The Flaming Lips

"The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing Dark Side of the Moon"

Score: 7.1

Recording a track-for-track remake of history’s third-best-selling album ought to be considered either an act of conceited, ambitious delusion or the earnest homage of a starry-eyed devotee. Luckily for planet Earth, the intentions of one of her most bizarre and fun-loving inhabitants, Wayne Coyne, are pure.

Coyne, of course, is the lead singer, confetti-blaster, gong-smacker, occasional guitarist, oversized balloon enthusiast and Teletubby-wrangler for The Flaming Lips, Oklahoma’s greatest and strangest rock band, as anyone who has attended one of their New Year’s Eve Freakouts can testify.

Since the inaugural show rang in 2008 with an excessive display of lights, bohemian rhapsodizing, explosions, and homegrown rock music, Coyne and the band have sought to outdo themselves each year since. 2009 was welcomed by a cover of “Purple Rain”, an alien spaceship, and a small army of dancing Teletubbies.

With the new decade came raised stakes, so the band answered by announcing their intention to play entirely through The Dark Side of the Moon on midnight, January 1, 2010.

Thus, we now have the band’s cover of Pink Floyd’s 1973 masterpiece "The Dark Side of the Moon." There’s no musical or critical statement asserted here, no intention to rival or best one of the most important and seminal bands in the history of popular music. This is simply an homage, conceived, recorded, performed live and commercially released, because Wayne Coyne thought it would be cool to do, and cool also for his band’s fans to own. And cool it is.

Cool, but not groundbreaking, neither more aesthetically pleasing nor in any manner better than the original (unless of course you thought the 1973 recording could’ve used more background flight departure broadcasts mentioning Oklahoma City).

Steven Drozd doesn’t attempt to out-duel David Gilmour on guitar (he doesn’t even try; The Lips’ interpretations of “Time” and “Money” are both significantly shorter because they lack the guitar and saxophone solos that earned the originals decades of radio play), and the original lyrics and general album structure are preserved almost completely, to the band’s credit. Even the spoken-word interludes are duplicated—in a sharp casting decision—by Mr. Rockstar/Comedian/Spoken Word Aficionado Henry Rollins himself.

Also enlisted are Coyne’s nephew’s band, Stardeath and White Dwarfs (though I can’t exactly determine what they provide the record, other than occasional spurts of vocals) and Canadian recording artist Peaches, who’s just the kind of electronic weirdo Coyne would contract out Clare Torry’s incredible spurts of vocals on “The Great Gig in the Sky” too.

Coyne and company are at their best when they’re injecting weirdness and excitement into whatever they do, and this record is no different, evidenced by their echoey take on the trippy electronic jam “Any Colour You Like” and the muscular, bass drive on the opener, “Speak to Me/Breathe” (a pleasant face-lift to the serenity of the original). “Time/Breathe (Reprise)” builds on coughing loops and waves of synthesizer for two minutes until replaced by the voice of Wayne’s nephew, Stardeath singer Dennis Coyne.

They rightfully eschew capturing the Syd Barrett-inspired paranoia that haunts Pink Floyd’s recording, instead replacing it with palpable tensions and excitement that drove their fans to frenzy at the Cox Convention Center January 1st.

The album is what its full title implies; it is The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches doing "The Dark Side of the Moon," and it’s enjoyable. An appropriate interpretation of a classic for a live audience.

Alicia Keys

"Element of Freedom"

Score: 7.5

If “The Diary of Alicia Keys” was the soul singer-pianist’s foray into the older soul of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Keys’ latest release, “The Element of Freedom,” is a complete 180 from the trademark neo-soul; a continuation of her last album “As I Am’s” musical experimentation.

The thematic subject of love and devoted commitment remains the same as always, but such can be expected of any contemporary R&B, of which Alicia Keys has become one of the masters.

The lyrical content is always so-so; Keys isn’t as renowned for her lyrical creativity as she really is for her musicianship as a classical pianist.

Most interestingly, Keys abandons her standard piano prelude – such as “As I Am’s” sample of Frederic Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20 – in favor of a spoken intro in the style of Janet Jackson.

The vintage “Love Is Blind” uses both an old-school piano loop and a sonic voice echoer to give an other-worldly mood. Along with the next track “Doesn’t Mean Anything” – an almost blatant rip-off of “No One” – the song attempts to hit hard with heavy percussion and call-and-response chants of “Ooo” and “Aaah.”

But they’re all typical Alicia Keys techniques, ultimately taking away the significance of the album’s theme of letting convention go to the wind, as the album cover elaborates as Keys wears a halter top constructed from bird feathers.

Instead, the experimental “journey” begins several tracks in with the lushly romantic synthpop single “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” and “Wait Til You See My Smile,” which plays with an electronic keyboard to add a cheesy, avant-garde tone to the piano’s happy simplicity.

Strangely enough, while most Alicia Keys' albums tend to falter halfway through, the second half instead offers more variety. Melodies are catchier, like the bouncy “This Bed,” and Keys’ tendency to oversing works with the song, such as “Love Is My Disease.”

Her collaboration with Beyoncé, third single “Put It In A Love Song,” lacks the latter’s known sheer ambition, but its animated African folk-styled staccato beats and hooks stick somewhat well enough. The song might just be a dark horse of airplay.

“Empire State of Mind, Part II,” Keys’ answer song to her own hit with Jay-Z, swells to a stirring climax with its soaring chorus and heavy-hitting drums as any anthem should – adding an optimistic shine with her own lyrics to celebrate her hometown, the Big Apple – and provides the best example of why Alicia Keys is one of the most class-act artists of this generation.

Carrie Underwood

"Play On"

“You had my heart now I want it back” sings Oklahoma’s own Miss Carrie Underwood. Since her American Idol victory in 2005, Carrie Underwood has redefined the term “America’s Sweetheart” with her subtle sex appeal and Oklahoma-bred sugary-sweet personality. Her third album "Play On" only exaggerates this established, popular persona with charming lyrics and a somewhat fiery punch.

Her third album continues her signature twang with a subtle rock inspired rhythm. If you liked her wildly popular hit "Before He Cheats," you’ll be a fan of several attitude inspired tracks that demand justification for a cowboy’s romantically distasteful acts.

Her guest, Sons of Sylvia, add a complimentary male vocal addition to the track "What Can I Say." This masculine supplement reinforces the lyrics that express the pain of young, passionate misfortune. Maybe her heart breaking rendezvous with Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Tony Romo, inspired this tenderly enlightened melody.

We all know that Miss Underwood is well-known for emotional ballads. Perhaps a few of these previous singles were a bit on the cheesy side, and although many of her themes are similar, she has stepped up her musical game on this one. The ballad "Someday When I Stop Loving You" will make the most unemotional meathead miss his baby blanket. If we really want world peace, we'd send a copy of this song to every disgruntled world leader, because after this track, everyone needs a hug.

Country legends, over time, have always had two things in common: a little rebellion and some serious pain. Our friend Carrie has definitely began to establish this winning reputation, and her third album is the bow that completes her legendary package.

She has the dissatisfied emotional turmoil of Merle Haggard, just hidden under a good girl cover. So Carrie, we’d gladly take you over a bearded, wrinkled cowboy any day.