‘Musings’ Showcases Williams’ Talent

Victoria Williams

“Musings of a Creekdipper” (Atlantic)***-1/2

She’s been recording for more than 10 years, but until recently Victoria Williams has probably been known more by reputation than for her eclectic work. The eccentric singer-songwriter is a musicians’ cult figure of sorts, so admired by the likes of Lou Reed, Michelle Shocked and Maria McKee that they participated in 1993’s “Sweet Relief,” a benefit album of Williams songs that helped pay for her multiple sclerosis treatment.

Her appearances on last year’s Lilith Fair tour gave her more mainstream exposure, but it’s dubious that “Musings of a Creekdipper” - her follow-up to 1994’s “Loose” - will cash in on that. Too bad. Though it won’t set the charts on fire, this fantastic song cycle showcases Williams’ talents to often breathtaking effect.

Her whispery voice colors the emotional details in epic soundscapes such as “Periwinkle Sky,” whose nuanced theatricality and poignant sincerity recall Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks’ collaborations. Simpler songs, such as the lovely wedding ballad “Let It Be So,” are just as entrancing.

Still, while devotees should be charmed by such oddities as her vintage-exotica take on the Eden Ahbez curiosity “Nature Boy” and her own even freakier twist on it, “Allergic Boy,” the uninitiated may be less engaged.

- Natalie Nichols

DJ Shadow

“Preemptive Strike” (Mo Wax) ***

The title of the new collection from this sonic collage artist aims to explain why the record might sound like a step back from “Endtroducing …,” the seamless, embracing audio environment that put Shadow in the spotlight in 1996.

Shadow, whose real name is Josh Davis, released the bulk of this material in England in the years prior to “Endtroducing …,” and he decided to put it out now while he still had control over its presentation.

This not-really-a-follow-up opens with the 1993 single “In/Flux” and its flip side, “Hindsight,” and closes with one recent piece, 1997’s “High Noon”/”Organ Overhaul.” The heart of the album is the four-part, half-hour “What Does Your Soul Look Like.”

In contrast to the narrative-like coherence of “Endtroducing …,” the effect here is like riding a vehicle back and forth from the same starting point. But even in the shorter framework, Shadow demonstrates that the technique of sampling can be a true art form as he fashions his dense but airy atmospheres.

A fair enough gap-filler, “Preemptive Strike” is designed with a short shelf-life in mind - Shadow intends to phase it out after its initial run. Due this summer is “Unkle,” a new collaboration with Mo Wax’s James Lavelle, with a new Shadow work planned for 1999.

- Richard Cromelin

Chris Stills

“100 Year Thing” (Atlantic) **-1/2

More like a 25- or 30-year thing, Stills’ debut insistently - and perhaps inevitably - recalls music made in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s by papa Stephen Stills, from the shuffly electric-acoustic classic-rock blend to the sandy voice. But the 23-year-old Stills sounds so natural with the style that it’s hard to fault him much for it, even as he echoes the harmonies of dad’s “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” on his own “Lucifer & Jane,” and the measured cadence and time signature shifts of “Change Partners” on “Last Stop.”

Arguably, it would be worse if he had selfconsciously steered clear from territory that’s apparently imprinted in his genes, as well as those of producer-collaborator Ethan Johns, son of classic-rock producer Glyn Johns. And it’s not as if Stills doesn’t add some of his own elements, though some of those are also borrowed from the past - notably the bottom-heavy Middle Eastern blues of “Voyeur,” recalling early, folky Led Zeppelin. Even his voice here, pushed more than in other places, resembles a young, though atypically restrained, Robert Plant.

Jakob Dylan’s done fine without distancing himself too far from his father’s music - his band the Wallflowers has sold more copies of “Bringing Down the Horse” than any Bob Dylan album has ever sold. Young Stills’ efforts seem a bit modest to generate such expectations, but they hold plenty of appeal for fans of his models.

- Steve Hochman

Album scale: one star (poor) to four (excellent).