Reviews of the latest music available – nationally and locally!

Charlie Puth / Nine Track Mind

You’d expect a Jersey guy in his 20s who looks like a 16-year-old Italian gangster-in-training to sing like Frank Sinatra, but Charlie Puth is a beautiful piano player that delivers smooth R&B vocals packed with as much soul as John Legend. He has a little bit of an old-fashioned flair to him, which I really like, and his range is excellent, with full tenor capability, and his beautiful falsetto doesn’t have a crack in it.

I would put his radio super-hit, “One Call Away,” up there in the rankings with some of the best love songs ever done. Another track that has received attention is “Marvin Gaye,” featuring Meghan Trainor, which I feel is a catchy, albeit cheesy, song. “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” on which he pairs with Selena Gomez, is a better duet in my opinion.

My favorite song on the album has not hit mainstream radio yet, but “F***ing Lose My Mind” is a really f***ing beautiful song, to which anyone who has gone through a really difficult break-up or heartache can immediately relate. The song has an interesting flow and shows the power and emotion of Puth’s voice in a way the other songs don’t.

The only constructive thing I could say about this album is that I feel it could be way more than it is. Having followed Puth on his YouTube channel long before his recent launch to stardom, I have heard him do song covers that would blow your mind (look up his version of “Clarity”). I fear he may be absorbed into the long list of R&B artists if he isn’t careful, but I see great things for Puth once he settles into his fame and makes an album that truly stands apart.

For more information, visit charlieputh.com.

By Jennifer Russo

David Bowie / Blackstar

“Look up here, I’m in heaven,” sings David Bowie on Blackstar, his final studio album. Knowing what we know now about Bowie’s health while recording Blackstar, it is more than a collection of songs; Blackstar is a goodbye letter.

Always the experimentalist and fearless performer, Bowie still continues to push the envelope here with sounds only he could concoct. The title track, with its horns overlaying a tight, techno-infused bedding, eventually gives way to a vibrant and open space in which Bowie sings, “Something happened on the day he died/Spirit rose a meter and stepped aside.” Bowie is more cryptic in his lyrical approach on other songs like “Dollar Days,” in which he seems to dredge up past regrets. But the somber and contemplative tone of “Lazarus” makes it all-too-clear what Bowie was going through. There is energy and a spark, too, on the controlled chaos of “’Tis a Pity She Was a Whore.”

It’s hard to listen to Blackstar objectively. This album will always be linked to Bowie’s untimely death, much like Warren Zevon’s The Wind. It is a whirlwind of emotion, especially on the closing track, “I Can’t Give Everything Away,” the epitome of the album. Listening to a man come to terms with his own mortality while simultaneously recording that moment in time is heartbreaking and stirring. Blackstar is a fitting and touching farewell for one of the most innovative and original artists of all time.

For more information, visit davidbowie.com/blackstar.

By Jason Savio

Elton John / Wonderful Crazy Night

When you play Elton John’s latest album, you might be tempted to check your calendar. The artist’s 33^rd – yes, 33^rd – studio album transports fans (and neophytes, who may not be aware of the time travel) back 30 or 40 years … to the, gulp, 1970s. So the questions are: Does this throwback concept work in 2016? And, at 68, does the showman still “got” it? The answers are: Yes; and hell, yes he does! In fact, the more accurate answer is that Sir Elton’s “got it” in spades – or bedazzled sequins – and his return to his ’70s heyday works astonishingly well for both fans of yesterday and listeners of today.

Nostalgia is huge for music-lovers in 2016, and Elton is a living, breathing flashback, who keeps his themes current and universal. (Who doesn’t remember a wonderful crazy night that was way too much fun?) Elton delivers his signature piano grooves to keep “old” fans happy and gain favor with a coveted new audience that can appreciate classic “good times” music that isn’t synthesized to death. The opulence of the ’70s lends itself to a joyous, jubilant, just-the-right-length playlist of 10 tunes. The album explodes with energy (“Guilty Pleasure”) and reflection (“Blue Wonderful”). It’s clear the artist is in his sweet spot, focusing on repetitive piano melodies and guitar riffs, aided by collaborator Bernie Taupin, who has been working with Elton for almost 50 years. All the ingredients are there for another classic album.

For more information, visit eltonjohn.com.

By Mike Wood