India.Arie, ‘Voyage To India’ Even if you love this rootsy soul artist, there’s no denying she picked a hokey title for her second album. India.Arie’s sincerity can prove a great asset or an occupational hazard. Yet her honest musings and earthy-gal persona fueled the success of 2001’s “Acoustic Soul,” and “Voyage” is not a radical departure. The former coffeehouse singer offers simple melodies and revealing–if sometimes naive–lyrics. The stripped-down songs and her rich yet imperfect voice lend a personal feel. She may be too earnest in spots, but she’s still a rare bird among MTV’s newest singer-songwriter army. Motown, Sept. 24.
The Roots, ‘Phrenology’ The Roots are one of hip-hop’s coolest entities–defiantly independent and sonically inventive. Though they’ve often pushed their free-form grooves and beats to the outer limits of the bizarre, this Philadelphia outfit still manages to capture the attention of hip-hop’s hooded masses (their last album, “Things Fall Apart,” produced the Grammy-winning single “You Got Me”). Their fifth album is a combination of reverberating garage-raw bass, break-dancing beats and animated yet tastefully restrained layers of samples and effects. Soul man Cody Chestnutt, the honey-voiced Jill Scott and Nelly Furtado (don’t hold that against them–they actually keep her in tune) join in here as well. Another long strange trip. Universal, Nov. 26.
Orchestra Baobab: ‘Specialist In All Styles’ This legendary Senegalese group may have disbanded more than a decade ago, but they became the critics’ darling last year when their 1982 album “Pirates Choice” was reissued. Now the Orchestra returns from a 15-year recording hiatus with a CD coproduced by Youssou N’Dour (the Senegalese pop star who ironically launched a sound that made Baobab obsolete by the mid-’80s) and guest-starring the Buena Vista Social Club’s Ibrahim Ferrer. They still play a cool yet lively hybrid of Afro-Cuban melodies and local rhythms from their home base of Dakar, but now the vocals are a little raspier and the tunes slightly mellowed. It’s a welcome comeback from one of Africa’s most vibrant exports. Nonesuch, Oct. 8.
Beck, ‘Sea Change’ We know the buzz isn’t so hot on this–maybe because half the songs sound like “Wild Horses.” In line with his usual M.O., Beck has followed up 1999’s electro-manic “Midnite Vultures” with a return to gloomy acoustic mode (just as he followed his antic breakthrough “Odelay” with the penitentially somber “Mutations”). But give “Sea Change” half a chance and it’ll get under your skin, especially if you’re planning on having a lousy fall. If your old Merle, Billie and Joni records are getting down to their last half-lives, such songs as “Lost Cause,” “Guess I’m Doin’ Fine” and “All in Your Mind” will give you fresh, trendily retro soundscapes to wallow in. Interscope, Sept. 24.
Also Check Out: TLC’s last album, 3D, features the late Lisa (Left Eye) Lopes on at least half the tracks. Arista, Nov. 12.
The Neptunes are all over Blueprint II: The Gift and the Curse, prolific rapper Jay-Z’s bazillionth album. Hip-hop’s A team. Universal/Roc-A-Fella, Nov. 5.
Beck will have competition in the wacky-white-guy department from Badly Drawn Boy, whose new album, Have You Fed the Fish?, is as lovely as it is bizarre. Twisted Nerve, Oct. 22.
Young blues belter Shemekia Copeland lets it rip in her newest offering, Talking to Strangers. Alligator, Sept. 17.
Dancehall and reggae take one more giant leap into the pop mainstream with Sean Paul’s Dutty Rock. VP Records, Sept. 24.
title: “Fall Arts Preview Music” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-26” author: “Ryan White”
BECK We know the buzz isn’t so hot on his new “Sea Change”–maybe because half the songs sound like “Wild Horses.” In line with his usual M.O., Beck has followed up 1999’s electro-manic “Midnite Vultures” with a return to gloomy acoustic mode (just as he followed his antic breakthrough “Odelay” with the penitentially somber “Mutations”). But give “Sea Change” half a chance and it’ll get under your skin, especially if you’re planning on having a lousy fall. Interscope, Sept. 24.
THE DATSUNS They’re the biggest band you’ve never heard. Since the Datsuns toured Europe and the United States last summer, British critics have been calling them the best thing since the Rolling Stones. And they haven’t even put out an album. This week the New Zealand rockers release “In Love,” their first single, followed next month by their eponymous CD. Mixing the cult appeal of the Strokes and White Stripes (but without the packaging), their music brings to mind ’70s icons like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Says guitarist Christian Datsun, “We don’t believe the hype.” He’d better get used to it. “In Love”: September, U.K. “The Datsuns”: October, Europe and Australia.
