 En Vogue (The Best Of) (1998, EastWest/Elektra) Some heavy tunes. My personal favorite is Lies. You also get Whatta Man with the Salt n' Pepa rap, and My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It. En Vogue are the original 'tude sisters! Absolutely essential.
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  Esthero: Breath From Another (1998, Work)
Some exciting pieces here, particularily most of the trip-hop title track, but the pieces
don't always come together; an annoying sample and less than brilliant rap don't help Canadian singer/songwriter
Esthero's great vocals (a radio edit/re-mix is wanted). That Girl
was the only real hit, but Country Livin' (The World I Know) and Half A World Away are
equally excellent.
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 Fugees: The Score (1996, Columbia) The Mask, three versions of Fu-Gee-La, and Ready Or Not. Oh yeah, and Killing Me Softy. I liked it.
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 Nelly Furtado: Whoa, Nelly! (2000, Dreamworks) Victoria homegirl Nelly has put out a multi Juno award winning debut (and a Grammy too!) with all songs by her (some in collaboration with Gerald Eaton (Jarvis Church) and Brian West of The Philosopher Kings who also produced)! Turn Off The Light is brilliant, and I'm Like A Bird which got played to death. I think she must've sneaked backstage back when The Philospher Kings played here way back (and got a bad review). People told me about her as 'this girl who sounds just like Erykah Badu'. Who knew?
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 Hepcat: Push N' Shove (2000, Hellcat) The fourth and possibly the best album from this L.A. classic ska dance band led by Greg Lee and Deston Berry, with inspired original numbers The Region, Daydreamin', title track and the instrumental The Ronnie. |
 Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation Of (1998, Ruffhouse) I liked the unlisted extra tracks on here. Hits were Doo Wop, and Everything Is Everything. You have to have this one, it's a law or something. |
 Jacksoul: ABsolute (1995, Represent Recordings) I hunted this debut CD down and though it's been hard to find it was well worth it. Haydain Neale is red hot throughout and just about every track is essential. (Do You) Like It Like That, Eastbound, Unconditional, Let Me Ride are the real cream. Is this the perfect '90s R&B/soul album? An uncontestable achievement.
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 Jacksoul: Sleepless (2000, Vik/BMG) Wow! Awesome CD, I love it to pieces. The ballad Somedays was deservedly a hit here, but I Know What You Want is the real mind-blower. So much to listen to here, and a lot of credit to Jon Levine of The Philospher Kings as well as Haydain Neale. Some nice backup too by Jully Black. I also grooved with Let Me Call You Baby and Sleepless.
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 Jamiroquai: Travelling Without Moving (1996, Columbia) Great stuff. Cosmic Girl, Virtual Insanity, Everyday, and the reggae beat Drifting Along are all perfect. Some really good unlisted bonus tracks.
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 Jamiroquai: Synkronized (1999, Columbia) Some
fantastic new tracks here, written in whole or part by vocalist Jay Kay; I'm head over heels for Falling! Butterfly, in a
slower groove, and Canned Heat, an all-out disco song, are almost as incredible...
This CD is showing up in my player a lot!
|
 Angelique Kidjo: Aye' (1994, Mango/Island)
Angelique is an incredibly talented singer from Benin. Her music is powerful and
often she invokes what I assume are Santeria/Voodoo dieties through them. This debut
includes some very funky tracks, and all are very modern. Agolo is about
mother earth, Yemandja invokes the goddess of water, Adouma and Lon
Lon Vadjro are about curiosity and love.
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 Angelique Kidjo: Fifa (1996, Mango/Island) I think
Fifa means life, and the title track is a beautiful sort-of lullaby, while Naima
is definitely a lullaby to Angelique's baby daughter. The tracks Akwaba, and Bitchifi
are powerful; and translations in english and french are thoughtfully provided. "Bitchifi means that
all your possessions stay on earth, after your big leap in the Dark." A fantastic CD! What a voice!
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 Angelique Kidjo: Oremi (1998, Island) Her third CD
and some very powerful music in Babalao, Itche Koutche, and Yaki
Yaki. Also two very mellow ballads Loloye featuring Naima (her daughter?), and No Worry with Angelique
using english. Two top-notch collaborations with U.S. singers; Open Your Eyes
with Kelly Price, and Never Know featuring Cassandra Wilson (both with individual CDs
reviewed here). Angelique Kidjo grows with each release! Almost every track is essential.
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 Angelique Kidjo: Black ivory Soul (2002, Columbia)
More of a departure from the earlier releases in that it's more international/world music and less specifically African derived. Guests like Dave Matthews (on Iwoya) and Carlos Santana make it interesting, but not as immediately exciting as past work.
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 Lava Hay: Lava Hay (1990, Nettwerk) This is one of my alltime favorite unknown CDs. Michelle Gould and Suzanne Little are like what if the Everyly Bros. were sisters, or something, I don't know how to describe their sound. Really catchy original pop tunes with flutes even! Has a Nettwerk sound to it (Delerium, Waterwalk, Sarah McLaughlin, Ivy). Won't Matter, What Will You Do?, Holding On, and too many more to list. If you see it get one.
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 Jennifer Lopez: On The 6 (1998, Work) The debut CD
album. For me the standouts here were: No Me Ames the ballad duet with Marc
Anthony (who is much better in Spanish than in English in my opinion), Talk About Us a song
that would please any Selena fan, and the hit If You Had My Love. I bought this
expecting the worst; that there would be one or two hit songs and the rest would be flat,
but found On The 6 to be a pleasant surpise.
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 MaryMary: Thankful (2000, Columbia/2C Records) An excellent dance-gospel CD! I Sings, Shackles (Praise You), and Good To me (with Destiny's Child) make this essential. I also enjoyed Thankful, Still My Child, and Be happy.
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 Maxwell: Embrya (1998, Columbia) A very unusual
CD even for Maxwell. Here he is in a mellow mood, with an entire 60 minutes of
funky tracks. It's almost impossible to pick a single one out for special mention
as I prefer to see this album as a whole, however, Everwanting, I'm You,
Luxury: Cococure and Drowndeep are excellent. This is one CD you can put on
without feeling a need to skip any of the twelve tracks. While there is less of the
sort of amazing vocal performances Maxwell has delivered on other CDs, here he is showing
a somewhat more subdued side, so enjoy Embrya for the departure that it is.
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 Maxwell: Now (2001, Columbia) Another sexy package you can put on without skipping a track. Symptom Unknown and Get To Know Ya stand out.
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 Kylie Minogue: Fever (2001, Capitol) Great driving music. More More More, Love At First Sight, Can't Get You Out Of My Head, Come Into My World, In Your Eyes, and the title track. Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours. |
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