Mary J. Blige’s ‘Share My World’ Creative, Consistent
Mary J. Blige
“Share My World” (MCA)
This superstar’s third original set demonstrates steady song and vocal maturity via thickly textured hip-hop and contemporary R&B sure to appeal to late teens as well as early thirtysomethings. Despite a cavalcade of top-notch production talent - including Track Masters, Babyface, R. Kelly, James Mtume, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis - the set maintains a creative consistency. “Love Is All We Need” is lush with snappy instrumental flourishes to the cadence of an urgent hip-hop beat; “Missing You” offers listeners a simple slow-groove mood with thoughtful musical changes, all wrapped in reverent background vocals by Shanice Wilson; and “Everything” offers a glittering tapestry of samples held together by the vocalist’s trademark sonics.
Savage Garden
“Sound Garden” (Columbia)
Buoyed by the gold top 10 single “I Want You” and massive success in its native Australia, pop/rock duo Savage Garden is primed to take the U.S. by storm with this outstanding debut album. Beyond “I Want You,” there are several hit-worthy tracks here, all of them written by group members Darren Hayes (vocals) and Daniel Jones (keyboards, programming, vocals). Highlights include the bouncy “To the Moon & Back,” the tender love song “Truly Madly Deeply” - both hits in Australia - the Michael Jackson-inspired “Break Me Shake Me,” the ballad “Universe,” and the INXS-reminiscent “Tears of Pearls” and “Violet.” A stardom-bound group that brings an ‘80s-influenced sound up to date for an audience that spans top 40, AC, dance, and rock outlets.
Paul Simon
“Graceland” (Warner Bros.)
Reissued as an enhanced CD, Paul Simon’s “Graceland” now offers added value to fans interested in the making of the epochal album. The interactive portion contains illuminating interviews with Simon, guitarist Ray Phiri, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Joseph Shabalala; samples of Simon’s handwritten lyrics; and full performance credits. Furthermore, the disc contains footage from the South African tour that followed the release of the Grammy-winning album. Remarkable as it is, the interactive content of “Graceland” is not played up; in retail bins, the album looks the same as the familiar 1986 version, and it plays as an audio CD. A fitting tribute to one of the most ground-breaking and inspired recordings in history.
Real McCoy
“One More Time” (Arista)
It seems like a lifetime since Real McCoy railed against the parameters at pop radio and forced programmers to make room for dance music with its platinum-selling 1995 debut, “Another Night.” Since then, there has been a slew of copycats. But, as they say, there ain’t nothin’ like the real thing. And there’s nary a sign of sophomore slump to be found on this likable, potentially hit-packed collection. Although the act dabbles in mild balladry and the occasional hip-hop shuffler, the most appealing jams are those carrying its patented Euro-NRG sound. The giddy title track is already a deserved pop smash, with the equally catchy “I Wanna Come (With You)” and a quirky interpretation of Shania Twain’s “(If You’re Not In It For Love) I’m Outta Here!” waiting in the wings to follow suit.
Queensryche
“Hear in the Now Frontier” (EMI)
After Queensryche’s 1994 album, “Promised Land,” fell short of its predecessor - the 1990 breakthrough “Empire” - the band could have gone down with many of the late-‘80s hard rockers who lost out to the grunge generation. Fortunately, Queensryche brought its sound up to date with contemporary standards and delivered an album that is bound to make noise at mainstream rock radio and even has a shot at crossing over to modern rock outlets. Led by single “Sign of the Times,” the album is deep with tracks that promise to keep the momentum going, including “Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Get a Life.”