"Scott and I saw each other and talked quite a bit during Velvet Revolver. The new album is self-produced (with some assistance from noted boardsman Don Was) and its12 songs are immensely satisfying, running the gamut from '60s-laced pop gems (Between The Lines, Cinnamon) to heavy-duty rockers (Hazy Daze, Fast As I Can) to admitted Aerosmith homages (Huckleberry Crumble) to a passel of tunes that reveal the DeLeo brothers' deep fascination with country music. 24.And now, following Weiland's highly-publicized (and extremely messy) 2008 departure from Velvet Revolver, the Pilots are indeed back, having lost little momentum it would seem. As Perry recently said “Snoop is as West Coast as it gets.” The track is off Perry’s sophomore album, “Teenage Dream,” due Aug. Adding to the song’s West Coast tan ‘n’ palm tree imagery is a looping rap by Snoop Dogg. “California Gurls” is a catchy, upbeat party song where Perry soundly advises the ladies to throw on their Daisy Dukes and a bikini top. Perry, whose had past summer success with the Sapphic sonics of “I Kissed a Girl” answers Jay-Z’s New York centric 2009 hit “Empire State of Mind” and, with the flip of a vowel, toys with the lovable and innocent sexism of the Beach Boys ’65 classic. To borrow a line from the tune, this number is so hot, it’ll “melt your Popsicle.”
With Memorial Day so close that you can almost smell the hot dogs grilling, Katy Perry’s new single, “California Gurls,” kicks off the race for the song of the summer. It’s a good album for a back-from-the-dead band, but it may be too late to regain its audience. It’s classic rock for a generation that doesn’t recognize that when Weiland gets vocally bombastic - as he does on “First Kiss on Mars” - he’s just paying tribute to his hero, David Bowie. The biggest problem with the album is that it sounds slightly dated. It’s hard rock that oils the head-banging bone. You hear that on the album opener “Between the Lines,” a quick two-minute-plus arena rocker that’s built on an electric guitar foundation. Regardless of whether Weiland is clean and sober now, he sounds strong here and very much like the guy who gave us the big STP hits like “Interstate Love Song,” “Vasoline” and “Sour Girl.” THE band, featuring the often drug- and booze-addled singer Scott Weiland, knew it had to make a good record after a nine-year recording hiatus.
“Songbook” also includes tunes by Led Zeppelin, The Who, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Traffic and Eric Clapton. And, her rendition of The Beatles’ “The Word” has Sunday service written all over it. Her terrific versions of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” and the Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin” mine unexpected soul. As every song here was originally written and performed by men, she’s able to avoid obvious mimicry. From her gospel-infused vocal style to decidedly nonelectric, piano-heavy arrangements, there is no point where she’s just aping the originals. ON this daring album, Bettye LaVette takes 13 classic songs from British Invasion rockers and actually reinterprets them.
“Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook” She’s less engaging when she tests cabaret-like styling on the tune “Mouths To Feed.” Part of the success of this record is in the raw, rootsy production contributions from hubby Jack - who also plays the drums for the missus. There’s a brooding blues piece called “Truth Is in the Dirt,” and she dabbles with traditional hat-act country on the song “Cruel Summer.” The diversity of the record continues with Irish folk and Appalachian bluegrass references. “Ghost” has variety, poetic lyrics and some wonderful melodies written by Elson. THERE’S a deep, dark Gothic country feel to the debut record by Karen Elson, the red-haired supermodel wife of the White Stripes’ Jack White.
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