Wednesday, December 24, 2003  
WXPort
Feedback
 Clubs TonightHot TixBand GuideMP3sBest Music PollSki GuideThe Best '03 
 Clubs By Night | Club Directory | Bands in Town | Concerts: Classical - Pop | Hot Links | Review Archive |  
Home
Listings
Editors' Picks
New This Week
News and Features

Art
Astrology
Books
Dance
Food & Drink
Movies
Music
Television
Theater

Archives
Letters

Classifieds
Personals
Adult
Stuff at Night
The Providence Phoenix
The Portland Phoenix
FNX Radio Network

 
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend
 

Janet Bean and the Concertina Wire
DRAGGING WONDER LAKE
(THRILL JOCKEY)
Stars graphics

Those who remember Bean best for her powerful drumming with Chicago’s roots psychedelia prodigals Eleventh Dream Day will be shocked by her singer-songwriter alter ego. But even listeners familiar with her solo work will find this album surprising. In the past she’s made slightly dusty alterna-country-folk discs on her own. This is more of a rich-and-clean-sounding ’70s singer-songwriter effort — part Carole King and part Dusty Springfield, albeit with lesser vocal command. Nonetheless, Bean knows how to build the right arrangements for her breathy, breeze-swept singing, using steel guitars, piano, strings, and cornet to create gently moving melodies. The piano ballad "Suddenly" sets the tone as the album’s opener; it’s followed by the country-rock-flavored "All Fool’s Day." Things go best in the middle when Randy Newman’s cynical Bible story "The God Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind)," the skewering of macho military posturing in "The Purple Heart," and Neil Young’s "Soldier" form a kind of protest suite that subtly illuminates the falsehoods being pursued and peddled by our leaders. What Bean’s really specializing at here, though, is soft-selling gentle tunes that brim with sadness and a hint of redemption.

BY TED DROZDOWSKI


Issue Date: August 8 - August 14, 2003
Back to the Music table of contents
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend







about the phoenix |  find the phoenix |  advertising info |  privacy policy |  the masthead |  feedback |  work for us

 © 2000 - 2003 Phoenix Media Communications Group