Bozo Mark's Hot Picks In The CD Player For November

1. My Spanish Heart

Chick Corea

Polydor

Goodness, this is one great album! It's almost a quarter of a century old, I've had it for years, but I just got a new copy on CD and can't stop playing it. Wonderful Spanish-inspired tunes, inventive arrangements, fabulous performances. Chick on acoustic piano, handclaps and footstomps, and the no-doubt-about-it best synth playing ever, Stanley Clarke on acoustic bass, Steve Gadd on drums and percussion - plus a hot brass section, a string quartet (playing very hip, Bartokesque arrangements), and Gayle Moran on wordless, haunting, multi-tracked vocals. Plus, if all that weren't enough: EL BOZO, Parts One, Two and Three. My favorite album of the month.

2. Panthalassa

Miles Davis/Bill Laswell

Columbia

Laswell takes the master tapes from In A Silent Way, On The Corner, and Get Up With It, and remixes them to great effect. Some of it is familiar, but unheard material is included, too, and the new mix shifts the sonic emphasis significantly. As much of Miles' music after 1968 was cut-and-pasted together from various takes by original Davis producer Teo Macero (you can really hear this on Bitches Brew), Laswell's "reconstruction and mix translation" makes perfect sense. And the new technology gives a 90's sheen to the fabulous playing. In some ways a "new" Miles Davis album, it offers insight into what Miles might sound like if he were recording today.

3. Kundun

Philip Glass

Nonesuch

I'm a big fan of both Philip Glass and Steve Reich, and have been for years. (Someday, I hope we can record my tribute to them, The Rise And Fall Of The Glass Reich.) On this, the soundtrack to the Martin Scorsese film, Glass uses his usual ensemble augmented by Tibetan musicians and singers. The results are exquisite, with the Asian influences in Glass's compositions given greater resonance by the performances. Most of the tracks are shortish, giving a bright focus to the pieces. It sounds like Glass, as he always does, but the emotional punch of the project gives an deeper dimension of feeling and heart to his intellectual music.

4. Stunt

Barenaked Ladies

Reprise

No, they're never going to do an album as funny, surprising, engaging, and all-around cool as their debut. But, given that, this is my favorite album of theirs since then. There's a tighter focus on the playing and production, and the songwriting is quirkier than it has been on the last couple of discs. Better melodies, odder lyrics, good hooks and peculiar subjects. My favorite tracks are "One Week" (I don't care if it is a hit, I like it anyway, and I love Ed's Canadian rapping), "Alcohol", "Never Is Enough" (a perky tune; once heard, just try and get it out of your head), and "Who Needs Sleep?" They're such smart asses - that's why we love them.

5. Double Barrel

Jazz Jamaica

Hannibal

A super reggae/ska instrumental band from London. The originals are infectious, but it's the covers that truly delight here, as everything from traditionals ("Monkey Man"), Motown ("I Heard It Through The Grapevine"), schlock (Theme From Exodus), bebop ("Dewey Square"), and lounge ("Walk On By") gets the Jazz Jamaican treatment. Great rhythm section, good soloists. This is one fine party album.