Album Review: Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013 (2CD)

In April of this year Eric Clapton staged his fourth Crossroads Guitar Festival over back-to-back days at Madison Square Garden, marking the first time the all-star benefit (in support of the Crossroads Centre at Antigua) was held in New York City. In another first, while all four festivals to date (including preceding ones from Dallas and twice from Chicago) are documented on assorted video formats, Crossroads 2013 is also chronicled on a double-disc live album. 

Having serious musical chops is no doubt the prime prerequisite to receiving Clapton’s invitation to this event. Yet even the most proficient artists seem to have upped their game when it came time to play, yielding standout performances from the likes of Gary Clark, Jr. (“When My Train Pulls In”), John Mayer and Keith Urban covering The Beatles (“Don’t Let Me Down”), and the Allman Brothers Band, Warren Hayes, and Derek Trucks covering Neil Young (“The Needle and the Damage Done”). Clapton seems to have upped his game as well, whether in shuffling cool through “Lay Down Sally” with Vince Gill or undulating the blues of “Key to the Highway” with Keith Richards. He summons his most potent moments, though, on Derek & The Dominoes classics “Got to Get Better in a Little While” and “Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad,” the latter with the Allmans. On the whole it’s a wonder that past Crossroads Festivals haven’t found their way onto live albums such as this, but Crossroads 2013 nevertheless has made for a most-enjoyable one.

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Tony Bennett, Timeless and On Top of the World

Tony Bennett (photo courtesy of Josh Cheuse)

Tony Bennett doesn’t like to talk about his legacy. Maybe it’s just the humility in his character, but even after 60 years in the music business he continues to look ahead. “You’re only as good as your next show,” he likes to say.

In other words, the best is yet to come.

Truth be told, Bennett, 85, is too busy these days for any such reflection. He’s got a hit on his hands, Duets II, the first Number One album of his prolific career.

It’s also one of the few unqualified blockbusters of 2011… and maybe 2012, as the all-star collection—which features collaborations with the likes of Carrie Underwood, John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Norah Jones, and Amy Winehouse in what turned out to be her last recording—has garnered three nominations for the upcoming 54th Annual GRAMMY® Awards, including Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

Such achievements and accolades are but the latest testaments to Tony Bennett’s timeless, seemingly universal appeal.

“It’s always about growing with your audience,” says Danny Bennett, son of Tony and, in matters pertinent to his father’s career, his manager. “We don’t feel like we’re cranking out toothpaste,” he quips about the notion of marketing one of popular music’s all-time greats. “We’re helping propagate the art.”

And yet even a legend as renowned as Tony Bennett needs a game plan when it comes time to release an album. For Duets II, Danny explains, “We started [planning] in February 2010, strategically thinking, How do we make this different from Duets I? [Who] are the artists that we’re going to [use]? What does the marketplace look like? How is it different from when we were successful with that first record so we’re not just sitting on our laurels?”

Danny Bennett (photo courtesy of Kelsey Bennett)

Indeed, a host of factors and circumstances were considered—and as he recounts some of them in detail Danny makes his father’s offer 30 years ago to handle his business affairs seem like the wisest move in the world—but of most importance was that the album complement the current musical landscape without compromising the integrity of its artist. “It’s a balance between art and commerce,” he adds, affirming a philosophy he's found truth in despite musical trends and, on occasion, because of them.

In the mid-‘90s, an era in music which is often most associated with the propagation of grunge, Tony Bennett gained perhaps unlikely favor among Generation X, which embraced him as an elder statesman of hip. He was on MTV, appearing at the Video Music Awards and recording a performance with his quartet on MTV Unplugged; his LP of the latter won the GRAMMY© for Album of the Year in 1994. “If you think about it,” Danny says, “Tony in the ‘90s heralded in the iPod generation by presenting music and saying, ‘Guys, it’s okay. You can listen to Nirvana and Alice in Chains, but also Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday and Tony Bennett.’”

Such inclusive musical appreciation is not only supported by the diversity of artists on Duets II, but specifically, Danny maintains, by those who “grew up with hearing about Tony Bennett and learning about him through MTV Unplugged, not through the ‘50s or the ‘60s. So there are artists, like John Mayer and Carrie Underwood and Lady Gaga, who [have] looked at him as a role model.”

Duets II remains a bestseller over three months now after its release, which just goes to show that great music will never go out of style. Then again, neither will Tony Bennett. “How many artists, their greatest accomplishments are towards the end of their career as opposed to the beginning?” Danny reflects, sounding less like a business executive and more like a proud son. “I mean, that’s a pretty huge accomplishment.”

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On Battle Studies Tour, Mayer Triumphs in Tampa

John Mayer, 2/5/10 in Tampa; photo © Donald Gibson

It often seems that to admit to enjoying the music of John Mayer, one must develop certain defense mechanisms in order to deflect criticism from those who give more credence to the drama of John Mayer. Granted, the artist has admittedly done himself few favors in this department, as evidenced most recently with his less-than-flattering Rolling Stone interview. Yet, regardless of however self-absorbed he seems or whatever character flaws he may have, Mayer regards his craft and, perhaps more importantly, his audience, with consummate sincerity.

