Dig These Discs :: David Bowie, Chvrches, Janet Jackson, Disclosure, OMI

Bowie fans, check ignition and may God's love be with you! The first of what will be a complete 10-album/ 12-CD Bowie retrospective drops this month, the album, "Five Years 1969-1973." Janet Jackson releases her 11th studio album, her first album since her brother died in 2009. The English electronic duo Disclosure, comprised of brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence, releases their second studio album at the end of September. Scottish synthpop trio Chvrches drop their self-produced second album. And global pop sensation OMI has released his debut album, "ME 4 U," a collection of 14 songs by this Jamaican-born artist whose real name is Omar Pasley. I think we all found ourselves a cheerleader!

"Five Years 1969-1973" (David Bowie)

Bowie fans, check ignition and may God's love be with you! The first of what will be a complete 10-album/ 12-CD Bowie retrospective drops this month, the album, "Five Years 1969-1973." Exclusive to this version is the 2003 stereo remix of "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" by the original co-producer Ken Scott. This first selection includes six albums, "David Bowie AKA Space Oddity," "The Man Who Sold the World," "Hunky Dory," "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," "Aladdin Sane" and "PinUps." It also includes two live albums, "Live Santa Monica '72" and "Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture Soundtrack." These albums chronicle the commercial breakthrough of one of pop music's most seminal figures. From the first strains of "Space Oddity" you can see that Bowie is something special. He dove into the gender-bending character of Ziggy Stardust, an out-of-control rock star, and dropped him before the gig got old, moving on to the dress-wearing hippie in "The Man Who Sold the World" and the man with the lightning bolt on his face in "Aladdin Sane." Bowie can be everything, to everyone. He goes from a hippie vibe in "Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" to a Creedence Clearwater Revival feel in "Janine" and begins to reveal strains of his glam pop weirdness in "Cygnet Committee," pleading, "I want to live!" Surprise favorites for this critic include the jaunty electric guitar hit, "The Width of a Circle," with Bowie exclaiming, "Turn around, do it again!" Bowie rocks in "Black Country Rock" and is "the twisted name on Garbo's eyes" in "Quicksand." Bowie salutes "Andy Warhol" with a fast-moving acoustic guitar cut, and sings a "Song for Bob Dylan." You'll shimmy as you listen to "Queen Bitch," and be a rock and roll invader as he comes for you in "Moonage Daydream." You're not alone, when Bowie screams out to you in "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide," and you'll be a "space invader, a rock 'n' rollin' bitch for you" in "Moonage Daydream." There are way too many songs to tout each one, but if you've got six or eight hours free, you can listen to them all. If you thought you knew everything that had to do with David Bowie, maybe you did. Or maybe, check this out and think again.
(Parlaphone Records)

"Unbreakable" (Janet Jackson)

The legendary Janet Jackson releases her 11th studio album, her first album since her brother died. "Unbreakable" is a 17-song redemption that brings Ms. Jackson if Ya Nasty back to the mainstream. She starts the album with the excellent "Unbreakable," which was the title of a song that began her brother Michael Jackson's last album before he died. The album gives props to him in songs like J. Cole's "No Sleeep" and "Broken Hearts Heal," singing about them being young and making up songs while cleaning the house, with the refrain, "I'll see you in the next life." Missy Elliott helps out in "BURNITUP!" and it's a fast-moving cut that will get your blood pumping. It's nice to see Missy back into the mix after so long. Jackson's cut "Dammn Baby" employs all the tropes of modern pop songs, from synth bursts to vocal interludes, but would have been fine without all of that. She sounds like a Jackson 5 Jackson in the track "The Great Forever," singing, "that hole in your heart will tear you apart, because hate will only divide." Jackson's beautiful voice is on showcase in "After You Fall" and she gets funky in "Night." She takes it from the streets to the sheets in the up-all-night stunner "No Sleeep," with a wonky rap break from J. Cole. Jackson breaks the album up here into "Side Two," although it's a lot of music to cram onto a 33. She begins this second set with "Dream Maker/Euphoria," which sounds like a tribute to Donna Summer's style of louche disco jams with spoken word breaks. "Take Me Away," she begs, in this pop song, followed by the brief interlude of "Promise." Her "Lessons Learned" is a bittersweet caution about getting caught up with a codependent lover. Jackson sings about the "strong and powerful king of the sky" in "Black Eagle," and gets anthemic in "Well Traveled." She finishes the album up with the pure-Jackson 5 sounds of "Gon' B Alright." The album could stand to be pared down a bit in both the length of some of the tracks, and the number she's included. But overall, it's an excellent return to the spotlight. Janet's looking to make "Unbreakable" her seventh No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. Will you help her?
(BMG/Rhythm Nation)

"Caracal" (Disclosure)

