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REACHING 2,250.000 READERS AROUND THE GLOBE
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THE WORLD OF MUSIC: CHOICE OF THE MONTH
Some things improve with age -- Bonnie Raitt, for example. Raitt, whose first LP was released in 1971, sounds better than ever in her latest album, Souls Alike. She can still wrap her voice around a lyric and effortlessly conjure the appropriate mood -- edgy or sweet, submissive or aggressive, melancholy or joyful. But now she does it with a maturity and self-assurance that set this latest performance apart from her earliest work. The new album is her 18th and the first on which Raitt gets credit as producer. And not one lemon turns up in its mix of 11 songs of various styles. It starts with one of the better cuts, I Will Not Be Broken. Raitt, who recently experienced a series of personal tragedies, sings the song's lyrics confidently ("Push me to the limit/ Maybe I may bend/ But I know where I'm goin'/ I will not be broken") and a jaunty, buoyant sound conspires to create a song that promises to become one of her classics. Another outstanding performance is found on the spiritual-sounding God Was in the Water. Its simple but haunting sound can easily take root in the listener's mental jukebox and play itself back at will. So Close is slow and sweet. And in the sneakily contagious Crooked Crown, the singer is trying ever so hard to maintain the delicate balance to survive. I Don't Want Anything To Change is a melancholy ballad tinged with self-pity as the singer is unable to accept that her lover has left. Ending the set is The Bed I Made, with its poignant performance reminiscent of Raitt's classic I Can't Make You Love Me. The songs offers a variety of styles and influences: rock, ballads, spiritual, blues, and even a bit of patter. Raitt handles all with equal aplomb. Chances are, each listener will create his own particular set of favourites. -Reviewer Ron Bethel
Sure legends die and stars inevitably begin to fade. If you're Eric Clapton, though, you simply return home. So it is for the 60-year-old British bluesman's aptly titled Back Home, which brings into sharp focus the reflections of a music man of four decades who has grown to value home and family above all else in the twilight of his years. To make that point, the album's opening track So Tired doesn't chronicle the bone-deep fatigue a seemingly endless string of show nights would bring. Instead it's an uplifting melody to accompany a parent's lament on the daily grind of raising children. Wait a second. Babies and band practice? Has one of the most influential guitarists ever grown soft? Say it ain't so. The truth is that even the wildest grow timid with years. And following his reunion last summer with his bandmates from Cream, that 1960s psychedelic British powerhouse, Clapton has reason to step back and count the blessings his guitar has brought. As much as the album is a reflection, it's also homage to the songs that move Clapton just as those life-changing blues die. Stevie Wonder's I'm Going Left and George Harrison's Love Comes to Everyone bookend Clapton's first original material in five years, even if the recordings sound closer to elevator ditties than soulful biographical ballads. Still, the three-time Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer has earned time to ponder where his music has taken him. The album's title track and final number does just that. Flush with countrified blues and foot-tapping rhythms, Clapton captures with electrifying sentimentality that road-weary moment when going home is more soothing than any melody. Going home and leaving the scene? Clapton has earned that right.- Reviewer Lyon Rens
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 Music
Of The Sun Rihanna (Def Jam) It's not too late for a summer getaway after all. With her debut album Music Of The Sun, new artist Rihanna brings us the sultry dancehall and R&B sounds of the Caribbean islands. The 17-year-old green-eyed cutie, born in the Barbados, made a splash onto the summer scene with her dancehall smash single Pon De Replay. The party-starter has Rihanna requesting the DJ to turn the music up, over absolutely infectious clap-heavy dancehall grooves. The uptempo vibes continue with the seductive R&B pop track Let Me. Here, the sweet songbird makes sure a certain boy recognizes her efforts on the dance floor. Later, Rihanna's R and B vocals are aptly paired with the unique sounds of rapper Kardinal Offishall, who is of Toronto/Jamaican heritage. The bass-heavy sound of the song alone would make a welcome addition to any DJs play selection at a club. Rihanna sheds an up-tempo style and demonstrates her ability to manipulate melody on You Don't Love Me (No, No, No). The track cleverly samples Dawn Penn's original classic of the same name. Rihanna breaks down the mid-tempo track by methodically crooning with an assist from reggae rapper Vybz Cartel.While the serious ballad Willing To Wait exhibits Rihanna's better than average R&B vocals, the track feels forced, as opposed to the aforementioned cuts which showcase the young star's creativity and zeal. The same can be said for Now I Know, an overcooked, dramatic ballad which has Rihanna reaching to deliver triumphant vocals. While the song provides balance, it buries Rihanna's musical charm. Fortunately, listeners already in love with Pon De Replay will be pleased to hear the song's remix featuring dancehall igniter Elephant Man, close out the album. Overall, Music Of The Sun is an appealing feel-good first outing from Rihanna. -Reviewer: Mark Rewinlla
Even more bare-bones than usual, Tracy Chapman recorded her seventh solo album not in a studio, but in a San Francisco-area rehearsal space filled with trucked-in gear. The result: beautifully written songs in Chapman's signature simple and acoustic style. The memorable tracks are America and the album's first single, Change, which has Chapman posing a string of rhetorical questions. It's great in the way of her breakout hit 1988's Fast Car, but doesn't pull at the heart strings as much as it challenges the listener. America is a spirited and revolutionary track that brings out Chapman's mind for social justice. The song asks Americans to face their history with lyrics like, "The ghost of Columbus haunts this world. You're still conquering America." Chapman includes beautiful ballads like 3,000 Miles, which opens with haunting percussive beats that make you feel mile after mile after mile. The painful and seeking lyrics of Never Yours will almost bring tears and memories of personal lost loves. Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers guests on three tracks and Chapman is at her Grammy-winning best. She makes no tangent here. It's just Chapman's updated, intimate take on the world through her folk sound and intelligent, touching lyrics. -Reviewer: Caryn Rousseau
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Bonnie
Raitt 
Back
Home 
Tracy
Chapman 
Photos
from L to R: Diva Muller, Legendary Maestro Caio Bescarano.
An
extremely moving socio-political statement made through lyrics and music
that capture the heart and mind with simple melodies that make the heart
sing. This is an historical musical documentation of human struggles,
triumph and hope against oppression in all forms. "Let My People Go" made
me sing along with it. The collaboration and brotherhood of Jewish and
African musicians is a success. In the third track Avodim Havinu the
cantor's deep tonal quality against simple text was eloquent and evoked
the historical event. In "Mississippi River", the stunning vocals and
melody gave me pause and hooked me in emotionally. Frankly each track
offers music and text of value, in both remembering and as a musical
teaching tool for younger generations to learn from. Rating: 5 stars out
of 5.- Reviewer: S. Rubenstein, New York.