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Emotion & Commotion
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Barnes and Noble
Emotion & Commotion
Current price: $15.99
Barnes and Noble
Emotion & Commotion
Current price: $15.99
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Size: CD
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When
last ventured into the studio it was to cut 2003's
, a deliberately modernist album steeped in electronica, to which 2010's
almost feels like a refutation. Working with producers
and
,
has created an old-fashioned blues-rock-cum-prog record, balancing the sweeping vistas of a 64-piece orchestra with cool jazz-funk grooves, tarted-up
covers with a pair of
tunes and a gentle reading of
sits in for two songs, including
with jazz vocalist
and opera singer
taking lead on two others, but the focus remains on
, who is in a reserved, lyrical mood. Occasionally, the tempo ratchets up --
which begins as a '60s riff rocker before quickly heading to
territory;
the other
showcase -- but
remains languid and even dreamy despite the crisp, cavernous
production that gives it a feeling of being trapped in 1990. All this is due to
, who has chosen to forgo his signature frenzied fretboard blitzkriegs and weave long phrases, his guitar rich, thick, and warm, sounding familiar yet different: he's never sustained this level of grace for a full record, and his soulful playing cuts through the clean sheen of the production, always commanding attention even when he's not demanding it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine