Best albums aren't the best sellers
By Robert Hilburn
Los Angeles Times
At the midway point in the annual pop sweepstakes, the winners are ... ?
The answer depends on who you are.
For record-company shareholders and retailers, the answer begins with 50 Cent, Linkin Park, R. Kelly, Evanescence, the cast of "Chicago," Kelly Clarkson, Cher and Jennifer Lopez. Theirs are the best-selling new releases of the last six months.
Doesn't exactly make you eager to declare this the golden age of pop, does it?
But for anyone more interested in the artistic than the commercial health of music, there's a more encouraging set of albums. The three CDs that lead this list would stand out at any time in the rock era: Radiohead's "Hail to the Thief," the White Stripes' "Elephant" and Lucinda Williams' "World Without Tears."
Mainstream radio, whose exposure is the key factor in generating blockbuster sales, wants music that fits whatever format is working at the moment, be it power ballads, R&B-styled pop or hip-hop, and producers make millions by cranking out records that fit the formula. In the right hands, anyone can sell a million albums. Even Clarkson and J.Lo.
The best albums of 2003 so far have been by artists who are too idiosyncratic for pop radio tastes. A producer who tried to fit these artists into a formula would get booted out of the studio.
Here are the most noteworthy albums of the past six months, listed alphabetically in their categories.
Album of the year candidates
Radiohead's "Hail to the Thief" (Capitol). It's easy to see why Thom Yorke respects R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe enough to give him a thank-you in the album credits. Both find the world such a disorderly place that it feels dishonest to write songs that spell out answers. Instead, they use songs to throw out ideas and questions, almost like words on a series of flash cards, hoping to provoke thought.
The challenge is to frame the lyrics with music that is equally provocative, and that's been the mission of Radiohead lately. Rather than rely on the catchy, melodic pop-rock blueprint handed down by the Beatles and Rolling Stones, the band twists and turns razor-sharp electronica into sometimes lovely, sometimes unsettling soundscapes.
The White Stripes' "Elephant" (V2). Where Yorke wants to break from the music's past, Jack White reconnects with the energy and character of the country and blues roots that inspired Presley and Bob Dylan. In his music, guitar and melody — not tape loops and dissonance — are king. He and drummer Meg White even recorded this album (in two weeks) in a London studio whose equipment is from the '60s.
Jack White puts up a good front, playing the guitar and singing in a slashing, howling, explosive manner that reflects the mythic quality of early bluesmen. What makes him so compelling, however, is that he admits his vulnerability through love songs as innocent and endearing as those of any rock star since Brian Wilson.
Lucinda Williams' "World Without Tears" (Lost Highway). Even if this singer-songwriter, whose influences range from country to rock, didn't have a record contract, you could picture her in her room after a night of club-hopping, writing songs about the latest encounter or heartache.
In the album's opening song, "Fruits of My Labor," Williams tells us about a woman who lives with velvet curtains around the windows to keep out the "bright and unforgiving light." She doesn't write to please us, but to exorcise the past in hopes of finding the strength to lift those curtains.
Also noteworthy:
"Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony," soundtrack (ATO). Don't think you have exhausted the joys of South African music just because you have "Graceland" and a couple of Ladysmith Black Mambazo albums. This sampler of protest music associated with South Africa's struggle against apartheid is filled with commitment and celebration.
The Detroit Cobra's "Seven Easy Pieces" (Rough Trade). One of three albums in today's survey from the maverick British label. In this fun-packed EP, the Motor City outfit, featuring wildcat singer Rachael Nagy, delights in redesigning obscure R&B and pop-rock tunes with a punk-driven energy.
50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope). This New York rapper brings fresh spins to a tired topic (the thug life), and the tracks (with occasional help from producers Dr. Dre and Eminem) are framed with such invigorating beats that he can top mainstream radio playlists.
Annie Lennox's "Bare" (J). Some find this British singer icy, but her reserve is one of her strengths. There is a sense of detachment about even her most alluring tunes, but it only adds to the tension in these reflections on life after the breakup of her marriage.
The rookies
Ms. Dynamite's "A Little Deeper" (Interscope). Called England's answer to Lauryn Hill, Ms. Dynamite (Niomi Daley) delivers a hip-hop debut that is positive thematically (she's anti-drugs, anti-gangsta lifestyle) and smart musically.
The Kills' "Keep on Your Mean Side" (Rough Trade). Like the Stripes, they're a coed duo (singer Alison Mosshart, guitarist Jamie Hince), and the music in this debut also has a raw, bluesy feel, but there's an underlying sense of apprehension and dread that is tailor-made for the "Sopranos."
The Libertines' "Up the Bracket" (Rough Trade). This British quintet's renegade mix of Oasis swagger and Clash force makes this an especially invigorating first effort. The latter's Mick Jones produced it.
