“Taylor Hicks”

Arista

“Fantasia”

J

The difference between two American Idols on their simultaneously released eponymous CDs is glaring. Taylor Hicks, he of the “Soul Patrol” sloganeering, tells listeners about soul – it’s no accident he’s titled his song “Soul Thing.” Fantasia is of the more valuable show-me school. She has soul so she doesn’t have to brand herself until people start buying in.

On TV, in two-minute snippets, Hicks occasionally scored on covers of the Doobie Brothers. But a professional recording studio reveals his vocal limitations. Hicks has minimal range, power or warmth. When he doesn’t sound congested he merely sounds dispirited and lacks the raw passion real soul singers possess. A lethargic remake of Marvin Gaye’s “Wherever I Lay My Hat” is especially damning.

“Taylor Hicks” has two standouts: Paul Pena, the guy who wrote the Steve Miller Band’s “Jet Airliner,” contributes this CD’s highlight, “Gonna Move.” “Give Me Tonight” also has a catchy rhythm and melody. A more charismatic performer with guidance from a thoughtful producer could take them to even higher places.

Maybe like Fantasia. The 2004 Idol apparently has taken Mary J. Blige’s “No More Drama” theme to heart. Largely gone from her much-improved sophomore CD are the downtrodden tunes found on her debut and the melodramatic air of her Lifetime TV movie is a fading memory. Instead she unfurls some fierce R&B workouts like “Not the Way That I Do,” “Hood Boy” (featuring Big Boi) and the anthemic “Baby Makin’ Hips.” None of the material calls for a vocalist of any range, but she does perform with conviction. As far as contemporary R&B albums go, “Fantasia” tops recent high profile offerings from Beyonce or Janet.

Pod Picks: “Baby Makin’ Hips,” “Not the Way That I Do” (Fantasia); “Gonna Move” (Hicks).

– Howard Cohen

“The Sweet Escape”

Interscope

Gwen Stefani’s 2004 solo debut “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” was nearly impossible to dislike. The CD boasted crafty, creative nonstop hooks on one infectious electropop tune after another. However the sequel, “The Sweet Escape,” sends Stefani spiraling into Fergie territory. Sweet? It’s the cockroach found at the bottom of the glass in your ice cream sundae.

While “LAMB” aimed for stylistic diversity, the commercially calculating “Sweet Escape” finds Stefani largely in ill-fitting “Hollaback Girl” hip-hop mode but without the hooks that saved her the last time.

Working with the usual Top 40 suspects as producers (Neptunes, et al.), “Escape”‘s first single “Wind It Up” cobbles a tune from “The Sound of Music” and Stefani’s woeful yodeling into what may well be the most gratingly insipid and bungled track of 2006. Only on the Nellee Hooper-produced tracks “Early Winter” and “Wonderful Life” does Stefani stretch her thin voice and sing appealingly.

Overall, the disappointing “Sweet Escape” comes across as contrived and plastic as the CD’s airbrushed cover photos that have Stefani looking like a mannequin version of Michelle Pfeiffer’s “Scarface” character Elvira.

Pod Picks: “Early Winter,” “Wonderful Life.”

– Howard Cohen