Some of Them Stand Out After Novelty Is Gone

By Robert Hilburn

Nov. 30, 1997 12 AM PT

Robert Hilburn, The Times' pop music critic, can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]

This was a year that gave us lots of new hit acts, most of them so colorless or flimsy that 1997 may go down in history as the Year of the Novelty. From Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” to the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe,” there were novelty records so annoying that you cringed the first time you heard them, much less the 100th.

Even the alt-rock world, which normally gives us the most inventive music, became largely a wasteland of ska-infected groups, due to breakthrough albums by the dreaded Mighty Mighty Bosstones (who finally cracked the album Top 40 with “Let’s Face It”), Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris and so on.

But there were some noteworthy arrivals who deserve our continuing attention. Though some of the acts aren’t true freshmen, they all either made their major-label debut or achieved a dramatic new level of attention during the year.

In keeping with the remarkable diversity in the pop scene these days, the freshman class ranges from Erykah Badu, a marvelously sophisticated R&B; stylist from Texas, and Hanson, a trio of adolescents from Oklahoma, to Prodigy, a quartet of rock revolutionaries from London.

The list of the year’s outstanding newcomers is alphabetical.

A 3

There’s always a danger you’ll quickly tire of a band when it sounds as if the musicians spent more time developing a unique concept (in this case a marriage of techno-country sounds and radical sensibilities) than in making the album. But there are sparks of wild imagination throughout this band’s “Exile on Coldharbour Lane.” that give you some faith that A3--or Alabama 3, as the band is known in its native Britain--isn’t just a bunch of pop strategists. The tracks are as vivid as cinematic short stories, most of them touching on issues of temptation and salvation with a sometimes perverse, drug-stained, “Pulp Fiction”-like humor. Amid the madness: a great version of John Prine’s haunting “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.”

ERYKAH BADU

This striking 26-year-old singer is a commanding new presence who brings such sophistication and style to her singing and such artful social commentary to some of her songs that she has been compared to such varied and landmark artists as Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday and Bob Marley. Yet she also asserts enough individuality to keep her from ever being just a carbon-copy of anyone. One of the most remarkable things about the former theater major is the way she sometimes injects serious themes into what may seem like straightforward tunes--much like Meshell Ndegeocello. “Certainly,” from her debut album “Baduizm,” may seem like a classy torch song about the struggle between men and women, but she sees it more as a reflection on the history of racism in America. Expect to see her often on Grammy night.

DEANA CARTER

At 31, this daughter of respected Nashville guitarist Fred Carter Jr. got a late start in country music, but she certainly put it all together in her debut album, “Did I Shave My Legs for This?” Even though the collection had enough mainstream appeal to become a huge crossover hit (estimated sales: 3 million), Carter and producer Chris Farren didn’t sacrifice genuine country emotion to win pop audience favor. The breakthrough track was Carter’s warmly tailored version of “Strawberry Wine,” a song by Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison about a woman looking back on her first sexual experience. But Carter has an especially convincing style that enabled her to be equally effective on songs about romantic bliss (“We Danced Anyway”) or the times in a relationship when you have to draw a line (“Count Me In”) or even say farewell (the title track). She’s not in the Wynonna class as a vocal stylist, but she brings personality and character to her songs.

SEAN ‘PUFF DADDY’ COMBS

Puff Daddy may lean more than most on the talent of others, whether using Sting’s “Every Breath You Take” as the emotional center of the Notorious B.I.G. tribute “I’ll Be Missing You” or relying on David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” to keep the beat moving on “Been Around the World.” But the man knows how to construct hits, whether it’s for the stable of artists on his Bad Boy label or, as he proved this year, for his own debut album, “No Way Out.” He’s just 26, but he has already established himself as one of the industry’s most important players, as both an entrepreneur and a record maker. Despite the rows of platinum discs that already line his office wall, he shows no signs of slowing down. Imagine a hip-hop Berry Gordy Jr. who makes his own records.

MISSY ‘MISDEMEANOR’ ELLIOTT

Puff Mommy? After writing hits for Aaliyah, Jodeci, Ginuwine and MC Lyte, Elliott teams up with co-producer Tim (Timbaland) Mosley in her debut album for a series of tracks that consistently seek inventive new twists rather than simply settle for what’s proven successful. The singer, rapper, writer and arranger is as quick as Combs to drop in a highly identifiable sample--Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand the Rain” on the spunky “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”--as she is to fill a track (“Beep Me 911”) with enough new percussion twists and turns to have rival producers studying them. Elliott, who has her own label deal through Elektra Records, moves from sentimental to sassy just as quickly as she does from hip-hop to R&B.; A formidable talent.

FOREST FOR THE TREES

Carl Stephenson, who records under the group name Forest for the Trees, had his debut album ready a couple of years after he co-wrote “Loser” with Beck in 1991, but its release was delayed until now while Stephenson worked with doctors to find the right medication for his brain disorder. Remarkably, the album, also titled “Forest for the Trees,” still sounds trailblazing, with a striking mix of exotic musical textures that range from drum programming to bagpipes. “Dream,” a wistful single that is a sunny celebration of life, conveys an innocence and purity that recalls the magic of Brian Wilson at his best.

HANSON

Who knows what the future holds for these Oklahoma kids, but you deserve a place on the list if you come up with what might be the most irresistible single of the year, in “MMMBop”--even if the rock-edged pop trio had production guidance from the Dust Brothers (Beck’s “Odelay”). After all, the Jackson 5 had all those great Motown hit makers in the studio with them. If you listen hard enough, you’ll even hear something in 14-year-old Taylor Hanson’s lead vocals that recalls not just the youthful desire of a young Michael Jackson, but also the ambition and determination.

BETH ORTON

Listening to Orton’s “Trailer Park” album, you can imagine the English singer-songwriter spending many nights in her room as a teenager with Neil Young and Joni Mitchell albums, trying to wind down after a night of dance-club hopping. The folk and dance influences prove surprisingly compatible in her music. Besides the introspective songs the 26-year-old writes with guitarist Ted Barnes and bassist Ali Friend, the album includes a version of the Ronettes’ “I Wish I Never Saw the Sun” in which she throws out the “girl group” dramatics of the mid-’60s original in favor of a delicate, mature feel that gives the song new identity and depth.

PRODIGY

After two albums that attracted little attention outside the British band’s dance-world base, the quartet broke through this year with a new label (Maverick) and a stunning new album (“The Fat of the Land”) that displayed such a rebellious rock sensibility that it left parts of both the dance and rock worlds wondering just what was going on. The band’s refusal to stick to the rules of either camp was what gave the album such explosiveness. As leader Liam Howlett explains, the aim is to combine the energy and escapist good times of the dance world with the liberation of rock. In such numbers as “Firestarter” and “Serial Thrilla,” the mission is accomplished gloriously. Their performance at the Mayan was one of the concerts of the year.

TALVIN SINGH

A record producer and musician who first gained attention in England for his studio collaborations with Bjork and Massive Attack, Singh gave us one of the year’s most haunting albums in “Anokha: Soundz of the Asian Underground.” In the Quango Records release, the 27-year-old Londoner of Indian descent brings together a variety of inventive tracks that combine elements of electronic dance and world music. In many places, the tabla beats seem to float away from the surrounding dance rhythms in ways that invite your imagination to take flight.

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This Year’s Class

A 3

Erykah Badu

Deana Carter

Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs

Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott

Forest for the Trees

Hanson

Beth Orton

Prodigy

Talvin Singh