BuzzCuts: New Music
Janet Jackson enters her third decade of hitmaking, Mario Vazquez leaves his "Idol" days behind, Alan Jackson takes his sound in new direction, Scissor Sisters update 1970s glam rock and disco, Paul McCartney tries his hand at classical composition, and soulman Solomon Burke teams up for duets with a star-studded guest list.
Janet Jackson - "20 Y.O."
Mario Vazquez - "Mario Vazquez"
Alan Jackson - "Like Red on a Rose
Scissor Sisters - "Ta-Dah"
Paul McCartney - "Ecce Cor Meum"
Solomon Burke - "Nashville"
Janet Jackson, "20 Y.O." (Virgin)
If there's one characteristic Janet Jackson has recently perfected, it's resilience.
She didn't let that little Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction or lukewarm reviews for her last album, "Damita Jo," break her spirit. And after pictures surfaced this summer revealing Jackson as a between-album chubbster, she miraculously shed the pounds, chiseled the abs and gave a virtual I-ain't-gone-yet wink to the likes of Rihanna, Ciara, Kelis and Beyonce vying for top diva honors.
Now, as Jackson drops her ninth disc, "20 Y.O." — or 20 Years Old, her "age" since the release of her 1986 breakthrough album, "Control," — it seems she's half-naked on the cover of every other magazine on the newsstand. Pretty darn good for a 40-year-old.
Resilience, however, doesn't mean innovation. And on "20 Y.O.," one can't help but sense that Jackson is coasting.
Since 1993's "Janet," she's used sexuality as a calling card, with suggestive or even downright graphic bedroom vocals. Jackson's new album is no different — she's stuck on revealing her freak side. "My body is in overdrive dying to have you inside me, baby," she promises on the disc's opener, "So Excited," a track featuring Miami raunchy rapstress Khia.
Yet "20 Y.O." doesn't come off concept-heavy like 2001's "All For You" or as forced as "Damita Jo." Instead, Jackson operates within her comfort zone, however narrow it may seem. Her heaving, breathy vocals tiptoe above slow grooves ("With U," "Love 2 Love") and danceable, electro-synth beats ("Show Me") supplied by longtime collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, plus boyfriend Jermaine Dupri, who co-produces seven of the 11 complete songs.
Dupri's hip-hop sensibility subtly contemporizes Jackson's sound, whether with an uncredited rapped verse on "This Body," the "bounce wit me" ad-libs on "Do It 2 Me" or an Afrika Bambaataa sample on the uptempo come-on "Get It Out Me."
But that's where the envelope-pushing ends. Otherwise, "20 Y.O." is a fleeting good time, but far from the career-capping album we'd expect from such an iconic figure. Over the feel-good groove and piano plinks of "Enjoy," Jackson sings, "Livin' everyday like it's my last/ I refuse to be stuck in the past." Jackson may have figured out how stay up to date, but the jury's out on whether she'll push herself to do more than the familiar. (Brett Johnson)
Back to topMario Vazquez, "Mario Vazquez" (Arista Records)
Mario Vazquez, who mysteriously dropped out of the fourth season of "American Idol" after making it to the final 12, should have no problem becoming a pop idol on his own with his self-titled debut, full of catchy R&B and pop tracks.
First off, the guy can sing. His first single, "Gallery," isn't spectacular but it's an infectious song that shows off Vazquez's smooth voice. Singer Ne-Yo wrote and helped produce "Gallery." Like most of the album, it follows in the style of contemporary R&B singers such as Usher, Chris Brown and Frankie J.
"Mario Vazquez" is a welcome departure from much of the sexed-up music that tries to pass as love songs. Sure, there are a few cliché lyrics ("Girl, I adore you, never ignore you. You're my angel sent from above.") but standout tracks such as "One Shot" and the Caribbean-influenced "Don't Lie" sound earnest and sweet.
Signed by music mogul Clive Davis, it would have been easy for Vazquez to load his debut with guest artists. Other than the up-tempo "Cohiba" with rapper Fat Joe and reggaeton artist Knox, though, the album is all Vazquez and he steps out strong. Not bad for a dropout. (Olivia Munoz)
Alan Jackson, "Like Red on a Rose" (Arista)
Country star Alan Jackson has always performed with an elegant reserve, even when singing about neon honky tonks, teenage partying and 9/11. Working for the first time with producer Alison Krauss, another country singer who leans on subtlety and tasteful restraint, Jackson creates an album, "Like Red on a Rose," that's all twilight and velvet.
In the biggest departure of his career, the longtime traditionalist moves away from country instrumentation to focus on smooth adult-contemporary ballads, many about aging and love between a mature couple with a long history.
