SOUND CHECK.THALIA: ``Thalia'' (Virgin) - Two and one half stars What's been touted as the Mexican soap star/pop singer's entree into the English-language mainstream sounds more like the same old pop that's been rolling off record company assembly lines and onto commercial radio for decades. Throw in some updated hip-hop beats and rapper Fat Joe ``aw-aw''-ing and ``ha-ha''-ing (``I Want You,'' the lead single) and you get the idea (see Shakira). Despite its lack of imagination, there are moments on this 14-track bilingual set of dance-pop, soft rock and r&b when the 31-year-old missus mis·sus n. Variant of missis. missus or missis Noun 1. Brit, Austral & NZ informal of music mogul Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel 'Tommy' Mottola is a music executive and co-owner of Casablanca Records in a joint venture with the Universal Music Group and former husband of singer Mariah Carey. He headed Sony Music Entertainment, parent of the Columbia label, for nearly 15 years. shows some daring. ``Misbehavin','' ``What's It Gonna Be Boy'' and a remix of ``The Mexican'' are just a few examples. Thalia will be signing copies at noon today at Tower Records on the Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile and a half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's east border with Hollywood at Marmont Lane to its west border with Beverly Hills at Phyllis street. . - Sandra Barrera LUTHER VANDROSS: ``Dance With My Father'' (J/BMG) - Three stars This is closer to what an r&b album should sound like in 2003. Even though it's got drum programming instead of an actual percussionist and some of the songs are of the just-add-water variety, the beautifully produced ``Dance With My Father'' is both musical and endearing. Here, the recently ailing Vandross is in top form on a series of often gorgeous tunes. While a cover of ``The Closer I Get to You,'' reworked as a duet with the underwhelming un·der·whelm tr.v. un·der·whelmed, un·der·whelm·ing, un·der·whelms To fail to excite, stimulate, or impress: Beyonce, manages to stop just short of cheeseball, Vandross' delicate, controlled tenor on such standouts as the title track and ``Lovely Day'' (with a cameo from Busta Rhymes and a fine arrangement) recalls ``Body Heat,'' Quincy Jones' 1970s peak. - Fred Shuster JOHN SCOFIELD BAND: ``Up All Night'' (Verve) - Three and one half stars Guitarist Scofield planted his ax into the jam-band scene last year with ``Uberjam,'' but that album was nowhere as accomplished and infectious as this follow-up. The band's rhythm guitarist and sampler Avi Bortnick, drummer Adam Deitch and newly recruited bassist Andy Hess have been playing together in clubs for the past year, and practice has made their music just about perfect. The 11 cuts here encompass a wide variety of sounds (hip-hop, jazz, dance and jam), but the best sport irresistible riffs and killer grooves fleshed out on six of the cuts by a four-piece horn section. Highlights include the throbbing throb intr.v. throbbed, throb·bing, throbs 1. To beat rapidly or violently, as the heart; pound. 2. To vibrate, pulsate, or sound with a steady pronounced rhythm: ``Watch Out for Po-Po'' and the classic soul of ``Four on the Floor.'' - Glenn Whipp RAY BENSON: ``Beyond Time'' (Audium) - Two and one half stars After a lifetime at the helm of Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, Benson has finally made his first solo record. Too bad it's not livelier in spots. Polished within an inch of its life, the slow swing numbers here are thoughtfully rendered and poetic - but snore-inducing at times. It takes the likes of Dolly Parton par·ton n. Any of the point particles believed to be a constituent of hadrons, now known as quarks. No longer in technical use. [part(icle) + -on1.] and Texas bluesman Jimmy Vaughan (among the laundry list laundry list A popular term for a long list of Sx, diseases, or etiologies that share something in common–eg, differential diagnosis of acute abdomen of guests here that also includes Delbert McClinton and Stanley Jordan) to wake this disc up. Parton's ``Leave That Cowboy Alone,'' a trademark Western swing romp, is the most uptempo track, save for Vaughan's turn on ``Mary Anne.'' - Theo Douglas SOUNDTRACK: ``Finding Nemo'' (Disney) - Four stars Just as you've shared this clever animated hit with loved ones, you can share the delightful score, using it as a stepping stone to a variety of musical genres. Thomas Newman (Randy's cousin and one of a long line of film-scoring Newmans) has produced