CD reviews

Iron Maiden A Matter of Life and Death EMI Records / 2006 ♥♥♥½	Iron Maiden is back once more with their 14th studio album, A Matter of Life and Death. After over 25 years of being a band, these guys going hard with no signs of easing up. If you are looking for something new or different from Iron Maiden on this album, don’t get your hopes too high: they are sticking to the same formula that has made them one of the most popular and influential metal bands of all time. This may be tiresome for some people, but this is the sound that keeps so many fans coming back for more. The band once again scores high points for musicianship. After being together for so long, you can tell these guys know each others’ playing styles as their own. The prominent bass lines of Steve Harris are of course there, giving that classic and easily identifiable Maiden sound. Bruce Dickinson’s oh-so distinguishable vocals really stand out on this album. That man seems to only get better with age. With three guitarists, it’s often surprising that they don’t pack as much of a punch, and at times are almost just forced into the background. On drums, Nicko McBrain once again puts out a solid performance, as expected. One thing that seems to be lacking from this album is the explosiveness and creativity of the older Maiden albums. For most fans, this will come as no surprise since for the last decade the band hasn’t quite been able to recreate that epic and ever-so catchy sound of old. The songs are long, and at points tend to drag on. However, A Matter of Life and Death is proof that Iron Maiden is still here and has stayed true to their fans after all these years. Up the irons! Ian Cunningham
John Mayer Continuum Sony/ 2006 ♥♥♥♥	Don’t call him a slacker: although it has been two years since John Mayer released a studio album, he has been preoccupied. During this time period, Mayer has written, recorded or performed with the likes of Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Alicia Keys, Common and Kanye West. In addition, he formed the critically acclaimed John Mayer Trio with veteran musicians Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino. The impact these various side projects have had is evident in Mayer’s latest effort. Continuum is a blend of soulful grooves, bluesy guitar licks, and insightful lyrics with some pop sensibilities. His first single, “Waiting on the World to Change,” is a good indication of the direction Mayer has taken with his new album. The Curtis Mayfield-inspired tune makes a political statement, while “Belief” addresses war and religion — a first for Mayer. But the rest of the album still has the usual songs about love, heartache and growing up. Songs like “I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You)” and “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” address (possibly) past relationships, while “Stop this Train” laments having to become an adult and seeing your parents grow old — he sings, “So green at getting older, I’m only good at being young.” Continuum, produced by Mayer and Jordan, terrifically demonstrates Mayer’s flair for songwriting as well as his impressive guitar-playing — something many may be surprised to hear. The growth from Room for Squares to this album is unmistakable: Mayer is more eloquent and sincere in his lyrics, while his guitar-playing is raw and inspired. The lyrics do not have the witty, tongue-in-cheek nature of “Your Body is a Wonderland”; instead the album consists of songs with heartfelt, considered, mature words. If you have the impression that John Mayer is just a pretty-boy crooner, this disc just may change your mind. Kalpana Srinarayanadas
Bonnie “Prince” Billy The Letting Go Drag City Records/ 2006 ♥♥♥♥½	Though Will Oldham has recorded numerous albums under many different (presumably less artistically fertile) monikers, his Bonnie “Prince” Billy incarnation remains his most steadfastly successful, both musically and lyrically. His emotionally intense and quietly devastating 1999 album I See A Darkness, the first Oldham album recorded under the Billy title, was, I’m inclined to argue, one of the best albums of the decade (you heard me), and though his subsequent two albums of alt-country/folk, along with his Matt Sweeney collaboration Superwolf, were uniformly strong, it’s here on The Letting Go that Oldham finally approaches the power of Darkness. Oldham is accompanied on many songs by vocalist Dawn McCarthy, who haunts his vocal melodies rather like a distant, ghostly shadow. The effect is disquieting and creates a tension that rarely lets up, despite the beautifully understated nature of most of the songs. Particularly understated is “No Bad News” which renders devastating tragedy in simple, matter-of-fact terms (“something bad happens and a lot of people go/bad themselves, that’s how awful it is”) and is the album’s most straightforward number, though it’s no less powerful for it. Though Oldham’s songwriting clearly owes much to both American and British folk music traditions, the album, as a whole, is much too strange and experimental to be considered traditional in any meaningful sense. “The Seedling” envelops its pulsing drive in an overwhelming, swirling string arrangement and features cryptic, near stream-of-consciousness lyrics (“when it is cold I shelter her in the wazimy warmth of the monkey skin”), and the final untitled number is positively Four Tet-ish in its rambling, disintegrating instrumentation, in the way it lets go, a la the album’s title. This is a uniformly great album from one of the best songwriters working today. Evan Johnson