Save Room For Cool Grooves

As part of our very predictable weekend, my wife and I head out to town to do a little shopping - groceries, mostly - and I'd usually end up at some CD store or other blowing away hard-earned money on discs. Last weekend was no exception. One of the two albums I picked up was this one from John Legend.

I had only heard one track, Save Room, on MTV and thought it sounded really good. But to buy an entire album for just one song? I've done it a thousand times before (which explains the thousand CDs I own) so why should this be any different? I decided to be 'responsible' and give the album a listen before I actually put down good money for it.

I listened... and I was hooked immediately. If you enjoy R&B and jazz, this is a must-have. Tracks I really enjoyed are Each Day Gets Better, Maxine, Another Again, Where Did My Baby Go, Again and Save Room, of course. Some of these tracks have a real retro feel - you know, the good kind.

Currently playing on my MP3 player as I write this is Where Did My Baby Go.

More on the man here.

Jazzin' Things Up

I am not a huge fan of record companies teaming up old school crooners with current pop performers. But a couple of weeks ago, I saw Tony Bennett's latest CD featuring himself performing classic tracks with some of today's well-known names and thought "this might actually be good". So, it was a case of great minds thinking alike (or fools seldom differ) when my closest friend in the world bought me this CD as a birthday gift. I was thrilled.

This CD is definitely full of gems performed by the biggerst stars like Michael Buble, John Legend, Diana Krall (*woohoo*), James Taylor, George Michael, Stevie Wonder and Sting. The tracks are not "enhanced" to sound more modern so what you get is still the good ol' feel. I haven't stopped playing it since I got it.

My absolute favourite tracks off this collection are The Very Thought Of You, For Once In My Life, The Good Life, The Best Is Yet To Come, I Left My Heart In San Francisco and my buddy's favourite - If I Ruled The World.

And hearing how much trouble he went through just to find this special CD for me was especially heart-warming. Everyone should have a friend like that.

Thanks for the fantastic gift, W.

From This Moment On

Its been a really long while since I did a post on new albums I've purchased. Not that I have not shopped for any in the last few months but most of them were not worth mentioning. Last weekend while out shopping with my wife, I picked up Diana Krall's latest jazz offering together with two other CDs. Diana has never disappointed me before. Last Christmas, I found it very difficult to get into the spirit of the season but after buying her Christmas album, I was humming Christmas tunes till the new year.

Did she disappoint with her new album? Negatory! It seems that she keeps getting better and better with each new album produced. Tracks that'll keep playing in your head are "It Could Happen To You", "Isn't This A Lovely Day", "How Insensitive", "From This Moment On" and "Day In, Day Out". Oh heck... the entire album is fabulous!

More on the Princess of Jazz can be found here.

Velvet Smooth

This man is multi-talented. He's a singer, song-writer, producer and guitarist. He is none other than Lenny Kravitz (born Leonard Albert Kravitz on 26 May 1964). And if you think that this list of talents is not enough, he also plays bass, piano, saxophone, drums, trumpet and even the sitar. Still not impressed? How about the fact that he plays all the instruments on each of his tracks? Ah, that got your attention, didn't it??

Anyhow, I was down town shopping for a gift for my wife's birthday a few weeks ago and ended up in a music store. That's no surprise for my family and friends. Long story short, they were playing a track called "Black Velveteen" and this caught my attention. I found my feet tapping to the funk beat and eventually, my feet moved to the sales counter to enquire who performed it. When I heard "Lenny Kravits - Greatest Hits", I remembered his other fantastic tracks like "American Woman", "It Ain't Over Till Its Over", "Again", "Are You Gonna Go My Way" and "Mr Cab Driver". If you dislike cab drivers, "Mr Cab Driver" is one for you.

Whipped out my credit card and Lenny Kravitz's Greatest Hits became the latest addition to my massive CD collection.

With distractions out of the way, it was on to my main mission... my wife's birthday gift.

Playing The Angel

Depeche Mode (which means "Fashion Update" in French - commonly mistranslated as "Fast Fashion") delivers yet another must have electronica album. These guys were by far the biggest new wave / synthpop band in the 80s. I'll bet you've danced to many of their hits like "Behind The Wheel", "Just Can't Get Enough", "Get The Balance Right", "People Are People" and the club anthem "Strange Love" - if you were as hip (and as old today) as I am. Members of the band include the infamous Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and Andrew Fletcher.

Their latest offering does not steer away from their familiar synthesiser sound, something which many DM fans will truly appreciate. My personal favourites on this CD are "Precious", "A Pain That I am Used To" and "Suffer Well".

More on this new album at www.depechemode.com

Trivia : Former member Vince Clarke, one of the founders of Depeche Mode together with Martin Gore, left Depeche Mode to work with Alison Moyet and formed Yazoo! Yes, these are the guys that gave you retro classics like "Don't Go" and "Only You". Clarke and Moyet split when the latter went on to having a successful solo career. Clarke then teamed up with Andy Bell and formed Erasure.

Finally Woken

Former DJ agent turned singer, Jem (Born in Wales) has released her first album entitled “Finally Woken”. Can’t really say much about this “over 25” beauty but her songs are widely used in many popular hit TV series like Wonderfalls (“Come On Closer”, “Flying High” and “Just A Ride”), Grey’s Anatomy (“Save Me”) and even a cover version of a Paul McCartney song on The OC.

This album is an excellent buy because it is laid back and soothing. Excellent drive-time stuff. Still have it in my car's CD changer since I bought the album about two months ago.

More on Jem can be found at www.jem-music.net

Song For A Bad Day

This is Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Powter's debut album and if this offering is anything to go by, I believe he will have a promising career in the music industry. Growing up, Daniel wanted to become a classical violinist but because he suffered from dyslexia, he had to give it up. So, he channelled his energy into songwriting and the piano. Everything happens for a reason, I guess. The biggest hit off this album has to be "Bad Day".

For those of you who have not heard of it, watch the tail-end of American Idol Season 5's result show every week. "Bad Day" is played in the background as they show the latest "casualty's" journey on American Idol. Or better yet, visit Daniel Powter's official website to check out the video clip at www.danielpowter.com. I hear that album sales have gone up since it was used on American Idol.

If you're a fan of Maroon 5 or Gavin DeGraw, you'll enjoy the sounds of Daniel Powter. Other tracks to check out are "Jimmy Gets High", "Freeloop" and "Suspect".

Put Your Records On!

What can I say - my wife has great taste in music.

Coinne Bailey Rae's CD was a gift from my wife because she liked her songs and also so that I wouldn't have to agonise over what album to "bring to the car" last Saturday morning before I headed out. That was a huge weight off my shoulders! I've heard Connie's songs quite a few times on the radio but I have always mistaken her for Nelly Furtado (remember the track "I'm Like a Bird"?). Connie's voice grabs your attention as soon as you hit the play button on your CD player (or MP3 player, as the case may be). Notable tracks on this album are "Like A Star", "Till It Happens To You", "Trouble Sleeping" and "Butterfly". But my personal favourite is "Put Your Records On"... I'll bet my bottom dollar it'll have your fingers snapping and toes tapping.

A must-have album for those who are fans of India Arie or Erykah Badu.

More on Corinne Bailey Rae can be found at www.corinnebaileyrae.net