1. USA TODAY · TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2007 · 9D
Idol speculation
A weekly analysis from USA TODAY’s experts
Phil Stacey
Coach’s comment: Phil
Chris Richardson
Coaches bring could wake up judges and
voting viewers alike with
one killer performance.
How? By bringing out
the “other Phil”: the
Coach’s comment: He’s a
work in progress: the voice,
the look, but with a missing
piece onstage. There’s no
out the best guy who involuntarily
cracks snide smiles and
says he wants to get a
Ph.D. “so people can call me
Dr. Phil.” He should step off
in this bunch
burn! Chris’ heroes, James
Brown and Elvis, were hu- the ballad ship and jump into
man, sweaty, heart-thump- something less controlled
ing guys, and Chris needs a and more rockin’. For British
transfusion from them. Chris Invasion Week, he ought
needs to get a hula hoop and to break into the Stones or
practice moving his hips, his
way. Watch videos of James
This week, we asked Animals song stashes (or the
Kinks katalog) for some hard
Brown and Elvis. Watch Marvin
Gaye sing. He needs to move
each of our Idol coaches — stuff. And the big question:
hat or no hat? Cover up
past his non-threatening image.
Chris comes from a lineage
all well versed in the and get down, dude.
— Gene Sculatti
of soul singers. That’s who nuances of performing,
he wants to be, too.
— Rona Elliott and showbiz in general —
to identify a finalist who
has potential but badly
needs coaching. Each
coach then offers —
purely as a public service
— some useful advice.
Haley Scarnato
Coach’s comment: Last week, she
finally looked like a cute 24-year-old The coaches Gina Glocksen
girl, and it is a look she should own
and embrace. For British Invasion Don Waller: Christina Warren: Gene Sculatti: Rona Elliott: Coach’s comment: Gina has a big,
author, music Entertainment Music executive, Music TV
Week, she should go all out. Super- Journalist/critic, marketing student, editor, author, personality, brassy voice, but she could benefit im-
short mini-dress, knee-high boots, DJ, singer/song- digital technology critic editor, journalist measurably by dialing it down some dur-
mod makeup. Go full-out Twiggy. writer scholar ing the songs’ verses, à la Chrissie Hynde
Relaxing and showing the viewers of The Pretenders. You can come on as
more of her charming personality hard as you wanna be, but to really con-
will go a long way in making her nect with an audience you’re going to have
memorable. Her vocal performances to show some sort of vulnerability. Ah, but
need to become more consistent. with the right balance of leather and lace,
Haley’s biggest hurdle, other than you could knock off any number of the more
the omnipresent minefield of song one-dimensional singers. Wear as much
selection, is self-confidence. black as possible — it’s a slimming color.
I would love to see her take on Wear pointed-toed boots with solid heels for
Lulu’s To Sir, With Love, because elevation and support. And remember that a
I think she could absolutely little bit of bare skin goes a long way — have
knock it out of the park with some self-respect. Oh, and lose the tongue
the right focus and control. stud. It maketh you hith your thibilanths . . .
Petula Clark would be a good — Don Waller
fit, too (not the overplayed
Downtown, though).
— Christina Warren
Illustration by Karl Gelles, USA TODAY; Idol photos by Fox
Listen up
Music reviews by USA TODAY critics
tracks spotlight
ville Sound production of tan-
dem fiddles, lush Jordanaires
harmonies and the occasional
vibraphone, while Nelson,
pick of the Haggard and Price sound as if
they’ve sung these songs all
week their lives — which they prob-
ably have. As they revisit the
songs of the Lefty Frizzells, the
Leon Paynes and the Gene Au-
The Way It Is trys who inspired them, they
Nicole Atkins gently remind younger gener-
ations to appreciate the great
Like a female version of ones before they’re
Chris Isaak, Jersey girl gone. — Brian
Atkins roams the haunt-
ed ruins of girl-group
pop on this track from
albums Mansfield
>>Download:
her major-label debut, Nelson’s newly
due in June. The Way It Is penned Back to Earth, I Gotta
begins with a bell Have My Baby Back, Night Watch
sounding the death knell >>Skip: Please Don’t Leave Me
for a doomed relation- Any More Darlin’
ship, adds guitar straight
from a David Lynch Stephen Marley
score, then builds to an Mind Control
By Jeremy Balderson, Columbia Records
Orbison-like climax of eee½ REGGAE ROYALTY
What are you lookin’ at? longing, self-pity and
Nicole Atkins explores diverse melodrama. — Brian This son of Bob Marley has
musical ground on The Way It Is. Mansfield been making music all his life,
By Chris Anthony, Epic Records
but at 34, he’s finally making
Indie rockers float on: Mouse’s Eric Judy, left, Jeremiah Green, Johnny Marr, Isaac Brock, Tom Peloso and Joe Plummer. his solo debut. It turns out to
the playlist have been well worth the
USA TODAY music critic Brian Mansfield highlights 10
intriguing tracks, new or old, he has been listening to. Modest Mouse is in ‘Ship’-shape wait. Stephen — a five-time
Grammy winner best known
for producing his brothers —
offers a rock-solid set of sear-
My Heart Is Beating From her first album in four decades, Weiss Modest Mouse along a few meek formulaic tracks that very vaguely attached to a seafaring ing political anthems, pulsat-
Mary Weiss sounds every bit as tough as she did as the We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank should have no trouble shimmying theme. The music is at its best ing dance-hall bangers and
teenage lead singer for The Shangri-Las. eee ROCK IT TO MARR’S up a rock radio playlist. Lesser material when Modest Mouse goes overboard. mesmerizing ballads. Guests
fades into sonic wallpaper against such — Edna Gundersen include brothers Damian and
Pull Shapes The British trio revived the girl-group The good news is that Modest Mouse adventurous compositions as the aggro-
The Pipettes sound in the U.K. last summer with this
Julian Marley, Mos Def, Ben
gloriously retro dance tune and others.
has returned with more of the challeng- metal genre-shifter Florida, featuring >>Download: atmospheric Fire It Up, Harper and Spragga Benz.
ing and innovative indie rock that dis- The Shins’ James Mercer. Singer Isaac intense Fly Trapped in a Jar and pretty They all help make this some
Love Is a Losing Game The usually volatile British R&B songstress tinguished 2004’s Good News for People Brock remains a jack of all traits as he Little Motel, showcasing newly added tasty food for thought.
