2018 brought the usual grace and wisdom of veterans and suffice to say they were not burdened by the march of time. Why should they, especially given that the bottomless pit of a riotous youth culture has been a disappointment when mining for creative quality across a majoritarian board? Instead, established names brought their lifetimes into miniaturized moments of pure sonic bliss, to confirm the brewing of a fine sensibility going into 2018.
2017 belonged to ROGER WATERS (of PINK FLOYD fame) who brought with him a world weary, simultaneously awakened consciousness on his album IS THIS THE LIFE WE REALLY WANT? The last exclamation found a charge in his sombre soundtrack for the year. This year the march of the veterans was again a triumphant banner for the present. These were the guides we needed.
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We needed to look no further than MARK KNOPFLER, the savant from DIRE STRAITS, who was all kinds of wonderful on DOWN THE ROAD WHEREVER. It is such a joy to have the man behind iconic numbers as SULTANS OF SWING, MONEY FOR NOTHING and HEAVY FUEL bring his definitive monotone level-headedness to this solo album, the kind of spoken word, sing song effortlessness that is his trademark. He is breezy with his guitar here and to supplement his sound saxophones, pianos and drums all create a polished texture on a spread of numbers mixing enjoyable riffs (GOOD ON YOU SON, NOBODY DOES THAT, BACK ON THE DANCE FLOOR) with profound, quietly effective solos as NOBODY'S CHILD, MATCHSTICK MAN, SLOW LEARNER, DROVER'S ROAD, EVERY HEART IN THE ROOM, WHEN YOU LEAVE and an exceptional melody is found in the goofy and whimsical MY BACON ROLL. This album is for purists, those who appreciate his deft touch and is worth introducing to a younger generation keen on exploring a masterclass of sound and lyrical, poetic life scripts from an eternally unassuming superstar. That is key to his output here. Wholesome is the right word for DOWN THE ROAD WHEREVER as an unique package.
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Speaking of another recognizable monotone, TONY BENNETT brought his A game to the forefront yet again with assistance from DIANA KRALL to the jazz standard 'S WONDERFUL. I mean who hasn't been charmed by his prolific output to this date? This song is conversational and pithy to the point that someone uninitiated to its interpretation here will dismiss it as inconsequential but the mostly instrumental core is an iteration of an American standard and a treat for music lovers everywhere. Savour it for its utter simplicity and meticulous musicality . Also the fact remains that his presence continues to guide this generation and steer it to the classical songbook that would have been relegated to just few selective listeners. Now, that's, indeed, WONDERFUL.
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A LETTERED SOUL: REFLECTIONS ON LITERATURE, CINEMA AND CULTURE .
Non-FictionI have often wondered about the very curdled natures of our opinions so much so that the perch of imagination simply becomes a bystanding abstraction and real thoughts of genuine merit slip between the fingers. That is a human tendency, to beat arou...
