New music release from Annie Lennox, Aretha Franklin, In This Moment, Kiesza, Whitney Houston
Annie Lennox
“Nostalgia”
Blue Note Records
Aretha Franklin
“Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics”
RCA Records
It’s a bit of weird cosmic symmetry that the two iconic divas and signature voices that once collaborated on hit song “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” have both released cover albums at around the same time — but Lennox’s and Franklin’s approach to their albums are vastly different.
Lennox delivers hauntingly ethereal versions of classic standards with piano-driven instrumentation and sparse orchestration on her album “Nostalgia.” The bluesy and jazzy songs with a dramatic throwback vibe are the perfect vehicle for Lennox’s smooth and sensual voice, especially on beloved favorites like “Georgia on My Mind” and “Strange Fruit.” The slow-burning crooner feel dominates the entire album, save for a few moments on more upbeat tracks like her swinging version of “I Put a Spell On You” and the bluesy guitar-driven rendition of “Mood Indigo.”
On “Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics,” the Queen of Soul has nothing to prove. History has shown she can sing rings around pretty much anyone in any genre. Here she takes on songs from past and present, but seems best served tackling the classics more than the modern songs.
That’s not to say Franklin doesn’t shine throughout the album. She delivers solid renditions of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and a reggae-infused take on Alicia Keys’ “No One,” but those two songs feel breezed-through and by the numbers, especially the latter, which has some very-rushed, synthetic production values. “Rolling,” while better, feels like an exercise in keeping up with the new diva on the block and lacks the gravitas and emotion of the original.
Franklin is at her best when working on songs with a more organic sound, like on her renditions of Etta James’ “At Last,” Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia” and Barbra Streisand’s “People.” Her performances on those songs feel way more in touch with the originals.
The more modern-sounding tracks feel phoned-in by comparison. The thin, disco-esque production on The Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” feel like Franklin dropped into a club on karaoke night for kicks. That production style works a bit better on her mash-up of “I’m Every Woman/Respect,” on which Franklin sounds like she’s having fun. The light, whimsical vibe also carries over on her jazzy scat version of Prince-written Sinead O’Connor hit, “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
Both albums find these world-class vocal divas showing the world why they’re the reigning queens who have inspired generations of great singers. Fans of Franklin and Lennox should be more than happy to add these new recordings to their catalog.
In This Moment
“Black Widow”
Atlantic Records
Some longtime fans have lamented that this group’s last album, “Blood,” saw the band drifting into a more mainstream direction that on earlier metal albums, and becoming more focused on the buxom, vixenish raging beast of a singer Maria Brink. They’re just going to have to get over it, because the new formula works.
In This Moment continues to inject its ferocious metal-core foundations with thick doses of goth, industrial, chopped-up dubstep and even a little hip-hop for a result that is beautifully brutal at times and hauntingly somber at others. And while the influences are glaringly apparent (Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Limp Bizkit), they are delivered with such assured conviction that it’s hard to resist.
Tracks like “Sex Metal Barbie” and “Big Bad Wolf” bounce like slick rap-metal anthems. The title track and “Bloody Creature Poster” girl have a dark cabaret-like swagger. “Sick Like Me” is a full-throttle barnstormer that might take your head clean off.
Things slows down and get downright spooky on the more-vulnerable and piano-driven tracks like “The Fighter” and the achingly melancholy “Out of Hell,” both of which easily give Evanescence and Tori Amos stiff competition.
Sure, Brink can’t decide if she is the needy waif or the strong survivor in the lyrics from song to song, but that only adds to the overall dangerously dark and crazy-carnival vibe of the album.
Kiesza
“Sound of a Woman”
Island Records
This Canadian songwriter and electro-pop singer might at first seem like another dance diva in waiting but, as you wade deeper into her latest album, it’s obvious she’s got serious skills and talent worth basking in.
Building on a solid foundation of infectious techno grooves, Kiesza delivers dance-floor anthems “Hideaway” and “No Enemiesz” [sic]. But it’s the more-eclectic songs that really sink their hooks into listeners, as when her sultry voice is allowed to play with killer grooves like the funky hip-hop-flavored “Losin’ My Mind” and the trip-hop-inspired “So Deep.”
The songs on “Sound of a Woman” are tastefully done and refreshingly void of the excessive bombast a lot of EDM artists seem to be fond of these days. And really, she doesn’t need it. With her talented pipes, she can probably sing anything she wants and sound amazing.
Whitney Houston
“Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances”
Legacy Recordings
This collection gives fans and casual listeners alike a potent reminder of how much a force of nature Whitney Houston was when she was on top of her game, with a collection of live tracks spanning the course of her career.
The pre-worldwide superstardom tracks like “Home” from an appearance on “The Merv Griffin Show” and “You Give Good Love” from “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” showed her as a confident artist on the rise before things swirling around Houston became a circus.
Then the fame really kicked in and Houston started getting good at milking the songs live for every dramatic drop she could wring out, such as on “The Greatest Love of All” from the Arista Records 15th Anniversary Concert in 1990 and “One Moment in Time” from the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989.
But the poppier moments don’t translate as well.
“How Will I Know” from the 1987 BRIT Awards sounds boxy and canned. “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” from the same Arista Concert as “The Greatest Love of All,” with a horn section handling a lot of the synth parts, sounds especially dated, but still better than a lot of divas working today.
But who needs the pop hit when you can hear Houston crush it in a medley of “I Loves You, Porgy/And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going/I Have Nothing” from 1994’s 21st Annual American Music Awards, and “I’m Every Woman” from a concert that same year in South Africa?
This collection definitely shows the world why Houston was a force to be reckoned with in the live arena, from the beginning until her untimely end.