Album of the week
With Motown saluting Sinatra, Nashville saluting Tammy Wynette, and everybody this side of Janet Reno saluting Gershwin, there has been a bumper crop of tribute CDs this year, and this ranks as one of the most enjoyable. Even the jazz artists, most from the Blue Note label, seemed to enjoy being turned loose on Motown's past pop hits. There are a few miscalculations, though. Saxman Dave Koz's vacuous reading of the Jackson Five's "I'll Be There" borders on Kenny G territory, and there are only three fairly obscure tunes by Motown's best writer, Stevie Wonder. Also, only one Blue Note artist appears per track. It just might have been fun to hear someone like jazz organist John Patton sit in with vocalist Dianne Reeves ("Tracks of My Tears"). Still, this is a worthy tribute that fans of both Motown and modern jazz can enjoy.
Bottom Line: Old songs get a successful makeover
Jewel (Atlantic)
'Tis the season, apparently, for pop lessons in New Age metaphysics. On the heels of releases from the newly spiritual Madonna and Alanis Morissette, Jewel Kilcher follows with this earnest album about her quest for that which profits from her 1995 eight-million-selling debut, Pieces of You, cannot buy. Jewel sings her creed in songs like "Innocence Maintained," with sometimes clumsy lyric constructs: "We all will be Christed when we hear ourselves say/ We are that to which we pray." Well, her heart, if not her verbs, is in the right place. Overall the creaky pace of the album is so '60s coffeehouse that you can almost visualize the Chianti-bottle candleholders. But Jewel's vocals are beautiful throughout—not surprisingly—and when she puts aside the metaphysical musings and sings in a bluesy country drawl, as she does on the almost Dylanesque "Do You," she shows some real personality.
Bottom Line: Wake us when it's over
>Holiday music
Again this year a host of new CDs ready for a holiday spin has arrived in stores. Below, a quick sampling:
Christmas with Babyface Babyface (Epic) Ten-time Grammy winner Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds gift wraps a collection of soulful, R&B-tinged seasonal standards, including a very slinky "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
Elmo Saves Christmas Various Artists (Sony Wonder/CTW)
Kids, at least, will appreciate these selections—from the home video of the same name—performed by Elmo (Kevin Clash) and the Sesame Street gang, including Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, the Count and even Snuffleupagus.
Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas Bing Crosby (MCA)
Crosby's "White Christmas" is the bestselling Christmas song of all time, and this 2-CD, 44-track compilation of holiday songs recorded from 1935-56 for Decca includes four versions—even his slightly imperfect very first take.
Winter's Crossing James Galway & Phil Coulter (RCA Victor) Celtic music performed by flutist Galway and pianist Coulter isn't exactly Christmas fare, but it's seasonally perfect.
Holiday Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra/Keith Lockhart (RCA Victor) Conductor Lockhart leads the orchestra, with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, through carols old and new, plus a new twist on an old favorite: "Good Swing Wenceslas."
Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life! Cyndi Lauper (Epic) The usual chestnuts and some new tunes ("Minnie and Santa"), plus that trademark voice, make for a surprisingly lovely Christmas CD.
Jingle Bells: Swingin' Barnyard Christmas Various Animals (Oglio)
This novelty album features a dozen animal "artists"—including the Moo-Tones, Duck Ellington and the Gobbler's Five—barking, clucking, meowing or otherwise performing "Jingle Bells."
- Contributors:
- Ralph Novak,
- Steve Dougherty,
- Marisa Sandora.
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!
