From left: Mariah Carey, Natalie Cole, Annie Lennox, Christina Aguilera.
In case anybody is going through withdrawal for some big hair and big voices, Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera are both on the verge of releasing new material. Mariah's forthcoming CD is due out this fall and is supposed to be a more radio-friendly Mariah. Hopefully the LP will be something like her first two albums, because Lord knows we don't need no more Charmbracelets girl.
Christina Aguilera is in the preliminary stages of working on two albums right now, according to her Web site. (One of them will be in Spanish, don't you know.) If you can't wait that long, Christina teams up with Missy Elliott (again) this time for a cover of Rose Royce's 'Car Wash,' to be featured on the Shark Tale soundtrack (Sept. 28.) Mary J. Blige also appears on the soundtrack, revisiting Sheryl Lynn's disco gem 'Got to be Real.'
Everybody's favorite Icelandic nymph Bjork is releasing her new album Medulla on Aug. 31 according to her Web site. Never being a fan of conventionalism, Bjork ventures further into experimentalism on this collection, favoring voices over instrumentation.
This fall Annie Lennox is planning to release a greatest-hits collection, which, of course, will include the prerequisite three new songs. Her catalog includes three solo albums, a handful of b-sides and several contributions to soundtracks and charitable collections, so this greatest-hits collection will be a guaranteed sweet dream for all. A DVD of her recent tour will come out around the same time and will feature Annie belting out hits from both her solo efforts and her days with the Eurythmics.
French duo Deep Forest just came out with Essence of a Forest, which captures their hits and other oddities, including a 2004 reworking of their breakthrough song 'Sweet Lullaby and Will You Be Ready,' featuring vocals by Angela McCluskey, the singer on Telepopmusik's Breathe (yes, from that Mitsubushi car commercial).
Sound (track) Check: Despite Alanis Morrisette's equine warble, the soundtrack of the summer is from the movie the DeLovely. Sheryl Crow, Robbie Williams and Natalie Cole are perfectly attuned with Cole Porter's classics. Another choice soundtrack comes to us from the F/X Channel, the collection from the TV show Nip/Tuck. DJ pair Gabriel & Dresden mixed the soundtrack together, favoring electronic beats and sexy grooves. The highlight of this CD is the ballad 'Following' from the funky British band Chungking, another standout track is Kirsty Hawkshaw's 'Just Be Me.'
Missing the ladies from the '80s? Thanks to a series of remastered reissues, Bananarama put out remastered versions of their first five CDs. (Unfortunately these remasters do not include any bonus tracks, extended mixes, or their hard-to-find song 'Mr. Sleaze'.) The Bangles also have another best of collection out, Essential Bangles, but unlike previous efforts, this one contains some of Susanna Hoffs' solo material, as well as the Bangles staples we all sang along to, like 'Manic Monday,' 'Walk Like an Egyptian.' 'Hazy Shade of Winter,' 'Eternal Flame,' and 'In Your Room'.
One 2 Watch: newcomer Debby Holiday is making waves with her song 'Dive.' Sounding like a combination of Sheryl Crow, Kina and Nona Hendryx, Debby puts her song-writing and vocal talents up-front on this uplifting jam. 'Dive' is currently making a strong impact on the club charts.
— Additional reporting by Tony Peregrin
