Kelly Rowland Brings Her A Game

It pleases me to say Kelly Rowland makes sizable progress towards stepping out of the shadow of mega star and Destiny's Child bandmate Beyonce with "Talk a Good Game", her fourth solo outing. The production values are mesmerizing across the board, her special guests (Wiz Khalifa and Pusha T) among them, do a bang up job of lending abiding street cred to the festivities, and Kelly's voice soars to remarkable new heights. Leading off with "Freak" was a prudent choice because it demonstrates the commitment Ms. Rowland brings to the dance portion of this spangly enterprise. Spacing out "everybody...is somebody's...freak" injects an embraceable aura of danger. "Kisses Down Low" aims for and obtains the unapologetic pelvis grind. Wiz Khalifa's presence in the middle of "Gone" establishes some gritty street science, specifically in casting out the girl with such a Hollywood spoiled attitude that she acts the Hollywood starlet role. "Street Life" lends a ready Jamaica flow to the goings-on in the hood. "You Changed" reminds us  why Destiny's Child swiftly ascended to superstar status in nothing flat. Clearly they've gotten amazing mileage from the we know each other so well we finish each other's sentences status. "Dirty Laundry" hits the mark as Rowland's much needed cosmic house cleaning. The background atmosphere is crackling with intensity. There's core agitation in the percussion's take no prisoners footsteps. Old school soul comes out to play for "Red Wine". Rowland lets the power in her vocals soar to the surface. Out of all these tracks "Stand In Front Of Me" is the most effervescent. Two souls swaying back and forth in a ballroom crowded with like-minded individuals. Kelly demonstrates a paramount level of respect for old school influences like Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross. Honestly you will be refreshed by the change-ups in tempo and style. There's no trace of settling on one sort of rhythm and then phoning in whatever effort is pieced together afterwards. "Freak" is an example of a track that screams world tour no splashiness spared production. "Stand In Front of Me" is looser in the joint and therefore will be very easy to groove to. "Kisses Down Low" comes complete with a transcendental aura that's deliciously deceptive. Nothing immaculate about that number. Dirty to the bone and worth the trouble. On the whole "Talk a Good Game" does far more than talk. It puts the entire gamut of both Rowland's range and artistic vision on full display. The results merit some serious head turning.

John Mayer's "Paper Doll" Is An In The Flesh Knockout

John Mayer is the music world's equivalent of a warm, fresh brewed cup of coffee percolating first thing in the morning. What's more, his back catalog of soon to be classic hits ("Your Body Is a Wonderland", "Daughters", "Waiting On The World To Change") sounds tailor made to serve as a great go-with for every java purveyor from the almighty Starbucks to that quaint little cafe down the street. New from the mind of Mayer is "Paper Doll" whose choral refrain has already graduated to earwig status bouncing around my easily addled cranium. To best appreciate the smokey gusto of the song you'd have to pretend your I-Pod was a newly poured cup of premium blend. Got you in the right frame of mind? Okay, great. Now...please inhale, slow but sure. Don't worry. I can wait. Alrighty then. With the same measured discipline, exhale until the last drop of fresh oxygen has exited your chest. Repeat the procedure at least two more times. If I'm guiding you through the drill competently enough you should start to hear "She's like 22 girls in one, and none of them knows what they're running from." That's the refrain I mentioned earlier. It's ridiculously infectious. If you're a Mayer hater you'll be moved to the same level of  bile in the throat as Big Bang Theory icon Sheldon Cooper yelling "Curse you, Wil Wheaton!!" If you're a Mayer maven the refrain will serve as a welcome distraction from another day of dirty dishes, caffeinated grade schoolers, and the latest rant from your better half about what's gone wrong in his/her life lately. Guitar passages are distributed mirthfully. Arousing bass beneath. B-chord wanderings above. To tell you the truth, John's picked the wrong season to unleash this charmer from the upcoming "Paradise Valley" project in summer. I find it to be more of a winter melody that begs for a cozy sweater as couture accompaniment. Nevertheless, John's come out with a beauty. The voice is as bluesy as y'all remember. There's a classy shuffle effect to the drumming. Irrefutable proof that John's commitment to his art on the heels of recent vocal chord surgery is as dependable as ever. How nice it is that there's at least one 21st century artist on the music scene that's capable of prompting us to utter almost as if the thought had already grown tiresome, "Another shimmering jewel from John Mayer. What a surprise. Yes, folks, there are still performers like this to offer a reassuring break from processed pap. The first step to paradise can be found right here.

