 Dwight
Yoakam, Tomorrow's Sounds Today (Reprise 2000) - Grammy-winning
country singer Dwight Yoakam has been an ambitious man of
late, with two new CDs in the past year. Tomorrow's Sounds Today has a brash, up-tempo flavor that defies
Nashville conventions.
But then, Dwight Yoakam has never walked the Music Row line. Instead, the California-based Yoakam
draws more from the honky-tonk Bakersfield sound of the sixties.
 Which is not surprising, as Yoakam has worked for many years
with Bakersfield native Buck Owens, including appearances at
Owens' "Crystal Palace Theater" in Bakersfield.
The band includes Yoakam on vocals and acoustic
guitar, long-time producer Pete Anderson on lead guitars, Skip Edwards on keyboards,
Taras Prodaniuk on bass, Jim Christie on drums, Scott Joss on
fiddle, and Gary Morse on pedal steel and lap steel.
 Guest
musicians include singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale
on harmony vocals, Chris Hillman (from
the Flying Burrito Brothers) on mandolin, and Don Reed
on fiddle on the weeper, "A Promise you Can't Keep."
Yoakam has a California-colored country sound, with a hint of twang.
His send-up of the Cheap Trick favorite, "I Want
You to Want Me," is the highlight of the album, with a bouncy feel and just the right splash of steel guitar.
 Yoakam teams again with Owens on Tomorrow's Sounds Today
on two of the most effective tracks: "Alright, I'm Wrong" and "I Was There." In particular,
"Alright, I'm Wrong," is a bouncy, Tex-mex flavored track, with the legendary Flaco Jimenez
on accordion.
Yoakam's the real deal - confident of his skills and fully engaged in
his material. Tomorrow's Sounds Today is more that your average country fare.
 Shaggy,
Hotshot (MCA 2000) - Talk about being in the right place at the
right time. Shaggy scored the 1996 Grammy award for Best Reggae Album with his platinum-certified, Boombastic,
but was then dismissed by his prior label, Virgin. (Remarks the artist, "I don't think they were looking at
reggae as a career type of music; it's like chewing gum: you chew it and when the juices run out, you spit it out.")
Yet Shaggy has enjoyed the last laugh, signing with MCA Records and running up the charts with the crossover hit,
Hotshot. Blending textures and grooves, Shaggy has unleashed an up-beat and sexy party record. With these
13 tracks, Shaggy shows himself a master of many styles, from reggae to dancehall to pop/r&b.
 Now age 31,
Shaggy was born in Kingston, Jamaica. The reggae-influenced
singer with rap sensibilities scores on Hotshot because the album reflects a fun, yet mature attitude.
Says Shaggy, "It was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.. I think you can put adult content in a record without being
explicit."
"Dance & Shout" contains a sure-fired recipe for success, with samples from Michael Jackson's
hit, "Shake your Body (Down to the Ground)" and production by the Minneapolis-based hit-making
team of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.
 Shaggy's maturity
obviously builds from his hitch in the Marines and service in the Gulf War.
Explains Shaggy, "I walked into this recruiting office, and the Navy had these bell bottoms on and the Army
had these shitty-blouses, like a little girl's blouse, and the Marines had this real-mean looking, hot uniform,
and I'm like, 'Yo, if I can't get chicks in this uniform, forget it, dude.' Little did I know that it was the smallest
branch out of all of them, and the hardest."
 Shaggy struggled
to maintain dual employment. "I was never a model Marine. I use to drive from New York to North Carolina every
weekend, just to do records. They took my stripe away because I was late. I dug a lot of holes. Because when you
get into trouble, they give you a shovel and tell you to dig a hole the size of a five-ton truck. And I dug many
a hole."
Shaggy crosses genres effortlessly; "It Wasn't Me" reflects a sophisticated vibe, and "Angel"
combines samples from Juice Newton's "Angel of the Morning"
and The Steve Miller Band's "The Joker." Hotshot
also includes a new version of the hit, "Luv Me, Luv Me," originally featured on the soundtrack to How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
 In addition,
the album includes one of the most-user friendly enhanced CD sections that I have ever seen. No goofy Macromedia,
no funky Apple Quicktime. Instead, the enhanced CD section opens up to five buttons: Help, read me, the video to
"Dance and Shot," a play CD button, and web links.
