By David Kenney
The country music crossover: for Garth Brooks, er, Chris Gaines, it was a lost-my-wife/truck/dog disaster, for Shelby Lynne though, it’s a sweet surprise. Snubbed by country with her rolicking swing stomp, Lynne trades sides and goes for a R&B/Soul record. Her southern drawl laces Aretha Franklin soul with enough pain to trounce an eight-foot wrestling… Continue reading I Am Shelby Lynn — Shelby Lynn
One of the most exciting things about music is watching the artist of your choice change and evolve throughout their career. So, in the case of this album, there is an inherent problem–Tupac has been dead for nearly four years now. There’s a reason this disk didn’t come out sooner, and the people that should… Continue reading Still I Rise — 2Pac & Outlawz
A million mashed cheese doodles lay strewn on the plush-carpeted floor. Some musclehead is carrying a tank top-clad blonde on his shoulders. She sprays beer around the room while dodging the low-hung light fixture. The band is playing in the corner and this time they sound a lot tighter, a lot louder. You were at… Continue reading Rosie — The Smugglers
Touted as "A master work of universal hip-hop topping the best albums of Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, the Fugees," one assumes one is about to experience something transcending greatness. But as the saying goes, when you assume you make an ‘ass’ of ‘u’ and ‘me’. And ‘me’ say ‘u’ could do as well to get… Continue reading a lo cubano — Orishas
By Dave Teeuwen
When Lauren Hill released Miseducation, she set a new standard for the depth and quality of female soul/hip-hop. Like it or not, it redefined what listeners expect of the genre. Kelis’s new album, Kaleidoscope, may not quite measure up to the over-all quality of Hill’s, but it comes pretty close. Its first single, "Caught out… Continue reading Kaleidoscope — Kelis
By Bo Rhodes
Do you remember the glam-rock band Nelson? No? Well then you sure as hell won’t remember their father, Rick Nelson. This Rock and Roll Hall of Famer passed away in 1985, only to release an album 15 years after his death. Performed at Los Angeles’ Universal Theatre, A Night To Remember is a night to… Continue reading A Night to Remember — Rick Nelson
Do not be fooled by Scritti Politti’s cool sounding rhyming name or by the very cool looking package of their fourth album Anomie & Bonhomie. This is one book that can not be judged by its cover. Scritti Pollitti (led by English singer Green Gartside) is in its third decade of searching for a hit… Continue reading Anomie & Bonhomie — Scritti Politti
By David Kenney
Thirteen years and nine albums later, Blue Rodeo is, well, still blue. On The Days Inbetween, Canada’s favourite balladeers breeze by with many last-dance sleepers for the loved and the jaded. Unlike 1997’s Tremolo though, not all is sad or weepy. Days sees the boys kick up a rockabilly fuss loaded with spite and puss.… Continue reading The Days Inbetween — Blue Rodeo
By David Kenney
Remember the sci-fi flick Mad Max? If so, then visions of Tina Turner and uncooked linguini hair must be near. And don’t forget, "We Don’t Need Another Hero." Blecch. Now fast forward to Y2K, where techno rules sci-fi Prodigy, good. Propellerheads, good. Enigma, baaaaaaad. On the new age group’s The Screen Behind the Mirror, their… Continue reading The Screen Behind the Mirror — Enigma
Sitting in a dimly lit supper club, with a martini in one hand and a cigarette holder in the other, I listen to him croon "Brother Can You Spare a Dime." This is the scene George Michael’s Songs From The Last Century evokes. Indeed George, you’ve changed. From the artist who brought us such memorable… Continue reading Songs from the Last Century