Beautiful is about what longtime fans might expect. Late in her career, Marie wasn't attempting to replicate the upbeat funk of big hits like "Square Biz". Instead, Beautiful contains mostly ruminative love songs. Innocuous and unobtrusive but consistently pleasant, Beautiful would provide ideal background music at an upscale salon.
The two best tracks- "Rare Breed" and "Definition of Down"- don't match any of her career highlights, while the limpid "Carte Blanche" and "Wild Horses" should have been left in the can. An embarrassing production choice spoils "Maria Bonita."
Completists won't regret the need to acquire Beautiful, but casual fans who already own a Marie compilation or a couple of her prime albums aren't missing out.
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Last weekend's performance by Julian Lage and Jorge Roeder at Yardley Hall is my concert to beat in 2013. Here's my review.
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I reviewed Bloc Party's concert at Liberty Hall on Sunday.
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UMKC's Kerwin Young will be on hand when Public Enemy is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April.
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My new favorite time-suck is the archive of a defunct Midwestern music publication called The Note. Check out the amateurish advertisement for the 1988 Monsters of Rock tour.
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I'll stop listening to the "melo-death" of Aether Realm only after you pry the flanged mace from my cold, dead fingers.
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Pantha du Prince's new Elements of Light album is like a groovy Tubular Bells. Here's a taste.
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Larry Rosen, co-founder GRP Records, explains how the promising concept of smooth jazz became a "sad joke".
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Mixed Blood Majority's new album is released today. Watch Lazerbeak perform his magic here.
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When (my) worlds collide: Bargain Bin Blasphemy is hilarious.
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Kansas City Click: Gravity A headlines at the RecordBar on Tuesday.
The Kill Devil Club features Steve Lambert on Wednesday.
Inspectah Deck appears at the Riot Room on Thursday.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
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