Latest releases reviewed

JESSE MALIN
Star Smile Strong One Little Indian
***

Those who have a soft spot for rock 'n' roll desperadoes will probably already have made Jesse Malin's acquaintance. Formerly of punk rock would-bes D Generation, Malin's two grand albums of Noo Yawk sass, bravado and sensitivity have ensured both a busy diary and a coterie of celebrity fans (including Bruce Springsteen, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and Ryan Adams, who produced Malin's debut album). While this DVD, recorded at shows in New York and Newcastle, is unlikely to convince many new fans, it does capture the rawness and streetwise romanticism of Malin's work. Tracks from both The Heat and The Fine Art of Self Destruction albums hit the spot, while a fine version of Neil Young's Helpless lets us know that Malin is not afraid to put his own spin on the classics. www.jessemalin.com

Jim Carroll

DAVID BOWIE
Black Tie White Noise EMI
***

Originally released as part of a limited edition two-CD/DVD package less than two years ago, but now receiving a stand-alone re-issue, this is a standard but never less than interesting view of David Bowie's first album following his less-than-terrific band experiment, Tin Machine. Static studio performances of several of the tracks from 1993's Black Tie White Noise (including Nite Flights, Miracle Goodnight, Jump They Say and You've Been Around) are interspersed with Bowie discussing songcraft ("I'm always drawn to the enigmatic... the texture of a song is sometimes more important than the lyrical content"), theatrical reinventions ("the eyes are a lot hungrier than the ears"), sex ("I finally realised I'm a closet hetereosexual"), drugs ("for most of the mid-late 70s, I was a shell") and rock 'n' roll ("it's an area where you can crash your plane and walk away"). If you're a Bowiephile, you'll already have this, but even casual fans should find something of interest here (if only how remarkably well he wears a silk shirt). www.davidbowie.com

Tony Clayton-Lea