Medleyville

Aug. 29, 2006

Fox's Celebrity Duets, the latest creation from American Idol judge Simon Cowell, made its premiere Aug. 29. The basic concept is this: "Celebs" with some degree of singing talent are matched with two different music "legends," chosen at random before the episode.

The celebrities compete and one is voted off every week by the viewers at home. (For the first episode, the judges decided who was ousted.) The duet partners change from week to week. Wayne Brady (above) is the host; the judges are Marie Osmond, Little Richard and David Foster. The winning celeb gets $100,000 for charity.

Here is Mike Madden’s recap of the first episode:

Celebs: Actress Lucy Lawless, actor Alfonso Ribeiro, former Olympic gymnast Carly Patterson, actor Cheech Marin, actress Lea Thompson, WWE superstar Chris Jericho, actor/comedian Hal Sparks and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy regular Jai Rodriguez.

Legends/singers: Michael Bolton, Gladys Knight, James Ingram, Peter Frampton, Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child, Lee Ann Womack, Randy Travis and Smokey Robinson.

Best performer of the night: Jai Rodriguez (above), who performed the Lenny Welch hit "Since I Fell For You" with Gladys Knight and was very smooth with his parts. Knight helped him out by not out-singing him. Instead, she let him control the main part and gave him center stage. Rodriquez's second duet was with Michelle Williams, and they took on the Destiny's Child hit "Say My Name," trading every other line and showing real chemistry in their body language.

Worst performer of the night: The "incomparable" Michael Bolton, who kicked off the night with Lucy Lawless on his forgettable "Time, Love and Tenderness." His notes were all over the map and his facial expressions were pure schlock. His second effort was no prize, either. He joined Lea Thompson on Frank Sinatra's "That's Life" and took all of the punch and camp out of the original. For what it's worth, Thompson held her own with Bolton's sluggish performance, hitting her high notes and parading around to show that she was trying hard.

Funniest performer of the night: Chris Jericho, who most likely was cast to capitalize on the success that his former WWE co-worker Stacy Keibler had on ABC's Dancing with the Stars earlier this year. Jericho's second duet of the night was with Peter Frampton on Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours." Jericho started out with a verse and then merely sang the song title another six times. Then, perhaps realizing that there was more stage to work with, he sprinted to a platform behind the judges, performed a windmill-type move and then sprinted back to center stage for another jump-kick.

Strangest performer of the night: A tie between Hal Sparks (above) and judge Little Richard. Sparks' blue-eyed soul voice is very powerful and must have been honed from years of practice, but he doesn't sound like the type of guy who could sing with such gusto when he speaks.

As for Little Richard, well, he's just being Little Richard, but his rambling criticism wasn't even in English all the time. Add to that his rather ratty-looking mullet and you have the potential for some classic moments in the weeks to come.

The proverbial fat lady sang for: Chris Jericho.

-- By Mike Madden

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Plane and Simple:
There's a need for certain CDs to have right-to-the-point titles, too

One thing's for sure about the movie Snakes on a Plane -- the title says it all. Yep, viewers can expect to see a film with actual slithery creatures on an aircraft.

Now if only musicians were as forthright and accurate when giving titles to their albums so listeners would really know what they're going to hear.

Here are two recent releases that deserve Snakes-style renaming:

Artist: Christina Aguilera
Real title: Back to Basics
More accurate title: Not One, But Two Discs of Typical Overemoting

It can be argued that at this stage of her career Aguilera doesn't have the clout to explore such basics as big band and classic soul. That said, her personal basics -- those tiresome, acrobatic, song-suffocating vocal runs a la Mariah Carey -- well, those are everywhere on Back to Basics (listen no further than "Ain't No Other Man").

A lesson in restraint is long overdue. Aretha Franklin, please do the honors.

Artist: Nelly Furtado
Real title: Loose
More accurate title: Intentionally Sexed-Up, Danceable Album Featuring Big-Name Producer

Remember Furtado's debut disc, Whoa, Nelly!, featuring the hit "I'm Like a Bird"? Sure. How about her follow-up album, Folklore? Probably not.

Perhaps taking her cue from Macy Gray, who quickly proved that being quirky and commercially successful is tough to sustain, Furtado has chosen to revive her career by strutting through dirrrty Aguilera/Britney Spears territory. Loose features major contributions from producer Timbaland. "Promiscuous," a Timbaland/Furtado duet, is more playful than the title suggests and is actually pretty good. But the same can't be said of "Maneater," on which Furtado sounds robotic and unconvincing.

