New blasts from the past

The two CDs today come from artists with impressive pedigrees, having both been in the recording industry for some time now, and having proven themselves time and time again. The new material on these albums should come as something of a surprise to their devoted fans; as while there are snatches of their trademark sounds, there are departures and evolving to be heard. What remains impressive is the quality of the music, and that these CDs go a far way in cementing their status as artists of note.

Daft Punk — Random Access Memories (Columbia Records). Back at the turn of the century, Daft Punk’s One More Time was the anthem for a generation weaned on electronica and its merging into pop mainstream. Clubbers would jump to their feet each time this song would come on. RAM is the French duo’s new album and the funny thing is the music is a tribute of sorts to its influences back then — the disco music of the ’70s and ’80s. While contemporary artists such as Pharrell Williams and Julian Casablancas show up, the music is filled with Nile Rodgers-type guitar licks, and even has the “old man” himself, Giorgio Moroder, showing up on one track and speaking about his start in music.

Pharrell on Lose Yourself to Dance and Get Lucky is downright infectious and these two songs should be instant favorites. Touch is one ambitious suite of a song, with movements that remind me of a Moog synthesizer-inspired Broadway mini-musical. Instant Touch is like listening to a lost track of Supertramp! Daft Punk has certainly come a long way since the late ’90s, and it’s great to have them reminding us how so much good music is a matter of going full circle.

Jamie Cullum — Momentum (Island/Universal). Ever since he began his recording career, Jamie Cullum has traversed the path of jazz singer/musician, being the English equivalent of such pioneers as Bobby McFerrin and Al Jarreau. While a number of his previous albums relied on interesting covers, the new album boasts of a lot of self-penned material, and an obvious desire to shift a tad closer to the mainstream. This he accomplished with mixed results.

The carrier single, Everything You Didn’t Do, is a joy to listen to, as are his compositions, Anyway and Get A Hold of Yourself. What is surprising is that a seeming lack of arranging inventiveness was put into the two covers, Love For Sale and Pure Imagination, tunes that I would have thought would have been such stellar songs for Jamie to interpret and go loose on. So the jury’s out on whether this album’s music will find a host of new fans for Jamie. As for me, I wish he wouldn’t forget what had us attracted to his musical persona in the first place, and may he not stray too far in the hope of gaining more popularity. Enough good music on this one, but with highs and lows that could have been avoided.