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Why did I purchase this disc? Good question, easy answer. Basically, Wendy & Lisa were working on this album with her and I needed it for my Wendy & Lisa collection. But I was amazed by the intensity and range of k.d. lang herself. This is a concept album. Don't let the name or cover photograph fool ya. k.d appears on the cover and all subsequent photographs wearing mens clothing. She is a female doing male drag. Yes, believe it or not, there are such things as Drag Kings. But to give the album a double meaning, all the songs deal with cigarette smoking and the cover photograph shows Lang in a suggestive pose holding an imaginary cigarette.
All of the songs are covers and in one way or another contain references to smoking. Although the tracks Lisa and Wendy play on are interesting and unique, I found many others that were just as exciting and diverting. She really shines here. Lang has a smokey lounge singer voice and interprets these classics with a mixture of jazz, r&b, country and soul. It's quite revolutionary in many ways.
Though I don't normally ascribe to following singers, Lang has given me every reason to pick up more material and discover not only a voice but a mind and a philosophy toward musical discovery. No wonder Lisa & Wendy wanted to work with her. Classic disc. A welcome addition to any collection and well worth owning. My final word: INSPIRED.
K.D. LANG - DRAG
01. Don't Smoke In Bed
02. The Air That I Breathe
03. Smoke Dreams
04. My Last Cigarette
05. The Joker
06. Theme From The Valley Of The Dolls
07. Your Smoke Screen
08. My Old Addiction
09. Till The Heart Caves In
10. Smoke Rings
11. Hain't It Funny
12. Love Is Like A Cigarette
Oddly enough, I'd never heard of Kid Creole before this album. Even though he had a huge club hit earlier in the 80s called 'Endicott' or something like that. Irregardless, this is another cd I bought for one song. A Prince song. He contributes a song making this useless disc another must have in my library.
Kid Creole is something of an enigma. His calypso sound is somewhere between Reggae, Latin Beats and Carnival. He's definitely Caribbean via New Orleans, but it's not a sound I'm partial to. I appreciate the work, but feel little draw to it otherwise. Certain songs are interesting and have value on their own, but overall, 'Waters' sounds more like a geriatric hard-on looking for debutante tits at Mardi Gras.
The Prince track is quite funky and upbeat. Creole's animated vocals serve to enhance the track and would have been suited to more contributions from the purple one. 'The Sex Of It' is easily the highlight of this release. It's a catch 22. If you're a fan of Creole, you probably hate the song... But those who like Prince won't enjoy the other 12 songs. Interestingly enough, both men are similar in stature and seem to share an obsession with women. This song has seen release on other formats and if you can find it on one of those, you'll probably be better off than spending the amount on this disc. My final word: USELESS.
KID CREOLE AND THE COCONUTS - PRIVATE WATERS IN THE GREAT DIVIDE
01. I Love Girls
02. (No More) Casual Sex
03. The Sex Of It
04. Cory's Song
05. Dr. Paradise
06. Takin' A Holiday
07. Lambada
08. Funky Audrey And The Coconut Rag
09. When Lucy Does The Boomerang
10. He's Takin' The Rap
11. Pardon My Appearance
12. Laughing With Our Backs Against The Wall
13. My Love
I was living in Switzerland when this disc came out. I wasn't sure I'd even find it there as it was in an American magazine I learned of it. I originally bought it because it had a Prince track on it, but I quickly moved past my motivation and embraced the disc. Though not a strong vocalist, Mica has an interesting voice and knows how to showcase it in the best possible way. The record features some interesting and exciting songwriting. I've not heard most of the contributors before or since, but I quite like what they did here. 'Contribution' is an anthem of sorts and should have been a single. Most of the tracks on here have a Soul II Soul sound. Those urban drum beats highly typical of the late 80s early 90s are strongly present. The Prince song is quite interesting though somewhat subdued compared to the rest of the music. And yet, 'If I Love U 2 Nite' fits in nicely with the flow of the record while simultaneously maintaining its identity as a Prince composition. The track was later recorded by Prince's first wife, Mayte on her solo disc for NPG Records.
The Smokey Robinson cover is also an outstanding cut. It's very exciting arrangement helps move the album forward with a number of stand-out tracks. 'You Can Make A Wish' and 'Just Make Me The One' are among the many amazing songs. The only downside is the socially conscious track 'Who Can We Blame'. Even though it's a reflective tune based on highlighting awareness on social indifference, it ends up sounding more like a whine than proclamation. The closing track, 'One World' is essentially a reprise of 'Contribution' this time being performed by a gospel choir complete with whoops and shouts of praise. A fulfilling conclusion. Rakim donates the rap in the opening track but doesn't appear on the rest of the disc.
