More New Songs from REM's Upcoming Album "Collapse into Now"

Any time REM announces a new album I'm filled with exalted expectations and inflated hopes.  This will be another Fables, another Reckoning, a masterpiece.  Then I'm hit with the panicked thoughts, what if it's another Around the Sun?  Finally, reality sets in and it's okay, fine, but nothing memorable.  How many "okay, fine" albums am I willing to listen to before I have to put my love of REM in the past tense? 

It was with these conflicting thoughts that I approached the first releases of songs from their upcoming 15th album Collapse into Now.  I've posted and reviewed some of the songs as they came in and was either greatly disappointed or unimpressed.  But finally there is a song that makes me smile.  That reminds me what it feels like when Michael Stipe's voice can burrow into my  heart and Peter Buck's guitar can make me feel all dreamy and floating. 

Uberlin was an unfortunate title (complete with umlauts!) for a song that is giving me hope.



The lilting melody is back.  Stipe is singing from his heart again.  It's warm and enveloping, like a hug from an old friend.  I'm happy.

So I'll do my best not to think about this song, the first single off the album:


It's not horrible.  But I expect much more from REM than not horrible.

For great:

Upcoming Music Releases -- Cage the Elephant and Cake

With my thoughts (and much of my writing) focusing on REM's March release and the later summer release of a debut from the Casey James Band, I thought I'd take a look at some other upcoming releases that are intriguing to me.  Two alternative bands have CDs coming out next week -- Cage the Elephant and Cake. 

Cage the Elephant had a hit last year with Ain't No Rest for the Wicked.  A punk-blues band out of Bowling Green, Kentucky, they played Lollapalooza last year as well as opening for Silversun Pickups and STP.  If you think you're not familiar with Cage, you probably have at least heard this, their first hit, which was a free download on iTunes and then went on to be used quite often.


Their other best known song from their first album is Back Against the Wall. 


Here's a single off their upcoming CD, entitled "Thank you, Happy Birthday." The definitely have a White Stripes vibe to me.



Cake's next CD is entitled Showroom of Compassion.  Again, if you don't already have any of their albums, you still are probably more familiar with them than you know.  The Sacramento band has been around since the 1990s and have five previous albums.  They're more funk than punk and truly alternative in their treatment of the rock genre.  I'm sure you've heard the following song.  But first....

Okay, here's my true confession. I thought this was Beck for the longest time. Seriously. But, c'mon, you can hear the similarity, right? They both speak/sing their songs and have convoluted, interesting instrumentation.  Agreed?  Or have I just lost whatever credibility I had?

I love this video.  Even if you don't love their music, the people on the streets asked for their opinion are priceless.  My favorite, "I don't like the na na na part in the chorus."  Amen, brother.


Here's Sick of You, the first single off their new CD.  I like them, but, really, it is Beck, isn't it?

New REM Song from Upcoming CD Collapse into Now -- Hear "Oh My Heart"

REM has released another cut off their upcoming album "Collapse into Now" due in stores on March 8th.  Following the preview of Discoverer and It Happened Today late last year, the next new tune is called Oh My Heart.



I'm slightly more hopeful about this song than the previous two, which I discussed earlier in this blog post.  Discoverer is a non-starter.  It won't get better with more listens.  The lyrics underwhelm and there's no discernable melody.  It's like a beat poet reading arbitrary words over loud, unrelated music.  It won't be getting any stars on my iTunes. I liked the beginning of It Happened Today until it was ruined by the lyrical napalm that is "hip hip hooray." If you can overlook that flaw, the song has a great melody and Stipe actually sings rather than shouts, which is always a good thing.

Oh My Heart has passion and a retro-REM sound that could put the song on Life's Rich Pageant.  Although its verses are spoken, which I assume will be the norm for the now 51-year-old Stipe (Happy Birthday, Michael), there are glimmers of his voice at times in the second half of the chorus.  That sound can still tug at my heart.

In honor of Stipe's birthday, I give myself a gift.  Here are a few of my favorite Stipe performances:

The first two are from their first TV appearance on the David Letterman show.



From their first appearnace on MTV unplugged, in 1991:



Their second visit to MTV unplugged:



And finally, live versions of my two favorite REM songs:

American Idol Season 10 -- Are you in or are you out?