The English electronic duo Disclosure, comprised of brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence, released their second studio album at the end of September, another collection of poppy, electronica-driven tunes. Howard Lawrence described the album title as inspired by a wild cat called the caracal that he became fascinated with while touring last year. Although the duo is fairly new to the scene, they've certainly racked up quite a number of friends to help them with the album; it features collabs with Gregory Porter, Sam Smith, Kwabs, Lorde, Lion Babe, Miguel and Nao. The Weeknd sings, "your shadow doesn't show in the dark" in the first track, "Nocturnal." "Omen" features Sam Smith, who has worked with the band in the past, singing on their hit single "Latch." The band has had success with "Holding On" featuring Gregory Porter. His deep voice booms, "Though my past has left me bruised, I ain't hiding from the truth/ When the truth won't let me lie right next to you." The pounding beat of "Hourglass" compliments the female rap vocals laid down by Lion Babe, as she sings, "Do as I say, not as I do/ Got no money, nobody, to tell you what to do." British recording artist Kwabs is featured on their second single, the poppy, disjointed "Willing and Able." New Zealand weirdster Lorde even chimes in on "Magnets," their fourth promotional single, whispering in the refrain, "Pretty girls don't know the things that I know/ Walk my way, I'll share the things that she won't." "Don't mistake me for a fool," warns Howard Lawrence in "Jaded," and the louche "Good Intentions" features Miguel Pimental. "Superego" features the lovely high voice of Nao making it a bona fide R&B cut. Jordan Rakei makes "Masterpiece" a sultry stunner. Having friends helps. Disclosure hits the road; they'll play Madison Square Garden on Oct. 24, and in late November, will tour through Scotland and England.
(PMR/Island Records)

"Every Open Eye" (Chvrches)

Scottish trio Chvrches releases their second studio album, a self-produced follow-up to their hit debut, "The Bones of What You Believe." This collection of synthpop hits is a winner. The band had a lot of offers for co-writing songs, but declined, explaining that they wanted the album to sound and feel like it was made by a band, spontaneously. And it does. The album starts with intensity, as "Never Ending Circles" layers on the keyboards and drums while singer Lauren Mayberry howls, "Here's to taking what you came for, and here's to running off the pain." Mayberry described the next song, "Leave a Trace," as "the middle finger mic-drop," as she sings, "And you had best believe that you cannot build what I don't need." Along with bandmates Iain Cook and Martin Doherty, the trio makes smart, deep music that you can dance to. "I don't sleep well, laying low," she sings in the intense track, "Keep You on My Side," and in "Make Them Gold," she asks, "Can you tell me what to have and what to hold, if you never take the weight on your own?" It's the musical equivalent of those seminal '80s flicks like "The Breakfast Club" and "Sixteen Candles" -- the angst rock for a new generation. She begs him to meet her halfway in the anthems "Clearest Blue" and "Empty Threat," admitting, "I was better off when I was on your side." The boys chime in in the intense "High Enough to Carry You Over," and get dark in "Playing Dead." The pounding "Bury It" and the gauzy "Afterglow" caps out an excellent second album. Way to do it yourself, Chvrches!
(Universal)

"Me 4 U" (OMI)

Global pop sensation OMI has released his debut album, "ME 4 U," a collection of 14 songs by the Jamaican-born artist whose real name is Omar Pasley. He got a lot of mileage out of the smash hit of the summer "Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)," with lyrics like, "You're the only girl for me/ No, I don't need a next one/ Mama loves you too, she thinks I made the right selection/ Now all that's left to do is just for me to pop the question." You already know the catchy chorus. It ended up spending five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the longest leading reggae hit by a solo artist in more than 22 years. OMI finds a soul mate in "Babylon," and goes calypso in "Drop in the Ocean" featuring AronChupa. He follows it with the Luca Schreiner remix of "These Are the Days," a catchy empowerment anthem with great bass drum. When a girl passes by with "a wink and smile, I was on cloud nine," in the single "Hula Hoop," with its saxophone hook and bouncy synthesizer. He brings that island sound to the forefront in the track "Standing on All Threes," singing in Jamaican patois about a "pretty little girl in d short jeans, right ya now mi firmer than a concrete." You can figure out what the third leg is... Busy Signal helps bring that deep bass Motown vibe to "Color of My Lips," singing, "say you couldn't talk when you saw me at the mall, gave you my number wasn't sure that you would call." His next new single is "Stir It," and the track finds success in simplicity, with the basic lyrics, "We can stir it all night, girl your body so tight." "Everyone from next door can hear the explosion," sings OMI in the sexy cut "Fireworks," and in "Midnight Serenade" with Erik Hassle, he sings, "I've never met no one like you, so beautiful." The title track is a sonorous male/female duet, and OMI finishes the album with help from a Freddy Verano remix of "Sing It Out Loud." It's a great start for this island boy.
(Ultra Music)