Taking her native New Zealand by storm last October when this album opened at No. 1, Anika Moa, 22, looked like she might be the biggest Kiwi export since Lord of the Rings once Thinking Room finally hit Stateside shores. Unfortunately, in borrowing from a variety of other female singer-songwriters who have already established themselves on the U.S. charts, Moa can't decide what she wants to be.
One moment she's wispy and wistful like Sarah McLachlan, the next she's leaning toward Alanis Morissette at her most annoyingly self-aware. But with a paper-thin soprano, neither persona suits her. Moa is at her best when she's unadorned, as on the acoustic "I Talked to You," or irrepressibly funky, as on "My Son," which brims with electronic beats, insistent bass lines and the undulating tribal vibe of the Australian didgeridoo.
Bottom Line: A not-yet-ripe Kiwi
Marc Anthony (Columbia)
With its release delayed several times, Mended—the second English-language album by Marc Anthony—seemed to need a lot of fixing. That usually doesn't bode well for a disc, but the results here are surprisingly solid if unspectacular. This state-of-the-heart collection of uptempo numbers and ballads improves on the 1999 triple-platinum set Marc Anthony, with better songs (six co-written by the singer) for him to sink his considerable vocal chops into.
In the back-to-back tracks "I've Got You" and "I Need You," Anthony has two hook-heavy guitar-pop ditties that should help him avoid the sophomore slump Ricky Martin suffered. Still, the CD lacks the dynamic passion of Anthony's Spanish-language salsa album from last fall, Libre. Aside from its subtle Latin guitar and tropical rhythms—and a Spanish version of "I've Got You"—much of Mended is homogenized American pop. For better or, unfortunately, for worse, Anthony's crossover is now complete.
Bottom Line: In fairly sound condition
Musiq (Def Soul)
He may have dropped Soulchild as his professional surname, but Musiq, 24, remains a faithful follower of such revered soul men as Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder and Prince on this follow-up to his 2000 platinum debut, Aijuswanaseing. On "Caughtup," he throws down Sly's psychedelic funk. On "Halfcrazy," he conjures up the dreamy romanticism of '70s Wonder. And on the righteous "Religious," he juxtaposes the spiritual with the sexual in a manner that would do the Purple One proud. Although he isn't as visionary as any of his heroes, Musiq (real name: Taalib Johnson) has clearly studied those masters well. This is the ultimate fan letter.
Bottom Line: The soulful sound of Musiq
WilCO (Nonesuch)
Album of the week
Napoleon gave away Louisiana. The Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth for chump change. And Reprise Records, nonplussed by this inventive and mesmerizing album, punted it into the eager arms of Nonesuch Records. Wilco, previously the author of nouvelle country, has produced an eye-opening blend of beautiful noises that blend country, folk and spacey rock: Meet the Grateful Radiohead.
Each element juices the others; the murmur of acoustic guitars is upended by weird keyboard effects and electric feedback. The lyrics are fraught with dreamy non sequiturs and eerily prescient laments (written pre-9/11) of "war on war," fire and saluting the "ashes of American flags." There is an awful profundity at work here, on a disc that could be its own hipster religion. Is it too early to start a Best of Millennium list?
Bottom Line: Magical mastery
Patty Griffin (ATO)
With her introspective story-songs, pensive acoustic guitar and nasal voice, Patty Griffin could be a folk refugee from the '60s. But the singer-songwriter, who came out of the Boston/Cambridge coffeehouse scene, thickens the blend on her eclectic third album. In her throatier, more intense moments, Griffin, who is of French-Canadian descent, brings to mind a less melodramatic Edith Piaf. Elsewhere she gives Bruce Springsteen's "Stolen Car" (a track from 1980's The River) a terrific tune-up imbued with the appropriate sense of desperation. And this disc's most memorable song, "Mil Besos," is a hauntingly romantic Latin ballad that Griffin delivers in Spanish. The beauty of the language is matched by that of her performance.
Bottom Line: Flavorful folk
Badly Drawn Boy (ArtistDirect)
Britpop is dead. Long live Britpop. One week last month the Billboard Top 100 singles chart lacked a single Brit for the first time since JFK was President. So be original and get this charming pocket encyclopedia of pop by a one-man English band (real name: Damon Gough). The 16 original songs that make up the soundtrack of the new Hugh Grant comedy About A Boy reach into the dusty stacks of the pop library. The result is sweet, Burt Bacharach-style compositions with playful tweaks (one tune sounds like electronica played by a marching band). On the centerpiece, "Silent Sigh," a jazz-pop piano jam, Gough's sound is like a hip bowling shirt: Is it the latest thing or decades old? This Boy is so slick, his old man would lend him the car keys.
Bottom Line: Let's hear it for the Boy
- Contributors:
- Sona Charaipotra,
- Chuck Arnold,
- Kyle Smith,
- 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!
