* O.A.R. “In Between Now and Then” [] Lava/Atlantic
One of the top independent acts in rock, O.A.R. strokes into the mainstream with “In Between Now and Then” – a jammin’ album that flirts with melodic, reggae-laced rock that oils your dancing bone.
It’s interesting to listen to O.A.R. because the quintet has blossomed from indie to major label.
Much in the way the Dave Matthews Band made that leap to the majors a decade ago, O.A.R. is reaching for a larger audience while tightly holding onto its integrity.
“Now and Then” is a career-making record that, despite its hefty 15-song bundle, has no filler. The musicians of O.A.R., which is short for Of A Revolution, are insurgents in the battle to destroy cookie-cutter music.
Even between the first and last songs of “Now and Then,” the band demonstrates a huge musical vocabulary from the passionate, surging ballad “James” to the bouncy “Hey Girl” powered with chugga-chugga guitars and sudden-stop drumming.
If you like bright rock peppered with clear vocals and bridge-work horns, this album won’t disappoint.
It’s a grand way to start the summer music season – and a record that will easily rank as one of the 10 best of the year.
* Jesse Harris & The Ferdinandos “The Secret Sun” [ 1/2] Blue Note Records
The subtle, literate songwriting power that distinguished the best work of Robbie Robertson and the late, great Lowell George is the hallmark of newcomer Jesse Harris.
Harris’ ability to make words and music sing was rightly acknowledged with this year’s Song of the Year Grammy for his composition “Don’t Know Why.” That was the tune that rocketed pianist Norah Jones to stardom.
Harris and his band, the Ferdinandos, are doing it for themselves this time with their major-label debut called “The Secret Sun,” an intensely beautiful collection of songs with waltzing tempos that gracefully complement lyrics that long for a lost love.
Though “The Secret Sun” isn’t all rainy-day music – the rockers “All My Life” and “You Were on My Mind” are both terrific – the glory of this disc lies in the slower pieces that ring like natural blues whistled while walking. That’s the power that moves Harris and his band.
There’s nothing raw or gritty in “The Secret Sun” – that isn’t Harris’ style. Instead, the music has an accomplished, kitchen-table quality.
You’ll hear it on the traditional blues tune “Roberta,” and when Norah Jones lends her piano and voice to “What Makes You” – a song that demonstrates what can happen when friends make music together.
* Candy Dulfer “Right in My Soul” [] Eagle Records
Sax mistress Candy Dulfer is fantastic when she blows, but on her latest album, “Right in My Soul,” her vocals are a shadow of what’s considered standard R&B.
Dulfer’s problem isn’t that she’s off-key and out of time; rather, the woman is plain boring as the centerpiece of a band.
If she played sax the way she sings, she wouldn’t be making albums at all. The disc’s saving graces are the jazzy instrumentals like “Finsbury Park, Cafi 67” – but unfortunately, Candy wants to sing.
* Irving Burgie “The Father of Modern Calypso” [ 1/2] Valley Entertainment
Few album titles give such perfect description of their composer as Irving Burgie’s “The Father of Modern Calypso” – you know his songs “Day-O,” “Jamaica Farewell,” “Yellow Bird” and “Angelina.”
In fact, his compositions were the heart and soul of Harry Belafonte’s three Caribbean-flavored albums.
Now in his 70s, Burgie gathers his songs to perform them in his own voice. This is a gentle, poetic album that is only marred by overzealous back-up vocals that seem bound for Broadway rather than an island in the sun.
* Lynyrd Skynyrd “Vicious Cycle” [] Sanctuary Records
Skynyrd is back and this band of good ol’ boys is ripping it up on a disc that extols the three B’s: beer, babes and bikes.
Skynyrd’s version of the American dream is set to Gary Rossington’s Southern rock guitar slides, boogie tempos and Jack Daniel’s vocals by little bro Johnny Van Zant.
For an over-the-top highlight, wait out the 14 tracks for the bonus – a remake of the band’s ’76 hit “Gimme Back My Bullets” featuring vocals by Kid Rock.