cd reviews pop/rock
The Killers, "Day and Age" (Island)
From the beginning, the Killers have wanted to be epic, and they've equated sounding important with being important. Their third album is their most epic-sounding yet. It's also a drag. "Day and Age" plods too much, relying on dreamy synthesizers and flat atmosphere to convey some bigger meaning. In "Losing Touch" and "A Dustland Fairytale," the crescendos feel like ripples, rather than the big splashes they're meant to be, and you get the feeling that without a blueprint -- without some other band's known quantity -- the Killers can't get the formula right. They perform Jan. 19 at Northrop Auditorium.
MICHAEL POLLOCK, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Johnny Cash, "At Folsom Prison: Legacy Edition" (Columbia/Legacy)
Cash recorded not one but two shows during his famous visit to the state prison in Folsom, Calif., in 1968. This two CD/DVD set includes remastered versions of both shows (the 9:40 a.m. gig became history; the 12:40 p.m. is being heard for the first time) plus a behind-the-scenes documentary. The original "At Folsom Prison" is a country classic, but it's also the very essence of rock 'n' roll, as a cocky Cash swings for the sinners he loved. And yet, it's the previously unissued second show that's the real revelation here, as a wiped-out Cash, even though he knows he nailed the first set, plays one more time.
SEAN DALY, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
Seal, "Soul" (Warner Bros.)
This is a collection of soul covers interpreted by the man who gave us "Crazy" and the overblown "Kiss From a Rose." Seal and producer David Foster keep things leaner, settling for sassy horns and wah-wah guitar on songs such as "I Can't Stand the Rain." The same understated approach works well on "Knock on Wood," although it's doubtful whether the world really needs another version of this song. At times, Seal can't resist the impulse to go all mushy. On the opening "A Change Is Gonna Come," he rejects the notion of less-is-more in favor of a mountain of strings, French horns and a robotic-sounding rhythm track. Somehow, the song still manages to assert its muscle through the haze. At best, Seal makes his case as a suitable conduit to transmit the material to another generation. Listen to these, then go find the originals.
