STAR-CROSSED

With "Golden Hour", Kacey Musgraves pushed the idea of what a country music album could sound like, with psychedelic-pop, alt-rock and disco unexpectedly and delicately sprinkled throughout. This 2018 collection brought the Texas native new-found fame and critical acclaim, leading Musgraves to win four Grammy Awards including the prestigious Album of the Year. After all this great success, life should have been wonderful for the singer. But her almost four year marriage to fellow musician, Ruston Kelly came to an end last year. Musgraves carried on and tried to keep busy despite the forced isolation of the pandemic.

This has lead Musgraves to deliver her fifth studio album, "Star-Crossed" which she co-wrote and produced with Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian who both worked on "Golden Hour". She calls this record a "modern tragedy", shaping it like a three-act play with many of the songs unavoidably touching on themes of heartbreak and healing. And while "Star-Crossed" is not exactly country (citing Bill Withers, Daft Punk and Weezer as musical influences), it's not a complete abandonment like Taylor Swift's first foray in to pure pop with "1989".

The title track opener, driven by a sad guitar, touches directly on the end of her relationship, listing the process and ultimate acceptance. The rest of the album boldly experiments with a variety of sounds and beats while Musgraves even-handily discusses her experiences with love, disappointment and offers some hard-earned advice. "Star-Crossed" surprisingly closes with a cover of a Spanish-language ballad, "Gracias a la vida (Thanks to life)" written by the late, Chilean musician, Violeta Parra that begins like a grainy, vinyl record before further distorting the sound throughout the rest of the song.

"Star-Crossed" is an adventurous record that doesn't fit comfortably in to any specific genre by design. This will surely make some listeners very uncomfortable, particularly country music purists. But I think that's also what makes Musgraves' new collection one of the most exciting albums released so far this year. And there is a fifty-minute, mini-movie for the album, directed by Bardia Zeinali with camerawork by Oscar-nominated cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, that can be seen now exclusively on Paramount+.

ABBA: VOYAGE

Nobody really believed it would come to pass yet after almost forty years, the Swedish pop super-group, ABBA have reunited to release new music. This legendary band, made up of Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid ("Frida") Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, and Björn Ulvaeus, have come back together for their ninth studio album which will be called "Voyage". The upcoming ten-track record (which is due out in November) makes one wonder what will ABBA in the 21st century sound like?

With two songs recently released, the answer is: exactly how ABBA has always sounded. "I Still Have Faith in You", a classic power-ballad lead by Frida, is a song about maintaining friendship in a relationship long after heartbreak and disappointment. And Agnetha takes us on the band's outre version of dance-pop with "Don't Shut Me Down".  Perhaps the rest of the album will feature an unexpected surprise or two. But maybe not. After all this time, there is no reason for ABBA to alter what has worked for them as their unique sound has been emulated by countless pop musicians ever since their heyday.

And to add to this exciting news, ABBA has announced that they will embark on a residency at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London beginning in May 2022. The ABBA Voyage concert will feature the musicians, who are all now in their 70's, performing as virtual avatars, depicting the group as they appeared back in 1979 with a live 10-piece band. I'm not sure how well this will actually work but it should certainly be interesting. In the meantime, have a listen to the the two new songs by ABBA:

CHARLIE WATTS (1941 - 2021)

Charlie Watts, the low-key yet vibrant drummer for "the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band", the Rolling Stones, passed away on August 24th at the age of eighty. There has been no cause of death disclosed but Watts had been suffering from some health issues over the last few years including throat cancer in 2004. The British musician joined the Stones a year after they formed in 1962 and remained with the band until his passing, even planning on performing with the Stones on their current No Filter tour (and had never missed a show when the band was on the road throughout his career) but had to withdraw due to his failing health.

Watts's first love was jazz and was given a drum set by his parents when he was fourteen, learning to play by drumming along with the recordings of "Jelly Roll" Morton and Charlie Parker. Although he attended art school, planning on becoming a graphic designer, Watts still played drums occasionally with jazz and r&b bands in local clubs. In 1961, Watts joined the blues band, Blues Incorporated but was practical by keeping a day job with an advertising firm during his time with the group.

