JeffMacArthur.com

earCandy: Collective Soul (Halifax Concert – Oct. 16/05) 3/5

Posted on 17. Oct, 2005 in All, Blog, earCandy | 2 Comments

I won tickets to the Collective Soul concert at Dalhousie University last night (my friend is a big fan and scored some tix through their website). Personally, I never quite understood the “Soul” in “Collective Soul”, as this is a pretty straight up rock band, which is not exactly my favourite genre. In any case, Collective Soul has been around since the early 90′s and have a string of hits under their belt, the newest being “Better Now”, a solid track (they even use horns, which is a relief for me) from their 2004 album, Youth.

Collective Soul were competent enough performers and most of the crowd seemed to really love the concert. I’ll even admit to enjoying several tunes, but I find it’s a bad sign when I’m more interested in watching the crowd behind me than the show in front of me. As a consequence, I have now (and it’s been a long time coming) resolved not to go to any more rock concerts unless I can sing along to at least a half a dozen of the headliner’s songs . Being a musician myself, I also get a little exasperated (and bored) seeing three guitarists all up on stage strumming the same chords in unison (the opening band, Boy, had the same lineup) and, being that rock doesn’t really “groove” per se, I can’t even get that into dancing to distract myself .

Maybe I’m getting old, but I either want to see great musicians perform (something like the Montreal Jazz Fest being an ideal setting for this) or see bands that I am already familiar with and enjoy from their CD releases. Let’s face it, as time goes on, music is becoming less about performing live and more about the studio anyway, and concerts are really showing this (and it’s certainly not just rock – don’t even get me started about my disappointment with the Lloyd Banks concert earlier this year). Maybe I’m being a bit of a cynic, but I’d have a hard time being convinced that this isn’t true (although there are certainly exceptions – Ween play a fantastic live show, U2 compensate by making it a broader event through extraordinary light shows, etc.).

It says something that my thoughts were on larger issues than the concert at hand, but to give props to Collective Soul, these guys have been making a living at this and have put out some good tunes, so keep on rockin’ I guess would be the expression.

earCandy: N.E.R.D. – Fly or Die (2004) 5/5

Posted on 08. Oct, 2005 in All, Blog, earCandy | No Comments

N.E.R.D. (which stands for Nobody Ever Really Dies) is one of the most genre-defying bands in existence today. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, the incredibly successful production duo behind the Neptunes, partner with childhood friend Shay to bring us the second strangely compelling and very listenable N.E.R.D album. With solid hip-hop credentials combined with a driving rock sound, the best of these tracks are tunes you could play in any crowd. No one has a better grasp of hooks than Pharrell, and they are plentiful here, but combined with that are some meaningful lyrical moments and intricate arrangements that are all too rare in today’s popular music.

First, let me tell you that I have very eclectic tastes in music and I like bands that cross a lot of sounds (Beck, Ween, Frank Zappa, etc.). From the chart-topping single, “She Wants to Move”, the group diverges into the teen anthem titular track, “Fly or Die”, and then settles into more laid-back tunes like “Wonderful Place”. Then out of nowhere comes my favorite song on the album (which is buried at the 4.20 mark in the “Wonderful Place” track), the beautiful, string-laden “Waiting for You” which chronicles a family’s fishing trip where their baby falls from the boat, narrowly escaping drowning as its mother comes to the rescue – the song can bring tears to your eyes. Indeed, my only real complaint about the album is that there are too many of these songs buried in other song’s track numbers – a little annoying when you really want to hear a specific tune. Despite this, Fly or Die has grown on me with each listening to the point where it is one of my favourite albums of the past few years.

Thankfully the rumours of N.E.R.D.’s breakup are untrue – the result of some offhand remarks of dissatisfaction from the band with their label. I’ve combined the best tracks on this album with the best tracks on their debut, In Search Of…, and the result is an hour and twenty minute CD that you can put on for almost anyone to enjoy (I can post the track listing, if anyone is interested). If you like your music to expand past the narrowly defined boundaries that music label marketers would like you to think in, then you’ll like N.E.R.D. – I really don’t think there’s another band like them.

earCandy: Blackalicious – the Craft (2005) 4/5

Posted on 03. Oct, 2005 in All, Blog, earCandy | No Comments

The Craft is the third album from the San Francisco-based duo of positivity and awareness that is Blackalicious. Although I don’t think it’s quite as strong an outing as their earlier albums (Nia and Blazing Arrow), it’s a welcome respite from a lot of the vacuous rap out there today. Mostly absent from this album are rapper Gift of Gab’s mind boggling verbal gymnastics like Blazing Arrow’s “Chemical Calisthenics” (which builds up to what is the fastest coherent rapping I’ve ever heard) or concept pieces such as Nia’s “A to G” (where the rap progresses through each of the first seven letters of the alphabet), but that’s not to say it’s not entertaining – it just sounds like it’s a bit more geared towards radio play. Cuts like “Give It To You” and “Black Diamonds and Pearls” are fantastic tunes in their own right, and the duo reaches out into a rock-ier sound for the catchy “Powers”. Even though it’s the weakest of their albums, the Craft still stands out against the bulk of today’s rap offerings.

earCandy: Jamiroquai – Dynamite (2005) 4/5

Posted on 24. Sep, 2005 in All, Blog, earCandy | 3 Comments

I’ve been listening to Jamiroquai‘s new album, Dynamite, for the past few days and I’m pretty happy about it. Their last album, A Funk Odessy, was a little too synth to me personally, but I think this album is a bit of a return for them. A little more eclectic, wiith some wonderful throwback tunes, like the ablum-ender “Time Won’t Wait”, this album feels more organic than the last album, with more musicality and content placed above production values. Other prize tunes are the Parliament-influenced “Star Child” and the more laid-back “Talulah”. A happy return for one of the consistently best bands of the past decade. Check it out!