Sunday December 12th, 2004
New CD's this past week:
- Mario - Turning point
Music news headlines this week:
Two Rare Jackson Five Albums Debut On CD
Two rare Jackson Five albums have been
released for the first time on CD.
Joyful Jukebox Music and Boogie are being packaged together as one CD.
Joyful Jukebox Music was originally released by Motown in 1976, shortly
after the group left the label. It's made up of outtakes from their 1973 albums
Skywriter and Get It Together, and it features the group's version of Marvin
Gaye's "Pride And Joy." Boogie was a limited-edition release in 1979 that
featured alternate takes of Jackson Five favorites like "ABC," "Dancing
Machine," and "Never Can Say Goodbye," as well as their covers of Stevie
Wonder's "I Was Made To Love Her" and the Rascals' "I Ain't Gonna Eat
My Heart Out Anymore." The CD is limited to 5000 non-numbered copies,
and it's only available online at the hip-oselect.com Website.
Also included as a bonus track is the previously unreleased, uncut 15-minute
version of the song "Hum Along And Dance." An eight-minute version of
the tune originally appeared on their Get It Together album.
Stevie Wonder Set To Release First New Album In Ten
Years
Stevie Wonder's first new studio album in
nearly a decade will be released
in April. It's called A Time 2 Love, and Wonder told Billboard that it
took so long to make because "as an artist, you get anxious and excited --
you want to show what you can do. But for me, I had to make a real
decision not to rush." Wonder, who is notorious for being a perfectionist
in the studio, added, "I didn't mean for that to happen. I wasn't feeling
that the time was right. A lot of what I do when (recording) is based on
whether the timing is right."
Wonder also said that although he took a break from recording, he never
stopped writing: "In these nine years, I've done more than just the songs
that will be on the album. And it's going good. In these nine years, I've
found the songs that feel most comfortable for me."
Wonder is the only Motown artist from the '60s that's still signed to label.
Wonder is currently planning several new projects for 2005, including a
jazz album with harmonica, a gospel album, and a musical.
Anita Baker "Overwhelmed" By Grammy Nominations
Vocalist Anita Baker received two Grammy
nominations Tuesday for her most
recent album, My Everything. The comeback disc earned her a nod in the
best R&B album category, while her leadoff single, "You're My Everything,"
was nominated in the best traditional R&B vocal performance category.
Baker herself was on hand at the nominations press conference in Los
Angeles , where she was one of the presenters along with Earth, Wind &
Fire, Kanye West, Joss Stone, Hoobastank, Kevin Spacey, and others. She
received warm applause when she was introduced and cheers when her two
nominations were announced.
The Detroit-based singer, who took 10 years off from recording to care for
her family, said she'd never been to a media event of that magnitude and
was stunned by her nominations. She said: "I have never -- I don't think
I've ever, first of all, been at a press conference, so this is amazing.
And overwhelming, in a wonderful way. I think the word of the day is
overwhelmed. The nominations, the company on the stage -- I'm
overwhelmed."
The Grammy Awards will be broadcast February 13th on CBS-TV from the
Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Mary J. Blige To Release “Best Of My Love” Single
Online
Grammy Award-winning singer Mary J. Blige
just released her rendition of
The Emotions' hit "Best Of My Love," as a commercial single download. The
song is currently featured in the Gap holiday television campaign
featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, Josh Duhamel, and Blige.
Blige said in a released statement, "I've listened to The Emotions since I
was a little kid. I have always wanted to perform 'Best of My Love.'
Working with Sarah Jessica Parker and Josh Duhamel on the Gap campaign was
such a warm experience."
Blige will also be returning to the recording studio to work on a new
album. The singer's last project, 2003's Love & Life, was executive
produced by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, who worked with the singer on her first
two albums, 1992's What's the 411? and 1994's My Life.
Blige explained to LAUNCH that Combs probably won't be executive producing
her next project. She said: ["It was something that me and Puff (Combs)
wanted to do one more time. We did it. We go it out of our system."]
The singer added: ["I'm thinking about it and I'm not gonna go into
production and who is gonna be on it right now and who is producing it.
I'm just, you know, trying to know what I'm gonna do first, you know? I
have to be really careful with this one and still be Mary and make myself
happy and make everybody else happy."]
Blige is slated to release her new album late next year.
Carl Thomas Launches Foundation In Honor Of His
Slain Brother
R&B singer Carl Thomas lost his oldest
brother, Duranthony "Randy" Evans,
on October 31st of this year when 34-year-old Evans died in a random
drive-by shooting in Aurora, Illinois. Evans was the second of eight
random shootings in Aurora on Halloween night. The shootings occurred in
consecutive half-hour intervals, and the community has become volatile as
a growing divide exists between the African American and Latino youths and
the community.
Thomas has launched the Duranthony Evans Foundation to address the
increasing unrest between the groups and to attempt to stifle the
violence. Thomas said in a released statement, "The Duranthony Evans
Foundation is a much-needed bridge to expose civil injustice caused by a
social imbalance. And, I believe that the 14th and 15th amendments mean
just as much to us now in 2004, as they did for the brave men and women
who fought for the amendments commencing and continual existence."