SOUND CHECK SPOTLIGHT ON...Etta James/``Matriarch of the Blues'' (Private/BMG) By her own admission, muscular blues-r&b diva James has always wanted to ``sing like a dude.'' In this just-released set of a dozen new and classic blues-pop tunes delivered with her customary fire, James offers a woman's point of view - but there's nothing girly girl·y adj. Variant of girlie. about it. With typical good taste, James chooses a rootsy set of terrific songs, including Otis Redding's ``Try a Little Tenderness,'' Bob Dylan's ``Gotta Serve Somebody'' and Latimore's ``Let's Straighten It Out.'' Among the unexpected highlights of ``Matriarch'' is a saucy sauc·y adj. sauc·i·er, sauc·i·est 1. a. Impertinent or disrespectful. b. Impertinent in an entertaining way; impossible to repress or control. 2. reading of the Rolling Stones' ``Miss You,'' which is given new life and meaning. Equally enjoyable is James' Southern-soul remake of ``Born on the Bayou,'' and you can easily picture John Fogerty smiling at the results. Having heard James over the years with some jaw-dropping backup bands - a mid-'80s L.A. club lineup that included Meters guitarist Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Nocentelli and ex-Rufus drummer Andre Fischer comes to mind - it's always a shame to discover her studio units are so rarely up to par. If the album has any drawback, it's the sheer anonymity of James' Roots Band, which features the singer's sons on drums and bass. Such quibbles aside, James is in superb voice - and that's what the customers pay for. Three stars - Fred Shuster Charlotte Church/``Dream a Dream'' (Sony Classical) Church sounds appropriately angelic on this holiday disc, the third recording from the 14-year-old Welsh songbird songbird Any oscine passerine (suborder Passere), all of which have a complex vocal organ, the syrinx. Some species (e.g., thrushes) produce melodious songs; others (e.g., crows) have a harsh voice; and some do little or no singing. See also birdsong. . The album-opening title track, a haunting A Haunting is a television series on Discovery Channel that, according to its website[1] chronicles the "terrifying true stories of the paranormal told by people who experienced real-life horror tales. melody for which she teamed with country kid-star Billy Gilman ''This article or section is being rewritten at Billy Gilman (born William Wendell Gilman III May 24, 1988) is a Grammy-nominated country music singer-songwriter. , is weakened only by its mechanical rhythm. And although Church's very traditional soprano is a little too polished for the spiritual-style lyrics of Jester Hairston's ``Mary's Boy Child'' and Mel Torme's classic ``Christmas Song,'' most of the selections take advantage of her range and power, especially the soaring descants of ``O Come All Ye Faithful,'' ``Hark hark intr.v. harked, hark·ing, harks To listen attentively. Idiom: hark back To return to a previous point, as in a narrative. the Herald Angels Sing'' and Charles Gounod's ``Ave Maria.'' Church has a purity of voice that in some measure hints at its youth and in others is remarkably self-assured. If they were contemporaries, Church would have blown Deanna Durbin off the musical map. Three stars - Valerie Kuklenski Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys/``The Spectacular Sadness of ...'' (Bloodshot blood·shot adj. Red and inflamed as a result of locally congested blood vessels, as of the eyes. bloodshot Vox populi adjective ) Another name for the alt-country movement is No Depression. But nobody seems to have informed Hobart about it. These classic honky hon·ky or hon·kie also hon·key n. pl. hon·kies also hon·keys Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a white person. tonkers shed so many tears in their beer it must taste like the Great Salt Lake by now. Hobart's achy, resonant baritone was made for the self-pitying likes of ``I'll Forget Her or Die Crying'' and ``I'm Not Drunk Enough to Say I Love You,'' songs whose lyrics are almost as clever as they are consistently maudlin maud·lin adj. Effusively or tearfully sentimental: "displayed an almost maudlin concern for the welfare of animals" Aldous Huxley. See Synonyms at sentimental. . Listening to the whole album straight through is not recommended for anyone spending the holidays alone, but for heartfelt pain you can two-step to, a couple of these tunes at a time could make you feel real good about feeling bad. Three stars - Bob Strauss Moby/``Play: The B Sides'' (V2) Available only as part of a limited-edition box set that includes Moby's original ``Play'' album, ``B Sides'' contains mostly instrumental tracks that extend the ambient, electronically enhanced mood of the initial disc. As a companion to ``Play,'' the disc works well, although it's easy to see why these tracks are relegated to the B list. The two vocal pieces, ``Whispering Wind'' and especially ``Flower,'' seem like early experiments that resulted in the brilliant strides taken on the best-selling ``Play.'' Without its more engaging twin, ``B Sides'' would probably wash out to sea. Two stars - F.S. Erykah Badu/``Mama's Gun'' (Motown) Neo-soul chanteuse chan·teuse n. A woman singer, especially a nightclub singer. [French, feminine of chanteur, singer, from chanter, to sing; see chant.] Badu manages to top her landmark debut with this often haunting sophomore set of elegant r&b peppered with inventive electronic touches and smokin' grooves. The 14 lushly produced tracks hit the nail on the head, calling on eclectic reggae, rock and jazz elements while maintaining a cohesive sound. If you've heard Badu's ultra-rhythmic recent hit, ``Bag Lady,'' you know she thankfully hasn't strayed far from the sensual feel of 1997's ``Baduizm.'' Her sultry delivery sounds particularly fine on danceable highlights like the edgy ``Penitentiary penitentiary: see prison. Philosophy'' and ``Cleva,'' featuring a cameo from jazz-funk vibes master Roy Ayers. Meanwhile, the gorgeous ``In Love With You'' will have you throwing on the current D'Angelo album as dessert. Three and one half stars - F.S. CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) ETTA JAMES (2 -- 5) no caption (CD covers) |
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