Produced by Luther Vandross and J Records president Clive Davis, Mr. Vandross's highly anticipated eponymous J Records debut arrives on shelves 20 years after his critically acclaimed solo disc Never Too Much first introduced us to his remarkable vocal abilities. The 14 tracks on Luther Vandross won't diminish Vandross's "bedroom to dance floor" reputation, although the emphasis is clearly on bedroom. "Bring Your Heart To Mine," co-written by Vandross, is one of the more interesting new ballads, although I had a little trouble with lines such as "I don't want to be a hater/But he really needs to raise up off you" in a song sung by Luther. The most wonderful ballad moments occur when Vandross returns to familiar territory by covering two Burt Bacharach songs. "Any Day Now," co-written by Bob Hilliard, and "Are You There ( With Another Guy ) " are worthy of comparison to "A House Is Not A Home." There are also few tracks here that could satisfy a minor dance floor jones. "How Do I Tell Her" is the most promising, and could be huge with the right remix, although "Say It Now," "Grown Thangs," and "Let's Make Tonight The Night," have potential. If you prefer the Luther of long ago ( well, the 1980s and '90s ) , The Ultimate Luther Vandross ( Epic ) is a collection of 17 of his most beloved songs. In addition to his brilliant renditions of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Superstar," there are numerous songs ( including "Give Me The Reason," "Never Too Much," "Stop To Love," and "Here And Now" ) , for which Vandross can claim "soul" credit.
If Basement Jaxx's Rooty CD is the funkiest album Prince never recorded, then Now ( Columbia ) by Maxwell is the most slinky and soulful disc Prince never recorded. The bountiful beat of "Get To Know Ya" leads into the subtle gospel of "Lifetime" which is followed by the erotic "W/As My Girl," all of which envelope the listener in "nu-soul" luxury. Three years in the making, Maxwell's legion of devotees will probably agree that it was worth the wait. Everyone will probably dig the persuasive grooves of "Noone," "Now/At The Party" and "Temporary Nite," and Maxwell's newly recorded studio cover of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work" ( first heard in a live version on his 1997 MTV Unplugged disc ) is sure to inspire tremors.
Young R&B singer Tyrese is now a full-fledged movie star. His performance in John Singleton's Baby Boy is bringing him a lot of attention. His second album 2000 Watts ( RCA ) is also getting him noticed. The star-studded affair ( Babyface, Snoop Dogg, and Jermaine Dupri, to name a few ) by the "smooth-domed" version of D'Angelo, moves smoothly back and forth between 21st century soul ( "Make Up Your Mind," "I'm Sorry," "What Am I Gonna Do," "For Always" ) and hip-hop-flavored R&B ( "Just A Baby Boy" ) .
Like Tyrese, Sisqo, another mono-monikered male R&B artist, has released his second album...Return Of Dragon ( Def Soul ) . To Tyrese's credit, there is an originality to his songs that make them his own. The same can't be said for Sisqo, who is derivative at best. "Last Night," for example, sounds too much like Li'l Kim's "How Many Licks" ( a song on which he was featured ) .
Jermaine Jackson's Ultimate Collection ( Hip-O ) covers a lot of ground, from 1970 through 1992, and contains such familiar hit songs as "Daddy's Home" ( 1972 ) , "Let's Get Serious" ( 1980 ) , "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy" ( 1982 ) , and "I Think It's Love" ( 1986 ) . Although his career never reached the level of success of the careers of his brother Michael's or his sister Janet's, this "ultimate collection" offers a new perspective on his contributions to the soul singer market.
Speaking of brother acts, both The Isley Brothers and Ray J qualify in that area. The Isley Brothers have been a force to be reckoned with, on the music scene, for more than 40 years. Eternal ( Dreamworks ) features their current hit single and video "Contagious" ( in which R. Kelley is featured ) . The rest of the disc features a mix of the Isley's smooth grooves and trademark electric guitar sound ( as you can hear on "Secret Lover" and "You're All I Need," to mention a few ) . Jill Scott joins the family on the song "Said Enough."
