A- The Carters
Everything Is Love
Parkwood/Roc Nation
The Carters — using the last name they haven’t needed in years — are notoriously private in an era where celebrities regularly share their lives on social media. Not only did no one know Beyonce and Jay-Z’s album was coming before it arrived June 16, they also make news with their rhymes.
On “Ape—,” Jay-Z confirmed the rumors that he was offered this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show before Justin Timberlake, rapping, “I said no to the Super Bowl … You need me, I don’t need you.” Oh, and the video for that song was filmed in The Louvre in front of the Mona Lisa. Yes, no one knew that either.
The arrival of Everything Is Love seems to confirm that when The Carters decided to work out their marital issues they also crafted a secretive strategy. Beyonce’s Lemonade album revealed the problems. Jay-Z followed with his apology album 4:44. Now, we have The Carters as a happy couple once again, with warm Daptone soul as a backdrop and hip-hop so well-crafted it shines brightly as it cuts.
The album opens with “Summer,” with Beyonce singing, “Let’s make love in the summertime … Make plans to be in each other’s arms,” and closes with “Love-Happy,” where they recount their sometimes-rocky relationship through today. When Jay talks about buying Bey a new wedding ring from Chaumet, she responds, “Yeah, you [expletive] up the first stone, we had to get remarried.” When Jay replies, “Yo, chill man,” she says, “We keepin’ it real with these people, right? Lucky I ain’t kill you when I met that [expletive].” Jay tries to smooth things out from there.
Everything Is Love, like Lemonade and 4:44 before it, isn’t just about them. It’s about the world around them and giving hope to that world.
The Carters recognize that they are lucky. “I can’t believe we made it,” Beyonce sings repeatedly in “Ape—.” In “Black Effect,” Jay raps, “Man, we started with a mustard seed. Now, we in the gray 911 with the mustard seats.” In the standout track, Jay-Z promises: “I’m good on any M.L.K. Boulevard.”
Hot tracks: “Summer,” “LoveHappy,” “Black Effect”
— GLENN GAMBOA
Newsday (TNS)
B+ David Starr
South and West
Self-released
Fayetteville native and Colorado resident David Starr returns to Little Rock for a Wednesday set at South on Main. The singer-songwriter has been touring in support of South and West, which was released earlier this month.
The record’s 12 tracks are mostly concerned with love lost and found. Starr, who wrote or co-wrote 11 of the songs, has a keen eye for relationships and an ear for melodies that lean toward the rural side of The Eagles or Jackson Browne. Think of it as country music for grown-ups.
“Could Have Run Together” has a James McMurtry vibe and sweet little electric guitar solo. Opening track “Don’t Give Me Hope” is an Americana-laced story of someone wanting to leave but still hanging on to what sounds like a toxic situation; “Love Won’t Make Itself ” rolls along nicely and then really stretches its legs during its infectious chorus.
“If Nothing Changes” emerges as a dark cloud of a rocker that cleverly pairs imagery of political and social unraveling with a relationship that is also about to collapse. And there’s a pleasingly reverent cover of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Country Comfort.”
Starr, who owned Starr’s Guitars in Little Rock’s River Market District and now has a store in Cedaredge, Colo., recorded South and West, his eighth album, in Nashville, Tenn., and produced it himself. It’s a solid bunch of thoughtful, well-made songs by a songwriter and guitarist who clearly loves what he is doing.
Hot tracks: “Could Have Run Together,” “If Nothing Changes,” “Don’t Give Me Hope”
— SEAN CLANCY
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
B+ Christina Aguilera
Liberation
RCA
It has been some time, but Christina Aguilera is back.
It has been six years since Lotus and there’s something very special about Liberation, easily one of the year’s best albums.
Liberation is just as pleasant as 1999’s self-titled debut, as powerful and poignant as 2002’s Stripped and as layered and soulful as 2006’s Back to Basics. Liberation has a wide range of styles and sounds, but it’s also masterfully cohesive (apart from the disappointing Demi Lovato duet “Fall in Line”).
Everything else is epic: “Twice” shows Aguilera’s voice in top form; “Pipe” is a sexy Quiet Storm anthem; and “Unless It’s With You” is beautiful, raw and honest.
“Right Moves,” featuring reggae artists Keida and Shenseea, is the perfect song to play before going out; rapper GoldLink, with lyrical references to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, shines just as bright as you do on “Like I Do”; and “Accelerate” is bouncy and fun. Plus, pretty much anything co-starring Ty Dolla $ign at the moment is on fire.
In some ways Liberation recalls Mariah Carey’s 2005 comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi.
Never count out the diva. Never.
Hot tracks: “Twice,” “Right Moves,” “Accelerate,” “Unless It’s You”
— MESFIN FEKADU
The Associated Press
