CD reviews

Last update: August 22, 2008 - 7:31 PM

COUNTRY

Crystal Shawanda, "Dawn of a New Day" (RCA Nashville)

Raised on a reservation in Ontario, Shawanda has an amped-up voice and a love for old-school country, shouting out to Patsy Cline in her lyrics and covering Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart." But the rest of her debut rocks as aggressively as any contemporary country album of 2008. Her bluesy, in-your-face style crosses the vocal pyrotechnics of Carrie Underwood with the uncompromising soul power of Mary J. Blige. This is country music flexed and fueled to connect with those who listen to modern rock and Alicia Keys-style urban pop. Lyrically, Shawanda, 27, focuses on autobiographical tunes describing where she comes from ("Evolution"), where she's going (the title cut) and what a man should realize about her ("My Roots Are Showing"). "I Need a Man" shows an unfettered lustfulness. She falters when she stifles her individuality for generic Nashville sentimentality, as in the ballad "You Can Let Go." She's much better when slow songs include a sweet-soul sway, as in "Tender Side." Fortunately, most of this CD suggests that Nashville has discovered another strong female vocalist with her own point of view.

MICHAEL MCCALL, Associated Press

JAZZ

SMV, "Thunder" (Heads Up)

The last 30 years of jazz have seen the liberation of the bass from metronome to maestro. The bassists here -- Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten -- have had careers that exemplify the new freedom for basses, which have become guitars with deep voices. This session, with guest appearances by keyboardists Chick Corea and George Duke, is predictably funky and full of splashy interplay that's often in the R&B camp. These guys really mix it up. Clarke gives several nods to his classic "School Days" recording, including a telltale riff embedded in Miller's title track. A former Miles Davis sideman who has participated in much R&B, Miller is easily at home here in the rocking majesty and tasty grooves. It would have nice to hear Wooten, of Flecktones fame and wildest one here, fly more.

KARL STARK, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER