Wong Say Lou Lou

Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed was the standard record company "hits" compilation surveying Reed's five-year, eight-album sojourn at RCA from 1972 to 1976. Its 11 songs included two from Lou Reed, three from Transformer (among them, of course, this album's title track, Reed's sole chart hit), one from Berlin, two from Rock N Roll Animal (one of which is "Sweet Jane" minus the introductory fanfare), and the title tracks from Sally Can't Dance and Coney Island Baby, plus the previously non-LP B-side "Nowhere at All." It was a bulletproof selection, as unimaginative as it was dependable, which oddly was why it worked so well.

On paper, it's unlikely that one of rock's greatest singers ever, who fronted one of the biggest mainstream bands of the 1970s and 1980s, would take a detour into the world of Christian rock. But that's just what Lou Gramm did in 2009 with his new group and its self-titled album, The Lou Gramm Band. It's his first "solo" effort since 1989's Long Hard Look. The album rocks convincingly, and the lyrics vividly reflect his born-again Christian faith. It's a miracle that the ex-Foreigner vocalist lived to reach this point. After surviving surgery to remove a benign brain tumor in 1997, he struggled to regain his health and his voice. He left Foreigner for the second time in 2002 and eased back into performing with his own band, which now includes two of his brothers, bass guitarist Richard Gramm and drummer Ben Gramm, as well as guitarist Don Mancuso and keyboardist Andy Knoll.

Light in the Attic Records (LITA) proudly announces The Power Of The Heart: A Tribute To Lou Reed. The star-studded album celebrates the pioneering singer-songwriter’s enduring influence—as well as the timeless appeal of his songs—through performances by Reed’s closest friends and biggest fans, including Keith Richards, Rosanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Afghan Whigs, Bobby Rush, Maxim Ludwig & Angel Olsen, Mary Gauthier, and Automatic. Blending generation-defining hits (“I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Walk on the Wild Side,” “Perfect Day”) with lesser-known gems, the collection spans the artist’s five-decade-long career: from his earliest days with The Velvet Underground to his groundbreaking solo work.

Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed was the standard record company "hits" compilation surveying Reed's five-year, eight-album sojourn at RCA from 1972 to 1976. Its 11 songs included two from Lou Reed, three from Transformer (among them, of course, this album's title track, Reed's sole chart hit), one from Berlin, two from Rock N Roll Animal (one of which is "Sweet Jane" minus the introductory fanfare), and the title tracks from Sally Can't Dance and Coney Island Baby, plus the previously non-LP B-side "Nowhere at All." It was a bulletproof selection, as unimaginative as it was dependable, which oddly was why it worked so well.

The Natural Soul finds Lou Donaldson delving deeply into soul-jazz, recording a set of funky, greasy instrumentals with only a few references to hard bop. Donaldson occasionally sounds a little awkward with the relaxed groove of The Natural Soul, as does trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, but the trio of guitarist Grant Green, organist John Patton, and drummer Ben Dixon keep things cooking. Green and Patton's solos often burn and are always invigorating, and Lou frequently matches their heights. The original compositions - which form the bulk of the album - aren't much more than blues and soul vamps, but they provide an excellent foundation for the combo to work hot grooves. And, in the end, that's what The Natural Soul is about - groove. It maintains the high standards Donaldson established with his first soul-jazz foray, Here 'Tis, and remains one of his best records in that genre.

The Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak needs no introduction. After having dazzled the opera stage and the discographic world both in duets and solo, she has devoted the whole of her new recording to Mozart.