In just over two weeks, it all starts again.  Another season of American Idol, the cultural phenomenon that restarted the TV talent show genre, launched a few genuine stars and gave us endless shots of Simon Cowell in too tight T-shirts.  But what's old is new again as its 10th season promises significant changes.  From new judges to a new signing label, new mentor to a new musical director, the show will look and feel quite different, while being very familiar.

Part of the formula will stay the same -- we'll see the good and bad auditions, learn various heart-tugging personal backstories and watch as the field is winnowed to a lucky few who will vie for our votes.  There appears to be more involvement by the record label during the show than in previous years.  According to an article by Shirley Halperin in today's Hollywood Reporter:

Producer-songwriters handpicked by Universal Music Group’s Interscope Geffen A&M Records Jimmy Iovine will mentor the contestants… will help them with song selection, then arrange and produce the musical accompaniment — a prerecorded track augmented by a live band — specifically for each contestant. And for the first time ever, the contest won’t be limited solely to cover songs.

Anyone familiar with the genius that is Jimmy Iovine cannot help but hold on to some hope that this could be a great year for the AI franchise.  He produced Patti Smith's Easter which had one of my favorite songs of hers of all time, Because the Night.  He's worked with John Lennon and U2 and Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.  In a recent interview, offering his advice to those trying to enter the music industry, he said they have to work on their craft and be multi-talented and he stressed the importance of being able to write your own songs and have a unique sound.  He cares about music and talent -- that is a good thing.

Having said all that, I'm still a tad hesitant to jumping into the AI pool this year.  If you're reading this, you likely know that last year I started this blog to support AI contestant Casey James.  I had never done anything like that before and don't ever intend to do that again.  Unlike many of Casey's fans, who were also on Team Danny or Team Bucky or some other AI contestant in the past -- this was my first (and only, I swear!) venture into the world of AI fandom. 

Having become so (some might say) obsessed with one AI contestant has been time-consuming and exhausting.  It caused me to be an interactive, proactive viewer of the show and follower of the contestant.  Can I go back to passively watching the show?  Can I find other contestants to root for, whose performances I look forward to and whose success on the show I care about?  And can I do this with the show looking so different? 

While I was never a fan of Kara Dioguardi and did not share Simon Cowell's questionable taste in music, the prospect of watching Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez offering their insight into this new talent pool is a little scary.  I can't help but wonder if the extent of Tyler's criticism will be open your mouth wider or get more scarves.  What will J.Lo suggest -- be hotter, wear more revealing clothes?

Still, I suppose I won't be able to stop myself and I will tune in. Because, for all the fancy wrapping, this is at its heart a show about making dreams come true.  Even with all the craziness of the past -- Paula's loopiness or Simon's prickliness or Ryan Seacrest's cheesiness -- it is about giving singers a shot.  And somewhere out there, in the already spoiled list of who made the top 40, is someone who's been singing along to the radio their whole life, or writing songs since they were ten, or practicing their instrument when others were out playing.  Someone who loves music, lives for it, and is looking for that one shot to pluck themselves out of obscurity and show the world what they can do.  Someone who will give us a moment like this:

or this:

or this:

or this:

How can I miss out on any of that?  Okay, I'm in.

R.E.M. Releases Preview of "Collapse into Now"

The last few days have been busy days for REM fans. First there was the release of Discoverer, the first song off their upcoming album "Collapse into Now."  I'm not terribly excited about this first song. It's a little too "shouty" for me and it's a bit of a bastard child of Crush with Eyeliner meets Finest Worksong disproving that two positives make another positive.

I refuse to believe that Stipe's voice is so shot that he can no longer sing and must talk-shout from here on out.  He started doing that live, most notably (and regretably) in So Fast, So Numb, one of their most beautiful songs.  Now it's a song sung by a carnival barker -- or a bad comedian upping the volume on the punchline.  It's sad if that's all his voice can do, sadder still if he can still sing but chooses not to. 


Today they are releasing a preview of a few more songs off the album and, after listening to it, I'm feeling a little more upbeat about this album's prospects than I did after the initial listen to that first song.

I particularly like two of the songs that are featured, the one starting at 0:38 (Mine Smells like Honey, perhaps?) and the one at 1:15. Both have good, memorable hooks and more soul than some of REM's most recent written-for-a-huge-stadium songs.  And in each case, I hear actual singing.  

