You asked for it; you got it: the top 20 worst musical acts working today.
Spin Cycle: Joss Stone, The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2
A decade or so ago, Joss Stone was a novelty of sorts. A young British woman with a deep knowledge of classic soul, she debuted with an album of somewhat obscure ’60s and ’70s R&B covers, recorded with the assistance and blessing of the likes of Latimore, Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, Little Beaver and Betty Wright.She (at least partially) opened the door for the commercial success of the Amy Winehouses and Adeles of the world. The album revealed a voice that […]
Spin Cycle: Betty Wright & The Roots’ “Betty Wright: The Movie”
Ms. Betty Wright and the legendary Roots crew have joined forces for a soul triumph. Check out our review.
Spin Cycle: Demi Lovato’s “Unbroken” // SuperHeavy’s “SuperHeavy”
A few months ago, Trustafarian favorites Sublime re-formed, replacing deceased frontman Bradley Nowell with Youtube sensation Rome Ramirez. The resulting album, Yours Truly , set precisely no one on fire, and in fact stands as one of the most egregious sins white people have committed against reggae in quite some time. SuperHeavy isn’t quite a reggae group, but it does count Damien “Jr. Gong” Marley as one of its own. Other members include Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, and Slumdog Millionaire composer […]
Spin Cycle: Joss Stone’s “LP1”
Two albums ago, in 2007, Joss Stone titled an album Introducing Joss Stone. It was her third record. Two albums later, it’s LP1, another album title (this time her fifth) that implies reinvention. A shame, then, that neither that album or this one actually follow through on their promise of revitalization. Miss Stone famously dumped her raspy, ferociously soulful vocals on the listening public in 2003 by way of her exemplary Soul Sessions record, a debut of surprisingly from-the-vault soul songs, […]
New Release Report 7/26/11: R&B Overload…and Rabbits
It’s got to be tough living in someone’s shadow, especially when you’ve got talent of your own. Kelly Rowland has spent the last fifteen years (for better or for worse) being perceived as “the other chick in Destiny’s Child”. That does her kind of a disservice-seeing as a) she’s fine as hell (prettier than Beyonce, IMHO) and she’s got a pretty voice, even if the material she’s given is often terrible. Her solo career has really never gotten off the […]