NEW SOUNDS

FIONA APPLE

It's been eight years since we last heard from the gifted yet reclusive performer, Fiona Apple but the very long-awaited new album is finally here and I think it's absolutely well worth the wait. "Fetch The Bolt Cutters" (which the title comes from a quote in the British television crime drama, "The Fall") is a fascinating eclectic and eccentric collection of music filled with moods, ruminations, raw emotion and odd sounds that takes us on an inimitable journey inside of the mind of this singular artist. With a very small band of musicians to help execute her ideas, the forty-two year old vocalist felt free to allow herself to wander musically, restructuring and misshaping each song in any way she deemed fit. The timing of this release may have been to benefit her fans who may be looking for some fresh musical stimulation while under the stay-in-place orders due to the pandemic but I'm sure it's also to help Apple avoid having to leave the comfort of her home to promote this album. I love the entire album but here are two of my favorites from the latest by Fiona Apple:





KELLY ROWLAND

After Destiny's Child parted ways, Kelly Rowland has continued her career in music although she has not gotten nearly as much attention as another member of her former group. She has released four studio albums to date with them achieving greater success internationally. Rowland has also dabbled in acting, appearing in a few films including the horror flick, "Freddy vs. Jason", and hosted or participated in several reality television programs with her currently serving as a judge on the Australian version of the singing competition show, "The Voice". But Rowland has returned to music in a big way with her recently dropping a fantastic new single, "Coffee". This seductive song is simply about having a hot cup of java and even hotter intimacy in the morning with a loved one. And I love, love, LOVE the music video for the song with it's sensual energy and emphasis on all shades of African-American beauty. Please check this clip out for "Coffee":



Sam Smith has decided to delay his forthcoming album (which was due in May and will get new title as it was going to be called, "To Die For") due to the pandemic facing the world. While there had been several singles previously released, these songs may not appear on the new record as Smith has just released what he is calling the first single. "I'm Ready" (co-written and produced by one of the hottest music craftsmen right now, Ilya Salmanzadeh) is throbbing dance track and features a duet with Demi Lovato. This passionate song is about being open to accepting love. For the music video, Smith fully embraces being non-binary and features drag queens, racing in glamorous gowns and heels, in an Olympics-themed clip.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

John Prine, the Grammy Award-winning, Americana singer/songwriter sadly lost his battle against COVID-19 and passed away from complications on April 7th at the age of seventy-three. He was certainly a brave fighter, having previously battled against throat and lung cancer while also having heart issues. Prine received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Grammys after years of writing wonderful songs filled with humor and thoughtful insights on the human condition. I have to admit I had never heard any of Prine's recordings but I am familiar with his songs. Two of my favorites are Bonnie Raitt's 1974 cover of his "Angel From Montgomery", a song about a married, middle-aged woman looking for an "angel" to help her escape from a life of desolation. The other is "Hello In There", a heartbreaking tune about aging that Bette Midler recorded for her debut album back in 1972.





Here are a few unexpected pairings that provide some wild musical duets I found as I traveled down a YouTube rabbit hole that I would like to share:









And finally here is Finneas, the recent winner of the Grammy Award for Producer of The Year (for his work on his sister, Billie Eilish's album) who is showing off his skills as a performer. The single, "Let's Fall In Love For The Night", from his debut EP, "Blood Harmony" which was released last year, now has a music video that was recently released. This fun and whimsical clip perfectly enhances the song, giving off a vibe that makes it feel like it would fit right in place with the movie, "La La Land":

BILL WITHERS (1938 - 2020)

Bill Withers, the smooth-voice behind the hit songs, "Lean On Me" and "Lovely Day", has sadly passed away at the age of eighty-one. The gifted folk-soul singer/songwriter died from heart complications on March 30th. Withers had kept a low profile over the years (with recent appearances in a 2009 documentary, "Still Bill" and during his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 which he disappointingly did not perform) and hadn't recorded any new music in the last thirty-five years.

William Harrison Withers Jr. was the youngest of six children born in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, WV. He had a stutter as a child which made it difficult for him to fit in. At seventeen, Withers joined the Navy where he would begin to become interested in singing and songwriting. After serving for nine years, he moved to Los Angeles to try a career in music in 1967. Withers made demos and performed in clubs around town for a number of years before he got a chance to audition for Clarence Avant, owner of Sussex Records.

Withers was signed to the label with musician, Booker T. Jones assigned to produce his debut album. "Just as I Am" was released in 1971 and was an immediate success thanks to the singles, "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Grandma's Hands" which Withers had written. This would lead to him becoming a popular performer and sought-after writer and producer. Not long after his acclaimed live album recorded at Carnegie Hall was released, Sussex Records folded and Withers would sign with Columbia Records in 1975.

