Pop and Broadway singer Deborah Gibson will be showing us most of her ‘mind, body and soul’ as she appears in an eight-page pictorial spread in the March issue of Playboy. Other female singers to grace the premiere men’s magazine include Gibson’s fabled nemesis Tiffany, Belinda Carlisle and Jody Watley, but Deborah’s photo shoot drew inspirations from her Broadway career with tasteful cabaret-style layouts. In response to this, one of Gibson’s fan sites is threatening to close down, claiming the singer has sold out. In the midst of all of this, Gibson’s new single ‘Naked’ is due out shortly.
Groundbreaking transgendered rocker Jayne County is finally coming out with a live DVD of a storming concert from 1996 including her signature cuts ‘I Hate Today,’ ‘Are You a Boy or a Girl?’ and ‘Man Enough to be a Woman.’ Despite only having a handful of albums out after three decades of being an icon in the underground punk scene, Jayne is best known for her live reviews.
Ultra Nate is re-releasing her club anthem ‘Free’ with hot new remixes by the likes of Jason Nevins and Junior Sanchez. The EP is coupled with some of her hard-to-find material like ‘Time of Our Lives’ with Stonebridge, her underground song ‘Feel Love,’ a live version of one of Ultra’s first hits ‘It’s Over Now’ and her remake of the Pretenders’ classic ‘Brass in Pocket.’ When Ultra was here a few years ago at a fund-raiser, she unveiled her electro-funk cover of ‘Brass in Pocket’ and until now, it has remained hard to find. It may seem that Ultra Nate has been out of the limelight, but she has been DJing at the club Sugar in Baltimore and working on a new album due out later this year. Ultra sings on Stonebridge’s next single ‘Freak On,’ which will be out this spring.
The latest and hottest bootlegs to surface are Sofasso’s reworking of Bananarama’s ‘Really Saying Something’ and a new spin on ‘We Close Our Eyes’ by Go West courtesy of Groove Cutters. Sofasso, the duo comprised of Justin Scharvona and Andrew Galea, tweak the girl group’s ’80s stomper into a fun party song with a euro feel, while Groove Cutters perfectly blur the rhythm of the chorus vocals over an undeniable beat. If any remixers are listening, keep the camp bootlegs coming and consider giving tracks by Roxette and Army of Lovers a breath of new life too.
A lot of people have been asking me about the song from the Revlon commercials featuring Halle Berry. Many thought it was by Portishead, but the song is ‘Bellissimo’ by the California quartet Ilya from their ironically titled album They Died for Beauty. ‘Bellissimo’ incorporates an ageless mood into a down-tempo song that sounds like something you have sworn you have heard before, but clearly you haven’t. Ilya toured heavily to promote its albums and is currently working on a follow-up.
There were rumors that British trip hop pioneers Portishead had broken up when singer Beth Gibbons branched out with her solo album Out of Season with Rustin Man from the ’80s band Talk Talk. But rest assured, the band is working on new material and for the first time ever, is sharing the stage with Massive Attack for a tsunami relief benefit concert, which will be surfacing for viewing online.
The only woman with a raspier voice than Susan St. James, Marianne Faithfull, has her new CD out, Before the Poison, revisiting her familiar haunting themes. The godmother of goth teams up with PJ Harvey and Nick Cave on this album, while her last effort boasted collaborations with Billy Corgan. Faithfull is scheduled to perform at the Park West Friday, March 18.
Also touring is fellow independent spirit Ani DiFranco, who is set to be in Chicago at the Auditorium Theater for a sold-out Saturday, Feb. 26 show to promote her latest effort Knuckle Down. [A second, more intimate show has been added, Feb. 27 at the Vic, 312-559-1212, on sale Feb. 12.] Folk mastermind Joe Henry helped co-produce this album. Henry’s name might ring a bell for some, Madonna is his sister-in-law and sang back-up on his song ‘Guilty by Association.’ The face of the latest Versace campaign reinterpreted his song ‘Stop’ into her hit single ‘Don’t Tell Me.’