Jackson, a prolific songwriter, only contributed one tune, while Krauss favorite Robert Lee Castleman offered four, including the title tune and the great "Where Do I Go from Here."
The new sound has more in common with Gordon Lightfoot or latter-day Eric Clapton than with Merle Haggard or any of the usual Jackson influences. The shaded arrangements allow Jackson to explore new nuances in his voice, especially on superb renderings of Leon Russell's "Bluebird" and Herb Pederson's "Wait a Minute."
His second album of 2006 — his gospel collection "Precious Memories" came out in February — Jackson has spent the year proving he can excel outside his country comfort zone. At age 47, he's trying on new hats without compromising what has made him so enduring. (Michael McCall)
Scissor Sisters, "Ta-Dah" (Polydor)
By unabashedly showing off Elton John's influence — and even getting the legend to play piano on one song — the Scissor Sisters have taken the disco sound, feel and mind-set and kept it fresh for a new century.
Indeed, the follow-up to their 2004 debut is more of the same, an aural homage to 1970s glam rock and disco with a bit of street-wise SoHo thrown in for good measure. And like the New York band's self-titled debut, "Ta-Dah" is electrified, metrosexual Bee Gees, except the bass riffs are far funkier than anything the Brothers Gibb have written.
The first single, "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" is a bouncy upbeat single with electric pulses in the background that is already charting at No. 1 in Britain, the band's spiritual home base. However, the band, which knows how to blend music with camp, particularly at its live shows, flexes more of its creativity across "Ta-Dah."
For most bands, the sophomore release is the best way to see if there's a real chance for continued success. Scissor Sisters have surpassed that hump and, if the 12-song "Ta-Dah" is any indication, look set to be an integral part of dance floors worldwide and pop charts, too. (Matt Moore)
Paul McCartney, "Ecce Cor Meum" (EMI Classics)
The influence and ubiquity of Paul McCartney in pop circles is undeniable. Perhaps lesser-known, however, is the former Beatle's classical output, a genre he has been releasing albums in since 1991.
On "Ecce Cor Meum (Behold My Heart)," his fourth classical album, McCartney eschews the large number of shorter-length pieces found on his last two classical albums, choosing to construct "Ecce" as an oratorio in four parts. Where past efforts seemed disjointed and scattershot, "Ecce" revels in its majestic fluidity within, and between, movements and is beautifully scored for choir and orchestra.
On opener "Spiritus," a crescendoing chorus and strings gradually melds with soaring horns and thumping timpani drums before calming down mid-track and opening itself up to soprano Kate Royal. As the movement continues, a flurry of strings and organs seems to work both with, and against, the chorus, brilliantly showing the entire spectrum of musical emotion. This diverse scope of expression, ranging from near-whisper to thunderous roar, sets the scene for the majority of "Ecce."
McCartney has long been recognized as a master pop songwriter, and on "Ecce," he steers his attention away from the whimsy that has defined so much of his work and onto graver-sounding pieces. The result, whether it's the mellifluous tranquility of "Interlude (Lament)" or foreboding "Phantom of the Opera"-style organ, "Ecce Cor Meum," is a mature, stunning piece of work that should elevate the status of McCartney's "other side." (Jason Newman)
Solomon Burke, "Nashville" (Shout Factory)
When classic soul singer Solomon Burke titles an album "Nashville," the inclination is to think he's following in the style set by Ray Charles with his landmark 1962 album, "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music." But, by digging into more than country music, Burke's mission is more in line with modern Nashville.
The soul shouter does tackle some country standards, including an emotional take on Tom T. Hall's "That's How I Got to Memphis," a sweet duet with Emmylou Harris on the George Jones-Tammy Wynette hit "We're Gonna Hold On," and a gospel-like duet with Dolly Parton on "Tomorrow Is Forever," a song she wrote and recorded with Porter Wagoner. But Burke also brings in Nashville's adventurous Americana side.
Working with producer-guitarist Buddy Miller, Burke offers a stripped-down "Valley of Tears" with the song's writer, Gillian Welch, and he shows how subtly powerful he can be with Patty Griffin on her song, "Up to the Mountain." He also turns Bruce Springsteen's "Ain't Got You" into a lusty, string-band hoedown.
Burke has never recorded duets in his six-decade career, and even though he often covered Nashville songs early in his career, he's never presented an entire album of country music. At age 66, he's still finding new ground to till. (Michael McCall)
Previous BuzzCuts: Reviews Of Fergie, Chingy, The Black Keys, Diana Krall, and Mozart's 'Die Zauberfloete.'