U2 “All That You Can’t Leave Behind”
Interscope Records
Self proclaimed and critically acclaimed, U2 is an undisputed
music heavyweight once again. “All That You Can’t Leave
Behind” helped redeem the band after its questionable pop
satires and over-the-top experimentation on past albums
“Zooropa” and “Pop.” Bono, Larry, the Edge
and Adam pull off their best material since “Achtung
Baby!” by remembering that “Where the Streets Have No
Name” edge. Songs like “Beautiful Day,” set the
album’s optimistic mood, while “Stuck In A
Moment” is the new anthem of hope. The album’s release
was so perfectly timed, they even wrote a song about New York. But
beyond the popular success and millions of record and concert
ticket sales, U2 deserves its eight Grammy nominations for an album
that fed the popular market depth and meaning. Who would ever want
to get the song “In A Little While” out of their head?
At a time when boy bands are cooling and Eminem can beat Britney to
the top spot on the charts, U2 is a hall-of-fame-bound band that
puts out quality and quantity all at once.
Ruvin Spivak
Outkast “Stankonia” Arista
How often have the Grammys embraced an album with hard-hitting
lyrics that include “hoes” and “shit”? OK,
so there was that one album where Paul Simon went hardcore in the
late ’90s … or was that Eminem “¦ Outkast may be the
only group whose profanity-laced album has been embraced to this
degree, but that should come as no surprise to those who have been
following the golden boys of hip-hop over the past year. The
duo’s singles have been able to do no wrong, getting constant
radio play while their album was a staple on the charts. Likewise,
they have gotten seemingly unflagging support from the press. Does
their album merit a Grammy nomination then? Certainly, it is not
your everyday fare. This is not Ludacris invading the circles of
respectability. This is not P. Diddy rapping at anyone’s
grandma. “Stankonia’s” lyrics do include many of
rap’s controversial themes, but they are tempered with the
group’s signature quirkiness, thrown out with a grain of salt
and lacking the seriousness of DMX’s growl. The production
value on the album is also exceedingly high, sending sounds and
voice modulations bouncing energetically through the
listener’s ears. This album’s sound is definitely
“So Fresh and So Clean.” Outkast’s
“Stankonia” is a long shot to actually win the Grammy,
but wouldn’t it be fun to see Bono’s face and burn as
Andre 3000 and Big Boi strolled onto the stage?
Anthony Bromberg
Bob Dylan “Love And Theft” Columbia
Records
The man has just turned 60 and has released yet another
masterpiece. The man is Bob Dylan; the album, “Love And
Theft”. Few popular musicians are supposed to survive to age
30, and even fewer continue to be relevant after 40, but to release
Rolling Stone’s new favorite album at the beginning of his
seventh decade is truly preposterous. Dylan’s calling card
from the beginning, though, has been his timelessness. His latest
effort, “Love and Theft,” again moves forward by going
back. Dylan steeps the album in a vintage blues sound. The style
could be described as “old-timey” and is sure to be
loved by music purists. The tracks are missing the heavy production
that characterizes most music today. Each song seems to embrace a
different traditional style that Dylan has been infatuated with
over the years. While “Love and Theft” doesn’t
have the power of its predecessor, “Time Out of Mind,”
it contains an abundance of wit and sees Dylan injecting silliness
and sardonic jokes into his characteristically brilliant lyrics. If
“Time Out of Mind” had not won in ’97, this would
be a shoo-in; still, look for it to be a possible spoiler of
U2’s Grammy parade.
Anthony Bromberg
Various Artists “”˜O Brother Where Art
Thou?’ Soundtrack” Lost Highway
It defies logic, but in the same year Linkin Park’s
“Hybrid Theory” was at the top of the charts, an album
of American roots music can still be a bestseller. The soundtrack
from the Coen brothers film “O Brother Where Art Thou?”
was the ninth best selling album last year, with $3.5 million
copies sold. Many of the best tracks on this album, such as the
opener, “Po Lazarus,” and “Hard Time Killing
Floor Blues,” are the ones with the most minimalistic
instrumentation. The former has only the sound of a road crew
breaking up rocks to back up the singers, and the latter has a
blues guitar accompaniment. The acappela songs, including
“Down to the River to Pray,” “Didn’t Leave
Nobody But The Baby” and “Lonesome Valley,” are
also especially powerful examples of music stripped down to bare
harmonies and rhythms, with beautiful results. This album takes a
refreshing step back from the flash and studio production of modern
popular music, and maybe, just maybe, it will win over the
Recording Academy as it did the public.
Mary Williams
India.Arie “Acoustic Soul”
Motown
India.Arie is Destiny’s Child but less annoying. She is
Lauryn Hill but less talented. She spells her name with a period in
the middle for no good reason. She is self-confident (expounding on
her respect for herself in most of the songs on the album), and
this year she is a nominee for seven Grammy awards, including best
album. The clichéd sentiments and repetitive, generic lyrics
on “Acoustic Soul” are good enough to earn it the
highest music honor … when hell freezes over.
Mary Williams