| GrooveOut Shorts
Erasure
HITS! The Very Best Of Erasure (CD)
Erasure HITS! The Videos (DVD)
If Erasure isn’t the gayest band you’ve
ever heard, then the book needs to be rewritten,
the deck needs to be reshuffled, and those dance
floors need to be cleared. When “Oh L’Amour”
broke in 1986, it only reached number 85 on the
UK charts, but it set the stage for an illustrious
career for the duo of Andy Bell and Vince Clarke
(also one of the founding members of Depeche Mode
and Yaz). The flamboyant Bell was the perfect
vehicle for their sugary brand of electro-pop,
and some 17 years later it is evident that the
aforementioned sugar has caramelized itself into
stone. Erasure has forged a legendary career full
of sticky-sweet pop hits, and this Greatest Hits
collection is a fitting tribute to their storied
history. The DVD disc is only further acknowledgement
of their unbridled flamboyance and the way in
which it ties itself to their music, weaving in
and out of every line and every movement. •
Andy Bell makes as pretty a woman as he does a
gorgeous man, taking the lead role in an era of
music videos that encouraged a type of fun which
was fashioned from that organic element of the
band having a say in the images and thoughts their
visual element would communicate. Without the
videos, you still have the songs, but what Erasure
has done with the music video is incredibly groundbreaking
in terms of what they were doing with (at the
time) somewhat limited tools. There were very
few special effects, but loads of sharp camera
work and the relentless pursuit of every perfect
angle into which Bell’s face could fall
(which were a lot). • But it is the editing
that makes the videos work—the timing of
the images in with the songs, subtle movements
in the sets which are choreographed with the music
in flawless meter. Easily the most brilliant example
of this is “Love to Hate You,” with
director David Mallet’s meticulous work
slinging itself all over the map in a flurry of
magnificent backdrops, implausible lighting, and
a peculiar story that has you begging for the
next page to turn itself. • Erasure was
and still is a flexible muscle of pop music—all
over the place in every song, constantly reinventing
themselves as if the canvas needs to be re-stretched
every time they created something new, and that
is what has been their strongest point all along.
Despite what they have done for themselves and
in the space of their own career, what they have
formulated musically over the years has opened
the doors (and the public ear) for newer acts
such as New York City’s synth-pop darlings
Soviet, who might just be the next carriers of
the torch in the sticky-sweet dominion of electro-song.
Watch out. From Sire/Mute (www.mute.com). —Lance
Walker
Alix Olson
Independence Meal
From out of a muted hush of intense, foreshadowing
tones stems Alix Olson’s take on the world,
ranging all over her proverbial plot of emotions
from happy to deflated, inspired to crestfallen.
To take words from her own liner notes, it is
“kindness and rage” in a homogenous
combination that, as a great many press releases
have acknowledged, is better conveyed in the live
arena than on compact disc. Nevertheless, this
openly-lesbian poet has separated that live work
from what she intends to accomplish in her recorded
media, and in so doing has created a product saturated
with a laid-back timbre and well-placed voice
samples, everything hitting the precise points
on which she has intended. Her backup band plays
a huge part in this, holding back just enough
to let her get everything across but embellishing
the picture in such a way as to not let it appear
blank. From Subtle Sister Productions. More info:
www.alixolson.com. —LW
Britney Spears
In the Zone
Britney Spears has gone from a teen superstar
to one of the most intriguing female artists of
our time. On her fourth album, In the Zone, Spears
collaborates with the likes of P. Diddy, R. Kelly,
Moby, and Madonna, among others. The songs on
this album have much more of a dance-club rhythm
than her previous albums. This is a well-written,
well-performed CD, definitely one of Spears' more
ambitious albums to date. From Jive Records (www.jiverecords.com).
More info: www.britney.com. —Andrea Rodricks
Pink
Try This
Pink has experimented with a variety of musical
styles, and this time she returns with a more
rock-oriented album. On Try This, she once again
teams up with Linda Perry and enlists Tim Armstrong
of the punk band Rancid as a songwriter and producer.
The music on the disc ranges from dance tracks
to rock anthems. The CD kicks off with the album’s
first single “Trouble” and ends with
“Hooker,” a hidden-track. Pink has
always been innovative with her sound, and this
disc offers a unique style and is loaded with
catchy pop-rock-like tunes. From Arista Records
(www.arista.com). More info: www.pinkspage.com.
—AR
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Gypsy
Long out of print, now remastered for the first
time ever, let Gypsy entertain you, let Gypsy
make you smile! This new CD features vocal performances
by Natalie Wood and Rosalind Russell, and though
it’s actually a bit painful to listen to
Russell, it’s also a treat—we’re
allowed behind the scenes to hear why Broadway
and nightclub performer Lisa Kirk was hired to
do the vocals for the film. (However, it’s
all Russell on “Mr. Goldstone, I Love You,”
and on “Rose’s Turn” it’s
both Russell and Kirk.) We also get to listen
to six previously unreleased gems: the film version
of the classic “Rose’s Turn”
and rare outtakes of “Together Wherever
We Go,” “Some People,” “Small
World,” “You’ll Never Get Away
from Me,” and “Everything’s
Coming Up Roses.” You’ll love the
accompanying booklet with notes on the making
of the film, and it also contains some great photos.
