My Amazon Reviews: Alabama Shakes "Sound And Color"

Flashing lights and blinding colors
4 Out Of 5 Stars

First of all, there is that voice. Brittany Howard is a force of nature, one to be reckoned with, and she makes it count on Alabama Shakes' second album, "Sound and Color." Now that they've established themselves with their still awesome debut, they used the time wisely to both road test the new songs and use the studio as an instrument. The opening vibes on the title track are your first clue. There's a touch of psychedelics there, but don't fret. "Don't Wanna Fight No More" is one of those songs where Brittany just cuts loose. It's a hot vamp for guitarist Heath Fogg to work over. Or take in the primitive stomp on "Gemini."

There's a lot of that going on for "Sound and Color." The band is mixing it up, the way the album's title would suggest. They still have that dirty south feel to the sound of it all, but they also want to expand their range. They're painting with a much broader palette than before. Be it the garage band pulse of "The Greatest" or the blues wail of "Gimme All Your Love," "Sound and Color" is a huge leap forward from "Boys and Girls." Once again, this band is a force of nature. Raw and roots, soul and rock, it all comes together.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Tina Turner "Private Dancer"

Hail to The Queen!
5 out Of 5 Stars

What started life as a vanity project for members of Heaven 17 ultimately became one of the best albums of the decade and a total rebirth for Tina Turner's career. I remember reading in Rolling Stone that, just as this album was being released, Tina was lowered to playing private shows for the likes of business conventions. "Private Dancer" changed all that, and ushered in a new style for soul singers that everyone else promptly adopted.

First off, the production was MTV slick. You'll hear just how pristine that sound was in the hits "What's Love Got To Do With It" and "Better Be Good To Me." Then came the superstar cameos, like Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits writing specifically for Tina and then the incendiary Jeff Beck guitar solo on the title track. A few choice covers, like the soulful renditions of The Beatles' "Help," a powerful version of David Bowie's "1984," the resurrection of Ann Peebles' chestnut "I Can't Stand The Rain," and the single that kicked off the album's ascent, Al Green's "Let's Stay Together." Despite all the sidekicks, "Private Dancer" is Tina Turner's show. All the slick production in the world couldn't mask the world-toughened power of her voice, be it the powerful kick on "I Might Have Been Queen" to the wearied wounded-ness of the title song.

Every song on "Private Dancer" could have been a hit. As it was, five of them charted, with three top tens and "What's Love Got to Do With It" hitting number one. It remains a thoroughly enjoyable album after many years, and still a stunning example of a talent that just couldn't be kept down. "Private Dancer" is, simply stated, the absolute best of Tina Turner's solo albums.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Michael Jackson "Bad 25"

When he's Bad, he's very, very Bad
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Michael Jackson had the inevitable and unenviable task come 1987 of releasing a follow-up to not just one of the biggest selling albums of all time, but one of the most beloved, "Thriller." "Bad" is the result, and it couldn't help but pale in comparison. That's not to say the album lacks for terrific material, in fact, punch for punch, it is very nearly "Thriller's" equal, and it certainly is better than "Off The Wall." It once again racked up multiple chart hits, with five singles hitting number one from '87 to '89. Thanks to Quincy Jones, the production is immaculate, and between Jones and Jackson, the songs not written by Jackson were cherry picked to magnify Jackson's strengths.

"Bad" also was formulaic in its pursuit of Thrillermania. The big dance number is the title track. The bad girl of "Billie Jean" is replaced by "Dirty Diana." That's also where the star rock guitar solo comes from, with Billy Idol's Steve Stevens takes the place of Eddie VanHalen. The superstar duet came from Stevie Wonder instead of Paul McCartney, on "Just Good Friends." And the happy-time dance song was "The Way You Make Me Feel" in the same vein as "Pretty Young Thing." While Jackson hinted at his personal paranoia on "Billie Jean," this time it comes out fully formed as "Leave Me Alone" (which was not on the original album but basically is considered part of it after it was released as a video).

But everyone from the 80's already knows that. The man reason to bother picking up the 25th Anniversary of "Bad" is the second disc of bonus tracks. Three of them were on an earlier reissue, "Streetwalker," "Fly Away" and a Spanish version of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You." Now we get the later in French, plus six previously unreleased demos. I'm no fan of modernized remixes, so I'll refrain from commenting on the likes of Pitbull hanging out on "Bad." Of the new tracks, the Latin feel of "Don't Be Messing Around" is the most intriguing, and shows what a perfectionist Jackson was. It sounds like a finished song, yet Micheal gave it a pass and never went back to it for future CD's. "Song Groove (Abortion Papers)" would have been controversial on many levels, yet it has a wicked groove. "Price of Fame" is another complaint about fame and even references "Billie Jean," and "Al Capone" milks the "Wanna Be Something" groove needlessly. Both are no big deal.

Bottom line, if you bought the 2001 reissue, there's not much of a reason to go after "Bad25."

     

My Amazon Reviews: Huey Lewis and The News "Soulsville"

Old News is Good News
3 Out Of 5 Stars
 

It took nine years for Huey Lewis and The News to move from "Plan B" to "Soulsville," and it's time to travel back in time. if you recall, this is The News second stroll down a full disc of memory lane. In 1994, the band issued "Four Chords and Several Years Ago," an attempt at tipping their collective hat to the band's R'n'B influences. This time they go a step further and head to the legendary Stax studios to get a little of that authentic Stax groove, horns and female singers intact. (Think Cris Isaak's trip to Sun Studios for "Beyond The Sun.")

