Album of the week
The annals of popular music are filled with performers who appear to have had all the gifts necessary for stardom yet never hit the pop jackpot. For fans of modern R&B, one such artist is singer, songwriter and producer Rahsaan Patterson, who released his self-titled debut album in 1997. Filled with sexy, playful love songs and a sound that invoked but never imitated Stevie Wonder, the CD received lavish praise from critics—who seemed to be the only people listening. This sophomore effort deserves a better fate. With songs that range from the understated to the sly and funky, Patterson makes traditional sentiments about love sound sultry and refreshing. Even on harder-edged tracks he infuses his come-ons with humanity and passion. Here's hoping this powerful performer gains the stardom that has eluded him.
Bottom Line: Stirring soul
Mandy Moore (Epic)
Amanda Leigh Moore has said that she recalls the moment when, as a 6-year-old "jumping on my bed and singing" in her Orlando home, she decided to chase her pop-music dreams. That epiphany may lack the historical impact of, say, Elvis truckin' to the Sun studios for the first time or Paul catching John's act at a Liverpool church festival. But Mandy, now 15 and a pop pro whose dance hit "Candy" has sold more than 500,000 copies and built a buzz for this debut album, earns credit for perseverance. Another product of the Orlando bubblegum factory that gave us the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync, Moore skips along the same sultry but virginal girl-on-the-verge path cleared by Britney Spears. Yet like her idol Madonna, Moore relies on chutzpah to overcome the limitations of a voice that can sound as flimsy as the pop she produces. Still, you may admire the sass of such lines as "I'm not too young to know the right thing to do/ And one of those things is not to fall for you."
Bottom Line: Spicey girl pop
The Notorious B.I.G. (Bad Boy/Arista)
When it comes to enjoying chart success, a little detail like death needn't matter. The Notorious B.I.G. (né Christopher Wallace), who was killed in a 1997 drive-by shooting, left behind a trove of unreleased material, including outtakes, demos and other works in progress that might or might not have one day become actual songs. Biggie's former producer (and friend) Sean "Puffy" Combs has assembled those snippets and, with his team of producers, built instrumental tracks around the late rapper's rhymes; on 4 of these 18 tracks, Combs and crew have taken songs that had been previously released and simply constructed new beats to encase them. With a parade of big name rappers onboard, including Lil' Kim, Snoop Dogg and Eminem, we have the odd sense that Biggie has been reduced to a guest on his own CD. Even the participation of his mother and his widow, singer Faith Evans, as executive producers can't diminish the somewhat exploitative and opportunistic nature of this album.
Bottom Line: Legacy of one of hip hop's true greats receives an illin' treatment
Louis Farrakhan (Bostrox)
The Charmer is not the epithet most often applied these days to Louis Farrakhan, the controversial first minister of the Nation of Islam. But back in the early '50s, when he was a young Boston violinist-singer named Louis Eugene Walcott, he adopted the Charmer as his stage name. It was the era of the short-lived calypso craze dominated by Harry Belafonte. And since he was born in St. Kitts, Walcott had Caribbean roots to draw from. He didn't, however, have Belafonte's warm, melodious voice or his easygoing personality. Here he displays a workmanlike style, using the pinched, ersatz "West Indian accent affected by many calypso singers. As a composer of tunes like "Zombie Jamboree," the notably humorless Farrakhan was downright silly.
Bottom Line: Inoffensive—but not exactly charming—curio
>DOMINO Squeeze (Quixotic London) Still hook-sharp tunesmiths without honor or airplay on either side of the Atlantic, Brit new wave vets Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford are back with another dozen melodic, offbeat pop beauties.
SHERYL CROW AND FRIENDS LIVE FROM CENTRAL PARK Various Artists (A&M) The best moments belong to the stellar company she keeps; Crow gets "Happy" with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks and the Dixie Chicks.
ART OF THE TRIO 4: BACK AT THE VANGUARD Brad Mehldau (Warner Bros.) The hot young pianist brings subtle, intelligent craftsmanship to live renderings of instrumental jazz standards and originals.
- Contributors:
- Amy Linden,
- Steve Dougherty,
- Ralph Novak.
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!