Some people sit on their butts, but don’t
be one of them—get up and get out and get
Gypsy. From Rhino Movie Music (www.rhino.com).
—Blase DiStefano
Original London Cast Recording
Taboo
London, the early ’80s and a notorious nightclub
called Taboo. Margaret Thatcher reigns supreme
. . . outside. Inside, an era-defining world is
beginning to thrive as an amazing array of colorful
characters fueled by flamboyant fashion and sexual
freedom shape the face of a new generation. The
story of Taboo focuses on the intersecting lives
of two young men, Leigh Bowery (played by Boy
George), a brilliant underground artist/performance
artist, and George O’Dowd (played by Euan
Morton), a scenester who grows into international
pop superstar Boy George. The CD features 20 original
songs penned by Boy George, as well as his classic
new-wave hit “Do You Really Want to Hurt
Me.” From First Night Records (www.first-night-records.com).
—Suzie Lynde
Original Broadway Cast Recording
The Boy from Oz
The Boy from Oz tells the dazzling, funny, and
heartbreaking story of the great entertainer Peter
Allen, from his humble beginnings growing up in
the Australian outback through a meteoric rise
to fame as an international star who would go
on to sell out weeklong engagements at Radio City
Music Hall. Singing in country pubs from age 11,
Allen survived family tragedy to become a local
TV star at age 16. Discovered by Judy Garland,
he married her daughter Liza Minnelli and went
on to become a beloved performer and an Oscar-winning
songwriter. The production features stage and
screen star Hugh Jackman as Allen. From Decca
Broadway (www.iclassics.com/iclassics/broadway.jsp).
—Troy Carrington
Maureen McGovern
Out of This World
Out of This World is a nuanced and impassioned
collection of songs by Harold Arlen, one of America’s
most beloved songwriters. McGovern’s impeccably
rendered interpretations include favorites from
Hollywood (“Over the Rainbow” from
The Wizard of Oz, “The Man That Got Away”
from A Star Is Born) and Broadway (“Come
Rain or Come Shine” from St. Louis Woman,
“A Sleepin’ Bee” from House
of Flowers), as well as less frequently heard
songs like “Let’s Take a Walk Around
the Block” and “Don’t Like Goodbyes.”
This reissue features two new bonus tracks, the
eternal standard “Let’s Fall in Love”
and the rarely recorded gem “Optimistic
Voices” from The Wizard of Oz. From Fynsworth
Alley (www.fynsworthalley.com). —TC
Nelly Furtado
Folklore
Nelly Furtado showed up on the scene in the fall
of 2000 with the release of her acclaimed debut
Whoa, Nelly! Radio tracks such as “I’m
Like a Bird” and “Turn off the Light,”
both top-10 hits on the Billboard singles charts,
introduced listeners to a young Canadian, British
Columbian by birth and Portuguese by heritage,
who brought a self-styled vibrancy to the diverse
music she whipped together: hip-hop, Portuguese
fado, pop, soul, classical, Brazilian, dance,
folk, Latin, and anything else that seemed expressive
and alive to her. The new album’s songs
further develop the ideas and emotions that have
long compelled Furtado. And with her ever-upbeat
sense of fusion and generosity, her music continues
to ignore the stylistic restrictions that can
leave pop music stale. From DreamWorks Records
(www.dreamworksrecords.com). More info: www.nellyfurtado.com.
—SL
Floetry
Floacism “Live”
Everything you always wanted to know about Philadelphia
but were afraid to ask comes true again with this
London, England duo’s relocation to Philly
three years ago. As if the presence of The Roots
over the last 10 years and the more recent materialization
of Jill Scott and Kindred the Family Soul weren’t
enough, Floetry further reaffirms our faith in
the city as a hotbed of soul as they come racing
out of the gates with a two-disc set showcasing
songs from their debut album Floetic as well as
three newly recorded tracks. Floetry manages to
knit together two very unique voices in Marsha
Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart, crisscrossing their
stories and melodies over an apt wall of sound
birthed of the work of producers A Touch of Jazz,
overseen by Philly stalwart DJ Jazzy Jeff Townes.
An accompanying live DVD, featuring a full one-hour
show, is exactly what you would expect from listening
to their recordings—full of energy, life,
and a seduction of their audience the recordings
couldn’t possibly deliver. Though the video
itself is a little flat compared to the film,
the sound does not suffer. This live show was
recorded at House of Blues in New Orleans—arguably
one of the best-sounding rooms in the country,
if not the world. Look for them to bring that
sound to Houston in February, supporting Erykah
Badu when she kicks off her tour in our fair city.
