On the record: Dolly's birthday gift (From Halesowen News)

On the record: Dolly's birthday gift

7:00am Saturday 30th January 2010

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She's just turned 64 and to celebrate two Dolly Parton albums are released - how will they compare?

Elsewhere the singer-actress Charlotte Gainsbourg returns with a new album - produced by Beck - and dance master Carl Cox brings the beats with the album Black Rock Desert. How will they fare? Read on to find out.

Dolly Parton - Live From London/Dolly.

There can be absolutely no doubting the impact Dolly Parton has had in country music. Now, having just celebrated her 64th birthday, two great Dolly packages are released.

First up, is Live From London, which features 15 classic Dolly tracks which she performed at two sold out gigs at London's O2 Arena in July 2008. Including the hits 9 To 5, Islands In The Stream and Jolene, the album comes complete with a DVD which features behind the scenes footage from the gigs.

For those with a bit more cash to spare, invest in Dolly - this four-disc box set is the first ever career spanning release and features 99 Dolly tracks. The box set also includes seven previously unreleased tracks - a must for all Dolly enthusiasts!

Live From London rating: 8/10.

Dolly rating: 9/10.

(Review by Polly Weeks).

Charlotte Gainsbourg- IRM.

With its dramatic instrumentation, whispered lyrics and haunting electronic effects, the third album from Charlotte Gainsbourg offers up a healthy dose of moody Gallic magic. Produced by the marvellous musical scavenger Beck, each number smacks of his stylised touch and the duet between the Gainsbourg and Beck - Heaven Can Wait - is unmistakable Beck territory.

Yet none of the songs on IRM quite manage to deliver the promise of their introduction.

Le Chat Du Cafe Des Artistes, with its sliding strings and deep bass notes, begins with Bond-theme style impact, but doesn't get anywhere, while In The End, sung by Gainsbourg, has ethereal intentions but never manages to leave the earth. On the whole, this album slides by without making much of an impact.

Rating: 6/10.

(Review by Sarah O'Meara).

White Rabbits - It's Frightening.

It's Frightening is the second album from New York-based six-piece White Rabbits, and picks up perfectly from where their excellent 2007 debut Fort Nightly left off. Opener and current single Percussion Gun is typical of the album as a whole; frantic drums (living up to the song's title), thumping piano and guitars that could have been dragged from Radiohead's epic The Bends. White Rabbits have two frontmen, Greg Roberts and Stephen Patterson, and it works a treat, their voices capable of gelling together and clashing when necessary. Aside from the aforementioned track, Lionesse and Midnight And I are among the best on offer here. The full-on gaze of the mainstream may be out of their reach, but another album of this quality - and one or two more singles - and that could all change.

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Andy Welch).

Del Shannon - Runaway: The Very Best Of.

Del Shannon may not be the type of artist someone in their 20s would listen to, but having grown up with his brand of rock 'n' roll music, it brought me back to my childhood. His most famous hit is undoubtedly Runaway, which this greatest hits compilation opens and closes on (with two versions), but other hits include Hats Off To Larry, The Swiss Maid and Little Town Flirt. Fans will find all their toe-tapping and head-nodding favourites here, which is guaranteed to transport them back into the Swinging Sixties.

Rating: 8/10.

(Review by Shereen Low).

Chew Lips - Unicorn.

While a unicorn is something you're pretty unlikely to come across in a record store, electro-pop LPs like this are, unfortunately for London three-piece Chew Lips, ten-a-penny right now. It's a market that has become so saturated that it's going to take something pretty special to stand out from the crowd, and nothing on this debut album really manages to hit the spot. Tunes like the peppy, disco-flavoured Karen and synth-drenched ballad Golden Key are perfectly serviceable but there is very little here that feels fresh, new or exciting.

Rating: 5/10 (Review by Simon Harker).

Fionn Regan - Shadow Of An Empire.

Fionn Regan's debut, The End Of History, was a musical highlight of 2006 and duly received a Mercury Prize nomination the following year. The album may have tipped its hat to the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Nick Drake and Bert Jansch, but the outcome was Regan's own. This second album - written and recorded after one record with American label Lost Highway was abandoned - finds the Irish songwriter in road-hardened mood, now largely electric in sound and brimming with a Bringing It All Back Home-era Dylan energy. The album's rough edges are one of its main selling points, coming over not just as if it was recorded live, as it was, but as if all involved were having the time of their life while doing so. Despite all this, it's still the imagery conjured up by Regan's mesmeric lyrics that delight more and more with each listen.

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Andy Welch).

Danielle Spencer - Calling All Magicians.

British-born Danielle Spencer is Russell Crowe's wife and already a star in Australia where she has appeared in a string of films and TV series. Now she is carving out a career in music, and with the backing of ex-Bowie producer Tony Visconti she is self-releasing the follow-up to her 2001 debut album White Monkey. She has been likened to Kate Bush and Tori Amos and it's easy to see why, but the gothic influence adds an interesting dimension to Spencer's pop-folk music. The melodic vocals and piano arrangements on Calling All Magicians are beautiful but a bit repetitive; the songs almost blend into each other, lulling you into a bit of a dream like state. Far from being a problem, it makes it the perfect soundtrack to lazy Sunday afternoons spent on the sofa.

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Lisa Kjellsson).

Carl Cox - Black Rock Desert.

As one of the UK's foremost superstar DJs, Carl Cox is more a brand than an artist or performer in any meaningful sense of the word. The list of mix albums, compilations and 'live' recordings bearing his name is almost endless but it remains impossible to identify a distinctive sound with the 47-year-old Lancastrian. Black Rock Desert, hewn from a two-hour show in the Nevada Desert, is unlikely to change that, being as it is a prime example of dance music's 'you had to be there' vibe. What could sound euphoric in the right surroundings instead comes over flat, and the constant overdubbed refrain of "Global Underground presents..." is merely an annoying music label's equivalent of a dog marking its territory.

Rating: 4/10 (Review by Rory Dollard).

First Aid Kit - The Big Black & The Blue.

Originally released on The Knife's Rabid label, First Aid Kit now find themselves signed to the well-respected Wichita Recordings. Made up of Swedish teenagers Klara and Johanna, the duo gained fame for their YouTube cover versions but this, their debut album release, highlights what great original material the two have as well as what strong singers they both are. With perfectly placed country-pop harmonies, it's hard to believe that two teenagers could make such a strong album. Sailor Song and Heavy Storm are two album highlights but to experience this album at it's best it should be listened to in full.

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Polly Weeks).

David Bowie - David Bowie Deluxe Edition.

Bowie may be known for his hits such as Life On Mars and Let's Dance, but before the glam rocker had grabbed the headlines for his fashion sense and musical offerings he released his self-titled debut in 1967. While it has been largely overlooked with the follow-up Space Oddity far more popular, this deluxe edition is great for lovers of the influential singer. Fifty-three tracks long, the simple songs are explored in various formats. With the album including an average of three versions of each song. It includes original mono album plus re-worked stereo versions. The real selling point for this album is the 12 previously unreleased tracks - including BBC versions of Love You Till Tuesday, When I Live My Dream and Silly Boy Blue. It's a good package, but listening back it does highlight how Space Oddity went on to create what has now become Bowie's memorable style.

Rating: 6/10 (Review by Polly Weeks).

Singles by Polly Weeks.

:: Bon Jovi - Superman Tonight.

The ageing Jon Bon Jovi and his group return with this atmospheric, rock ballad. Unfortunately it's unbelievably bland.

:: MPHO Feat. Wale - See Me Now.

Will 2010 finally be the year The South African born, South London raised pop-soul singer breaks through to the mainstream, on this upbeat offering she stands a good chance.

:: Plasticines - Bitch.

This French all-girl band are highly rated and with this fiery indie rock number it's easy to see why.

On The Road Live review John Mayer, Hammersmith Apollo, January 18.

John Mayer's last show - an intimate set at the Hard Rock Cafe for Q magazine - saw jokes about pregnancy and drugs, but this time, the American singer-songwriter declared he's going to concentrate on playing his "f***ing guitar". Sure enough, he did.

Opening with the rousing Heartbreak Warfare, the Grammy-winning musician - better known for his A-lister conquests like Jennifer Aniston - brought the Hammersmith Apollo down as he performed songs from his Battle Studies album, as well as his impressive back catalogue including hits like Gravity, Waiting For The World To Change and Belief. The crowds went wild when he sang Why Georgia and blended the Jackson 5 classic, I Want You Back, fluidly. John proved he's every bit a guitarist and why he deserved every one of his four Grammys.

(Review by Shereen Low).

Upcoming tours :: They may have formed in 1967 but folk stars Jethro Tull are still going strong and Ian Anderson and co. return for a UK tour for March. They kick off at Northampton's Royal & Derngate on March 5 and finish at Swindon's Wyvern Theatre. For full details visit www.jethrotull.com.

:: Last year Irish indie-pop trio Ash did their A-Z tour of the UK. Now, they are back and this time around playing normal gig venues. Starting off at Southampton University on April 19, they finish up at London's Electric Ballroom on May 4. For full details visit www.myspace.com/ash.

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