ShareThis"FAMILY TIME," Ziggy Marley (Tuff Gong)
For many adults, the term "family friendly" is code for "suitable for children, boring for parents."
But in the case of Ziggy Marley's "Family Time," it's the children who might get bored.
Produced by Don Was, the reggae star's first foray into an album for children is crisp and sweet. The messages could hardly get more positive than this as themes of empowerment and respect -- love your parents, love your planet -- are playfully mixed with warm whimsy.
Adults surely will be drawn to the gentle cadence of "I Love You Too," the softest blues imaginable that is "Cry, Cry, Cry" (featuring Jack Johnson and Paula Fuga) and the infectious refrain of the stubborn-donkey song, "Hold Em Joe."
Yet where are the laid-back kids who could ride on this relaxed vibe for some 45 minutes? The ones who aren't jacked up on sugar and bent on playing manic video games or watching seizure-inducing animation?
There may be a few cool customers out there who could chill to these mellow tunes, but "Family Time" doesn't seem to be a realistic reflection of the kid demographic.
Marley's intentions are good, and he has his own family as well as A-list buddies helping him along -- including Willie Nelson and Paul Simon, who seem lost in the mix of "This Train" and "Walk Tall," respectively -- and there are even periodic adventures in energy. Plus it's nice of Jamie Lee Curtis to drop in to narrate a couple of cute stories at album's end. But don't expect much stimulation.
"Family Time" is perfect for that utopian household where children are calm and worldly, the sun is always shining and everyone says stuff like "Peace, mon" all day. And if that doesn't sound like your home, well, sorry.
Rating (five possible): 3
"NO HASSLE," Tosca (!K7 Records)
Go to an elegant, semi-elegant or faux-elegant restaurant, and you're likely to hear something like Tosca's "No Hassle."
That's no insult: The graceful electronic/acoustic sounds conjured by the duo of Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber have relaxing and restorative value, and as restaurateurs have long known, the resulting atmosphere of such music helps make for a good dining experience.
The hour-long release even seems paced for eating out. With its soft pulses and muted vocals, hypnotic opening track "My First" is an unwind-and-have-a-cocktail number. The mood is appropriately elevated on the subsequent narcotic dreamscape "Elitsa." And by the time the fluttering rhythm achieves a persuasive pace on "Springer," appetizers may be approaching.
The scenario continues to play out as the most up-tempo song, "Oysters in May," might well signal the excitement of the arrival of an entree (with oysters?), and late-album "Fondue," with its satiated, heavy bottom built on bass swells, befits the dessert course.
Dinner or no dinner, "No Hassle" is subtly gorgeous with its blend of electronica, jazz and New Age. Dorfmeister and Huber create spacious synthetic sounds accented with the soft kiss of acoustic guitar, rolling percussion and evocative use of subtle vocals that sound like the distant conversations of sophisticates.
Less dexterous musicians might have turned "No Hassle" into cheesy pretense or an exercise in boredom. But Tosca gently blends the mix into quintessential ambience.
Rating: 4
"LITTLE RED," Susan Marshall (Madjack)
Singers with great voices have to show modesty because if they don't dial it down -- if they merely bellow through every note -- they come across as disingenuous and far less relatable than imperfect vocalists.
Memphis, Tenn., singer Susan Marshall plays it well on her new "Little Red," judiciously dishing out the soul and rarely showboating her great pipes.
Marshall's career has largely been built as a supporting vocalist, backing up Cat Power, Lenny Kravitz and Afghan Whigs, among others. Yet she proves worthy of the spotlight on "Little Red," both for her singing and her songwriting.
The release is a solid and mostly traditional interweaving of timeless American rock, blues and jazz factored with the unconventional twist of traces of electronic club music.
Employing a variety of whispers and moans, Marshall swaggers through the steamy sensuousness of Wurlitzer-backed opener "Going to Town" ("Let's go to town, burn it down/Turn around and get your stroll on, baby") and puts her voice through craggy distortions to conjure a gospel/blues stew for the subtle arrangement of "Already Gone."
She does go overboard, yowling a bit much while kicking around with the horns and beat of "Back to You" and blowing it out in a duet with Lucinda Williams on an indulgent cover of The Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down" (it's hard to blame her for the latter). However, Marshall finds ways to be intriguingly understated, her breathy delivery crawling over the muted trumpet on a cover of Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale," for example, and smoldering as she's haunted by loneliness on a piano-backed "It's Hittin' Me" penned by the singer herself.
Her odds are long, as are anyone's, but "Little Red" has the multifaceted Marshall poised for a breakthrough.
Rating: 4
(E-mail Chuck Campbell of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at Campbell(at)knews.com.)
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