Shannon McArdle, Loudon Wainwright III, Kate McGarry

MUSIC

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Aug. 20, 2008

Kate McGarry
If Less Is More ... Nothing Is Everything (Palmetto)

Rating: Solid, like the Liberty Bell.

Billed as a "battle cry for Obama," McGarry's rendition of "The Times They Are a-Changin'" is also a mark of evolution in jazz repertoire. The singer's fourth Palmetto disc ranges from the Irving Berlin '30s to the Crosby, Stills & Nash '60s ("You Don't Have to Cry") and even the Ric Ocasek '80s ("Just What I Needed" as an acoustic ballad). McGarry owns all of it, including Brazilian gems by Jobim and Djavan and a setting of verse by e. e. cummings. The finesse of guitarist-arranger Keith Ganz, keyboardist Gary Versace, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Clarence Penn doesn't hurt. (David R. Adler)

Loudon Wainwright III
Recovery (Yep Roc)

Rating: Excellent, like John Oates' mustache.

Head of the Wainwright dynasty that includes Rufus, Martha and Lucy Roche, Loudon Wainwright III is still building upon his legend as a folk singer. Though his latest album Recovery is a compilation of material Wainwright recorded in his early twenties, the singer reworked and rerecorded the tunes to reflect the 61-year-old man he is now. Wainwright's aging voice adds depth to lyrics that range from farcical to tear-jerking, while the musical arrangements are minimalist but powerful. Though the material isn't "new," it's no best-of album with tacky packaging, either. (Katherine Silkaitis)

Shannon McArdle
Summer of the Whore (Bar None)

Rating: Solid, like the Liberty Bell.

After the divorce chronicled by Mendoza Line's 30 Year Low, newly solo Shannon McArdle tries out all the break-up recovery strategies: revenge fantasies, self-pity and rebound sex. Still, when McArdle murmurs, "You can have me in the back of your car/You can have me anywhere" in the title cut, it doesn't sound like she expects to enjoy it much. There's a remove to these songs--even "He Was Gone" about a lost baby�--like strong feelings filtered through thick glass, or maybe antidepressants. An incisive lyricist, McArdle gets post-relationship inertia exactly right. Problem is, nobody really wants to go there. (Jennifer Kelly)