Music Reviews: Fergie, Diana Krall, Chingy, The Black Keys

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This article was published 21/09/2006 (7264 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

(AP) – Music Reviews

“The Dutchess”

Fergie (A&M Records)

Fergie, the source of eye candy and soaring vocals for the hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas, shows stand-alone versatility and style on her genre-hopping solo debut, “The Dutchess.”

She’s a rapper on the party track “London Bridge” and the “Supersonic”-flavoured “Fergalicious.” She’s a jazz-lounge crooner on “Velvet,” an R&B songbird on “All That I Got” and as radio-ready as any American Idol on the guitar-driven ballad “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”

Fergie had ample help from Peas producer and frontman will.i.am, who helmed the record and made it the first release from his new label. Still, she had a hand in writing all but one of the album’s- songs.

Ludacris lends writing and rhyming to “Glamorous,” a song about the bling lifestyle. “I still go to Taco Bell,” Fergie sings. “I’m still real.”

“Mary Jane Shoes,” featuring Rita Marley, is a reggae jam to the tune of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry.”

Fergie postures about her skills and sings along with The Temptations on “Here I Come,” while “Fergalicious” is all about how hot she is. But she sounds sincere on the reflective, John Legend-produced “Finally.”

Some of the lyrics are slightly inane (“Would you love me if I didn’t work out?”). But with “The Dutchess,” Fergie proves to be a multitalented singer worthy of solo status.

(Reviewed by Sandy Cohen, AP)

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“From This Moment On”

Diana Krall (Verve)

Sultry songstress Diana Krall feels right at home on her swinging new release, “From This Moment On.”

Luckily for Krall fans, she once again surrounds herself with longtime collaborators – including the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and producer Tommy LiPuma – to give the 11-song collection a familiar, yet comfortable, vibe.

Krall, who is expecting twins with husband Elvis Costello, says the upbeat mood of the disc corresponds with a happier time in her life. The listeners reap the benefit.

There’s a cohesiveness, and a depth of emotion to Krall’s singing, that would seem to back up her assessment. From Irving Berlin’s “Isn’t This a Lovely Day” to Cole Porter’s “From This Moment On,” there’s plenty to like for those who have picked up Krall’s previous nine releases and for those discovering her for the first time.

(Reviewed by Scott Bauer, AP)

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“Hoodstar”

Chingy (Capitol)

After an acrimonious split with former mentor Ludacris’ Disturbing tha Peace camp and an underwhelming second album, it looked like Chingy would become another twenty-something, hip-hop has-been. However, the St. Louis rapper known for lightweight hit singles “Right Thurr” and “Holidae Inn” is not throwing in the towel yet.

On paper, Chingy’s latest disc, “Hoodstar” looks like a success waiting to happen. He’s enlisted some of the South’s top beatmakers, including Mannie Fresh, Three 6 Mafia, Timbaland and Jermaine Dupri. And the first single, “Pullin’ Me Back,” an R&B-flavoured jam about an on-again, off-again love affair featuring an achingly bittersweet hook from Tyrese, is already a chart-topper.

But where that song hints at Chingy’s artistic growth, the bulk of “Hoodstar” only reasserts his limited range as an MC who’s preoccupied with boasting about his fashion sense and making strip-club anthems.

Songs such as “… N Da Aurr” and “U A Freak (Nasty Girl)” are booty-obsessed retreads, the latter recycling bits of the Ying Yang Twins’ whisper-rap style. Others including “Nike Aurr’s & Crispy Tee’s” and “Dem Jeans” scream of being calculated attempts at product placement. Though the former track’s thunderous drum kicks and wheezing synths may be adequate for trunk-rattling drives through the hood, the latter’s lyrical content is one-dimensional: “Prada, Gucci/ Tell me what you like/ Coach bag to match up with your shoes/ Forget the price.”

Chingy’s far from the only rapper to rely on sex and materialism as his schtick. But even when he attempts to ground his vapid leanings with a heartfelt rags-to-riches tale (see “Cadillac Door”), it falls flat. It makes one wonder if Chingy should’ve packed it in a long time ago.

(Reviewed by Brett Johnson, AP)

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“Magic Potion”

The Black Keys (Nonesuch Records)

They set it up with the opening track and never stray – The Black Keys’ latest release is rock ‘n’ roll, pure and simple. Nothing fancy. Just a great bluesy guitarist with an appropriately scratchy voice, a drummer and a bunch of songs about burning love and breaking up.

The former landscapers returned to their basement studio to record “Magic Potion” and it sounds like it. But that’s a good thing here.

“Strange Desire,” with its super-catchy hook, is the strongest track despite a guitar solo that goes on a bit too long at the end. But it’s “Your Touch” that’s the single here. It’s short, snappy and impossible to hear without tapping a toe or nodding, head-banger style.

They’re a talented and creative pair, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, and they’re able to make a big noise.

(Reviewed by Kim Curtis, AP)

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“Die Zauberfloete (The Magic Flute)”

Various Artists (Deutsche Grammophon)

A sublime lightness of touch and sense of improvisatory wonderment suffuse this recording, instantly placing it in the top ranks of the many available versions of “The Magic Flute.”

Claudio Abbado, the renowned Italian maestro, had never before conducted Mozart’s late masterpiece until he undertook a series of performances in Italy and Germany to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

It was worth the wait. He brings the sure touch of long experience in his approach to this hybrid work, a Singspiel that uses spoken dialogue between the musical numbers and freely mingles comic and serious elements. Abbado takes the work on its own terms as a popular entertainment with tempos that are on the brisk side but never feel rushed.

This recording, taken from live performances in Modena, Italy, features the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and a cast that could hardly be better. Soprano Dorothea Roeschmann conveys a sense of freshness and innocence as Pamina, and her great aria, “Ach, ich fuhl’s,” is sung with heartbreaking beauty. The role of the hero, Tamino, is in good hands with tenor Christoph Strehl; bass Rene Pape lends great dignity to the part of the high priest Sarastro; and coloratura Erika Miklosa is fully equal to the stratospheric utterances of the Queen of the Night.

(Reviewed by Mike Silverman, AP)