After their breakthrough of moving successfully from the dance floor to the pop charts back in 2012, Disclosure, the British EDM duo made up of the Lawrence brothers, Guy and Howard, began a whirlwind of recording, remixing, production and touring the globe. By early 2017, the brothers decided to take a much-needed break from the scene.
Now Disclosure has quietly dropped some new music. "Ultimatum" is a choppy beat-driven track and features the vocals of West African singer/actress, Fatoumata Diawara. This is a teaser of the band’s upcoming third album as they are still in the process of putting it together and we won’t see it until sometime next year. While “Ultimatum” is not nearly as memorable as some of their previous work, it’s still a really nice appetizer.
While audiences have long enjoyed his theatrical costumes and energetic showmanship, it's been the music of Elton John that people have responded to for over fifty years. With his co-songwriter, Bernie Taupin (who John has worked with throughout most of his career), they have created songs that have appealed to everyone due to their eclectic mix of genres.
In celebration of their longtime creative partnership, two albums were assembled with the help of many performers who have gladly come together to interpret the team's musical history. With "Revamp", John enlisted contemporary pop artists to create new versions of his songs. These musicians include Coldplay, Sam Smith, Alessia Cara, Ed Sheeran, The Killers and Lady Gaga.
Mr. Taupin, a big country fan, oversaw "Restoration" which features several artists that range from legendary (Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson) to modern (Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Dierks Bentley, Kacey Musgraves) that rework the duo's classic and more obscure songs in a mellow country vein.
Miley Cyrus is the only artist that appears on both albums. But her take of "Don't Let The Sun Come Down On Me" on "Revamp" and particularly "The Bitch Is Back" on the country album come across painfully like karaoke versions of these songs.
Now at seventy-one, Elton John has decided to slow down and will be embarking on a three-year long farewell world tour which will begin in September. To be honest, I doubt he will never be on stage again after this tour but just in case, make sure you take this opportunity to check him out live.
For now, listen to a few of my favorite songs from both albums that I think truly honors the extraordinary work of Elton John and Bernie Taupin:
Sugababes have had six number one singles, eighteen top-ten hits and have sold over seven million records. I'm sure many of you that are American might be asking, "Who are Sugababes?" Well, they were a very popular British female pop act formed in 1998 who not only had this incredible success in their native country but also throughout much of the rest of the world with the notable exception of the U.S. where they never charted. There have been singers that have come and gone in this trio but the most popular line-up included Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Heidi Range. With all of the founding members gone by 2011, Sugababes eventually faded away and ended. For American ears, enjoy a brief sample of the best of Sugababes:
Here are a few new songs I'm enjoying right now:
If this new song by Céline Dion called "Ashes" makes you think of her classic love ballad from the movie, "Titanic", well, it's actually intentional. David Leitch, the director of the upcoming sequel to the smash, comedic super-hero movie, "Deadpool", explains that they wanted a highly melodramatic song for the film and approached the singer to perform the track. And she delivers some remarkably beautiful vocals, taking this ballad to incredible heights. It will be interesting to see how this will be used in the movie but I'm sure it will be both moving and hilarious. Leitch also directed the music video which features an interpretive dancing Deadpool. Be sure to check out the very funny ending of this clip:
Finally, one band from the past I've been thinking about recently are Fine Young Cannibals, a British group, lead by the distinctive vocals of Roland Gift, who had worldwide success throughout much of the '80's and had such hits as "She Drives Me Crazy" and "Good Thing" which both reached the top of the U.S. pop chart. Taking their name from a little-seen 1960 Natalie Wood movie, bassist, David Steele and guitarist, Andy Cox had left the ska band, The Beat (The English Beat in the U.S.) and came together with Gift who had departed his ska outfit, Akrlykz in 1984. The trio released their self-titled debut the following year and found international success with the singles, "Johnny Come Home" and a cover of Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds" . The glaring exception was in America where the group only achieved a cult following. But that all changed with their next album. "The Raw and Cooked" that brought Fine Young Cannibals to everyone's attention in 1989 and the album went on to sell over three million copies worldwide. But by 1992, the group had disbanded and each moved on to other less high-profile musical directions. Let's take a look back to the sounds of Fine Young Cannibals:
When Christina Aguilera made a surprise appearance on the season opener of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, one of the first things the queens asked her was when was she coming out with some new music. The thirty-seven year old singer played coy with a vague answer of “soon”. Well, the wait is finally over and after six years, Aguilera has returned with a new song called “Accelerate”. With assistance from a large tribe of writers and producers (including Kanye West), this track is a departure for the singer. Leaving behind the r&b-flavored pop that first brought her fame, Aguilera dives into trap music with Ty Dolla Sign and 2 Chainz providing additional vocals. I have to say I think this song is really hot and can’t wait to hear more.
Xtina also announced that her sixth studio album is called “ Liberation” and will be out in June.
With the music video for "Accelerate", Aguilera delivers trippy and hyper-sexual imagery with her licking milk out of a bowl, being doused with some sort of shiny liquid and appearing topless with her nips covered with masking tape. The whole look of the clip feels like vintage hip-hop Miley Cyrus which I'm not sure is good or bad. Anyway, check it out for yourself:
