Why would I review these three albums altogether? Because I felt pretty quickly, while playing these, that one comment on the first would apply even better to the next album and vice versa? The main reason is that I feel audiences listening and buying any of these three are people who care very little for critics and in this case are often fulfilled by such awaited productions from some of their favourite artists (together with Sting, Phil Collins, Mariah Carrey and a few more). This is not exactly Teen-music anymore (even Jamiro?) but this serious heavy big bomber marketing (even Dandy’s?).
»Possibilities« by Hancock is more of a live anniversary TV show with a different guest (and often a possible musical direction too) on every track (10 altogether). A brief List goes: Carlos Santana, Christina Aguilera, Sting, Joss Stone, Annie Lennox, Paul Simon etc. Reading the promo CD tracklisting, I expected a total nightmare for me and we’re facing something else actually. If about a third of these songs-with-guests are indeed what I earlier feared (total mash in exotic pop dressing, Sting and Santana particularly) a good half of the album is quite surprising and is cleverly made of Ballads and smooth duets (piano/vocal guest). Just for the absolutely moving Paul Simon and Annie Lennox songs and also the surprisingly good Aguilera one I’ll stop telling you in further details what’s wrong with this production (3 and half stars).
Opening The Dandy Warhols new album (a come back already?) is a speech like on a 50’s radio broadcast going »By the end of the great war, The D.W. had progressed far beyond the traditional Jug band sound …« and that is followed by good titles such as »Colder than the coldest winter was cold«, »Love is the new feel awful«, »Easy«, »Smoke it« or »Down Like Disco« and the beautiful »A Loan Tonight«. It is so courageous to still release such albums after all the things that happened in the world the past years, knowing too that if you’d go to the wicked Ali G Show he would simply murder you in one word, and also knowing Coldplay has just their new album out. It’s so out of any proportion but just not lacking humour and a certain idea of »piss in your own pants and own shoes if you can. Get the socks as well mate«. Lovely, Lovely, Lovely (far more funny than the new Oasis promo tour appearances).
I kept Jamiroquai for the end cause I felt I’d be ready to be keen by that time. It s a bit like Joss Stone, the new Daft Punk and a dozen hundred other things I’d forgotten about. It’s probably as annoying as Sting but Sting at least has melodies to remember. No we won’t talk about his ridiculous hat and his »moon walk« that looks like being choreographed by weird Al Jankovic. What else is on the album? Well that’s the whole point: barely nothing, wrapped in some expensive production arrangements.
