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by The Trades Staff Published: June 16, 2005
Wang Chung - "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" Raul writes: Jack Hues and Nick Feldman still look pretty much the same as 20 years ago, with only a few more wrinkles. They sound the same, too. There's a few gasps for air and more than a few missed notes, but Hues still manages to carry the party anthem. We're still having trouble with the backup singers (you can't hear them, dammit!) But that's neither here nor there. Wang Chung did a fine job bringing back memories. Howard writes: Okay, we're back this week to "Ouch" and "Oh no." Hues can't reach the high notes in the verses the way they were meant to be sung. They're off key unless they're singing the one good note. But amazingly enough, they do well on the chorus. Go figure. Molly writes: I love Wang Chung -- in the '80s, I went to a Tina Turner concert just because they were the opening act (Tina was okay too). I wasn't crazy about the pandering to the local crowd ("I drove a million miles ... to be in Los Angeles tonight."), and Jack Hues seemed to have a little trouble finding his notes (by now, I blame the "Hit Me Baby" tech crew), but the band found its groove pretty quickly. They finished strong, and I enjoyed their performance. (And, may I add, they were also a fine looking band.) Paul writes: I finally witnessed the first performance of this series where I thought the singer might actually need oxygen. Lead vocalist Jack Hues seemed to be struggling for air a bit, and that first note was really a strain. Still, there were faint glimpses of the party band they were once upon a time. I was secretly hoping they would perform "Dance Hall Days" so I could listen intently for my number one all-time misheard lyric: "We were cool on Christ." Alas, I merely had to settle for intently hoping Jack wouldn't pass out. Sophie B. Hawkins - "Damn I Wish I was Your Lover" Raul writes: Good lord, what have we got here? I had forgotten how freaky Hawkins was. She appeared on stage pounding on a bongo drum, left her flip-flops behind, skipped around in a circle, and proceeded to strip off her shirt. All-in-all, a very unusual performance. The song was true to the original, but abbreviated. Have they been playing short versions all along and I never noticed? Howard writes: Sophie's managed to keep her shape and appearance -- which so far puts her ahead of Tiffany and Martha in this game. And it sounds like she's got the same set of pipes she had back then. And she quit recording because... why? Oh, and look, we're getting a strip show! Sweet! Molly writes: This girl was just way too excited to be here. A little less-is-more probably would have helped her vocals, and been less distracting. Still, she did a reasonably good job. Again, as one of the single-decade crowd, she has an advantage over the older groups. Paul writes: Let me see if I understand this correctly: She had a song called "As I Lay Me Down" that spent 70 weeks on the charts, six of those atop the adult contemporary chart, and she sings this inferior hit instead. Be that as it may she flew around the small stage enthusiastically and sang adequately. I thought she had a passing resemblance to Mary Kay Letourneau and thus experienced a rather uncomfortable moment when she peeled off her outer shirt toward the end of her performance. Damn I wish she would've sung that other song. Cameo - "Word Up" Raul writes: Cameo - much to my surprise - is a band, not a single individual. Fortunately, the guy with the big hair and the codpiece is still with Cameo... and he brought his codpiece! If only he brought his voice. After nearly two decades, Larry Blackmon has trouble maintaining those trademark nasal vocals. But the band puts on one hell of a funk show. Howard writes: I still don't know what the word is, but it's up, and so is Cameo's time. At this age, the red leather codpiece looks more like a depends than a sexual statement. The song still sounds the same though -- I don't know if that's because they can still sing, or if it's because almost everyone could imitate that vocal styling. Molly writes: While Sophie B. Hawkins struck me as too excited, Cameo was over the top, and I loved it. Go figure. And they certainly brought the funk. They went as all out in their performance as they did in the costumes (well, at least Larry Blackmon's costume). Great job! Paul writes: These guys hit the stage decked out in costumes that signaled that their performance was going to either be great fun or supremely silly. The lead singer might as well have had a separate spotlight for his, er…cup because that was all you could really focus on during their gig. It even captured host Vernon Kay's attention enough to comment on it after their performance. They seemed just a tad old to be dressing this way, though they still possessed the funk this song demands. I continued my own private celebrity look-alike contest and imagined the lead singer looked like the late Johnny Cochran. Howard Jones - "No One Is To Blame" Raul writes: It seems Howard Jones is compensating for his past "big hair" with almost no hair today. Unlike most other performers on this show, Howard Jones had a wealth of hits. I don't know if "No One Is To Blame" is the best choice, but given his new Bhuddist attitude, it's probably the only choice "Things Can Only Get Better" would probably