CD REVIEWS

June 13, 2011 at 5:50PM

POP/ROCK

Black Lips, "Arabia Mountain" (Vice)

Mark Ronson knows a thing or two about handling boozy, misanthropic musicians (he produced Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black," after all). But on the Atlanta rock band Black Lips' latest, he plays less of a cleanup man and more of an enabler. The Lips are known for spilling all sorts of alcoholic at their insane live sets, and Ronson gives them an open bar of sounds to try on "Arabia Mountain."

From the sweaty sax skronk of "Mad Dog" to the goofy singing saw of "Modern Art," the flourishes are a nice addition to the Lips' long-standing affection for mind-dripping '60s proto-punk. But the production hits a sweet spot when their ramshackle playing stays intact but still prizes clarity. The airy "Spidey's Curse" is maybe the most tender thing in their catalog, and "Raw Meat" has a bit of the Go-Go's' beachy bounce. "Noc-A-Homa" even tries an endearingly bratty stab at Stax Records' R&B, if the label's house band had a backyard meth lab.

"Arabia Mountain" is a fine reassertion that Black Lips' talents extend far beyond running from venue security.

AUGUST BROWN, LOS ANGELES TIMES

JAZZ

Corea, Clarke & White, "Forever" (Concord)

Three years ago, the 1970s jazz-rock juggernaut Return to Forever mounted a reunion tour. The band -- Chick Corea on keyboards, Stanley Clarke on bass, Al Di Meola on guitar, Lenny White on drums -- hadn't played as a unit in 25 years. Return to Forever completed its tour, raking in revenue and stoking enough interest to justify another go. This year, the band will tour again. But in this incarnation of Return to Forever, Di Meola has been replaced by Frank Gambale, a member of Corea's Elektric Band. Di Meola is also conspicuously absent from "Forever," a double CD recorded partly during the 2008 reunion and partly during rehearsals for the new one.

Credited to Corea, Clarke & White, "Forever" is an odd duck. Its first disc consists of live acoustic trio performances and its second, "bonus" disc features guest contributions by violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, guitarist Bill Connors and R&B singer Chaka Khan. (Connors was the first guitarist in RTF, preceding Di Meola; Ponty, an alumnus of another 1970s jazz-rock group, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, will be on board for this summer's tour, coming Aug. 24 to the Orpheum in Minneapolis.)

The whole endeavor feels insistently retrospective, with chestnuts from the Return to Forever catalog as well as from Corea's solo career. Clarke and White are a hyperfluent, assertive and malleable rhythm team, whether swinging in a post-bop vein or opening the throttle on a groove. "Windows," a waltz from early in Corea's career, sounds terrific in their hands. But "Forever" is an awfully hopeful-sounding title for this album, which casts its glance backward in every way that counts.

NATE CHINEN, NEW YORK TIMES

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