Friday night (2/5) at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, on just the second night of his U.S. tour in support of his latest LP, Battle Studies, Mayer engineered a purposeful and stirring two-hour performance that showcased the album nearly in full (playing nine of its eleven songs) along with a handful of older selections that served the primary material well.

On his most thematically cohesive effort to date, Mayer contextualizes Battle Studies by looking at intimate relationships as having an adversarial dynamic, rife with selfish motives and deep-seated suspicions. And he reflected as such in his performance, inciting “Heartbreak Warfare” at the outset amid an intense, simmering groove. On other album cuts, most notably “Edge of Desire” and “Assassin,” Mayer fared even better, his impassioned sentiments benefiting from the precision and richness of his stellar seven-piece band.

Mayer summoned other highlights with a jazz-flavored version of “Waiting On The World To Change” (that segued into The Police’s “Walking On The Moon”) as well as with one of his earliest hits, “No Such Thing,” which inspired the biggest audience singalong of the night. Capping off the main set with an extended take on “Gravity,” Mayer was exhilarating on the guitar, making the inevitable encore — a couple of acoustic moments, with “Who Says” and “Friends, Lovers, or Nothing” — seem a bit anticlimactic in comparison. Even still, Mayer proved himself an inspiring musician overall, giving his audience one more reason to appreciate his talent.

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Live Double Album Finds Mayer In A Positive Light

Lately the man garners more press for his private life than for his professional one, but John Mayer would be the first to concede that music remains his greatest passion. On his latest release, Where The Light Is: Live In Los Angeles, which comes in both CD and DVD formats, he delivers a solid performance that works far better as an album than it does as a film.

Recorded at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on December 8, 2007, the 22-song concert is divided into three segments: an acoustic set, followed by a John Mayer Trio performance, and culminating with Mayer playing alongside his regular touring band.

He melds this assortment of sounds, songs, and styles into an inspired, cohesive show overall. In the acoustic portion, his six-string dexterity emanates through on “Neon,” “Daughter,” and the rarely played “In Your Atmosphere.” As well, he offers a peaceful, easygoing take on Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” that's hard not to like.

When Mayer suits up—literally and figuratively—with his Trio (rounded out by drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Pino Palladino), he summons the show’s most spirited, ambitious moments. Laying down a heavy dose of electric blues, he leads the band through originals like “Good Love Is On The Way” and “Who Did You Think I Was” while a selection of covers, including B.B. King’s “Every Day I Have The Blues” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Wait Until Tomorrow,” are played with palpable reverence toward the form.

Though not as musically invigorating as his time with the Trio, Mayer nevertheless shines—especially on the guitar—when his touring band joins him for the concert’s final set. He plays in fine form on “Waiting On The World To Change,” “Why Georgia,” and a nine-minute, slow-burning version of “Gravity” that just about makes your jaw drop.

Mayer’s performance is laudable by and large, but it doesn’t translate well in the way it's rendered on film. The presentation has a made-for-TV feel to it, coming off as excessively produced and bereft of the spontaneity that a live music document should convey. Adding to the visual artifice, the camera focuses more on Mayer’s lyric teleprompter and of other cameras around the stage rather than on the audience. Quite simply, it doesn’t capture the spirit of a genuine concert.

Between the three concert segments, Mayer provides commentary whilst driving around town (presumably Los Angeles). Given the fragmented nature of the performances, the footage serves as viable (and often humorous) transitions, but unfortunately it breaks the continuity within some of the sets as well.

In the most conspicuous and unnecessary instance, as the Trio wrap up “Vultures” and prepare to lay into “Bold As Love,” the scene cuts to Mayer, back behind the wheel, talking to someone off camera about a paparazzi photographer who is snapping his photo from a nearby car. Ostensibly a thematic intercut, the film switches back to show Mayer relating to the audience how such incidents “muddle” the “message” that he wants to express with his music. (Note to Mayer: You know what else muddles your message? Acknowledging such ridiculousness in the middle of your gig and then including said acknowledgement in your concert film.)

So while the DVD doesn’t offer much intrinsic merit (even ardent fans won’t feel compelled to watch more than once), the CD version of Where The Light Is: Live In Los Angeles is where John Mayer best demonstrates the breadth of his musicianship.

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Review: Alicia Keys - As I Am

Self-confidence, together with talent, cultivates excellence. Such is certainly the case for Alicia Keys, who on her third studio album, As I Am, presents her strongest, most consistent effort yet with songs that defy superficial expression.