The final word is great disc by an exciting artist who has lots of potential and recorded a lovely disc. Not sure what's happened to her. I'll have to pull her up on Wikipedia and read up. One thing I'd like to mention... This disc has a strong European sound to it. It's almost typical British pop, but satisfying in the round. Well Worth the effort to track down. My final word: GROOVY.
MICA PARIS - CONTRIBUTION
01. Contribution
02. South Of The River
03. If I Love U 2 Nite
04. Just To Be With You
05. Take Me Away
06. Truth & Honesty
07. Deep Afrika
08. More Love
09. You Can Make A Wish
10. Just Make Me The One
11. I Can't Stop Loving You
12. I've Been Watching You
13. Who Can We Blame
14. One World
I know what you're thinking... Why on earth would I have a Kenny Rogers cd in my collection???!!! Right? Well, the answer is sadly quite simple. Believe it or not, Prince wrote a song for Kenny on this disc. Of course to avoid any awkwardness on either side, he used a pseudonym. Regardless, my relentless pursuit of Prince music inspired this purchase.
I realize I'm missing something when it comes to Rogers. I seem to miss out on that something with most vocalists. I just don't understand how people can fanatically follow an artist based solely on their vocal delivery. Of course I have a couple artists I'm interested in who are considered vocalists. One is Alison Krauss. She doesn't write any original material and yet I find the way she and her band arrange the music is quite phenomenal. Songs I wouldn't normally give a second glance receive attention after she performs them. Not so with Kenny.
In all fairness to his fame, I've given the disc an impartial listen. I listened all the way through... more than once. Maybe it's the generic arrangements, but nothing stands out. Even the Prince track is lackluster. Of course the instrumentation is arranged and performed by Rogers' producers and features no input from Prince whatsoever. Still, the song has more momentum and drive for a mid tempo ballad than any other track on the disc. Rogers enlisted the aid of other popular songwriters on this project. Michael Bolton and Burt Bacharach contributed songs. Sadly, none of them really live up the reputations of their authors. 'Anything At All' has potential but in this case, falls rather flat. You can check out the interesting background vocals by El DeBarge on the Prince number, 'You're My Love'.
My final word: YIKES. Aside from the Prince track, there's nothing worth mentioning about this boring record unless you enjoy mediocre 80s filler pop. Rogers himself once sung, "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run."
My advice? Run.
KENNY ROGERS - THEY DON'T MAKE THEM LIKE THEY USED TO
01. This Love We Share
02. If I Could Hold On To Love
03. You're My Love
04. Time For Love
05. They Don't Make Them Like They Used To
06. Life Is Good, Love Is Better
07. Just The Thought Of Losing You
08. Anything At All
09. After All This Time
10. Twenty Years Ago
This is a somewhat different entry. I'm writing about Juno Reactor's 'Luciana' disc; which is mainly one long track. This composition isn't so much a song as an alien landscape created to cause the listener to have an emotional response. In a way, it's similar to the type of music I reviewed earlier by Vince Clarke and Martyn Ware. The difference is where Clarke & Ware try to add different dimension to music by creating multi-spatial landscapes, 'Luciana' simply creates an environment. Its focus isn't the melody or musical element, but rather the sound. Ben Watkins, the main songwriter for Juno Reactor, did this again on a smaller scale with the track 'Shark' from 'Bible Of Dreams'. You could listen to this track a literally feel like a predator floating on the bottom of the ocean floor, hunting for food. It's really extreme.
Where this track loses it's appeal is the length. It's just too long. That being said, when you play it in the background without focusing, it can pass rather quickly. Anyway you choose to play it, this song is an investment of time. Be prepared and be ready to involve yourself in what's going on.
Ben used to write on Juno Reactor cds... "Imagination, use it as a weapon". If his intention is to make people use their imaginations, I'd say he's doing an excellent job. Buy it if you're into ambient sound, or if you're a die-hard Reactor fan. It's not for the mainstream market. My final word: SPACEY.
JUNO REACTOR - LUCIANA
01. Luciana
For some reason, when I read the title of Wendy & Lisa's new disc I thought of Harry Potter. It made me think of Diagon Alley.
I felt a certain apprehension buying this disc. Lisa & Wendy have a way with music that causes an emotional response in me. You watch movies like "Lord Of The Rings" and see some tragic or triumphant part... All of a sudden, you're crying. Their music has done this to me many times. I lack words to describe why I love these women. Why I care about them, so instead I'll share my impressions of the disc I'm listening to.
