TLC still sounds great
ZZ Ward shows her talents
TBy Mark Kennedy
“TLC” (852 Musiq) TLC, the iconic ’90s-era girl group, is back after 15 years away and these women are clearly not wasting anymore time. “We don’t need no introduction”, they boast on the first song of their new self-titled CD. “No, we don’t need no instructions/We already paved the way”.
They’re right. For those of you who have no idea whom TLC is, we’ll wait while you go to the closest older person who can explain how important “No Scrubs”, “Waterfalls” and “Creep” were for a generation raised on the band’s mix of female empowerment and socially conscious lyrics. (Ed Sheeran is clearly a fan — he had to credit the band’s “No Scrubs” for his hit “Shape of You”.)
Back? OK. The self-titled album is from the surviving members, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes died in a 2002 car crash. The new album heartbreakingly includes an old recording of Lopes’ voice as an interlude, a nice way to include her in 2017.
As for the album, funded in part by Kickstarter, it’s a kaleidoscope of different sounds and moods, befitting an album with some 20 different songwriters. It’s executive-produced by
be silenced or sidelined.
Dismissed as a left-wing no-hoper before elections on June 8, Corbyn attracted a surge of support from 18-24 year-olds that helped his Labour Party deny Prime Minister Theresa May a parliamentary majority.
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Ron Fair, who has worked with Vanessa Carlton and the Pussycat Dolls, while Watkins had a hand in almost every song.
It veers from the stripped-down acoustic of “Perfect Girls” — a sort of updated “Unpretty” — to the R&B-flavored “Joy Ride”. There’s a techno-touched “Scandalous” and a ’70s-disco boogie “It’s Sunny”, which samples Earth Wind & Fire.
“The Storm” Records)
You’ll hardly find ZZ Ward described the same way twice. Bluesy, pop-inflected, drawing from the deep well of R&B, indebted to hip-hop, folky, alternative indie and rocker — take your pick and you’ll be right every time because all are part of Ward’s influences and style.
“The Storm” is the fedora-wearing sophomore album from the Los Angelena (by way of Pennsylvania and Oregon) and it builds on the qualities of “Til The Casket Drops”, her successful 2012 debut.
In between, there was an album which she discarded, an EP, some singles, having her songs featured on numerous TV shows and soundtracks, collaborations with Robben Ford, Lindsey Stirling and others — more indications of her wide range and talents — and tours all over. (AP)
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The 68-year old’s popularity at Worthy Farm in south-west England could be measured by the number of pro-Corbyn banners on display and Corbyn T-shirts. (RTRS)
PILTON, United Kingdom:
Tens of thousands of revellers were making the great getaway from Glastonbury on Monday after Ed Sheeran closed the world’s biggest greenfield music festival.
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter’s performance on Sunday ended three days of music from some of the world’s biggest acts at the celebrated fest, which drew an estimated 175,000 people this year.
Playing Glastonbury — which is held on a farm in southwest England — was “a dream of mine”, Sheeran said, after performing with just his guitar. (AFP)