Scale the Summit Takes Its Faithful on a Breathtaking Odyssey

Houston's Scale the Summit has apparently graduated from the Rush school of instrumental virtuosity. "Odyssey", a track lifted from the four piece's "The Migration" is astonishing in how it shifts back and forth between heavy, pectoral flexing displays of guitar magic making and quieter periods of light as air noodling around. Don't think the song's caliber of greatness both lives and dies behind what's cooking behind the frets. Pat Skeffington is a demonic drummer who can easily keep up with the clever riffs of his bandmates Chris Letchford (7 string guitar), Travis Levrier (7 string guitar) and Mark Michell (6 string bass). The best way to fully appreciate what "Odyssey" has to offer is to liken this mind melting voyage to a trip along the perilous twists and turns of a roller coaster. At first the coaster slinks its way up the rails, anticipation building among the riders. The coaster hits the top of the mountain, then, band of demented screamers in tow, plunges to a low point, then winds around the ups and downs and curves to follow. For openers we receive the kind of vulgar display of power hard rockers Pantera would approve of. This is proof you don't need a tattoo sporting front man to inject your hard rock outfit with belly fire. Both Chris and Travis make it look tremendously easy. They're whipping up a jaw dropping rock story and following the "pages" wherever they may lead is a good bit of the fun. After the initial barrage of thunder, the bottom drops out and we're left clinging to a weightless parachute full of gripping atmospherics. That is soon replaced with another wave of blistering interplay. Mark's bass kind of resembles a trigger happy rifleman's weapon of choice. He sends waves underneath the psycho surf Chris and Travis ride on, improvise on and, eventually get ingeniously carried away on. The "lull period" from an intensity standpoint, which shows up during the second half of the track is a unique entity in and of itself. Kind of the sun counterbalancing rain. Simply put, the outro is gently wafting embers on the heels of a blaze that wasn't just smoke and mirrors. Scale the Summit blew onto the landscape in 2004 and, it's a commitment to the don't take the easy way out brand of creativity that certainly heightens its prospects for forging a career that jumps the one decade hurdle and races in pursuit of whatever the finish line has in store for them. "Odyssey" is one trip that won't leave you cash poor but will make you wish you had put more film in your camera.

Mary J Blige Knows How To Sell the "Drama"

What a twisted world the guys, gals, vamps, vixens, heels, leaches, heroes, heroines, and innocent lambs of daytime drama occupy. The sex is likely steamier than most of us mere mortals can pull off. The catfights are nastier. For sure the storylines are usually more convoluted than anything our day-to-days cook up, although I'm guessing the reason why many people watched soaps in their heyday was to escape their reality comforted by the proof that some fictitious beauty had an even more daunting reality to confront. What am I getting at by giving you soap back history during the post of a blog that firmly places its loyalties in the world of music? 'Cause today is Soap Opera Day and, in tribute to a day honoring deviant behavior that doesn't come from the halls of our nation's capital I'm going to focus on Mary J. Blige a woman who does one hell of a job using her smoky soulful pipes to convey the life entanglements that are leaving her tied up in knots. Specifically "No More Drama" a 2002 effort, finds Mary casting herself in the role of end of her rope preacher queen in the house of broken romance winning over her throngs with the gospel of choosing to dispel drama from a life that already has enough complications as it is. Cleverly enough she weaves her tumultuous storyline using Nadia's Theme, the theme for long running soap The Young and the Restless as a lightning rod backdrop. As the drama escalates during the song, mostly emphasized through steamy bass riffs with the Y & R piano passage tossed in for good measure, so does Mary's fiery commitment to not sticking around for a man who wasn't meant to be reliable anyway. She credits why she was sucked into the same head games for so long to the naivete of youth. Her battle fatigue is damned near impossible to ignore. She rides the wings of angst like someone who's had her pilot's license of pain for a logic staggering long time. The beat inches higher and higher to a waves crashing down on the already saturated shore crescendo. There's Mary teaching and preaching about how much happier you are when you let go of all the pain, the drama, the madness that adds fuel to the fire of your life. She has a point in positing the notion that crying every night kind of grates on a person's nerves. It likely won't vault you to the top of the must be with list of too many of your contemporaries list. It's stunning to look back on 1992, specifically the Mary J. Blige of "Real Love" days busting out all over with bounce and the raw enthusiasm to tackle the love wars. Shoot ahead ten years and this Mary, already scarred significantly is reaching, striving, grabbing for the clean break which could enable her future to be bright, less of a muddle mess where "Which way is up?" becomes an enigma of a question to answer with any confidence. It was  in Mary's favor this song didn't have much more background rhythms than Nadia's now legendary piano refrain, processed drum kits, an occasional acoustic guitar strum, plus that empowering bass. Mary needs room to spread her vocal wings to the fullest because bottling her deepest thoughts up and reverting to brood mood benefits no one. "No More Drama" deftly showcases Mary's talent for exorcising her own drama. She owns the drama. She demonstrates her healing process with no small display of verve.