For the most part, they pull it off by pulling at plenty of the obvious picks. Solomon Burke would have been an easy choice to pluck from, but the band goes for a more obscure single "Get You Off Of My Mind" (which was a number one R'n'B single, but barely cracked the top 40. It was easier to cover "Cry to Me," ala the Rolling Stones, or "Tonight's The Night." Same with Joe Tex's "I Want to Do Everything for You." Lewis has always been an erstwhile soul singer, even in his pop days, so the materiel suits him. In fact, the only blunder is covering "Respect Yourself," already done to death by the likes of Bruce Willis. It's like old friends together for a good night of jamming.

The only thing that bums me out is that Huey and The News have not issued a new CD for almost a decade of fresh material. Given that he hasn't done so since "Hard at Play" (1991) prior to "Plan B," it would be nice to see what kind of song-stash they've built up. C'mon Huey, we know you've got a good CD in you somewhere.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Dr John "Locked Down"

Steaming in the Swamp
4 Out Of 5 Stars

This is one heck of a comeback album for Dr John. Produced by Black Key Dan Auerbach, it combines the Keys' garage esthetic with John's Gumbo New Orleans funk. That may serve as both recommendation and warning; if you dig on the Keys' wall of noise sounds, you'll probably like this more than older Dr John fans might. The production is dirty and swampy, with minor key horns and wailing back-up singers piling on some serious blues.

Meanwhile, the Good Doctor uses the opportunity to rail against politics, to throw down a little old time religion, and to bump and grind like it's after closing time and the streets are empty except for you and some old friends with a piano. "Locked Down" is no excessive cheap nostalgia, it's a modern record with everyday concerns. Like the latest Tom Waits album, "Bad As Me," "Locked Down" lets the man Mac Rebennack, and the persona, Dr John, come together and use the character's strengths for superior purposes. As the Dr prowls through "Ice Age" or storms across Auerbach's guitars in the title track, he sounds like a man unleashed.

That retro-groove is astonishing, only letting down on the syrupy "God's Sure God." However, there hasn't been a record this greasy from Dr John for a couple of decades, and there are no covers/standards that seem to have been his stock-in-trade for too long. "Locked Down" is the return of The Night Tripper, and as such, makes this the best Dr John album in near 20 years.

   

My Amazon Reviews: Seal "Soul 2"

The Inevitable Return to The Soul Vault
4 Out Of 5 Stars

In the four years since Seal released his first "Soul" CD, it has quietly racked up over a half-million sales. That's a pretty good number in this day and age, and probably more that "6 Commitment" has sold since being released two years ago. Like Micheal McDonald discovered via his two "Motown" albums, there's nothing like expertly executed nostalgia to resurrect a stalled career. While Seal is hardly faded into obscurity, it was inevitable that Seal would ultimately come back for another dip into this well.

Much like the 2008 "Soul," Seal's beautiful voice slides like silk across these 11 songs, and again, he has the smooth production of David Foster (with an assist from Trevor Horn) to assure that there are no flaws in the system. So when Seal wraps those pipes of his around Teddy Pendergrass's "Love TKO" or leans into The O'Jays' "Backstabbers," you can feel the professional commitment all parties bring to the recording. I also like the way they kept the Philly Groove that so enhances The Spinners' "I'll Be Around."

What leaves me a little cold towards "Soul 2" are the same things I felt the first "Soul" could have been better. The song selection is comprised of songs you'd likely hear two or three times a day on your local All Golden Oldies radio station. Seal pulls no surprises out of the bag (ala Ann Peeble's "I Can't Stand The Rain" and Denice Williams' "Free" from the first version), and he could have easily dug deeper than the done to death "What's Goin' On" or "Let's Stay Together." (I mean, really. Even President Obama has covered that one.) Even with the safest material here, Seal's "Soul 2" makes for a pleasant interlude. Be prepared for "Soul 3" likely appearing around 2016.

   

My Amazon Reviews: Patrick Stump "Soul Punk"

Oh, Nostalgia, I Don't Need You Anymore 
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Patrick Stump takes a walk from Fall Out Boy for his debut solo CD, and strolls into the time machine that lives on in Stump's collection of Prince and Michael Jackson albums. Or maybe Duran Duran's turn with Justin Timberlake. Either way, he's created a wickedly catchy collection of synthy-soul pop that is as self-assured as it is NOT Fall Out Boy.

It's obvious from the first track, "Explode," that Stump wants to distance himself from the pop-punk that made him rich in FOB. From there, it's one man show-time, with Stump doing the writing, playing and production for the entire album, minus a bonus track of "This City" featuring Lupe Fiasco. (Which happens to be the CD's best song.) Stump is also really open on the disc, with a blatant admission of a drinking problem on "Run Dry" and a great adultery song, "The I in Lie." After all, how many singers would gleefully shout their guilt in a chorus that boasts "I'm a Cheat, cheat, cheat!"

The mess of the modern world isn't left aside either, as "Soul Punk" has its surprisingly political moments. The funky "Dance Miserable" exhorts that you push yourself through the litany of ailments like climate change, unemployment, foreclosures, etc. Or the Timberlake ape of "Greed," with the catchy refrain of "turn your white collars up." Stump reveals himself to be a really smart pop-crafter on "Soul Punk," proving he can make his own kind of music apart from Pete Wentz. However, it is Wentz's presence that pulls the disc down a star; Stump's self-production makes the album sound at times claustrophobic and falls victim to the loudness wars. I bit of band chemistry might have helped to loosen things up a bit. Even so, better than half the songs are good for repeat listens, making "Soul Punk" a better than average solo project.