Critic's Choice
Welcome back, Seal. On his first CD in five years, during which he scrapped a completed album that was to be the follow-up to 1998's Human Being, the British singer demonstrates why he was sorely missed on the pop scene. His third self-titled release finds Seal still a unique talent, singing about love and longing with a richly textured voice that is at once soothing, sensual and oh-so-soulful. What Seal is most longing for on these 12 tracks is spiritual uplift. "I need love, love's divine/Please forgive me, now I see that I've been blind," he sings on the haunting "Love's Divine." It's a vintage Seal ballad in the vein of his 1994 hit "Prayer for the Dying" that, like other lushly atmospheric songs here, has a cathartic, almost transcendent quality achieved by few pop artists. Even up-tempo dance numbers like "Get It Together," with its disco-style strings and horns, have a rare transformative power. While this Seal disc doesn't really sound radically different from his other three (save his reggae turn on "Where There's Gold"), fans won't complain; they'll just be hoping they won't have to wait so long for his next album.
BOTTOM LINE: Golden Seal
Dierks Bentley (Capitol)
Bentley's common country debut is so full of love-gone-wrong laments, like "Whiskey Tears," you'd think the singer was a crotchety old man with five divorces under his belt. But Bentley is only 28 and has never been married. While Bentley wallows in romantic disappointment, at least producer Brett Beavers has provided him with some upbeat arrangements (particularly on the hit single "What Was I Thinkin' ") that better suit his youthful singing style and hearty, John Michael Montgomery-like baritone. Bentley, who cowrote 11 of 13 tracks, could have benefited from covering a George Jones tune like "The Race Is On," which would have fit the theme of this disc while relieving the too-similar tone of the songs. In the end, though, this Bentley stalls on the road to artistic success.
BOTTOM LINE: Routine rookie effort
BOW WOW (Columbia)
On his third CD, Bow Wow wants you to know that he is Lil' no more. The 16-year-old rapper attempts to play with the big boys on a set that features harder beats and less parent-friendly lyrics. "I can't lie/I like B-O-O-T-Y," he rhymes on the percolating opening track, "Get It Poppin', " Elsewhere Bow Wow sounds a lot like a mini LL Cool J on smooth R&B-ish jams such as "The Don, the Dutch," while he experiments with jazz-rap (think A Tribe Called Quest) on "The Movement." Despite these steps forward, though, Bow Wow still has a lot of growing up to do as an artist. Although his voice has gotten deeper, he has yet to really develop his own style and sometimes regresses to playing to the kiddie crowd. "Eighteen" is juvenile pop hip-hop that is too corny to appeal to anyone over the age of 8. Meanwhile, "To My Mama" reveals that underneath all that thuggish posturing, Bow Wow remains a puppy dog at heart.
BOTTOM LINE: Uneven
June Carter Cash (Dualtone)
Before she died at 73 in May, not long after this recording was finished, Carter Cash was in fine, strong voice, her throaty delivery reaching, as always, into a song's darker corners. The stately tone and pace of this disc are perfect for the final release by a doyenne of the first family of country music. And what a family affair this project is. Her widower, Johnny Cash, sings on four of 13 tracks. John Carter Cash, June and Johnny's son, is the producer. And other backup performers include daughter Carlene Carter and former son-in-law Marty Stuart. The songs, steeped in bluegrass and gospel, were mostly written by A.P. Carter, June's uncle and the patriarch of the Carter Family. Her passing adds emotion to the already poignant "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone?" The answer is an unequivocal yes.
BOTTOM LINE: A fitting farewell
Nick Lachey (Universal)
The pop group 98° is no 'N Sync and Nick Lachey is no Justin Timberlake. On his solo debut Lachey, the former 98° heartthrob, doesn't come close to touching Timberlake's excellent Justified. At 29, Lachey seems to be stuck in boy-band mode on most of these bland R&B-laced pop numbers. Indeed, tracks like the bubblegum-flavored "Let Go" simply sound like 98° reheated. Lachey, who married his longtime sweetheart Jessica Simpson last October, sings like a lovestruck newlywed on treacly ballads such as "Edge of Eternity," one of eight songs he cowrote, and the wedding-ready "This I Swear": "I will love you until forever/Until death do us part we'll be together." At least he can take comfort in the fact that his album is still better than Simpson's new CD.
BOTTOM LINE: Shallow SoulO
June Carter Cash isn't the only artist who is finding shelf life after death. Here are some other deceased performers who are living on with new CDs:
•Celia Cruz The salsa legend's final recording, Regalo del Alma, came out just three weeks after she died, at age 78, in July. The disc concludes with "Yo Viviré," a Spanish version of "I Will Survive" that leaves no doubt she will do just that in the hearts of her fans.
•Tupac Shakur He was murdered in 1996, but he has remained a vital force in rap, with six posthumous releases thanks to a wealth of material in the vaults. A new remix album hits stores Oct. 7.
•Elvis Presley "I'm a Roustabout," a long-buried Elvis song that was rejected as the theme to his 1964 movie Roustabout, finally surfaces on Elvis 2nd to None, a compilation that is due Oct. 7. The CD also features a new remix of 1970's "Rubberneckin'. "
•Eva Cassidy Last month saw the release of the fourth disc since the folky singer died in 1996 from cancer at 33. American Tune includes five new songs, three live tracks and a demo recording.
- Contributors:
- Chuck Arnold,
- 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!
