Dig These Discs :: Bette Midler, Nick Jonas, Calvin Harris, The Flaming Lips, The Ting Tings

The fabulous Bette Midler pays homage to the great girl groups through the ages with her collection of 15 fantastic harmonies. The Flaming Lips drop their 14th album, a track-by-track tribute to The Beatles "With a Little Help From My Friends." Calvin Harris gets a lot of help from a ton of friends, from Gwen Stefani to Ellie Goulding, in his fourth studio album. And the Ting Tings drop their third studio album, "Super Critical," and it's super good.

"It's the Girls" (Bette Midler)

The legendary Bette Midler pays tribute to girl groups through the ages with "It's The Girls," her new collection of some of the greatest harmonies of our time. The Grammy Award-winning Midler performs the hits of groups like The Ronettes, The Boswell Sisters, The Andrew Sisters, The Chiffons and Motown artists like Martha Reeves and The Vandellas and the Marvelettes. She teams up with longtime collaborate, composer Marc Shaimam, to produce a collection of 15 stellar hits. If you've ever seen Midler in a movie, you've probably heard her sing one of these stellar harmonies. She admits, "A long time ago I fell in love with voices in harmony. In particular, the sound of female voices singing together. There were so many great girl groups in those days, I still listen as avidly as I ever did. This record is a small attempt to honor them for all the joy they brought to me and the world." She starts right out of the gate with The Ronettes "Be My Baby," the one plus ultra girl group song, followed by The Chiffons "One Fine Day." I can't say I love the idea of a girl waiting around for some hound dog to decide to settle down, but Midler nails it. She swings in The Andrew Sisters "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon," a song that you probably know without knowing you know it. She exercises admirable restraint in "Baby It's You," and gives her all to the doo-wop hit, "Tell Him" by The Exciters. The ukulele sounds add a calypso feel to "Mr. Sandman." And "Come and Get These Memories" by Martha & The Vandellas will bring you to tears, as Midler sings, "Here's that old teddy bear that you won for me at the state fair/ Here's some old valentine cards, give them to your new sweetheart." She swings in the fast-moving "Too Many Fish In the Sea." Her slowed-down version of TLC's "Waterfalls" matches the content of this sad song much more than the original ever did. She even makes a country version of The Supremes "You Can't Hurry Love" work. She finishes up with a bang, with the title song, a nutty little ditty originally performed by The Boswell Sisters. Let's hear it for the girl! And for The Girls!
(Warner Bros. Records)

"Motion" (Calvin Harris)

Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris drops his fourth studio album, "Motion," and it's a grab bag of today's best artists. The album features the likes of Gwen Stefani, Ellie Goulding, Big Sean, Haim and more. The first single, "Under Control" with Alesso and Hurts debuted last fall, and the UK has already taken the cuts "Summer" and "Blame" to number one. The album has all those synth beats you've come to expect, and the addition of these celebrity voices elevates it to a solid dance album. He starts with this synth right out of the gate with "Faith," asking, "I need a little faith/ is that too much to ask for?" John Newman chimes in on "Blame," and smooth-voiced harmonizer She adds her style to "Love Now," as do the classy chorus of violins. Harris stretches his legs with the moody instrumental stunner "Slow Acid" and teams up with R3HAB for the dance track "Burnin." Big Sean raps about his champagne fountains, drugs, liquor and ladies in the over-the-top break up then make up song, "Open Wide." Top picks include Goulding's fine, high voice in the track "Outside," and Harris' cracking but honest voice in his hit "Summer." Gwen Stefani shines in "Together," as she sings, "we're gonna wake up together and you won't wanna go home." The synth beats in "It Was You" with Firebeatz builds up to an impressive drop, as does "Overdrive" with Ummet Ozcan. It will take you right back to the '90s. Ironically, given the plethora of dance floor hits, his cut "Ecstasy" isn't a rave track, but a slow ballad about falling in love, with help from Hurts. Haim adds their girlish lilt to "Pray to God," singing the refrain, "I was living in the heat of the moment" while Harris sings, "I give in to you." They finish strong with "Dollar Signs" featuring Tinashe. Like him or not, get used to it: Harris isn't going anywhere soon.
(Columbia Records/Fly-Eye Records)

"With A Little Help From My Fwends" (The Flaming Lips)

