January 2007 List

“Into White”: Carly Simon
(Into White, 2007)
The moment I heard the gently cascading keyboard notes of “Into White”, I knew that Carly Simon’s latest album was special. I haven’t heard Cat Stevens’ original version, but I find myself cozying up to the warmth in Carly’s voice on grey afternoons like today.

“You Are Golden”: Incognito
(Bee+Things+Flowers, 2006)
The penultimate track on Incognito’s Bee+Things+Flowers (released the day after Christmas) just sends me. Tony Momrelle’s vocals are so intimate and personal that I feel “golden” after listening.

“Save Room”: John Legend
(Once Again, 2006)
The combination of a full moon and my sister’s recommendation must explain why I’m drawn to this song. Though I’m in the minority, I don’t particularly care for Legend's voice…except on “Save Room”!

“Oceans”: Johan
(THX JHN, 2006)
Johan is a Dutch band that were recently reviewed on PopMatters, where the writer characterized the group as John Lennon sounding a little more like Paul McCartney or Paul McCartney sounding a little more like John Lennon. Out of curiosity, I sampled Johan online and I have to agree with the 8/10 rating – “Oceans” is a perfect pop song.

“Radio”: Jamiroquai
(High Times: The Singles 1992-2006, 2006)
Thanks to Mark’s enthusiasm, I picked up Jamiroquai’s “greatest hits” last week. I’ve been a fan of Jamiroqauai ever since my freshman year at Northeastern University (10 years ago!!!) so it’s a thrill to have the best of the best collected on one disc, plus new tracks like “Radio”, which is a rousing piece of spage-age funk rock.