Artist: Voodoo Katz (www.voodookatz.com)
Album: “Glimpse” (self-produced)
LISTEN: Hear the first track off the CD

The second release from Charleston’s Voodoo Katz successfully delivers the warm, rhythmic grooves that have made the band a staple on the Charleston club scene. However, this time around, the tunes — with influences ranging from funk and R&B to pop and world beat — are more focused, sounding less like individual contributions and more like the work of a band.

The title track moves from syncopated, rock-infused verses to a free and easy chorus that underscores the band’s positive vibe. In particular, the soaring spirit of Derick Kirk, who, at 28, lost his battle with cancer in July, is ever present. Throughout, the interplay between Mark Davis’ clear vocals and Kirk’s melodic sax lines are pleasantly reminiscent of the catchy, ska-pop of the English Beat. (more…)

Artist: Patterson Barrett (www.pattersonbarrett.com)
CD: “I Must Be Dreaming” (So’ Fish)

Don’t be put off by the awful cover (a small winged Barrett hovering around his own head in the clouds) or the erratic production. There’s something about this CD that comes through loud and clear: Barrett’s earnest and charming songs and playing to match. His voice is so “real” and guileless it’s sometimes off-putting — at times, almost a bit amateurish — but it’s also what makes him so convincing.

Beginning with “Take The Stage” which combines the laid-back, no-nonsense rock ’n’ roll of Little Feat and Los Lobos (and a killer guitar solo by guest Buddy Miller), the songs are simple and to the point. Influenced by Southern California country rock, you can hear strains of The Eagles (“Back In My Heart” and “Sleeping”), Neil Young (“She Won’t Be Getting Any Sleep Tonight”) and Jackson Browne (“I Don’t Want To Dream About You Anymore”). Elsewhere, he puts on a singer/songwriter hat with the gentle, acoustic-based “Concrete & Steel” (with harmony vocals by Julie Miller) and “I’ve Been Loving You For Such a Long Time.” The disc closes with a song that reunites Patterson with his high school sweetheart, Deborah Holland of Animal Logic.

While there’s a thread of honesty and soulfulness that runs through “I Must Be Dreaming” both in the songs and performances (check out the rocking “Leap of Faith”), Barrett’s anything but a newcomer. The Austin-based multi-instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin, steel, accordion) is a member of Partners in Crime (with Buddy and Julie Miller), has backed up Nanci Griffith, Al Kooper and Chuck Berry. Trust me, this one will grow on you.

— By Michael Lipton

Artist: Bob Thompson (www.colortones.com)
Album: “More Joy to the World” (Colortones)

Nine years after the release of the first set of holiday tunes culled from Bob Thompson’s annual “Joy to the World” production, Charleston’s beloved pianist has issued a second installment. And the opener, a beautiful, extended take on the traditional “March of the Magi,” proves the he’s got plenty of great material in the hopper.

Featuring his “new” band (drummer Tim Courts, bassist John Inghram, guitarist Ryan Kennedy and saxophonist Doug Payne) the tune begins with a drum cadence that leads into the minor-keyed melody and a full bevy of solos. Pay particular attention to Kennedy’s solo — a fluid and melodic ride that evidences how his playing continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

In addition to jazzy takes on “O Tannenbaum” and “The First Noel,” Thompson’s own “The Sleigh Bell Song” is another standout with Doug Payne providing the circular melody on his Ewi, and the solo section switching gears to 7/4 time. After Thompson’s solo “Ding Dong Merrily on High,” the disc ends with the sole pair of vocal tracks. Recorded in 2000, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” is the oldest track and features bassist extraordinaire Dwayne Dolphin along with one of Thompson’s rare vocal performances — a spoken rendition of the poem over a simmering, funky groove. Blues belter Toni Lynn Washington, Thompson’s 2002 guest vocalist, joins forces with The Appalachian Children’s Chorus to close out the disc with a mellow version of “Silent Night.”

– By Michael Lipton

Local musician and writer Michael Lipton is joining the New Sounds blog. His short reviews will focus on albums by regional artists and artists appearing in the area.

Artist: The Staple Singers (www.concordmusicgroup.com)
Album: “The 25th Day of December” (Riverside)

Out of print for a ridiculous 45 years, the Staple Singers’ Christmas collection should be in rotation with holiday perennials by Esquivel, the Beach Boys, James Brown and NRBQ. Steeped in gospel, the Staples’ trademark sound also evokes the early days of the ’60s civil rights movement when the tack was nonviolence. And, indeed, Pops Staple has one of the most angelic voices ever recorded. Together with progeny Mavis, Yvonne and Pervis, they made up one of the finest (and grooviest) vocal combos ever.

“The Last Month of the Year” opens with an old-style, gospel call-and-response. The groove — built on Pops’ signature guitar sound, Maceo Woods’ churchy organ and drummer Al Duncan’s propelling beat on brushes — is damn near irresistible. Ditto with “The Savior is Born.” Elsewhere, they transform the normally upbeat “Go Tell It On the Mountain” into a mournful, minor-keyed lament while “Joy to the World” would be right at home in a country church (white or black).

But this collection isn’t about the usual Christmas fare (except perhaps the deep, tremoloed version of “Silent Night”). It’s songs like “No Room at the Inn” and the swaying soul of “There Was a Star” that capture the real essence of the holidays. On second thought, no matter what holiday it is, Pops’ “Holy Unto the Lord” will make you thankful you’re alive.