have been a bigger hit with the crowd but much too frenetic for "new" Howard. "No One Is To Blame" sounds as good as ever but the performance is a snoozer. Howard writes: Where... What... What happened to the hair! Ah, maturity, you take our scalp coverings, but you improve our skills. Howard takes to the piano like it's a long-missed lover, and he doesn't even hesitate before reaching for those high notes in this song. I think the camerawork is even kinder to Howard's performance than to the other players tonight. Molly writes: We've seen a lot of artists who performed great songs on this show, but Howard Jones is truly a great artist. He has a substantial body of work that stands the test of time. After hearing him tonight, I wonder why he didn't enter the ranks of singer/songwriter along with James Taylor or Jackson Browne. While not a powerful voice, he has an appealing voice, which conveys emotion. Paul writes: Descending to the on-stage piano, Howard Jones (this time striking me as Ed Begley, Jr.) has lost most of his feathery hair, but not his distinctive vocals. The song loses a bit without Phil Collins on drums and backing vocals, but his performance was ethereal and well done. The low-note ending was a little ugly. Irene Cara - "Flashdance... What a Feelin'" Raul writes: She became a star singing the title track to "Fame". She hit the stratosphere with "What a Feelin'" on the "Flashdance" soundtrack. She won Oscars and Grammys. And then she disappeared. Maybe it should have stayed that way. She gives it her all but she still lacks the energy this song deserves. Let's face it. Nothing short of Jennifer Beals splashing around on stage would give this song the energy it deserves. Cut short, this song doesn't have time to build up properly. It suffers, I think, mostly from production flaws, and not from Cara's singing. But it suffers nonetheless. Howard writes: Okay, she's shortened the intro verse, but I'm sure there are time constraints to consider. But if any American Idol would-be contestant were to stylize notes like that, they wouldn't make the next round. I don't think she has her high range anymore as she switches octaves for the lower (I recognize when this is done -- I've done this myself.) Not at the top of her game any longer. Molly writes: "Fame" was one of my favorite movies -- I even enjoyed the TV shows! I was always surprised that we didn't see more of Irene Cara. She put her all into singing this song, and she definitely got the crowd excited. However, I really would not have recognized her voice if I didn't know it was her. She seems to have lost some of her distinctive edge. Paul writes: Launching herself onto the stage with abundant energy, Irene Cara nonetheless had a shaky start to her performance, as she seemed to lose the beat though recovered nicely by the time the chorus rolled around. Her voice obviously isn't the same as it was 22 years ago when she was making this tune a hit, but she still very much possesses talent and, while not perfect, I enjoyed her performance. Did host Vernon Kay really say he would come over and polish her Oscar's/Grammy's? Wang Chung - "Hot In Here" Raul writes: What the hell is this? All these ingredients can only add up to disaster. We've got two English blokes doing a Nelly sex anthem! So why is this so good? Hues still gasps for air between lines but who cares. We're all looking at the woman in the tight gold top who's joined them on stage to sing the female verses. Howard writes: I think this is the first time I've heard a band do a cover that was better than their own original. This strangely works, and makes up for the last song. Hearing Nelly's song done with an 80s English beat is a nice retro experience. Molly writes: Excellent song choice for Wang Chung! They came within inches of the Tommy Tutone Grampa Syndrome, but they managed to pull it off. Maybe their young female singer gave them the necessary creds. Paul writes: I detest this song by Nelly, so Wang Chung had that strike against them and their performance ultimately gave me a brand new reason to hate it. On the surface it seemed like an ill-conceived choice, yet it was an upbeat number suited to their repertoire and I couldn't help but think that it might go over more successfully in the midst of a rowdy concert rather than plopped in after a commercial break on this show. Sophie B. Hawkins - "100 Years" Raul writes: Well, at least she owned it. Hawkins took Five for Fighting's touching ballad and turned it into a bluesy torch song, finishing the last line in the original Five for Fighting style. Like other songs tonight, "100 Years" suffers from an abbreviated version. This song is supposed to build and progress and it doesn't get the chance to do that tonight. Howard writes: The chanteuse motif is a great look for Sophie. The sultry approach gives this song a strange sound. A strangely good sound, but maybe not a great sound. Molly writes: Sophie looked beautiful in her evening gown, and started off quite well. Unfortunately, once again, her dramatics overpowered her vocals. Paul writes: I wasn't so sure about the lounge act beginning to this Five for Fighting song. It started out well enough but didn't translate well the farther she got into the song. It almost seems like a song Howard Jones should be attempting instead. During the "Where Are They Now?" segment she mentioned how she loves being on stage and she backed those words up with great stage presence. Cameo - "1985" Raul writes: Bowling for Soup's 80s nostalgia song is appropriate for this show, but is it appropriate for Cameo? It put on another great funk show, but the song - as performed by Cameo - is entirely secondary and forgettable. Howard writes: Here's a song that could serve as the anthem for this entire series. I wasn't prepared to like this song, but Cameo does a Wang Chung and actually does better here than with their original. Molly writes: Interesting rendition by Cameo. "1985" is a fun, bouncy pop song as done by Bowling for Soup, and Cameo took it down a notch. It took me a little while to get used to it, and I think objectively I prefer the faster version. But I still liked this a lot. It was an interesting adaptation, and they did a great job with it. I'm impressed. Paul writes: This began as such a funky cool rendition of this song, but they changed the lyrics to such an extent that it no longer made sense. Howard Jones - "White Flag" Raul writes: Because hearing this song three or four times a day isn't enough, Howard Jones chooses to subject me to it once again. And it sounds pretty much just like Dido's version. Yawn. Howard writes: You know, if I couldn't get a Tori Amos classic out of Howard, then Dido is an acceptable second. Other than that, what can I say but, "Beautiful." Have Amazon send me an email reminder when the CD comes out. Molly writes: Not a great choice for Howard. With all the John Mayer-esque songs out there that could have worked for him, he chose a Dido song that sounds dull and dragging without Dido's soaring vocals. Maybe he's one of those that needs to stick to his own songs. Paul writes: A mesmerizing performance of Dido's hit song. He's the first performer to perhaps recognize his limitations and select another ballad rather than a more raucous number which might accentuate them (think back to last week's attempt by Tommy Tutone of Blink 182's "All The Small Things" or The Motels' souped-up version of "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones). Irene Cara - "I'm Outta Love" Raul writes: Anastacia's song sounds very much like a 70s disco anthem, so it's just right for Irene Cara. Performing the song with her new group, Hot Caramel, the song makes you feel like you're back in the age of disco (which is odd since it's a song recorded in the 21st century being performed by a singer who was popular in the 80s). Howard writes: So the new band gets to use the show as a launching pad for their career. Maybe. This is one of those instances where, each on her own, the solos are unimpressive, but together the harmonies blend quite well. Molly writes: Am I the only one who thinks it's cheating that Irene Cara premiered a new group here? Of course, a lot of the bands have had new members, but I feel like if the artist making a return is a solo artist, they should perform as a solo artist both times. To go from solo artist to group is just too big a difference. That said, the group did have a rich harmony (although individual solos were less successful). Paul writes: Irene Cara presented her new girl group Hot Caramel on this rendition of Anastacia's hit tune and, with the announcement of the imminent breakup of Destiny's Child, this may prove to be an auspicious debut. Their harmonies were tight and pleasant and they gave a spirited presentation, though it's a bit hard to fairly compare this to Cara's first performance. Winners and Losers Raul writes: Wang Chung put on the best show tonight. They had some vocal issues but they had the most fun and got the best reaction out of the crowd. Cameo would be second in my book. So I have no idea how come Irene Cara won. Howard writes: For stage presence and talent, if there's any justice in this world, the audience will pick Howard Jones, with Sophie B. Hawkins pulling a dangerously close runner-up position. The audience, astonishingly, picks Irene Cara. I'm incredulous. Molly writes: Definitely, my favorite for the evening was Cameo. They performed their old song well, and took ownership of their new song in a way that set them apart from second-place (in my book) Wang Chung. I was surprised and disappointed that Irene Cara won. While I like her, I felt that bringing in a new group was too far from the premise to reward. Paul writes: Once again, tonight's loser is host Vernon Kay. He continues to annoy with his lame comments following performances but I am beginning to successfully tune him out. A clear-cut winner was again hard to determine this week and I can't argue with the audience's selection of Irene Cara. She was a bit of a sentimental favorite, but backed up that nostalgia with two strong performances. Either I'm getting used to the deficient sound production or it is actually improving. The only real noticeable quality issue was during Sophie B. Hawkins first performance, and that may have been due more to her mumbling than any technical issues. The best news of all…IT'S NOT OVER! Originally scheduled as a three show series, high ratings have not only resulted in between-week repeats, but an extension to the festivities. They ran promos for next week's show featuring (I only caught a few) Glass Tiger, Greg Kihn, Baha Men, and Thelma Houston. Bring 'em on! Tonight's winner: Irene Cara Other sites: Hit Me Baby One More Time | Sirlinksalot.net |
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