Also available is a low quality version of a new song that way made available to people who preorder the album this week from iTunes.  It's another bit of insight into the direction of the new album and, like the teaser samplings from earlier today, left me feeling more optimistic than Discoverer did.  It's called It Happened Today.  It has the old jangly guitar we fell in love with so many years ago and a sensitive, gentle lead vocal from Stipe.  It purports to include Eddie Vedder, but except for a few notes near the end, I'm not hearing it.  I am hearing a lot of Mike Mills and, you know, I love the guy.  He's immensely talented and is an equal partner in the group, but he doesn't have the...how to put this nicely...strongest, most pleasing to the ears voice out there.  Less of him would have been more and more, much more Eddie, would have been divine. 

For the record, the "Hip Hip Hooray" is not an inspired lyrical choice.  I let it slide a few years ago when it found its way in the song, I Don't Sleep, I Dream.  But then it was a small bit of a larger, more lyrically interesting song, not the alleged payoff.  The album doesn't come out till March; perhaps they can change the lyrics before it comes out.  Let me offer some improvements:  Yippe yahoo yay?  Oh me, oh my, oy vay?  Anything would be an improvement.

"Collapse into Now" is scheduled for release March 8, 2011.  Here is the official press release concerning the album:

For Collapse Into Now, R.E.M., which is singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, and bassist Mike Mills, re-teamed with Grammy Award-winning producer Jacknife Lee, who produced the band’s acclaimed previous album Accelerate. Lee is also noted for his work on albums by U2, Snow Patrol, The Hives, and indie stalwarts Kasabian, Editors, Aqualung, and Bloc Party. R.E.M. and Lee recorded the album in New Orleans at the Music Shed and in Berlin at the famed Hansa Studios, where several legendary albums, including David Bowie’s Heroes, U2’s Achtung Baby, and Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life, were made. Additional recording and mixing was done at the venerable Blackbird Studio in Nashville.

The band has also revealed that Collapse Into Now features some very special guests: Patti Smith, guitarist Lenny Kaye, Peaches, Eddie Vedder, and The Hidden Cameras frontman Joel Gibb.

The track-listing for "Collapse Into Now" is as follows:
Discoverer
All The Best
Überlin
Oh My Heart
It Happened Today
Every Day Is Yours To Win
Mine Smell Like Honey
Walk It Back
Alligator Aviator Autopilot Antimatter
That Someone Is You
Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I
Blue

Street Corner Symphony for the Win -- The Sing Off, Season Two

Street Corner Symphony

From L to R: Jon McLemore, Adam Chance, Jeremy Lister, Mark McLemore, Richie Lister, John Martin

I swore that my voting days were over, but then I turned on NBC's The Sing Off and discovered Street Corner Symphony.  The sextet is comprised of two sets of brothers, lead singer Jeremy Lister and his brother, John Lennon lookalike Richie, Bald back up singer Jon McLemore and his much taller, more hirsute brother Mark, as well as two guys who were apparently added to the group at the last minute, Adam Chance and John Martin. 

According to newspaper reports, the brothers, who all went to high school together, auditioned for the Sing Off with two other men. After they were booked for the show, those two left and Mark scrambled to find replacements.  With Adam and John joining, the new group re-auditioned, made the cut again, and ended up on our TV screens on the debut episode singing Tears for Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World.



What they lack in choreography they more than make up for in their sweetly blended vocals.  They are the best kind of a cappella group -- they have a great sound, they sing with heart and they have fun while never forgetting it's the music that matters. 

Episode 2 they took on Train's Hey Soul Sister and again nailed the performance, making six voices sound like so much more.  They're the most radio-friendly of the groups participating and sound like a fully formed band.



On Episode 3 they blew us all away, topping their previous performances, with a stunning cover of Radiohead's Creep. Their lead singer, Jeremy, has a terrific voice can sing in a variety of genres.  I thought he was a country singer, but he nailed this alt rock classic. 



After that, they were charged with taking on a guilty pleasure.  Their choice was Come on Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners.  A silly little ditty, of course, but their rapid switches in tempo and style, and, once again, that perfect harmony sold the song. 



I have last night's performances in the previous blog post, so you can check out their take on the Beatles and CCR there. 

After reading up about the group, I discovered that five of the six are the sons of preachers and that they have, like Committed, a strong gospel background.  According to their blog, "Two of the members are grandsons of the legendary southern gospel tenor Bill Shaw of 'The Blackwood Brothers.'”   That meant nothing to me, but perhaps you are a gospel fan and this has given you an aha moment. 

To vote for Street Corney Symphony, dial 1-877-6-Sing-02 or Text "2" to 97979.  You can vote up to ten times per method and voting closes Sunday morning, so get your votes in now.

