READY TO WEAR (PRET-A-PORTER)
Music from the Motion Picture (Columbia 66791)
Considering that the movie itself is such a star-studded affair, it seems only fair that the soundtrack album from "Ready to Wear (Pret a Porter)" be stuffed to the gills with big name pop acts, including U2, Janet Jackson and the Rolling Stones. Interestingly, though, the best tracks are not necessarily by the biggest names. U2's techno-inflected "Lemon (Perfecto Mix)" offers a breathless bit of dance floor ecstasy, but the Stones' slow-and-stolid "Jump on Top of Me" gets stomped by Sam Phillips' sassy remake of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," while Jackson's " '70s Love Groove" barely compares to the more spirited retro groove of the Brand New Heavies' "Close to You." But the album's strongest tracks are straight-from-left-field successes: Ini Kamoze's "Heartbeat"-powered "Here Comes the
Hotstepper" (what a difference a bass line makes!), and the sassy, brassy "Get Wild" by the New Power Generation (and their boss, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince). Definitely ready to play.
NOW'S THE TIME
4 P.M. (London 422 828 579)
During the first R&B; harmony boom, it seemed as if there was a doo-wop group on every corner. Things aren't quite as crowded now, but it does seem as if everywhere you turn, there's a new quartet or quintet hoping to find the same success Boyz II Men, H-Town or Shai found. Take 4 P.M., for example. Although this quartet got off to a good start on the strength of its current single, a deftly harmonized remake of "Sukiyaki," it's hard to imagine the group's album, "Now's the Time," will mean much in the future. On the plus side, the quartet has a good attitude (the name means "For Positive Music"), a great vocal blend and terrific taste in cover material (in addition to "Sukiyaki" the group does Culture Club's "Clock of the Heart"). But only a handful of the tracks here boast the sort of passion that powers the single; the others sound pretty without leaving any lasting impression on the listener.
Z.ZELEBRATION: A TRIBUTE TO Z.Z. HILL
Various Artists (Malaco 7474)
Arzel "Z.Z." Hill never made much of an impression on the pop mainstream, but in R&B; circles, his is a name revered. Hill's 1982 hit "Down Home Blues" was a great, old-fashioned R&B; single -- as gritty, plain-spoken and emotionally direct as any Otis Redding record -- but his death two years later kept him from turning that success into a full-fledged revival. As a result, old-school soul fans will have to settle for "Z.Zelebration," a 12-song collection that finds everyone from Johnny Taylor and ,, Denise LaSalle to Little Milton and Bobby "Blue" Bland paying tribute to Hill. Admittedly, the various-artists approach does make the final product a little scattershot, but the best performances -- Lattimore's "Cheatin' in the Next Room," Bland's "I'm a Blues Man" and Taylor's "Someone Else Is Steppin' In" -- ensure that the average stays high.
IT'S A JUNGLE IN HERE
Medeski, Martin & Wood (Grammavision 79495)
One thing a lot of younger musicians forget about fusion jazz is that part of the attraction in the early days was the chance to play around with a different kind of rhythm. Fortunately, Medeski, Martin & Wood remember. In addition to filling "It's a Jungle In Here" with enough textural dexterity and percussive crosscurrents to do Weather Report proud, this trio has enough rhythmic imagination to pull off a medley of Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing" and Bob Marley's "Lively Up Yourself." (Imagine bebop being played in a one-drop stylee, and you're in the neighborhood). Even better, the trio and its friends -- four horn players plus guitarist Marc Ribot -- offers a version of King Sunny Ade's "Moti Mo" that could as easily have come from Herbie Hancock's late '60s sessions, and a cool, funky take on John Coltrane's "Syeeda's Song Flute." Who says they don't make jazz albums like this anymore?