SOUND CHECK.JANET JACKSON: ``20 Y.O'' - Two stars Jackson's uninspired ninth album consists of generic but adequate club jams and the kind of lingerie ballads done better these days by Beyonce. The one-dimensional thumpers, like ``So Excited'' (built from a sample of Herbie Hancock's tiresome ``Rockit'') ostensibly os·ten·si·ble adj. Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity. do what they're supposed to, but elsewhere, the heaving whispers and lethargic grooves of ``With U'' and ``Love 2 Love'' could induce an undesired effect -- deep slumber. Jackson needs to get back to the uplifting, hard-charging r&b of her two-decade-old breakthrough, ``Control.'' -- Fred Shuster DIANA KRALL Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer. Biography Krall was born into a musical family in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. She began learning the piano at the age of four. : ``From This Moment On'' (Verve) - Two and one half stars Krall's latest can't help but feel like something of a retreat after ``The Girl in the Other Room,'' her 2004 foray into Verb 1. foray into - enter someone else's territory and take spoils; "The pirates raided the coastal villages regularly" raid encroach upon, intrude on, obtrude upon, invade - to intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, violate; "This new colleague invades my singer-songwriter territory. Here she again delves into the Great American Songbook, backed by the ever-tasteful and understated Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, which she worked with on last year's not-so-swinging ``Christmas Songs.'' Krall's singing is cool and sophisticated, the arrangements are classy and occasionally punchy punch·y adj. punch·i·er, punch·i·est 1. Characterized by vigor or drive: "He speaks in short, punchy sentences, using plain, populist words that excite" , but the results are more than a little dull. Great background music for dinner parties, but Krall's better than that, better than this. -- Glenn Whipp SCISSOR scissor pertaining to scissors; like scissors in effect. scissor bite see scissor bite. scissor mouth a narrow space between the rami of the mandible so that the molar arcades do not meet. SISTERS: ``Ta-Dah'' (Universal Motown) - Three stars The Scissor Sisters is the most divisive pop act in the U.S. The flamboyant ensemble's second album -- coming two years after the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of band's near-perfect debut -- brings more cleverly designed retro kitsch that carries the punch of the earlier model but is bogged down by a rush of trifles. Opening with the stylish mega-blast of ``I Don't Feel Like Dancin', '' co-written with Elton John Sir Elton Hercules[1] John CBE[2] (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March, 1947) is a five-time Grammy and one-time Academy Award-winning English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist. (and better than anything on his own new album), ``Ta-Dah'' earns top-billing in the CD changer Changer The name given to a clearing member that is willing to assume the opposite position of a futures contract within a larger alternative exchange, of which it also is a clearing member. this week with the funky ``Ooh'' (borrowing from Prince at his best) and the disco workout ``Kiss You Off.'' The Leo Sayer revival can now officially begin. -- F.S. MICHELE DOMINGUEZ GREENE: ``Luna Roja'' (Requinto The term requinto is used in both Spanish and Portuguese to mean a smaller, higher-pitched version of another instrument. Thus, there are requinto guitars, drums and other instruments. ) - Three stars Actress, author and sweet-voiced singer Greene has chops. This bilingual collection of songs in Latin America's nueva cancion (``new song'') tradition effectively deals with the frailties of the human heart, social justice and political passion. Music is built around interesting rhythms -- rumbas, boleros and Afro-Peruvian, among them -- making songs about socio-political issues (``Ciudad Juarez,'' ``Piedra y Libertad,'' ``Sal Si Puedes'') unusually appealing. A haunting reading of Bruce Springsteen's ``Across the Border'' should draw listeners from outside Greene's core fan base. -- Phillip Zonkel CHRIS SMITHER ``Leave the Light On'' (Signature Sounds) - Three stars With his finely picked acoustic blues guitar and a voice that growl-purrs with all of his 60-odd sometimes hard-lived years, Smither enwraps us in a variety of touching, inspiring and sometimes downright funny folk idioms. Most of the original compositions reference what he has and hasn't quite learned about life, while taking a jab or two at those who think they've got the answers (``Origin of Species'' offers a brilliant take on intelligent design). An oddball interpretation of Dylan's ``Visions of Johanna'' doesn't quite click, but it's a noble experiment on an album otherwise marked by easygoing eas·y·go·ing also eas·y-go·ing adj. 1. a. Living without undue worry or concern; calm. b. Lax or negligent; careless. c. , gritty mastery. -- Bob Strauss CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (1) no caption (Janet Jackson) (2 -- 5) no caption (CD covers) |
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