If you like what you heard, you can buy the MP3s right here:

NBC's The Sing Off -- Episode 4

On tonight's episode of NBC's The Sing Off we inch one step closer to crowning a winner of the second season of this surprisingly entertaining a cappella music competition.  Don't let the short season mislead you, this is a terrific show with a wide range of talented groups showing how much you can do with just your voice and a well-positioned microphone (not unlike that guy in all those Police Academy movies).

The five remaining teams are remarkably different in style and make-up going from the let's-put-on-a-show excitement of the campy and fun University of Oregon's On the Rocks to the where's-my-walker calm of the Early Bird special eating Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town.  The Backbeats are a mixed marriage of former Bruins and Trojans trying to show the Middle East how peace is achieved: through music and choreography, apparently.  The last two teams are my personal favorites, the Gospel-singing Committed whose sexy vocals have them more in touch with their sinner, rather than saintly, side, and the good ol' Southern boys Street Corner Symphony.

Tonight five teams will compete for the three spots in the final.  After each team sings a medley of songs from an iconic music act, one will be eliminated and the remaining four will then perform the judge's choice song with one more team cut before the public voting begins.  At least, that was what was supposed to happen.  But in the spirit of rules were made to be broken, also known as, how were we supposed to know that the Backbeats would rock their last song, all four teams made it to the finals.  More on that in a bit.  Time for the show.

The five groups joined for an opening so underwhelming that at first I couldn't remember what they sang.  It was one of my least favorite Beatles' songs, With a Little Help from My Friends, and not just because of the Socialist sentiment in the title.  They sounded fine, the granddaddy of the competition Jerry Lawson had a nice moment, but it wasn't their best group performance. 

What was entertaining, though, was the Elton John medley by the group from the University of Oregon, On the Rocks.  They were fun, highlighted three different singers, and handled the transitions from the Bitch is Back to Bennie and the Jets to Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me with aplomb.  The standout performance was by the third singer who has the strongest voice in the group and delivered a heartfelt performance.  I loved the choreography and if you got points for moving that many guys around a relatively small stage without bumping into one another, they would have sailed on to the next round.


The sweet-faced Gospel group Committed went naughty once again, taking on an Usher medley.  I was unfamiliar with the songs, so I couldn't say whether they were accurate reflections of the originals, but I can say that those guys killed it!  I don't know what kind of a church they go to, but sign me up, because there was fire and passion in those performances.  They have some of the purest voices I've ever heard, even when signing in a provocative, smoldering style.  Amen!


Next up were my personal favorites, Street Corner Symphony, taking on my favorite group, the Fab Four.  A can't miss combination?  Not so much.  As smooth and seamless as the transitions between Elton John's three songs were in the preceding performance, that's how clunky the transition from the moody, somber Eleanor Rigby to the bouncy Help! felt.  I was worried for their longevity in the competition at the beginning of Help!, but they pulled it together and the next segment, Hey Jude, reminded me of why I love this group in the first place.  Excellent lead vocals by Jeremy Lister, well supported by the remaining five who took on backing vocals and instruments that blended beautifully to one wall of sound.


The Backbeats, the quickly slapped together supergroup of USC and UCLA alums, surprised me in a good way with their take on Lady Gaga.  They featured three different girls on lead vocals and the blonde who took on Poker Face, was a surprise. This team, that I ripped on for the first few blog posts, has really come into its own.  Maybe they just needed more time together or maybe it was my insightful suggestion that their designated lead tone down her angst and start enunciating.  Whatever it was, they're now in this competition.


Finally, the ringers in the contest, Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town.  You thought I was going to make another hackneyed old person's joke here about how they sing a cappella because when they were younger, instruments hadn't been invented yet or how they think hip hop is the answer to "what has been replaced and what can you no longer do?"  But no.  These guys, ready for their cameo in the upcoming Tyler Perry's Medea Goes to the Senior Center, are pretty inspiring.  They are talented singers and savvy stage performers and, after listening to their fellow WWII baby Paul McCartney weakly warble and croak his way through last week's SNL, I have to give it to them.  They took on one of the best singers ever, Otis Redding, and did a terrific job.  No joke.


With those five performances the judges had a difficult time, but ultimately bid a fond farewell to the large contingent from Oregon who lived up to their YouTube hype and gave many entertaining performances.  Next it was judge's choice.  And, unlike on American Idol, being the favorite did not bring with it your own spotlight, backing choir, or fairy dust that keeps people from hearing when you are off key.  But I digress.

