Metallica: Death Magnetic (Warner)

This has been the number one selling album in North America for a couple of weeks and proves the huge pent-up anticipation of hard core Metallica fans for some new music.

That is, Death Magnetic is their first new album in five years after the less than stellar and problem filled St. Anger album. The making of that difficult album was chronicled on the Academy Award nominated documentary film Some Kind Of Monster.

This time out the lads have turned to ace producer Rick Rubin who has the magic ability to help fading and confused stars rekindle their original essence—what he did for Johnny Cash alone was phenomenal.

So Death Magnetic finds Metallica returning to the straight up hard core and speed metal of their mid-1980s youth where guitarist Kirk Hammett lays down one blistering guitar solo after another.

The group’s themes and lyrics on alienation, frustration, angst and anger remain pretty much the same, but Metallica does come off sounding rejuvenated on these raging and rampaging tracks.

Their intensity, in fact, sometimes almost gets the better of them where I found myself chuckling throughout All Nightmare Long wondering if drummer Lars Ulrich was going to blow a gasket.

This CD was so highly anticipated that it has almost simultaneously charted three hit singles with My Apocalypse, The Day That Never Comes and my favourite titled Cyanide.

The band dummies down Sarah Palin-style the old bromide “what don’t kill ya make ya stronger’ on Broken, Beat & Scarred.

But if you are looking for the energized Metallica of old with hyper speed synchronized chuggity, chuggity boogity, boogity rhythms—here it is.

B

Lindsey Buckingham: Gift Of Screws (Reprise)

Lindsey Buckingham was one of the driving forces behind Fleetwood Mac in the mid to late ’70s when their eponymous album and Rumours album sold mega platinum.

He releases solo albums only sporadically but Gift Of Screws (named after poet Emily Dickinson) is Buckingham’s unprecedented second solo album in just three years.

If Buckingham’s recording sales were equal to his critical acclaim he would be more of a household name but the 50-year-old rocker hasn’t enjoyed a top 10 hit since 1984’s Go Insane.

Maybe this explains in part his dour looking, out of focus, post arrest-like cover photo on this new CD liner.

But Gift Of Screws is a pretty solid album of adult alternative pop where Buckingham often records as a one man band.

Old Fleetwood Mac vets Mick Fleetwood and John McVie help out on a couple of tunes including the bluesy stand out Waiting For You.

The current single is the straight up and accessible pop tune Did You Miss Me that features Buckingham’s obvious sharp hooks—just like his minor hit Holiday Road from National Lampoon’s Vacation soundtrack.

My fave tune here is the title track which is a one-off garage/glam rocker that sorta reminded me of Tommy James & The Shondells.

No doubt old Fleetwood Mac and Buckingham fans will scoop this up while critics claim another fine album gets criminally overlooked by radio.

B

Tina Turner: Tina! (Capitol/EMI)

One of the great benefits of doing a column like this one for 30 years is that you get to review the same sort of album more than just once.

I have covered a couple of Tina Turner Greatest Hits and Best Of compilations before and I always complained that her very best song ever, Nutbush City Limits, wasn’t included.

Well, it is this time around and that is because this compilation is more or less the play list for the upcoming world tour that Tina Turner will be embarking upon this fall and winter.

Of course, this disc is loaded with smash hits such as Better Be Good To Me, the Mark Knopfler-penned Private Dancer, and What’s Love Got To Do With It?.

Tina! also includes her soundtrack hits such as We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome), Goldeneye (007) and The Acid Queen from Tommy that sounds rather dated on this fine anthology.

Fans will want to know there are also a couple of new tunes with the ballad Life Would Be A Crime “if we didn’t find someone to love” and I’m Ready that ought to be another solid hit for Turner with its fleshed out full backing band.

The still gorgeous septugenarian Tina T has set a gruelling pace for her concert schedule but you can look forward to a live album and DVD for next year.

B+

Nick & Nora’s Infinite

Playlist: Soundtrack

(Columbia)

Earlier this year the soundtrack to the blockbuster film Juno sold extremely well sitting in the top 10 for several weeks.

It then rebounded back into the upper echelons of the charts by word of mouth without a radio hit.

Well, music plays an equally large part in this film that also features Michael Cera from Juno.

The girl he loves spurns him but his infatuation is such that he keeps making mixed tapes for her until she succumbs to his charms.

Hence this soundtrack, just like Juno’s, is loaded with independent rock acts with mostly unknown and unlikely name such as Vampire Weekend, Band Of Horses, The Shout Out Louds, We Are Scientists, The Real Tuesday Weld etc.

Just because this may not have an obvious hit shouldn’t make you think this won’t be a huge seller.

The Juno soundtrack proved that and, in fact, this 15-track CD of more obscure artists could easily outstrip the movie that is getting so-so reviews.

B-