Josh Groban: Josh Groban
South Africans were introduced to the young Josh Groban when he appeared and with great passion sang the schmaltzy ballad To Where You Are on Ally Mcbeal. Now he’s hooked up with David Foster to put out his debut album, a mix of light pop, including the aforementioned track, and some classical music.
Yes, it’s probably the kind of classics-for-the-masses album that purists frown on, as they would on Vanessa-Mae or Charlotte Church. But there’s no denying that the boy has a powerful and beautiful voice that he puts to good use on tracks such as Ennio Morricone’s Cinema Paradiso theme and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. However, his version of Don McLean’s Vincent sounds flat, with none of the original’s feeling.
The overrated Church duets with Groban on the average but listenable The Prayer (previously done by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli) and The Corrs are heard on Canto Alla Vita.
It’s not perfect, but it is a surprisingly rewarding collection. However, for most of these tracks a singer needs a voice as well as plenty of passion, and sometimes Groban lacks the latter. Even so, it’s worth a listen.
Bryan Ferry: Frantic (Virgin)
Ferry launched his solo career in 1972 with a rocked-up cover of Bob Dylan’s A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, and did a lovely, heartbroken version of It Ain’t Me, Babe, some years later. His new release contains two Dylan covers, one (the opener) a sprightly It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, the other a maudlin, piano-based Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right. Elsewhere on Frantic he revisits his old styles, as in the swooning late-Eighties sound of Goddess of Love, or produces a moving reading of the folk song Goodnight Irene. Perhaps the oddest number is San Simeon, which sounds like a cross between In Every Dream Home a Heartache and Avalon, at opposite ends of the Roxy Music universe. I Thought, a collaboration with Brian Eno, is far and away the most interesting song on Frantic, which indicates that perhaps a full Roxy reunion, with both of the Brians on the team, would have been a good idea. — Shaun de Waal
Vanessa-Mae: The Best of Vanessa-Mae (EMI)
When Vanessa-Mae released her first album in 1995, some die-hard classicalists nearly choked on their espressos. Her fusion of classical music and contemporary sounds thrilled new audiences and created a new genre. On The Best of Vanessa-Mae you can find all the famous hits that gave her the reputation she commands today. But Vanessa-Mae is more than a revamped Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. She can also enchant listeners with classical music, as her version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons shows. The Best of Vanessa Mae is a showcase of her extraordinary talent and her versatility in switching from classical to techno, and Celtic to disco. Her newest track, Art of War, will not disappoint fans who love her style. — Yolandi Groenewald