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Abba Revisited By Evan Dando, Ash, Bananarama, Others
Abba, the dance-pop group that wouldn't die, will get the tribute treatment courtesy of Evan Dando, Ash, Bananarama, and a host of others next month.
"ABBA - A Tribute, The 25th Anniversary Celebration" (so named because it marks the release of the band's first hit, "Waterloo") will also feature the Beach Boys' Mike Love, Peter Cetera & Ronna Reeves, Go West, Hazell Dean, Army Of Lovers, Information Society, and others.
Ricky Martin
Jewel – Spirit
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More than a billion viewers in 187 countries across the globe felt the power and energy of Ricky
Martin's electrifying performance of "The Cup Of Life" at the 1999 Grammy Awards ceremony; "La
Copa de la Vida," the official song of the World Cup France '98, has been a #1 single in more than
30 countries. That same night, Ricky's latest full-length Latin recording, Vuelve, won the Grammy
for Best Latin Pop Performance. With his magical career-defining performance, Ricky Martin -- an
international superstar who has sold more than 15 million records worldwide and packs stadiums
from Buenos Aires to Beijing to New Delhi and beyond-- was suddenly a recognizable name and
presence in more than 24 million U.S. households. Ricky Martin, his first English language album,
is the next step in the evolution of this remarkable talent. "It's all about communicating," Ricky
says by way of explaining his decision to record in English. "I will never stop singing in Spanish --
that's who I am -- but this was always part of the plan."
It's time for an update of our image of Jewel, the ingenue who set the music world on fire with her
1995 debut album, Pieces of You. After all, that effort consisted primarily of songs Jewel had
written several years before, some of them dating back to her days as a free- spirited waif living in
a van on the beach in San Diego. Now, at 25, she's become a sort of guru for self-expression and
full disclosure, revealing perhaps too much of herself in see-through dresses worn to awards
shows and a critically drubbed (yet bestselling) book of poetry. Spirit makes plain why Jewel's
well-intentioned yet sometimes facile lyrics strike a chord with her audience while her poetry lies
flat on the page. On songs like "Deep Water," "Hands," and "Down So Long," her words are borne
aloft by sparkling melodies and her soaring voice, making even the most cynical observer take a
schoolgirl-notebook image such as "your heart like grape gum on the ground" or an unreassuring
platitude like "If I could tell the world just one thing / It would be that we're all OK" somewhat in
stride. On Pieces of You, Jewel posed the musical question "Who will save your soul?" On Spirit,
it sounds like she wants to do it herself.
