Every year, there seems to be more and more queer music being released. This year is no exception, with new releases from such familiar names as Rufus Wainwright, Amy Ray ( of the Indigo Girls ) , and the long-awaited full-length musical debut by Lea DeLaria, as well as countless newcomers. It's great to see that the queer music industry is alive and well, in spite of being virtually ignored by the major labels and the unfortunate cessation of the Gay and Lesbian American Music Awards ( GLAMA ) .
Openly gay singer/songwriter David Lasley's name will probably be familiar to you if you are an avid reader of liner notes. Lasley, with his distinctive falsetto as is his trademark, has sung back-up for Cher, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin and James Taylor, among many others. Also a gifted songwriter, his songs have been covered by Patti LaBelle, Anita Baker, Boz Scaggs, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner and Natalie Cole, to name a few. Lasley released a couple of major-label albums during the mid-1980s but never achieved the fame he deserved. On Expectations Of Love ( Expansion ) , his first album of new material in ten years, Lasley hasn't lost his knack for writing and performing timeless and soulful R&B ballads and pop tunes. "What's It Gonna Take," "Revelations," "Dancin' On The Smooth Edge" ( previously covered by Whitney Houston ) , the same-sex love song "Joey ( I Believe in Our Love ) ," and the gorgeous "Love's Forever," are all exceptional. To complete the David Lasley experience, it is well worth getting hold of Back To Blue-eyed Soul: Collected Works 1966-1999, which compiles 21 tracks, many of which are out of print, from over the course of Lasley's remarkable career. ( www.DavidLasley.com )
The late Peter Allen had many claims to fame. Aside from being an opening act for Judy Garland in the early '60s, Allen had the distinction of being briefly married to Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli. As a songwriter, he co-wrote hit pop songs such as "I Honestly Love You" ( recorded by Olivia Newton-John ) , "Don't Cry Out Loud" ( recorded by Melissa Manchester ) and "I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love" ( which was recorded by a multitude of artists, including Dusty Springfield ) . The Best Of Peter Allen ( A&M ) features his covers of the aforementioned songs, which appeared on the studio discs he recorded for A&M from 1974 through 1980. Other original Allen classics, including "Quiet Please, There's A Lady On Stage," "I Go To Rio," "Everything Old Is New Again," and his wonderful cover of "The More I See You," are just a few of the other tracks on this "20th century masters" collection.
Allen was renowned for his piano playing and GLAMA-winning jazz pianist Fred Hersch has also established himself as a master of the ivories. His latest album, the expansive three-disc set Songs Without Words ( Nonesuch ) , probably won't do anything to tarnish his reputation. Disc one ( also known as Volume One: Songs Without Words ) is comprised of ten original Hersch compositions. The second disc, Volume Two: Jazz Tunes, features Hersch's interpretations of jazz standards by a remarkable array of composers, including Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Wayne Shorter, and Charles Mingus, to mention a few. Volume Three: Cole Porter, is the third disc, and like Hersch's previous albums, such as PassionFlower ( the songs of Billy Strayhorn ) and Thelonious ( on which he played the songs of Monk ) , he has devoted an entire disc to one composer. "From This Moment On," "Don't Fence Me In," "Every Time We Say Goodbye," and "You're The Top," are just a few of the Porter songs to which Hersch adds his distinctive touch.
Composer Esteban Ramirez performs all of his original compositions on piano on his album Welcome Home ( Descanso Music ) . Highlights include Echoes In Time, "Sandbox" ( which also features strings ) , the romantic "Dinner For Two," and "New England." Ramirez's rendition of "Over The Rainbow," the album's only non-original tune, is also a pleasure. ( www.descanso-music.com )
You don't have to hear Richard Isen's cover of Joni Mitchell's song "Willie," on his album Let It Fall ( Clear Song ) , to know that he considers Joni to be an influence. That comes through loud and clear on the album's opening track "Blue Window," with the combination of his phrasing and his piano playing. Even some his lyrics, such as "just stare in the blue windows/and make believe/he's standing in there/being all those things/being all those things/that have come and gone/apart of you come and gone/come and gone...," from "Blue Window," have a Joni Mitchell ring to them Other recommended tracks include "Winter Wishes," "A Street You'll Never Know," and the title track, with its subtle percussion. ( www.clearsong.com )
"Dedicated with love, reverence and gratitude to Roberta Joan Anderson," Clark Carlton's Saltwater ( CarltonCT@aol.com ) also pays its respects to Joni ( a/k/a Roberta Joan Anderson ) . Beginning with "Matthew," a moving song written for Matthew Shepard, Carlton introduces himself as an openly gay performer to keep in your sights. The acoustic settings of the first two songs didn't prepare me for the percussive beats of "Shine," which is "for M. Ciccone" ( Madonna ) and sounds like it would have fit in on her most recent Music disc. Highlights include "True Friend," "Everybody's New ( Charlie's Song ) ," "Love Song to Whomever," and the doo-wop of "Boys On The Sand."
The Fine Print ( Noble Savage ) is Mark Islam's highly anticipated second album. Islam, who divides his time between L.A. and Nashville, infuses his songs with the sounds of both of those cities. The pedal-steel country-pop of "Gold Enough," "We Might Fall In Love," "Drift Apart," "Natural Causes," and "That Restless Feeling"'s Tex Mex strains, are pure Nashville. "Trick" and "The Well of Loneliness" ( co-written by OMA-winning composer Jon Gilbert Leavitt ) sounds like something out of the L.A. singer/songwriter scene of the 1970s. Leavitt also makes a guest appearance on the stirring song "Treading Water." ( www.markislam.com )
There is a joyous religious fervor to the songs of Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter Matthew Cloran. Songs such as "Heaven On Earth" ( with its gospel choir ) and "Finally Free" bracket more than a half dozen clever tracks. "Love Came In... ( and you came out ) ," for instance, is an upbeat tune about a woman discovering her same-sex attraction. "Jeffrey," co-written by Steve Cohen, is a case of life imitating art, in which the singer feels as if he is living the play "Jeffrey." ( www.matthewcloranmusic.com )
The late pop songwriter Bobby Blume is the focus of two CDs—With Love, Bobby Blue ( Manfra ) and Falling For You Was A Trip ( Manfra ) —in which his songs are performed by a multitude of vocalists. Robin Lamont, Amy Ryder, Vinnie, and Peggy Gordon sing Blume's song on the With Love disc. Lamont, who co-wrote the songs "If I Tried" and "Tell Me," does the vocal honors on both tunes. Lamont also sings the songs she co-wrote with Blume ( "Therapy Blues" and "Glad I Didn't Fall" ) on Falling For You.... The real finds on this disc are the songs performed by Michael Callen, recorded before Blume's death, in the 1980s. "Fool Heart," "Hung Up On Holdin' On," "The Runaways" ( a duet with Peggy Gordon ) and the title track which is a group number featuring Callen, Gordon, Michael McAssey, and Amy Ryder, all capture musical moments in the all-too-brief life of Bobby Blume. ( www.manfra.com )
I first became aware of David Driver from his work in the band Meow ( of "My Marine" fame ) . In his latest incarnation, Driver is fronting the Driver Quartet on their album Night Time ( Comma ) , a collection of lush and loungey near-standards and established classics. Adam Bernstein, who plays bass in the quartet, penned a few original tunes for this album, the best of which is "Room For The New," on which Driver gets to belt, and "A Long Way Down." Other songs worth mentioning include a reimagined cover of Paul Simon's "Me And Julio Down By The School Yard" ( with Peter Kiesewalter's terrific accordion work ) , a dramatic reading of "Imitation Of Life" ( from the movie of the same name ) , and an equally dramatic version of "Moon River." ( www.driverquartet.com )
Openly gay, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici's new album Secret Music—A Songbook ( Cri ) finds him moving into a new direction. On Secret Music, Del Tredici works in the realm of the "art song." Soprano Hila Plitmann supplies the vocals to the five songs that make up "Miz Inez Sez." For this song cycle, Del Tredici has set five poems by Colette Inez to music.
Chris Pedro Trakas is the baritone singing the "3 Baritone Songs." For this section, Del Tredici set Rumi's "Quietness," Michael Klein's "Drinking Song," and Jaime Manrique's "Matthew Shepard" to music. The four songs in "Brother," the final section are all performed by John Kelly, who also wrote all of the lyrics. Kelly is perhaps best known for his show one-man show Paved Paradise, in which he "channeled" Joni Mitchell through a performance of a dozen and a half of her songs.
You can lust after the blue-eyed soulmate dreamboats in 98 Degrees, Soul Decision, 'NSync, BBMak, and Backstreet Boys, all you want, but that still doesn't make any of them gay. Thank goodness for openly gay Ari Gold. You can lust after him and get a dose of what the kids are listening to on the radio. Big, blue-eyed jam-crooning is the main focus here, particularly on "Should I Get Over You," "See Through Me," "Write Me A Love Song," and "Just A Little Love." Gold also knows the value of a straightforward dance track, which he demonstrates on "Wave Of You" and "Give Me All Your Love." Incidentally, Ari Gold wrote or co-wrote all ten songs on his album. ( www.arigold.com )
Not many artists are capable of releasing two albums in one year, but that's exactly what Khan did in 1999, when both 1-900-Get-Khan and Passport were issued. No Comprendo ( Matador ) is Khan's first album in a couple of years and it features appearances by recurring guest vocalist Julee Cruise ( on the sweet "Say Goodbye" ) , as well as Kid Congo Powers, Diamanda Galas and Jon Spencer, to name a few. If you prefer your dance music to be on the exotic side, then you will have no trouble comprehending Khan's No Comprendo.
On his debut disc Archangel ( Original Cast ) , Michael Vaccaro exhibits both his campy and clever side with the choices he made in retro cover material. The album opens with his discofied cover of the DeFranco Family's "Heartbeat, It's A Lovebeat" and is followed by a respectable rendition of Bette Midler's "Hurricane" ( from her Thighs & Whispers album ) , as well as Vaccaro's version of the Abba staple "Dancing Queen," and the uplifting "Makin' It." Unfortunately, the more current material, a majority of which was written by Vaccaro's co-producers Jeff Olmsted and Brian Gari, isn't as successful. However, Vaccaro's reading of Randy Newman's "Sandman's Coming," is worth a listen. ( www.michaelvaccaro.com )
I still haven't forgiven Elton John for appearing on stage and performing with Eminem at the Grammy awards earlier this year. However, to many in the gay and lesbian community he is still something of an icon. Those people will be happy to learn that several of his back catalog albums have been reissued in remastered and expanded editions on Island/Mercury. The best of the batch, particularly 1992's The One ( his last album of consistently good material ) and 1978's A Single Man ( which contains the single "Ego" as a bonus track ) , as well as 1989's Sleeping With The Past and 1983's Too Low For Zero, are made that much better by the inclusion of bonus tracks that live up to being called bonuses.
Dance-floor focused David Mahr is at work on the follow-up to 1999's synth-soaked
EP Lost & Found ( DMM ) . The three song promo-only sampler features Mahr's cover of Yaz's "Only You," and two promising original tracks-;"Sugar Candi ( What You Mean To Me ) " and "Century." ( www.davidmahrmusic.com )