Album of the week
With her mature vulnerability and heartbeat phrasing, Badu has won enviable comparisons to Billie Holiday. But here she sings in a languid, honeyed style that sounds less like Lady Day and more like another jazz-influenced R&B crooner, Sade. While this is only her second studio album and her first in three years (her Grammy-winning triple-platinum debut, Baduizm, and her follow-up album, Live!, were both released in 1997), Badu, 29, has been busy launching an acting career (The Cider House Rules) and a family: She and ex-boyfriend "Dre" Benjamin of the hip-hop group OutKast have a 2-year-old son, Seven. Badu, who cowrote all 14 of these songs and duets with Stephen Marley on the reggae-flavored "In Love with You," proves she hasn't lost her flair for poetic, dreamy soul.
Bottom Line: This pop Gun hits the bull's-eye
Backstreet Boys (Jive)
Even the sweetest bubble gum loses its flavor after repeated chews. And the way the young Backstreet men have been jawing their brand of bubbly pop—to the tune of 50 million CDs sold 'round the world—it is understandable that they crave a change. Since their 1999 opus Millennium ruled the record charts, two of the Boys (Kevin Richardson and his cousin Brian Littrell) have gotten married, and the group severed ties with Florida teen-pop svengali Lou Pearlman. All of which may explain why on their fourth album the BBs put forth a more mature side.
The opening track, "The Call," displays a worldliness that would have made the dewy, innocent Boys of yore blush. In fact, there is nothing in the Backstreet catalog, which brims with songs about the lads' undying ardor for their moms, their fans and the virginal girls-next-door, that is remotely akin to this tune about a cheating boyfriend. There is even the hint of a put-down—something the good old Boys would never do—in the shape-up-or-ship-out song "Get Another Boyfriend."
Equally adult impulses are evident in the Boys' heightened artistic ambitions: Two of these tunes are written by the five bandmates; four others are cowritten by A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough or Nick Carter. It remains to be seen whether this is a death knell—producer-assembled vocal groups from the Monkees to New Kids on the Block filled their final albums with material they insisted on writing themselves—or a harbinger of great things to come. The Boys, who recorded most of these 13 tracks in Stockholm, are hedging their bets, leaving the bulk of the creative work to Swedish pop wizard Max Martin's crack production team.
Bottom Line: Less mewling than past efforts
Chalee Tennison (Asylum/Warner Bros.)
It may be the emotion-rich content of this album, seven of whose 12 songs Tennison cowrote. But for better or worse, her style seems to be getting close to the heart-on-the-sleeve style of Reba McEntire. Tennison is, in fact, better at it than McEntire is. When Tennison sings "Somebody Save Me" or "Makin' Up with You," she sounds sincere, and the catch in her voice doesn't seem to be quite so artificial. She certainly has plenty of experiences to draw on. One of five children from East Texas—she now has three kids of her own—Tennison worked at everything from waitressing to serving as a prison guard before she made it in Nashville.
Fans who have enjoyed Tennison's playful concert collaborations with George Jones may be disappointed that her second album doesn't include any duets. What there is, though, is strong, moving country music.
Bottom Line: A follow-up album with heart
R. Kelly (Jive)
If size mattered in music, then you'd have to tip your hat to R. Kelly. The R&B laureate of love has been prolific, to say the least, in recent years, having released the double CD R. in 1998 as well as writing and producing hits for Michael Jackson, Toni Braxton and Maxwell, among others. On his latest opus, TP-2.COM (a title whose initials allude to his 1993 solo debut 12 Play), Kelly manages to pack 19 tracks—some 77 minutes of music—onto a single disc.
On the other hand, the album's biggest problem is its interminable length. A good editor might have excised some of the weaker cuts, like the Ricky Martin-gone-ghetto "Fiesta" and "Like a Real Freak." Still, for those who can use their CD player's programming function, there is plenty here to satisfy. Kelly continues to get great mileage out of his trademark libido on such bump-and-grind ballads as "Strip for You," "The Greatest Sex" and "Don't You Say No." But the old-school soul of "The Storm Is Over Now" and the hit single "I Wish" suggests a new direction that may give his career even more staying power.
Bottom Line: More than we need to hear
Nelly Furtado (DreamWorks)
In a year in which such teen-pop queens as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson have reigned on the charts, it's tempting to dismiss Nelly Furtado as just an-other pretender to the throne. After all, she certainly looks like she walked right off the set of one of those WB series. But there's something different about the 21-year-old Canadian chanteuse. And it's not just that she's a brunette. On this, her debut album, she writes her own songs, plays guitar (she's also capable on trombone and ukulele) and even sings in Portuguese.
Like another young female singer-songwriter from up North, Alanis Morissette, Furtado backs up her musical ambition with an agility beyond her years. One moment she's chirping like a Rasta Madonna over the reggae thump of "Baby Girl," next she's cooing to the bossa-nova beat of "Legend." Then she jazzes up the pure pop confection "I'm Like a Bird" with a bluesy rasp that would make Macy Gray jealous.
Such style-hopping may not be to everyone's taste, but somehow Furtado manages not to lose herself in the mix. In fact, when she asks, "Do I have your attention?" at the end of the half-spoken "Trynna Finda Way," there is no doubt about it.
Bottom Line: You Whoa, girl!
Dwight Yoakam (Reprise)
The title seems a trifle ironic since Yoakam has made a career of yesterday's sounds. Even on this album he variously evokes Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Buck Owens. Old isn't necessarily bad, though, especially since Yoakam's lively style energizes even the most thrown-back rockabilly tunes. On Today Yoakam (in addition to bringing Owens himself to the party for three tracks) sings Cheap Trick's passionate if repetitive "I Want You to Want Me" and enlists the old Byrd and Flying Burrito Brother Chris Hillman to play mandolin, which he does quite nimbly. Steel guitarist Gary Morse perks things up, as does tuneful accordion virtuoso Flaco Jimenez.
Bottom Line: Plenty to enjoy
Read Chuck Arnold's Music Buzz column at www.people.com or AOL (Keyword: People)
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- Carolyn E. Davis,
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- Chuck Arnold.
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!
