As usual, here’s our pick of the new releases hitting the shops - if anyone actually buys records from a shop anymore!
After a hiatus of five whole years since their debut album Songs about Jane was released in June 2002, during which time they toured so prolifically that their original drummer lost the use of his arms and had to be permanently replaced, Los Angeles five-piece Maroon 5 finally present their “difficult second album” entitled It Won’t Be Soon Before Long (Octone/A&M Records).
The lyrics of Harder to Breathe were, according to the band, written about the record company applying pressure to write more songs, as they didn’t believe they had a single. Well, it’s an ill wind that blows no good, as this beautifully crafted album is nearly as good as the first one (ask me again in a week and I might even think it is as good as the first one), and as a result sold nearly 430,000 copies in its first week of release in the States, propelling it to number 1 in the Billboard chart. No doubt it will dominate the charts over here too.
Maroon 5 may do catchy guitar driven pop/rock, but it’s too dark to be throwaway, referencing classic artists such as Michael Jackson and the Police, even Clapton, in a “real band” way. Adam Levine’s vocals are distinctive and assured enough to only further enhance his white-soul reputation, and the grooves are timeless.
This album just gets better the more you listen – welcome back guys.
Did anybody see Beverley Knight sing Ain’t that a Lotta Love and Black Butta on Jools Holland? Shame if you missed it. Here is an artist at the peak of her ability, and her new album Music City Soul (Parlophone) is the proof of that.
Recorded in Nashville over only 5 days in October of last year, and featuring guest musicians such as the Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood, Knight’s childhood influences Aretha Franklin, Sam Cook, Chaka Khan et al are shoved to the fore, as she delivers old soul classics in a manner that displays what a worthy recipient she is of the unofficial “Greatest British Soul Singer” title that is so often bestowed upon her.
Hopefully, the artistic sacrifice of appearing on Just the Two of Us (aaarrrrggghhhh!!!) will have won her more mainstream fans, as this album showcases an artist who deserves to be rated as one of our finest. Go Bev!
On Wikipedia, Rufus Wainwright’s genre is listed as Baroque pop, or Popera. When you listen to his new album Release the Stars (Geffen), his fifth to date, you begin to get what they mean.
Fresh from his sell-out Carnegie Hall concerts last June in which he reproduced song for song Judy Garland’s famous 1961 appearance there, Release the Stars continues this second-generation singer-songwriter’s extraordinary creative run.
Like the missing link between Tom Waits and Stephen Sondheim - lush strings and Broadway style melodies are juxtaposed with Wainwright’s cathartic and confessional lyrics. He has previously referenced his own experiences as a crystal-meth addict and rape victim, friend of Jeff Buckley etc. – now he continues, rather too openly and liberally for some of middle America - to draw on his life for inspiration.
The song Tulsa is allegedly about his meeting with the Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers, leading to allegations (neither confirmed or denied) of a one-night stand. One suspects that the flamboyant Wainwright rather welcomes the prurient attention.
Hopefully though, that won’t detract from the fact that although many hate his overblown dramatics and lazy delivery – his albums have never been great commercial hits in his home country, perhaps his style is too European for the market– there is an undeniable beauty to both his voice and his music, and also a growing maturity. The album’s lead single Going to a Town is his most political to date, yet also one of his most accessible, with a beautiful tune you find yourself humming in the bath.
Why not give Wainwright a whirl – you may just come to love him.
Introducing Robin McKelle (Cheap Lullaby) - the eponymous debut from this young jazz singer from New York State - is like stepping back in time to the 1940s. Working from the same classic songbook as Doris Day and the Andrews Sisters, McKelle’s voice is smoky and understated, and in 2004, it won her third place in Washington’s prestigious Thelonius Monk Vocal Jazz Competition.
“This opened a lot of doors for me in the jazz world,” she declares on her website. Not enough however, to prevent her having to pay for the recording of her album out of her own pocket. But with all the donkey work done for them already, it was surely a no-brainer for LA indie label Cheap Lullaby to scoop up this heart-warming set of old-school big band tracks, produced with great love and care by trumpeter and arranger Willie Murillo.
This kind of romantic pastiche is of course, a niche market. But if classic jazz and latin, well-played and tastefully delivered, are up your street, you may have just discovered a little gem.