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Artist: Pam Tillis (www.pamtillis.com)
Album: “Just in Time for Christmas” (Stellar Cat)

At another end of the Christmas spectrum is country singer Pam Tillis’ first holiday release. That Tillis, a fine singer who has sold more than 6 million records, felt the need to start her own label to escape Nashville’s fickle confines is a statement in itself. However, her “Just in Time for Christmas” is not the work of an upstart but a classic singer who appreciates tradition and has mixed old and new with great care.

With nary a pretension, she takes on classics like “Have Yourself a Merry Lil’ Christmas,” “Jingle Bell Rock” (part of a medley recorded with her father Mel), Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” with ease. Meanwhile, as she says in her liner notes, she hopes that new songs like “Beautiful Night” and “Seasons” will “fall as easy on the ear as soft, morning snow.” And they do, partially because of the musicianship (notably Bob Patin’s Floyd Cramer-styled piano and Tommy White’s steel work) and the tunes — but mostly because great voices are never out of style.

— By Michael Lipton

The Artist: Queen
The CD: “Queen Rock Montreal”
The DVD: “Queen Rock Montreal”

With the frontman for the band having been deceased for nearly two decades, the folks maintaining Queen’s catalog have had to be pretty creative in mining product that can be recycled. In this case, they’ve gone back to a previously-released video, restored it, expanded it to its original running order and have cranked out both a DVD and a 2-CD set called “Queen Rock Montreal.”

As live recordings go, this is top-notch. It was the only Queen concert shot on film, and the band was at the top of their arena-pleasing form. Previously released on VHS in edited form as “We Will Rock You,” this is a document of the last night of the last North American tour by the original line up of Queen with Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. This was recorded in November, 1981.

(more…)

Performer: Robert Plant Alison Krauss
The CD: “Raising Sand”

The idea of Robert Plant, the aging rock god of Led Zepplin, teaming up with the darling of new bluegrass, Alison Krauss, just looks wrong on paper. Thank God this is music, not paper. The two sang together at a tribute concert to Blues legend Leadbelly, and hit it off. Their voices blend in one of the most wonderful, if unlikely combinations I’ve heard in years. (more…)

Performer: Paul McCartney
The CD: “Memory Almost Full”

It’s no secret: Sir Paul has had a rotten year. A bitter divorce and a custody battle with his much-younger second wife, with his vast fortune at stake and the British tabloids eating up every minute of it with a spoon — that has to make your life seem fairly miserable at times. Luckily for us, when artists go through rough times, sometimes the result is a truly remarkable creation.

“Memory Almost Full” is McCartney’s best work since 1980’s “McCartney II” (which was recorded at another tumultuous time in McCartney’s life, following his fabled Japanese drug bust and eight-day stint in a Tokyo jail). This is the former Beatle’s first album in years that doesn’t suffer from the sheen of contentment that makes much of his post-Beatle music a little hard to take. When I reviewed McCartney’s last CD, “Chaos and Creation In The Backyard,” I noted how hard it was for him to produce music that stood up to his incredible catalog. With this CD, he has delivered an album that stands among his best. (more…)

Miranda Lambert would be easy to dismiss. She placed not first, but third on “Nashville Star,” the off-brand Country version of American Idol. There are plenty of contest winners strutting across the national stage, singing songs picked to cash in on a very specific music taste.

Lambert’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is different than almost all of the other used-to-be contestants’ offerings. First of all, the tiny Texan with the sweet-tea voice and prickly briar rose delivery wrote most of the songs on the album. Not everybody needs to write their own material. Everybody’s favorite, Carrie Underwood, did very well with her song about tearing up a cheating boyfriend’s vehicle in the parking lot of a bar. It was a fair trick given that the achingly wholesome Underwood doesn’t seem the type to date men who would even visit a bar — except maybe to ask for directions. (more…)

PERFORMERS: Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong, Tony Allen
The CD: “The Good, The Bad and The Queen.” Get it here
“The Good, The Bad, and The Queen” is a phenomenal work, even though it’s tough to describe. In some circles it’s billed as being by the group “The Good, The Bad, and The Queen,” but the group actually doesn’t have a name. This is the brainchild of Blur front-man Damon Albarn, whose other recent group, Gorillaz, doesn’t even exist in the real world.

This project was originally announced as an Albarn solo album to be produced by DJ Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley). Halfway through production the solo album mutated into a new group fronted by Albarn, and including The Clash’s bass player Paul Simonon, freshly un-retired after sixteen years out of the music business, along with Simon Tong, guitarist for The Verve and Gorillaz, and Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen on drums. Apparently, it was decided that the group would have no name, probably to annoy the British music press. (more…)

CD: “Texas Hoedown Revisited.” Get it here.

This CD is a reissue of recordings released in the 1960s and ’70s on County Records and Voyager. Texas fiddling means Benny Thomasson, and “Texas Hoedown Revisited” is doubly important because it contains the obscure recordings made by Texas fiddlers Lewis Thomasson (Benny Thomasson’s brother), Vernon Solomon and Bartow Riley.

Any talk of fiddling always wends its way back to West Virginia. In this case, the early recordings of Kanawha Valley legend Clark Kessinger were highly influential on Texas fiddling, and is the template on which that highly developed Texas contest style is built. This is richly ornamented music, featuring complicated, sometimes six- and seven-part tunes with cascades of notes pulled from with a long bow. That pretty much describes Kessinger’s style. Those Texas boys learned their lessons well. Highly recommended.

County Records, P.O. Box 7405 Charlottesville, Va. 22906

– By Paul Gartner