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T op 10 CD s of 98
T he hottest sellihc CD s oh hoh
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Moon Pix's:Cat Power's sexy new song
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FI.I.IOTTSMITH
You can’t judge a year b y , its biggest musical acts. If you could, 1998 would
come up nothing but Backstreet Boys. Sidewalk asked its critics to vote for the
best albums o f 1998, and the top vote-getters are all over the cultural map.
Whether it’s confessional folk, pioneering hip-hop, polished pop-rock or
rustic country, excellence com es in all shapes, sizes and sounds. Elliott Smith
XOThe indie folker may have jum ped to a m ajor label this year, as well as
perform ed at the Oscars with Celine Dion, but no one listening to these
heartbreaking, textured songs will scream ‘sellout’.
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P J H A R V E Y :Is This Desire?
H O LE: Celebrity Skin
R.E.M.:Up
LU CIND A W ILLLAM StCar Wheels on a Gravel Road
LA URY N H IL L : The M iseducationofLaurynH ill
BEA STIE BOYS: Hello Nasty
L IZ PH A IR : whitechocolatespaceegg
RUFUS W AINW RIGHT: Rufus Wainwright
L Y L E L O V E T T : Step Inside This House
HONORABLE MENTIONS
B E C K , Mutations
B E L L E AND SEB A STIA N , The Boy With the Arab Strap
B ILLY B R A G G & W IL C O , Mermaid Avenue
112
It ’ s not difficult to see why
112,“TheGentlemenofBad
Boy,” speak so fondly o f
their native city Atlanta.
They are intrinsically in­
grained into its rust red soil,
lush greenery and proud
neighborhood churches.
112’s Slim, Mike, Q and
Daron are products o f their
environment, an environ­
ment where the most basic,
most cherished values o f |
pride, community and broth­
erhood are instilled from an
early age. It’s in their voices,
their music and their hearts.
It’s in their soul. Soul is at
the core o f everything they
do and shines with uninhib­
ited splendor on their Bad
Boy/Arista sophomore al­
bum, Room 112. the follow
up to their Platinum self-
DARON
MICHAEL
SUM
Focus
NAJEE
The m agical m elodies and pas­
sionate phrasings that introduced a
generation o f music lovers to the
distinctive sound o f the phenom ­
enal reed smith Najee, will once again
serenade listeners w ith his latest of­
fering, M o rn in g T e n d e rn e ss, for
verve Forecast. A m usical m aster­
piece o f sm ooth and sensuous se­
lections, Morning Tenderness marks
a trium phant return for the best-sell­
ing instrum entalist to contem porary
jazz forefront. “To me, this album is
a return to traditional N ajee.” The
album was recorded in an eight-
m onth period at both the N ew York
and Los A ngeles recording studios
o f Najee and his younger brother
and lifelong collaborator F ared . The
ten gorgeous tracks featured on the
production are a representation o f a
man who is in love w ith life and
music. O pening the collection are
the sparkling voices o f N a je e ’s
young sons providing a heartfelt
introduction to the song, “N ot a Day
Goes b y.” Reflects N ajee, “ I t’s a
song that says to my children, ‘Not
a day goes by that I’m not thinking
about you, or that y o u ’re not in my
heart.” Taking a popular R&B slow
jam and m aking it his ow n has long
been one o f N ajee’s signatures on
previous album s. This tim e around,
N ajee gives J o e ’s “All the Things
ju st the touch o f silky soul it de­
serves. Najee instrum entalization o f
this sexy classic, brings it to a class
all its own. “ I’ve alw ays liked that
song and the w ay Joe sang it,” N ajee
says. “N o one had covered it instru-
Page 3
th e p ast ten years, N ajee’s form i­
dable talents have afforded him the
opportunity to w ork with an array o f
m usical talents, including Q uincy
Jo n e s, Stevie W onder, Al J a r r e a u ,
F reddie Jack so n , Jo n a th a n B utler,
S tanley C la rk e , P aul Ja ck so n , J r .,
Phyllis H ym an, P a tti LaB elle, T he
O 'J a y s , E verette H arp , Big D addy
K ane and Bobby Caldwell, and many
others. N ajee's new association with
V erve Records represents the ac­
com plishm ent o f his longtime goal
to release records on his own label.
m entally, and it was a song that I
found challenging to play and make
my ow n.’ W ith “M orning Tender­
ness,” N ajee got some help from
Fared nam ing what would become
the title track. Reflects N ajee, “I
cam e up with that song with a friend
o f mine named N ick Smith, and 1 kept
hearing ‘M orning D rive’ or ‘M orn­
ing som ething’ in my head, and my
brother said, ‘W hy don’t we call it
“ M orning T en d ern ess”? ’ A nd I
thought about it. the song repre­
sents ju st w aking up in
the m orning with the sun
risin g , and b ein g re ­
freshed. T hat’s what I
w ant people to think o f
when they hear the al­
bum. I play m ostly
flute on th a t p articu ­
la r song an d I th in k
it stands a p a rt from
all the rest. I t’s de­
finitive? M orning
T e n d e r n e s s is
N a je e ’s seventh
m u sical o fferin g
an d follows a slew
of cr
claim
f.
■’
Z . •
I t ' s 3ÆCC Ç o o d
Q a k ’s Ç if r s
C a r d s & B a l l o o n s • L o t i o n s & O il s
E t h n ic F ig u r in e s • G if t B a s k e ts
titled debut. Named after a
phrase coined by a former
labelmate, the late Notorious
B.I.G ..Room 112reliesona
foolproof formula o f great
songs and phenomenal vo­
cals to make it’s point. The
album ranges from ballads
that tug the heart-strings to
out ant out d ance floor
anthems.Room 112 is over­
flowing with a tender, sweet
so u th e rn s in c e rity th at
helped make singles such as
“Cupid” and the tribute to
Notorious B.I.G., “ I’ll Be
Missing You,” so memo­
rable. There is also a raw
edge that was previously un­
heard, reflecting the consid­
erable maturation the group
has undergone during their
three whirlwind years in the
music industry
S p e c i a l i z i n g in S e l f H e lp &. 1 2 S te p I te m s
(5 0 3 ) 2 8 8 -1 7 4 7
F A X 7 7 7 -9 6 4 4
407 N E M ason & M L K
P o r t la n d , O R 9 7 2 1 1
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