Ray J is the brother of singer and television star Brandy ( Norwood ) . On his new album This Ain't A Game ( Atlantic ) , he sounds as if he is emulating both Tyrese and Sisqo, blending both modern day R&B style and hip-hop ( "Wait A Minute" features a guest appearance by Li'l Kim ) .
The Very Best of Prince ( Warner Brothers ) and The Ultimate Blue Notes ( Epic/Legacy ) by Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass are two more dusties collections to remind us of the soul legends of the past. The Prince collection is a major disappointment. The cover art features a photo of Prince from the Dirty Mind cover, but there isn't a single song from that album on this CD. Another blatant oversight would be the exclusion of any songs from his Controversy disc ( such as the title track ) . The Blue Notes disc contains three essential tracks..."The Love I Lost" and "Bad Luck" ( both in versions running longer than six minutes ) and "If You Don't Know Me By Now." If that qualifies this collection as "ultimate," then so be it.
Back from beyond
What better way to belatedly celebrate the arrival of a new century than to release a new album after a long absence. Here are some bands that seemed to get the same idea at around the same time.
The Go-Go's have always been irreverent. Think back to the album covers for Beauty & The Beat and Vacation, as well as the video for the song "Vacation." Let's not forget to mention their now legendary tour exploits. With Belinda Carlisle's easily recognizable lead vocals and the energetic jamming of the rest of the band, the Go-Go's get things go-going on God Bless The Go-Go's ( Beyond ) with the buoyant "La La Land," which has the chorus "Hello world we're here again/Living life in La La Land." The kooky California girls hooked up with Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, who co-wrote and contributed guitar and backing vocals to "Unforgiven." Other unexpected collaborations include "Throw Me A Curve" ( co- written by Susannah Hoffs of the Bangles ) and the lovely, Beatlesque "Daisy Chain" ( co-written by Jill Sobule ) .
On Exciter ( Reprise/Mute ) , their ironically titled first studio disc in several years, Depeche Mode doesn't do what Steely Dan did on their 2000 comeback disc, and ignore the fact that time has passed. Exciter doesn't bubble over with synthetic blips and beeps and neither does it percolate like a new wave club, although the creepy "Dead Of Night" might rank as a throwback, and "I Feel Loved" has dance-club potential. Mostly it is a low-key effort that fits into the whole early 21st century chill-out vibe.
Weezer, who had a song called "Pink Triangle" on their last disc ( 1996's Pinkerton ) , have released a new self-titled disc ( Geffen ) produced by Ric ( The Cars ) Ocasek, who produced the band's 1994 self-titled debut disc. Three of the band's four original members have returned for this disc, and songs such as the blazing pop of "Don't Let Go," "Photograph," "Hash Pipe," and the lighter "Island In The Sun," will probably satisfy fans, but I don't think there is anything on the disc to earn them any new ones.
Into The Oh ( Virgin/Luaka Bop ) is Geggy Tah's third album for David Byrne's record label, and the first one since 1996's Sacred Cow, which yielded the college radio hit "Whoever You Are." Their fine and funky new album expands on the world music synthesized sound of their previous releases, making songs such as "One Zero," "Dumb Submarine," "Holly Oak," "Space Heater," "Aliens Somewhere," and "Love Is In Love," smart pop music for adults and wise youngsters.
I'm not sure how smart it was for Electric Light Orchestra to release Zoom ( Epic ) , their first studio album of new material since 1986. You could have said the same for Steely Dan, last year; however, they ended up taking home a Grammy. The wisdom of putting out this album following the issuing of their excellent box set Flashback in 2000 is also questionable. The box set highlighted their best work, and Zoom does not qualify as such. However, there are a few interesting facts. The first is that two former Beatles, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, perform on the disc. I was also happy to see the name of Rosie Vela, who contributed vocals to a few songs on the album. ASongs such as "Stranger On A Quiet Street" and "It Really Doesn't Matter," and "Melting In The Sun," were the most pleasant updates of ELO's sound. Four ELO albums ( Eldorado-A Symphony, Discovery, Time and Secret Messages ) have been reissued in expanded editions. Eldorado-A Symphony is the best.