eloquent accompaniment that reflects the mystery and adventure of nature. The score includes many classical elements, along with nice touches of jazz and tropical rock. Best of all, it's fun! - Michelle J. Mills BOYD TINSLEY: ``True Reflections'' (RCA See RCA connector and video/TV history. ) - Three stars This debut from Dave Matthews Band violinist Tinsley displays the sterling musicianship and heartfelt sincerity you'd expect - but without the Matthews ensemble's pomp POMP n. A drug used in cancer chemotherapy and composed of purinethol (6-mercaptopurine), Oncovin (vincristine sulfate), methotrexate, and prednisone. and circumstance. Besides singing and playing, Tinsley wrote or co-wrote most of the tracks here, except for the dreamily slow reading of Neil Young's ``Cinnamon Girl,'' and Doyle Bramhall II's ``Listen,'' the disc's jangly adj. 1. like the discordant ringing of nonmusical metallic objects striking together; sounding with a jangle ; as, a custodian with a jangly set of keys s>. Adj. 1. first single. As you listen to the album soar on the wings of violin and acoustic guitar, it becomes apparent Tinsley is ready for the spotlight. - T.D. JOE ELY: ``Streets of Sin'' (Rounder) - Three stars Ornery or·ner·y adj. or·ner·i·er, or·ner·i·est Mean-spirited, disagreeable, and contrary in disposition; cantankerous. [Alteration of ordinary. individualist Ely has long expressed frustration with both the rock and country music establishments. So it's no surprise that the occasional Flatlander's first solo studio album in over six years is a collection of vignettes about desperate characters struggling to hang on or hoping for redemption. Based, he says, on sad newspaper stories he's read and recorded in a journal, the songs sometimes suffer from overwritten lyrics but benefit from tight, percussive per·cus·sive adj. Of, relating to, or characterized by percussion. per·cus  sive·ly adv. orchestrations and some sly Cajun flavorings. In stores Tuesday. - Bob Strauss BEMBEYA JAZZ: ``Bembeya'' (World Village) - Three stars Formed in 1961, Afro-pop visionaries Bembeya Jazz presages Senegal's Orchestra Baobab baobab (bä`ōbăb', bā`ō–), gigantic tree of India and Africa, exceeded in trunk diameter only by the sequoia. The trunks of living baobabs are hollowed out for dwellings; rope and cloth are made from the bark and condiments by 11 years and Mali's Super Rail Band by a decade. In its first recording in 14 years, the group offers new works and twists on some of the group's tracks from the 1960s (``Bembeya''), '70s (``Sanfaran'') and '80s (``Yelema Yelemaso''). The disc also highlights the band's signature four-guitar interplay led by Sekou ``Diamond Fingers'' Diabate. Bembeya is vibrant as ever and its deep grooves come with lots of swinging soul. - Philip Zonkel LES YEUX NOIRS Les Yeux Noirs is a traditional Roma tune and often regarded as the Gypsy Anthem. The definitive versions of this tune were played by Django Reinhardt which he recorded on several occasions. : ``Live'' (Harmonia Mundi) - Three stars Les Yeux Noirs, French for ``the Black Eyes,'' takes its name from the title of a Gypsy tune made famous in the 1930s by Django Reinhardt. That selection gives you an indication of this sextet's musical pallet - a meld of klezmer klezmer (klĕz`mər), form of instrumental folk music developed in the Eastern European Jewish community. The style had its beginnings in the Middle Ages; its name is a Yiddishized version of the Hebrew klei zemir , Gypsy music and jazz. If you missed the group in May at the Conga Room, ``Live'' gives you a sample of that experience. Songs tend to start moodily and slowly, before instruments merge with manic rhythms. - P.Z. FNFARE CIOCARLIA: ``Iag Bari'' (Piranha piranha: see characin. piranha or caribe Any of several species of deep-bodied, carnivorous fishes in the genus Serrasalmus (family Characidae), abundant in rivers of eastern and central South America and noted for voracity. ) - Three stars Gypsy brass ensemble Fanfare Ciocarlia plays with a white-hot virtuosity; the saxophone gymnastics on ``Banatzeana'' alone could make most jazz players break out in a sweat. Hailing from a village in eastern Romania, the group of 11 musicians plays at dizzying speed without sheet music - an art that's been passed down from generation to generation. A single spin of ``Iag Bari'' will make you one of the tribe. - P.Z. CAPTION(S): 12 photos Photo: (1) THALIA (2) BOYD TINSLEY (3 -- 12) no caption (CD covers) |
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