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Usher, Cyndi Lauper and more
May 27-June 2, 2008
By Kurt B. Reighley
Special to MSN Music
The release of his fifth album, "Here I Stand," may have been delayed by six months, but Usher made up for lost time with his recent smash "Love in
This Club," featuring Young Jeezy; the eighth No. 1 hit of the R&B
juggernaut's career, the track jumped from No. 51 to the top of the charts in a
single week, the third-biggest leap to No. 1 in Billboard history. And although
he devoted much of late 2007 to family life (the license plate depicted on the
cover of "Here I Stand" bears the digits 1126 -- his son's birthday), he still
plays the lover man on "Trading Places" and his current smash duet with Beyonce, "Love in This Club Part II." Listen for additional
cameos by Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and will.i.am, and beats and grooves crafted by A-list producers
including Jermaine Dupri, Jazze Pha, Dre & Vidal and Tricky Stewart.
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Usher has his charms, but when it comes to R&B crooners who set the mood
for romance, Al Green remains virtually untouchable; just drop "Let's
Stay Together" at a wedding reception sometime and watch the couples pack the
floor. The good Reverend continues his recent winning streak with "Lay It Down." The disc was co-produced by Green with two of
the most revered young guns around -- Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of the Roots and keyboard player James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Common, Lauryn Hill) -- and features guest appearances by Corinne Bailey Rae (the sublime "Take Your Time"), John Legend, and the Dap-Kings horn section (Sharon Jones, Amy Winehouse). But even with all these youngsters involved,
"Lay It Down" still sounds of a piece with Green's classic Memphis sides for Hi
Records. As it should be, says Thompson: "The reason why we are doing this is
because we all idolize Al Green. Even today, nobody has range like him."
Another veteran with a trademark voice takes the opposite tack this week, and
radically updates her sound. For "Bring Ya to the Brink," Cyndi Lauper teamed up with some of the hottest names in
dance music, including Basement Jaxx, the Scumfrog, Swedish pop-whiz Max Martin, and Kleerup (who help craft Robyn's Euro-smash "With Every Heartbeat"). In marked
contrast to her previous studio albums, the standards set "At Last" and the unplugged "The Body Acoustic," this one brims with beats geared toward
club-goers. As such, the actual songs sometimes seem a little thin, but the
fresh production and deep house grooves are top notch, and Cyndi's pipes sound
as thrilling as ever, especially on the vitriolic single "Same Ol' Story."
Lauper kicks off her gay rights awareness True Colors tour -- which also
features acts including the B-52's, Joan Jett, Tegan and Sara and Regina Spektor -- on May 31 in Boston.
The same year (1983) Cyndi issued her solo debut, "She's So Unusual," an advertising writer and record
collector named Steve Stein teamed up with sound engineer Douglas DiFranco, and
crafted one of the most revolutionary singles ever, "The Payoff Mix" by Double Dee & Steinski. An innovator who connects the
dots between Negativland, DJ Shadow, Coldcut and mash-ups, Stein went on to cut a series of
seminal singles -- with Double Dee and other collaborators -- many of which were
never released commercially (ain't sample clearances a bitch?). Until now. The
two-disc "What Does It All Mean?: 1983-2006 Retrospective" includes the JFK
homage "The Motorcade Sped On," the chilling 9/11-inspired "Number Three on
Flight Eleven," and the dazzling hour-long montage "Nothing to Fear: A Rough
Mix." This one is essential for anyone with more than a casual interest in
turntablism.
A funny thing happened on the way to "Songs in A&E," the sixth studio
album by trippy U.K. act Spiritualized. Actually, it wasn't funny at all. "The idea
was to record and put the record out quick, but then I became ill," says front
man Jason "Spaceman" Pierce. "I had double pneumonia. I had
Legionnaires' disease or something, so ... I was quite ill, it took it out of
me." He even landed in ICU for several weeks. Fortunately for fans, Pierce made
a full recovery, but these 18 tracks sound like the product of a changed man,
more stripped down and bluesy than previous Spiritualized efforts (much of the
record was written on a 1929 Gibson guitar). Brief instrumental interludes
punctuate the set, with highlights including the down-and-dirty "I Gotta Fire,"
a harrowing "Death Take Your Fiddle," and the bittersweet finale "Goodnight
Goodnight."
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