Here's a quick way to determine if you're in the presence of a singing sensation: icy fingers running up and down your spine. That's the feeling Haran creates on this debut album recorded live at Manhattan's Algonquin Hotel. With her cashmere-smooth alto, pop-jazz inflections, superb phrasing and witty introductions, Haran stands up to repeated listening—and merits the warm applause she has been receiving. "Thank you, Wild Kingdom fans, everywhere," she comments after impishly dredging every bit of suggestiveness from Poster's ode to animal instincts, "Let's Do It."
Haran follows up with a fetching rendition of the album's title song. It is a showcase for both her infectious charm and a lower-register control that bears favorable comparison with Ella Fitzgerald's. Without gushing—considering the delicious way Haran skewers Dick Cavett and "Gallic letch" Maurice Chevalier, among other cultural icons, one can only imagine how she'd react to gushing—it's difficult to decide what to recommend most highly. Is it the haunting "Waters of March," Antonio Carlos Jobim's paean to renewal, that Haran seems to sing in one glorious breath? Is it the little known "Remind Me," one of the quartet of songs in Haran's tribute to lyricist Dorothy Fields, here imbued with a wistful sweetness: "Remind me not to find you so attractive/ Remind me that the world is full of men/ When I start to miss you, to touch your hand, to kiss you/ Remind me to count to 10."
Or is it her version of "The Way You Look Tonight," which Haran anoints as her favorite song. Listen to this beautifully modulated rendition, sung as if in the first throes of a fine romance, and it may become your favorite as well. (Columbia)
Body Count
A lot of people were surprised when Ice-T unveiled this hardcore hand during last summer's popular Lollapalooza tour. A rapper playing heavy metal music? One taste of this fast-and-furious hybrid should convince listeners that Ice-T isn't just dabbling. He really put his soul into this corrosive collection.
Just scan the song titles. Among the least offensive, there's "Bowels of the Devil," "Momma's Gotta Die Tonight" and "Cop Killer." Suddenly we're a long way from Def Leppard. Essentially, Ice-T has kept the outrage of his gangsta-rap and infused it with fuzzy, squalling guitars and thrashing drums. The result is like punk music on steroids.
The musicianship is ragged (Ice-T doesn't sing so much as shout, and Ernie-C's guitar solos are particularly amateurish), and the lyrics are raw (deserving an XXX rating for violence, profanity and sex).
The raunchy Body Count might smack of overkill, but its marketers may have a coup: By reeling in both metal and rap fans, aren't they also cornering the largest slice of the young record-buying public? (Sire)
Joe Diffie
A former foundry worker with one hit-laden LP—A Thousand Winding Roads—already behind him, Diffie delivers a well-balanced follow-up album that neatly mixes tender ballads with rowdy honky-tonk tunes. Whether quietly crooning on "Ain't That Bad Enough," or rock and rolling on "Just a Regular Joe," both of which he cowrote, Diffie imparts the kind of pure emotion, laced with heavier guitar riffs, that is helping country make a comeback.
The tune that best illustrates Diffie's smooth yet close-to-the-bone vocal style is "You Made Me What I Am," an unabashed tearjerker saved from bathos by the sheer beauty of his singing. Two other songs that fuel Diffie's reputation as a solid Nashville newcomer are "Is It Cold in Here" and "Back to Back Heartaches." The former, which was cowritten by Diffie, verifies the claim that he is a modern George Jones, although there are also shades of country pop singers Glen Campbell and Kenny Rogers in his work. The latter catches Diffie's robust spirit, aided by some handy fiddle. Dobro and steel guitar work.
With many more hits than misses, Diffie can be assured that he has done himself proud. He may call himself a regular Joe, but there is nothing average about his winning way with a song. (Epic)
- Contributors:
- Joanne Kaufman,
- David Hiltbrand,
- Lisa Shea.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
