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MUSIC BOX: A whole lotta hot air?
Everything Murder Inc. touches seems to turn to gold. This Midas touch has just been extended to recent discovery — Ashanti. Her self-titled award winning debut album has made her an overnight sensation. Past collaborations with Fat Joe (What’s luv and Ja Rule (Always on time) whetted the appetite of fans, whose enthusiasm ensured the CD debuted at No. 1 on the pop charts.
The song Foolish says it all. A smart, sexy single, this trendy track is so hot, it has burned a hole in the charts. Accompanied by an emotional, mini-movie like video directed by Martin Scorsese, the song revolves around a girl who is staying in a relationship with a man who mistreats her. “My days are cold without U,” she reveals, “I don’t know how I let you treat me this way, and still I stay.” Unlike J-Lo’s recent collaboration with L.L. Cool J, All I have, in which the Latina dumps her man, Foolish is about staying through it all. Ashanti’s gentleness overshadows her strength in this song. The volcanic heat of this track is even steamier than the newcomer’s plunging necklines.
Follow-up singles Happy and Baby are overrated. Call, Movies and Over are less dreamy and more down-to-earth fare. The rest of the disc falters. Song sequels Unfoolish and Leaving are poor imitations of their originals (Foolish and Always on time, lacking groove and soul.
Part hip-hop, part R&B, Ashanti’s sound is current yet classic. The 21-year-old singing-songwriting diva-to-be is definitely here to stay.—T. U. Dawood
Mass appeal
Channa, the latest album by Rahim Shah, was launched recently and has captured a sizable chunk of the local market. The way for this record was paved by the success of his three previous albums Gham, Peera and Saba ru.
The songs have been composed by Rahim himself, and the album will both relax and amuse you. It consists of 12 numbers, and all the tracks showcase the best of his ability. The title song is a Punjabi number and attracts the listener through its lyrics and melody. Bond and Naseeb turn up near the end of the first side and might change one’s mood as compared to the other numbers. Junj, a sad song, has a lilting composition, while Fiya fiya is a fast track worth listening to.
The songs Sanam, Parosan and Ji karan follow, while Jhoola, which adapts the classic folk melody used in Gham, relays the feelings of a mother towards her child.
With this album, Rahim Shah has proved that he is a bankable name when it comes to composing crowd-pleasing tunes. While not very cutting edge or experimental, the material has done well with its target audience — the masses — and that seems to be an arrangement everyone, including Rahim, seems to be pleased with.—M. Iqbal
En fuego
Shania Twain’s new album Up! sold nearly 900,000 copies in its first week. While other divas like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston have bombed, Twain is simply on fire. The pop-country princess’s disc is fun, flirty and fabulous.
The 19-song album follows a five-year hiatus the Canadian singer took in which she settled in Switzerland and had a child with husband/producer Robert “Mutt” Lange. As a writing team, Twain and Lange have never been better. Cutting some catchy tracks dealing with such diverse topics as blatant materialism (Ka-ching!), fidelity (Forever and for always), female empowerment (She’s not just a pretty face) and who should drive (In my car [I’ll be the driver]), the two don’t take themselves too seriously on this disc.
I’m gonna getcha good is the lead single. Tongue-in-cheek and very mischievous, the winsome track is infectious. “I’m gonna getcha while I got you in sight/I’m gonna getcha if it takes all night,” sings Shania and within seconds, you’re hooked.
The double CD divides the 19 tracks in two, with disc one featuring a pop-electric mix and disc two featuring a country-acoustic mix of the same tracks. Both her two previous albums Come on over and The woman in me went multi-platinum and Up! is likely to follow suit. Additionally, the romantic Forever and for always might just become the wedding song of the year. However, it doesn’t compare to her earlier classic Still the one.
A darker, funkier look accompanies the new CD. If the video for I’m gonna getcha good is any indication, Twain has traded in her clean-cut, girl-next-door cowgirl image for black leather pants, Gothic make-up and a more edgy style. Her pristine sound, however, underlines that she’s still the same hit-making Twain.—T. U. D
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