New Music from 1/4/2011 - Keyshia Cole and Jake Shimabukuro

A dearth of new releases this week so I'm reviewing the Keyshia Cole album that came out X-Mas week and a new album by (believe it or not) ukulele artist Jake Shimabukuro.  Enjoy!

Jake Shimabukuro Peace Love Ukulele - The Hawaiian performer who can make the ukulele sound like a symphony of instruments, Jake Shimabukuro (she-ma-boo-koo-row) releases his ninth solo album.  Truthfully, I had never listened to his music before but somehow I knew that he played the ukulele and that he had a reputation for doing some cool things with the simple instrument.   (I really couldn't tell you how I knew this tidbit though since I'm not one who normally keeps abreast of the hot ukulele artists coming out of Hawaii...)  Let's see if Mr. Shimabukuro's reputation as a visionary with the ukulele lives up to the music he releases.

The entire album is instrumental (i.e. no lyrics or singing) which I gather from what I've read online as pretty standard for Shimabukuro's albums.  There are both original and cover songs intermixed over the 11-track disc (with one live bonus track if you buy the CD version).  "143 (Kelly's Song)" opens the album and showcases the lush sound Shimabukuro can create with his uke, buoyed by accompanying drum and string instruments, to give us a very inviting song that builds to a quirky crescendo.  Next is the purely ukulele cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" which has a mellow but charming island feel to it.  "Bring Your Adz" has a very quick beat, Southern/Hispanic rock feel with a catchy hook.  "Variation on a Dance" is another sultry track that has a very sexy Spanish feel to it.  The album closes with a melodic cover of the Leonard Cohen classic "Hallelujah."

Overall, Peace Love Ukulele was an album I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would.  It has a much lusher and well-rounded sound than I expected from the ukulele artist although a couple of songs I found kinda boring ("Go For Broke" comes to mind).  I can't find myself listening to it constantly but a good number of songs have a nice groovy feel to it, similar to a lot of heavily instrumental Spanish rock bands (kinda like a Los Lobos on their instrumental tracks) where it would be very cool dinner party music.  And, if you're stuck for conversation at your dinner party, you could always bring up how all the songs are done on a ukulele and that should get you a good five to ten minutes of things to talk about. 

Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample:   "143 (Kelly's Song)" and "Five Dollars Unleaded"

Keyshia Cole Calling All Hearts (explicit version) - [note: this album was released on 12/21/2010]  Hip-hop/soul artist Keyshia Cole releases her fourth studio album with the previous three all reaching platinum status.  This album features guest performances by Nicki Minaj, Tank, Faith Evans, Timbaland, and Dr. Yvonne Cole.  The standard edition has 11 tracks and a deluxe version has three bonus tracks that are, interestingly, interspersed within the other songs on the album instead of just added to the end of the album like most artists would do.  This review is on the standard edition.  

"I Ain't Thru" (featuring Nicki Minaj) smartly opens the album with a quick paced song and agilely sung lyrics by both artists.  "Long Way Down" has a heavier R&B feel with layered vocals and sweet but uninspired backing music.  The, uhm, strangely titled "Tired Of Doing Me" features some competent vocal work by guest Tank and has a more full sound by incorporating  horns (I don't think the song is about making love but, if it is about doing the dirty, it then features the extremely hilarious lines of  "Cause doing you is so much better/I was doing me, couldn't find nothing better").  "Take Me Away" has a simple but toe-tapping hook and is one of the few uptempo songs on the album which provides a much needed respite from the generally heavy sound of the tracks that precede it. 

Overall, it's a so-so album from Cole who, after three strong platinum releases, should be held to a higher standard.  One thing that has changed from her previous albums is that Cole seems more forthcoming with her songs telling us what she is looking for in a lover ("If I Fall In Love Again") and what falling in love feels like to her ("What You Do To Me" and "Better Me") rather than just focusing on the heartbreak of it all.  It's a natural progression for an artist but it will be interesting to see how her core fans react to the change.  The real problem, however, is that there is not a lot of variety in the music even though she's writing about different themes lyrically.  Besides "It Ain't Thru" and "Take Me Away," a lot of the songs seemed to blend together on repeated listens.  That may not be a bad thing if that is the type of music that really floats your boat but I was hoping for something a bit more diverse.

Score:  6/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "I Ain't Thru" [sample it below]