Stars with Guitars (finally!)

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It’s not often that three good albums are released on the same day. As much as such an event fills me with hope about the future of pop music, it’s also a bit frustrating. I want to give all three their due, and the only way I can do that is to combine them all in one omnibus of a review. It’s not ideal, I’ll admit, but at least it gets the word out that there really is good music out there.

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You’re not going to find a lot of shake-your-booty pop here—in fact, you’re not going to find any. What you are going to find is evidence that music is far from its last throes.

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And guess what? It still revolves around the guitar.

KT Tunstall: Drastic Fantastic

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Considering the runaway success of her debut album, Eye to the Telescope, it’s not surprising that KT Tunstall views stardom as sort of a comic book existence—minus the super powers, of course. It’s not a lifestyle for the faint of heart. If a comic book lifestyle needs a comic book title, you could have a worse title than Drastic Fantastic. And certainly from the album’s packaging, with KT posed like a rock Valkyrie, brandishing a major axe of a guitar, you’d imagine she plans to kick some major ass here.

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Well, not exactly.

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On this sophomore outing, Tunstall tries on a number of alter egos, from radio-friendly popster to bluesy torcher, but by and large she attacks the material cautiously. Songs like “Little Favours” and “If Only” were designed with radio in mind, channeling equal parts of Chrissie Hynde and Sheryl Crowe at their poppiest. It isn’t until the single cut “Hold On” that Tunstall finds a skin in which she’s comfortable. It’s a somewhat raucous stomp reminiscent of “Black Dog and the Cherry Tree,” and its refrain of “the world will turn if you’re ready or not” tinges it with appropriate angst.

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It’s on the more introspective acoustic tracks that Drastic Fantastic is at it most compelling. “Beauty of Uncertainty” and “Someday Soon” are haunting tracks that allow Tunstall to unveil her vocal range, which can stretch from a bluesy rasp to an angelic whisper, often in the same song.

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While the album stumbles in places, Drastic Fantastic stands shoulders above the pabulum that passes for pop music today. KT Tunstall has tried on several comic book identities here, but ultimately emerges triumphant.

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Eddie Vedder: Into the Wild

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Eddie Vedder’s been fronting Pearl Jam for 17 years—hell, for all intents, he’s been Pearl Jam all that time, at least as far as publicity was concerned. It took the coaxing of his buddy Sean Penn to convince Vedder to finally release a solo album, though. Penn’s latest film, Into the Wild, chronicles the ill-fated odyssey of Christopher McCandless, who chunked his worldly possessions to live in the wilds of Alaska.

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Vedder's soundtrack album is imbued throughout with an appropriate sense of romantic solitude and desolation. Even though the 11 songs are designed to propel the film’s narrative, they sound as if they were wrenched from Vedder’s own longings. His morose baritone drenches the tracks with a profound sense of world weariness, even as the lyrics struggle with the quest for inner peace.

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Vedder’s Into the Wild soundtrack nicely complements the themes of the film. More, it establishes Vedder as a solo artist capable of stretching beyond the confines of rock. These tunes are short and to the point, most lasting only a couple of minutes or less. Even at that, they stand on their own, without histrionics or other such trappings. It’s folksy and acoustic, and speaks to man’s relationship with the American wilderness. As such, it quietly reaches into our collective wanderlust, and pulls out something universal.

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Mark Knopfler: Kill to Get Crimson

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That Mark Knopfler has a new release should come as no surprise. Since officially disbanding Dire Straits in 1995, his output has been phenomenal, what with scoring films, producing other artists, live events and various collaborations, not to mention four albums released under his name. Killing for Crimson, his fifth solo effort, finds Knopfler in a jovial mood, for the most part.

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On a casual listen, Killing to Get Crimson is deceptively understated—a pleasant stroll through a sunny Sunday afternoon. Indeed, the inclusion of accordionist Ian Lowthian and fiddler Ian McCusker on several tracks enhance the largely pastoral feel of the album. But it’s Knopfler’s knack for wry storytelling, punctuated by his finger style guitar that draw the listener into his world.

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This is a work that demands repeated listening, if for no other reason than to fully appreciate the delicate nuances of Knopfler’s guitar work. It’s a study in contrast, as he veers from the country flavors of “True Love Will Never Fade” to the more ominous Dire Straits sound of “Punish the Monkey.” Even at its most subtle, the album is full of delights, from Knopfler’s relishes “Hawaiian noises” to Appalachian-inspired riffs to bass-heavy melodic runs.Kill to Get Crimson is the latest evidence of Knopfler’s remarkable talents as a guitarist and songwriter. Like a deep wine, it's music to be sipped and savored.