STACK January 2016 Issue 135

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Samantha Jade Nine
Can you name all the winners of
The X Factor and The Voice? Of
course, you can’t. The singing
show production line is spitting
out more “stars” than we can
keep up with. But Samantha Jade,
Australia's 2012 X Factor winner,
seems to be carving a successful
career as a singer and actor. On
her second album – her first since
her winner’s record – she comes
across as a mix of Jessica Mauboy
and Kylie, collaborating with
Aussie producers DNA as well
as Babyface and the ubiquitous
Pitbull. Jade had a hand in writing
most of the songs, including the
poignant title track, which was
inspired by her mum, Jacqui, who
died of cancer in 2014.
(Sony) Jeff Jenkins
Kerser
Next Step
Who’s the Aussie artist who’s
had three Top 10 albums without
any radio play? That’d be Scott
Barrow, better known as Kerser,
which is an apt name for an act
with a potty mouth. But he’s also
got plenty to say about the state
of the nation on his fifth album,
documenting his drug use as
well as feuds with fellow rappers
360 and Allday. But Kerser, from
Campbelltown in western Sydney,
also has a sense of humour, even
sampling Roxette’s Listen To Your
Heart. “Ten years ago, I would’ve
grabbed your f–ing purse and run,”
he raps. But now Kerser is sitting
pretty as Australian hip hop’s most
vital voice.
(ABK Records/Warner) Jeff Jenkins
Erykah Badu
But You Caint Use My Phone
She's not fast but she's never
boring. Erykah Badu's sixth album
in 19 years is a mixtape with a dial
tone running through it, drawing
a squiggly line from her own
classic Tyrone to Drake's Hotline
Bling, re-sung in sultry style as
Cell U Lar Device . There's the
usual sample-spotter fun to be
had between the Usher and Isley
Brothers throwbacks, but Badu's
own smooth delivery and nutty
twists trump every cut. Producer
Zach Witnessin is a light-fingered
accomplice to a project that’s
funny on the surface and as deeply
layered as you wanna go with
history, both musical and personal,
right down to the last connection
with ex-partner Andre 3000 on
Hello, which makes Adele's
call sound, well, a little on the
hysterical side. (EMI) Michael Dwyer
Troye Sivan
Blue Neighbourhood
Perth’s Troye Sivan has seamlessly
made the transition from YouTube
sensation to recording star. The
20-year-old’s first full-length album
is the sound of young love from
someone who seems like an old
soul. “Loving’s so good,” Sivan
sings in Suburbia, “when love is
young.” Delivering honest and
revealing pop music, he’s this
generation’s Darren Hayes, with
a knack for standing out in a
crowded pop marketplace. “I’m
just some dumb kid trying to
kid myself that I’ve got my shit
together,” Sivan states in Lost
Boy. Don’t believe it. Troye Sivan
arrives fully formed; lost and
found. 2016 should be his year.
(EMI) Jeff Jenkins
Youssou N'Dour Fatteliku
(Live In Athens 1987)
Senegalese singer/songwriter
Youssou N'Dour is one of the most
celebrated African musicians in
history. His mix of traditional music
and eclectic influences – ranging
from Cuban, hip hop, jazz and soul,
often embellished by rock or pop
music from outside Senegalese
culture – has made him an
international superstar. A guest on
Peter Gabriel's 'So' tour, N'Dour's
never-before-released live
performance recorded in Athens in
1987 captures this great artist and
his band at their irresistible best.
His extraordinary voice, laced
with power and emotion, is heard
to great effect on his duet with
Gabriel, In Your Eyes .
(Planet) Billy Pinnell
Don Burrows and
James Morrison
In Good Company
Legendary musician Don Burrows
has been at the forefront of
the jazz world for more than
forty years. In the early '80s he
discovered and became a mentor
to teenage virtuoso James
Morrison, the man who has taken
on Don's mantle as Australia's
most revered jazz musician.
This selection of standards
includes What's New, Teach Me
Tonight and Easy to Love, all
originally recorded in 2010 and
now available for the first time. It
features Don on alto flute, clarinet
and alto sax, James on trombone
and trumpet, and Phil Stack on
double bass. Included is a bonus
CD of earlier recordings.
(ABC) Billy Pinnell
STREAMYOUR FAVOURITE ALBUMS AT JBHI-FI NOW... NOW!
Various Molly
First, a disclosure: the upcoming Molly mini-series
is based on a book I wrote with Ian “Molly”
Meldrum, The Never, Um, Ever Ending Story.
As the mini-series’ executive producer Michael
Gudinski states in the soundtrack’s liner notes, “It’s
been a crazy life... it hasn’t been a stretch turning
his life into a drama.” It should be stressed this
is not a Countdown compilation, even though the mini-series focuses
on the Countdown era (and most of the key Countdown characters are
represented, including Skyhooks, Sherbet, John Paul Young and Hush).
The soundtrack tells the tale of Molly’s magical music life, with 60 tracks
spread over three CDs. It’s a diverse collection, from Lynne Randell’s 1967
hit Ciao Baby to Tina Arena’s 1995 single Sorrento Moon. There are some
obvious omissions – notably Madonna, who doesn’t allow her songs to
appear on compilations – but overall this is a sparkling celebration of a
remarkable life. Molly even produced three of the songs (Russell Morris’s
The Real Thing, Supernaut’s I Like It Both Ways and The Ferrets’ Don’t
Fall In Love). As Gudinski writes, “No one has done more for Australian
music.” (Liberation) Jeff Jenkins
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