Critic's Choice
"If it smells like funk, it must be us/'Cause nobody's funky as us/'Cause we keep it stinky," chant the Black Eyed Peas on the George Clintonesque "Smells Like Funk." It is one of many songs on the hip-hop group's entertaining third album that, in the tradition of Digital Underground, De La Soul and OutKast, show how much fun rap can be when it doesn't take itself so seriously. With a refreshing, infectious playfulness, the Peas unabashedly subscribe to the motto of this disc's party anthem, "Let's Get Retarded." Helping the Peas sprout their Elephunk is new member Fergie, whose soulful vocals expand the versatility of the group, as Lauryn Hill did for the Fugees. Working with live instrumentation as well as the usual beats and samples, the Peas successfully experiment with Latin and rock sounds (with guest appearances by Sergio Mendes and Papa Roach), not to mention reggae, jazz, Middle Eastern and '80s dance music. They also turn serious for a few tunes, including the socially conscious "Where Is the Love," featuring Justin Timberlake (with whom they are touring this summer).
BOTTOM LINE: Dig into these Peas
Thalia (Virgin)
If Jennifer Lopez had patented her sound, then she would be able to sue Thalia. On her English-language debut, the Mexican star, who has released nine hit albums in Spanish since 1990, blatantly copies J.Lo's successful blend of pop, dance, hip-hop, R&B and Latin elements. Thalia even brings in rapper Fat Joe for the disc's first single, "I Want You," in a lazy attempt to capture the Jenny-from-the-block vibe that led Lopez to No. 1 smashes with Ja Rule and LL Cool J. Adding to the song's stale-ness, it is built on the same sample from Brenda Russell's "A Little Bit of Love" that Big Pun used on his 1998 hit "Still Not a Player." And your sense of déjà vu will double when you hear four of the CD's tunes repeated in Spanish. But what Thalia lacks in originality she helps make up for with perky appeal. Despite sounding like a ripoff of Lopez's On the 6 cut "Let's Get Loud," the Latin dance track "Tú y Yo" (translation: You and I) is fiesta-ready fun.
BOTTOM LINE: Tepid Thalia
Metallica (Elektra)
Metallica doesn't show any rust on this, the band's first new studio disc since 1997's Re-Load. After the group's forays into grunge and even classical, St. Anger is a welcome return to '80s speed metal, with furious guitar riffs and bludgeoning bass and percussion that put upstarts like Linkin Park and Godsmack to shame. Metallica smoothly survives the departure of bassist Jason Newsted. Meanwhile, for the first time in the band's two-decade history, frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich share lyrical duty with someone else (guitarist Kirk Hammett), but the results are mixed. On the title cut, Hetfield growls, "I'm madly in anger with you." He should be angry about those lyrics.
BOTTOM LINE: Mighty Metallica
Sarah Brightman (Angel)
Tuneless, feckless and dripping with pretentiousness, this is one misconceived concept album inspired by Middle East legend. From the wispy title track to the tortuous version of "Stranger in Paradise" and joyless "What a Wonderful World," stage vet Brightman's nasal, shrill singing and this disc's cheesy arrangements succeed mainly in evoking the hokey tone of an Arabian Knights cartoon.
BOTTOM LINE: Dim Brightman
Blu Cantrell (Arista)
The bad news is that there is nothing on Blu Cantrell's sophomore effort that is as deliriously catchy as her 2001 breakthrough single, "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)." The good news is that overall this is a more rewarding, less uneven disc than her first, So Blu. While Cantrell still sounds (and looks) like a Faith Evans clone, this is R&B that is truly both rhythmic and bluesy. Midtempo numbers with hip-hop, reggae and Latin beats, as well as soulful slow jams, provide a suitable showcase for her gritty, gospel-infused vocals. Cantrell tackles both the bitter and sweet sides of romance on tracks such as the kiss-off ballad "Sleep in the Middle" and the joyful, bouncy "Happily Ever After." She hits up guest rappers Lil' Kim, Fat Joe and Sean Paul, but only Paul really gets busy on the dancehall-flavored "Breathe."
BOTTOM LINE: Solid if unspectacular
In a reversal of the American Idol final results, Clay Aiken's debut single outsold Ruben Studdard's, 393,000 to 286,000 copies, in their first week out. Here's how we judge them:
•"Flying Without Wings"/"Superstar" Studdard's cover of Westlife's inspirational pop ballad "Flying without Wings" is too over-the-top for the oversize singer, whose velvety voice is better suited to smooth R&B material. He soars higher on a soul-kissed version of the Carpenters' "Superstar" that would do Luther proud.
•"Bridge over Troubled Water"/"This Is the Night" Although this Broadway-style rendition of "Bridge over Troubled Water" is surely not what Paul Simon imagined when he wrote the song, Aiken gives a show-stopping performance that blows away the maudlin original tune "This Is the Night" that he also sang during the Idol finals.
Winner: A near draw, but a powerhouse Clay takes the prize.
- Contributors:
- Chuck Arnold,
- Sona Charaipotra,
- 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!
