SOUND CHECK.ALICIA KEYS: ``The Diary of Alicia Keys'' (J-Records) - Three and one half star Of course Keys has got a lot going for her in this sophomore set, including the hit single ``You Don't Know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. My Name.'' That fresh mix of old-school r&b and sultry spoken word confirms what we've known since 2001's ``Songs in A Minor'' about this young, beautiful and extraordinarily gifted piano-playing soul singer: She can do no wrong. Her new album amplifies this as its 15 tracks flow seamlessly from the incendiary INCENDIARY, crim. law. One who maliciously and willfully sets another person's house on fire; one guilty of the crime of arson. 2. This offence is punished by the statute laws of the different states according to their several provisions. ``Heartburn'' to ``If I Ain't Got You,'' a heart-wrenching ballad that in its quieter moments brings to mind Minnie Riperton's ``Lovin' You.'' Notable is ``If I Was Your Woman/Walk on By,'' a medley made up of one song that became a hit for Gladys Knight and Pips and one (the latter) that was written by the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David that became a hit for Dionne Warwick. - Sandra Barrera TONI PRICE ``Born to Be Blue'' (Antone's Records) - Three and one half stars Toni the Texas torcher delivers another sophisticated array of bluesy heartache, enveloping en·vel·op tr.v. en·vel·oped, en·vel·op·ing, en·vel·ops 1. To enclose or encase completely with or as if with a covering: "Accompanying the darkness, a stillness envelops the city" works ranging from the Mel Torme title tune to Dr. John's ``Clouds'' to Shelley King's ``Tennessee Whiskey'' in her versatile, been-around-the-bend phrasings with rough velvet precision. Picking whiz James Burton adds just the right seasoning of rock and twang to many of the tracks. - Bob Strauss KINKY kink·y adj. kink·i·er, kink·i·est 1. Tightly twisted or curled: kinky hair. 2. : ``Atlas'' (Sonic 360/Nettwerk America) - Three stars It's no secret the music heard on TV ads blows away anything on commercial radio. Think ``Days Go By,'' ``We Are All Made of Stars'' and ``Mas,'' the latter of which comes from the Mexican alt-rock quintet Kinky. The band, currently one of the more innovative to come out of Latin America, has just released the follow-up to its self-titled debut of a couple of years ago. And this dozen-track set of Spanglish electronic pop pulses with loud, fuzzy guitars, funky bass lines, techno beats and nonsensical lyrics. In ``The Headphonist,'' John McCrea of the eclectic rock band Cake paces his lonesome lone·some adj. 1. a. Dejected because of a lack of companionship. See Synonyms at alone. b. Producing such dejection: a lonesome hour at the bar. 2. spoken word with brassy Latin jazz and jungle percussion. Other standouts include ``Salta-Lenin-El-Atlas,'' Maria Jose'' and ``Minotauro.'' - S.B. AL GREEN: ``I Can't Stop'' (Blue Note) - Three and one half stars Green hasn't worked with producer Willie Mitchell on an album of Memphis soul music History of Memphis Soul Music Soul as a genre did not evolve until the late 50s, when artists like Sam Cooke and Ray Charles began merging traditional gospel and R&B styles. for 27 years. Could the team who created such classics as ``Let's Stay Together'' and ``Tired of Being Alone,'' not to mention several of the greatest r&b records of the 1970s, recapture the magic? You bet. Nothing here will likely seep into the public's consciousness like the great collaborations of yore, but there are several songs here that are as good as anything Green recorded in his Hi Records heyday. The formula remains the same: 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" horns, smooth strings, and Green's sweeping, expressive voice, still able to convey the agony and the ecstasy of love in that magnificent falsetto falsetto (fôlsĕt`tō) [Ital.,=diminutive of false], high-pitched, unnatural tones above the normal register of the male voice, produced, according to some theories, by the vibration of only the edges of the larynx. . - Glenn Whipp RON ISLEY AND BURT BACHARACH: ``Here I Am: Isley Meets Bacharach'' (DreamWorks) - Three stars Bacharach's first high-profile collaboration since his stellar teaming with Elvis Costello is an altogether different kettle of fish kettle of fish n. pl. kettles of fish 1. A troublesomely awkward or embarrassing situation. 2. A matter to be reckoned with: : old songs, new charts and lush, lush, lush arrangements. Some of these updates from the Bacharach-Hal David canon border on easy listening, but soul man Isley's earnest conviction keeps them from becoming so much mush (MultiUser Shared Hallucination) See MUD. 1. (games) MUSH - Multi-User Shared Hallucination. 2. (messaging) MUSH - Mail Users' Shell. . Certainly you have to be OK with the idea of ``Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head'' being performed by a 40-piece orchestra. But if you can wrap your head around that, you'll enjoy all the heartbreak, longing and despair that Isley and Bacharach convey here. - G.W. CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Alicia Keys) Theo Wargo/WireImage.com (2 -- 6) no caption (CD covers) |
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