AIDA Giuseppe Verdi’s tragic love triangle, set in ancient Egypt, has no grander backdrop than the Great Pyramids of Giza. But for the past two years domestic politics and post-September 11 security concerns have banished the opera from its natural setting. This fall Aida returns to the Pyramids in style: four performances with expanded seating for 5,000, a seven-story golden stage complete with elevator and revolving scrim, and a cast of 354 Egyptian and foreign performers. The production is the flashiest of a series of temptations, including the recently opened New Alexandria Library and Museum, designed to lure skittish tourists back to Egypt during this winter’s high season. Unless an American invasion of Iraq strikes a sour note for travelers, Egypt should indeed have something to sing about. The Pyramids of Giza, Cairo. Oct. 10-13.
INDIA.ARIE, ‘VOYAGE TO INDIA’ Even if you love this rootsy soul artist, there’s no denying she picked a hokey title for her second album. India.Arie’s sincerity can prove a great asset or an occupational hazard. Yet her honest musings and earthy-gal persona fueled the success of 2001’s “Acoustic Soul,” and “Voyage” is not a radical departure. The former coffeehouse singer offers simple melodies and revealing–if sometimes naive–lyrics. The stripped-down songs and her rich yet imperfect voice lend a personal feel. She may be too earnest in spots, but she’s still a rare bird among MTV’s newest singer-songwriter army. Motown, Sept. 24.
COLDPLAY Their first album sold more than 5 million copies worldwide and won a Grammy for best alternative album. Their second CD, “A Rush of Blood to the Head,” which debuted at No. 1 across Western Europe, Canada and Australia last month, was “a record that people will remember for years to come,” said one British critic. The band’s European tour kicks off next month in Glasgow, with their gigs in London already sold out. Tour dates U.K., October; the Continent, November; Japan and U.S.: December.
A-MEI In August, the Taiwanese pop star launched her biggest tour since China banned her two years ago for performing at Chen Shuibian’s presidential inauguration in Taipei. (The ban was officially lifted last year as Beijing entered the homestretch of its Olympic bid.) The hiatus has only whetted her fans’ appetites. Her latest album, “Fever,” sold an estimated 5 million (mostly bootleg) copies in China. And tens of thousands of fans have packed concert halls each night to hear the “Madonna of the Chinese world.” The show’s repertoire includes a poignant duet with her mother in the native language of the Puyuma clan. In the song, A-Mei’s mother encourages the reluctant daughter to go out on her own to see the world. So far, the advice has paid off. Ongoing through Dec. 31, China to Malaysia.
THE ROOTS, ‘PHRENOLOGY’ The Roots are one of hip-hop’s coolest entities–defiantly independent and sonically inventive. Their fifth album is a combination of reverberating garage-raw bass, break-dancing beats and animated yet tastefully restrained layers of samples and effects. Soul man Cody Chestnutt, the honey-voiced Jill Scott and Nelly Furtado (don’t hold that against them–they actually keep her in tune) join in here as well. Another long strange trip. Universal, Nov. 26.
ST. FRANCOIS D’ASSISE Olivier Messaien (1908-1992) finished this five-hour opera in 1982; it’s never been produced in the United States. One critic called it “bombastic” and “musically unchaste.” But with Donald Runnicles conducting and the magisterial Willard White as Francis, it couldn’t have a better shot at the canon. San Francisco Opera, Sept. 27.
ALSO CHECK OUT: A number of revered maestros are taking up batons at new podiums. Among them are Simon Rattle, who wants to expand the Berlin Philharmonic’s baroque repertoire. Season highlights include Schonberg’s challenging string quartet, arranged for orchestra, with soprano Dawn Upshaw. Oct. 3 and 4. Seiji Ozawa makes his debut as music director of the Vienna State Opera Dec. 16, with Ernst Krenek’s “Johnny Spielt Auf.” In pop, TLC’s last album, 3D, features the late Lisa (Left Eye) Lopes on at least half the tracks. Arista, Nov. 12. The Neptunes are all over Blueprint II: The Gift and the Curse, prolific rapper Jay-Z’s bazillionth album. Hip-hop’s A team. Universal/Roc-A-Fella, Nov. 5. Beck will have competition in the wacky-white-guy department from Badly Drawn Boy, whose new album, Have You Fed the Fish?, is as lovely as it is bizarre. Twisted Nerve, Oct. 22. And young blues belter Shemekia Copeland lets it rip in her newest offering, Talking to Strangers. Alligator, Sept. 17.
