On The Beat

Soulful Stone

JOSS STONE: You've likely already heard some of the buzz surrounding her. Joss is a 16-year-old English girl whose voice fools people into thinking she's a black soul singer three times her age. She's getting the big push from EMI, who are obviously confident there is more to her than this curious contradiction. A recent showcase at Revival at least partially vindicated that view. Her voice really is a soulful pleasure, and the material on her fine debut, The Soul Sessions, is smartly chosen. She covers THE WHITE STRIPES' "Fell In Love With A Boy" and turns the GRAND FUNK RAILROAD hit "Some Kind Of Wonderful" into an r 'n b tune (both were sung at her gig). Wasn't too impressed with a new tune Joss wrote, "Jetlag," and occasionally she lapsed into the boring vocal gymnastics you get from MARIAH and CHRISTINA. Some heartbreak and a few more years will give her singing some extra emotional resonance, so it should be fun to watch her career progress.

ROLLING STONES: Speaking of Stones, the band that saved Toronto from SARS damage (yeah, right) is in hot water right now. Talked to a couple of record retail execs at the Joss Stone gig, and they're rightfully furious at the rock dinosaurs for their exclusive deal with Best Buy to sell their new DVD. So mad in fact that chains like HMV, Music World and Sunrise here have stopped selling all Stones stuff. The band's promoter MICHAEL COHL alleges that the band's deal was done to benefit their fans by making a lower price possible, but that's dubious logic. What about those fans living in places without a Best Buy? Sounds like more rock star greed to me.

SLAN: This talented trio comprise writer/producer RUMBLE and co-producer MAXIMUM (also known as THE BLACK EUROPEANS) and vocalist SOOK-YIN LEE. They've just released a debut disc, Electric Blues, on new indie label Last Gang Records (home of METRIC), and they celebrated with a party at new Dundas West club THE CHELSEA ROOM. The album is an incredibly diverse melange of trip-hop, brassy pop, zippy instrumentals, cabaret, rock and French-style pop elements. This scribe has not been a fan of Lee's previous work, finding it pretentious and over-rated, and a stint as a VJ did little for her credibility. Her strong and sometimes haunting vocals work nicely in this context, however, and Slan merit a listen.

MAYORAL RACE: By the time you read this, Toronto will have a new mayor, thankfully. On The Beat's favourite candidate, DAVID MILLER boosted his cred when he played DJ on Jack FM before the election. His picks included ELVIS COSTELLO ("Alison"), THE CLASH ("London Calling") and MARTHA & THE MUFFINS' best song, "Echo Beach." Rival JOHN TORY confirmed his boring and conservative nature by picking ELTON JOHN, HUEY LEWIS and ALAN PARSONS PROJECT (yawn). Let's hope we now have a mayor smart enough to love Elvis and The Clash!

BETTY MOON: Given that her earlier band BAMBI achieved notoriety back in the late '80s, this local rock songstress can now be considered a veteran. After a long period out of the limelight, she returns with Doll Machine. Her strongest album yet, it has earned her a record deal with Sextant/EMI. The striking-looking Moon (occasionally cast as a goth) has a strong and raunchy voice that suits her band's hard rockin' approach, while she can handle the ballads too. Collaborations with the likes of BRUCE GORDON (I MOTHER EARTH), DAVE HODGE (BRAN VAN 3000) and her bassist CHRIS BATES have beefed up her songwriting too. Let's hope the band hits the club circuit soon.
BLINKER THE STAR: It's a mystery to me why this band aren't bigger than NICKELBACK. Mainman JORDAN ZADOROZNY is a huge and versatile talent who has put out some fine albums in Blinker, only to see them reach the delete bins. He has written songs for HOLE and produced SAM ROBERTS, so he ain't on skid row. Blinker The Star have just released a new CD, Still In Rome, and a fiery set at The Horseshoe showed they still have the goods. It is louder and heavier than earlier records, but Zadorozny's gift for catchy melody and fat riffs remains intact. He's a brilliant guitarist, more than adequate singer, and has great rock star hair.

Publication Date: 2003-11-16
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3363