Whiskey Wednesday

Possibilities

The album I’m raving about this week is Herbie Hancock’s collaborative album Possibilities. It was released at the end of August, but only recently came to my attention – I kept hearing Sting singing this new arrangement of Sister Moon and finally tracked down where it came from. What a fantastic album. Much like the Dolly Parton album I was gushing over last week, Hancock has put together an eclectic combo of established older performers and hot young singers with his sublime piano at the core. The instrumentation is fantastic, but Hancock lets the vocals the take center stage. There are really no weak tracks on an album like this, but it is so stylistically diverse some tracks are bound to appeal to you more than others.
Annie Lennox – Goddess of the Universe – delivers a haunting, delicate rendition of the Paula Cole/Peter Gabriel song Hush, Hush, Hush and Paul Simon’s tender I Do It for Your Love is one of the best things he’s done in years. And, of course, I’m in love with this sexy, sultry version of Sting’s Sister Moon. Lisa Hannigan and Damien Rice give us a moody twist on the Billy Holiday classic Don’t Explain and Hancock plays an instrumental number with Phish frontman Trey Anastasio.
Hancock chose an interesting mix of younger singers for the album. I would have never paired Johnny Lang – and his large-black-man-trapped-in-a-skinny-white-boy voice – with Joss Stone, but they rock the house in When Love Comes to Town. Lang is a phenomenon, but Stone really holds her own. The same can be said for John Mayer, who lives up to his hype with the peppy album opener, Stitched Up. The biggest surprise on the album, however, is Christina Aguilera on A Song for You. Who knew this bitch could sing? Girl’s got some pipes!
My only complaints with the album: I could have done without a new recording of I Just Called to Say I Love You and I wish Santana would go away for a while – I like the track, but that sound is getting a bit redundant.

posted by ThomG @ 12:30:00 PM