Dig These Discs :: Taylor Swift, Jessie J, Annie Lennox, Aretha Franklin, Dillon Francis

Fall brings nostalgia with it, and this installment of Dig These Discs doesn't skimp on the warm memories. Aretha Franklin sings the classics, as does Annie Lennox. Taylor Swift goes back to the songs of her youth with "1989." Jessie J keeps on getting bigger and bigger with her third studio album. And DJ/producer Dillon Francis gets a little help from his many friends as he drops his debut album. Old balances new in this week's Dig These Discs.

"Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics" (Aretha Franklin)

Duking it out with Patti LaBelle must be keeping living legend Aretha Franklin fresh. Her new album, "Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics" showcases her spectacular voice, which is still strong after all these years. The 10 tracks of this new album find The Queen of Soul paying homage to her sister divas with stellar covers of their most recognizable hits. With the help of longtime collaborator Clive Davis and producers Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Andre 3000, the 72-year-old makes the seminal hits of these divas her own. This is most apparent in her cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep," the first single off the album, with an interlude of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" woven in. She opens with a solid cover of Etta James' signature hit "At Last." A chorus of background singer elevates the pitch of her cover of Glady's Knight's "Midnight Train to Georgia." The finesse of her soulful asides in the slowed-down Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" nearly turns it into a torch song. She gives Babs a run for her money with her cover of "People" and gives a reggae vibe to Alicia Keys' "No One." She pays homage to Whitney Houston with a cover of every drag queen ever's favorite lip-sync song, "I'm Every Woman." She even adds a break interlude of her hit, "Respect." You go, girl! Franklin gets sultry in Dinah Washington's "Teach Me Tonight," and sassy in the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On." She closes with a big jazz band version of Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U." Long live the Queen!
(RCA)

"Nostalgia" (Annie Lennox)

Eurythmics frontwoman Annie Lennox drops her sixth studio album this month, her first in four years. The 12-track release "Nostalgia" is aptly named, as it gathers together her favorite songs from her youth, from the Great American Songbook. She launches things with Paul Francis Webster and Hoagy Carmichael's "Memphis in June." And even a casual listen will reveal that her voice hasn't weakened over the years; it's only better, like wine, with time. Carmichael's "Georgia on My Mind" follows, and you'll wonder which state Lennox likes best. The organ gives it a real gospel feel, despite her slow pacing. The sole piano keys in the opening of Screamin' Jay Hawkins "I Put a Spell on You" are perfectly spooky, and add a lot to this blues staple. She croons slow and easy on George Gershwin's "Summertime" and Abel Meeropol's "Strange Fruit," immortalized by Billie Holiday. Holiday's "God Bless the Child" will give you chills. A trill of horns warm things up in "I Cover the Waterfront," then cedes to strings and the piano. She really amps up the lonesome factor in "You Belong to Me," and the ambience in Harry Warren and Al Dubin's "September in the Rain." The underlying harmonica in "I Can Dream, Can't I?" is an unusual addition, and compliments its bookend, Carmichael's "The Nearness of You." She finishes up with Duke Ellington's swinging "Mood Indigo." All in all, it's a top-shelf collection of hits by a singer whose talent seems almost boundless.
(Island Records)

"1989" (Taylor Swift)

Country crossover star turned pop diva Taylor Swift drops her fifth studio album this month, and rather than a catalogue of disappointments inspired by her loser boyfriends, "1989" finds her looking back to the sounds of her youth for a pop/synthpop sound. And this time, she's gonna make you all pay. She has kicked to the curb digital streaming powerhouse Spotify, saying she won't stream her new album -- or any of her older works, either. It's a clear bid to boost her record sales, and it most likely will work. The album is a lucky 13 of pure pop songs, some of which are admittedly, infectious, among them her hit single, "Shake It Off," in which she drops the profound observation, "players gonna play, play play and haters gonna hate, hate, hate." At least it's bouncy, with a good beat. But critics, especially in the Big Apple, have been merciless in shredding her first cut, "Welcome to New York," with the kinder ones calling her an interloper, and the 'haters' going much further. She's still a kid at heart, calling out the 'players' in "Blank Space," while saying, "darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a dream." She's sneaking out in "Style," saying, "pick me up, no headlights" to her classic James Dean guy. She questions her relationship in "Out of The Woods" and bemoans its end in "All You Had to Do Was Stay." It's more of the same in "I Wish You Would," where she expresses her druthers about the end of it all. It goes from 'mad love' to "Bad Blood" in her next anthemic pop song, singing, "I still got scars on my back from your knife." She asks her lover to remember her with rosy lips and red cheeks in "Wildest Dream" and shares the rulebook in 'How You Get the Girl." She slows things down for her ballads, "This Love" and "Clean." Her catchy "I Know Places" paints them (the paparazzi?) "as the hunters, we are the foxes." Swift kicks off her world tour for "1989" on May 20, 2015 in Louisiana, and will hit venues through North America and Europe before heading to Australia next December.
(Big Machine Records)

