Joy Williams goes solo and bares soul


Joy Williams “Venus” (Sensibility/Columbia)

Nearly 20 minutes into “Venus,” an acoustic guitar emerges from the computer clamor that fills most of the album. The refreshing sound of an actual musical instrument nudges Joy Williams into the set’s best song, the soul-baring ballad “What a Good Woman Does.”

“I can’t carry the weight of this war,” she sings.

Williams’ acrimonious split with Civil Wars partner John Paul White is at the core of “Venus,” her first solo album since the breakup. She also sings about the death of her father and a rocky patch in her marriage, addressing the wrenching topics with commendable candor and appealing eloquence.

But when Williams parted with White, she also said goodbye to strummy folk music. Rebooting as a solo act, the 32-year-old chose to create songs geared for dance clubs instead of coffee houses, with lots of robotic whooshing, whirring, clonks and thuds.

It’s as if she was chasing the Katy Perry demographic, and the artifice of the arrangements dilutes the blood on the tracks left by the lyrics. Part of the problem may be too many fingerprints on the project -- one song has five cowriters, Williams among them.

It’s a testament to Williams’ vocal skills that she sounds so good singing this music, vulnerable but valorous and sensuous. That makes the best of “Venus” more powerful than any synthetic kick drum. (AP)

Neil Young’s ‘The Monsanto Years’ attacks corporate greed


Neil Young + Promise of the Real “The Monsanto Years” (Warner Bros.)

Neil Young’s voice, playing and passion are undimmed, but his lyrical talent is diminished in much of this new album, which -- as the title “The Monsanto Years” suggests -- is obsessed with what he perceives as the despoiling of America at the hands of corrupt corporations and complacent politicians.

The sound is distinctive Neil, little changed over 50 years, though the voice is a bit scratchier now. But he’s replaced the symbolic approach -- “flying Mother Nature’s silver seed to a new home in the sun” from 1970’s “After the Gold Rush,” for example -- with a more literal style. The complaints about Monsanto, Walmart and “big box” stores that are killing mom and pop shops too quickly devolve into sloganeering.

It’s a pity that the words aren’t more nuanced, because much of the music, recorded with the L.A. band Promise of the Real, is haunting. “Wolf Moon” -- yes, he’s still singing about the moon -- is evocative and powerful to begin with, but weakens as it becomes overtly political. “Workin’ Man” uses vignettes nicely to build context, and “Rules of Change” is driven by a simple, effective percussion that evokes Native American rhythms and the beauty of the plains.

The recurrent themes are plunder and greed. Young laments that people only want to hear about love, not the truth about the environmental calamity confronting them. (AP)

Pete Rock returns with sequel to classic beat album


Pete Rock “PeteStrumentals 2” (Mello Music Group)

It’s been 14 years since Pete Rock dropped “PeteStrumentals” -- a benchmark of instrumental hip-hop. The sequel feels lived in, earned and runs just as deep: a carousel of headnod collage, East Coast grit and straight funk.

“PeteStrumentals 2” is a celebratory affair. These are beats to cheers to. Beats to reminisce over. Beats that illuminate the grind.

The stylistic range is impressive. The bass and somber brass of “Air Smoove” sound orchestrated. He flexes his deft touch at resuscitating choice records, flipping Rose Royce’s “Wishing On a Star” into a slinky banger. The rainy window vibeout “Gonna Love You” could have fit right in on J Dilla’s epic instrumental album, 2006’s “Donuts.” And on “Dilla Bounce (R.I.P.),” Rock salutes his ultra-talented protege, who died in 2006.

“The Creator” has always been a master of sculpting mood and setting a scene. “Cosmic Slop” could score a midnight drive under an elevated subway. The yesteryear keys and teary strings of “Heaven & Earth” conjure a contemplative stroll along a moonlit river. “Play Yo Horn” projects a Blaxploitation escape scene.

“PR 4 Prez” is classic Pete Rock: filthy break, viscous thump and horns aimed at the sky. The main ingredients are still intact -- including the dustiest fingers around. On one track a vocal sample punctuates his agenda: “Longevity, baby.” (AP)