As poster boy for superstar producer JR Rotem’s new label, Beluga Heights, rookie R&B sensation Sean Kingston does not fail lofty expectations. As follow-up to the Ice-T remake of “Colors,” “Beautiful Girls” adds Jamaican flavor to Ben E. King standard “Stand by Me” and cooks up a hot summertime smash. Barely 18 years old, Kingston […]
Savage Garden main man Darren Hayes’ new solo album, “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made,” was previewed in the United States at a series of sold-out live showcases where response was nothing less than manic. While the double album is as diverse as the seasons, first single “Step Into the Light” is a joyous dance-floor steamer, […]
Endearing singer/songwriter Kim Richey has been AWOL for the greater part of a decade, and while she remains best known as a songwriter of hits by Radney Foster, Dixie Chicks, Trisha Yearwood and Patty Loveless, her vocal stamp remains appreciable to anyone who recalls her breathtaking 1999 album “Glimmer” and accompanying single “If You Don’t […]
The cover art on Chris Cornell’s second solo album suggests a folk record from the early ’60s (and the title suggests a Kansas cover lurking about somewhere). But the music inside is strictly crunchy, dare-we-say-grungy rock straight out of the ’90s that Cornell helped shape with Soundgarden. “Ghosts” sports a nostalgically Seattle-ish minor-chord riff […]
Big & Rich’s third album is an amazing collection of widely divergent songs. On one hand there’s the bare-bones, Texas shuffle version of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” and on the other, there’s reggae/rap mixed with steel guitar on “Please Man,” featuring Wyclef Jean. John Legend provides an a cappella intro on […]
T-Pain is a troublemaker who prides himself on pretty women, possessions, partying and sex. These frivolous musings take center stage on “Epiphany,” which finds the Tallahassee, Fla.-bred vocalist on the hunt for more late-night trysts (”Back Seat Action,” “69″) and downright mischief. Similar to his omnipresent mentor Akon, T-Pain has effectively branded his Roger […]
The Springsteen camp continues to mine gold from the artist’s inspired 2006 “Seeger Sessions,” this time with soul-stirring performances from Dublin. More Bourbon Street than E Street, the Boss and his ragtag 18-piece band have a ball ripping through all the album cuts plus a cadre of seasoned originals. Highlights include a smoldering “Eyes […]
On his indie debut, the follow-up to 2004’s “Let’s Talk About It,” Carl Thomas offers the same sincerity and raw intensity that made us swoon in the first place. Lines like “Baby, I can’t take the thought of losing you / ’cause I know that it would break my heart in two” are pretty […]
Having disbanded for several years, the Smashing Pumpkins know their return single needs to make a grand entrance. The band’s new incarnation comes out firing on “Tarantula,” amping an overdubbed, jabbing guitar attack that’s on a definite mission to rock. But for all the six-string squealing, this is a lightly produced affair. It’s raw enough […]
Evolution, indeed. Lay this lead single from Korn’s upcoming, as-yet-untitled album next to any track on the band’s groundbreaking debut, and you’ll hear the many years stretch out between them. Aside from guitars at the song’s bridge tuned like snoozing lawn mowers, casual listeners wouldn’t suspect this is a group that turned depression into an […]
The retail universe has dramatically changed from one year ago, where “American Idol” victory songs were carefully controlled by physical release — all but ensuring their debut at the top of The Billboard Hot 100. Because of hastily recorded studio versions of weekly performances this year, all tracks are available for download, including “This Is […]
New duo Halfway to Hazard features singer/songwriter David Tolliver and Chad Warrix, formerly of the band Sodium. Both hail from Eastern Kentucky near Hazard, and have known each other since grade school. Their major-label debut is a poignant story about young love and its potential tragic twists. The lead vocal lends a vibrant feel to […]
Anyone over age 5 is bound to blush for finding appeal in this nonsensical novelty track, courtesy of Finland. But after three spins (and a couple martinis), resistance to “Dolly Song” from, uh, animated hippo Holly Dolly is futile. Its videoclip (holly-dolly.eu) makes mission clear, as the happy hippo gets her funk on, all the […]
Christian staple Chris Rice catapulted into the AC top 10 last year with the inventive, endearing top 10 hit “When Did You Fall (In Love With Me).” He returns with another positive splash of pop perfection in “Lemonade,” complete with summertime lyric replete with sunny skies and the fruits of seeing the glass “tipping in […]
