Dido: Life for Rent
Arista 50137
Format: CD

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Dido’s début album, No Angel, had one or two songs that piqued my interest, but I found it inconsistent overall. Life for Rent is an entirely different animal. If you like the sound of ethereal vocals and funky electronic rhythms, then this CD is for you. With the assistance of her brother, producer Rollo Armstrong, Dido has crafted a collection of emotionally charged songs. "White Flag" starts the record off, but "Stoned" sets the mood with a beautifully melodic chorus that grabs at the heartstrings. On many albums, complacency would then set in; here, each song that follows contains a catchy melody or string arrangement that transforms simple pop into music that satisfies, listen after listen. The fact that the recording quality is a notch above most popular recordings just adds to the enjoyment. When I first found out that Dido had a new CD, I wasn’t sure I should buy it. Now that I’ve taken the plunge, I have no regrets....Anthony Di Marco

The Gents: Follow That Star
Marimba Quartet Carrefour; Rubens Quartet; Maxym Minakov, double bass; Peter Dijkstra, conductor.
Channel Classics CCS SA 20403
Format: Hybrid Multichannel SACD

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The Gents is a Netherlands-based choir of 14 male singers, and Follow That Star, their second album for Channel, is one of the most exquisite holiday releases to appear in a decade. Heard on their last disc in straight-out Renaissance motets, the Gents here sing arrangements that successfully blend pop, classical, and jazz -- sort of a larger King's Singers, with a richer palette. "Walking in the Air," "Jingle Bell Rock," and "Silent Night" are all very effective, but the crown jewel is "Gaudete Christus est Natus," from 1582. It begins as a straight Renaissance motet, but gradually marimbas and richer harmonies are added until, by the end, it has become a swinging jazz tour de force. The surrounds provide an ideal amount of spatial information; the sound is so natural that one feels no obstructions between oneself and the Gents....Rad Bennett

Wolfsheim: Casting Shadows
Metropolis 278
Format: CD

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Overall Enjoyment

I sometimes wonder why I invest so much time and money in music. Then I hear a song like Wolfsheim’s "Kein Zurück," with its German lyric and beautifully simple but emotionally satisfying strings, and the reason for my hobby becomes clear: emotional satisfaction. Wolfsheim may be a Goth-dance-synth duo, but their ability to craft a poignant song is well expressed on Casting Shadows. Those familiar with their past efforts may find fault with this record’s lower percentage of beats per minute, but that doesn’t mean that these well-recorded songs are any less effective. The entire CD is good, but such cuts as "Kein Zurück," "Find You’re Gone," and the other song sung in German, "Wundervoll," emphasize the group’s penchant for matching melody to lyric. Spectators may be a great example of Wolfsheim’s ability to craft infectious dance music, but Casting Shadows shows that this band has depth....Anthony Di Marco

Haydn: Symphonies 50 in C Major, 51 in B-flat Major, 52 in C Minor
Swedish Chamber Orchestra; Béla Drahos, conductor.
Naxos 8.555325
Format: CD

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Some of the most inventive and delightful music that Franz Joseph Haydn wrote comes from his middle period; the symphonies written during that time bubble over with energy and imagination. Witness the Adagio movement of Symphony No. 51, in which the two horns create "Heaven and Hell." The first horn plays a lyrical tune at the top of its register and is answered by the second horn, which plays a scale passage that descends into the very depths of the instrument’s range. Moments such as this are captured with a wee bit more humor in Adam Fischer’s now-discontinued recordings on Nimbus, but the Swedish Chamber Orchestra plays exceptionally well, and the sound is a perfect middle ground between warm and detailed. Factor in the low price and this disc becomes essential....Rad Bennett

Florence Foster Jenkins & Friends: Murder on the High C’s
Naxos Nostalgia 8.120711
Format: CD

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This was a favorite party disc when I was in college. "Wow, I discovered a new soprano," someone would say, then put the disc on and wait for the horrified reactions. There would be lots of stammering, some hysterical laughter, and much befuddlement, for Jenkins was the worst singer who ever committed a note to a microphone. But she had money and believed in her "art," appearing most often in a costume with full angel wings. This Naxos disc restores all of her recordings in transfers that sound amazing, especially considering their age. The disc is filled out with dubious repertory choices from excellent artists who should have known better: Alexander Kipnis, John Charles Thomas, Ezio Pinza, Helen Traubel, Lauritz Melchior, and Jeanette MacDonald and Robert Merrill singing "The Fireman’s Bride." The last, like everything else on this CD, goes up in smoke and leaves you laughing.....Rad Bennett