-- By Chris M. Junior

Sounding Off, a music opinion column, appears regularly on www.medleyville.us

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Rhett Miller
Riverside Garden Park -- Red Bank, N.J.
Aug. 4, 2006

When one thinks of summertime, the thoughts and imagery of vacations come to mind. In the rock music community, a vacation may encompass a musician leaving his or her usual backing band and forming a touring band to perform solo material.

But there are other times when an artist just has to bask in his or her own solitude. That was the case on this particular summer night for Rhett Miller as he continues his touring apart from The Old 97's and in support of his most recent solo effort, The Believer (Verve Forecast).

From the very start, Miller was his usual charming self. He mentioned on several occasions how beautiful the evening was and seemed to revel in the setting of the sun and the positioning of the moon during different parts of the night. It was hard to disagree with his assessment, given the intense heat that covered the Northeast in the days prior to the show and how those conditions could have dampered on the festivities.

The song selection also was a key factor in the mood of the show. Miller kicked off with an Old 97's two-fer of "Melt Show" and "Designs on You." He would go on to alternate between the Old 97's catalogue and his solo efforts quite frequently, with a nice sprinkling of cover material thrown in for extra kick.

Of the tunes Miller covered, his version of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" was the strongest and best received by the audience. Miller's lack of instrumentation stripped away the original's pomp and drama, and in doing so he replaced it with a simplicity that shows off the song's melody.

At times, it was obvious that Miller is used to playing with a full band because his stage motions never changed. This isn't a bad thing because his passion for strumming and head-thrashing never changes as well, and it was crystal clear on "The New Kid," from the last Old 97's studio release, 2004's Drag It Up. Miller banged out rhythm guitar parts and served notice to the crowd that despite the scenery, this was still a rock show.

But there was a time or two that another guitar player could have really saved a song. This was the case with "Rollerskate Skinny," as the vital accompanying riff was missing and therefore derailed the pace of the song.

Miller's ballads had the women in attendance both young and old swooning, most notably during "Question." The song had the added treat of an extra verse that Miller sang in French.

With the set winding down, Miller turned up the rock-star gauge once more for "Murder (or a Heart Attack)," an Old 97's song about a cat that escaped from his apartment a number of years back. This was a fitting tune to play given the amount of families in attendance, among them his wife and two children, who were in town for the show and then off for a family vacation.

-- By Mike Madden

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Grant-Lee Phillips revisits some '80s rock faves

For fans as well as musicians, fashion goes hand in hand with rock 'n' roll, and Grant-Lee Phillips went through his share of looks during the 1980s.

"I probably tried them all on at one point," recalls the singer/songwriter/guitarist. "I had a few shirts with French cuffs [like R.E.M.'s Peter Buck], for sure. That was part of it -- looking for your identity."

Phillips found his musical identity around 1983 when he moved south from Stockton, Calif., to Los Angeles, gravitating to the domestic and international underground rock scene that stayed in the shadows for most of the decade.

"It wasn't basking in the glory of popularity like Whitney Houston, Kajagoogoo and Duran Duran," says Phillips. "It was more introspective -- certainly heavier on mood and imagery and pretty lofty in its goals."

Phillips, formerly the front man for the band Grant Lee Buffalo, pays tribute to some of those introspective, moody acts on his latest solo album, nineteeneighties (Zoe/Rounder). The stripped-down, all-covers disc features Phillips on various instruments (with supporting players on a few tracks) performing The Pixies' "Wave of Mutilation," The Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way" and The Church's "Under the Milky Way," plus eight other songs.

Phillips knew most of them in his head; other tunes required him to sit down and figure out a few tricky chords.

"I probably created a few new chords in the process," he says. "I can't say for sure I'm playing it the right way, but I'm definitely playing it."

The musician definitely has gone through a change regarding his professional mind-set.

"I feel like I'm finally at a point where I can put something out and I'm not going to hold it up to some sort of expectation," says Phillips. "[My new album is] not the biggest statement in the world -- it's just a record of songs. That kind of cavalier, casual approach would have been harder to come by for me five years ago."

-- By Chris M. Junior

Grant-Lee Phillips on tour (schedule subject to change):

Aug. 1-2: Schubas Tavern -- Chicago

Aug. 4: Beachland Ballroom -- Cleveland

Aug. 6: Club Cafe – Pittsburgh

Aug. 8: Iota Club & Cafe -- Arlington, Va.

Aug. 9: Tin Angel -- Philadelphia

Aug. 10: Knitting Factory -- New York

Aug. 11: Maxwell's -- Hoboken, N.J.

Aug. 12: TT the Bear's -- Boston

Aug. 13: Iron Horse -- Northampton, Mass.

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