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...Alicia Keys, Branford Marsalis, Peter Gabriel, Mali's Amadou and Mariam, Ziggy Marley, German singer Joy Denalane and Italian Carmen Consoli. Some tracks almost seem designed to explain why they call it world music. Pearls, for example, is a Beninese cover of a Sade original that opens with the guitar and maracas of Carlos Santana, who is then joined by the American balladeer Josh Groban and Kidjo, in duet, singing: "There is a woman in Somalia...
...doesn't always work. Mixing Groban's operatic voice with African rhythm and Spanish guitar feels like several fusions too far. But Kidjo's African dance-hall cover of the Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter with Joss Stone is as irresistible as the original. And Lonlon, an African folk a cappella adaptation of Bolero, might have pleased even Ravel...
...Still, for all the heartstrings it attempts to yank, "Rise Up" is remarkably unfussy. It floats by on a simple keyboard and guitar melody similar to "You Are Not Alone" and "I Believe I Can Fly," former top 2 hits on the U.S. charts. The lyrics are straightforward and, given their source, astonishingly respectful. ("Not gonna lie and say I understand/I just wanna be here for you if I can.") Kelly is many things - corny, odd, incapable of a rhyme scheme that isn't 'a-a-a-a' - but he is not without talent, and his vocals are particularly warm...
...injury in 1992. His friend fell asleep at the wheel of a car and ran off the road, sending Ponnudorai, a passenger, headfirst through the window. Initially, he appeared miraculously unscathed and was sent home with a head full of stitches. But days later, he was unable to fret guitar chords or walk a straight line. Fresh tests revealed a massive blood clot covering an entire side of his brain, just waiting to rupture, and he was rushed into surgery. Against medical predictions he survived, but the experience left him emotionally transformed. "Things that were so important-success, recognition, accolades...
...years, Tweedy's brooding lyrics--fueled by battles with anxiety and addiction--have often overshadowed the spare beauty of his songwriting. But Sky Blue Sky is bright and affecting, mixing doses of '70s soul on tracks like Side with Seeds and Hate It Here with the sun-drenched guitar rock of Impossibly Germany and What Light, on which Tweedy advises, "It's alright to be frightened." Die-hard Tweedyites might howl at such signs of Wilco's mellowing. But mellow still sounds pretty good to the rest...