Review

Tori Amos – Abnormally Attracted To Sin
Label: Universal Republic
Grade: B
For many Toriphiles out there (of which I am proudly one), there has come something of an expectation that seems to haunt every new album Tori Amos puts out and this has never been more so than with her tenth studio album to date Abnormally Attracted To Sin. Where 2007's American Doll Posse pushed boundaries of contemporary music by splitting the vocal personalities of the album into five distinct characters, all performing their own sections and backing up other sections for other characters, it seems that Tori is once more playing it straight—so to speak—with only one voice speaking for each of the 17 girls (what she calls her songs) on this album. Still skewing strongly toward concept album territory, this album is literally dripping with usual Tori fare as she expounds large upon her old slants on religious truths and the roles of women and sin in postmodern society.

In a theatre season that has seemed veritably littered with upbeat, lively fare meant to distract from your woes Actor’s Bridge Ensemble’s Nashville premiere of Sam Shepard’s “Simpatico” is a welcome change of pace—not to mention a bold and ambitious choice for the troupe. It must be pointed out that any Sam Shepard piece bears with it a certain gravity that almost guarantees from the outset a difficult at best production to even the most seasoned performers; witness modern classic “True West” and the lesser known “Buried Child” for evidence of such. “Simpatico” faces an even bigger burden due to its mind bogglingly slow build and twenty-year arc of discovery from which Shepard wrings out details in a convoluted layer-upon-layer plot that can cause even the staunchest of theatre goers’ eyes to glass over about a quarter of the way through the first act. All this added to the fact that the 1999 movie based on the play boasted the star power of Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges and Sharon Stone and despite that met with middling reviews and a weak box office are no small portents.

It started out as a kind of fluke. In what can only be described as a cosmic decree or twist of fate, playwright Ted Swindley stumbled upon the work of Patsy Cline for the first time while running the Texas Playwright Festival in Houston which presented plays with strong Texas themes. But it wasn’t until a couple of years later when one of his company’s two theaters was dark and he needed something quick to put in it that the seed finally took root.

Keith Urban - Defying Gravity

Label: Capitol
Grade: C

With his fifth solo release Defying Gravity Keith Urban seems to be playing it safe.

Martina McBride - Shine

Label: RCA
Grade: B+

One of the great mainstays of modern Country music, Martina McBride has proven over and over again since her debut in 1992 that she has what it takes to be a Country superstar.