British band Gomez made the scene and raised the stakes onthe sheer diversity of musical styles in the air of the mid-1990s. Over thecourse of a series of well-received albums (including a Mercury Prize for theirdebut disc), they stretched the boundaries of alternative rock to include amodern blues bent, while always keeping it fresh and contemporary. They evenhad their cover of the Beatles' Getting Better featured in aPhilips electronics TV commercial.
Five Men in a Hut: A's, B's Rarities: 1998-2004 (Hut/Virgin) lives upto its title, compiling three dozen Gomez numbers that effectively show off theband's skills. If you like what you hear on this musical history lesson, considerrecent studio disc of new material How We Operate (ATO).
Duncan Sheik has been a busy man in the years since hisself-titled 1996 major-label debut and hit single Barely Breathing were first released.
On 2001's Phantom Moon, he explored both the realm of the late Nick Drake and orchestralsettings for his pop tunes. So it's not all that surprising that his mostrecent project is the score for the Broadway musical Spring Awakening. Add to that his production work on the Musicfor Tourists album by queersinger/songwriter Chris Garneau, and Sheik may be one of his generation'shardest-working men in show biz.
Subtitled A Duncan Sheik Anthology,Brighter/Later (Atlantic/R
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Itdoesn't include anything from 2002's Zo' release White Limousine, yet manages to give listeners a proper perspectiveof Sheik's capabilities, including a respectful cover of Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark, a pleasing live track ( Home ),electronic experimentation (the Jamie Myerson mix of For You ), andhits.
If Gomez were blue-eyed blues singers in the 90s, then BozScaggs was a blue-eyed soul singer in the 70s and beyond. With gaps throughouthis recording career, Scaggs has been at it since the 60s.
But it was in themid-70s that he achieved his greatest success. Silk Degrees, released more than 30 years ago, provided Scaggswith an incredible string of hit singles, all of which can be found on thenewly expanded collection Hits!(Columbia/Legacy).
What Can I Say, Lido Shuffle, Lowdown, and We're All Alone officially establishedScaggs as a pop icon. While subsequent albums failed to maintain the momentum,he did have a few other hit singles, including Breakdown DeadAhead, and Look What You've Done to Me, from the UrbanCowboy soundtrack.
Few present-day soul singers can match the intensity of MaryJ.
Blige. In less than 15 years, Blige has risen through the ranks to becomeone of the most distinctive entertainers of her generation. The proof was inthe multiple Grammy award nominations she received for her aptly titled 2005album The Breakthrough, which includedher devastating interpretation of U2's One.
That track isn't on Reflections:A Retrospective (Geffen), but practicallyevery one of her trademark singles is, in addition to four new tracks.
In terms of crossover success, Gloria Estefan is probablythe reigning queen. With exceptional appeal and a warm voice, and the abilityto spread Latin fever like nobody before, Estefan ruled the dance-floors, firstas a member of Miami Sound Machine, and later as a solo artist (mid-80s throughthe 90s).
The double-disc collection The Essential Gloria Estefan (Epic/Legacy) speaks volumes about her far-reachingcontributions.
In their original incarnations, punk and new wave could beconsidered reactions to corporate rock. Echo the Bunnymen, who would goon to achieve success during the early years of college-rock radio, made theirimpact with a string of edgy and infectious tracks like The KillingMoon.
More Songs to Learn and Play(Rhino) expands the band's legend, featuring a few 21st-century cuts as well asthe addition of an eight-track DVD.
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