CARL HANCOCK RUX
“Apothecary RX”
(four stars)
Giant Step Records
There’s nothing safe about Carl Hancock Rux’s “Apothecary RX,” a stunning, style-smashing hip-hop album that fuses rock, gospel and jazz with modern urban beats and samples.
This is one of those albums you listen to once and say, “Nice, but no thanks.” But “Apothecary” tugs at you for a second, third and fourth spin. By then, Rux’s musical cadence and topical lyrics have you hooked.
“Eleven More Days” is the breakout song on this disc. It is propulsive, modern gospel where Rux sings about the despair of the ghetto and the struggle to find higher ground.
The entire album is experimental and outside in a jazz sense, but there are enough familiar points of reference in the melodies to make it very listenable.
GARY U.S. BONDS
“Back in 20”
(three stars)
MC Records
The gritty blues and soul that marks the Jersey Shore sound wasn’t invented by Bruce Springsteen – he borrowed it from house rocker supreme Gary U.S. Bonds.
Bonds, who hasn’t seen the inside of a recording studio for a couple of decades, fittingly tagged this old-fashion disc of blue-eyed R&B “Back in 20.”
Springsteen is featured on the disc’s top tune, “Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks”; Southside Johnny blows harp on “Take Me Back”; and Dickey Betts wails on guitar as Phoebe Snow rips it up with Bonds for the he-said/she-said duet “Bitch/Dumb Ass.”
While some might not think Bond’s needs any help getting the party started, his record benefits greatly from the variety his pals lend.
DEAN MARTIN
“Dino: The Essential Dean Martin”
½ (three and one half stars)
EMI
In a world dominated by singers who shout, the old music of Dean Martin almost sounds foreign.
On his career retrospective “Dino: The Essential Dean Martin,” the late singer’s natural, easy and graceful croon is showcased in 30 songs spanning the years from ’49 to ’69.
The warmth of his baritone is remarkable in any generation. That quality is nicely summed up in both “That’s Amore” and the carefree “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.”
While Martin’s good name was dragged through the mud with over-orchestrated string arrangements in the late ’60s, only a few songs from that era mar this comprehensive disc, which explains why Rat Pack buddy Frank Sinatra called him one of the greatest singers and drinkers of his generation.
VARIOUS ARTISTS
“Dylan Country”
(three stars)
Shout! Factory Records
Music, especially great music, can’t be confined by fences of style. That’s the lesson of “Dylan Country,” a tribute to Nashville’s longtime and lusty desire to interpret the Bob Dylan songbook.
The hat acts on this terrific album are diverse: Kitty Wells and Hank Williams Jr., Earl Scruggs and Emmylou Harris.
The very best of this compilation are Waylon Jennings’ version of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and Jerry Jeff Walker’s “One Too Many Mornings.”
All covers aren’t created equally – Glen Campbell’s sappy version of “If Not for You” is proof.
Hearing Johnny Cash sing “It Ain’t Me Babe” or Tim O’Brien covering “Subterranean Homesick Blues” cements the notion that even though he’s a superb showman, Dylan’s legacy will always be as a songwriter.