Watts met members of the scrappy blues-soul band, The Rolling Stones, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, early in their formation. They pursued him for a while before Watts finally agreed and made his first appearance as a Stone at the Ealing Blues Club in 1963. With Andrew Loog Oldman becoming their manager, Stewart was forced out and he pushed for the band's image as rock & roll bad boys. It seemed to work as the Stones first reached the UK pop charts with "I Wanna Be Your Man" in 1964, followed by hit covers of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" and Bobby & Shirley Womack's "It's All Over Now".

Watts' jazz-influenced drumming style helped transform the sound of the Rolling Stones, making their music swing in a way not typical in rock. And while he was part of a very popular rock & roll band, Watts never gave up his love of jazz, forming his own band, the Charlie Watts Orchestra in 1986 and releasing a live jazz album. He later put together a smaller group called the Charlie Watts Quintet which he toured and recorded with throughout the 1990's. Watts also did not give up with his artistic endeavors, having designed some album covers and helped create the stages for the Stones' concerts over the years.

Watts had a love/hate relationship with his participation with the band; while he loved playing with his mates, he had no desire to become a pop star, staying out of the spotlight outside of performing as much as possible. When the Rolling Stones where inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, the drummer did not attend the ceremony. Watts is survived by his wife, Shirley, who he married in 1964, and their daughter, Serafina.

TAKE TWO: THE GUESS WHO

During the period between the late 1960's and the early '70's, one of the biggest rock acts was The Guess Who. This Canadian band went to achieve fourteen Top 40 singles in the US and more than thirty in their native Canada.

The band began as Chad Allan and the Expressions in Winnipeg, founded by guitarist, Randy Bachman and lead vocalist, Chad Allan in 1962. They had their first charting song three years later with "Shakin' All Over", a cover of the 1960 number one hit in Britain by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates. A publicity stunt by their American record label, which released one of their singles under "Guess Who?", later lead to the band changing their name to this after Allan left the group. Guitarist Bruce Decker and Burton Cummings, who took over lead vocals, joined the band with Bachman and Garry Peterson on drums to officially form The Guess Who in 1966.

Although some singles they released found moderate success in Canada, the band struggled for their music to be noticed abroad. By 1968, The Guess Who began to transition their sound from garage-band rock to soulful pop-rock, which became beneficial to them achieving commercial success. Their first big hit was "These Eyes" in 1969, reaching the top ten in the US and selling over a million copies. This was followed by double-sided hit single, "Laughing"/"Undun". In 1970, The Guess Who released the album, "American Woman" with the hard-rocking title track going on to be a worldwide smash, reaching number one on the US and Canadian charts. 

Many have interpreted "American Woman" as a protest song since the Vietnam War was going on at the time yet the band (who wrote the tune) insists that was not the case. They claim that they were simply singing the praises of Canadian women, feeling that American girls were a little too aggressive. I'm not sure if that's better than an anti-war sentiment but regardless, "American Woman" remains one of their best known songs. "No Time" and "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" from the album went on to also become major hits for the band.

After The Guess Who's seventh studio album, "Share The Land" (released later in 1970), the band's charting success declined in the US although they remained very popular in their home country for a number of years. The Guess Who went through some personnel changes and began to experiment with their sound again, moving towards progressive and jazz-rock. Due to creative differences, Cummings decided to end the band in 1975 and went on to find some success as a solo artist. However beginning in 1977, some past members teamed-up with new musicians to come together for various reunion tours as "The Guess Who". And the band continues to play on the road with the nostalgia tour circuit to this day. Here are two of my favorite songs by The Guess Who, a band that inexplicably has still not been inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame:

RESPECT

"Respect", the movie on the life of "the Queen of Soul", Aretha Franklin is finally hitting theaters today after a year delay due to COVID. Jennifer Hudson, who was personally selected by Franklin before her passing in 2018, plays the legendary performer. The film traces Franklin from the beginning as a child growing up in Detroit, displaying her amazing gift singing in her church lead by her reverend father. She soon begins a recording career as a young woman but does not find success immediately, struggling to find her voice as an artist. But a move to Atlantic Records and more input in to creating her music lead to Franklin's long, extraordinary career. "Respect" covers the joy and thrills in Franklin's life but also the heartbreak and trauma the singer had to endure. Hudson ignites the screen as Franklin, performing many of the Queen's biggest hits and sang them live on set during filming.



