Alicia Keys, Dartz!, Stevie Ray Vaughan

Alicia Keys

As I Am

(J Records)

***

Because of her covergirl looks, it's easy to forget how talented Alicia Keys really is. However, on her fourth disc of a very good but relatively short career, Keys further distances herself from her disposable contemporaries by defining not only who she is but also where her music is going. The signature pained wails and well-crafted lyrics are there, but she makes it perfectly clear she ain't just that shorty on the block that was singing on her debut. Rather, she's a more seasoned woman, tested by life's experiences. She's also not ashamed to let you know she was vulnerable but survived.

These songs are a study of the effects of being pulled in different directions by love, life and ambition. On "Lesson Learned," she slips into the part of a regretful, reflective spurned lover in a love triangle with lyrics like "You'll say I told you so/You saw it long ago/You knew he had to go." Keys gets a nice, understated assist from John Mayer on background vocals, which ties the song together. "Where Do We Go From Here" is a standout track mixing equal parts torch song, street corner doo-wop, Prince's "If I Was Your Girlfriend" and the hip-hop standard "Big Beat." She belts out "We at the crossroads my dear/where do we go from here?" It's so funky, you really won't know whether to slow grind or nod ya head. "Like You'll Never See Me Again" is what romance novels and movies on Lifetime network are made of. "If I had no more time/No more time left to be here/Would you cherish what we had?/Was it everything that you were looking for?" As I Am straddles the line of Sade's depression and Jill Scott's optimism. It's full of emotional opposites, pained and remorseful, afraid but driven. You'll do well to take this journey with Keys. - Clarence D. Meriweather

Dartz!

This Is My Ship

(Deep Elm)

***

Dartz! is the type of band you can imagine shaking in between takes in the studio. When the tape stops rolling, feet start tapping and bodies start fidgeting like they're going into withdrawal from lack of adrenaline-laced rocking. See, the music on This Is My Ship is the sort of relentless high-energy disco punk that combines the fragmented guitar work of Dischord bands with high-speed dance beats and overly-caffeinated vocal expulsions. The songs are smart, tight and compact in their approach, while the musicianship is adroit and aggressive.

If you like moments to breathe in your music, you may need to look somewhere else. From start to finish, This Is my Ship never lets up. Tracks like "Network! Network! Network!" and "Once, Twice, Again!" move with the same hip-shaking punk tones as Q and Not U while the jittery guitar work on cuts like "Cold Holidays" and "Laser Eyes" recalls the disjointed funk of Cap'n Jazz and Make Believe. Unfortunately, not every song is a keeper. "St. Petersburg" sounds like a disco take on "Cult of Personality," and "Documents" starts to feel like filler when the band uses hand claps and a shout of "whoa!" yet again. Maybe when you're this excited you don't have the patience to work out all the kinks. - Matt Whelihan

Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh

"Holdin' Our Own"

and other Country Gold Duets

(Stag Records)

*** 

Austin's Jesse Dayton might just be the coolest honky tonker you've never heard of. The guy's played with country outlaws like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Doug Sahm, and had a cameo in the Rob Zombie flick Devil's Rejects, where he got to be in the fictional band Banjo and Sullivan. Though fictional, that group even got to put out a long player of satirical stuff that rivals Ween's 12 Country Golden Greats for its mix of nonsense lyrics and top-notch musicianship. He's also toured with punk rockers such as Social Distortion and X. And he drives a modified 1950 Ford Coupe. He's beyond cool.

This time around, Dayton's promoting a more serious venture, namely a collection of old-school country songs that he and singer Brennen Leigh have collaborated on. Some are covers; some are originals. The consistency is remarkable. Dayton does his best Roy Orbison imitation on the elegant original "We Hung the Moon," and he and Brennen harmonize perfectly in "Brand New Heartache." The duo ham it up on the twangy cover of "Somethin' to Brag About" and "Two Step Program," tongue-in-cheek tunes that would sit well in any honky-tonk jukebox. The best thing about this terrific disc is just how effortlessly Dayton and Leigh pull it off.

- Jeff Niesel

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Solos, Sessions & Encores

(Sony BMG Legacy)

**** 

One of the hallmarks of Stevie Ray Vaughan's tragically short career is that he was both gifted innovator and keen student. From his hardscrabble Texas beginnings to his glorious rise to the pinnacle of blues/rock success, Vaughan constantly put himself in situations where he could bring something explosive and unique to the table while taking away a valuable musical experience. Among Vaughan's myriad impressive talents, this may have been the one that was most important to his all-too-brief evolution as an artist.

Solos, Sessions & Encores compiles some of Vaughan's best work in this regard, where he balanced his role as a sideman with his abilities as an incendiary frontman. Oddly enough, the disc closes with the song that introduced Vaughan to the world at large, David Bowie's "Let's Dance." Bowie had seen Vaughan at the 1982 Montreux Festival (where Vaughan was nearly booed off the stage, if you can imagine), and hired the guitarist for his upcoming album and tour, but Vaughan opted out of the tour to support his debut album, Texas Flood.

That album's title track appears here as a blistering duet with Bonnie Raitt, performed at 1985's Bumbershoot Festival; other unreleased live highlights include Vaughan's shivering solos on guitar legend Lonnie Mack's "Oreo Cookie Blues" from a 1986 Atlanta show, his rumbling turn on the late Katie Webster's piano/guitar romp "On the Run" from the 1988 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, a bone-shaking 1988 JazzFest riff duel on "Albert's Shuffle" with the great Albert Collins, and Vaughan's 1985 appearance on Saturday Night Live with big brother Jimmie as they tore through "Change It."

The rest of the disc assembles various sessions where Vaughan lent his considerable skills - everyone from his then-girlfriend Lou Ann Barton and Jeff Beck to Johnny Copeland and Marcia Ball to the blues brain trust of B.B. King, Albert King and Paul Butterfield - with one of the best being his flame-thrower duet with surf king Dick Dale on "Pipeline" from the soundtrack of the 1987 movie Back to the Beach. Because much of Solos, Sessions & Encores features Vaughan in a supporting role, it may not appeal to fans who like their Stevie Ray straight up, but it's a fascinating look at his brilliance in applying his singular style to other artists' work.

- Brian Baker