Live DVD-CD takes look at Queens of the Stone Age

Editor’s Note: In Sound Advice, the first Friday of every month, veteran BDN entertainment writer Dale McGarrigle and former British music-press writer Adam Corrigan, BDN rock columnist Emily Burnham and a revolving stable of BDN writers review new albums from across the musical spectrum.

“Over the Years and Through the Woods” (Interscope) – Queens of the Stone Age

I will say up front that I’m not generally a big fan of the live DVD or CD. It’s a tricky prospect. After all, the joy of a live performance lies primarily in simply being there. It’s about seeing, hearing and smelling the band. It’s about the sweat soaking your clothes; the grey hiss in your ears as you leave; the bruises that go unnoticed until the next morning; the 30 bucks for a tour T-shirt. Take all this away, and you’re often left with shaky versions of songs you love, performed by shadowy statues.

Yes, watching Queens of the Stone Age from the safety of ones living-room couch isn’t the flood of adrenaline you might wish for. That said however, Josh Homme and the current incarnation of his Queens are good value for money here – especially for those already seduced by their monumental slices of rock.

Put together from a couple of their shows in London last summer, “Over the Years and Through the Woods” – a live DVD-CD combo – catches the band both lean and tight. Interaction with the crowd is mostly kept to a minimum – an exception being the hilarious humiliation of an abusive audience member. But there are plenty of musical fireworks, and pretty much every QOTSA song you’d want shows up somewhere here. Highlights include a fiercely hypnotic “You Can’t Quit Me Baby,” which loosely spirals for what seems to be hours, and the band spinning out a crowd-pleasing “No One Knows” for nearly as long.

Fans will also enjoy spotting Homme’s friends and ex-collaborators in the (all too short) private scenes, including Nick Olivieri, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, and a frantically air-drumming Dave Grohl. And better yet is the bonus footage of a young Queens playing live outdoors to a minuscule, and only partially interested audience. How times have changed. – Adam Corrigan

“The Greatest” (Matador) – Cat Power

Cat Power abandons her usual intense stage fright and art-school psychodrama conventions on her seventh album. At least, that may be what she’s aiming for.

“The Greatest” is Cat Power, a.k.a. Chan Marshall’s, soul album. Recorded in Memphis with members of Al Green’s backing band, the indie princess sounds more confident with her vocals than she ever has. Her voice, a subtle, delicate instrument adept at conveying sadness and loneliness, is strong and self-assured, though still vulnerable.

It’s kind of disarming to hear a woman like Marshall, whose public perception includes hiding behind her long brown hair during live shows, sound sexy – and she does. The whole album is drenched in a hazy, luxurious R&B sheen, with Marshall alternately whispering, purring and keening over bright horns and strings.

Where she succeeds in reinventing herself, she succeeds well: “Living Proof” is all trilling organ lines and laid-back rhythm, with Marshall actually seeming to enjoy her role as a critically and popularly adored musician. Same with the title track, and “Lived in Bars.”

But songs like “Where Is My Love,” a throwaway ballad that’s overkill on the strings and weak on the lyrics, shows that you can’t just walk into a studio and become a soul singer. She’s got the pipes, and the looks, but when you spend the bulk of your career cultivating a beautifully tortured personae, it’s hard to escape that image. – Emily Burnham

“Sexy, Freaky, Electric” (Reprise/WEA) – Tony Hussle

Talk about truth in packaging.

The title of Tony Hussle’s debut EP pretty well sums up the contents. You’ve heard of boudoir photos? Well, here’s some boudoir sound.

While many albums earn parental warning labels for lyrics that glorify violence or use gratuitous profanity, Hussle (aka Anthony “T-Funk” Pearyer) got his for worshipping sex. But he’s a lover, not a playa, and love is definitely a big part of his mantra as well.

The 26-year-old singer is already accomplished, not just performing, but writing, arranging and producing the album. Some of the titles seem innocuous enough (“In This House,” “Special,” “Wait,” “Your Girl”), while others will remind listeners of the Artist Once Again Known as Prince.

Hussle emotes old-school soul, complete with real musical instruments (organs, guitars and horns, oh my!) and minus the heretofore obligatory rap segments. He will make fans of Smokey Robinson, Al Green and Marvin Gaye smile fondly, as he channels the essence of Motown.

Is there room for Hussle on today’s urban landscape? “Sexy, Freaky, Electric” makes the argument that talent will prevail. Now, how about something full length after this tantalizing taste? – Dale McGarrigle

“Healthy in Paranoid Times” (Columbia) – Our Lady Peace

The Canadian quartet’s sixth studio album was several years in the making and almost caused the band’s breakup on more than one occasion. Given that, it still falls short when compared to personal favorite “Gravity.” The 13 songs that made the cut for this album were culled from 45 that were actually recorded. Really? And these are the best they could come up with? Yikes. Granted, “Gravity” was more mainstream and it rankled the group’s core followers, but even with some catchy melodies, this latest album fails to deliver the goods. Maybe it’s because vocalist Raine Maida, bassist Duncan Coutts, drummer Jeremy Taggart, and guitarist Steve Mazur were caught between the mainstream sound and commercial success producer Bob Rock brought about for “Gravity” and remaining true to their roots and original style. Whatever the case, “HIPT” doesn’t seem to have been worth all that time and effort. – Andrew Neff