From Dreamworks (www.dreamworksrecords.com). —LW
Toni Braxton
Ultimate
This ultimate R&B album is the first anthology
of Toni Braxton’s entire recording career.
Ultimate has a decade of pop/R&B hits by one
of the most recognizable voices in music history.
This release also includes her debut single “Give
U My Heart,” a collaboration with Babyface.
In addition, there are two new recordings and
a previously unreleased radio cut of the Hex Hector
remix for “Un-Break My Heart.” With
her sultry R&B vocals Toni Braxton has become
an industry legend. From Arista Records (www.arista.com).
—AR
Galleon
So I Begin
Galleon is French musicians Gilles Luka and Phillippe
Laurent. (Fellow rugby buddies for over 10 years,
they named their duo after French football star
Jerome Galleon.) Both producers in their own right,
they got together two years ago and decided to
introduce a new sound, a hybrid of pop, rock,
and house, with an acoustic feeling. Laurent is
the duo’s keyboardist and mixer; Luka is
the vocalist and melody man. The Galleon single
“So I Begin” went gold in France,
selling more than 300,000 singles, and was a top-10
hit in New York City. From Radikal Records (www.radikal.com).
More info: www.galleon-online.com. —TC
Berlin Philharmonic/Sir Simon Rattle
Beethoven: Fidelio
Beethoven’s only opera was first heard in
1805 when it bore the title Leonore, the true
name of the heroine who disguises herself as a
man—Fidelio—to rescue her husband,
a political prisoner. A second version appeared
in 1806 and a further revision in May 1814, though
the composer made further adjustments to the score
for a performance in July of the same year. For
this recording, Sir Simon Rattle chose the orchestra
of which he is now chief conductor and artistic
director, the Berlin Philharmonic. This is the
second major Beethoven recording for which Rattle
has engaged a top-flight modern-instrument orchestra,
and has recorded in concert. This recording is
taken from concert performances at the Philharmonie
in Berlin in April 2003. The 2-CD set is from
EMI Classics (www.emiclassics.com). More info:
www.berlin-philharmonic.com. —TC
Eroica Trio
Beethoven: Triple Concerto Op. 56 & Piano
Trio Op. 11
Pianist Erika Nickrenz, violinist Adela Peña,
and cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio have been
making beautiful music together since they were
children. It was while they were students at Juilliard
and well on their way to distinguished solo careers
that they decided to form the Eroica Trio. Since
winning the prestigious Naumburg Award in 1991,
followed by a hugely successful Lincoln Center
debut, the Grammy-nominated trio has become one
of the most acclaimed chamber-music groups in
the world. They have performed the Beethoven Triple
Concerto more frequently than any other trio in
history. From Angel Records (www.angelrecords.com).
Mark your calendar: The Eroica Trio is scheduled
for a Houston concert on April 27, 2004, at Stude
Concert Hall. —SL
MUSIC DVD
Jennifer Lopez
The Reel Me
Jennifer Lopez is one of the most infamously famous
female entertainers of our time. This impressive
DVD includes all of J Lo's music videos, and she
has incorporated an interview between each video
to give it a more personal touch. J Lo has an
eye for the visuals, and her videos are productions
that elevate the songs to new heights. The DVD
contains every J Lo video from her first “If
You Had My Love” to the latest “Baby
I Love U.” Also included is a six-track
CD with some of J Lo’s recently remixed
tracks. From Sony Music (www.sonymusic.com/dvd).
More info: www.jenniferlopez.com. —AR
MUSIC DVD
Various Artists
Disco Inferno
Disco has never really gone away. This ultimate
collection of disco classics, which never fail
to pack any dance floor, is designed to take you
back to some great disco memories. The DVD includes
disco artists performing live on a European Disco
television show. Classic Pictures releases the
live performances taken from Musik Laden, an old
TV show from West Germany. There are some great
songs including Donna Summer's She Works Hard
for the Money as well as performances from the
likes of The Village People, The Jacksons, Sister
Sledge, Lipps Incorporated, and Boney M. From
Classic Pictures (www.classicpictures.co.uk).
—AR
MUSIC DVD
Various Artists
Dance Hits USA
Anyone who is a fan of dance music and all of
the genres that fall under the general category
of dance is well aware that dance music gets little
to no exposure in the national media. What is
a dance music fan to do? Where can a dance music
fan get their needed fix? Radikal Records comes
to the rescue with Dance Hits USA on DVD, which
features top artists such as ATB, Zombie Nation,
Perpetuous Dreamer, Sinead O’Connor, Mad’house,
Voodoo & Serano, and Galleon. From Radikal
Records (www.radikal.com). —SL
If you have any comments about this article,
please email them to letters@outsmartmagazine.com.
|
