Metal Band Conquers Charts With Well-Tooled And Potent ‘Aenima’
Tool
“Aenima” (Zoo)
Los Angeles alternative metal band raised many eyebrows when its third and most potent album, “Aenima,” blasted onto The Billboard 200 at No. 2 two weeks ago. Featuring lead single “Stinkfist,” a hit at mainstream and modern rock radio, the album has been hotly anticipated by fans for the past year. Other highlights include the dark, moody “Useful Idiot,” the epic-scaled “Pushit” and the intense title track. A band that plays by its own rules and comes up winning.
Counting Crows
“Recovering The Satellites” (DGC)
Rockers Counting Crows follow their smash debut with a record that leans toward the alternative side of the rock equation without shedding the group’s mainstream sound. The album’s brightest moments are the up-tempo, Replacements-inspired “Angels Of The Silences,” the jangly “Daylight Fading” and the Beatles-esque “Monkey” - all of which are viable across the spectrum of formats that supported the band’s previous effort. Elsewhere, the band has a tendency to ramble, lyrically and musically and would have been wellserved by some prudent trimming of material. On the whole, though, “Recovering The Satellites” promises to pick up where the Crows left off.
Chris Mars
“Anonymous Botch” (Bar/None)
Former Replacement Chris Mars mounts an ever-deeper foray into rock weirdness with this new set. Drawing from an aural palette that includes distorted vocals, Beatles-esque sound effects, offbeat rhythms and the odd string section, Mars lurches into Kurt Weill turf with “Janet’s New Kidney” and immerses himself in ersatz Middle Easternism with “Sheep Spine Shimmy” and “Funeral Hymn Of The Small Critter Holocaust.” His quirkily superb songcraft is borne out by the Ray Davies-like pop of “Black Days” and “The Weather,” the raw-edged elegance of “Narrow,” the nervy strains of “The Conquering Cow Farmer” and the ebullient, ‘60s-styled, horn-adorned revisionism of “I’ll Be Gone.”
Riders In The Sky
“Public Cowboy 1: The Music Of Gene Autry” (Rounder)
This tribute to the king of the singing cowboys is obviously a labor of love by Riders In The Sky, themselves a living tribute to county music’s cowboy history. The songs are a walking tour of Autry’s history, and the arrangements are careful to adhere to the original, down to the muted trumpets and accordion-fiddle mix on “Sioux City Sue.” Autry was a country star on WLS Chicago’s “National Barn Dance” before he headed west for the silver screen, and his first radio success is represented here with 1931’s “That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine.” In 1934, Autry and sidekick Smiley Burnette co-wrote “Ridin’ Down The Canyon (When The Desert Sun Goes Down)” while driving Autry’s new Buick across the Arizona desert. Kudos to Riders for preserving and celebrating this kind of history.
Joe Henderson
“Joe Henderson Big Band” (Verve)
Reaffirming his position as one of the top tenors in jazz, Joe Henderson pays tribute not to an esteemed fellow musician but to the timeless energy and power of the big band. Henderson fronts a bandstand peopled by the likes of Chick Corea, Jon Faddis, Jimmy Knepper, Lew Soloff, Marcus Belgrave, Robin Eubanks and Christian McBride, who sail effortlessly through the session’s challenging charts. These large-scale arrangements of Henderson originals outline the percolating pulse of the Latinesque “Recordame,” the orchestral embellishments to the bluesy “Inner Urge,” the lithe grace of “Serenity,” and a lush remake of his classic “Black Narcissus.” Also features a breathlessly uptempo version of “Without A Song” and a somewhat brighter revision of Strayhorn’s bittersweet “Chelsea Bridge.”
Church Of Rhythm
“Not Perfect” (Pamplin)
Formerly with Reunion Records, this talented six-member ensemble garnered attention on its last outing with its strong vocals and well-crafted songs, and its debut for Portland-based Pamplin Music builds on that promise. The production is compelling but never overpowers the vocals. Group member Max Hsu wrote the bulk of the songs, with Jason Gregory contributing in both the songwriting and production departments. Standouts include “Take My Hand,” “I Believe In God,” and the plaintive “Strayed.” This solid collection contains all the elements for success - strong songs, affecting vocal performances, and deft production. Look for “Not Perfect” to garner Church of Rhythm an even wider following.