Wednesday, November 5, 1997
Soundbites
Janet Jackson, "The Velvet Rope" (Virgin) While Michael Jackson
stews away in his mediocre music and helpless insecurities, his
sister Janet has been making some of pop’s finest records. With
such classics as the no-nonsense "Control," the ambitious and
socially-conscious "Rhythm Nation 1814" and the sexy, mature
"janet," Janet Jackson has ironically proven that she is more
worthy of pop royalty than her self-proclaimed, "King of Pop"
brother. And with her latest release, "The Velvet Rope," she
continues her winning tradition.
Clocking in at 75 minutes, Jackson fills her new effort with
booming rhythms, soulful slow jams and slick interludes which are
faithful to her thematic overtones of equality and desire. It’s
this tightness and flow where Jackson excels, helped for the fourth
time with the talents of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. "The
Velvet Rope" further backs up Jackson’s seemingly unquestionable
integrity, never compromising her standards of self-assurance and
creative desire. One bit of evidence is the first single off the
record, "Got ‘Til It’s Gone," a unique, classy hip-hop song
featuring Q-Tip (from A Tribe Called Quest) and rock pioneer Joni
Mitchell that is sure to disrupt the flow of verse-chorus-verse pop
on the radio.
Some of the record borrows from styles popularized in the
mid-’80s. The title track uses familiar synth blips and
yearning-filled choruses, and "Go Deep" sounds like Snoop Dogg
teamed up with Kool in the Gang. Bits of electronica show up in the
funky "You," while Prince-like jams liven up "Free Xone." However,
despite Jackson’s angelic vocal charm, the ballads at the end of
the album sound like typical summer slow jams.
Keeping up with Jackson the past 11 years has meant watching her
grow from the girl who wouldn’t compromise for success to a woman
who won’t apologize for being both successful and sexy. While most
female pop stars sell themselves out with an alluring, open
sexiness in the beginning and grow to repent their past promiscuity
later, Jackson has unleashed her eroticism and shed her shyness and
defiance slowly but surely. Yet she has done so in such a
restrained and confident way that her listeners know she is still
all about control. "The Velvet Rope," while still
characteristically brazen, is an album reinforcing Jackson’s
maturity and documenting her life’s journey in a stylish way,
without bending over backwards to conform. Mike Prevatt B+
Steve Earle, "El Corazon" (Warner Bros.) It’s good to know the
singer/songwriters of the world haven’t traded in their soulful
storytelling for the three-minute pop ditty. Steve Earle, the
alt-country songsmith most famous for his heart-wrenching "Ellis
Unit One" from the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack, has taken the
small-town country boy sentiment and tells his stories in "El
Corazon," a 12-track album, from the heart.
Earle takes unflashy guitar melodies and combines them with
unignorable lyrics not too different from songwriters of the ’70s
like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. And while Earle never
explores the human journey with the same depth or metaphorical
insight as Springsteen or Dylan, his straightforward emotion never
disappoints.
A few songs on the album, such as the hard rockin’ "N.Y.C." and
the homey, yet lively "Telephone Road," look at the country boy
going out into the concrete jungles of New York and Houston,
respectively, with a sense of importance and modesty. The unique
"If You Fall" is a tender warning about love from one buddy to the
other, devoid of any insecurity or testosterone trash-talk. And
songs like "Somewhere Out There" and "Poison Lovers" get the
country treatment on love minus the hokey, twangy lyrics.
"El Corazon" is a purely simple record telling it like it is and
how it should be. In all his articulate earnestness and warm
candor, Earle shows his Southern-everyman friendliness isn’t as
feeble minded as some would expect. Mike Prevatt B
Moby, "I Like to Score" (Elektra) It’s true: Moby loves to score
… for films. He composes with panache what other electro-artists
might find difficult. Flaunting his musical hubris, Moby scores a
series of tracks that jump all over the emotional spectrum.
The album’s content delves into multitudes of influences. Tracks
hop-scotch from hardcore techno beats to classical music. A credit
to his musical skills, Moby keeps the album authentic. When a song
needs to sound funky and R&B, it sounds funky and R&B. He
never covers up weak links in traditional guitars and drums songs
with electronic tricks, maintaining consistency throughout the
disk.
"I Like to Score" exudes feeling from its tracks. "God Moving
Over the Face of the Waters" squeezes harrowingly dark moods from
warped happy melodies. Moby’s honor roll track is a revision of the
James Bond theme. Stripped down to a semblance of its former self,
Moby rebuilds the theme with phat guitar riffs and explosive drum
samples. Traditionalists need not worry, Moby keeps the original
core intact making it recognizable to any Bondphile. Yet, when Moby
dabbles with adding vocals to "New Dawn Fades," the record stalls.
Barring the occasional hiccups, " I Like to Score" gels emotions on
a backdrop of clashing genres. Trinh Bui B+
Days of the New, "Days of the New" (Outpost) Let’s face it. Life
as a teenager can be tough. The self titled album by the Kentucky
based band, Days of the New, is reminiscent of pain infused journal
entries from days gone by. "I won’t, I can’t, I’m lost, I’m a
freak," wails the 17-year-old vocalist Travis Meeks in the song,
"Freak." The album is about anguish, confusion and pain. Even a
song titled "Whimsical" echoes of melancholic teenage defiance.
In spite of occasional bad poetry and Dr. Seuss-like lyrics
("Now there’s a place where taking takes place"), the band shows
potential. The vocalist and the guitarists display talent and in
retrospect, each song, as well as the album as a whole, flows
nicely.
Although the album is pretty good for a teenage band, it lacks
innovation in sound. Most of the songs by Days of the New can be
described as Pearl Jam meets Nirvana. In other words, their songs
are so much like other hard-edged alternative bands’ that they
don’t stand out. But with time, experience and a little lyrical
editing, the band seems capable of producing catchy tunes. Ai
Goldsmith B-
JANET JACKSON
"The Velvet Rope"