Essentially a glorified mixtape, Eminem Presents the Re-Up (Shady/Polydor ***) sees the controversial rapper putting over the artists signed to his Shady Records label, which includes 50 Cent, Cashis and the seemingly rejuvenated Obie Trice. But it’s Slim Shady himself who shines the brightest, displaying a genuine hunger on the previously unreleased track ‘No Apologies’ that has been absent from much of his post Eminem Show output.
Tying in nicely with her stint on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, Emma Bunton’s third solo outing Life in Mono (UMTV **) confirms her reputation as the dull one from the Spice Girls, all insipid ballads and sexless, Motown tinged pop. It’s about as exciting as an evening with Sue Barker.
Lee Hazlewood – the American singer, songwriter, producer and pop iconoclast – is dying of terminal cancer. But rather than face the grim reaper with fear and loathing, he does so with a knowing smile. Like much of his 50 year career, Cake or Death (BPX ****), a title derived from Eddie Izzard, is a mischievous and high spirited affair, taking in duets with Swedish jazz singers and German thesps, the occasional joke at the American government’s expense, and an emotional rework of his quintessential duet with Frank Sinatra on ‘Some Velvet Morning’, with his 8 year old granddaughter riding shotgun. As the final curtain falls, he leaves us wanting more.
And hoping to capitalize on the season of spending, Universal reissue Andrea Bocelli’s Amore (****), an unapologetically romantic collection of pop standards in which the angelic voiced tenor is joined by Christina Aguilera, Kenny G and Stevie Wonder. Perfect for ‘er indoors.
POSTED...
Tue 5 Dec 2006 at 7:22pm
