Word: albums
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Where did the sassy, savvy show tunes of yesteryear go? Has the all-American genre been smothered in middlebrow blandness by Andrew Lloyd Webber and his carpetbag clones? Way Back to Paradise (Nonesuch/Atlantic), the first solo album from three-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, points to smarter times ahead for the Great White Way. It contains 14 songs by five young composers who specialize in musical theater, none of which sound even remotely like Memory. All are highly listenable; a few, downright remarkable...
...will the saloon singers of the next century still be crooning George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Johnny Mercer? Or is a new generation of as-yet-unknown popular songwriters quietly turning out tomorrow's standards today? Perhaps Audra McDonald will answer that question on her next album...
Franklin's enthralling new album opens with a skit in which the gospel singer-choir leader is put on trial for blending the secular and the sacred. Unlike most skits on music albums, this one hits home: Franklin has proved himself to be a threat to musical orthodoxy. His blend of gospel, funk and hip-hop is ingenious and unique; and in pop music it's certainly harder to advocate positive religious values than it is to be Marilyn Manson. On this album Franklin has refined his sound further; his melodies are stronger, the vocal arrangements more graceful. Hard, beat...
...with the exception of a few refreshing numbers, the songs are lacking. The tracks on this album weren't in general release, and for a good reason--they're not very good...
...only really live track on the album, and it offers a rare glimpse of Morrissey's voice pre-studio refinement. For Morrissey fans it makes for fascinating listening--his voice has never been as versatile and expressive. It's also quite sexy, as the constantly screaming fans in the background emphasize. The talent is there--but the song itself is crap. A guitar in the background chokes out basic chords with an simple Natalie Imbruglia-esque rhythm as Morrissey churns out such drivel as "I danced myself out of the womb...Is it strange to dance so soon?....What...