Worth Another Listen - Feargal Sharkey

You gotta love Irishman Feargal, who rose to frame when it was more important to have a vibrato that could take out a redwood than it was to have lovely tone. He rose to fame as the lead singer for the punk band The Undertones, went on to a solo career that included the hit song A Good Heart, and then settled down to become a record executive. Proved an interesting look and sound and the right promotion could sell just about anything.

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Great Women - kd lang

I remember kd lang in the late 80s, a wild Canadian Country singer with her band, The Reclines. I ran out and bought my copy of Angel With A Lariat when it was released in 1987, and have just been amazed with her voice since.



I believe the first song I heard her sing was some honkey-tonk number on some late night talk show, not even sure which one. She was bouncing around the stage in a classic Country outfit from the late fifties, taken to the extreme. It was a pink silk blouse with fringe, and a skirt with fringe as well. She was wild, and was kinda billed as performing Country 'punk.' kd followed that up with Shadowland (1988) and Absolute Torch and Twang (1989). While she has had some magnificent performances since, they are still my three favorite kd CDs.



After that, the next CD was Ingénue in 1992 with the song that pretty much made her famous, Constant Craving. And afterwards, there was her collaboration with Tony Bennett. I have bought CDs since, but still think there is something extra special when kd sings Country music. But no matter what she sings, her amazing voice and interesting turn of a phrase is something that will set her apart from most singers of her generation.



You can find more about kd lang at her website.

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Great Music - Ricky Martin

I will say I wasn't a big fan of Menudo, so for me, I didn't figure out who he was until later, really for the song for the World Cup, The Cup of Life. I remember watching the Grammies and all of a sudden this huge production number started, and I was just blown away.



Check out another Ricky Martin post - click here.

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Worth Another Listen - Lloyd Cole & the Commotions

See, I have been having a thing for cute boys for decades. Lloyd Cole was certainly one of those cuties. First, he was Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, and later went solo. Just another in the long line of Brit-boys I would follow relentlessly. And still do, to this day.

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New Music - Theo Tams - Give It All Away

Theo Tams didn’t have the cover of Rolling Stone or Entertainment Weekly, not before nor after he was named the winner of Canadian Idol last September. Yet he did something that had not been done before [at least to my knowledge], an out gay man won a version of the television juggernaut. He has also done something few have been able to accomplish, put out a pretty fantastic debut CD.



I will admit I didn’t see Canadian Idol, so I had no idea what he sounded like or even what he looked like. I happen to catch a video on YouTube for Lazy Lovers, and thought it was good, so I did some research and found out about CI. Another interesting thing was that it did not shy away from his sexuality, as the video features both a gay and a lesbian couple, as well as the str8 ones.



I liked Lazy Lovers enough to purchase the CD, Give It All Away, and give it a listen. Gotta say, I was impressed. Lazy Lovers is not my favorite track on the CD. I’m Gonna Say is a really nice opening track, blending Pop with a but of Soul, great for Tams’ voice. Reckless is a Pop/Rock song that lifts off and soars with Theo's vocals.



The CD has 13 songs, and Theo is listed as a cowriter on 7 of those, pretty remarkable for a young talent. These credits include the hot I’m Gonna Say and Lazy Lovers.He also cowrote on I Ain’t Cryin’, another hot track with some sexy guitar work featured. I know nothing about Canadian Idol nor it’s success rate, but I certainly hope Theo Tams has good sales numbers and will be releasing more music. I am not sure how soon or if Theo has any plans to hit the US on tour, but I would certainly be interested in catching him live. And you can go on his website and sign up to wish him a happy birthday on Sunday, July 12, as he turns 24 years old. Damn kids [LOL].

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