Pop rock duets in Rock & Pop Music

"Elton John (Duets)" (10/27/1998) Rock & Pop Karaoke, Priddis

"Duets [Prism Leisure]" (12/27/1999) R&B Jones, Tom, Prism Leisure Corporation (UK)"Recordings mastered from the legendary U.S. coast to coast T.V. specials," reads a note on the back of this budget release, and that's all the information offered on a collection of 21 duets between Tom Jones and a wide range of other performers. (Curiously, there is also one track, "Pain," performed by Tina Turner solo!) In fact, along with song titles, duet partners, and the legally required song publishing information, that's all the text to be found on this disc, and even some of that is incorrect; Deniece Williams, Marisa Berenson, and Sondra Locke get their names misspelled. Did we say Marisa Berenson and Sondra Locke, actresses not exactly known as singers? Yes, we did, and they're here along with Susan Anton and Brooke Shields, who have been known to open their mouths in song on occasion, but justly are not famous for it. The rest of Jones' partners are real singers, however, and they are an odd cross section of, well, perhaps the kind of performers he might expect to run into in Las Vegas, from Paul Anka to Juliet Prowse and Lola Falana, plus associates from his country days like Lynn Anderson and Tanya Tucker, as well as soul singers such as Isaac Hayes and Teddy Pendergrass, and even Donny and Marie Osmond (on separate songs). Whew! Clearly, Jones is happy to co-star with practically anyone, and, as usual, he applies an equally open-minded approach to material, ready to tackle a variety of pop/rock, country, and traditional pop. He is a good duet partner, too, working with his co-singers, listening to them, and matching their interpretations with his own. There are some silly performances here, but Jones is never afraid to look foolish (or stand next to someone who does), so he never really suffers, even when Brooke Shields is torturing "Little Queenie." ~ William Ruhlmann

"Hot Duets" (12/2005) Rock & Pop Various Artists, Sony Music Distribution (USA)Sony Music Special Products' Hot Duets contains a selection of ten hits from the Columbia and Epic vaults. The featured selections span all styles of music, which makes the record a little incoherent, but there are enough good songs -- "Almost Paradise," "Can't We Try," "Easy Lover," "You're a Friend of Mine," "The Last Time I Felt Like This" -- to make it a worthwhile budget-line collection. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

"Joan of Arc Presents: Guitar Duets" (04/01/2006) Rock & Pop Joan of Arc, Record LabelJoan of Arc: Jeremy Boyle, Nate Kinsella, Bobby Burg, Sam Zurick, Matt Clark, Tim Rutili, Todd Mattei (acoustic guitar); Tim Kinsella, Ben Vida, Mike Kinsella. Personnel: Tim Kinsella (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Ben Vida (guitar, acoustic guitar); Todd Mattei, Sam Zurick, Tim Rutili (guitar, electric guitar); Jeremy Boyle, Nate Kinsella, Bobby Burg (guitar); Mike Kinsella (acoustic guitar). Audio Mixer: Nate Kinsella. Recording information: Health Food Co-op (01/29/2005); Make' Believe' Modest Home Studio (01/29/2005). Photographer: Chris Strong.

"DJ's Choice Karaoke Duets" (03/25/2003) Rock & Pop DJ's Choice, Turn Up The Music, Inc.Personnel: Dianne Athey (descant). The latest in this wide-ranging series of DJ's Choice karaoke discs compiles some of the most well-known duets in popular music, simultaneously challenging in skill and fun to sing, and provides a vocal version recreated by in-house band Hit Crew. Included in this installment are the famous climatic duet in Grease "You're the One That I want" (who could forget Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in this number?), Sonny and Cher's ""I Got You Babe," and Lionel Richie and Diana Ross' all-time greatest collaboration, "Endless Love." While the re-creations aren't exactly similar in quality to the originals, they provide a more than adequate substitute ideal for any karaoke party. Also included as bonus tracks are the instrumental versions of each song for the more acrobatic karaoke fanatic who need not rely on vocal tracks for assistance. ~ Rob Theakston

