THE WORLD OF MUSIC: CHOICE OF THE MONTH 

Souls' Chapel
Marty Stuart (Superlatone)

To tout Souls' Chapel as the best gospel record this year gives it short shrift, because Marty Stuart's latest work ranks with the best 2005 albums in any genre. The songs shimmer, and not just because of the tremolo guitars. Stuart's exploration of twangy, bluesy Delta gospel has produced 12 tunes filled with faith, love and humour that will play well even beyond the Bible Belt. Call it souls music. The material is far from staid: One tune swings, another rocks, and Move Along Train (with guest Mavis Staples) does the bump and grind. The well-chosen covers include two Pops Staples compositions, a Steve Cropper-William Bell song and Albert E. Brumley's 1958 gem, Lord, Give Me Just A Little More Time. Just as inspired are the original tunes. The instrumental closing title cut features surf guitar, Way Down benefits from a Green Onions-style organ vamp, and Come Into The House of the Lord is elevated by a classic couplet: "In my dissipation, I had a revelation." Putting Souls' Chapel over the top are the vocals, with Stuart and his band producing four-part harmonies pure as a prayer. Stuart makes a compelling case: Jesus loves you, so crank it up.- Reviewer: Stephen Winne

Late Registration
Kanye West (Universal)

So this is where Kanye West wants to take hip-hop -- beyond the sped-up soul samples that made him famous, beyond his first album's gospel and R&B influences... into the orchestra pit. Fashioning himself on the adventurous Late Registration as more of a streetwise composer than arrogant producer-rapper, West piles on lush layers of strings, pianos and horns. Then some more instruments. And a few melodic lines from a choir. The abundance of sound results from the Chicago star's collaboration with Jon Brion, a southern California musician who has scored films, produced for Fiona Apple and had never before touched a hip-hop record. Together, they have created an album that is musically far more rich and complex than West's acclaimed first disc, and is easily the year's best hip-hop CD. Their quirky creativity makes Registration, which comes out Tuesday, less instantly accessible than The College Dropout, but more rewarding for repeat listeners. West's sometimes-mumbly voice is crisper, and his range of topics is again vast and intriguing. From his perch atop the pop world, West warms up with a few easy crowd-pleasers. Adam Levine of Maroon5 supplies the delicate chorus for Heard 'Em Say, a softie of a first song. Touch the Sky exuberantly jacks Marvin Gaye's Move on Up with one-liners about the hard life before fame: "Any pessimists, I ain't talk to them. Plus, I ain't have no phone in my apartment." The sly single Gold Digger features Jamie Foxx doing his Ray Charles I Got a Woman thing on the hook, and another rather obvious sample, Shirley Bassey's James Bond theme Diamonds Are Forever, gets reworked as Diamonds From Sierra Leone. That track and its remix, both included, feature West at his best -- introspective, political and witty. He raps in the original version about his night of petulance at the American Music Awards, where he lost in the new artist category and complained backstage. In the remix, featuring Def Jam label head Jay-Z, he examines African conflict diamonds: "I thought my Jesus piece was so harmless, til I seen a picture of a shorty, armless." West tends toward more such duality in production. Near the end of the car-celebrating Drive Slow, the jazz-infused beat gets stuck in syrup, slowing in the southern chopped-and-screwed style until the song title comes off as a rather ominous command, from a guy who famously knows well the consequences of car crashes. And in the odd yet enjoyable We Major, the pairing of lyrical heavyweight Nas with the drum break used in Run-DMC's Sucker MCs -- a perfect opportunity for some back-to-basics street rap -- is nearly overwhelmed by a Brion-style cacophony of twinkling pianos and swelling horns. West is at his creative peak when focusing on his family through the sweet la-la-laing Hey Mama and equally touching Roses, which uses a tale of his grandmother's hospitalization to criticize the state of health care. Determined to prove he's his own man, West invites Game to sing the hook on Crack Music despite the Compton rapper's coy rap war with Jay-Z, and doesn't even rap on My Way Home, given over to friend Common for a single magnificently crafted verse. Other guests on the 14 songs include Paul Wall, GLC, Brandy, Cam'ron and Consequence, who delivers a song-stealing verse on Gone. Conducting them all like a hip-hop maestro is West, a virtuoso of beats flaunting his laudable inability to be locked into a single style. -Reviewer: Ryan Pearson

 

THE WORLD OF MUSIC: CHOICE OF THE MONTH 

Daniel Powter
Daniel Powter (Warner Bros.)

Piano-playing Vernon native Daniel Powter evokes a pleasant '70s groove on his major label debut, a record that hit the big time overseas behind the single Bad Day, a No. 1 smash in numerous European countries. He's liable to repeat the success in North America, particularly if female fans pick up what he's throwing down. To be sure, Powter, who spent a number of years in Victoria before moving to California in 2003, is strictly for the ladies. But on his self-titled effort, which hits stores today, he nonetheless finds a nice balance between white-boy funk and singer-songwriter fare, although he does so while liberally aping Honky Chateau-era Elton John.While his capable vocals, hummable piano melodies and fondness for vintage sonics puts him a notch above soundalikes Jason Mraz and Train, Powter falls somewhat shy of adult-oriented pop-rockers Maroon 5 and Matchbox Twenty. Where does that leave him? Powter seems to know already. On Free Loop, one of the album's highlights, he sings: "In my life, I've found only time will tell."-Reviewer: Mile Delvin

Grown & Sexy
Babyface (Arista)

Compared to today's generation of R&B studs, Babyface seems a little old-fashioned on his latest offering, Grown & Sexy. The romantic troubadour sounds as genteel as ever: there are no songs dedicated to baby mama drama, getting trapped in a closet of a married lover, or all-night grinding. In fact, while the title of the opening cut, Tonight It's Goin' Down, hints at a night of reckless passion, the lyrics talk about the culmination of a long wait for love -- a couple in the "making babies" stage of a relationship instead of the one-night hookup. But while Babyface might be a bit old school, Grown & Sexy hardly sounds outdated -- just classic. Good 2 Be In Luv is a soulful, uptempo celebration of commitment, while Sorry for the Stupid Things, is prime Babyface, as he gallantly offers an apology for all the dumb stuff men are apt to do. Yet the man who so famously crooned about paying his girl's bills and cooking the dinner on the '80s hit Soon As I Get Home isn't without a backbone: Goin' Outta Business is a brush-off to a gold-digger. Babyface's always alluring tenor is in fine form here, with emotion that never boils over, but simmers with steady heat. And musically, the album offers some of the prolific singer-songwriter-producer's best work.-Reviewer: Nekessa Mody

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