For my taste, I would have included a biography section and some photos. But I hold the enhanced CD section in
high regard: Easy to use, and it doesn't take over your computer.
Shaggy shows the credibility that can only be earned through honest effort. Hotshot is a legitimate hit.
 Jaci
Velasquez, Crystal Clear (Word/Epic 2000) - Just age 19, Jaci
Velasquez is already an established star on the Christian circuit, with three hit albums (including Heavenly
Place, the fastest-selling solo debut in the history of Christian music) and four Dove
Awards.
On Crystal Clear, the singer seeks a broader audience, with pop
influences ("You're Not There" and "He's My Savior"), horn-inspired Latin pop ["You Don't
Miss A Thing" and "Escuchame (Listen to Me)"], as well as the more traditional Christian ballads
("Imagine Me Without You" and "Adore").
 Jaci
records in a Nashville setting, with a core band consisting of Scott Williamson on drums, Jackie
Street on bass, George Cocchini on guitars, Javier Solis on percussion,
and Lisa Bevill on BGV's. Strings are provided by Carl Gorodetsky and
the Nashville String Machine.
The Christian elements are a centerpiece of Crystal Clear. Explains Jaci,
"Relationships come and go, but what matters most is your long standing relationship with Christ. I want it
to be crystal clear to people that I am who Christ has made me to be."
But the message isn't heavy, and Jaci Velasquez is a deserving star.
Even if you don't listen to Christian music, give Crystal Clear a chance.
 A3,
La Peste (Columbia 2000) - You know A3 (formerly Alabama
3) as the musicians behind the theme song to the HBO hit show, The Sopranos. With their second release,
La Peste, the band continues down the same dark, techno-influenced trail;
think The Doors meet Robert
Johnson, with U2 sitting in the background.
Which gives you a feel for A3's roots. The band draws from Hank Williams'
country-and-blues, but liberally mixes techno elements and London politics, all in a hothouse of pseudo-revivalism
(called The First Presleytarian Church of Elvis The Divine).
 The creative
core of A3 consists of Rob Spragg (a.k.a.
Larry Love) and Jake Black (a.k.a. The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love), who form the vocal and
MC front line. The polished combo is rounded out by programmer Piers Marsh, percussionist Simon
Edwards, keyboardist Orlando Harrison, guitarist Mark Sams, and drummer
Jonny Delafons (a.k.a. LB Dope).
I saw A3 last fall in Los Angeles, and I can attest that
they come on strong. A multi-piece unit, A3 opened with a deep groove reading of "Woke Up This Morning and
Got Myself a Gun," and featured cuts from the new album, including "Too Sick to Pray," "Cocaine
(Killed My Community)," and "Sad Eyed, Lady of the Low Life."
 But the frustrating
part of A3 is an attempt to find their defining center.
While the band melds politics with tales of drug-sickness, God-sickness, busted parties, and kinky coppers, there's
a feeling that it's all a bunch b.s.
Let's not kid ourselves. "Wade into the Water," has a great groove, and "Hotel
California," is a challenging reworking of the Eagles'
classic (adds Rob, "It's also a wicked lyric about cocaine alienation").
 But why wouldn't
A3 perform this California rock classic when performing on the Sunset
Strip? And remember - the killer Sopranos version of "Woke up this morning" isn't on their 1997 debut,
Exile on Coldharbour Lane - The Sopranos version is
a different remix.
You won't even find the musicians' names in the liner notes. Instead you'll find a bunch of gobbly-gook about "The
Mountain of Love," "Sir Real Love," and the "Empiricist."
A3 are technically very accomplished. And La Peste is full of dark and moody riffs. But in the end, the
band strikes me as insincere - these guys may talk the talk, but that's what it is - a bunch of talk. Play it straight
guys, if you expect us to take you seriously.
- Randy Krbechek © 2001
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