SOUND CHECK.BLACK EYED PEAS This article is about the American hip hop group. For the vegetable, see Black-eyed pea. The Black Eyed Peas are an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California, who have enjoyed worldwide pop success. The group is currently composed of will.i.am, apl.de. : ``Monkey Business'' (A&M) - Three and one half stars In a big week for high-profile new releases, Black Eyed Peas stand head and shoulders above the competition with the most entertaining, hook-filled and downright useful disc of the lot. If you believe pop should serve a function and, at the very least, offer a little uplift and energy, the super-tight ``Monkey Business'' will start your engine. On its fourth effort, the homegrown Peas manage a cleverly produced set of genre-smashing hip-pop that only rarely insults the intelligence (skip the insipid ``My Humps''). Drawing on a range of elements (and even a ``Pulp Fiction''-style sample of Dick Dale's ``Miserlou'' on the curtain-raising party anthem ``Pump It''), the quartet calls forth cameos from, among others, an unexpectedly convincing Justin Timberlake on the funky ``My Style'' and equally well-calibrated guest spots from James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3 1933[1][2] – December 25 2006), commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" and " , Timbaland, John Legend and a sampled Jack Johnson Jack Johnson may refer to:
Standouts here are many, but instant faves include the high-energy single ``Don't Phunk With My Heart,'' ``Union'' (with Sting in tow) and the dance-floor magnet ``They Don't Want Music.'' This one's the business. - Fred Shuster CHIP TAYLOR AND CARRIE RODRIGUEZ Carrie Rodriguez is an American singer-songwriter and the daughter of Texan singer-songwriter David Rodriguez. She was discovered by Chip Taylor at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, in 2001, and he invited her to perform with him in Europe. : ``Red Dog Tracks'' (Back Porch) - Three and one half stars For their third album of transcendentally quirky country duets, veteran songwriter Taylor (``Wild Thing,'' ``Try,'' ``Angel of the Morning'') and classically trained fiddler Rodriguez invited guitar maven Bill Frisell William Richard "Bill" Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is a North American jazz guitarist, progressive folk musician and composer. Frisell uses a wide range of effects (delay, distortion, reverb, octave shifters, and volume pedals, to name a few) to create unique sounds from his to sit in. The results are more musically and lyrically complex than ever, yet expressive of compellingly raw emotions and bathed in deeply understood - and lovingly respected - roots music tradition. Like Taylor and Rodriguez, ``Red Dog'' is a sublime fusion of the old and the new into something uniquely its own. - Bob Strauss COLDPLAY: ``X&Y'' (Capitol) - Two stars On its ``difficult'' third album, internationally popular Coldplay is submerged in a soupy soup·y adj. soup·i·er, soup·i·est 1. Having the appearance or consistency of soup. 2. Informal Foggy: soupy weather. 3. Informal Sentimental. fog. First, let it be known we loved the foursome's U2 Jr. act on the heart-tugging new-millennium debut, ``Parachutes,'' and for much of its arena-ready follow-up. But the painfully formulaic ``X&Y'' sounds like an album made at a conference table by a corporate committee of yes-men. You get the jarring impression this was a Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein’s monster living man created by a physiology student from body parts. [Br. Lit.: Mary Shelley Frankenstein] See : Creation Frankenstein’s monster ugly monster. [Br. Lit. - take some warmed-over heart, stir in some blood and brains, and hope for the best. Singer Chris Martin's signature delivery (which once practically whimpered ``Please don't hurt me - I'm a just a seminary student'') has hardened into affectation af·fec·ta·tion n. 1. A show, pretense, or display. 2. a. Behavior that is assumed rather than natural; artificiality. b. A particular habit, as of speech or dress, adopted to give a false impression. . And while the glossy production is ready-made for radio, shops, iPods and all points in between, attempted anthems like ``Hardest Part,'' ``Twisted Logic'' and ``Speed of Sound'' are simply adequate. What have the scientists done with Coldplay? - F.S. JOHN SCOFIELD John Scofield (born December 26 1951 in Dayton, Ohio)[1] is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who played and eventually collaborated with Miles Davis, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham, Medeski Martin & Wood, Dennis Chambers, George Duke and other important artists. : ``That's What I Say'' (Verve) - Three stars Brother Ray told us many years ago that genius + soul = jazz. And if the playing on this funky collection of good-time grooves isn't quite up to the level of Charles' brilliance, it certainly captures the fun that can be had in blending r&b and jazz. Guitarist Scofield mixes seven instrumental takes on the Charles songbook with six straight-ahead rhythm and blues rhythm and blues (R&B) Any of several closely related musical styles developed by African American artists. The various styles were based on a mingling of European influences with jazz rhythms and tonal inflections, particularly syncopation and the flatted blues chords. vocal numbers featuring the likes of Dr. John, Aaron Neville Aaron Neville (born January 24, 1941 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American soul and R&B singer. Career Aaron Neville has had a career as a solo artist and as one of the Neville Brothers. and Mavis Staples. Another special guest - Charles' longtime sax player David ``Fathead'' Newman - shows up on two tracks, blowing lively on ``What I'd Say'' and a medley of ``Talkin' Bout You/I Got a Woman.'' Sure to please anyone who enjoyed Charles' swan song of last year, ``Genius Loves Company.'' - Glenn Whipp HARRY CONNICK JR.: ``Occasion'' (Marsalis Music/Rounder) - Three stars This one's not for Connick fans. No Sinatra-esque or King Cole-ish crooning. No standards. On an all-instrumental, all-original set of duos with saxophonist (and label owner) Branford Marsalis, the pianist opens the hood on stride, ragtime ragtime: see jazz. ragtime U.S. popular music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries distinguished by its heavily syncopated rhythm. Ragtime found its characteristic expression in formally structured piano compositions, the accented left-hand and bop piano and pours in as much Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans as he can. There are also echoes of Don Pullen and Brad Meldau, even a bit of Cecil Taylor as well as Chopin-esque flurries. Connick and Marsalis chase, echo, challenge and support each other throughout this ambitious program, offering hints of their mainstream selves but resolving not to follow the marked path. In stores Tuesday. - Steven Rosenberg CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Black Eyed Peas) (2 -- 6) no caption (CD covers) |
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