His latest album, "Parallax," released under his solo moniker, further proves Cox's lo-fi genius, showcasing his deftness at weaving multilayered lyrics through harmonizing electronic tones and across undulating beats to create catchy but complex pop songs.
'Exploitation' is a small masterpiece, a minimal club track into which she weaves the lyrics of her Moloko hit 'Sing It Back'; her old band's music makes further appearances, including the finale of 'Pure Pleasure Seeker', an unlikely counterpoint to the slow country croon of the preceding 'Exile'Exile
Joe South, a singer-songwriter who wove confrontational lyrics into bouncy pop hits of the late 1960s and early '70s, including "Games People Play," "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" and "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden," died on Wednesday at home in Flowery Branch, Ga., north of Atlanta.
Gone, too, were the acoustic songs sung with just a guitar, piano or dulcimer backing, replaced by an electric, jazz-inflected, intricately arranged sound, courtesy of Tom Scott's LA Express, that weaved around lyrics that were acutely observational or dazzlingly impressionistic, rather than soul-baringly confessional.
The Christmas music on the second disc is all written or performed by people with a strong link to Judaism, like Lou Reed and Sammy Davis Jr. Theodore Bikel, the Jewish folk singer and actor, is on the record, singing a Christian carol but weaving in some Hebrew lyrics.
It's woven into original lyrics that blend wistfulness and faith.
In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Harnick said he had usually woven in the lyrics after Mr. Bock had written the music.
But Jerry Bock's score embraces everything from a Hungarian czardas to a Ravel-like bolero, and Harnick's adroit lyrics weave their own spell.
Brown's versions of "Ain't No Way" and "Respect" seem like exercises, but her cover of "Rock Steady" is joyful and immediate, with bits of Sly Stone lyrics woven into the outro.
Nick Minichind of VH1 lauded the song for several pointed comments on empowerment which according to him, "are skillfully weaved into the lyrics, without feeling out of place".
