Charlie Louvin, “Charlie Louvin”
COUNTRY|Tompkins Square, released Feb. 20
“You’ve already put big ol’ tears in my eyes. Must you throw dirt in my face?”
You hadn’t forgotten about country music hall-of-famer Charlie Louvin, had you? He’s here to remind you that he’s still kickin’ – and sounding great and ornery as ever, witness the lyric taken from the first track on his new CD, a duet with George Jones.
Louvin was the deeper-voiced Louvin brother. (Ira Louvin died in 1965.) While he’s never quite gone away, he has enjoyed periods out of the public eye. This stellar new record is about to relaunch the 79-year-old’s career in a big way.
The formula is familiar: Get hot names throughout rock and country circles including Jones, Elvis Costello, Marty Stuart, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Bobby Bare Sr. and Eff Barzalay of Clem Snide, and explore the chemistry.
But this reaches deeper than the average duets record. Taking on newer material and standards alike – including his own “The Christian Life,” popularized by the Byrds – Louvin immediately drives to each song’s essence and takes it on with his graceful and still majestic baritone. It’s powerful and essential music. |Ricardo Baca
Anna Netrebko, “Russian Album”
CLASSICAL|Deutsche Grammophon, released Jan. 9
Netrebko reigns as one of the supreme sopranos of our time, with a voice that is youthful, natural and always affecting.
Perhaps more important, the Russian-born singer has a wonderful sense of theater and storytelling, fully inhabitating whatever she takes on and making it come to life in an enthrallingly vivid and immediate way.
Take her transcendant version of Rachmaninoff’s “It is beautiful here,” Op. 21, No. 7, in which she delicately caresses the words, adjusting her vocal timbre to its reflective mood, lingering yet never losing the song’s through line.
Netrebko culminates this superb collection of Russian opera and vocal music with the famous letter scene from Act 1 of “Eugene Onegin.” She captures the lovestruck Tatiana’s rush of often contradictory emotions.|Kyle MacMillan
Other releases today:
Dean & Britta, “Back Numbers” (Rounder) The indie rock staple Luna may be gone, but Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips are still making music together – this is their second outing under this name and collaborative structure. If you liked their first, you’ll love this. It’s simply a better record. If you like Luna but have yet to hear this project, run – don’t walk – to the record store.
John Denver, “The Essential John Denver” (RCA) As if best-of collections weren’t homogenous enough, “The Essential …” collections are streamlining the process and aesthetics for many artists. Thing is, the song selection is pretty solid. This double-disc, 36-song collection is a potent reminder of that hokey slice of life Denver specialized in.