Jim Farber of Parade Magazine has looked back on Franklin's incredible catalog of music and selected twelve of her biggest hits and tells the story behind each of them. We get her iconic cover of Otis Redding's "Respect" to Franklin's last major charting song in 1998, "A Rose Is Still a Rose", which was written and produced by Ms. Lauryn Hill.

Click below to read the article:

Aretha! The Stories Behind Her Greatest Hits

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Normani is back with some new music and she's got Cardi B along for the ride. "Wild Side" is a smooth r&b ballad, backed-up by a sample of the classic 1996 song, "One in a Million" by the legendary Aailyah, that gives off a 90's trip-hop vibe yet still feels very modern. The song is enhanced further by an astonishing music video. With an incredible array of sexy outfits, stunning wild imagery throughout the clip and slick, sensuous choreography by Sean Bankhead, the former Fifth Harmony member finally has the perfect showcase to display her bountiful skills as a musician and performer, certainly helping to enable the artist reach a new level of success.



Speaking of the 1990's, enjoy a sampling of a few hits by r&b girl groups from the era:







Here is a random collection of recent songs and videos I'm digging right now:









And we have Lil Nas X back with his latest song, "Industry Baby". Despite the controversy involving the video for "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" and the promotional "Satan Shoes", Nas is not backing down and pushes the envelope even further with the video for this song. It is set in a men's prison with Nas being sentenced for being gay. What we get is a very queer version of "The Shawshank Redemption" including a semi-censored naked shower dancing scene (which is choreographed by Sean Bankhead) and a guest rap verse by Jack Harlow:

JAM & LEWIS - VOL. ONE

You may not immediately recognize the names of "Jimmy Jam" Harris and Terry Lewis but you definitely know their music:

"Saturday Love" by Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal

"Human" by the Human League

"Just Be Good To Me" by the S.O.S. Band

"If It Isn't Love" by New Edition

"U Remind Me" by Usher

"Tender Love" by Force MD's

"Encore" by Cheryl Lynn

And almost the entire discography of Janet Jackson. This is just a very small number of songs this dynamic duo has co-written and produced since 1983. They have worked with a wildly diverse group of musicians during that time which includes Rod Stewart, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Bryan Adams, Chaka Khan, Boyz II Men, Sting, Yolanda Adams, Herb Alpert, Patti Austin, Earth Wind & Fire and The Spice Girls.

These long-time friends, who first met in college, would join as musicians with the Minneapolis-based funk band called Flyte Tyme. After connecting with Prince and Morris Day joining as lead singer, the group evolved in to the Time and released their self-titled debut album in 1981. This band enjoyed great success before the duo, who had begun to produce other acts on the side, missed a concert while stranded in Atlanta during a snow storm. Harris and Lewis would end up leaving the Time, after either quitting or were fired (depending on who you ask) in 1983. The song they had produced during that time for the S.O.S. Band, "Just Be Good To Me" would become a smash hit and helped launch the production careers of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Now after years of being in the background, Jam & Lewis have released their very first album under their own names. "Jam & Lewis Volume One" features an impressive line-up of artists that they have worked with previously (Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Usher) and for the first time (Toni Braxton, Babyface, Charlie Wilson, formerly of the Gap Band). And former Time members, Morris Day and Jerome Benton even show up along with The Roots on the track, "Babylove". This is a great collection of classic r&b by this influential team and I can't wait to hear the next volume.