Beat Avenue
Whoever coined the saying about old dogs and new tricks never anticipated this powerhouse two-disc song cycle. Fueled with an apocalyptic, post-9/11 urgency and driven by far more musical muscle than one expects from this veteran folk troubadour, the collection could stand as a companion piece to Bob Dylan's"Love and Theft". (Andersen acknowledges Dylan's inspiration by dedicating the album to him.) The opening "Ain't No Time to Bleed" sets the tone with a wailing duet vocal byPhoebe Snowand slashing guitar from Eric Bazilian, while "Song of You and Me," "Great Pyramid," and the relentless "Rains Are Gonna Come" sustain the hard-driving dynamic. For fans of Andersen's balladry, "Shape of a Broken Heart" and "Under the Shadows" (with vocals from daughter Sari) evoke the open-hearted spirit of his 1972 classicBlue River. Yet nothing in a career that stretches almost 40 years anticipates the 26-minute title track, an atmospheric, phantasmagoric meditation on the day President Kennedy was killed. Half-spoken, half-sung, it sounds like a cross betweenLou ReedandRobbie Robertsonwhile recalling an era when freeform FM radio rewarded such experimentation. With the project taking the sort of risks that one doesn't expect from an artist turning 60, this is easily the most ambitious music that Andersen has ever made, and some of the best as well.--Don McLeese