However, this was not a smooth pairing as the label would continuously not approve songs he would write for his albums, causing friction between the artist and Columbia. Withers released three albums (with only "Lovely Day" from "Menagerie" in 1977 was a significant hit) and would release one last album in 1985, "Watching You Watching Me" after an eight year hiatus between records. With some of the rejected songs he had written back in 1982 approved for what would ultimately be his final album (and were actually released as singles), Withers was done butting heads with label executives and refused to re-sign with Columbia Records and would leave the music business.

Withers was married to actress, Denise Nicholas in 1973, while she co-starred on the sitcom, "Room 222". After her claims of domestic violence, the couple divorced the following year. He is survived by his second wife, Marcia Johnson, who he married in 1976, and they had two children, Todd and Kori.

NUMBER ONE FLASHBACK

The number one song in the U.S. during this week back in 1990 was "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles. This would become the only major hit for the Canadian singer with this bluesy rock tune paying loving tribute to the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley.

She was born Alannah Byles in 1958 on Christmas Day in Toronto, Canada and the daughter of William Douglas Byles, an early pioneer in the country's broadcasting industry. Her childhood was focused on learning to write and play music. At eighteen, Byles began to pursue a career in music, performing with bands doing rock covers and polishing up her own original material. After changing her surname to "Myles", she managed to get her demos in the hands of executives at Atlantic Records and was signed to the label in 1987.

While working on songs for her debut album, songwriter, Christopher Ward (who was Myles' boyfriend at the time) was inspired during his trip to Memphis by a bus filled with Elvis Presley fans riding to Graceland. He brought a song idea to Myles' producer, David Tyson and made a demo with Myles. However, the record label would give the song to American country singer, Robin Lee to record. Myles still went ahead and made her own version of "Black Velvet" for her album.

"Black Velvet" by Myles was released first in Canada in 1989, reaching the top-ten on the pop chart. After the song was released to the rest of the world by 1990, "Black Velvet" become a major international top-ten hit, peaking at number one in four countries, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US. Myles would win the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the song and the Canadian Juno Award for Single of the Year. Robin Lee's version of "Black Velvet" was released two months after Myles' and also found some success, charting at number twelve on the Billboard Hot Country Songs.

This song has remained the biggest hit for Myles in the US although she would later have three more top-ten singles in her native Canada including her first number one song there, "Song Instead of a Kiss" in 1992.



And as a bonus, here is Robin Lee's more country version of "Black Velvet":

2020 NATIONAL RECORDING REGISTRY

"The Chronic", the debut solo album from rapper/producer and member of N.W.A., Dr Dre; a blues classic, "Me and My Chauffeur Blues" from guitarist, Memphis Minnie, Dusty Springfield's iconic soul album, "Dusty In Memphis", Whitney Houston's mesmerizing cover of Dolly Parton's song, "I Will Always Love You" from "The Bodyguard" soundtrack, the original cast recording of the Broadway musical, "Fiddler On The Roof" and the disco-anthem-turned-wedding reception staple, "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People are some of this year's selections to be inducted in to the National Recording Registry.

The Recording Registry is an extension of the passage by Congress in 2000 of the National Recording Preservation Act. Each year the Library of Congress oversees the selection of 25 recordings, which must be at least 10 years old at the time of induction, and deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and this latest group brings the total number of recordings in the registry to 550.

Here is the complete list of the twenty-five selections entered in to the 2020 Recording Registry:

"Whispering" (single) - Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra (1920)
"Protesta per Sacco e Vanzetti" (singles) - Compagnia Columbia (1927)
"Sacco e Vanzetti" (single) - Raoul Romito (1927)
"La Chicharronera" - Narciso Martinez and Santiago Almeida (1936)
"Arch Oboler’s Plays" - episode from “The Bathysphere.” (November 18, 1939)
"Me and My Chauffeur Blues" (single) - Memphis Minnie (1941)



"The 1951 National League tiebreaker: New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers" — Russ Hodges, announcer (October 3, 1951)
Puccini’s "Tosca" (album) - Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Angelo Mercuriali, Tito Gobbi, Melchiorre Luise, Dario Caselli and Victor de Sabata (1953)
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" (single) - Allan Sherman (1963)



"WGBH broadcast of the Boston Symphony on the day of the John F. Kennedy assassination" - Boston Symphony Orchestra (1963)
"Fiddler on the Roof" - original Broadway cast album (1964)
"Make the World Go Away" (single) - Eddy Arnold (1965)



