GrooveOut Shorts

Tony Bennett & k.d. lang

A Wonderful World

Inspired by the songs associated with Louis Armstrong—a friend and colleague of Tony Bennett’s as well as a major influence on both Bennett and k.d. lang—A Wonderful World features such songs as “La Vie en Rose,” “If We Ever Meet Again,” “I’m Confessin’ (That I Love You),” and the Armstrong classic, “What a Wonderful World.” K.d. lang, whose successful career spans country, pop, and torch song, joined Bennett on tour during the summer of 2001 and has known him since they recorded “Moonglow” together in 1994 for Bennett’s “MTV Unplugged” TV special. Lang brought “La Vie en Rose” to the table: “I always loved the song and remember, when I was younger, dancing to the old Grace Jones version of it. So we decided that we’d do a bossa nova version.” “What a Wonderful World” took on a special significance to lang when she was on tour with Bennett: “We were on the road, Tony and I, when September 11 happened, and something about the song reminds me of that day.” “Because of everything that’s happened, I’m glad we made a peaceful album,” adds Bennett. “We wanted to make something calm, to give people a little oasis of serenity instead of being stressed out.” Bennett and lang have succeeded. From RPM Records/Columbia Records. More info: www.tonybennett.net, www.kdlang.com, or www.columbiarecords.com. —Troy Carrington

Tori Amos

Scarlet’s Walk

With her brutally honest and introspective musical and lyrical styles, Amos engages the listener in a story that follows Scarlet’s character across America. The themes explored in Scarlet's Walk range from an outcry over America's tragic treatment of Native Americans, to the impact of the September 11th terrorist attacks, to her sadness at the image-conscious culture of America. I especially liked "Taxi Ride," where Scarlet learns of the death of a gay friend; the song reveals how people react to death and the betrayal that can happen even after death. Heavy subject matter is her trademark, and Tori Amos delivers. From Epic Records (www.com). —Andrea Rodricks

Ian Bostridge

The Noël Coward Songbook

Coward, the dandy English polymath, never proclaimed his gay-ness, but his orientation was no secret (nor were his affairs with men). Today Coward remains best known for his comedies and talent for living as a personality. Tenor Ian Bostridge emphasizes Coward’s musical-theater legacy. Most any showtune queen knows “Mad Dogs and Englishmen,” Coward’s smirk at British expatriates. › His wicked lyric gift sneaks out in other comic songs, including “Some-thing to Do with Spring,” (“The dew-drops glitter like dia-mond links./They say that rabbits have minds like sinks”). Romantic tunes like “Someday I’ll Find You” still ache with longing. From EMI Classics (www.emiclassics.com). —Tim Brookover

Betty Buckley

The Doorway

Betty Buckley gives inspirational emotion and effortless grace to standards by Cole Porter (“I Concentrate on You”), Paul Simon (“Bridge Over Troubled Water”), Rodgers & Hart (“With a Song in My Heart”), and John Lennon (“Imagine”), while also highlighting new songs by Ricky Ian Gordon (“Sycamore Trees”), Peter Eldridge (“An Interesting Person”), and Buckley herself (the title song). The Tony Award-winning actress is currently costarring in the HBO series Oz, which begins its last season this month. The Doorway is available in stores and through the label’s website at www.fynsworthalley.com. —TC

Toni Braxton

More Than a Woman

Toni Braxton's fifth album, More Than A Woman, is largely hip-hop-based and includes many different musical settings. The collaborative efforts of today’s hottest music producers along with one of the most recognized names in R&B is sure to take this album to the top. Braxton's smooth, sultry voice is as mesmerizing as ever. She continues to re-invent herself through her music, and this time she gives her fans something different musically. From Arista Records (www.com). —AR

Kim Richey

Rise

Despite the overwhelming pop overtones of this, Kim Richey’s fourth release, there is an air of subtlety to the songs that is only revealed with multiple listens. The artwork on the record is loud and most of the songs move with an uncomfortably upbeat pace for what the vocals are doing, but the melodies of the music itself and the laid-back production stand out after a while. To say that the music is poppy, though, is a wide generalization. The overall sound is more in an alt-country direction than anything else, with Kim’s beautiful and sometimes raspy voice controlling the direction of all the emotions effortlessly. From Lost Highway (www.kimrichey.com). —Lance Walker

Röyksopp

Melody A.M.

Years before the Nordic funk duo of Torbjorn Bruntland and Svein Berge took on the name Röyksopp, they had been schoolmates in the rural town of Tromso, Norway. It was here, finding their music classes lacking in what they considered exciting or interesting instruments, that they began to experiment with creating their own sounds. The product of that early innovation is evident on Melody A.M., a beautiful collection of dance-based tracks that bleed emotion and brilliantly conceived production. It is a consistent album, every track resonating in a gorgeous blend of warm sounds layered perfectly over one other, vocals coming in and out with intensity and beats, keeping the entire thing strung together. The stunner on the album is “Sparks,” which features Anneli Drecker of the band Bel Canto on vocals. “Sparks,” like the rest of the album, stands out in its refusal to stay put, roaming about within its own melodies to keep the listener attached to it through its completion. A bonus disc of re-mixes will be a nice treat for those leaning more toward the club circuit. From Astralwerks (www.astralwerks.com). —LW

Chanticleer

Our American Journey

To mark its 25th-anniversary season, the male a cappella ensemble Chanticleer has released an impressive collection of songs that span American musical traditions. The disc opens with the traditional Appalachian melody “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah,” a fine introduction to the ringing power of these 12 voices. Other treasures include two Mexican baroque jewels and “Whispers,” a haunting commissioned work from Steven Stucky that incorporates lines from gay poet-father Walt Whitman’s “Whispers of Heavenly Death.” The guys also give a lovely, languorous reading to “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” by the great Stephen Foster. Less successful are the stabs at Broadway numbers like the Gershwin’s “Love Walked In.” The Chanticleer voices somehow never quite meld with the brassy show-tune idiom. Still, with American Journey, the San Francisco-based ensemble (at least one of whom, Christopher Fritzsche, is openly gay) remains the gold standard for male singers. Chanticleer will perform on January 14 in a Houston Friends of Chamber Music concert at Stude Concert Hall, Rice University. From Teldec Classics. More info: www.chanticleer.org. —TB

Cassius

Au Rêve

Like numerous creative teams, particularly in dance music, Cassius are a duo. Phillipe Zdar and Boombass met in Paris in 1988 and immediately took to creating music together. The résumé they have since built up behind them as producers is impressive, having handled MC Solaar’s milestone Qui Seme… album in the early ’90s, but it is with the release of their own 14-track full-length Au Rêve that they are finally allowed to really shine. The album is a study in the different musical genres the two have immersed themselves in over the years—weaving in and out from house music to hip-hop and reggae, occasionally touching on techno and drum & bass, finding room for a few wailing guitar solos here and there. Even with the chart-topping presence of its musical genres, the album finds room for innovation, and is likely to sound fresh years from now. From Astralwerks (www.astralwerks.com). —LW

Mad’house

Absolutely Mad

Buse Unlu is the voice behind the music and she does a good job with these disco-infused Madonna classics. The album covers a range of Madonna hits with house/trance rhythms and techno elements fit for the dance floors. “Like A Prayer” by Mad’house, dominating Euro charts, is very good indeed! The album also contains two of Mad’house’s original tracks, “Be Yourself” and “Lady of the Dawn.” From Radikal Records (www.radikal.com). —AR

Airlock

Drystar

It’s not surprising to find out that the members of Airlock have all been involved in soundtrack work in their past. Somewhat cloaked as a pop record, even with all of the distinctive voices of this Belgian quartet, Drystar showcases all of the subtle and atmospheric tendencies of the music we all hear in films and advertisements. The connection runs deeper than that similarity as “Face Down,” which appears on this album, was first used in the cult film “Parabellum” before it eventually crossed over into European radio and brought the group to the attention of the public. The key to Airlock’s success has been the way they have taken that music which so commonly takes a backseat in our minds and royally blended it with their obvious love of pop music. Let’s hope they continue doing both. From One Little Indian in the UK and Surge Recordings stateside (www.surgerecordings.com). —LW

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Composed and conducted by Tolga Kashif

The Queen Symphony

This exciting new work is both a tribute to and inspired by the music of rock legends, Queen. The Queen Symphony is a six-movement piece, which explores the themes of a number of Queen’s enduringly successful songs, drawing on and developing the band’s own wide-ranging musical influences and tastes. Tolga Kashif has collaborated with Elton John, David Bowie, and Bono, to name a few. From Angel Records (www.angelrecords.com) on Jan. 7. —TC

Kenny Loggins

The Essential Kenny Loggins

The Essential Kenny Loggins is a portrait of an artist whose music defines the very essence of Americana. After introducing the duo of Loggins & Messina on seven well-chosen tracks from their first three LPs of 1972 and ’73—including “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” “Angry Eyes,” and “Watching the River Run”—the collection celebrates Loggins’ contribution to the pop songbook. Over the course of the next 28 tracks, The Essential Kenny Loggins gathers the lion’s share of his Billboard Hot 100 chart singles—nearly 20 hits covering as many years (including “Footloose”!). From Legacy Recordings. For more info: www.legacyrecordings.com/kennyloggins, www.columbiarecords.com, or www.sonymusic.com. —TC

Theory of a Deadman

Theory of a Deadman

When songwriter Tyler Connolly passed on a demo tape to friend and fellow Vancouver resident Chad Kroeger at a barbecue, he didn’t think much of it. Kroeger, however, is the singer for the highly successful rock band Nickelback, and happened to promptly fall in love with the tape. A few days later he was on the phone working out a record deal for the boys with his new label 604 Records, and the rest is history. The boys emerged from the studio months later with a heavy, driving album full of melodic and aggressive songs that can stand next to any of their post-grunge heavyweight peers. It is guitar-driven rock in its purest form, forged from all the intensity of their rock ’n’ roll roots and, considering their geography, certainly a lifetime’s worth of hockey games. From Roadrunner/604 Records. More info: www.roadrunnerrecords.com, www.theoryofadeadman.com, or www.604records.com. —TC

Vivian Green

A Love Story

Singer-songwriter Vivian Green’s debut album, A Love Story, is a compelling piece of storytelling. With a flawless voice and soulful/jazzy vibes, Green sings about love, lost and found, and all the feelings experienced while recording the album, both positive and negative. This impressive debut disc is a collection of slow ballads and up-tempo tracks carried out by the emotionally powerful style of new Philly soul. From Columbia Records (www.com). —AR

• DVD

Kylie Minogue

Fever 2002 “Live in Manchester”

The Aussie pop star has become an international superstar. Her latest DVD has lots of life and energy and is sure to be another smash for Minogue. Her first single "Can't Get You Out of My Head" has already gained her popularity in the U.S. club scene. The catchy, upbeat dance tracks have sophisticated disco sounds without the heavy techno or electronic overtones. The DVD captures Minogue’s live show that toured the UK, Europe, and Australia. From Capitol Records (www.com). —AR

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