B+ LeAnn Rimes
Remnants
Thirty Tigers/RED
Somewhere in between a multiplatinum album at 13 and coming out of an emotional spin cycle called "real life" 20 years later, a humbled LeAnn Rimes has grown up. The evolution is obvious, sometimes painfully so, on her latest album.
The industry fell in love with Rimes' big voice in 1996 with her hit album Blue. A few twists and turns along the way to stardom left her on the outside looking in at the machine that made her. The voice is still there, though more mature and soulful.
Skip "The Story," a song that hopes it will be a hit, and go to the good stuff. "Do It Wrong With Me" shows the kind of earthy reach Rimes can coax from her voice. It's a sultry torch number that she handles perfectly.
The top track is "Learning Your Language," featuring minimal guitar work that travels along a beautiful melody. Rimes' voice coos and quivers in all the right places. "See I'm a book of insecurities/The kind a boy puts down and never ever reads," sings a vulnerable but knowing Rimes.
Rimes skips across musical genres here with ease. Music was never her problem, and now she can sing comfortably about all the other challenges in life. This is a well-delivered release, in every sense of the word.
Hot tracks: "Do It Wrong With Me," "Learning Your Language"
-- RON HARRIS,
The Associated Press
B Emily Estefan
Take Whatever You Want
Alien Shrimp Records
She arrives with a last name beloved in the music world and treads in the same footsteps as her parents Gloria and Emilio Estefan, who have 26 Grammy Awards combined. But Emily Estefan's debut makes an impressive splash.
The 22-year-old's Take Whatever You Want is a 14-song jazz-influenced beauty she wrote, performed on and produced.
It's not what you might expect from the offspring of a couple that gave us "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" and "Conga." Emily Estefan combines the slinky soulfulness of Erykah Badu, the righteousness of Lorde and the free jazz of Ornette Coleman. It's sometimes a bit self-indulgent, but Estefan never wears out her welcome.
The album veers from the doo-wop of "It's OK" to girl-power anthems like "Reigns (Every Night)" to the laid-back soul of "Dream Catcher." The tone whipsaws from vulnerable and rebellious to forceful, with Estefan unafraid to use profanity or unleash her powerful vibrato.
The Berklee College of Music grad charts a fiercely independent course. "Burn my number, lose my name," she sings in one tune. "I ain't one to follow fame."
Hot tracks: "It's OK," "Dream Catcher," "Reigns (Every Night)"
-- MARK KENNEDY,
The Associated Press
B Various Artists
Hidden Figures: The Album
Columbia
To tell Hidden Figures' rarely heard story of the brainy black women working at NASA at the dawn of the 1960s, director-screenwriter Theodore Melfi brought in nu-soul auteur Pharrell Williams to compose, star in, and oversee its soundtrack, co-compose its score (with Hans Zimmer), and produce the film. Williams rises high; not just with sweet retrofit R&B appropriate to the Motown era and the optimism of the space race, but with his usual sunny disposition pop-hop, this time tinged with strains of gentle folk and sacred song.
Though the former describes Williams' own chipper anthem "Runnin'," the gloriously emboldened "I See a Victory" encompasses the Virginia native's rich gospel inspirations. Williams offers similar raw religiosity for duet partner Lalah Hathaway on "Surrender."
Along with producing grand raging tracks for Mary J. Blige ("Mirage") and saving a hint of hard soul for himself ("Crystal Clear"), Williams -- with movie co-star Janelle Monae -- tackles "Jalapeno" and brings back another side of his sound, the blistering electro-rock-funk of his onetime band N.E.R.D. More of that -- please -- would have added a plus to this review.
Hot tracks: "Mirage," "Jalapeno," I See a Victory"
-- A.D. AMOROSI,
The Philadelphia Inquirer
B+ Rose Cousins
Natural Conclusion
Old Farm Pony Records
When Rose Cousins sings she soars and swoops, never to show off but always in service to the song.
The Canadian's glorious alto provides instant gratification on Natural Conclusion, but the charms of her compositions reveal themselves more slowly. The album is dominated by sad songs concerning matters of the heart, and the tempos are mostly slow, creating an initial sense of sameness.
But the sparse, organic, piano-based arrangements are filled with rich detail, as are lyrics that explore the dark recesses of relationships. Producer Joe Henry wisely gives Cousins' voice plenty of room to shine, and she makes the most of the lovely melodies on "White Flag" and "Donoughmore."
This music's not in a hurry. Cousins sings lots of whole notes, as if the pitch has found a happy home and doesn't want to leave. The only tune with a lively tempo comes halfway through the set on "Chains."
But Cousins finds other ways to change pace, needing just 90 seconds to address backstabbing betrayal on "My Friend." Elsewhere she sings of sin, surrender and uncertainty. "I don't know if I have what it takes," she confesses. There should be no doubt.
Hot tracks: "Chains," "My Friend," "White Flag"
-- STEVEN WINE,
The Associated Press
Style on 02/14/2017