Some Music
of Today
Taylor
Hicks - Just
To Feel That Way
Moving past the glitter and spectacle that is American Idol, Taylor's first
CD
is filled with great music. The choice of material, the muscianship, and
excellent vocals make this an outstanding debut album for the Season 5 champ.
Of course, all the biased music critics will have a field day with it, but
this CD is representative of Taylor all the way. It's funky and soulful
and showcases his talents to a tee and I hope that it gets the admiration
(and airplay) it deserves. Preview 3 of his new songs at his website,
his myspace,
and GrayCharles.
The entire CD can be previewed at the VH1
website.
Joe
Bonamassa - Waiting
For Me
Here's
another throwback for you. Joe is basically a great, straight ahead blues/rock
guitarist. He also writes some good ballads such as this one from his "So
It's Like That" album. His most recent CD, "You and Me", marks the debut
collaboration of Bonamassa and producer Kevin Shirley (The Black Crowes,
Aerosmith, Joe Satriani) and is a powerful fusion of the "big rock sound"
and swampy blues. Bonamassa now makes his home in Los Angeles. Visit
jbonamassa.com.
for
more info and listen to
more of
his music.
TobyMac
- Burn
for You
Amazingly
enough, I discovered Toby Mac by accident one day flipping through radio
stations. As soon as I heard it, I cranked the volume WAY up, this guy was
wailing out! He uses a mixture of rock, pop, rap, and reggae to create his
unique sound. His influences include Arrested Development, U2, The Police,
Black Eyed Peas, and Bob Marley. After a successful career in the 90's with
DC Talk, he went solo and released his debut album, Momentum, in 2001. With
his diverse tastes in music, it's only natural that some of his songs don't
appeal to the masses. This song rocks!
Daniel's
first pop single, this debuted not in his home country of Canada, but rather
in Europe in mid-2005. IMHO, the quality of this song is comparable to that
of the Beatles. I find it reminiscent of the early Lennon/McCartney compositions,
especially the chord changes in the break. It was used extensively by American
Idol in its fifth season and a lot of people got sick of it, but if you
sit down and listen to the whole thing, it's a great song. When asked in
an interview as to why he always wears his trademark tuque (beanie) hat,
Powter explained how he was hit by a car as a young child which left a very
large scar on his head. The popularity of this song worldwide has been phenominal.
