Album reviews: Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Joe Fonda Quartet, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

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This article was published 29/11/2024 (355 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hip hop

Kendrick Lamar

GNX (PGLang)

A summer-long beef between two of hip hop’s most popular and successful MCs, Kendrick Lamar and Drake, has been the talk of the rap universe. The back-and-forth kicked off when J. Cole claimed that he, Drake and Kendrick were “the big three.” Kendrick scoffed at the notion. Drake took the bait and Kendrick bit back savagely, several times. The L.A. superstar wound up with a No. 1 single in Not Like Us, five Grammy nominations, and the coveted Super Bowl half-time slot – and yes, that was the sound of him dunking.

If that wasn’t enough, Kendrick dropped a surprise album last Friday — even as Drake filed a defamation lawsuit.

Cynics will point out that manufactured controversy leads straight to the bank — but battle rap, braggadocio and diss tracks have been essential elements of hip hop for decades. So how has this epic feud informed the new, 12-song set from the self-proclaimed king?

Well, Kendrick isn’t done, as he lays out all comers on opening track Wacced Out Murals, and exults in the primacy of his West Coast scene on Squabble Up. Other cuts, such as Dodger Blue and GNX (replete with guest MCs both old and new), reflect on his journey to the top while he mulls his responsibilities and obligations.

But there’s more than simple self-justification here. With the aid of longtime producer Sounwave and Jack Antonoff (both of whom are credited on most of the tracks), Kendrick’s also put together an epic sonic collection (the album demands to be heard on big speakers), featuring mariachi singer Deyra Berrara, the horns of Kamasi Washington and a couple of lush duets with SZA (Luther, Gloria).

Heck, he even compares himself to John Lee Hooker and Billie Holiday on Reincarnated. As he asserts in Man at the Garden: “I deserve it all.”

★★★★ out of five

Stream: Reincarnated; Luther; GNX

— John Kendle

POP

Gwen Stefani

Bouquet (Interscope)

Words and phrases such as “nostalgia” or “back to her roots” come to mind when listening to Gwen Stefani’s fifth studio album, Bouquet — and it is in no way negative.

Across 10 tracks, the powerhouse singer leans into the mellow rock of her youth — think Hall & Oates, Chicago and Fleetwood Mac — with dashes of country vibes here and there. Her voice is ageless, unaltered and distinctive, immediately recalling the early aughts when No Doubt still existed and Stefani was still a bit of a ska girl.

Thematically, however, the songs are about a woman who’s been through the ringer — but life gave her a reprieve in her second act, and she found stability, lots of flowers and no mo’ drama. In that way, Bouquet is a not-so-furtive ode to husband Blake Shelton — who she met and fell in love with while they were both coaches on the singing reality competition show, The Voice.

On Bouquet, the Stefani-Shelton romance arrives through yacht rock sounds and flowery language in songs with titles such as Marigolds, Late to Bloom and Empty Vase. The album ends with a duet with Shelton on Purple Irises.

If the album tells a story of her relationship, it starts with the opener Somebody Else’s. Stefani starts off the proceedings by listing her previous romantic entanglement and bad choices. It’s a direct counter to the title track, where the focus appears to be back on Shelton: “We met when my heart was broken/Thank God that yours was, too,” she shares.

A nice bass progression, a clever turn of the phrase and a great voice are what it takes to get this album going. Add a cohesive theme, a pleasant vibe and a charismatic star — and that’s coming up roses.

★★★1/2 out of five

Stream: Somebody’s Else’s; Marigolds

— Cristina Jaleru, The Associated Press

JAZZ

Joe Fonda Quartet

Eyes on the Horizon (Long Song)

Sometimes an album grabs you from the first few bars. This is one of them. Bassist Joe Fonda pays tribute to one of his inspirational mentors with the somewhat unusual feature of including the mentor himself on the album. Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith was a significant teacher to Fonda, who says his compositional style is frequently “all about Wadada.” This extraordinary quartet also has Satoko Fujii on piano and Tiziano Tonani on drums.

The music at times almost beggars description. It is strong, adventurous, haunting, dissonant, compositionally complex, emotional and overwhelmingly intense. Fonda’s bass is often sonorous while grounding either gentle melodies or Smith’s usual “open” trumpet sound. My Song Opus #2 moves through emotions that are close to anguish at times with gentle piano morphing into blurred chords and tensions increased by the unison phrases within the improvised solos.

We Need Members Opus #4 opens with a jaunty dissonant duet between Fujii and Fonda until a repeated riff at about four minutes introduces a walking bass mood that Smith and Fujii exploit as Fonda moves centre at about nine minutes. Here and throughout the album the written parts work seamlessly with the improvised. In the context of “free expression” there is always order. These four grasp the potential in the music and are simply amazing. Smith will be 83 next month, not that this is relevant in any way.

Listen To Dr. Cornel West presents a common activist theme in much of Smith’s music. His trumpet flies around this theme with a passion picked up by the other three.

With each listen this album is stronger and stronger. Not only powerful in concept and execution, but arguably important in the current jazz world. When I hear jazz folks say this is the best album of the year, I can’t dispute that claim.

★★★★★ out of five

Stream: Inspiration Opus #1; We Need Members Opus #4

— Keith Black

CLASSICAL

RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

Music for a Christmas Night (Harmonia Mundi)

These two historic albums celebrate the season, with the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin led by the late Uwe Gronostay, as well as his successor, Hans-Christoph Rademann, who took over the baton in 2007.

What’s particularly noteworthy about the sensitively crafted program on the double-disc set is its wide choice of repertoire, with 23 selections dedicated to the nativity and the figure of Mary, featuring such composers as Brahms, Bruch and Bruckner, among others.

Highlights include Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Frohlocket, ihr Völker auf Erden op. 79 Nr. 1, displaying the a cappella vocal ensemble’s expressive artistry, including smoothly overlapping phrasing, and Brahms’ O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf op.74 Nr. 2 from his Two Motets, Op. 74.

It wouldn’t be yuletide without Michael Praetorius, with the closely-knit vocal group’s rendition of the Renaissance composer’s In dulci jubilo ringing with joy and rhythmic life. This is contrasted with the iconic Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, infused with soulful reverence as one of the set’s most plaintive works.

Another must-listen-to track is Arvo Part’s Magnificat, showcasing the singers’ pitch-perfect intonation during its bell-like “tintinnabuli” sections, which serve as the hallmark of the 90-year-old Estonian composer, or Poulenc’s highly contemplative Salve Regina.

However the still point belongs to Eusebius Mandyczewski, Viennese musicologist and friend of Brahms and his arrangement of Franz Gruber’s Stille Nacht, helige Nacht, penned in 1818. The choir’s hushed tones during its heartfelt performance ensures this enduring Christmas carol resonates as deeply as it has throughout the ages, its simple text capturing the wonder of this joyful time.

★★★★1/2 out of five

Stream: Ave Maria; Es ist ein Ros entsprungen; Stille Nacht, helige Nacht.

— Holly Harris