Prince
CRITIC'S CHOICE
Prince has come back to us. After years of alienating fans with bizarre behavior such as writing "Slave" on his face (in protest of his contract with former, label Warner Bros.), changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol (spawning the much-mocked moniker the Artist Formerly Known as Prince) and making albums that nobody cared about (Crystal Ball, anyone?), the royal rocker is making the comeback of the year. When he opened the Grammys with Beyoncé in February and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, he had everybody else eating his purple dust. Now, 20 years after the release of his crowning achievement, Purple Rain, Musicology demonstrates why, at 45, Prince is still in a class all his own. "We got a Ph.D. in advanced body movin'," he sings on the hip-swaying title track, an "old-school joint" that over a laid-back jazz-funk groove, gives props to James Brown Sly Stone and Earth Wind and Fire At the song's end though Prince reminds you of his own rich musical legacy with snippets of "Little Red Corvette " "Kiss" and "Sign o' the Times " While not breaking any new ground Musicology plays like a crash course in Prince "A Million Days" recalls the pop-rock luster of "Take Me with U" "Call My Name" is a sexy slow-grinder in the vein of "Do Me Baby" and "Life 'o the Party" brings to mind the booming funk of "Gett Off" Elsewhere the electric-guitar-charged "The Marrying Kind" seamlesslv segues into "If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life" like a mini rock Opera. Although Prince has cleaned up his act some since becoming a Jehovah's Witness he can still get down and dirty. On the hip-hop-tinged "Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance," he tells the salacious story of a gigolo and his rich older client, while the vintage bedroom ballad "On the Couch," with its churchy organ, '60s soul horns and Prince's spine-tingling falsetto, shows that the man has not lost any of his makeout mojo.
FUNK-ROCK
Diana Krall
Krall's bedroom voice can have the unintended effect of putting listeners to sleep. But she shakes things up a bit here with somewhat livelier arrangements and expands her usual repertoire of standards. Krall has written only a handful of songs before, but this time she cowrites six tracks with new husband Elvis Costello and movingly covers his 1981 classic "Almost Blue," proving that it ranks with the great Gershwin torch songs she loves.
Pairing Lady Diana with Elvis the King sounds like a tabloid fantasy, and like a tabloid story the match promises more than it delivers. Their songs together (many about new love) are closely observed and poignant, but could be even better considering the silky power of Krall's alto and Costello's blazing wit. Only a few, such as the Carole King-like "Narrow Daylight," would attract your attention if you heard them at a cocktail party. Still, the potential of this couple is vast. Here's looking forward to their next effort.
JAZZ-POP
Various Artists
This set of Christian songs has only a tenuous link to the movie; none are actually featured in it. Some are overlooked gems like "Where No One Stands Alone," a moving 1967 Elvis Presley tune, and the Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama's classic "Precious Lord." But Leonard Cohen's croak on "By the Rivers Dark" celebrates Leonard more than the Lord, and Bob Dylan's rasp on "Not Dark Yet" is likely to be rejected by any heavenly choir. Like the film, this album won't get you whistling, but it may get you praying.
INSPIRATIONAL
Ruben Studdard His platinum debut CD is Soulful, and so are his favorite discs. Here's what the American Idol champ is enjoying between gigs on tour.
COMIN' FROM WHERE I'M FROM ANTHONY HAMILTONI love his vocal delivery. He has transformed himself into a wonderful soul singer.
TRY ME AGAIN KIM BURRELL She sings gospel, but I think she's the rebirth of Ella Fitzgerald. I love the way ?Kim puts a jazz twist to her music.
CONFESSIONS USHER It's wonderful. I've always been a fan. I think this album shows his maturity. The subjects are things that he wouldn't have been singing about three years ago. I love "Follow Me."
LIVE, DONNY HATHWAY He's been m. favorite singer for as long as I can remember. I've never heard anybody deliver a song with as much soul. I love his rendition of "What's Going On."
LIVE AT THE JAZZ CAFE, LONDON D'ANGLEO I love the way he translates his album [Brown Sugar] into m live performance. My favorite song is "Cruisin"
- Contributors:
- Chuck Arnold,
- Kyle Smith,
- Ralph Novak,
- Liza Hamm.
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!