All albums featured available at Amazon
Vocal Authority Gig Guide
Saturday 2 June
Beyonce Wembley Arena, Middlesex
Sunday 3 June
Beyonce Wembley Arena, Middlesex
Tuesday 5 June
Nina Simone Tribute feat. Jhelisa Jazz Café, Camden, London
Wednesday 6 June
Josh Groban Hampton Court, London
Thursday 7 June
Reo Speedwagon Hammersmith Apollo, London
Jools Holland & Lulu Hampton Court, London
Beyonce Manchester Evening News Arena
Friday 8 June
Jools Holland & Lulu Hampton Court, London
Saturday 9 June
George Michael Wembley Stadium, Middlesex
Sunday 10 June
George Michael Wembley Stadium, Middlesex
Smokey Robinson Glasgow SECC
Monday 11 June
Motley Crue Hammersmith Apollo, London
Tuesday 12 June
M People featuring Heather Small Hampton Court, London
INXS Glasgow SECC
Thursday 14 June
Nate James Scala, London
Van Morrison Hampton Court, London
Elton John Glasgow SECC
O2 Wireless Festival (featuring The White Stripes)
Hyde Park, London
Friday 15 June
Dolores O'Riordan KOKO, London
Van Morrison Hampton Court, London
O2 Wireless Festival Hyde Park, London
Saturday 16 June
Muse Wembley Stadium, Middlesex
O2 Wireless Festival Hyde Park, London
Ola Onabule The Bacon Theatre, Cheltenham
Sunday 17 June
Muse Wembley Stadium, Middlesex
Icons of Reggae Carling Academy Brixton London, UK
Natalie Williams – Soul Family Ronnie Scott’s, London
O2 Wireless Festival Hyde Park, London
Monday 18 June
Shawn Colvin Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Pearl Jam Wembley Arena, Middlesex
Tom Jones Hampton Court, London
Macy Gray Ronnie Scott’s, London
Tuesday 19 June
Tom Jones Hampton Court, London
Macy Gray Ronnie Scott’s, London
Wednesday 20 June
Tom Jones Hampton Court, London
Macy Gray Ronnie Scott’s, London
Thursday 21 June
Stephen Marley The Forum, London
INXS Hammersmith Apollo, London
Amy Winehouse Carling Academy, Bristol
Friday 22 June
James Morrison Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire
Saturday 23 June
Peter Gabriel Hyde Park, London
Meltdown 2007 - Lost Ladies of Folk
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Sunday 24 June
Rufus Wainwright Brighton Dome
Aerosmith Hyde Park, London
Bon Jovi The O2, London
Mica Paris and Friends Ronnie Scotts, London
Ola Onabule The 606 Club, Lots Road, London SW10
Iron Maiden Carling Academy, Brixton, London
M People feat. Heather Small Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire
Monday 25 June
Rufus Wainwright Oxford New Theatre
Ziggy Marley Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Tuesday 26 June
Chris Cornell Carling Academy, Glasgow
Anita Baker Royal Albert Hall, London
The Who Wembley Arena, Middlesex
Marc Almond Carling Academy, Bristol
Wednesday 27 June
Rufus Wainwright Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall
Smokey Robinson Royal Albert Hall, London
The Who Wembley Arena, Middlesex
Ola Onabule The Lowry, Salford
Ziggy Marley Carling Academy, Bristol
Thursday 28 June
Al Green Royal Albert Hall, London
John Legend Wembley Arena, Middlesex
Ola Onabule IP-ART Festival, Ipswich Corn Exchange
Friday 29 June
Al Green Manchester Evening News Arena
Saturday 30 June
Rod Stewart Plus Special Guests The Pretenders Twickenham Stadium Twickenham, Middlesex
Tuesday 3 July
Tori Amos Hammersmith Apollo, London
Robin McKelle Pigalle’s, London
Wednesday 4 July
Joe Cocker Tower Of London, London
Justin Timberlake The O2, London
Tori Amos Hammersmith Apollo, London
Al Green NIA, Birmingham
Thursday 5 July
Justin Timberlake The O2, London
Ash KOKO, London
Natalie Cole Indigo2, Greenwich, London
Steely Dan NIA, Birmingham
Friday 6 July
Seal Tower Of London, London
Ash KOKO, London
Al Green Hammersmith Apollo, London
Ozzy Osbourne NIA, Birmingham
Saturday 7 July
Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint Tower Of London, London
Justin Timberlake The O2, London
Bedford Bandstand feat Lucie Silvas
Indigo2, Greenwich, London
Steely Dan Hammersmith Apollo, London
Sunday 8 July
Justin Timberlake The O2, London
Lauryn Hill Hammersmith Apollo, London
Natalie Williams – Soul Family Ronnie Scott’s, London
Monday 9 July
Lauryn Hill Carling Academy, Birmingham
Gossip Carling Academy, Liverpool
Tuesday 10 July
Justin Timberlake The O2, London
Rock, Pop and Urban Festival Carling Academy 2, Birmingham
Barbra Streisand Manchester Evening News Arena
Wednesday 11 July
Joan As Police Woman Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Blondie Hammersmith Apollo, London
James Morrison Tower Of London, London
Gloria Gaynor Shepherds Bush Empire, London
Damien Rice Carling Academy, Bristol
Saturday 14 July
The Dave Stewart Songbook Tower Of London, London
Tuesday 17 July
Mika Somerset House, London
Wednesday 18 July
Barbra Streisand The O2, London
Thursday 19 July
Fun Lovin Criminals Carling Academy, Newcastle
Friday 20 July
Amy Winehouse Somerset House, London
Saturday 21 July
Keane The O2, London
Youssou N'Dour Indigo2 Greenwich, London
Sunday 22 July
Barbra Streisand The O2, London
Monday 23 July
Jose Feliciano Ronnie Scott’s, London
Tuesday 24 July
Jose Feliciano Ronnie Scott’s, London
Wednesday 25 July
Jose Feliciano Ronnie Scott’s, London
Toots and the Maytals Carling Academy 2, Liverpool
Thursday 26 July
Scissor Sisters The O2, London
Toots and the Maytals Carling Academy 2, Birmingham
Friday 27 July
Basement Jaxx Carling Academy, Brixton, London
Scissor Sisters The O2, London
Saturday 28 July
Scissor Sisters The O2, London
Sunday 29 July
Mica Paris and Friends Ronnie Scotts, London
Monday 30 July
Scissor Sisters Manchester Evening News Arena
Tuesday 31 July
Scissor Sisters Manchester Evening News Arena
All reviews by Lisa Laudat 2007.
If you have any listings you would like considered for inclusion on Vocal Interest, please contact me at lisa.laudat@vocalauthority.com
see previous reviews in our archive section.