I love Aimee Mann. I've loved her since the first time I saw the video for “Coming Up Close” in 1986. What a great song that is. I've generally loved most of her albums, although there have been a few moments that seemed recycled, not totally fresh. As for her new release, @#%&*! Smilers, I knew from the first few notes that it was an Aimee Mann CD, even before hearing her voice. It just sounded like her, and that was very exciting. And so it goes, with great songs and groovy instrumentation filling the lush sonic atmosphere and Aimee's distinct vocal handling of it all. This one gets a solid, across-the-board four-star rating in my iTunes.


This week is chock full of artists I love, each with a different and distinct vocal prowess. Emmylou Harris fills the second slot here with All I Intended to Be. This one is considerably more traditional country than Wrecking Ball or Red Dirt Girl, but it's still wonderful. Of course, I'm a sucker for well-placed pedal steel, so take that as your grain of salt, if you must.


Vocal prowess number three is Alanis Morissette. Her new Flavors of Entanglement starts out with everything all amped up and doesn't let you catch your breath until track five. She evens throws some electronic beats in here and there for good measure. But, underneath it all, it's pure Alanis, and it's really good. I like it. Clocking in with 16 songs, the iTunes Deluxe Edition will set you back $12.99 as opposed to the standard $9.99.


Let's skip on over to a reigning champ in the contemporary jazz field, Cassandra Wilson. On Loverly, she puts her signature vocal prowess onto a batch of standard tunes. Her deeply resonant pipes mingle with West African rhythms in a sparse setting, and it is truly lovely. The collection was recorded in a house in Mississippi, and you can feel those warm vibes oozing through.


Wow, so much more to get to. Let's check out Martha Wainwright and I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too. I never got on the “B.M.F.A” bandwagon, so I'm coming in fresh here and can't tell you how it compares to the debut. What I CAN tell you is that this sophomore effort is quirky and catchy and unexpected where you least expect it. Seems like it might take some real listening to thoroughly appreciate the intricacies, but even on the surface, it's pleasant enough.


To round out my half-dozen, Rachael Sage brings us her Chandelier. She's often likened to Tori Amos because of the piano-based, quirky pop tunes that she churns out. I love that she incorporates horns. That somehow just lifts her above a lot of her indie contemporaries. It's a big production bang for your bucks. Strings, too – same effect. “Site-Seeing” finds her doing a spoken word piece over a funky, jazzy bed featuring muted trumpet, which is my fave. Thanks, Sage!



Listen to Rachael Sage's "My Word" here:

I really must get to at least one boy! How about Jakob Dylan's solo effort, Seeing Things? It's certainly not a Wallflowers redux. Other than the voice being the same, it's way too stripped-down to even be compared. Sure, he has some mild pitch problems now and again, but that's part of the Dylan charm, isn't it? If you like acoustic troubadour-style listens, then you may very well dig this one.