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Genere: Rock

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Genere: Rock

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Dischi: 1

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Genere: Rock

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Dischi: 1

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Trama: Reflecting the growth Amy Ray and Emily Saliers experienced during the late '80s and early '90s as songwriters and as performers, <I>Swamp Ophelia</I> finds the duo feeling more experimental, and also more relaxed. Guests like Lisa Germano (violin, mandolin), Jane Scarpantoni (cello), and Jane Siberry (vocals) assist in creating a satisfying and full sound. Songs like the romantic "Power of Two" and Amy's solo venture "Fare Thee Well" would do Jackson Browne proud. The Roches add a lovely vocal layer to "Reunion," and bongos and percussion give the bouncy "Least Complicated" an interesting texture. The darker tones of "Dead Man's Hill," with its haunting melodica and tom-toms, provide needed contrast to the lighter moods in the collection. Their harmonies are a delight, and the closer, "This Train (Revised)," is a wonderful, energetic nod to Woody Guthrie.<I>--Lorry Fleming</I>

Genere: Rock

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Trama: With his singular retro-rock vision, Chris Isaak had already graduated from cult figure to music-video heartthrob when he delivered this 1995 album. But if all the surface elements are intact, he has assimilated his chief vocal influences, Orbison and Elvis, even further, and Isaak's songs dig even deeper into his favorite subject, heartbreak, to shorten the distance between writer and singer. "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing," the set's opener, employs the same growling rock-speak as George Thorogood's notorious "Bad to the Bone," but without a trace of irony--Isaak lashes the listener with the torment of a betrayed lover, telegraphing fear, desire, and anguish as he wheels from rumbling accusations to keening falsetto cries. Elsewhere, he withdraws to the more lyrical croon of his previous work, his band wreathed with the throbbing tremolo and ghostly reverb that are their natural elements. There's a folk-rock jangle to the lovely, forlorn "Somebody's Crying," a disarming directness to the simple but aching title song, and another burst of fevered agony, "Go Walking Down There,"which gallops over a perfect mid-'60s guitar arrangement. For all its letter-perfect allusiveness, though, <I>Forever Blue</I> feels authentically heartbroken, not just cleverly crafted. <I>--Sam Sutherland</I>

Genere: Rock

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Trama: Chris Isaak managed to turn his videogenic visage and brooding masculinity to his advantage in a big way, becoming a sort of MTV-era cross between James Dean and Elvis. Heady stuff, but don't hate him because he's beautiful. In fact, Isaak had been plying his trademark latter-day rockabilly sound for some years before the inclusion of "Wicked Game" in the David Lynch film <i>Wild at Heart</i> jolted sales of <I>Heart Shaped World</I>. (But the stylish Herb Ritts video certainly didn't hurt, either.) Still, the album is a moody gem, featuring the pensive title track, the smoldering "Blue Spanish Sky," and, of course, "Wicked Game." If you still doubt Isaak's good intentions, though, check out the album's rockin' finale, a fine version of Bo Diddley's "Diddley Daddy." <I>--Daniel Durchholz</I>

Genere: Rock

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Trama: Chris Isaak rocks? Indeed. Granted, the crooner's latest is no noisy, post-grunge Nirvana (though the chord progression of the opener, "Please," recalls Kurt Cobain's "Heart-Shaped Box"), but <i>Devil</i> does find Isaak loosening up. His gut-busting vocals on the free-for-all title track are as near to reckless as we're ever going to hear him. He's also toughening up, growling around his lower register in the death-inflected "Black Flowers." The backing band Silvertone kicks up its heels as well, most infectiously on the gleefully two-steppin' "I'm Not Sleepy." Of course, Isaak's signature shivery, quivering, and wistful ballads remain. And the singer still has a winning way with an unshakable melody. Armed with guitarist Hershel Yatovitz's poignant picking, only Isaak could turn a tired platitude like "Don't Get So Down on Yourself" into a true tearjerker. <i>--Sue VanHecke</i>

Genere: Jazz

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