MUSIC REVIEWS
Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
David Allun Jones
Lupe Fiasco carries the calming poise of someone who’s been doing it for a long time and while 2006 can be marked as his breakout year, a closer look at his resume would prove he’s been on the verge of success for a long time coming. Surviving two failed record deals before becoming an underground phenomenon on the mixtape circuit, Fiasco’s first taste of mainstream success arrived with an attention-grabbing appearance on Kanye West’s “Touch The Sky”. It was his official solo intro “Kick, Push” that really got everybody talking of him like he was the Second Coming. It’s touching snapshot of skateboarders with vivid storytelling over a wispy sample sounded like a lost gem from the previous decade, leading to whispers that a new “nerdy Nas” was upon us. On his studio debut, Food & Liquor, Fiasco remarkably lives up to the hype by dropping a concrete first disc that critics and hip hop heads will be referring to for ages. Too bad it’s lack of big-budget flashiness, wordy wisdom and low-key ambience will keep his appeal under-the-radar, with no threat at all to steal some spotlight from fellow emcee geeks, and lesser lyrical talents, Kanye and Pharrell.
Justin Timberlake - Future Sex/Love Sounds
David Allun Jones
Justified was the waking of a superstar-to-be struggling to separate his influences from his own distinctive style, but on the overly confident Future Sex/ Love Sounds, Justin Timberlake throws all caution to the wind for a forward-thinking album that subtly indulges in his ‘70’s and ‘80’s idols (everyone from MJ, Prince and Stevie to George Michael and Donny Hathaway) while excitingly shifting the paradigm of modern pop.
Jedi Mind Tricks - Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell
Jared Wade
For hip hop acts like Jedi Mind Tricks, sometimes the hardest thing to do is live up to your own past.
It isn’t that the underground duo has fallen off. In fact, between the critical acclaim and street anticipation of both this spring’s Army of the Pharaohs collaboration project and their last two feature albums, most would argue precisely the opposite.
But it was starting to seem that Vinnie Paz and Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind may have set the bar too high on 2000’s Violent by Design. Even with continually solid efforts, questions began to arise as to whether or not JMT could ever recreate something on par with that masterpiece, especially minus sidekick Jus Allah.
Beck - The Information
Matt Jameson
Yet another excellent release from the industry’s single most adventurous songwriter and performance artist Beck; The Information has re-established many of the reasons I personally fell in love with this unusual music in the late nineties. It has the lyrical punch, musical pluckiness and all the unusual rhythmic patterns that we’ve come to expect and love from Beck. And as usual, Beck has done something new and visionary with this release. This album, three years in the making was actually being finished and refined amid the release of his last album Guero. Now that the promotional schedules and tour dates for his last album Guero are behind him, Beck gives us exactly what we’ve been waiting for without all the pesky waiting.
The Killers - Sam's Town
David Allun Jones
A tour across the States helped enrich a deeper sense of respect and love for America according to The Killers leading to the questionable move of wiping away the eyeliner, growing out moustaches and downplaying the Day-Glo decadence of their Euro-obsessed past for a more muscular, epic definition of rock. As everyone awaits them to fall victim to the sophomore slump, though, it’s a risky move for our favorite Mormons to venture away from the new wave/ New Romantic sound that helped make them one of the more exciting groups in recent years to follow in the footsteps of mid-80’s Bruce Springsteen, especially if Sam’s Town shows obvious proof that they don’t copy The Boss all too well.
Fergie - The Dutchess
David Allun Jones
Love or hate her, Fergie’s inclusion in the Black Eyed Peas made the hip hop band of misfits worldwide stars. Though some criticized her for stealing the splinter of street credibility that the group had when they were selling close-to-no albums, the truth is, her MTV-friendly look and sound only helped in realizing Will I Am and the gang’s goals of being the universally appealing pop phenoms they are today. After the inane rap “My Humps” dropped and became a runaway hit, it also led to unavoidable realization that a Fergie solo album was on the horizon. On The Dutchess, Fergie relies on the production talents of Will I Am, for what is essentially a Black Eyed Peas project minus the two other rappers who barely get mic time anyway. A mural-styled collection of anything and everything, the album seems to capture the spirit of the Love Angel Music Baby sequel Gwen Stefani delayed for motherhood, resulting, in most cases, in Fergie doing Miss Stefani better than Gwen herself.
Elton John - The Captain & The Kid
David Allun Jones
Since 2001’s surprising return-to-form Songs From The West Coast, Elton John has made it his current passion to reclaim the spirit of his best days. Back alongside lyricist Bernie Taupin, the duo have lost none of the chemistry that brought about the lengthy list of amazing music they created in the late ‘60’s and ‘70’s. With The Captain & The Kid, John and Taupin take things a step further with a personalized set of songs that reflect on their long-lasting partnership and endearing legacy in a immaculately realized concept that stands proudly next to the work it evokes.