"Hiromi Lorraine Sakata Collection of Afghan Traditional Music" - (1966-67; 1971-73)
"Wichita Lineman" (single) - Glen Campbell (1968)



"Dusty in Memphis" (album) - Dusty Springfield  (1969)



"Mister Rogers Sings 21 Favorite Songs From ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’" (album) - Fred Rogers (1973)
"Cheap Trick at Budokan" (album) - Cheap Trick (1978)
“"Holst: Suite No. 1 in E-Flat, Suite No. 2 in F / Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks / Bach: Fantasia in G" - Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds (1978)
"Y.M.C.A." (single) - Village People (1978)



"A Feather on the Breath of God" - Gothic Voices; Christopher Page, conductor; Hildegard von Bingen, composer (1982)
"Private Dancer" (album) - Tina Turner (1984)



"Ven Conmigo" (album) - Selena (1990)
"The Chronic" (album) - Dr. Dre (1992)



"I Will Always Love You" (single) - Whitney Houston (1992)
"Concert in the Garden" (album) - Maria Schneider Orchestra (2004)
"Percussion Concerto" (album) - Colin Currie (2008)

I'M ALIVE

When Norah Jones appeared on the scene in 2002 with her debut album, "Come Away With Me", she managed to make smooth, easy-listening music commercially viable again in pop music which hadn't been done in quite a long time. The album's merging of folk, blues and a heavy leaning of jazz along with the single, "Don't Know Why" helped the singer/songwriter win eight Grammy Awards including Album of The Year and, to date, sell an incredible twenty-seven million copies worldwide.

After all of this immediate success, Jones resisted being labeled a "jazz artist" and set out to prove she was much more than that. Her subsequent albums included country, rock, indie pop and she teamed-up to record with a variety of performers from all genres of music.

Last year, Jones worked with musicians/producers, Jeff Tweedy and Thomas Bartlett on "Begin Again", a collection of eclectic singles that were created in the moment with minimal preparation and time in the studio. With many demo tracks not used, this lead to Jones preparing to release another album, "Pick Me Up Off The Floor" which is due in May. The first single, "I'm Alive" was co-written with Tweedy and his son, Spencer plays drums on the track. The song may give off a breezy vibe yet it deals with a darker subject involving women trying to stay empowered and optimistic while coping with oppression from a male-dominated society. Check out the music video for "I'm Alive":

XANADU

After her acting debut in the incredibly successful film adaption of the Broadway musical "Grease", Olivia Newton-John became an in-demand commodity in cinema. The Australian singer was the Taylor Swift of her day, having transitioned from popular country crooner to a major pop performer and now had become a freshly anointed movie star. Newton-John had her choice of projects and decided to accept a role in another musical, "Xanadu" which was loosely based on the 1947 Rita Hayworth musical comedy, "Down To Earth". Michael Beck, hot off of his role in "The Warriors", and screen legend, Gene Kelly filled out the rest of the cast in this movie about a mythological muse who helps a frustrated artist and a former big-band clarinetist open a roller disco.

It was not a good sign when Universal Studios cancelled the press screening for "Xanadu" before it was released in 1980 and the film would ultimately become a notable critical and commercial flop. This would effectively bring an end to Newton-John's burgeoning movie career, cool down Beck's rise as a film star and would sadly be Kelly's final appearance on screen. And "Xanadu" (along with another screen musical that came out that year, the completely unwatchable, "Can't Stop The Music" which starred the Village People) would become the inspiration for the creation of the Golden Raspberry Awards (or as they would later be known as the Razzies) which are given for "failure in cinematic achievements".

But there would be one bright spot and that was the soundtrack for the movie. Part of the record featured ONJ with songs written by her long-time producer, John Farrar with the British art-rock group, Electric Light Orchestra filling out the rest of the album. With the release of Newton-John's singles, "Magic" (which went to number one in the US for four weeks), "Suddenly" (a duet with Cliff Richard) and Electric Light Orchestra's "I'm Alive", "All Over The World" and the title track (which ONJ and ELO teamed-up), these popular songs helped the soundtrack become a best-selling sensation, with millions of copies sold across the globe.

Now I would never say that "Xanadu" was actually a good film but I did find moments of  blissful joy in some of it's silly musical numbers and appealing cast. And many others eventually did as well with "Xanadu" over time becoming a crowd-pleasing, cult classic. This lead to "Xanadu" inspiring a stage musical in 2007 that was a fun parody of the movie, earning Tony Award nominations for Best Musical and Book. Enjoy some highlight clips from "Xanadu" which perfectly displays how these numbers work better as a music video and far less than a part of an entire movie: