Search - Randy Jackson :: Randy Jackson's Music Club, Volume 1

Average 'Music Club'

Antoine D. Reid | Durham, NC United States | 03/11/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"To quote Randy from American Idol, "Dude, you know, it was just all right for me." 'Randy Jackson's Music Club: Volume 1' comes off like a poor man's 'Timbaland Presents: Shock Value'. You have some big named stars such as Paula Abdul, Joss Stone, Ghostface Killah to some obscure artists like Barbi Esco and Kelli Love. Jackson described this as the ideal radio station playing all sorts of hits. Well, the only song that really sparked my interest and stands out is Abdul's 'Dance Like There's No Tomorrow' which is pure 80s/90s pop and Kelli Love's 'Who's Gonna Love You Now'. The other songs, to me, sounded a bit flat and as if they could have used more production and inspiration.



There is some nice overall work here, mainly coming from the less popular artist like Barbi Esco's 'My R&B' and the Michael Buble 'Home' covered by John Rich & Anthony Hamilton. 'I Will Understand', the final track, boasts that it features Mariah Carey but don't expect much from this track. She's truly just a featured artist on the track, singing in the background, barely audible, prettying much hitting high notes. I expected something amazing from this track, and it's just okay.



Seeing as to how Randy is listening to people perform each week on Idol and gives them feedback on good music, I purchased this really expecting a collection of hits. Instead, some these tracks come off as amateurish and beneath some of these artists who have done better work and vocals elsewhere, including the Idol alums Katherine McPhee and Elliot Yamin and as mentioned before, Mariah Carey being reduced to wailing in the background of one track. Some of these artists and the songs they are featured in feels like missed opportunities. Instead of really doing something great they're doing very 'American Idol' performances that lack a lot of feeling, charisma and ability to hold the listener's attention from start to finish.



I'd say as a whole, it was okay. Average. Nothing spectacular and didn't really use the artists to their best abilities that showed off their vocals and talents. Some really did a great job, such as Paula Abdul, and others could have passed on this project. I wish more had gone into the production of really 'hit' songs because a lot of these felt like filler with excitement falling flat soon after the first note was belted out. Buy at your own risk."

It's like a K-tel record filled with one pop hit after anoth

Daniel W. Kelly | Long Island, NY United States | 03/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While Randy hasn't stomped any new ground here, he basically shows that he has his finger on the pulse of what is hot and trendy in the music industry these days, crossing over several genre lines and creating infectious little pop tunes. If radio is willing to give these songs a chance, there could be several pop hits generated from this CD.



1) Dance Like There's No Tomorrow - For starters, he absolutely showcases Paula perfecty. This is pure Paula through and through.



2) Just Walk on By - This is Joss Stone and her hard R&B grooving best. If you're a fan, you will NOT be disappointed on this take of a song made famous by Dionne Warwick.



3) What Am I So Afraid Of - This is like a perfect Backstreet Boys power ballad, but with some fantastic female vocals.



4) Like A - a hip hop slow jam that pretty much steals every novelty used in hip hop songs in the past decade, from shouts of "HEY!" to vocoded vocals.



5) Who's Gonna Love You Now - a slow R&B jam--a little sappy and corny. The style is like something written for the final two of American Idol.



6) Wang Dang Doodle - Interesting stuff. It's kinda 70s soul, kinda bluesy. Angie Stone fans will be satisfied by her vocal participation, even though it's not a solo track.



7) Something To Believe In - pretty much a cliche pop rock ballad. Part of the chorus totally steals the melody and harmony from the Bryan Adams holiday classic "Christmas Time".



8) Home - a twangy country ballad male duet. Soothing song.



9) My R&B - an R&B slow jam with female vocals. Kinda cliche--almost like a Janet Jackson ballad, and we all know how those are...



10) Real Love - This is just pure fun. Two Am Idol alum belting their way through a 70s influenced mellow soul/funk dance track.



11) Willing to Try - Another rock ballad with a country edge. Good vocals by all, including Lucy Woodward, who never quite made a name for herself here in the US.



12) I Understand - full-on gospel chorus and organ stuff. And as another reviewer said, Mariah is barely audible in the second, just contributing her upper vocal range at the end of the song. And it's not even up front in the mix."

A for Effort, D for Dreadfully Dull Over Production

kGreen | Indiana | 03/14/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, I am a closet fan of American Idol. And yes, I couldn't wait for Randy Jackson's Music Club Vol 1 to be released, if, for no other reason than I was so insanely curious as to what type of music the top dawg likes.

First, let me say that I totally approve of a cross genre album and of big name guests! There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, I would venture to guess that we all have cross genre mp3 players with lots of big names included on them. But would I really want to put any of his cross genre "stuff" on my mp3 player?



1. Dance Like There's No Tomorrow - Paula Abdul. I think this track was locked in a vault back in 1989 and somehow it escaped. If you were a fan of Paula's back in the day, then you will love this song. It is an upbeat, fluff number. Otherwise it is just a reminder that she is forever our girl who paved the way for Britney, the Simpson sisters, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Rihanna...the list is endless. Don't get me wrong, I love Paula, she could outdance anyone back in the day, but she can't sing, and karaoke Paula is not my idea of talent. B for ballsy comeback, being upbeat, and gosh darn it, for just being Paula, Little Miss Sunshine Care Bear herself!



2. Just Walk On By - Joss Stone. Interesting, updated, rewritten, hip/hop twist on the Burt Bacharach/Dionne Warwick Walk On By. It works. You might even be able to call it new urban blues, but I prefer the R&B "singer" Joss Stone to the hip/hop Joss Stone. A for effort and originality.



3. What I Am So Afraid Of - Trisha Covington, KeKe Wyatt, Kylie Dean. A very unmemorable, overproduced R&B number. D for Dull.



4. Like A - Crunk Squad, Ghostface Killah. No comment, it's that bad. F



5. Who's Gonna Love You Now - Kelli Love or Kelli Selah. Another very unmemorable, overproduced 80's sounding, R&B number by someone who is imitating Rihanna's phrasing style. D for Dull.



6. Wang Dang Doodle - Sam Moore, Keb' Mo', Angie Stone. I love Willie Dixon's Wang Dang Doodle sung by Howlin' Wolf. I love this sung by Koko Taylor. I love Willie Dixon's song sung by Willie Dixon, and I really, REALLY thought I would love Sam Moore, Keb' Mo', and Angie Stone together on this. These are three of my favorite artists! Sam Moore is a freakin' legend! Again, something was lost in the overproduction. Randy should have walked into that session with his bass, Keb' Mo' with his guitar and harmonica, and they all should have jammed together and laid it down without any afterthought or inserted background vocals. Also, Angie was just a little too smooth for my liking, she needed to be a little more impromptu or rough, as Tina Turner once said, to pull this off. You can do Chicago blues in a funky Louisiana style, and this should have been really, REALLY, cool. B+. This collaboration should have been A+++!!



7. Something to Believe In - Van Hunt, Jon McLaughlin, Jason Mraz. This is a very ecclectic mix of artists. Van Hunts smooth, Prince-like, old school R&B, Jon McLaughlin's piano and midwestern rooted singer/songwriting abilities, and Jason Mraz', "I'm comfortable in any genre you place me in" attitude, should have been a match made in heaven. I love the idea of putting them all together. However, putting this in idol terms, this was a very, very poor song choice. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the lyrics to decide if it really was a weak song because I was just so stuck on it sounding like a poor man's imitation of a yucky 80's pop/rock Bryan Adams' song. Sorry guys. Here, again, maybe it was just the production that ruined the song! Randy, get back to managing Van Hunt, the guy could be a star! D for duh...what's going on here. This collaboration should have received an A or at least a B+!



8. Home - John Rich, Anthony Hamilton. I am not a Michael Buble fan. I am not a fan of "pop" music per say. (I do love me some Elton John, though.) However, this is a GREAT song, and no one can sing it like Michael Buble. In idol terms, if you can't do it as well as the original, don't do it. Then, on top of that, y'all countrified it!!! YUCK, YUCK, AND DOUBLE YUCK. You all owe Michael Buble an apology! That goes for you, too, Mr. Rich, super country producer, writer, and singer of Big and Rich! Why didn't you just write something new! A for song choice, D for ruining it!



9. My R&B - Barbi Esco. A smooth, neo-soul/pop number that pays homage to some of the greats and not so greats of the past 20 or so years. This is probably the best of all the R&B numbers just because it's so much fun to try and catch all the names they're dropping! Do kids know who Peaches & Herb, Brandy, and Babyface are, though? B for remembering the lyrics to this song!



10. Real Love - Katherine McPhee, Elliot Yamin. Starts out strong, loses me with all the goofy background vocals and programmed sounds. Should have just let these two banter back and forth more like a Johnny and June Cash without the country sound. (Well, maybe that's a bad analogy.) Like the gospel feel, but again, overproduction. Strip it down a little, dude! Also, there's no doubt Katherine can sing, but someone has got to get her to present a little emotion while doing it! She doesn't have what it takes to pull off a gospel vibe. C



11. Willing to Try - Richie Sambora, Travis Tritt, Lucy Woodward. Oh dear, I love Richie Sambora & Bon Jovi, and I love Travis Tritt. I know Richie Sambora wrote this song and it probably could have been a power ballad hit for Bon Jovi in years past, but this version is a snoozer. Richie Sambora is an excellent guitar player, a decent singer, and a decent songwriter. Travis Tritt and Lucy Woodward can SING just about anything, and Travis Tritt is an excellent guitar player. These three should have been taken down to Memphis, made to spend a night in a bar on Beale Street listening to the locals, then made to get up on stage and blow everyone away with a blues/rock number or even a bluesy version of this song. It could have been awesome! C-. This collaboration should have been A+!!



12. I Understand - Kim Burrell, Rance Allen, Bebe Winans, Mariah Carey & Hezekiah Walker's Love Fellowhip Tabernacle Choir. I would go to church every Sunday if these guys were in the choir!! Throw Aretha into this mix, and you could have had a legendary gospel performance that would have been encased in history books and studied forever. That being said, this version is pretty darn spiritually good! I have never been a fan of Mariah Carey's upper range bird calls, but it really works here. A.



Randy, Randy, Randy, I really, really wanted to like this record, but I didn't. I really wanted to buy this record, but I won't. For the most part, this is an absolutely fabulous group of artists and many of the collaborations should have been like a gift from above, but they weren't.

I am still a fan. I am still a fan of this concept for an album. So, do it again, make Volume 2. Just listen to Jack White, Stephen Malkmus, (you've got to have a sense of humor to do an album like this.), Jack Johnson, 90's Travis Tritt, (he so deserves a massively successfull comeback), Kanye, Cat Power, and old, old school blues for production inspiration between now and then. Less is more, unless you're Kanye, and forget about that slick 80's sound. It worked in the 80's, but that doesn't mean we all liked it! (If we must have the 80's sound, try listening to Peter Gabriel over and over for inspiration!) Get the power performances we deserve from these power stars! Don't drown them out with silly background vocals, voice recorders, or drum machines. I know you can do it, Dawg!



A for effort, D for dreadfully dull production.



PS Retire the Lennon/McCartney songbook on Idol. Let it be."