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Pop Rock Nation

Category: Reviews

music-and-concert-reviews-you-wont-see-anywhere-else

  • NKOTB’s "Summertime": Haven’t We Seen This Video Before?

    So GG and I have done enough trying to explain why two men in their thirties are New Kids on the Block fans (well, he’s straight…at least I can explain away my excuse). The video for “Summertime” debuted on VH-1 Sunday and I have to say…as much as I like the song (and think it was a stroke of genius on the part of whoever picked it as a single), the video is kind of meh.

    I don’t know if it’s the fact that Jonathan Knight looks quite uncomfortable surrounded by all those women or the fact that Joey McIntyre needs to do just a wee bit more work on the 6-pack. I mean, it’s fine for what it is, but with the song’s title and nostalgic vibe, I think they could have done better.

    I also can’t help but think that I’ve seen portions of this video in other NKOTB videos…although that may have been the intention. To wit…

    Now here’s the New Kids’ most recent video prior to “Summertime”, 1994’s “Never Let You Go”

    (note, similar “party” scenes)

    Now, here’s the video for 1990’s “Games”

    (again with the party scenes…and check the Marky Mark cameo)

  • The New Music Revue: Al Green’s "Lay it Down"

    There is a short list of singers for whom I will spout the cliche “I’d gladly listen to him/her sing the phone book!”. There’s Marvin Gaye. Stevie Wonder. Michael McDonald (I see you laughing, but the proof lies in the fact that I’ve bought his last two hellaciously awful albums). And then there’s Al Green.

    In several conversations I’ve had about who the greatest soul singer of all time is, Al’s name has been bandied about, and I can’t say I can put up a solid argument against. His heyday predated my existence, so I only got to experience songs like “Let’s Stay Together” and “I’m Still in Love with You” as revered classics, but even the gospel-flavored material he scored occasional hits with in the Eighties and Nineties was well-performed, even if musically the songs weren’t the equal of his classic Hi Records period. Hey, how many folks do you know that can sing the shit out of an Al B Sure! production?

    Over the past few years, Al’s reconnected with his pre-grits bath past, first by collaborating with peak-era producer Willie Mitchell on the well-received “I Can’t Stop”, then by releasing the solid follow-up “Everything’s OK”. His latest album, “Lay it Down”, attempts to merge his past with his present, and does so quite wonderfully. It’s not one of those albums that will make you jump up and slap your momma across the forehead, but you will marvel at the fact that the man still can induce tingles in the skin forty years after his recording debut.

    Roots drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and right-hand man James Poyser man the boards for this release, and they thankfully don’t turn The Reverend into a “boom bap” or even a “neo-soul” guy. They got a crackin’ band together and made a classic-sounding Al Green album. It may be a slight step down from Al’s classic material, but given the current soul music climate, I’ll take it.

    There are guests sprinkled throughout the set, but Thompson and Poyser wisely don’t turn “Lay it Down” into a Santana-esque star-studded collabothon. Anthony Hamilton (the modern-day singer best equipped to carry on Al’s legacy) provides the chorus vocals on the pillow-soft title track and pops up again to duet on the punchy “You Got the Love I Need”, Corinne Bailey Rae provides a nice female counterpoint to Al’s sultry growl on “Take Your Time”, and “Stay With Me (By The Sea)” finds Al and John Legend singing over one of those grooves that will instantly transport you to a lawn chair in some backyard on a Sunday afternoon.

    Those four tracks stand out the most because of the guest vocalists, but that’s not to say that the Reverend couldn’t hold this album down on his own. “What More Do You Want From Me” suffers from a case of oversimplified lyrics (actually, the whole album does, but who cares about lyrics when Al Green is singing?), but it’s another one of those back-porch grooves. And have I yet mentioned the man’s voice?? He can stutter and speak gibberish like he does on “Too Much” and still command the listener’s attention, while melting female listeners’ panties along the way.