Lisa isn't known for contributing lead vocals very often so it's nice to hear her singing more. The blend is more evenly split on this disc and rather soothing. The first time I heard 'Balloon' I thought the music was brilliant, but I wasn't sure about the lyrics. I'm still that way now. Individual lines invoke different ideas. They're deep and meaningful, yet leave me breathless; especially the line "We are only temporary". In the context of a relationship, this a painfully sad notion. 'Invisible' comes across as the ultimate self-esteem song. If you've ever been dumped by someone, this song describes rediscovering your worth despite the horrors of losing that love. I read somewhere online the song is about Prince. That's probably true though I can't imagine they spend much time thinking about him nowadays. 'Ever After' is the track I think is most personal to the duo. For me, it reminds me of a lost friend. A very specific person. No matter how far apart our lives have grown, I still feel an overwhelming love for him. I wonder how he is, what he's doing... Sometimes I search for him online even though I know now is not the right time to have him in my life.
'Salt & Cherries (MC5)' is one of my favorite tracks. Amazing energy, progression and build. 'Niagra Falls' makes me think of childhood. How everything looked so big when I was little and now seems smaller. This shift in perspective is a scary thing. 'Red Bike' makes me think of people who inspire me through their presence. Who they are touches and motivates those around them.
'You And I'... Wow. Such a sad song. It reminds me of that last year with my ex. "You and I running out of time"... It was such a slow death to love. And yet it happened overnight. 'White Flags Of Winter Chimneys' expresses a desire to surrender to someone. There is someone I think about when I hear this song. I see him more clearly than anyone else in my life. To me, he is the chill breath, the sparkling pristine clean of cold. He is clarity. Winter. 'Beginning At The End' is another song about my ex. When we started, he loved me but I didn't love him. I fell in love with him while he was falling out of love with me. "I had just arrived in time to see you leave"...
The internet download included four additional tracks. They're all enjoyable despite my initial fears of suddenly finding a piece of work I wouldn't like by these wonderful women, I instead find myself rededicated. Devotion leaves you in a vulnerable position. No matter how much I want to give a fair and unbiased review, the fact is I find the mindset simply too compatible to my own. They make sense to me like no other artist. Do yourself a favor and buy this disc. My final words: INSTANT CLASSIC.
WENDY & LISA - WHITE FLAGS OF WINTER CHIMNEYS
01. Balloon
02. Invisible
03. Ever After
04. Salt & Cherries (MC5)
05. Niagra Falls
06. Red Bike
07. You And I
08. White Flags Of Winter Chimneys
09. Beginning At The End
10. Niagra Falls (Demo)
11. The Dream (Demo)
12. Viste (Demo)
13. Waiting For Coffee
Even though Earth, Wind & Fire are a famous band from the 70s, I've never really listened to them. I certainly have some affection for 70s funk bands, but this one never caught my attention. My main reason for picking up this disc is of course my obsessive pursuit of Prince songs. He contributed one track to this album. I later learned 'Super Hero' was actually used by The Steeles on the "Blankman" soundtrack. I believe this track is therefore considered a cover. At the time I was under the impression it was the only existing recording of the song. In comparison, this is the superior cut of the two versions. It's a sparse arrangement whereas The Steeles' version seems overproduced and cluttered.
I'd like to say this disc inspired me to buy more Earth, Wind & Fire material, but the exact opposite is true. I find the album tedious in a generic way. There's nothing that really stands out and grabs me. I find certain tracks somewhat interesting, but they're hardly worth the price. I keep reading about Maurice White and how important a producer/songwriter he is; yet if this work is any indication of his ability, I'm left wondering what the attraction is. Maybe is a generational thing. I'm too young to appreciate what's happening here. But my overall impression is extremely strong. I feel like I'm listening to a band that hit its stride and is now churning out retired music.
There seems to be a list of well known, respected songwriters working here to create a hit record, but the collection falls short and for the most part lacks strong efforts by various names like Philip Bailey, Frankie Blue, But Bacharach, Michael and Linda Stokes... The packaging promised something iconic, but the contents fail to deliver.
You expect something groundbreaking or more representative of the band's history and hits. What you get is bland, run of the mill pop. 'Super Hero' is the singular exception here. It's one of Prince's better tunes from the early 90s. I think Prince would have done the band a big favor by donating more tunes to this lackluster project and punching it up a couple notches. With dismal track after track of throwaway tunes, 'Millennium' needs a vital infusion of contemporary funk.
Of course these days you can download the single track and avoid the filler material entirely. I recommend saving the money unless you find it used for a couple bucks. 'Super Hero' is at least worth that. My final words: MILLENNIAL BOMB.
EARTH, WIND & FIRE - MILLENNIUM
01. Even If You Wonder
02. Sunday Morning
03. Blood Brothers
04. Kalimba Interlude
05. Spend The Night
06. Divine
07. Two Hearts
08. Honor The Magic
09. Love Is The Greatest Story
10. The "L" Word
11. Just Another Lonely Night
12. Super Hero
13. Wouldn't Change A Thing About You
14. Love Across The Wire
15. Chicago (Chi-Town) Blues
16. Kalimba Blues
