ART S The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 10, 2003 -11 Folk you: Furtado gets serious By Hussain Rahim Daily Arts Writer Three years ago a Portuguese-Cana- dian singer-songwriter came out of nowhere with an energetic and sprawl- ing debut album, encompassed an impressive mix of world beat, strong urban influences and clever song- writing that suc- Whoa Nelly!, that Nelly Furtado Folklore DreamWorks ceeded largely because she was so naive, ambitious and enthusiastic. Fast forward to the present day and Nelly's sophomore release, Folklore, has all the signs of someone trying to seem older. From the darker cover and album art, it obvious that this record is different. As the title implies, her focus is on folk, and the cultural influences and acoustic sounds are strong. Though her idea that folk is anyone singing about what is around them, it seems like she is just looking around singing. While that is not necessarily bad, it is very contingent on the quality of the observations and the songs involved. The songs just aren't as good and the level of songwriting has declined. More often than not this feels like her bid to be taken seriously, and the record is a bit too self-conscious and straightforward. The exuberance that appeared on her debut is largely gone and the play- ful abstraction and poetry have been replaced by extremely overwrought syrupy love ballads that further confirms the notion that artists in deep open love suffer in the writ- ing department (John Lennon, Common). Recorded largely during her pregnancy, her somewhat nasal voice is lower and it helps her sound morea serious. Using the same pro- duction team as before she incorporates more instru- mental guest appearances from artists such as Bela Fleck and the W Kronos Quar- tet. In the end", there's nothing as immediately . Courtesy of Columbia The Flecktones: coming to a drain pipe near you. By Jared Newman Daily Arts Writer catchy as the material on her debut and it ends up as an overly literal and awk- ward transition from a promising artist. ~1 PR it' IW iv S Y *o t..h ee 'Cfrm thoix 'first two studio ftybid 'Theory and ; doie esut ., vde a reason as fo w y y u t u d ' u t l s e t ho se a~b m4n if' y o u lik e stn ars agepreenea 'gfrom the rowd as their 'areasof "Iwjasee yu n&- ns and :Arihtlet's do this peole oud desperae Weak- y .totealbum mtaterial s y w el s ed stia s ag s o zlk o atuhlitn * .11ulan , ,i Dancehall legend comes up to the major leagues "Anything done well works." Never before have all the mysteries of music been unraveled in such a sim- ple statement. This is what legendary bassist Victor Wooten had to say of his band Bela Fleck &s.L The Flecktones' LoWENI combination of bluegrass, jazz THE FLECKTONE and pretty much everything else. Their latest studio album Little Worlds is a three-disc monstrosity, ensuring that nothing, including an abun- dance of guest artists, is left out. The Flecktones are supporting the album on tour, which includes a sold-out stop at the Power Center on Friday. The Michi- Bela Fleck gan Daily recently spoke to Victor and the Wooten about his role in the band. Flecktnes C S TMD: The Flecktones have fluctuated between a quartet and a trio. Is there ever a time where you decided that you needed a certain element in the mix? VW: When (harmonica player Howard Levy) left, we were a trio for quite a while, and we did miss that melodic instrument that could play those melodies over the top, but now we have it again with Jeff Cof- fin playing the saxophone. TMD: Is there anything in particular that he adds to the band? VW: He's really good at that straight- ahead jazz. HIT ANN ARBOR Jeff has a very power- ful, rhythmic sound and that definitely changes the band. It's like adding a new person to your family. TMD: How was it to grow up with a family full of musicians? VW: The reason you speak English so well is because you grew up with people who did it also. For me, music was the same way, because my brothers were always playing. It came easy. We never really had to work at it, we just did it all the time. TMD: How can someone find out more informa- tion about jazz music and the Flecktones? VW: A lot of people that go to your website want to know something about you, so I give people that opportunity. But I also want people to learn about themselves, so I try to put things in there that might inspire them. There are words of wisdom and lessons on how to play music, all sorts of things. TMD: Is there an overarching goal you seek with your music? VW: I just realized that everything's related: every- thing and everybody. A table, a guitar, water, it all comes down to molecules. What I ask is "How is everything different if it's all the same?" I just like to show those similarities and how everything works. By Hussain Rahim Daily Arts Writer Music REVI EW After years of destroying dance- halls with his live performances, Ele- phant Man is primed to follow Elephant the recent wave Man of American mainstream suc- Good to Go cess and accept- VP/Atlantic ance of Jamaica dancehall reggae as pioneered by Sean Paul. With his first major label debut, the man who has been dubbed the "Energy God" for his legendary stage show, presents Good 2 Go. The production stays very true to the dancehall energy and Elephant Man maintains his same spit-fire delivery that will have Yankees as well as Islanders confused as to what exactly he's saying. But it doesn't really matter because he says it with energy and con- viction, all while making you want to The Michigan Daily: Why does the fusion of funk and bluegrass work so well? Victor Wooten: Look at it like people. There are a lot of people Friday at 8 p.m. At the Power Center Clear Channel dance. Included is the summer anthem, "Pon de River, Pon de Bank" as well as a sick collaboration with Bonecrusher and Lil' Jon that will absolutely own the dance floor. This album is not stylistically streamlined like Paul's runaway suc- cess Dutty Rock, and the album runs a little long, but it remains a quality addition to what is hopefully a bur- geoning tradition of reggae artists pushed into the mainstream. that say that a white person shouldn't date a black person. But, when you do it, if the people are compat- ible, it works. Music's the same way. Whether you're talking about bluegrass, jazz, funk, anything, you're talking about the same 12 notes. So, how you put them together is up to you, but if you put them togeth- er in a way that works, it works. You can use the same analogy with cooking. You can blend the weirdest ingredients together, but done right it tastes great. U U Tis the season to be pleading... When you beg your parents for an iPod, don"t forged titan this price. www.ipodrocks.com 10 GB 20 C 40 GB a WAM 0 w '