bra.

The plot was incidental to the show but did allow Gaga and her dancers to don an array of eye-grabbing – and head-scratching – outfits.

Mid-set, though, Gaga took to the piano for a slow, solo rendition of “Born This Way” followed by “You and I,” from her upcoming album.

“You and I” in particular revealed a singer-songwriter side of Gaga that often gets lost beneath the clamor of her big-beat hits. It also allowed her voice to be heard in a way it can’t on the dance tracks. It also showed she could play piano – one that appeared to be on fire, at that.

She adamantly denied she lip-synced and let off a few soulful wails to emphasize her point.

The show was punctuated with several monologues, including one that culminated with Gaga biting the head off a Barbie doll that had been tossed onstage.

The hits were back-loaded, with only “Just Dance” and “Telephone” placing in the first half of the set, while “Alejandro,” “Poker Face” and ”Paparazzi” led into the encore of “Bad Romance” and the full-band version of “Born This Way.”

In the end, Gaga proved convincingly that she’s worth the hype. She may be more amalgam than original, but she’s also one of the most intriguing stars pop music’s ever produced.

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