Various Artists: "Long Journey Home" (Unisphere)
Where there's green there's brass, I always say; this latest Celtic collection is the companion CD to a new TV series on the Irish in America which is being shown on PBS, and chief Chieftain Paddy Moloney, who produced and arranged it, has gathered together a motley crew of rock and traditional artists for this musical celebration of the diaspora. Van Morrison lends his commanding grunt to the trad American ballad Shenandoah, and Mary Black tackles Paddy's Lamentation rather admirably; the bleak Skibbereen suits Sinead O'Connor's humourless style, and Liam O'Maonlai does the sean-nos thing on the dirge-like White Potatoes. The closing theme, sung by Elvis Costello, is quite uplifting, but in the end you get the impression that this Celtic Flame lark is starting to burn out of control.
Kevin Courtney
Various Artists: "Great Expectations" (Atlantic)
Film soundtracks are too often a rip-off; a half-hour rehash of relatively predictable tunes you already have in your collection. Not so here, where the nearly 70 minutes of music is largely alternative, includes new tracks by Tori Amos and Pulp and is a sustained dose of gothic love songs, no doubt perfectly in keeping with the upcoming movie version of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. Mono deliver an absolutely gorgeous, French-chanson style Life in Mono; Chris Cornel, former front-man from Soundgarden, does a magnificent post-modern blues, Sunshower; and Poe gives a delicious reading of Today. But the real surprise of the set is ex-Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland, who resurfaces from all previous vocal indulgences and delivers a stunningly evocative song, Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down. esame Mucho, by Caesaria Evora. A wonderful album.
Joe Jackson
Grandaddy: "Under The Western Freeway" (Big Cat)
Five hairy blokes from Modesto, California, have come up with a debut album which mixes lo-fi experimentation with country-grunge kitsch, and throws in a few Beach Boys influences to boot. If Sean O'Hagan had spent his childhood chasing raccoons and catching snakes, then The High Llamas might have sounded a bit like this - but if you're looking for real reference points, you'd find them in the remote regions where bands like Sparklehorse and The Butthole Surfers dwell. Under The Western Freeway, which has been re-released to coincide with Grandaddy's current European tour and their new single, Everything Beautiful Is Far Away, tends to flit unassumingly around the room; but every now and then a catchy track like A.M. 180 settles on your windowsill and refuses to go away.
Kevin Courtney