For Committed the judges chose Let's Stay Together.  It was a great choice, having the Gospel group do a song by the now Reverend Al Green and the guys showed their amazing depth and breadth of talent by having five of the six take a turn on the lead, moving from vocalist to vocalist with impeccable perfection (redundant, but accurate!).  The middle guy in particular has such a pure, crystaline voice in the upper register, he just blows me away.


Street Corner Symphony took on the fathers of Swamp Rock, Creedence Clearwater Revival's Down on the Corner.  Not a favorite CCR song and, as much as I loved John Fogerty, he was not what I would call a talented vocalist.  The fact that a guy from Oakland managed to sound like he'd never spent a minute above the Mason-Dixon line was impressive, but he would not have been asked to join his high school's glee club.  Having said that, the percussion on the song was flawless, the vocals were better than the original, and they did the most with a so-so song.


Now, let's revisit some of my earlier comments about the lead singer of theBackbeats.  I think I suggested that she go to the doctor to have him pulverize the kidney stone that was causing her so much pain as she sang.  Then I think I mentioned she should stop preparing for her upcoming role as Demosthenes and remove the marbles from her mouth.  Well, all's forgotten!  She sang the hell out of Fleetwood Mac's Landslide.  It was a revelation.  Someone should snap her up immediately.  She blew Stevie Nicks out of the water.  And the rest of the group?  Spectacular.   As soon as you can download that, do it. 

Last up was Jerry Lawson and the sexagenarian quintet.  They sang House of the Rising Sun by the Animals and it was great, but I was still catching my breath after having all I believed in crushed in ninety seconds of musical heaven. 


My guess is that the judges were all prepared to say goodbye to the Backbeats and send the other three to next week's final, but they were so blown away by the Backbeats' stellar performances tonight they couldn't cut them.  So instead of three all four teams were passed along to the public's vote.  Yep, it's now your turn.  But, in a move that should be embraced by all shows that don't want their outcome determined by some twelve year old with nimble fingers and no homework, only ten votes per voting method. 

You can call or text (again, up to 10 votes for each method used) from now until Sunday, December 19 at 9 am Eastern. Here are the numbers:


Committed: 1-877-6-Sing-01 or Text "1" to 97979

Street Corner Symphony: 1-877-6-Sing-02 or Text "2" to 97979

The Backbeats: 1-877-6-Sing-03 or Text "3" to 97979

Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town: 1-877-6-Sing-04 or Text "4" to 97979

The winner will be revealed live Monday at 8 pm.  If you're setting your DVR, program it to run an extra half hour.

So who to vote for?  This is a tough one and it comes down to Committed and Street Corner Symphony for me.  Both of these groups have the talent to make a great record.  But since Street Corner Symphony is most likely to record in a genre that I'd actually listen to, I think they're getting all my votes.  But if I were casting for GLEE, I'd grab that girl from the Backbeats fast before someone else gets her.   She's actually pretty good.

Download these:

NBC's The Sing Off -- Episode 3

On tonight's episode six teams competed for five remaining slots.  In case you went to school in the U.S., ranked 25th out of 34 participating countries in Math scores, that meant one team would be kicked off the show. But not leaving us tonight is the best judging panel ever: Ben Folds, Nicole Sherzinger and Shawn Stockman. They should be forced to judge every other singing competition show out there. They are knowledgeable, articulate and (with the glaring obsession of their mad love for the "isn't it cute what they can do at their age?" Jerry Lawson group) fair.

The show opened with all the groups singing together and though they chose a powerful, rousing song -- Green Day's 21 Guns -- it came off more anemic than anthemic. Then former boy band hearthrob and ex Mr. Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey, introduced the theme for tonight's competition.  Each group would get two songs, one "epic rock" and one a "guilty pleasure." 

The LA-based, self-described supergroup The Backbeats opened with Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name.  Now, I have been complaining repeatedly about the lead singer who acts as if every note is a life-or-death proposition, so I was glad to see someone else step up to take the helm.  That was until I realized that she was going to make the other singer look good by comparison.  The vocals were thin and weak and lacked the intensity of the original.  Then it occurred to me that she was also the lead in 21 Guns.  Rock is not your forte, dear.

