Word: debutants
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...artist. A powerful singer who wrote his own music and accompanied himself on the guitar, Jefferson was the first male blues superstar, and enjoyed a highly successful recording career whose influence was still being felt 1961, when Bob Dylan recorded "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" on his debut album. Being the first out of the gate may have accounted for some of Jefferson's success; his songs and their variations became part of the blues canon, but how much of it was Jefferson and how much was part of the tradition he came from is impossible to establish...
...fine voice (it's a bit ragged now), some good material in his repertoire and a good heart. But he had a true fan in Jones, helped in part by the fact that Dickens was one of the more welcoming stars on hand when the Possum made his Opry debut in 1956. And so when Jones was under pressure in the early '60s to churn out record after record for his new label, United Artists, he chose to do a tribute to Dickens. He has paid several complete-disc homages to other singers (Bob Wills, Hank Williams and Leon Payne...
However, surprisingly, on their debut album, Wasting Time, Mest's derivitative punk-ska style works. Their music, despite a cookie-cutter resemblance to other punk-ska outfits such as Blink 182, still shares the same exuberance of a life preoccupied with drinking and chasing after girls. Thus, the quartet plays quick but ultimately very melodic songs about longing ("Richard Marxism"), about more longing ("Random Arrival") and finally about more longing, with a dash of self-destruction thrown in for good measure ("Lonely Days"). The album's best track, the title track, also deals with the theme of love and loneliness...
...Your Lights On. Hip-hop followers probably remember him from the 1990s as the frontman of the proudly uncouth, roughneck trio House of Pain. After four years with that group, he quit, dropped out of music, changed gears and then scored a surprise hit with his 1998 solo debut, Whitey Ford Sings the Blues. That record broke all the rules, using acoustic guitars, rapping, blues riffs and elements borrowed from Johnny Cash and Neil Young to create a striking hip-hop offshoot that sounded tough and folksy at the same time. The songs were about working people and the small...
When pop performers draw on a wide range of genres in a single album, the result can be hors d'oeuvre music: varied and savory, but perhaps not as satisfying as a main course. Singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, on her hook-laden debut album, Whoa, Nelly! (DreamWorks), borrows from a wide array of styles, such as pop, rock, hip-hop, bossa nova and even Portuguese fado. But Furtado imbues her work with such sprightly energy that her stylistic mix has real impact. Whoa, Nelly! is more than a plate of appetizers; it's a musical meal...