"Sweet Talker" (Jessie J)

English singer/songwriter Jessie J drops her third studio album, "Sweet Talker," and thanks to her participation in Ariana Grande's summertime hit, "Bang Bang," the prime is pumped. This 15-track release also features a ton of collaborations, including help from 2 Chainz, Nicki Minaj and De La Soul. She starts fast out the gate, with "Ain't Been Done," the sing-song anthem "for the non-believers" that showcases Jessie J's lightning-fast patter. She slow it down -- but only a little bit -- for "Burnin' Up" with 2 Chainz, a sexy song with a fast clap track. She sings her heart out, breathlessly, in her title track, which is followed by "Bang Bang," another one that finds Jessie J giving it all she's got. She's best when she lets it all go. She tackles ballads with the soulful "Fire" and "Personal" and "Your Loss I'm Found," while cuts like "Masterpiece" are intense, with lines like, "I'm not gonna stop, I like the view from the top." It's nice to hear my old "718 to the 516" crew De La Soul churning out their trademark sound on "Seal Me With a Kiss;" it's bringing the '90s back to life! Violinist Lindsey Stirling adds class to "Loud," a doomed song about the haters. Jessie J channels Mary J Blige in the soulful "Keep Us Together," and "Get Away. Jessie J is talented, sexy and despite her 180 on the whole 'bisexual' thing, gays love her. So go get 'em, girl! At least for right now, the world is your oyster.
(Lava Records/Public Records)

"Money Sucks, Friends Rule" (Dillon Francis)

DJ/producer Dillon Thomas drops his debut album, "Money Sucks, Friends Rule," featuring collabs with DJ Snake, Martin Garrix, Twista, Panic! At The Disco's Brendon Urie and Major Lazer, among others. The video for his single, "When We Were Young" with Sultan + Ned Shepard and The Chain Gang of 1974 was released mid-October, and features a twisted reenactment of Thomas's third birthday party, with way too many grown men in diapers and party hats. The fast-paced rap intro for "All That" comes courtesy of Twista and The Rejectz. "We gone party all that, get retarded all that/ Hella women Hella bottles poppin we got all that," sings the chorus. DJ Snake turns up the bass as he ramps up the volume in "Get Low," and seals the deal with his infectious Bollywood jam. Martin Garrix lends a hand in the quirky dance track "Set Me Free," and Simon Lord helps with the poppy "Drunk All the Time." Brendon Urie is featured singing fine and even in the brooding track, "Love in the Middle of a Firefight," singing, "There's a war we can't ignore waging silent on our lives, we will overcome let the cowards run and hide." "Not Butter" buzzes and hums with robot precision, and "I Can't Take It" experiments with synth distortion. "Turn it down a little bit, let's talk about this mess we're making before we set off fireworks to the stars," begins "We Are Impossible, featuring The Presets. Major Lazer and Stylo G add that island beat to "We Make It Bounce" and TJR takes the audience through their letters in "What's That Spell?" Francis finishes the album with "Hurricane," an electropop hummer. The tracks all share the commonality that they are electronica; other than that, they all bring something different to the table. But the result is less a dinner party than a potluck buffet. It depends on your appetite if you're ready to take a bite. Francis sets of on Nov. 17 for a U.S. tour from Nashville to Brooklyn, and nearly everywhere in between.
(Columbia/Mad Decent)