Oklahoma City-based rockers The Flaming Lips bite off a little more than they can chew in taking on The Beatles most seminal album ever. Reimagining it as a lush, psychedelic trip isn't too far off from what the Fab Four did, but purists are sure to cry foul over the 'embellishments' like screaming guitar interludes apropos of nothing. They reportedly made the album while stoned with friends including Miley Cyrus, Tame Impala and Foxygen. And it's not the first time they've tried the stunt, having re-recorded Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" and King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King," among others. The best of the mix is when Cyrus sings on "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," with help from moody Moby. She also chimes in on the last track, "A Day in the Life." Dr. Dog, Chuck Inglish and Morgan Delt add an off-kilter vibe to the already nutty "Getting Better," with a rocking percussion shaker. Julianna Barwick adds a ghostly vibe, full of regret, to "She's Leaving Home." The cover of "When I'm Sixty-Four" sounds like it was recorded inside of an accordion. Lesbian twins Tegan & Sara sing on "Lovely Rita," everyone's favorite meter maid. And "Good Morning" is the most cacophonous song; let's hope no one ever actually has to wake up to it. They finish with a truly excellent, spacy version of "A Day In the Life." To look at the Lips play these songs on various late-night talk shows like "Jimmy Kimmel Live," clad in crazy costumes, you can see that they had fun with it. And that's something, at least. The best thing about this record: All proceeds go to The Bella Foundation, an OC org that helps provide vet care to needy pet owners.
(Warner Bros. Records)

"Super Critical" (The Ting Tings)

There's nothing like a trip to Ibiza to get the creative juices flowing. That's what the English indie pop duo Katie White and Jules De Martino, aka The Ting Tings, did to get cracking on their third studio album, "Super Critical." They headed back to New York City in the fall of 2013 to finish mixing it. The title track is a catchy, percussion-studded toe-tapper. White sings over beats in "Daughter" and rocks, R&B style, in their second single "Do It Again," among the album's best tracks. Their first single, "Wrong Club" dropped in April, and it's a catchy dance track, with White singing, "I'm in the wrong club, listening to this shit/ I'm in the wrong life, someone get me out of it." They slow things down for the spacey love song "Wabi Sabi" and get sassy in "Only Love." They come forward with that '80s Prince sound in "Communication" and "Green Poison." The album shows serious influences from artists like Prince and Stevie Wonder, who balanced smooth and sassy in their R&B pop tunes. They finish up with "Failure," a shout-out that gives De Martino a chance to exercise his vocal prowess. Critics have called the songs, 'catchy but superficial,' and it's true that the band is great with a hook. But with five top 40 hits in four albums, it's clear that people love those catchy tunes. So keep them tinging, Ting Tings!
(Finca Records)

"Nick Jonas" (Nick Jonas)

After ditching the 'Brothers' and wrapping up an intimate U.S. club tour, Nick Jonas drops his self-titled debut album, featuring 11 tracks, plus three more on the deluxe edition. His first single "Jealous," written by Jonas, Nolan Lambroza and Simon Wilcox, has gotten critical acclaim for it's classic '80s soul/pop sound. "With her wine-stained lips, yeah she's nothing but trouble / Cold to the touch but she's warm as a devil," Jonas sings in his first cut, "Chains." The electro intro to "Jealous" is reminiscent of those hot '80s tracks where everyone was dancing on the ceiling. "She's too sexy-beautiful and everyone wants a taste," sings Jonas, as he gets excited. "Teacher" is a flirty ode to sharing the knowledge, with a keyboard break that sounds like it came out of "Beverly Hills Cop." He sings about being trapped in the prison of his mind in the slowed-down "Warning" and tries to take it back to basics, "naked as the day we were born," in "Wilderness." The 22-year-old said his brothers love the tracks "Numb" and "Avalanche," the first a disjointed electropop number and the latter a charming duet about the end of a relationship. It works well with the like-minded cut, "Nothing," with lyrics like, "You're the broken part of me that makes me whole." The track "Take Over" is one of the most memorable of the bunch, but it, like "Push," sound like they'd work better as a female pop cover. Deluxe editions include the "Just a Gent" remix of "Chains," plus "Santa Barbara," a very pretty, musically balanced ballad, and "Closer," a poppy love song with a catchy snap track. If you like his pretty mug, be sure to catch Jonas as an up-and-coming boxer in the TV drama "Kingdom." Someone's gonna get knocked out.
(Island Records)