    “Lay it Down”‘s surprise top ten debut has served notice that there is a market of people that love real soul music that is woefully under-catered to. With a Lifetime Achievement award from BET coming at the end of this month and a smattering of new fans who were very likely conceived (hell, at this point, their *parents* may have been conceived) to his music, it’s a very good time to be Al Green and he deserves every single accolade he and this album are receiving.

  • New Music In Stores & Online: 6-10-08: Li’l Wayne, My Morning Jacket, Alanis Morissette and More!!


    A little something for everyone coming out today. No matter what you like, chances are you’ll find something interesting. Here are the highlights:

    Li’l Wayne “The Carter III”: THIS is the guy who’s supposed to save hip-hop? Although I don’t find him as annoying as someone who grew up listening to Rakim and Big Daddy Kane should, I also don’t get what the big to-do is about him. Sure, he has an interesting wheeze of a voice, but in terms of technical skill, nothing really sets him apart from everyone else out there. And I still raise an eyebrow whenever a rapper’s skill takes a fairly sudden drastic improvement. Makes me feel like there’s someone else pushing a pen behind the scenes. Anyhow, this guy has been anointed by tons of internet geeks and hipsters as the rapper-du-jour. Me? I’ll stick to Talib Kweli, thankyaverrmuch.

    http://www.myspace.com/lilwayne

    My Morning Jacket “Evil Urges”: Their live shows are the stuff of legend. They tore “Saturday Night Live” up a couple of weeks back. Now MMJ translates that stage presence onto wax (or plastic, or mp3 files) with their new album “Evil Urges”. Lead singer Jim James jumps from rootsy rock to almost-funk with the greatest of ease, and he’s got one of the niftiest white-boy falsettos I’ve heard in quite some time.

    http://www.mymorningjacket.com/

    Alanis Morissette “Flavors of Entanglement”: Yep, Alanis is still around, and she’s still unlucky in love-although she’s graduated from being an angry mess (and I hope she’s graduated from giving head in movie theaters). Nearly a decade and a half removed from the behemoth that was “Jagged Little Pill”, “Flavors” finds her collaborating with Guy Sigsworth (Madonna, Frou Frou) and adopting some more electronic-sounding elements. Plus, the object of her anger has changed from Dave Coulier to Ryan Reynolds, which is infinitely less creepy.

    http://www.alanismorissette.com/

    Adele “19”: Every week, it seems, there’s a new female Brit singer popping up who combines soul and jazz. Joining the likes of Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Estelle is Adele. Featuring similar personnel as the albums of the previously three mentioned albums, “19” (which has been available as an import and digitally for some time) is a solid listen, better than Duffy, possibly the equal of Estelle, but still nowhere near the perfection that was “Back To Black”.

    http://www.adele.tv

    N.E.R.D. “Seeing Sounds”: After being burned by the hot mess that was N.E.R.D’s second album, “Fly Or Die” and being REALLY burned by the even hotter mess that was Pharrell’s solo album, I’m prtty gun-shy about getting this. The Neptunes’ “rock star” side project has already spawned a semi-hit in “Everybody Nose”, but man, this is a wild card. I’m just not sure Pharrell Williams is meant to sing for an hour and be enjoyable.

    http://www.n-e-r-d.com/

    But wait, there’s more!!

    Jakob Dylan of The Wallflowers hits the solo trail for the first time with “Seeing Things”, while Sergio Mendes follows up his Black Eyed Peas-assisted “Timeless” with “Encanto”, which retains Fergie as a guest artist and also features Natalie Cole. Country legend Emmylou Harris is releasing “All I Intended To Be”, her first album in five years, Gym Class Heroes and Li’l Wayne-endorsed rapper Tyga hits stores with “No Introduction”, while Atlanta rapper Plies, currently enjoying a Top 10 hit with Ne-Yo, releases “The Definition of Real” (and as with every current rap album, Akon and T-Pain both make cameos).

    Happy shopping!!

    Ah…full list of releases here: http://www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm