Taylor Swift is the latest in a long line of artists to effectively capture the trials and tribulations of youthful life and love. Do not write her off as an airhead country starlet or pop diva - she's just a songwriter building a repertoire laced with outrageously perfect pop hooks. Fearless is a first-hand account of teenage optimism, apprehension and heartache cloaked in infectiously melodic pop. Swift writes like a teenager, there is no doubt, but it nonetheless thoroughly suits the album. Witnesses compositions like Fifteen, You Belong to Me and the hit single Love Story that surely foretell a remarkable future for Swift.
John Mayer might be a pussy, but for every "Your Body is a Wonderland" there is a "Covered in Rain" which effectively nullifies all gripes against him. Continuum is a soft record, but Mayer masters adult contemporary pop to a degree he only hinted at being capable of on his previous hit records Room for Squares and Heavier Things. While his voice is still a hindrance to the enjoyment of his music for many, the musical quality of Continuum deserves recognition. Highlights: "Gravity", "Belief", "Waiting on the World to Change"
Pretend the first disc doesn't exist save for "Ain't No Other Man" and "Oh, Mother", and this is easily one of the best records of the year, regardless of genre. Since that type of selective exclusion could only have been performed before the release of Aguilera's latest record, we'll have to make do with just a very, very good double album.
Inheriting Madonna's chameleonic tendencies, for the third time in her short career Aguilera has adopted a new image and sound, but ultimately it revolves around the same pop pastiche as always. Where she revisits familiar territory, the album falters (as evidenced by the first disc). Where she steps out of her management- directed comfort zone and explores territory beyond over-singing white bread r&b, she shines. Highlights include the bombastic "Welcome", sultry "Nasty Naughty Boy", emotional "Hurt" and "Oh Mother", and the delightfully subtle "Save Me From Myself". While it's not the pre-war jazz epic her marketing promised listeners, it is a refreshingly different attempt at blending the new and old; it is not rooted in the past, present or future; it is simply captivating music - all gimmicks aside.
Flush with personality and spirit, Dreamgirls, the soundtrack to a musical chronicling the woes of a Supremes takeoff act, deserves all the critical praise it has been receiving over the past months. The collection shines from the funky "Steppin' to the Bad Side", Gaye-like "Patience", bubbly "Love You I Do", and the Beyonce showcase "Listen" to one of the most powerful singles of the year, "And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going" sung to perfection by Jennifer Hudson. Given depth from stellar performances by Hudson, Beyonce Knowles and Eddie "Party All the Time" Murphy, Dreamgirls is justified in being mentioned in company with the most superior of musical adaptations. Capable of being compared with the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, similar Motown performers, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Marvin Gaye and so on, the Dreamgirls performers outdo themselves.
Furthering the oh-so-British pattern of coupling vitriolic or irreverent lyrics with blithe pop music, Alright, Still epitomises the apathetic buoyancy of youth, however paradoxical. The record is hardly a triumphant display of musical prowess, but with its cheeky nature and carefree effervescence it doesn't need to be. "Smile" is a sendoff fit to rival "You Oughta Know"; "The Littlest Things" harkens back to the heydays of morose British pop done right. Other highlights include "LDN" and "Everything's Just Wonderful". A perfect summer record due for American release in the most dreary of seasons, if nothing else it should brighten up some days.
