J.P. CORMIER SHOWS HIS OTHER SIDE
Ask most musicians in the Maritimes who the best player in the East is, and it's a good bet most of them will say J.P. Cormier.
He's renowned for his ability on guitar, and anything he lays his hands on, from mandolin to violin, cello, bass, fiddle, organ, piano, percussion, he can - and does - play them all. He is so beloved for his playing, his other sides often get overlooked in the race to praise his picking. But on his new album, The Messenger (Fontana North), the other sides of Cormier are featured. The disc is subtitled J.P. Sings. It's that and more. He also wrote them all.
J.P. is a heck of a songwriter. He follows in the fine steps of other classic East Coast writers, penning songs about our homes, the troubles and triumphs of the communities. J.P. sees first-hand the problems faced by people in small towns, and can write and sing their stories and mean them. He's a fine spokesperson for fishermen, miners, woodworkers and other traditional industry workers. He's not afraid to speak his mind, either. He calls out the corporations that so easily shut down the mills, not only putting people out of work, but forcing them out of the area, ending traditions and even communities.
Progress Avenue calls into question the so-called advances of technology and society over the past few years, and what we've lost because of them. There's a personal verse about the time when J.P. worked out of Nashville and his agent advised him to change his act, stop writing about his land, home and heart; there was no future in the past. J.P., of course, told the guy to shove it and, as we know, moved back home soon after.
Afghanistan, written after making the trip to play for the soldiers there, tells the story from their point of view, a tribute to their dedication. It's one of the strongest songs on the subject yet written, and there have been a few.
Cormier has the ability to make you think, take you inside the situation, say it plain and simple and get right to the point. Whether it's the end of the fishery in Canso, or the line about "Broken hearts are always found, leavin' Charlottetown," the guy's going to touch a lot of hearts with this disc. It's pretty incredible, given his virtuosity, that you can listen and not even pay attention to the playing during the whole album.
VAN MORRISON - REISSUE SERIES (Universal)
Here's another chance to get more Van Morrison discs from his huge catalogue. There are six newly upgraded CDs with remastered sound, and in all but one case, a bonus cut or cuts. While none of the albums is significantly improved by the additional songs, each is a keeper.
Veedon Fleece is the oldest here, a 1974 effort that was hitless but packed a lyrical punch. It was one of his first pastoral discs, heavy in Irish longing, the nature of "God's green land filling his soul." Morrison searched for connection to the present through references to Blake, Poe and Thoreau in Killarney, Arklow and out in the country. It has always been underrated. Next up is the 1984 Live At The Grand Opera House Belfast, always a fan favourite. This version of his show comes from another spiritual time, featuring softer songs Haunts of Ancienct Peace, Beautiful Vision and Rave On John Donne. Even though his raw R&B side is buried, the crack big band gets a good groove going for other numbers, such as Dweller On The Threshold, and the horns and rich backing vocals make this a rich show. Moving to 1986, Morrison delivers one of his greatest, No Guru, No Method, No Teacher, perhaps the best of his discs to mix his twin peaks, the spiritual and the rhythmic. In The Garden, the centrepiece, puts Morrison and his muse once again close to God by getting close to nature. His bold writing puts the couple in fields and summer showers, blown by the summer breeze, seeing the light of God and feeling the presence of Christ. These are classic references, not some modern American fundamentalist fumbling. Another favourite theme is introduced on A Town Called Paradise, as Morrison's driven nuts, because "copycats ripped off my songs."
Bitterness and bliss are never far apart for Van the Man. 1990's Enlightenment is the weak one of this crop, as he takes a tentative step back toward R&B. The single and lead track Real Real Gone was a great one, but there's not a whole lot to the rest of the disc. Avalon Of The Heart and Youth Of 1,000 Summers are the final stabs at the exhausted lyrical search for his own Holy Grail of nature. But In The Days Before Rock 'n' Roll does signal his new interest in mining the great sounds of the '50s, and another high priest, Ray Charles.
Better sounds were to come as the '90s unfolded, heard wonderfully in the double-disc A Night In San Francisco, from 1994. Morrison had assembled a great soul-based revue, which featured organist Georgie Fame, a horn and woodwind section and featured vocalists. Like a classic stage show, Morrison was the star, but the MC, band and guests were given highlight spots. Junior Wells, Jimmy Witherspoon and John Lee Hooker all showed up for songs.
Finally, there's the awesome The Healing Game, from 1997. On this one, Morrison and many of the players from his live band cook up the same great groove on brilliant originals. Morrison was then fully in command of his take on classic soul, blues and country, and was once again writing originals that rivaled his own Moondance and Jackie Wilson Said. It's sad not enough people realize that, but get this disc above all the others, one of the true highlights of his five-decade career.
DAVID BOWIE - LIVE SANTA MONICA '72 (EMI)
I love this in so many ways, nostalgia at the top. I owned this classic bootleg way back in the '70s. Taken from one of the earliest American Ziggy Stardust shows, this was prime Bowie blowing away the crowd with his bizarre stage show and amazing band. The sound is pretty much exactly the same fidelity as the bootleg offered, a tape of the radio show broadcast from the set, but that's part of the charm. It was good enough to make you wish you were there that night, so rare a treat at the time, so many generations removed from today's Internet downloads that let you file share concerts within hours of showtime. Hearing this other-worldly wonder let loose on Ziggy numbers Hang On To Yourself, Moonage Daydream and Suffragette City made me a rabid fan, more so than the studio albums. Bowie himself gives the thumbs-up to this first-time issue of the show, acknowledging, "overall I really treasure this bootleg." I have a list of about 200 others I'd love to see released too.
WILLIE NELSON - STARDUST (Sony/BMG)
His classic covers album, given a deluxe treatment with a second full disc and special packaging for its 30th anniversary. Stardust was a complete surprise at the time, with Willie a big star thanks to his outlaw numbers with Waylon, most people associating him with the rough and rowdy. Instead, he unleashed these takes on the Great American Songbook, the same stuff crooners and jazz singers had done in the past. Who had ever pictured Willie doing On The Sunny Side Of The Street, Don't Get Around Much Anymore or All Of Me? Along with producer Booker T. Jones (of the MG's), Nelson reinvented them with only a slightly modern touch, making them over in his laid-back style. It sold a ton, his biggest disc ever, and crossed him over forever to an adoring pop music audience as well, one of the most brilliant career moves in music history. Disc 2 offers another 16 classics in the same style, not outtakes from the original sessions, but instead songs chosen from other discs over the next decade or so as he repeated the formula. While there's not one previously unreleased number here, it's cool to have them all in one collection.
Bob Mersereau is a music writer and the arts reporter for CBC in New Brunswick.
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