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Pop Rock Nation

Category: Reviews

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

  • A Good Day To Be An R&B Diva: New Releases 2/26/08: Janet Jackson, Erykah Badu & More

    For everyone who thinks R&B is a one-note “sex you up/sex you down” genre, this week’s three most notable releases almost serve as a reminder of how diverse “urban” music is, and all three could potentially be worth your time.

    First of the three comes from Janet Jackson, whose new Discipline arrives in stores today. It’s her 10th studio album, and it’s interesting to note that as her sales have tanked, the albums have come with significantly more frequency. She released 4 albums in the Eighties, only 2 in the Nineties, and she’s released 4 so far in the Oughts. At any rate, this attempt at a comeback is her first for L.A. Reid’s Island/Def Jam Records and has been preceded by first single “Feedback”. Early reviews point to this being a more danceable, poppier effort than her previous couple of albums, and this album also marks her first clean break from Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, her production partners of 20 years. It could be a solid album, could be a complete disaster-who knows? Hopefully, it’s better than her last album, 20 Y.O., which stood somewhere between mediocre and terrible.

    Next up is the wildly eclectic Miss Erykah Badu. Over the past decade, she’s gone from the new Billie Holiday to the new Chaka Khan, with her mystical image and tunes that straddle jazz, hard funk, hip-hop and even rock. New Amerykah Pat. 1, 4th World War is, well, at the very least an intriguing album title. This album allegedly has much more of a hip-hop vibe than her last couple of albums, which were more on the live-band tip. Production is provided by underground rap giants like 9th Wonder (formerly of the group Little Brother) and the late J. Dilla. This is actually the album of the three I’m most excited about.

    Finally, if you need an album to just chill out to, you might want to check out The Orchard, the third studio album by Atlanta-based singer Lizz Wright. Her first two albums got her some critical notice and were solid pieces of work. Her folky, jazzy style will immediately draw comparisons to acts like Cassandra Wilson and Norah Jones. So if you’re part of the Starbucks set, or just appreciate the power of a pretty voice, give this a shot.

    In the rest of the music world, there are new albums out today from Southern rapper Webbie (definitely not my cup of tea, but his latest single is in the Top Ten, so someone’s checking for the guy), Dolly Parton (after a stint as a bluegrass album, Miss Parton is back singing traditional country, and the title Backwoods Barbie is cheeky in the vein of classic Dolly), Puff Daddy protege Cheri Dennis (with an album that’s been promised release for at least two years and has already been on iTunes for 3 or 4 months), Christian rock act Pillar, jazz legend Dianne Schurr, and so many more.

    Check out a full list of today’s new releases here: http://www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm

  • Potpourri: Mariah, Kanye, MJ and more…

    …Titled after my favorite category in “Jeopardy”. Word to Alex Trebek…
    There’s nothing major to report, so I’ll just shoot a couple of short takes over…
    Apparently there was some poll in the U.K. (they do polls a lot out there) asking what the greatest song in British history was. I can’t remember where I was reading this, but I do remember that Oasis had the #1 and the #2 songs. Now, I don’t dislike Oasis at all, but isn’t that a lot like doing a similar poll in America and giving the Top Two spots to Lenny Kravitz??
    How about The King of Pop, folks? The 25th anniversary re-issue of “Thriller” sold about 160,000 copies last week. As an older album, it’s ineligible for the Billboard album charts, but if it was, it would have placed at #2 right behind Jack Johnson. Guess Neverland Ranch is staying open.
    Mariah’s new single is out-entitled “Touch My Body”. Right now, I’m torn between liking it and thinking it’s completely silly. This song almost sounds beneath her (very similar to the way I feel about Janet’s “Feedback”), but it’s…cute. Yeah, that’s a good word. Cute.
    Listen and judge for yourself:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlHmyCxU-Ng
    Finally, because a post of mine isn’t complete with a Kanye reference: is it me or does the video for “Flashing Lights” make absolutely no sense? Then again, if you’re one of the Kanye critics, seeing him get beaten with a shovel might do something for you. Enjoy!!

  • Rediscovering Robyn

    Has an artist that you liked ever fallen off the face of the Earth? I’m not talking literally, of course. I’m talking unexplained absences. It’s even more confusing when the artist actually has a hit and then disappears. I mean, I can understand if it’s a situation where you’re the only fan of a particular singer, but why would an artist who sells a shit-ton of records just vanish into thin air?
    Case in point: Robyn. Just before BSB and Britney hit the scene, Robyn scored big with a refreshingly poppy sound, honed by Swedish writers and producers like Max Martin. Robyn also had the benefit of actually being Swedish, so she was getting some of that homegrown. She also had a voice heavily influenced by soul singers (I seem to remember her touting Faith Evans as an influence), so she got love from the R&B crowd as well. Released in the summer of 1997, Robyn’s debut album, “Robyn Is Here”, sold a million copies and spun off three Top 40 pop hits, with the biggest one being “Show Me Love”…
    …which bears more than a passing resemblance to a certain song called “…Baby One More Time” (http://youtube.com/watch?v=_bsniYwSaWg) . The way I see it (and to protect the innocent, I’ll say that this isn’t necessarily the truth), the suits up at Britney & Robyn’s respective labels (who share a distribution company) figured why deal with Robyn when they could find a more pliable, American, and traditionally “sexy” star to promote? After only one album (and a successful one at that…I’m still scratching my head…), Robyn was doomed to a footnote in American pop music culture.
    BUT WAIT…Robyn didn’t exactly fall off the face of the Earth, she just fell off the face of America. The talented Swede has released several more albums in Europe, and they have been commercially and critically well-received. Sensing the time might be right for a comeback (after ELEVEN years), Interscope Records has signed Robyn and released “The Rakamonie EP” in the States in late January. This 5-song collection proves that Robyn has moved far beyond boilerplate Swedish dance/pop, featuring everything from songs that position her as a Missy Elliott/M.I.A hybrid to heartbreaking piano ballads to an uproarious cover of Prince’s “Jack U Off”. In a world where Gwen Stefani, Fergie and Nelly Furtado are among the top pop stars alone (and fading ones like Britney and Janet Jackson are desperately adapting their styles to fit in with the aforementioned three), Robyn provides a sound that doesn’t sound out of place among any of those artists while still managing to forge her own little unique lane.
    So, head to your local record store (or go online) and check out “The Rakamonie EP”. It only cost me 6 bucks and was well worth the money spent.
    For those of you who want another taste, check these clips out: