Jakob Dylan: Seeing Things (Sony/BMG)
THE term “Ruben-esque” brings to mind images of voluptuous sensuality and grandeur, the hallmarks of the Flemish artist.

I won’t be surprised if in a few years’ time, the term “Rubin-esque” will be synonymous with stripped-down, soulful and evocative music producer Rick Rubin seems to have a talent for. It’s a little unfair to credit Rubin for the brilliance of Seeing Things more than singer-songwriter Dylan himself, but the fact is the album has the same features that made Johnny Cash’s American Series and Neil Diamond’s last two albums so great — a bare, melancholy and unassuming aesthetic appeal that fans and critics find irresistible. That being said, I have to say the youngest Dylan (of Bob Dylan’s offspring) has penned and sung a superlative set of tunes on his first solo outing away from The Wallflowers. Though this acoustic album still bears the strong songwriting skills that he displayed with his former band, it is a nevertheless a stunning effort from anything he has attempted before. The 10 songs on Seeing Things, be it the dark and dire Evil is Alive or Well, the sorrowfully nostalgic Valley of the Low Sun or the bashful protest song War is Kind, are intensely personal, deeply reflective and painted in tones of sepia and grey — a world away from his Wallflowers-era alternative-rock hits like 6th Avenue Heartache or One Headlight.

Rating: HHHHH

Selected tracks: Evil is Alive and Well, Valley of the Low Sun, Something Good This Way Comes

Weezer: Weezer (DGC/Interscope)

DO the members squeeze out so much of their creative juice when cutting an album that they have nothing left with which to dream up a moniker for their work? I mean, this is not the first, or even the second, but the THIRD self-titled product out of a grand total of six albums to date! What’s up? Well, this one has been christened The Red Album (their 1994 debut is called Blue while 2004’s comeback was dubbed Green). It looks like Weezer has come to a point where the members aren’t afraid to experiment a little. A relatively undersized album (it’s only got 10 songs and one bonus track), Red, produced by Rick Rubin (another one!), Jacknife Lee and the band themselves, can still boast an excellent variety of songs. Dreamin’, in particular, surprised me, the intricacy of its vocal gymnastics reminiscent of the Beach Boys’ harmonies. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn) was a song of two halves for me. The rap score of the first part was too harsh and grating for me, but the quirky melody of the second half sounded almost like a church campfire singalong. That was a delight. Cold Dark World — a dark and stormy number fuelled by shuddering, distortion-heavy guitars — is at odds with the profoundly religious theme of The Angel and the One, while Heart Songs, penned by Rivers Cuomo, is a humble tribute to just about every singer or group who inspired and influenced him. The hook on lead single Pork and Beans goes like this: “I’mma do the things I wanna do, I ain’t got a thing to prove to you.” With an album like this one under their belt, these boys can go ahead and do whatever they want to do, because they no longer have anything to prove.

Rating: HHHHH

Selected tracks: Pork and Beans, Heart Songs, Dreamin’

Various Artistes: No 1. Evergreen Hits Vol. 4 (EQ Music)

THREE CDs. 60 Songs. This could so easily have been just another rehashed set of oldies with the likes of Paul Anka, Jim Reeves, Andy Williams, Sam Cooke and Frank Sinatra being rolled out for another encore. Instead, I’m happy to say that the blurb on the CD jacket, proclaiming the compilation to be that of “60 Rare Classic Recordings”, is true. There are songs I’ve never heard of (He’s Sure The Baby I Love, Rocky or Do You Want To Know A Secret, for example) and artistes who aren’t familiar at all, including people like Dee Clark, Dream Circle and Fourmost, just to name a handful. There are also familiar songs done by less familiar names and familiar names doing less familiar songs. For example we have Somebody Wrong Song and My Girl being performed by Billy Joe Royal, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini by Sha Na Na and The Dock of the Bay by Dee Clark, as well as Chubby Checker singing Dance the Mess Around. All in all, an inspired collection.

Rating: HHH½

Selected tracks: Oh Happy Day (Edwin Hawkins Singers), Up On The Roof (The Drifters), Rock and Roll Lullaby (B.J. Thomas)

Various Artistes: All Time Top 100 TV Themes (EQ Music)

I AM going to be the coolest cat on the block! Imagine having 100 classic TV themes to use as my mobile phone ring tone! Okay, okay. I’m lame. I’ve been told that before. But it’s so much more fun to have The Munster’s jingle, complete with Herman's laugh, ringing out instead of just the boring old Nokia tune. This double-disc release is definitely going to give me plenty more to choose from as it has themes from TV shows dating back decades. By the way, the cover, picturing dozens of TV sets from a spread of decades, is awesome. There are recent shows like Six Feet Under, Sex and The City and Ally McBeal, iconic series from the 1990s like Beverly Hills 90210, Friends and Frasier, '80s classics like The A-Team, Knight Rider, Dynasty and Dallas, ’70s staples like Starsky and Hutch, SWAT, and Laverne & Shirley. It even goes back to the ’60s and ’50s. Jingles from The Brady Bunch, Bewitched, the campy Adam West Batman and I Love Lucy. There are also the themes of cartoons like Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies and Scooby-Doo as well as the opening scores of the David Letterman, Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith shows. Oprah might not be too happy at being left out!

Rating: HHH

Selected tracks: Dallas, Dynasty, Different Strokes, Cheers, Looney Tunes, Happy Days, The Lone Ranger