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MUSICREVIEWS<br />
Chris Rea<br />
La Passione<br />
Corinne<br />
Bailey Rae<br />
The Heart Speaks<br />
In Whispers<br />
CD Jazzee Blue CD Good Groove/Virgin EMI<br />
20 YEARS AGO, Rea composed a soundtrack for<br />
a semi-autobiographical film he’d made about a<br />
boy who develops a lifelong obsession with motor<br />
racing. But his record company were unconvinced<br />
and the project never saw the light of day in the<br />
form he had envisaged. He’s now re-recorded the<br />
soundtrack, a wonderfully evocative soundscape<br />
combining sweeping orchestral arrangements,<br />
shimmering lead guitar and wistful, lyrical songs<br />
sung affectingly and with heart-felt conviction. Rea<br />
regards La Passione as his magnum opus, which is<br />
opulently presented here as a two CD/two DVD set<br />
housed in a lavish 70-page coffee-table book. NW<br />
AWARD-WINNING BRITISH SINGER/<br />
SONGWRITER Corinne Bailey Rae releases her<br />
third album, and it starts off in soaraway soul pop<br />
fashion with The Skies Will Break, which pushes<br />
dancey piano stabs to the forefront. But then, as<br />
the album progresses, you get a feel for Bailey<br />
Rae's diversity. Hey, I Won't Break Your Heart is a<br />
soulful lament, while Been To The Moon is a sassy<br />
funk roller and Tell Me is a dancefloor-friendly tush<br />
waggler with some pleasing bass notes. So there's<br />
a lot going on for your hi-fi to digest, but it's all<br />
beautifully contained without ever feeling that it<br />
will burst out of the box at you. PH<br />
Kel Assouf<br />
Tikounen<br />
White Lung<br />
Paradise<br />
CD<br />
Igloomondo<br />
THE IMPROBABLE SUCCESS of the<br />
nomadic Tuareg guitar band Tinariwen,<br />
who came roaring out of the Sahara<br />
desert a few years back to conquer rock<br />
festivals around the world, has resulted<br />
in a spate of copycat bands. Led by<br />
guitarist/singer Anana Harouna, who<br />
left Mali 10 years ago for Brussels,<br />
exile has lent a distinctively urban<br />
edge to Kel Assouf’s take on the<br />
timeless rhythms of the endless sands<br />
to make them the hardest-hitting<br />
desert-rockers of them all.<br />
Do you agree with our reviewers?<br />
Decide for yourself and listen to<br />
some of this month’s tunes at<br />
www.hifichoice.co.uk<br />
CD<br />
Domino<br />
LIKE THEIR PREVIOUS efforts, White Lung's<br />
fourth album is a short, sharp blast of catchy rock<br />
that sweeps you off your feet. And the good news<br />
is that it's perfect for a decent system as the band<br />
like to add effects to their melodic, metal-tinged,<br />
anthemic pop rock. And we're talking a lot of<br />
effects. Guitars are spangly and outlandishly<br />
processed, the vocals are multi-layered and often<br />
have a touch of the Courtney Loves about them.<br />
Listening to this, you could imagine White Lung<br />
being an excellent festival band because they<br />
attack every track as if their lives depended on it.<br />
Paradise it isn't quite, but it's fun, in your face and a<br />
short, sharp jolt of an album. PH<br />
Kel Assouf's timeless<br />
rhythms make them the<br />
hardest-hitting desert<br />
rockers of them all<br />
AUDIOFILE VINYL<br />
The Groundhogs<br />
Scratching The Surface<br />
180g vinyl<br />
Pure Pleasure/Liberty<br />
Think Tinariwen with added rock heft<br />
as a European rhythm section shakes<br />
and pounds like a cross between Black<br />
Sabbath and Queens Of The Stone Age.<br />
Keyboards add further textures seldom<br />
heard in desert blues and Harouna’s<br />
guitar playing combines quicksilver<br />
lead lines with a tougher, riff-based<br />
approach. From the jagged rock thump<br />
of Europa to the militant stampede of<br />
Medden, Kel Assouf takes the desert<br />
blues to places it has never previously<br />
been before. NW<br />
THE GROUNDHOGS<br />
CAME out of the<br />
British blues explosion<br />
that spawned<br />
Fleetwood Mac and<br />
Chicken Shack. They<br />
were fronted by the<br />
guitar and vocals of<br />
Tony McPhee and for this debut the lineup<br />
included harmonica player Steve Rye. It’s the<br />
latter’s playing that marks this 1968 album out<br />
from those that succeeded it, it has a raw, vivid<br />
and extremely authentic sound that gets as close<br />
to that of its inspiration as any British act. The<br />
sound is particularly appealing because of its<br />
apparent simplicity, a result of live recording at<br />
the Marquee Studios over just two days. Despite<br />
this it is also clearcut, the drum recording is<br />
particularly strong and despite the lack of deep<br />
bass manages to deliver energy in abundance.<br />
The material is a mix of classics, including a<br />
fabulous version of Rosco Gordon’s No More<br />
Doggin’ and an inspiring choice of opener in Fats<br />
Domino’s Rocking Chair, alongside originals by<br />
McPhee and Rye with the harp player’s work<br />
being particularly strong. McPhee’s guitar is the<br />
most powerful instrument in the mix, his chops<br />
on Married Man being properly scorching, it’s no<br />
surprise that he remained the sole original<br />
member until the band’s very recent demise. JK<br />
Kel Assouf image courtesy of: Fabienne Pennewaert<br />
100 MAY 2016
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