Lorde Royally Engaging With Her Current Rock Hit

There's lots to recommend the saying that less is more. In terms of New Zealand teen sensation Lorde's time on this planet she's made less music but has more time to round out into the phenom that her single "Royals" hints that she will become. There's hardly any background music getting in the way of the social comfortable in my own skin point she's trying to make. Just an electrifying series of synthesizer rhythms plus a dash of programmed drumming. Lorde has demonstrated commitment to letting the music, her embrace worthy candid singing style be the message. Here her message boils down to, "I'm just your typical teenager content to hang with my crew. Luxury trappings aren't for her. Between you and me I don't consider tigers on a gold leash one of those "I've arrived" kind of items but it goes a long way towards showing just how not wedded to affluence Lorde is. The first words of the chorus, "And we'll never be royals" are dipped in gorgeous add a strand harmonies that are as pure of intent as the cold air beckoning out of Lorde's New Zealand home base. It's a credit to any artist just starting out when they opt to push substance way ahead of style. No layers of bullshit to strip away. No scratching your head wondering how AutoTuned the "artist" is. "Royals" merits top shelf treatment permeating any one of a number of non royal halls such as college dorm or high school study group. You can find this track on her opening effort "The Love Club". Hers is career with plenty of upside. You don't have to gallivant around the globe on some private jet to understand that.

Some Raves About "Brave"

Sara Bareilles, from the moment "Love Song" blew down doors in 2007, has struck me as a performer who doesn't pull punches with her thinking. I give her props for "Love Song" because the lyrics essentially were a warning to her record label that she wasn't going to write them a love song because they needed some hit record and that was a sure fire way to get one. "King of Anything" should be required listening for any man who thinks a bit too highly of himself. Her self-esteem reaffirming style is back with "Brave", a track lifted from the forthcoming album "The Blessed Unrest". I like to think of it as a workout for the soul instead of the abs, glutes, and delts. As was the case with "Love Song" piano of a big city cosmopolitan nature looms pretty large. It's the synthesized drums that shower this effort with some bouncy mirth. Here, Sara implores us to do what seems forbidden in these treacherous times...just be brave enough to speak your mind. She has a type of voice that is determined to break down any psychological barriers that have been erected. Make no mistake in a country full of big city unsteadiness, this is the track that at least taps you on the shoulder and reminds you that yes, bravery is part of your emotional tool box. The vid clip shows Sara in all her breeziness. At the end a pair of mall patrons wonder what it is that's been going on. One of them goes so far as to hint that maybe he took the wrong pills. That's an understandable conclusion. Spontaneous giddiness in the name of loosening inhibitions isn't commonplace these days. Sara wraps her good intentions around all who pass by. You want to believe you're an ordinary person capable of the extraordinary as opposed to being stuck in, as Sara sharply puts it, "the cage where you live". This is one appetizingly delivered spoon full of sugar. It bodes well for "The Blessed Unrest". Sara is one performer unafraid to embrace life and all the hairpin turns that come with it. Her voice melds sweet with spellbinding and the resulting creation is captivating in the way hearing small children sing for a church choir might be. No sunblock required for these sun rays. Just an appreciation for a young woman's artistry with the power to make the weakest among us feel ten feet tall.

Adrian Belew's Ditty For The Daddies Rings True With Realism

Over his illustrious career Adrian Belew has placed his prolific finger in many pots, among them the work of Frank Zappa, King Crimson, David Bowie, and the quirky experimental femme Laurie Anderson. In 1988 he uncorked a solo single, "Oh Daddy" which was a taste of the pop parent life. Throughout the song various inquisitive children's questions are asked. "When are you going to make it to the top?" Adrian responds with, "All I know is I'm not going to stop. "When you gonna break it wide open?" To this Adrian replies, "I don't know but I still keep hopin'" On and on the questions follow in the mold of, "When will we get our taste of the good life?" Never once does Daddy promise anything other than effort until he gets it just right. The mood here is as breezy as the world of a little girl or boy asking all those precocious questions might be. Adrian drops a bass heavy vibe into the proceedings as well as a chopping sequence of drums. As an artist employing both guitar and guitar synthesizer he knows how to maintain an optimum level of silliness. Overall what's cute about this effort is, even though I'm not a parent myself, I'm certain a great many who are have to fend off these larger than life questions on a quasi-regular basis. Also I'm willing to bet said questions aren't satisfied with ready answers. If there's one thing children, particularly the smaller ones know how to do, it's keep their parents off guard. You never know when that lightning bolt of curiosity will come straight out of nowhere. No instruction manual is available for parents who need a referral book  to deflect such posers. "Oh Daddy" is gentle pussycat fare with a childhood friendly commitment to fun. During 1988, a year when a  lot of benign to the point of senility adult contemporary fare was saturating the airwaves (Think "Kokomo" or   the studio glossed medley Will to Power put together for "Baby I Love Your Way/Freebird") "Oh Daddy" put the emphasis on goofiness but in the service of something universal we all could laugh at a bit, even if said laugh took the form of a quiet chortle. Too bad the promising session gig with Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails tribe didn't come to fruition. Many lovers of razor sharp musicianship will be missing out. Thanks Mr. Belew for showcasing a sensitive side. It helped others peace out. Until next time, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.