Angelique Kidjo is a dynamic, intelligent, and intense performer; and with Djin Djin Angelique Kidjo may be posed to consolidate and expand her popularity. Certainly, the musicians she has chosen to work with suggests a diversity of artistic interests and musical constituencies.
Cowboy Junkies, At the End of Paths Taken
The songs on At the End of Paths Taken attempt to suggest the complexities—complications and contradictions, coincidences and correspondences—that are to be found in an individual mind, in a relationship, in a society. That is a respectable mission, but it is not as unusual as I have sometimes thought—it may be the most lasting goal of serious, modern artists.
Tribute: Joan Armatrading, Into the Blues
Does it matter when a mature musician decides to explore a musical genre, such as the blues, that has become somewhat neglected? On the album Into the Blues, Joan Armatrading’s song “A Woman in Love” is about the power of love, its ability to calm, to correct; and the blues notes in the song do not forbid rhythmic propulsion or Armatrading’s distinctively contemplative—austere, open, and pleasantly thoughtful—vocal tones. It is possible to hear a difference in her sound and yet it is a difference that does not obscure Joan Armatrading’s temperament or the nature of her much-loved gifts (it is simply a new accent, a new tonal color).
Masters at Work: George Benson and Al Jarreau’s Givin’ It Up
George Benson’s voice lacks the mannerisms one might have expected from someone of his mature age (his voice seems clear, deep, expressive, flawless—I cannot imagine what a George Benson imitation would sound like). Benson’s solo performance of “All I Am,” composed by Rex Rideout and Phillip Jackson, affirms the song narrator’s humility and genuine love.
A review of Knight on the Left: 1.Nc3 by Harald Keilhack
This is very much a superior opening book. It is intellectually stimulating, a rare virtue, and it presents a thorough survey of 1.Nc3, demonstrating that it gives realistic prospects of a White advantage. A comprehensive list of research materials used by the author – including books, periodicals, databases and internet sources (web pages and newsgroups) – rounds off the book nicely.
A review of The Collins Australian Dictionary 9th Edition
The latest Collins Australian Dictionary is a beauty and has everything you want in a dictionary. It’s both ultra-modern and classic; big in scope and size, but still fits on the bookshelf; attractive but not the slightest bit obsequious; serious but with its nod to lingo and mediaspeak, still fun. If you don’t already have a major dictionary reference tool, this is an exceptional one, and though not cheap, an excellent investment.
Everyone is a Stranger to Someone: the film Babel, and the International Scene
Babel has good photography, suitable pacing—as quick and as slow as it needs to be, and believable situations and settings, with movement from one narrative to another being very effective: and, consequently, the influence of one set of factors on another has a logic that does not strike me as far-fetched or unlikely.
A review of Red Hot Internet Publicity by Penny Sansevieri
When it comes to the virtual book tour, Red Hot Internet Publicity really shines. Sansevieri has been running virtual book tours for authors for a few years now, and although her services aren’t inexpensive (she’s got plenty of inside knowledge which makes the tours effective), this book is.
Useful Misunderstanding: Observing Fassbinder’s Depair
What is understanding? Is it the identification of an idea, a feeling, an image, a texture, a structure—a form? Is it the articulation of a logic, or even a story, about an act, an idea, an image, an event, a place, or a person? One watches Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Despair, and one’s sense of which characters are in control and wise changes as the film moves.
Comic Voice, Tragic Vision: Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
The singer offers gifts, offers to be cordial, but expects no good: “Let’s shake hands if you want but soon both hands are gone, ha-ha-ha!” Is the narrator mad, without logic, or is the world? “Well we all stumbled round tangled up in the cords from our phones, VCR, and our worldly woes,” he sings. Is the technology of the world—the abundance of the world—resource for the fulfillment of purpose; or disguise, distraction from deep purpose?