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Crosby, Stills And Tesh: CST

Elvis Costello & Ray Stevens: Dubble Trubble

British post-punk statesman Elvis Costello's latest collaboration is without question his farthest reaching to date, teaming up with novelty singer-songwriter Ray Stevens ("The Streak", "It's Me Again, Margaret") for an album of high-brow hijinx with an alternative edge. The partnership reportedly stemmed from a suggestion by Costello keyboardist Steve Nieve, a long-time fan of the comedy singer who plays on this disc alongside his fellow Imposters bandmates. The juxtaposition of Costello's cerebral sarcastic commentaries and Steven's dumb-as-dirt cornball-isms could not be more striking and the two seem to be at odds from the start. The album opens with a lame Stevens' lament about dog crap, "Poo Poo On My Shoe Shoe" during which you can almost hear Costello's eyes roll as he provides some self-conscious harmonies. "Winnebago Tango" and "Crazy Jed And The Mississippi Moonshine Caper" are just as ingratiating despite the Imposters' solid execution. Costello manages a few pretentious lyrics about beuracratic hypocrites and bitchy mistresses before the goofball album closer "I'm Not As Think As You Stoned I Am" draws the album to an unsatisfying "WTF???" close.

Van Morrison: Sings The Cafe Merlot Menu

As the title implies, this unique set features Van Morrison and his band setting to music the menu of Belfast's Cafe Merlot restaurant in Co. Fermanagh. Ever the gifted vocal stylist, Morrison explores his inner connoisseur with spirited interpretations of classic merlot appetizers such as the Country and Western-tinged opener "Warm Baguettes With EVOO, Balsamic Vinegar, Rosemary & Garlic Dipping Sauce" followed by a fiery Stax soul number "Spinach & Artichoke Dip Served With Warm Baguettes And Parmesan Cheese Sticks." The popular salad offerings "Northwest Atlantic Salmon Salad" and "Cobb Salad With Grilled Chicken" are given jazzy arrangements with Morrison crooning the merits of "Fresh asparagus, ripe tomatoes, purple onions and capers with lemon wedges" and testifying to homemade dressings like "Creamy Merlot Wine, Lemon Pepper, Gorgonzola, Dijon Balsamic or Ranch." Endlessly entertaining, particularly for culinary buffs. 

The Village People: Unplugged

MTV recently unearthed this stripped-down live performance from 1993 (also available as a DVD) which was never aired due to the band's dissatisfaction with the finished product. Emphasizing music over pageantry, the Village People hold their intimate audience captive with subdued acoustic performances of "Hot Cop", "In The Navy", "Macho Man" and "YMCA". Seated on stools arranged in a semi-circle amid brightly colored orchids and burning incense, the costumed sextet forsake any of the silly dancing or mugging that dominate their typical live shows and absorb themselves completely in the music. Each member contributes instrumentally, the construction worker and indian chief trading licks on acoustic and spanish guitars, the policeman slapping out rhythm on bongos, the construction worker quietly strumming a mandolin, the cowboy earnestly shaking maracas and the leather-clad biker occasionally plucking a dobro. The performances themselves tend to be clumsy and erratic and sound flat stripped of the bouncy disco beats and orchestrated fanfare of the original arrangements. Despite the melancholy proceedings the predominately male audience is appreciative throughtout and politely applaud after each number. Announcing the encore, "Can't Stop The Music", the nameless construction worker acknowledges the love, gushing "Thanks for making these past fifteen years so special. It's gratifying to know our music has touched so many lives. Let the music live on!" 

Sammy Hagar: A Closer Walk With Thee

Red Rocker Sammy Hagar eschews the raucous, tequila-guzzling histrionics this time around and embraces his gospel roots on an album devoted entirely to classic spirituals. Backed by the Newark Gospel Choir, who performed on Foreigner's 1984 hit "I Want To Know What Love Is" and the contemporary flourishes of multi-talented producer Kirk Franklin, Hagar renders such beloved standards as "How Great Thou Art", "The Old Rugged Cross" and of course, "Amazing Grace" in his own wildly unrestrained style. Hagar is either unwilling or unable to tone down his performance to suit the sacredness of the material and his vocal takes are frequently embellished with shouts of "Yeahhhh!" and "All-right!" as if oblivious to the context. He even apologizes in the liner notes for letting a cry of "Baby!" escape during an otherwise solemn reading of "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord". His intentions are admirable but he really ought to stick with the Cabo Waboan hellraising. 

