Kylie VS. Cher...Dueling Divas.....

[markydefad]

Well, both Kylie & Cher made a splash on the U.S. charts last week debuting at a phenomenal #3 (Kylie) and #9 (Cher), their first week in release. Howling Canadian Alanis Morrisette grabbed the #1 spot. Kylie's single cracked the U.S. singles chart at #10.



Cher's amazing chart performance at age 55 must irk the hell out of her former girlfriends Miss Ross & Miss Midler (Both were close to Cher in the '70's, but apparently didn't care for each other).



Barry Walters, my favorite music critic, reviewed both new CD's for Rolling Stone. Barry & I used to correspond on Napster--he's a great guy and very savvy critic. Here are his takes Klylie & Cher:



KYLIE MINOGUE : FEVER (Capitol)

***( out of 5)

"Does America need Kylie Minogue? Yes!"



Kylie Minogue is known in America only through her "Moulin Rouge" cameo as the Green Fairy and her first single, a ghastly 1988 rendition of "The Locomotion". But elsewhere, the Australian long ago joined the ranks of one-name superstars: In England alone she has reached the Top Twenty some thirty-odd times. Like Madonna and Janet, Kylie can't wail across five octaves, but she's got severly coquettish charm and an alchemist's way with a disposable lyric. "Fever", her eighth and most consistently discotronic disc, is fast, full of old-fashioned hooks and newfangled techno hiccups, campy as a tent full of Boy Scouts and yet easy on the cheese. Combining Ann-Margret's sex-kitten snarl with Daft Punk's android sparkle, the self-descriptive first single "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" is, like the album's eleven similar tracks, willfully plastic and yet perversely personable. Kylie is a perfect pop singer, because she can tickle the world even as she seems to sing her songs of dance-floor desire for your ears only.



CHER: "LIVING PROOF"

*** (OUT OF 5)



"More stirring Europop, but no surprises"



Cher's "Believe" set off a trend for electronically tweaked vocals while bamboozling listeners into questioning their own trust in love. It was a revolutionary act for a fiftysomething camp icon with serious credibility issues--a bizarre and rather lovely accident. "Living Proof" endeavors to make lighting strike twice in the same place. Repeating the synthesized hiccups, stirring Europop tunes and anxious uptempo digital beats of "Believe", "Living Proof" gets the job done very well. Unlike house music or modern R&B, Cher's twenty-first-century disco is built on fully fleshed songs and detailed arrangements, and the studio wizardry is even grander than before. But "Living" lacks it's predecessor's unexpected impact. "Song For The Lonely" clearly intends to evoke September 11th, and other tracks such as "A Different Kind Of Love Song" return to themes of tragedy, heroism and universal brotherhood. Coming from a willfully wiggy billion-dollar diva, this noble stuff feels calculated, particularly when it's presented in such a sparkling, showbizzy package. Cher believes in love--no problem. Convincing us she's a selfless social commentator demands a much taller leap of faith.



Your comments & your own reviews of these 2 CD's appreciated.....



_________________

Make My Feet Wanna Dance!

Markydefad

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: markydefad on 2002-03-14 15:37 ]</font>