My favorite Street Corner Symphony was up next.  There are only six guys, but when they split the $100,000 prize they'll be happy there weren't more guys in the group.  They chose Radiohead's Creep, a daring choice.  Thom Yorke is a little i idol and genius and this is such an iconic song, you can only be compared to the original.  So when Jeremy Lister ended up killing the song (in a very good way) it was even more amazing.  His vocals were insane, sick, ridiculous.  He took a huge chance and it paid off big time.  And he was backed up by an amazing band that you forgot for a while were just a bunch of guys using only their voices.




Other highlights from the rock round were the thorn in my side, Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town.  I don't like that they are competing as amateurs as if they don't already have a bunch of songs out there -- I just put a link to one of their MP3 downloads in the preceding sentence.  They are ringers and Jerry in particular has been doing exactly this kind of music longer than I've been alive -- and that's a really long time, I hate to admit.  Having said all that, I loved their performance of Satisfaction.  It was fun, entertaining, cute and silly.  They went for it and put a smile on all but the most cynical person's faces.

Another fun performance came, unsurprisingly, from the college boys of On the Rocks.  Their take on Pour Some Sugar on Me was far more amusing than it was musically successful, but it sure got the audience going.  Fun choreography. 

Painfully bad was Groove for Thought's butchering of one of my favorite David Bowie songs, Changes.  Do not try and put a jazzy spin on a great rock song.  In fact, here's a newsflash -- jazz is dead.  At least on the charts and on the radio.  But I'm sure in some smoky room filled with beret wearing people who can't seem to straighten out their necks, jazz is still popular.  But not for the rest of us with ears. So please, stop.  Here's the original, to cleanse my ears from the abomination they just witnessed:



My other favorite group, Committed, did not embrace the rock genre and had their weakest performance to date.  The committed a cardinal sin -- taking on the Police.  You don't cover Every Breath You Take and you certainly don't approach the song like it is anything but the insidious, spooky, creepy song it is.  The guy is a stalker, there's nothing bouncy or fun in those lyrics.  They turned it into a cha-cha.  Just...no.  I'd like to just forget that it ever happened and go back to my happy place were these sweet-faced gospel singers can do no wrong. 

The next round of songs lived up to the title guilty pleasures because, with rare exceptions, they were all better, dare I say more pleasurable, performances than the first round.  The Backbeats came out in sherbet colored outfits and nailed the silly fun of the B-52's signature Love Shack.  They were campy and over the top and yet still musically on point.  Complete with "tin roof...rusted" exuberance, it was their best performance by a mile. 



Street Corner Symphony did Come On Eileen originally made famous by Dexy's Midnight Runners -- and no I knew who sang the original without being told because KROQ played that song 450,000 times one summer.  I wish they had gone for the rolled-up overalls to complete the homage, but sartorial choices aside, it was a good performance.  I wasn't as blown away as the judges, but they did show their vocal flexibility and variety.

Groove for Thought sang and turned a song I didn't like -- You Make My Dreams Come True by Hall and Oates -- even more painful to listen to.  But that quickly faded to memory as the Oregon boys  On the Rocks put on their best vocal performance to date with what was supposed to be the silly, guilty pleasure song Kyrie.  Instead, they brought out a new lead singer who elevated this cheesy song and made you forget all about the redundantly named Mr. Mister and the original embarrassingly-bloated version.  This was a standout performance and did what the judges asked them to do -- move them from entertainers to artists.

Also rebounding was Committed.  They took on the Backstreet Boys' I Want it That Way and this time they brought the beautiful harmonies and the rich variety of voices that makes them the group with the most depth.  They were a bit sloppy in places and they need a little direction to keep them from straying too far from the melody, but the have the most pure voices in the competition.

The jazzy group was dismissed, as was only right and proper, and we are left with five strong groups.  I will note, however, that the guy who sang their swan song was the best singer in the bunch and had he been given a lead perhaps I wouldn't have been sticking pins in their voodoo dolls.  No, as long as they went jazzy, I was going to go stabby.

Handicapping the rest, I still put Street Corner Symphony in the lead -- they have the best combination of strong voices, great blending of sounds, and traditional a cappella tools of any of the remaining groups.  The Backbeats are the most vulnerable as they have only shined with a heavy dose of kitsch -- when they sing straight, they're just not strong enough.  And we know that the fix is in forJerry Lawson and the oldsters, although the why is beyond me.  Perhaps the powers that be think the way to combat illegal downloading of music is to only sign artists whose fans lack computers??  But with a fan base that is too old to remember the name of the group by the time they pass by the WalMart greeter on the way to the CD section, I don't think it's a wise business decision.

Download these: