Album reviews: Prince | Brandon Flowers | Sam Smith | Mike D
The vast vault of previously unreleased Prince material has finally been opened ten years after the Purple One's passing. Results may vary, writes Fiona Shepherd.
Prince: Timeless (Legacy Recordings) ★★★
Brandon Flowers: Thrasher (Island Records) ★★★★
Sam Smith: Hazel Eyes (Capitol Records) ★★★
Mike D: Thank You (Capitol Records) ★★★★
The fabled Prince vault, an almost mystical repository of the ridiculous amount of recordings made by this most prolific of artists over a forty year career, has been cranked open ten years after his passing, and the contents carefully curated to produce Timeless. These ten previously unreleased tracks, dating from 1977 right up to 2016, capture the many moods of Prince Rogers Nelson, if not always the peak artistry. The varying quality of the music means this is not the place to start in your Prince odyssey but it is a reminder of his sheer eclecticism.
The collection opens with the oldest track, I Am You, a tight, peppy electro funk workout, then moves through the years chronologically. Tick Tick Bang is a premature ejaculation of a track, a new wave sprint from 1981, familiar in content but less so in form. The rootsy rhythm’n’blues of I Wonder feels like an offcut, maybe a bit of a Batman blip from 1989, but he makes up for it on With This Tear, an aching ballad from 1991, which ramps up to a soaring orchestral epic and returns to fluttery yearning with practiced athleticism.
The taster single The Guilty Ones is Prince in turbo rock mode, while the funky boogaloo of Calabama may have been recorded in 2003 but has its heart in 1980. How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore is not the greatest Prince live recording but it does capture the effervescence of those final tour dates, a reminder that he passed at a time of playful renaissance.
There’s always been a country cut to Brandon Flowers’ jib. The first solo album from the Killers frontman in more than a decade pivots expertly to traditional country and western territory. Recorded in Nashville with some seasoned sessioneers and star players such as guitarist David Rawlings and veteran harmonica player Charlie McCoy, Thrasher is not the sound of some indie boy trying on a Nudie suit because it looks cool. These songs provide a fitting vehicle to explore his upbringing through a series of family snapshots. The gorgeous ballads Miss America and In a Heartbeat in particular capture adolescent ardour with a few brushstrokes.
Plans has a Neil Diamond-like quality with its sweeping strings and sweet female backing vocals, Paradise, a line dance love letter to Las Vegas, is infused with the spirit of Kenny Rogers and the mariachi horns and sweet strum of Red Ground produce a romantic swoon worthy of Jimmy Webb.
Sam Smith pays tribute to their adopted home city of New York with a mix of subtle and sultry soul on new album Hazel Eyes. The owner of the titular peepers is deemed worthy of a manicured gospel choir fanfare but Smith gets their mojo back on Moondance with a little breathy help from guest vocalist Feist. Thief is the very definition of the quiet storm genre of brooding R&B, on which Smith appears sick with love. Sugar Rush is a 60s girl group confection slowed down and spiced up and the dreamy folk-infused soul pop of Constant Companion evokes some cowboy character.
The suitably eclectic debut album by Beastie Boy Mike D is the first music he has released since the death of fellow BB Adam Yauch in 2012. He hasn’t had to look too far for new collaborators, with sons Skyler and Davis providing some comforting familiarity in his band as he steps out solo with a fun collection, encompassing the tech punk belligerence of Crypto, the lo-fi indie duet of I Don’t Care and the woozy title track tribute to his former bandmates.
CLASSICAL
Strange Loops: Clarinet Quintets (Signum) ★★★★
Where does a loop end? At the beginning, of course. Which aptly describes the journey undertaken by composer Anna Clyne in her 2020 work for clarinet and string quartet, Strange Loops. Loaded with klezmer-style energy and colouring, feverishly dramatic, lifted by witty riffs and structured on a crafty, conflicting vibe of repetition via metamorphosis, its a rollercoaster ride that gets you home safe and sound, but full of the journey’s joys. That’s largely down to a sparky performance by clarinettist Mark van de Wiel and his string colleagues from the Philharmonia Orchestra. They offer immediate contrast with Ruth Gipps’ carefree single-movement Rhapsody in E flat, characterised by a mellifluous pastoralism straight out of the Vaughan Williams playbook. Finally, Weber’s Clarinet Quintet bares its opulent soul, van de Weil’s skill and charisma fine-tuned to this Romantically-charged classic, inspiring ample warmth and support from his string allies. Ken Walton
JAZZ
Tara Minton: The Devil Invites You to Dance (Adhyâropa Records) ★★★★
Australian harpist and singer Tara Minton seeks the light through this intriguing album, distilled from emotional turmoil and travels in Mexico. Her faintly creepy opening monologue over harp is joined by trumpeter Miguel Gorodi, whose Hispanic-accented playing recurs potently throughout the recording. At times exuberant, often haunting, Minton skats and harps deftly over a bossa rhythm in El Colibrí, elegantly escorted by her band, crisp palmas introducing a drum break from David Ingamells. Her harp flows alongside crisp Latin percussion in Iztapalapa, Minton’s wordless vocalising soaring in fine duet with trumpet, while her vocals shine particularly in the languid affection of Cariño or the atmospheric Let It Rain, with its swirling harp and percussion storm, before Gorodi fires up to complement impassioned singing. There’s rich multi-vocalising in En Otra Vida, while the harp glitters and cascades its way through Shadow Dance. Jim Gilchrist
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