Amy Winehouse sounds bruised and vulnerable as she Who Love Bad News. The bad news? yelps, bellows and seethes through guitarist Johnny Marr >>Skip: Dashboard, — Jones
channels her inner Dionne Warwick. Perhaps seduced by its heady whirl in rollicking, off-center tunes that are folk- We’ve Got Everything
the spotlight, the band also has dragged tinged, pop-tweaked, beat-crazed and >>Download: Mind Control,
A Good Heart “A good heart these days is hard to find,”
Maria McKee McKee sings on this soulful, ’60s-ish track, Hey Baby, Traffic Jam, Chase Dem,
but you’ll find one (and a great voice) here. Iron Bars
Joss Stone >>Download: the sly, slamming >>Download: Throw Some D’s, passes for interpretive singing
Caravan of Love Thought her Balloon had popped? Not in Introducing Joss Stone Put Your Hands on Me and lush, Boy Looka Here, Lost Girls, Ghetto these days, we have Idol, The Feeling
Nena with Duncan Germany, where she has covered Isley-Jas- eee STONE FREE? sultry Bruised but Not Broken, one Rich >>Skip: Touch That A**, Good and ourselves, to blame. Twelve Stops and Home
Townsend per-Isley’s mid-’80s appeal for global unity. of Warren’s best ballads in years Things, Hustla Balla Gangsta Mack — Gardner ee½ DEFT JAMS
La Vie en Rose The former Go-Go turns French chanteuse Stone’s latest isn’t quite the
Belinda Carisle as she puts a Eurodisco spin on Edith Piaf’s declaration of independence Rich Boy Elliott Yamin >>Download: the spirited Free Nodding to classic rock, power
signature song. and maturity suggested by its Rich Boy Elliott Yamin >>Skip: most of the rest pop and new wave, The Feel-
title. The young singer still re- ee RICH IN RAP CLICHÉS ee IDOL POP-SOUL ing churns out well-crafted,
Andy With its low-end production and cheapo or- lies heavily on her collabora- Willie Nelson, Merle deftly produced, ably sung
The Affair gan riffs, this New York quintet’s tale of se- The Alabama rapper spends a As last season’s second run- tunes that somehow don’t
cret romance recalls Blondie and The Cars.
tors, principally writer/pro- Haggard, Ray Price
ducer Raphael Saadiq, and her good deal of time mired in the ner-up on American Idol, Last of the Breed add up to the sum of their
So Romantic Wish they still wrote songs like What I Like singing can suggest a preco- usual dope-dealing clichés, Yamin just missed scoring an eee COUNTRY SUMMIT parts. By turns earnest and
The Charms About You? Boston garage-punks The cious kid dressing up in her but shines occasionally thanks album deal through the show. MEETING self-consciously clever, this
Charms do. mom’s classic rock and soul to a few fresh ideas and the But the would-be blue-eyed young British group aspires to
records. Still, with a little help trunk-rattling production of soul man’s debut feels very At one or more points in their but never quite achieves the
All Grown Up Detroit garageists sound like the gum-pop- Polow Da Don. Those rum- much like an Idol CD, from the lengthy careers, these Hall of unaffected wit and, well, feel-
Gore Gore Girls ping, guitar-toting granddaughters of Chuck
from her friends — in addition
to Saadiq, proven pros ranging bling beats are what make the well-connected writer/pro- Famers each redefined the ing shown by their eclectic
Berry and the Beach Boys on a sassy ditty.
from Billy Mann and Diane first single, the runaway hit ducers contributing generic boundaries of country music. role models, who include The
Be My Baby The masters of macabre ’70s metal don’t Warren to Lauryn Hill — Stone Throw Some D’s, so hard to get midtempo numbers and boil- That’s not what they’re doing Kinks, Pet Shop Boys and Har-
Blue Oyster Cult fear The Ronettes on this unreleased has put together a fun, funky out of your head. That’s true erplate ballads to Yamin’s own on these two discs of old fa- old Arlen. Suffice to say there’s
outtake from their 1977 Spectres album. collection that channels old- elsewhere as well, though the technically impressive but ut- vorites (and two newer num- no Lola or Over the Rainbow in
school influences with dis- overall effect would have been terly unimaginative vocals. To bers). Instead, Last of the Breed this batch. — Gardner
tinctly contemporary sass. better if Rich Boy had banked his credit, he apes Stevie Won- serves as a reminder of how
Share your views on the reviews — Elysa Gardner more on originality. — Steve der and Donny Hathaway as far back those boundaries ex- >>Download: Never Be Lonely
and the music news at listenup.usatoday.com. Jones adroitly as Taylor Hicks does tend. Fred Foster gives these >>Skip: the sappy Strange and
Michael McDonald. If that sessions the subdued Nash- strangely Styx-like Same Old Stuff