Music for Grownups Reviews: Paul Shapiro, Neil Diamond
By: Richard Gehr | Source: AARP.org | 2008-07-01
Richard Gehr is a veteran music critic based in New York City. His reviews for AARP.org appear every Tuesday; his columns on Thursdays.
Paul Shapiro
"Essen"
Tzadik
Loosen your Borscht Belt for a rollicking album that recaptures that long-ago era when jazz and Yiddish music blended into a zany kind of swing. Saxophonist Paul Shapiro and his quintet focus on songs about food, beginning with the hilarious title track; their klezmer-reggae buffet mixes shtick and sizzle with the complete menu of a weekend stay at a Catskills resort. Other recommended dishes include Slim Gaillard's "Dunkin' Bagel" and "Matzoh Balls"; a remake of Cab Calloway's cantorial satire, "Utt-Da-Zay"; and Cilla Owens's sassy take on the Sophie Tucker tune, "Mama Goes Where Papa Goes." Es gezunderheit! as they say in the old country. Eat in health!
Neil Diamond
"Live 1976: The Thank You Australia Concert"
Eagle Vision DVD
During the 1970s, depending on your point of view, Neil Diamond was either the world's hippest square or its squarest hipster. In 1976 he was a mainstream master who laid his manly emotions on the line in leather pants and sparkling Elvis-worthy belt. This tour marked Diamond's return to the road after a four-year hiatus during which he composed the music for "Jonathan Livingston Seagull." The gull gets plenty of play in this otherwise thoroughly entertaining romp through Diamond's hits, which includes the transformation of "Song Sung Blue" into a spectacular sing-along involving "38,000 people moving and grooving together," as Diamond puts it. "Far out," he declares.
"Essen"
Tzadik
Loosen your Borscht Belt for a rollicking album that recaptures that long-ago era when jazz and Yiddish music blended into a zany kind of swing. Saxophonist Paul Shapiro and his quintet focus on songs about food, beginning with the hilarious title track; their klezmer-reggae buffet mixes shtick and sizzle with the complete menu of a weekend stay at a Catskills resort. Other recommended dishes include Slim Gaillard's "Dunkin' Bagel" and "Matzoh Balls"; a remake of Cab Calloway's cantorial satire, "Utt-Da-Zay"; and Cilla Owens's sassy take on the Sophie Tucker tune, "Mama Goes Where Papa Goes." Es gezunderheit! as they say in the old country. Eat in health!
Neil Diamond
"Live 1976: The Thank You Australia Concert"
Eagle Vision DVD
During the 1970s, depending on your point of view, Neil Diamond was either the world's hippest square or its squarest hipster. In 1976 he was a mainstream master who laid his manly emotions on the line in leather pants and sparkling Elvis-worthy belt. This tour marked Diamond's return to the road after a four-year hiatus during which he composed the music for "Jonathan Livingston Seagull." The gull gets plenty of play in this otherwise thoroughly entertaining romp through Diamond's hits, which includes the transformation of "Song Sung Blue" into a spectacular sing-along involving "38,000 people moving and grooving together," as Diamond puts it. "Far out," he declares.
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