Music

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra – Photo: Courtesy

Wisconsin’s rich musical landscape favors the classics, and this year opportunities abound. Whether your tastes run to full symphony orchestras performing with crowd-pleasing thunder or elegant string quartets rendering delicate musical miniatures, there are options for you throughout central and southern Wisconsin. Here is a look at some of the more prominent ensembles and their seasons.

Pearl Jam performs at Alpine Valley in East Troy Sept. 3-4. – Photo: Courtesy

Pearl Jam

After Pearl Jam’s grunge-metal debut disc, the group veered in a slightly more commercial direction with 1993’s “Vs.” There is still a vocal chord-shredding and head-bobbing rawness to tracks such as “Go,” “Animal” and “Blood.” But then you have “Daughter” and “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” to give you more to ponder. Next up was 1994’s “Vitalogy,” containing the band’s most punk rock cut – “Spin the Black Circle” – alongside rave-ups such as “Whipping,” “Nothingman” and “Better Man.”

Both “Vs.” and “Vitalogy” have been reissued and repackaged in expanded editions, along with the “Live at the Orpheum Theater April 12, 1994” disc, in an Epic/Legacy box set.

Dolly Parton performs at Rosemont Theater in Rosemont, Ill., on July 28. – Photo: Courtesy

Dolly Parton

“Better Days” is the right name for Dolly Parton’s uplifting new album. The positive message begins with the country swing of “In the Meantime,” in which Dolly encourages listeners to “drop the doomsday attitude,” and continues with “Just Leaving,” in which she talks “big for someone so small.” But the stunning “I Just Might” comes close to recreating the drama of her hit “I Will Always Love You.”

Ariel Aparicio performs on the Rainbow Stage at Milwaukee PrideFest on June 11. – Photo: Courtesy

Ariel Aparicio

Ariel Aparicio, a perennial favorite on LOGO’s Click List, is known for his dazzling reinventions of popular ’80s tunes such as “Pretty In Pink” and “People Who Died.” He returns with the nine-track “Aerials” (Rock Ridge Music), a disc of original material. You can hear an updated ’80s influence on “Love Left Bleeding,” with its fierce bass line and rocking beat. The same holds true for “Tattered Heart,” which sounds like it should be a hit for the dance crowd. When he slows it down, as he does on “Caroline,” Aparicio demonstrates his versatility.

Musical-theater mastermind Stephen Sondheim. – Photo: Courtesy

A 40-year passion for the works of openly gay musical-theater mastermind Stephen Sondheim has resulted in a generous donation to Marquette University – and a tremendous opportunity for musical theater fans and historians worldwide.

Paul McCartney

A pair of Pauls

Like his fellow Beatles, Paul McCartney sounds determined to create an individual sound on his intimate 1970 solo debut disc “McCartney” (MPL/Hear/Concord). Solid selections such as “Every Night,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Junk” and “That Would Be Something” ground the disc, adding weight and room for the lighter tunes. The new, special two-CD edition includes a seven-track bonus disc with outtakes, live cuts and more.

McCartney arrived late to the synth/dance scene, although he did have something of disco hit with the 1979 Wings single “Goodnight Tonight.” But he sounds a bit out of step on “McCartney II” (MPL/Hear/Concord), which arrived a little more than 10 years after his solo debut. The single “Coming Up” is catchy, and “Waterfalls” washes beautifully over listeners. The instrumental “Frozen Jap” could almost serve as an influence for what came later, during the synth-powered early 1980s. A bonus disc includes live, full-length and edited versions.

Britney Spears performs July 9 at Milwaukee’s Marcus Amphitheater. – Photo: Courtesy

Britney Spears

Blame her parents, who pimped her out. Or blame the Disney machinery that molded her. Britney Spears has been making headlines, most of them not music-related or flattering, since her debut.

Spears’ latest disc “Femme Fatale” cements her status as a product of studio wizardry rather than actual performance skills. From the selection of songwriting-by-committee compositions (including the pseudo disco of “Till the World Ends,” the faux-urban suggestiveness of “Inside Out” and “How I Roll”) to the lifeless and robotic vocals (will.i.am’s “Big Fat Bass,” for example), “Femme Fatale” is fatally flawed.

Sick of Sarah performs at Shank Hall on Sept. 15. – Photo: Courtesy

The Kinsey Sicks

Dragapella superstars The Kinsey Sicks provide 3D glasses with their latest album “Each Hit & I” (kinseysicks.com). You can slip them on to find hidden messages in the album artwork. But you don’t need 3D glasses to listen to the humorous and often politically motivated messages in the 20 tracks. The CD’s opener – “Wake the F@#k Up America” – sets a tone that continues with “Decaf,” a hilarious parody of “Rehab,” “Obama Self,” based on “All By Myself,” and “Gonorrhea,” inspired by “Mamma Mia.”

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Michele Bachmann

In addition to Anita Bryant, Stryper, Buju Banton, Smoking Popes, Eminem, Pedro The Lion, Rosie Thomas, Danielson Famile and Switchfoot, it’s a safe bet that some of the following artists can be found in the playlists on Michele Bachmann’s iPod.

Ralph Covert and The Bad Examples

Ralph Covert and The Bad Examples

Before becoming a musical savior to a generation of hip moms and their kids under the Ralph’s World moniker, Ralph Covert rocked the city and suburbs as a member of The Bad Examples. “Smash Record” (Waterdog), the first new Bad Examples studio album in more than a decade, is sure to make a lot of people happy. The album has plenty to offer the band’s devoted following, including smashing tracks such as “Kill Amanda,” “You Don’t Understand Me,” “Your Ex-Girlfriend,” “Your Problem Now” and “Gets All Messy.”

Yelle plays the Majestic, 115 King in Madison, at 9 p.m. on May 8.

Yelle

The straight (or non-gay) domination of the dance field (or floor) continues with a bunch of new releases, including “Safari Disco Club” (V2/Downtown) by Yelle. Picking up the beats where they left off with “Pop-Up,” Yelle (both the French trio and the lead vocalist) encourages you to don your gear (pith helmets and such) and head for the club, where you won’t have any trouble hunting and capturing reasons for dancing to such songs as “Comme Un Enfant,” “Que Veux-Tu,” “J’ai Bu,” “Chimie Physique,” the vintage disco of “Le Grand Saut” and the title cut, all sung en Francais.