By Ed Yashinsky

Bad Livers
Blood and Mood

The most appropriate description for Austin, Texas’ Bad Livers might be the Two-Headed Bluegrass Anti-Christ, and that is a very good thing. To bluegrass purists, Danny Barnes and Mark Rubin have got to be one of the worst things to ever appear on the bluegrass radar. But truth be told, the Bad Livers’ irreverent and caustic mix of bluegrass, folk and punk has created on an innovative outfit whose career has spanned more than a decade and altered the face of bluegrass with their sometimes indescribable songs. With their newest release, Blood and Mood, Barnes and Rubin continue to work their heavy punk influences into the mix, but they have raised the bar just a touch higher injecting many songs with samples and drum loops, and the results are stunning. Gone are Barnes’ lightning-quick banjo licks and Rubin’s bombastic bass lines, replaced with brokenhearted mantras and rip-snorting rockers about busted relationships and redneck revelry that musically resemble everything from They Might be Giants to Tom Waits. Blood and Mood is another gem from the always-amusing (and imaginative) Bad Livers. (Sugar Hill Records, PO Box 55300, Durham, NC 27717-5300)

Roy Orbison
Black & White Night

What really needs to be said about Roy Orbison? Revered in the early Sixties, but forgotten in the Seventies and most of the Eighties, a career renaissance occurred mainly because of David Lynch’s haunting use of "In Dreams" in his cinematic masterpiece, Blue Velvet. Soon after, Orbison became a member of The Traveling Wilburys; once again started recording solo records and released his only commercially available live release, Black & White Night. Originally released in 1989, this remastered version presents the entire concert with a stellar backing band that included Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, J.D. Souther, Jennifer Warnes, kd lang, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Waits. Instead of redefining these Orbison classics, these great musicians took a backing role and let Orbison’s music and vocal prowess do the talking. The result is the perfect collection for anyone who feels the need to own a single Roy Orbison release. Orbison is in perfect voice, the music percolates with a certain urgency that takes many of these songs to a new level and the audience at times seems out of control whooping and hollering at Orbison’s howls and purrs. Black & White Night is the perfect document to a rare talent. (Orbison Records, www.orbison.com)

Crooked Fingers
Crooked Fingers

With a solitary black swan adorning its cover, the debut CD by Crooked Fingers reveals a certain dark beauty within a sometimes-ugly exterior. Formed by Eric Bachmann after the break-up of Archers of Loaf, Crooked Fingers whirs and struts against decidedly dark tales that lyrically have the feel of an intense all night writing session. Yet inside these songs lurks a musical glimmer that slowly comes to life in every song. On many songs, Bachmann possesses a voice that sounds like (and this is not a bad thing) early Neil Diamond; but rest assured, Diamond has never unleashed such lonely tales. Musically recalling the sparse feel of Galaxy 500 or Luna, Crooked Fingers relies on quiet electric guitar and electronic soundscapes to unveil many songs. But, as the pieces build, the songs intensify with cellos, percussion, lap steel and haunting vocals that build to a near manic state, while never losing that intimate feel. With his debut, Bachmann may have cornered the market of all-night barflies in need of just one more beer when they get home. Crooked Fingers is a late night/early morning masterpiece. (WARM Records, P.O. Box 1423, Athens, GA 30603)