COUNTRY
CRITIC'S CHOICE
She looks like Faith Hill and sounds like Bonnie Raitt, which makes for a winning combination for Julie Roberts, a 25-year-old newcomer from Lancaster, S.C. Discovered while working as an assistant to Universal Music Group Nashville chairman Luke Lewis, who signed her to Mercury Records, Roberts demonstrates that she could be the next big thing in country on this ingratiating debut. Roberts's voice is true, her approach knowing and her energy infectious, as displayed on this album's highlight, the Jamie O'Hara composition "You Ain't Down Home." Roberts's easy, unaffected handling of the tune perfectly suits her country-blues style. The singer has a Norah Jones-like ability to wrangle complex ideas into pop songs. "Unlove Me," for instance, is an inventive Patrick Jason Matthews-Paul Overstreet song about seeking a clean break: "Before you leave me, please unlove me." "Break Down Here" is another intricately woven song, about a fleeing woman praying that she won't have car troubles to add to her woes. Roberts conveys the ideas without ever losing the musical thread. Producer (and Roberts's mentor) Brent Rowan helps steer the singer to some formfitting material, as well as playing guitar, very subtly and musically, on this disc. Though this is her first CD, Roberts displays the seasoned talent of a performer who has honed her craft singing everywhere from nursing homes and fish festivals to theme parks and Nashville clubs. Her dues paid, she is ready for her shot at the big time. Country fans will be ready for her too.
Borrowed Heaven
POP
They may have long been as huge as St. Patrick in their native Ireland, but the Corrs finally made it big in America with their last studio album, 2000's In Blue, spurred by the hit "Breathless." The family group—which consists of videogenic sisters Andrea (lead vocals), Sharon (violin) and Caroline (drums) Corr and their brother Jim (guitar/keyboards)—became VH1 darlings and played for President Clinton. They even received the blessing of Ireland's greatest musical ambassador, U2's Bono, when he performed two songs with them on their 2002 live disc. The Corrs should keep their Stateside success going with this CD's first single, "Summer Sunshine," a bright, bouncy pop ditty that is the perfect radio song for the season. The rest of Borrowed Heaven doesn't soar quite as giddily high, but it does offer plenty of airy, Celtic-flavored fluff that goes down as easily as cotton candy. The atmospheric title track borrows a little bit from their New Age compatriot Enya, while also interweaving African vocal textures. However, the Corr clan could have done without adding light hip-hop touches (deejay scratching!) on the aptly titled "Humdrum."
Ready Now
R&B
Truth Hurts—the soul siren whose birth name is Shari Watson—kept it real with her no-nonsense delivery on her 2002 debut Truthfully Speaking, which featured the intoxicating hit "Addictive." Unfortunately, mediocre material hurts her disappointing sophomore CD, Ready Now. Whereas Truthfully Speaking benefitted from the studio skills of Dr. Dre, this disc finds Truth teaming up with singer-producer Raphael Saadiq on routine R&B tracks such as the mid-tempo groover "Knock Knock" and the sister-to-sister slow jam "Lifetime." Elsewhere, Truth attempts to recapture the Middle Eastern magic of "Addictive" on cuts like "Ride," which, with its formulaic hip-hop soul, sounds like a Mary J. Blige knockoff. With a gospel-infused voice that can be both sexy ("Phone Sex") and sassy ("Whatchu Sayin,'" featuring rapper Loon), Truth, who cowrote 8 of 10 tunes, has the makings of a real diva. Hopefully next time she will truly be ready with some stronger songs.
Renee Olstead
JAZZ-POP
At 14, Renee Olstead, who costars on the CBS sitcom Still Standing, isn't vying to be the next teen-pop queen. Instead, she sings jazzy standards that her grandparents could listen to. And, for a girl too young to have seen the inside of a cabaret club, she's remarkably convincing as a torchy chanteuse. Olstead displays a natural swing and sophistication, along the way evoking Rosemary Clooney (on "On a Slow Boat to China"), Dinah Washington (on "What a Difference a Day Makes") and Doris Day (on "Sentimental Journey"). Although some of these numbers, such as "Summertime," have been done to death, Olstead is really someone to get jazzed about.
Franz Ferdinand
ROCK
Scottish quartet Franz Ferdinand is named after the Austro-Hungarian archduke whose 1914 assassination led to World War I. And while they don't exactly start a rock revolution on their self-titled debut, these chums from Glasgow launch a potent post-punk attack that is guaranteed to cause plenty of slam dancing. Blending the garage stomp of the Strokes with the '80s new wave of the Cure and Talking Heads, Franz Ferdinand cranks up the quirky fun on groovy—and grooving—tunes like the first single "Take Me Out," which, with its tempo-shifting rhythms, seamlessly goes from punky to funky. Other standout tracks include the homoerotic dance-floor come-on "Michael" and the ska-tinged "Tell Her Tonight," on which singer-guitarist Alex Kapranos wails with a Robert Smith-meets-David Byrne yelp.
New Kids Jordan and Joey
New Kids on the Block alums Jordan Knight and Joey McIntyre are still hangin' tough with solo CDs. McIntyre has released 8:09, and Knight has reworked old faves on Jordan Knight Performs the New Kids on the Block: The Remix Album.
ON PERFORMING OLD SONGS "I do a lot of New Kids songs [onstage], and I don't care what people think," says Knight, 34, who has a son, Dante, 4. "They're good songs, and the crowd loves them. I don't ever try to escape where I came from."
ON THE POSSIBILITY OF A REUNION "I'd rather not revisit it unless we get paid a gazillion dollars. Which we probably won't. But I think we could go onstage right now, without practicing, and really do a great show."
ON RABID FANS "A lot of people come up to me and say, 'I had your [New Kids] sleeping bag.' I always go, 'So I slept with you, huh?' I slept with a lot of people."
ON THE TITLE OF HIS NEW ALBUM On Aug. 9, 2002, real estate agent Barrett Williams showed him a house at 809 Nowita Place in Venice, Calif. "It was the biggest life-changing moment I have ever experienced," says McIntyre, 31, who rented the house, fell in love with the agent and married her on Aug. 9, 2003.
ON HAVING GROWN-UP FANS "There's a little bit more listening to the music going on. It's not so much screaming and craziness."
ON HIS BOY BAND YEARS "You look at pictures and go, 'Oh, my God. What was I thinking with the hair and the clothes?'"
- Contributors:
- Ralph Novak,
- Chuck Arnold,
- Molly Lopez,
- Ashley Williams.
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!
