Sunday April 25th, 2004
New CD's this past week:
- Alyson Williams Its about time
- Price Musicology
- Mario Winans Hurt no more
- Felicia Adams Read my lips (UK release)
Music news stories this week:
Mario Winans Says New Album Will Help
People In Painful Relationships
R&B singer Mario Winans will release his sophomore album, Hurt No More,
Tuesday (April 20). The set features guest appearances by P. Diddy, Black
Rob, Loon, Foxy Brown, and Slim of 112. Winans believes his new CD will
help people deal with painful relationships.
He says "I've been through a lot. I wrote a lot of songs about pain and
stuff like that and I mean it's not really just for me but I just think
that as far as relationships period, after listening to my album you can
get to that point where you're not really going through too much pain, you
know, in a relationship."
Winans added: "It's just time to have new understandings and broader
spectrums within a love relationship."
Winans' current single, "I Don't Wanna Know" featuring P. Diddy and Enya,
is currently Number Two on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
The singer released his debut set, Story Of My Heart, on Motown Records in
1997.
Morris Day To Release New Album In June
Morris Day, the lead singer of The Time,
will release a new album, It's
About Time, on June 22nd on Hollywood Records. The set will include the
singer's greatest hits while fronting The Time plus four new
collaborations with some of the hottest names in hip-hop.
In a released statement, Day said, "For a long time, I felt hip-hop had a
headlock on the industry. But thanks to the rappers sampling all the
old-school funk, my phone started ringing off the hook to tour again. So I
said, 'Let's get back in the game.' These days, it's all about having a
good time. The climate is perfect for us."
Day will be touring with original Time members Jerome Benton, Jellybean
Johnson, and Monte Moir. Former group members Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis,
who went on the become Grammy Award-winning producers, will not be on
board for the new tour.
Day is scheduled to perform on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC on
May 25th (check your local listings for times). The singer will also make
a cameo on UPN's Eve on May 10th.
Morris Day & The Time got their big break in Prince's 1984 film, Purple
Rain. The group is best known for the songs "Jungle Love" and "The Bird,"
both of which cracked the Billboard top 40. In 1990, the group's "Jerk
Out" was a Number One hit on the R&B chart.
After Jail Stint, R&B Singer Hall Plans Comeback
Aaron Hall, former singer with seminal new
jack swing trio Guy, will issue
his first solo album in six years this summer.
"Adults Only" will be completed in mid-May and released July 20, Hall
says. It is set up at Los Angeles-based independent label Artists Only
International (AOI), which is close to signing a distribution agreement,
according to Hall.
Mixing R&B, hip-hop, reggae and other elements, "Adults Only" finds Hall
reuniting with Guy cohorts Teddy Riley and Hall sibling Damion on one
track. Riley also teams with Hall on another song. More intriguing is
Hall's plan to record a track with fellow R&B crooner R. Kelly.
The years since Hall's previous solo album have been tumultuous. Guy
reunited, releasing the "Guy III" album to a lackluster reception in 2000.
Hall battled drugs and did a turn in prison in 2001. Charged with assault,
he served 11 months and underwent an extensive anger-management program.
"God changed me through anger management and prison," Hall says. "God sent
an angel down to help me sing again. My goal is to show you don't need
drugs, alcohol or entourages to do genuine music."
Hall debuted as a solo artist with the No. 1 R&B single "Don't Be Afraid."
The song is featured on the 1992 soundtrack to "Juice." A year later, Hall
released his first Silas/MCA solo album, "The Truth."
A second solo set, "Inside of You," followed in 1998. It doubled as
therapy: In the mid-'90s, Hall's mother and son died within the same year.
The album spun off a No. 2 R&B/No. 14 pop hit, "I Miss You."
Hall's solo albums have sold 966,000 and 192,000, respectively, according
to Nielsen SoundScan. His time at MCA does not evoke happy memories.
"I'm not a slave anymore," he declares. "Martin Luther King Jr. didn't do
what he did for us to beg for money on something we did. Ever since I got
shafted in my MCA deal, I knew I had to do my own thing or not at all."
Hall's partner in AOI is entrepreneur Dwayne Corbitt, who serves as CEO.
The ex-basketball player oversees various business holdings. Without going
into detail, Corbitt says he is "financing Aaron's dream."
All of which leads to the inevitable question: What kind of reception can
Hall expect? Hall has been one of the popular guests at KHHT (Hot 92 Jamz)
Los Angeles' ladies' night promotions, which regularly feature male R&B
stars.
"He certainly has a large and loyal fan base," says KHHT assistant MD Rick
Nuhn. "If are marketed and promoted properly, he will be welcomed back
with open arms. The key is in the track; it has to have the right blend of
vintage Aaron/Guy but still be fresh."
Motown Icon Dozier Reveals New Side in 'Reflections'
"Motown is Americana. It deserves to stay
alive."
So says Lamont Dozier, one-third of the celebrated Motown songwriting team
that also included brothers Eddie and Brian Holland and wrote most of the
hits for the Supremes and Four Tops.
As ABC-TV readies "Motown 45" (May 17) and Michael McDonald mines the
Motown vaults for another album, Dozier reissues his own interpretation of
Holland/Dozier/Holland standards.
"Reflections of ..." is the re-christened version of the artist's Grammy
Award-nominated set "Lamont Dozier ... An American Original." The album
was available solely through the Internet when it was first released in
2002.
Then last November, WEA Distribution's Lightyear division came calling.
"Reflections of . . ." hit stores April 20 through Dozier's label, Jam
Right Entertainment.
Combining press stops with various show dates, Dozier will visit radio
stations and retail before traveling to Europe. He also plans several TV
appearances, including "Live With Regis and Kelly," "Oprah" (with Patti
LaBelle and McDonald) and "Larry King Live."
Dozier, who turns 63 in June, is ready to hit the road. "The road is a
killer," he admits. "But you've got to work for now. The way the business
is today, you have to get out there. There aren't any more free lunches."
His Motown legacy aside, the Las Vegas-based Dozier says Jam Right has
"six artists warming up in the bullpen." And he and producer son Beau
wrote and produced a song for acclaimed English newcomer Joss Stone's
forthcoming album. "Spoiled" was co-written by Stone, who held her own
when she duetted with ex-Motowner Gladys Knight on VH1's "Divas."
"Working with this girl blew me away," Dozier says. "She's going to be
around a long time."