Indeed, the woman heard here imparts so much uninhibited conviction that her music often sounds like it was spiritually channeled rather than skillfully composed. Some songs evoke an old-school flavor while others feel entirely of the moment. Whatever the mood or the muse, though, Keys commands each one with a voice that’s matured into one almighty instrument.

While the emotive power of her voice exceeds almost anything she’s done prior, the album wouldn’t fare as well as it does if the songs themselves weren’t this good. “Teenage Love Affair” for instance, draws on a retro vibe and playful lyrics, with Keys as a coy schoolgirl who fools around with her crush before she sneaks back home. In a more grown-up scenario, “Lesson Learned,” which features John Mayer on both backing vocals and guitar, Keys guides a subtle groove with her piano while relating the heartache of a woman scorned yet strengthened by a broken relationship. And, with its Hip/Hop rhythms infused with dominant percussion, she wields “Wreckless Love” into a shameless plea for passion amid a fizzling romance.

It’s on “Sure Looks Good To Me,” the album’s closing track, that Keys exhibits the full breadth of her abilities. A piano begins the song, whereupon Keys sings in a voice achingly raw and soulful. The music evolves in its texture and progression, the sound of drums steadily rising toward a sonic plateau where the singer lets loose and wails, “I’m gonna risk it all/No freedom, no fall.” Organic in its tone, virulent in its intensity, and direct in its delivery, this song summarizes the album’s foremost theme of self-assurance.

As I Am constitutes the most cohesive album that Alicia Keys has created to date. While her preceding albums have illustrated a prodigious artist with formidable talent, this effort demonstrates an improvement and expansion of that talent.

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Waiting On the Weather To Change: John Mayer, Live in Tampa

John Mayer: August 7, 2007 (photo by Donald Gibson)

A rack of guitars stood idle, covered by a clear plastic tarp. Roadies stood at the edge of the stage, on the lookout for lightning in the distance, all while a wicked downpour hovered over the Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa, Florida. The rain made the audience under the canopy nervous as it soaked thousands sitting out on the lawn. At any moment, it appeared that the concert would be called off.

After an extended delay, and with the rain still falling, John Mayer determinatively took to the stage, his signature Fender Stratocaster already strapped on his shoulder. With his band at the ready, he unleashed a crying blues instrumental, seemingly willing the storm to stop.

To the relief of the crowd, predominantly female, the inclement weather soon simmered. Mayer commenced, fittingly, with “Belief,” and the show carried on as scheduled.

In a loose and playful mood, Mayer interacted with audience often. “That’s like an eye chart,” he joked about a lengthy message on one of several posterboard signs held aloft in the audience. “Whatever happened to ‘Do me?’”

The high spirits carried over to the music, which sounded soulful and funky as compared to the more concentrated blues he often injects into his performances. “Good Love Is On The Way,” an early highlight with its propulsive groove, fired the fans up and onto their feet. “Waiting On The World To Change” followed in similar fashion, with Mayer howling out the words to his most socially conscious song to date.

The most sobering moment in the set, and arguably its finest, came courtesy of “Gravity,” which Mayer introduced as a “soulful ballad.” He delivered the poignant song in flawless form, throwing down a wrenching guitar solo before segueing into a bit of the Otis Redding classic, “I’ve Got Dreams To Remember.” The main set concluded with a funkified version of the Ray Charles gem, “I Don’t Need No Doctor” followed by one of Mayer’s most introspective compositions, “In Repair.”

Sardonically prefacing it as “the greatest song ever written,” Mayer began the encore with an acoustic version of “Your Body Is A Wonderland,” much to the delight of the female constituency.

The final song of the night, “I’m Gonna Find Another You,” saw Mayer’s band laughably dressed in matching outfits of red shorts, white tank tops, and knee-high socks. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Mayer mocked as he sang the otherwise somber song.

All kidding aside, Mayer thanked the thousands who had braved the rain to watch his performance. For those in attendance, not only was John Mayer’s musicianship more than evident, but so too was his genuine appreciation for his audience.

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Without the Gloss, Mayer Still Shines with 'The Village Sessions'

Scrape away a bit of the luster of John Mayer’s album, Continuum, and the result is this modest gem. Acoustic renditions of some of Continuum’s strongest cuts reveal the grit behind the gloss, the structure behind the writing of a song.

One song not included on Continuum but featured here is “Good Love Is On The Way,” a propulsive number Mayer frequently plays during his stellar live shows (and it’s also featured on the John Mayer Trio’s live album, Try!).

Without question, though, the best performance on this collection is the sparse and dark version of “In Repair.” On Continuum, with a full-band arrangement, the song sounds languid and tame. On this set, however, it sounds like a feral confession, shadowed with remorse and only the slightest bit of hope. “I’m not together, but I’m getting there,” Mayer howls towards the end of the track.

Ultimately, The Village Sessions illustrates John Mayer’s emergent skill at crafting songs that hold up under scrutiny and interpretation. And even with the electricity turned off, this guy can still make a mighty soulful statement with a guitar.

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