Surfdog
Three studio albums into his 21st-century comeback, Hicks is squarely in the groove. Taken as a whole, the melodies, lyrics, vocals and musicianship on “Tales” are nearly as good as on 1972’s “Striking It Rich,” arguably the artistic zenith for his heady mixture of good-time/old-time swing, folk, country and jazz with a lyrical dose of wry humor that never fails to bring a smile.
Powerhouse
A white-boy-blues album as delicately balanced as “American Landscape” would be hard to find. Ten well-chosen covers and two originals, running the gamut from R&B to rock to jazz to soul to country, are tied together so neatly that one wishes it were Friday night at the local no-cover-charge watering hole in perpetuity.
Oglio
After a brief cinematic prologue, “Destination Space” blasts off with the title track — a “Hang ‘Em High”-esque theme with the most-natural-sounding guitar, bass and organ sounds ever to come out of a synthesizer. About a minute in, the truly synthetic sounds take over, but only for a while before backing out into Spaghetti-Western Land again.
HoweSound
Howe, longtime guitarist for progressive rock group Yes, always had it in him to deliver a great straight-jazz album. This is it.
Bridge
These symphonic reimaginings of Gershwin’s crossover compositions succeed in terms of performance as well as engineering: Anne-Marie McDermott superbly conveys the serious and playful side of the material; guest conductor Justin Brown moves the Dallas Symphony Orchestra along at just the right speed, balancing restraint with vigor; and the digital recording combines with the excellent Meyerson Symphony Center acoustics to provide optimal audio.
