’80s fever

Big Audio Dynamite

Duran² wasn’t the only 1980s band that worked the dance floor. Following the mid-1980s break-up of his groundbreaking band the Clash, co-founder Mick Jones wasted little time forming Big Audio Dynamite. The dance beats with which Jones and the Clash had been experimenting bloomed completely on 1985’s “This Is Big Audio Dynamite” (Columbia/Legacy). The double-disc reissue contains the original album, featuring such dance-oriented cuts as “Sony,” “The Bottom Line,” “Sudden Impact!” and “Stone Thames” (with its period AIDS-scare message).

Santana

The 1980s weren’t an especially good period for (Carlos) Santana, who was a dominant force in the 1960s and 1970s. But he remedied all of that in 1999 with the release of his comeback album “Supernatural” (Arista/Legacy). Still showcasing his mad guitar skills (check out opener “(Da Le) Yaleo”), “Supernatural” also broadly expanded the rock god’s reach by pairing him up with such hot musicians of the time as Dave Matthews (“Love of My Life”), Everlast (“Put Your Lights On”), Rob Thomas (“Smooth”) and Lauryn Hill & Cee-Lo (“Do You Like The Way”). A second disc includes previously unreleased material, club and dance mixes and more.

Read more...

Gay music men

Is life a cabaret or isn’t it?

The gay male music scene is divided into a few different camps. Julian Yeo and Carlo Chapelle represent the cabaret/show tunes faction. Yeo’s “Deep Purple Dreams” (LML Music) adds a jazz hue to his interpretations of standards by Jobim (“How Insensitive”), Cole Porter (“Love For Sale,” “Anything Goes,” “Too Darn Hot”), Kurt Weil (“September Song”) and Irving Berlin (“Let Yourself Go”), among others. Chapelle’s “Shade of Blue” (LMGPOP) goes for a mood indigo with classics by Hoagy Carmichael (“Nearness of You”), Billie Holiday (“God Bless the Child”) and the Bergmans with Michel Legrand (“What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?”), to name a few.

Read more...

Pump beats

Jeffree Star

Glam-drogynous Jeffree Star lives up to the title of his sophomore release “Beauty Killer” (Popsicle) right from the start with the wham-bam slam of “Get Away With Murder.” The blood continues to spill forth on “Louis Vuitton Body Bag,” with help from Matt Skiba. The title track, co-written by Sarah Hudson (cousin of Kate and Oliver), who also provides vocal assistance, gallops along at a killer pace, while “Love Rhymes With Fuck You” wants to be a soundtrack for the all-night experience. “Bitch, Please!” is a sexually explicit name-checker’s delight, where “Fame & Riches, Rehab Bitches” is a razor-sharp slap in the face featuring Breathe Carolina. The final track, “Queen of the Club Scene,” will have them lining up to claim the title.

Sugar & Gold

Sugar & Gold’s pump-and-hump “¡Aya!” remix EP teased listeners, giving them a taste of what this “freaky five-some” from San Francisco was capable of doing (i.e. “Slice Me Nice”). Like a left-coast version of Ssion, Sugar & Gold demonstrates a shameless fondness for the disco/dance pop of the ’80s, but delivers it with a sweet and shiny contemporary twist on their second full-length “Get Wet!” (Antenna Farm) disc. “Feels Like Fire” burns up the dance floor, while “Sneek Freq” funks it up. “It’s All Over You” bubbles over like a champagne orgasm and “Stay Soft” will have you working hard, dancing vertically or horizontally. “Bodyaches” is a pain worth enduring, as “Call Me (Softly)” keeps it on a minimal, although no less fierce, level.

Read more...

Leaping lesbians!

Katie Todd and Shelley Miller

The busy queer music scene in Chicago is exemplified by Katie Todd and Shelley Miller. Both women can regularly be found performing live throughout the city. The gorgeous title track on “Mumbled Speech” (Level It), the latest disc by Katie Todd, is a perfect example of her near flawless pop ballad songwriting skills. She also shows admirable taste in cover material with her rendition of Leonard Cohen’s oft-recorded “Hallelujah.” Shelley Miller, sounding like Chicago’s answer to Chris Pureka and Mary Gauthier, returns with her solid and strong “When It’s All Gone, You Come Back,” on which she strikes the right balance between torch and twang.

Read more...