"The Songs of Popular Duets, Vol. 2" (07/11/2001) Easy Listening Karaoke, Brentwood Records

"Just Married: An Album of Duets" (06/07/2005) Rock & Pop Mark, Carolyn, Mint RecordsPersonnel: Carolyn Mark (acoustic guitar, piano, sound effects); Nathan Tinkham (vocals, guitar, dobro); Luke Doucet (vocals, guitar, piano); Carey Mercer (vocals, guitar, organ, drums); Ford Pier, Robyn Carrigan, Clay George (vocals, guitar); Corb Lund (vocals, acoustic guitar); Geoff Berner (vocals, accordion); Neville Quinlan, Neville Quinlan (vocals); Colin McKill (guitar, violin, piano, background vocals); Tolan McNeil (guitar, bass guitar, sound effects); Amy Honey (guitar, drums); Colin McKill (guitar); C. Mark (acoustic guitar); Mike Begin (steel guitar); Blaine Dunaway (trumpet); Brian Sanderson (sousaphone); Gregory Shea (piano); Keith Picot (upright bass); Rob Kavanagh, Candi McNeil, Scott Henderson (bass guitar); Jay Peters, Calvin Dick, Gregory McDonald, Jay Peters, Calvin Dick (drums); Shuyler Jansen (unknown instrument); Bryce Janssens (vocals, guitar); Dave Lang (vocals, acoustic guitar); Peter Kesper, Tiny Davis (guitar); Diona Davies (violin); Patrick Walsh (harmonica); Kelly Pineault (accordion); Tom Reader, Daniel Lapp (trumpet); Charlie Glasspool (piano); Connor Matthews, Mark Kesper, Garth Johnson (drums); Jody Shenkarek, Irish Sue (background vocals). Additional personnel: Kristen Harrison (guitar); Ford Pier, Luke Doucet, Nathan Tinkham, Robyn Carrigan, Geoff Berner, Carey Mercer, NQ Arbuckle, The Silver Hearts, Amy Honey, Corb Lund, The Fine Options, Clay George. Audio Mixers: Tolan McNeil; Scott Franchuck; Jay Elliott; Chris Shreenan-Dyck. Recording information: Lucky Mouse Studios, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Nathan Tinkam's Studio, Gabriola Island, British Columb; Profile Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Riverside Recording, Edmonton, A.B., Canada; The Rogue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; The Woodshed, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Arranger: John Doe. Canadian alt-country singer/songwriter Carolyn Mark has spent most of her career in the commercial shadow of her erstwhile singing partner Neko Case, but the cognoscenti have long recognized that Mark is her own artist. Much more of a pure country singer at heart than Case, Mark's Just Married: An Album of Duets shows her roots with good old-fashioned honky tonk ballads like "North Country Fair" (recorded with the Silver Hearts) and a heartfelt acoustic take on the Hank Williams standard "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" with Luke Doucet, as well as the Western Swing-inspired swagger of "Sweet Thing" with Corb Lund and the more contemporary Nashville sound of "It's All Just a Matter (Of Where You Draw the Line)" with Geoff Berner. But Mark isn't a hidebound traditionalist: other highlights here include the winsome folk-rock of "The Happy Bluebird Sings" with the Fine Options, and "Go Figure" with Kristen Harrison, the melodramatic indie rock atmospherics of "Claxton's Lament" with Carey Mercer, and the playful rock & roll mashup "Rocket Piano Man," a duet with Amy Honey which giddily conflates Billy Joel, Elton John, David Bowie's "Space Oddity," and other FM mainstays into a tongue in cheek celebration of outer space kitsch. Even more varied and wide-ranging than Mark's solo records, Just Married: An Album of Duets is one of her stronger efforts. ~ Stewart Mason

"Reverie d'Amour *" (05/03/2004) Rock & Pop Serenata of London, Joplin and Sweeney Music

"Karaoke Duets [Avid]" (08/06/2004) Oldies Karaoke, Avid

"Christmas Duets" (10/02/2001) Rock & Pop Various Artists, Lifestyles/Tinsel TreeThis is part of Lifestyles' Tinsel Tree series.