Two years ago, no one would have ever thought that a female British soul singer with retro stylings would ever break ground in the American market, with the somewhat odd exception of Joss Stone. Two years, two million album sales and one helluva hot mess later, Amy Winehouse proved all the doubters wrong. Once Amy’s Back to Black hit, the floodgates opened and a slew of Brit female singers started making waves on these shores. There’s the jazzy flavor of Adele, the more hip-hop styled vibe of Estelle, and the young Welsh singer we know as Duffy, whose album Rockferry is the most similar to Amy’s smash breakthrough. Musically, the albums both sound like they could have been recorded in 1966, using live instrumentation and featuring girl-group harmonies and sweet melodies. You could play both albums right after Dusty in Memphis and there’ll be some kind of continuity. That, however, is where the comparison ends.
Back to Black had a very tangible feeling of foreboding and sadness. There was a lived-in quality to Winehouse’s voice, a sense that she was living the pain of the lyrics she was singing. Duffy sounds a lot more green and chirpy. Not that it’s a bad thing. Taken for what it is, Rockferry is an admittedly decent album. However, in light of the massive rocking of my world that took place with the introduction of Amy Winehouse, Duffy sounds like a pale imitation, or as I said in an article on a friend’s blog, Duffy sounds like Amy Winehouse with the soul sucked out.
Y’all know what it is…here are this week’s Top 20 Singles & Albums, courtesy of the folks at Billboard.
Top 20 Singles:
1) “Lollipop” Lil’ Wayne feat. Static Major
2) “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
3) “Take a Bow” Rihanna
4) “Love in This Club” Usher feat. Young Jeezy
5) “No Air” Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
6) “Sexy Can I” Ray J. feat. Yung Berg
7) “4 Minutes” Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
8) “Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
9) “Touch My Body” Mariah Carey
10) “Damaged” Danity Kane
11) “Love Song” Sara Bareilles
12) “Leavin’” Jesse McCartney
13) “Bust it Baby Pt. II” Plies feat. Ne-Yo
14) “What You Got” Colby O’ Donis feat. Akon
15) “Say” John Mayer
16) “Low” Flo-Rida feat. T-Pain
17) “With You” Chris Brown
18) “Love in This Club Part II” Usher feat. Beyonce & Lil’ Wayne
19) “Bye Bye” Mariah Carey
20) “Forever” Chris Brown
Top 20 Albums:
1) “Narrow Stairs” Death Cab for Cutie
2) “Nothing But the Best” Frank Sinatra
3) “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” Jason Mraz
4) “Rockferry” Duffy
5) “Spirit” Leona Lewis
6) “E=MC2” Mariah Carey
7) “Home Before Dark” Neil Diamond
8) “Hard Candy” Madonna
9) “35 Biggest Hits” Toby Keith
10) “Just Me” Keith Sweat
11) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
12) “Division” 10 Years
13) “Now That’s What I Call Music 27” Various Artists
14) “Greatest Hits: Every Mile a Memory” Dierks Bentley
15) “Gavin DeGraw” Gavin DeGraw
16) “Awake Live” Josh Groban
17) “Lyfe Change” Lyfe Jennings
18) “On My Way Here” Clay Aiken
19) “Juno” Soundtrack
20) “Sleep Through the Static” Jack Johnson
*So…um…who the hell is 10 Years? Not that I profess to be the beginning and ending of all things music, but it’s a bit rare for me to have never once heard of an artist in the Top 20. Oh,well.
*A nice cluster of newbies in the Top 4, including a well-deserved bow at the top from Death Cab for Cutie.I’d imagine the biggest surprise would be from British soul singer Duffy at #4. Her single “Mercy” also rockets up the chart, landing in the Top 30 this week.
…and is it me, or does this song sound suspiciously like…
*As tipped off last week, Usher cruises into the Top 20 with his “Love in This Club” remix, which features the beyond-ubiquitous Lil’ Wayne as well as only slightly less ubiquitous Beyonce. Personally, I think it’s time for *both* of them to take a vacation.
*Clay Aiken, I think it’s time to say bye-bye to your career, eh?
*Keith Sweat is in the Top 10 of the album charts for the first time in almost a decade (and hits the #1 spot on the R&B albums chart for the sixth time). Proof that begging will *never* go out of style!
Sorry, folks. Last week’s set of releases was so crappy that I just couldn’t bring myself to post. Consider yourselves lucky. You avoided a hearty round of Clay Aiken and Chris Sligh jokes (yep, both former “American Idol” contestants released albums last week).
Thankfully, this week’s set of releases is much better. Here’s what’s on tap:
Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs : It’s kind of hard for me to explain what Death Cab sounds like. Think really strong indie pop with great songwriting. Ben Gibbard is an expressive vocalist, even though he won’t make anyone’s great singers list. Long story short, these guys deserve the hype. I found them with their last album, “Plans”, and if you’re not familiar with these folks, you should start now.
http://www.deathcabforcutie.com/splash/
(yes, the video is 8 minutes long. You’ll get over it.)
Duffy “Rockferry”: It’s not difficult to explain what Duffy sounds like. Think Amy Winehouse. That is all. Amidst the wave of British female singers that have crashed our shores in Amy’s wake, Duffy is the one who has been compared to Wino the most-minus the whole drug addiction thing. Kinda sounds to me like a whitewashed copy, but I’ll be checking the album out anyway.
Jason Mraz “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things”: Remember Jason Mraz? In the wake of John Mayer, Mraz was the smart-alecky, Boradway kid version of Mr. “Your Body is a Wonderland”. His second album, “Mr. A-Z” overdid it on the pretentiousness, which had already reached fever pitch by that time (remember when he popped up at the Gramy nomination ceremony only to receive ZERO nominations? There were a lot of happy people there). Anyway, everyone deserves a second chance, and this release (which has been preceded by a couple of EPs) might find Mraz dialing down the obnoxiousness a little bit. OK, I just took a look at the website. So, maybe not.
Keith Sweat “Just Me”: It’s been twenty years and Keith Sweat still ain’t too proud to beg. The master of R&B begging is back after a six-year absence, and he’s changed absolutely nothing. Sweat may be approaching 50, but the grooves are still smoove, and Mr. Sweat is still whining and begging for you to love him down, baby!! Keyshia Cole guests.
http://www.thesweathotel.com/
Foxy Brown “Brooklyn’s Don Diva”: I say Li’l Kim, Remy Ma and Foxy should have linked up behind bars and put together a group or something. At any rate, with two of the three out of the clink, that won’t happen, so Foxy’s long-delayed fourth album finally arrives (this album has been pushed back so many times that she’s served her entire term since it’s initial release date). If you don’t buy this album, she might throw a BlackBerry or some hair glue at you. Watch out.
(apparently, Foxy doesn’t have a website)
Most of this week’s releases similarly come from the “Where The Hell Have YOU Been?” category. Remember Filter? They’re back with an album. How about Ashlee Simpson’s former boyfriend Ryan Cabrera? He’s back with a skeevy new look (and now is dating one of Lisa Marie Presley’s kids) and an independently-released album. And if you’re hankering for some of that mid-Eighties pop/rock flavor, you might want to check out Bryan Adams’ new album, cleverly titled “11”. Hint, it’s his 11th album.
OH!! Speaking of long vacations, the New Kids on the Block return with their first group release in fourteen years. “Summertime” is available for purchase at iTunes and all the other major subscription/pay-download services. Hangin’ tough!!
Happy shopping, folks.
And here’s the full list…
http://www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm
