USHER “8701” i i ½ Arista
When Usher canned this album six months ago, it looked like the project was dead in the water. But, after eight new songs and a lot of tweaking, he managed to stitch together a pretty good disc on his second try.
The 15-song album of smooth-groove ballads and hip-hop-spiked R&B, called “8701” (which is also today’s date), marks a new direction for an artist known primarily as a rapper.
Usher’s Marvin Gaye aspirations come through on the light-funk crooning of “Twork It Out,” an excellent make-out song in which Usher plays doctor with his own brand of sexual healing.
PRINCE “The Very Best of Prince” Rhino
For everyone who never stopped calling him Prince, Rhino Records has compiled a great greatest-hits collection from the artist’s Warner Bros. era. There are 17 tracks in all, recorded when he was in his prime, from ’78 to ’93 – including “1999,” “Little Red Corvette,” “Sign o’ the Times,” “Cream” and “Diamonds and Pearls.”
VARIOUS ARTISTS “The Best of Sessions at West 54th, Vol. 1” Columbia
Fans of the PBS music series “Sessions at West 54th” get a nice sampler of the show’s first two seasons with this best-of album, which features performances by David Byrne (who also hosts the series), Lou Reed, Natalie Merchant, Sinead O’Connor and Emmylou Harris, among others.
The balance between “best of” tunes and “greatest hits” is a little off, though. The opener is Sheryl Crow singing her very famous and very overplayed “Every Day Is a Winding Road.” And then the next track is Byrne doing his little-known “I Zimbra.”
BETTER THAN EZRA “Closer” ½ Beyond
Driven by four truly superb songs, the fourth and latest CD from New Orleans trio Better Than Ezra is easily the best collection the band has created.
What makes this disc special is how it combines lyrical irreverence, heart, imagination and catchy, warm pop melodies.
The four standout cuts are the powerful opener, “Misunderstood,” about fighting to stay in love; “Recognize,” which is influenced by Black Crowes’ blues; the ethereal pop ballad “Juarez”; and the disc’s first single, “Extra Ordinary,” a smart number that realizes how precious life is without getting preachy.
THE ISLEY BROTHERS “Eternal” DreamWorks
“Eternal” isn’t the best album of the Isleys’ illustrious career, but it is smooth and sexy as it vamps through 14 tunes that are romantic without prompting an attack of sugar shock.
Listen for R&B newcomer Jill Scott, who turns in a nice duet performance with Isley brother Ronald on the song “Said Enough.”
ROBERT EARL KEEN “Gravitational Forces” Lost Highway
Troubadour Robert Earl Keen knows how to work the contrasts of Texas – its beauty and harshness, its enormity and small-town feel – as is evident on his ninth album, “Gravitational Forces.”
On the 11 songs here, he is almost literary in his storytelling. Listen for the drought song, “Not a Drop of Rain,” a tune that has as much to do with the soul as it does the weather.