Michael Bolton: Just For Laughs

Singer Michael Bolton's ill-conceived foray into stand-up comedy is captured for posterity on the painfully humorless two-CD set Just For Laughs. Recorded during his December 2006 engagement at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, Bolton bores his audience with rambling monologues about eccentric family members, trite observations on male/female relationships and unremarkable impersonations of celebrities such as Mike Tyson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. When his jokes bomb, as they do often, he reacts by insulting the audience. The tepid response to his lost-luggage-at-the-airport routine prompts the exasperated cry, "Will somebody please LAUGH once in a while, dammit?" Bolton silences a heckler who yells out a request for him to sing "When A Man Loves A Woman" by retorting "How about I come down there and split your f***ing head open with this microphone, asshole?" By the end of the performance his frustration is such that the only closing line he can manage is "Thanks for nothing" before walking off the stage to muted applause. Regrettably no DVD accompanies the package so you'll have to conjure your own mental picture of the debacle.  

Johnny Cash: American VI: Lost Recordings

Give producer Rick Rubin credit for helping Johnny Cash solidify his legacy with the powerful multi-volume American Recordings series which the two undertook in the years leading up to Cash's death in September of 2003. During the last years of his life when Cash was at his most prolific and inspired, Rubin helped the aging legend select material from a variety of sources both classic and contemporary to demonstrate the timelessness and depth of the performer. 2006's American V release was thought to be the final installment in the project so the release of yet another album's worth of material leftover from the Rubin sessions comes as something of a surprise. In the liner notes the producer cautions that these tracks are outtakes Cash never intended to include on a proper album and given the questionable song selection one can't help but wish they'd remained locked in the vault. The album leads off with an acoustic cover of Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science", a song Cash chose for reasons still unclear. His aged and withered voice is completely unsuited to quirky lyrics about a laboratory love affair and his cry of "Good heavens Miss Sakamoto, you're beautiful!" sounds pitifully disingenuous. Equally puzzling is the choice of Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love" which in Cash's hands becomes a somber cautionary sermon on succumbing to temptation. Bowie's "China Girl", originally just a vocal track, has been posthumously enhanced in the studio with the same session team who fleshed out American V. Despite the best efforts of the musicians, the song falters precisely because Cash tries to out-Bowie Bowie and sings in a register higher than he is accustomed to. Slightly less offensive to the ear are his takes on Belly's "Feed The Tree", Bush's "Everything Zen" and Seal's "Crazy", although these selections still make for uncomfortable listening by exposing the limits of his vocal range. Even diehard completists would be best advised to steer clear of this mess.

Kim Gordon: Kimta$$tic

Extending a defiant middle finger to the alternative-punk masses, legendary Sonic Youth bassist/guitarist/songwriter Kim Gordon reinvents herself as a trashy pop diva on her debut solo disc, Kimta$$tic. Teaming with megastar R&B producer Timbaland, the 54 year-old Gordon postures as convincingly as her younger peers on the mo-money anthem "(I'm A Get Me) Paid Y'all" and the raunchy rump-shaker "Shawty (Gon' Work It)." Anxious to shed her no-nonsense sullen punk image, Gordon clearly is in a mood to have a good time and revels in the moment. She playfully spars with T-Pain on the dancefloor bump n' grind of "Just A 'Lil Sumpin'" and pokes fun at her punk credentials on the Ciara collaboration "Bad Girrl". Considering the surprise success of the single "Scandalous" and it's accompanying video enjoying heavy rotation on MTV, the aging rocker seems to have found her mid-life niche. Thurston Moore must be very worried indeed.