Tom Wilk, June 2014
Neil Young ★★★1/2
A Letter Home
Reprise Records
Neil Young has been an artist who follows his muse, no matter the consequences. Young pays tribute to the songwriters and performers who influenced him with A Letter Home, an acoustic album recorded on a Voice-O-Graph, a 1940s-era recording studio that’s less than 12 square feet in size. The result is a lo-fi, monaural recording that offers a feeling of intimacy and rawness. Young starts off the CD with a guileless recitation addressed to his mother who died in 1990 and then launches into a tentative versio
n of Phil Ochs’ “Changes.” He regains his footing with a heartfelt reading of “Girl from the North County” that acknowledges his debt to Bob Dylan. Young’s performance of Willie Nelson’s “Crazy,” a hit for Patsy Cline, cuts to the bone with its depiction of romance. His rendition of Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” performed on piano and harmonica, is a bit discordant but captures the song’s feeling of wanderlust. Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind” is a good fit for Young’s voice. On Bert Jansch’s “Needle of Death,” Young’s recording illustrates the tune’s inspiration for his own antidrug song “The Needle and the Damage Done.” On “I Wonder Why I Care as Much,” originally done by the Everly Brothers, Young’s lonesome warble echoes the emotional pain of Don Everly’s lyrics. (12 songs, 39 minutes)
John Doe ★★★1/2
The Best of John Doe: This Far
Yep Roc Records
As a singer, songwriter and bassist for X, John Doe was a guiding force behind one of the influential punk bands of the 1980s. Since 1990, though, Doe has had a parallel career as a solo artists, incorporating elements of rock, country and folk in his music. The Best of John Doe: This Far offers up a solid survey of his solo output and his musical personalities from full-tilt rocker to acoustic balladeer. Doe selected the songs himself and presents them in non-chronological order to create sonic contrasts for the listener.
“Telephone by the Bed” is built around a propulsive riff that recalls classic Rolling Stones. “The Garden State,” a duet with Kathleen Edwards, shows off his pop side with a song that explores the yin/yang of relationships. “Never Enough” is a feisty song about hoarding and other excesses with music that matches the subject matter. Doe is also an effective vocalist in a quieter setting. The country-tinged “Take 52” uses music as a metaphor for love and second chances and incorporates a reference to Ernest Tubb’s classic “Walking the Floor over You.” Doe revisits “Poor Girl” from his days with X, recording the song as a ballad and giving greater prominence to his wistful vocals. (21 songs, 73 minutes)
Linda Ronstadt ★★★★
Duets
Rhino
The onset of Parkinson’s disease has silenced Linda Ronstadt’s singing voice. Duets, a collection of 15 songs performed with a dozen singers, offers a chance to assess her career as a collaborator working in a variety of genres. Ronstadt has been able to adapt her voice to a variety of styles. She’s equally at home on a slowed-down remake of the Left Banke hit “Walk Away, Renee” with Ann Savoy and the romantic pop of “Moonlight in Vermont” with Frank Sinatra. Duets shows her affinity for country music, capturing the regrets of “Never Will I Marry” with Dolly Parton and the heartbreak of “I Can Help It If I’m 
Still in Love with You” with Emmylou Harris. “Don’t Know Much” and “All My Life,” her hit singles with Aaron Neville, show a more optimistic view of romance. “Pretty Bird,” the one previously unreleased track, is a revelation, demonstrating the purity of her voice as she sings a cappella with Laurie Lewis. “Sisters,” a lively duet with Bette Midler on the Irving Berlin standard, is a successful pairing of two contrasting singers. (15 songs, 51 minutes)
Roy Orbison ★★★★
Mystery Girl – Deluxe
Legacy Recordings
Roy Orbison’s death at age 52 in December 1988 came just weeks before the release of Mystery Girl, the comeback album that restored him to the top of the charts. A quarter century later, the CD has received an upgrade with a deluxe version featuring nine bonus tracks and a companion DVD, Mystery Girl Revealed.
Orbison’s voice remained strong and distinctive to the end of his life, effortlessly reaching and holding the high notes on the buoyant “You Got It” and the dramatic “A Love So Beautiful.” “On All I Can Do is Dream You,” Orbison serves up a rousing throwback to his rockabilly days of the 1950s
Most of the bonus material offers a work-in-progress look at the songs that made the original album. Bono offers tips in the studio on “She’s a Mystery to Me,” the song that he and U2 guitarist The Edge wrote for Orbison. “The Only One” is a stripped-down version of a song co-written by Orbison’s son, Wesley. “The Way is Love” is a previously unreleased song featuring an Orbison vocal from 1986 with new instrumental backing provided by his three sons.
The DVD is a behind-the-scenes look at Orbison in the studio, featuring interviews with Mystery Girl producer Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, who both worked with Orbison in the Traveling Wilburys. Bono and guitarist Steve Cropper offer insights into Orbison’s artistry. The DVD also includes a selection of videos from the album. 19 songs, 75 minutes.
Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin ★★★★
Common Ground: Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy
Yep Roc Records
It took Phil’s Alvin near-death experience in 2012 during a tour of Spain for him and brother Dave to get back in the recording studio to make their first their first album together in 30 years. Phil’s heart stopped twice in a Spanish hospital, a sobering reminder of mortality. The brothers, known for their bickering when they led the roots-rock band the Blasters in the 1980s, have found something to agree on with Common Ground, a collection of a dozen songs by Big Bill Broonzy. The Alvins put their own stamp on the songs of the classic bluesman, who died in 1958, for a new generation of listeners. “Trucking Little Woman” is recast as a rockabilly stomp, while “Southern Flood Blues” remains just as relevant today in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. “Stuff They Call Money” showcases the interplay Dave’s guitar and Phil’s harmonica work.
Phil sings lead on a majority of songs, capturing a sense of freedom on “I Feel So Good” and romantic regret on “Big Bill’s Blues.” The jazzy version of “Tomorrow,” featuring former Blaster Gene Taylor on piano, showcases Phil’s vocal versatility. The brothers trade vocals on “All By Myself” and “Key to the Highway.” In the end Broonzy’s music proves to be the prescription needed to bring the Alvin brothers together again. (12 songs 42 minutes)
