Album of the week
BLONDIE
“Panic of Girls”
3 STARS
In what’s been a 12-year comeback that started with 1999’s “No Exit” and continued with 2003’s prophetically titled “The Curse of Blondie,” the New York rock band featuring Deborah Harry finally remembers what Blondie sounds like on today’s release, “Panic of Girls.”
Just listen once to the lead single, “Mother” — where Harry reminisces about her salad days working the city’s clubs — and you realize this disc isn’t about reinvention, but rather rediscovery. “Mother” has the kind of upbeat pop/rock chorus that demands the volume be cranked, and that you sing along.
The Blondie crew — with original members Chris Stein on guitar and Clem Burke on drums — also shows Blondie’s roots on “Girlie Girlie,” a tune whose reggae beats recall the band’s hit “The Tide Is High.”
“D-Day,” the album opener, offers the record’s biggest stylistic departure, with a propulsive drumbeat and frantic synth-driven rock melody. Musically adventurous, this one is anchored to the Blondie sound by Harry’s signature coo as she instructs the listener to “Transfer your love to me.” Her vocals are sexy and a little robotic. Harry is also excellent on “What I Heard,” where her deeper vocals recall the band’s 1979 hit “Dreaming.”
As good as this record is, it isn’t perfect, stumbling on the salsa beats of “Wipe Off My Sweat,” sung in Spanish, and falling totally flat on “Le Bleu,” performed in French, which makes you hold your nose and say “le pew.”
Downloads of the week
KOOKS
“F * * k the World Off”
3 1/2 STARS
Despite its censored title, this Kooks single from “Junk of the Heart,” released today, finds the Brit-pop band of heartthrobs trying out an old-fashioned, rootsy Southern rock sound.
On this track, the quartet tests syncopated drumbeats set against slippery guitar work by Hugh Harris that crosses Jerry Garcia-style noodling and Steve Cropper funk. The tune is a love song where singer Luke Pritchard drawls melodically about how he’s willing to flip off the gods for his girl.
Despite the lyrics’ foolish hubris in the name of love, the swaggering attitude in his vocals make this tune work.
WYNTON MARSALIS &
ERIC CLAPTON
“Forty-Four”
4 STARS
Put Eric Clapton and Wynton Marsalis in the same room, and eventually genius unfolds. That magical spark ignites the revenge blues of “Forty-Four” one of the 10 tracks on today’s release “Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton Play the Blues: Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center.”
“Forty-Four” stands out because it’s the one track that bridges Clapton’s Chicago-style electric-guitar work with Marsalis’ New Orleans’ horns. Adding to the power of this tune, which runs a full seven minutes, are Clapton’s extra-raw vocals. He sounds nasty and a little evil.
If notes could kill, Clapton wouldn’t need a .44 on this one.