– ELTON JOHN
“Peachtree Road”
(three and a half stars)
Rocket Records
With longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin in tow, Elton John makes the tumbleweed connection again with a musical love letter to the American South.
Yes, it’s ballad heavy, but that’s Elton’s musical nature. At least he’s figured out how to get nostalgic without sending us into sugar shock. His signature vocal bombast is intact here, but it’s tempered with Taupin’s intelligent lyrics.
The instrumental orchestration is good, but vocally the music aches for John to be supported by an enthusiastic gospel choir.
There is optimism in the album’s repeated theme that longs for things past. “Porch Swing in Tupelo,” “Turn Out the Lights When You Leave” and “My Elusive Drug” are testament to that unfulfilled desire.
BRITNEY SPEARS
“Greatest Hits: My Prerogative”
(three stars)
Jive
Hate Britney Spears because she’s beautiful, manipulative, shallow and soulless, but never confuse any of that with her talent as an entertainer.
If you can lose your preconceived notions about Britney and listen to this disc with an open mind, you’ll hear an excellent dance record that explains how she’s bottled her brand of Louisiana lightning and sold 55 million albums since her bigtime debut in 1999.
You know the studio arrangements from the records but it’s in the reworked selections that this record is best. Of those, the Pharrell Williams re-jigger of “Boys” is easily the tops.
Another highlight is the hot kiss Madonna/Spears duet for “Me Against the Music.”
TONY BENNETT
“The Art of Romance”
(four stars)
Columbia Records
Tony Bennett is the personification of cool that transcends style, and time.
On his new album, the greatest living interpreter of jazz-influenced American music turns his talents to the many facets of love. Call it a concept album that opens with a song about how love begins and closes with the it’s-all-over song “Gone With the Wind.”
In between, Bennett skillfully croons about the art of romance. What’s exciting about this album is how vibrant the 78-year-old singer sounds. No doubt that’s partially due to the fact that he recorded the tracks live at the Bergen Performing Arts Center on the Jersey side last year along with his big band. But Bennett with a good song, is like a kid with a new toy – he plays it for all it’s worth.
RANDY TRAVIS
“Passing Through”
(two and a half stars)
Word Records
Just because this is the first non-gospel album ever from Word Records doesn’t mean Randy Travis, the saint of Nashville, doesn’t feel the spirit. While this isn’t technically a Christian-music disc, the four-time Grammy-winner is doing inspirational songs.
The melodies are country – long on twang and fiddles, with lyrics filled with old-fashioned sentiments. The songs are almost all about growing up country and the need for community.
The disc opens strongly with “Pick Up the Oars and Row,” a song with a Jimmy Rodgers-tenor set to a walking-gait tempo, but the closest this disc gets to honky-tonk raucous is “That Was Us,” which waxes nostalgic for the wild nights of youth from a rocker.