English Music Reviews - February 1, 2007

Kingdom come
Jay-Z
Three years after he announced his retirement, Jay-Z is back in business. Kingdom Come, is testimony to his brilliance. Of course, duetting with lady love Beyonce on the track Hollywood doesn't hurt album sales either.

The lyrics are deep. On I Made It he pays tribute to his single mother (Didn't have a man in the house, so you made one/ That's why I act like your husband and I'm only your son); on Minority Report he talks of feeling bad for not doing enough for the people who suffered through Hurricane Katrina (Sure I ponyed up a mil', but I didn't give my time/So in reality I didn't give dime or a damn); and on Lost Ones he opens up about his often-rocky relationship with Beyonce, something he rarely ever does with the lyrics "The time's now for her, in time she'll mature/ And maybe we can be we again, like we were". Many first-listeners, in all probability, may not appreciate the album all that much, or even come close to lavishing upon it the praise it truely deserves. But that's not anyone's fault. Kingdom Come is an album beyond its time. It takes more than a few listens to even begin to appreciate its true greatness.

Tha blue carpet treatment
Snoop Dogg
Tha Blue Carpet Treatment features one of the most exciting reunions in rap: that of the Dogg with Dr Dre who helped produce the songs Imagine and Round Here (which is built on an instrumental snippet of Dido's Thank You). The other notably brilliant duets on the feature the miraculous Stevie Wonder on Conversations, Jamie Foxx on Psst! and That's That with R Kelly.

Two's Company: The Duets
Cliff Richard
The Duets is a stunning collection of songs old and new, which Cliff duets on with artistes as diverse as Elton John, Daniel O'Donnell, Dionne Warwick and Barry Gib. The album's first single, Yesterday Once More, is a beautiful reworking of The Carpenters' 1973 hit. Cliff duets with O'Donnell on this one, and despite being a different version of the song, it manages to retain that original haunting quality. The other highlight of the album is Cliff's 2007 version of his 1958 hit Move It.

Club Arabia Volume 2
Various Artistes
The second Club Arabia compilation brings you two and a half hours of non-stop music mixed by DJ Laith Bazari . The double-disc album features Oriental dance tracks such as Nancy Ajram's Oul Tani Eyh, Cheb Mami's Haoulou, Kadim Al Sahir's Dalaa and Wael Kafouri's Arrab Li Live In Paris on CD 1. The second CD features Oriental chill-out tunes such as Amr Diab's Tamally Maak, Haifa's Bahbeek Moot and Alaa Zalsali's Sir.