Billboard singles reviews: Green Day, Fabolous

NEW YORK (Billboard) - After joining forces with U2 for

rousing hurricane relief single "The Saints Are Coming," Green

Day returns with a cover of John Lennon's most political song,

"Working Class Hero," featured on the all-star benefit "Instant

Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur," due June 12. Like the 1970

original, Green Day's version begins as a stripped-down,

man-with-guitar ballad, but gradually expands with thunderous

snares and thick power chords, building to a massive, richly

melodic guitar solo. It's an ideal song for frontman Billie Joe

Armstrong, whose haunting vocal leaves no doubt that he was

meant to sing angry couplets like "Keep you doped on religion

and sex and TV/And you think you're so clever and classless and

free," which still ring true today, perhaps more than ever.

ARTIST: FABOLOUS FEATURING NE-YO

SINGLE: MAKE ME BETTER

Fabolous taps R&B crooner/labelmate Ne-Yo with producer of

the decade Timbaland to create the ideal rap of the summer with

"Make Me Better." Bouncing back from lackluster response to the

previous "Diamonds," Fabo tones down punchline-ridden rhymes

and creates a romantic lyrical tandem with Ne-Yo, complimenting

women on enhancing men's lives. Timbaland's string ensembles

and deep bass are pleasingly reminiscent of Raekwon's 1996

"Rainy Dayz." New York radio has hastily hopped aboard, and

once the nation rallies, "Better" will be a top 40 staple,

ushering in Fabolous' new album, "From Nothin' to Somethin',"

whose release Def Jam has pushed back to June 12.

ARTIST: BJORK

SINGLE: EARTH INTRUDERS

Bjork tapped Timbaland to collaborate with her on a few

tracks on new album, "Volta," but her creations with the

in-demand producer/songwriter remain decidedly her own. On

"Earth Intruders," Timbaland's percussion-fueled foundation

sets the tone. Imagine, if you will, a high school marching

band from Nebraska uprooted and plopped in the middle of Rio

during Carnival, and you'll begin to understand the magic here.

Then there's that voice. It shakes, it quivers, it shrieks -- a

natural wonder of the world. A feisty track, "Earth Intruders"

finds Bjork singing of "turmoil" and "carnage" and of those

"coming to end the doubt pouring over."

ARTIST: TORI AMOS

SINGLE: BIG WHEEL

Leave it to

for respect. In the bridge of "Big Wheel" she declares, "I - I

- I am an M-I-L-F, don't you forget," twisting the backward

compliment into the definition of a woman you'd better think

twice about messing with. We're not sure which personality from

Amos' concept album "American Doll Posse" sings this song, but

we suspect Santa, the Sally Kellerman-ish vamp armed with

martini glass in the CD artwork. That would fit the jaunty

piano that's kissing cousins with a honky-tonk upright and

hand-clap percussion. This is a gal who can hold her liquor

with the big boys.

ARTIST: BEN GREEN

SINGLE: SHERYL CROW

Ben Green tempted the hand of solo greatness via a wayward

publishing deal with EMI and recording contract with SBK -- and

achieved a modicum of songwriting success. He gives it another

go on his own with "Sheryl Crow," a song based on a dream he

had in which the two shared friendly philosophical musings at a

Starbucks. Who can't relate to the occasional celebrity fantasy

that seems so real it's worth storytelling? She tells him, "I'm

here cause I need time to do an average thing/And get back to

the inspiration that makes me sing." Green commands vocals,

piano and acoustic guitar. Not since "Bette Davis Eyes" has

homage been as spirited.

ARTIST: DOLORES O'RIORDAN

SINGLE: ORDINARY DAY

It's been four years since '90s modern rock darlings the

Cranberries went on hiatus. It's taken the years since for lead

singer Dolores O'Riordan to record her solo bow, "Are You

Listening?," due May 15. With its hypnotic harmonies and steady

acoustic instrumentation, the album's launch single, "Ordinary

Day," showcases a tempo closer to pop classic "Linger" than

delectable screamer "Zombie." The lyric ("Always be yourself

along the way/Living through the spirit of your dreams") is a

guidebook for O'Riordan's third daughter, Dakota. Adult top 40

radio has a prizewinner here: familiar voice, female-friendly

message and opulent melody. An esteemed, handsome return.

ARTIST: ULTRA NATE

SINGLE: AUTOMATIC

Already at the top of Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play

chart, long-lived dance diva Ultra Nate's "Automatic" -- a

cover of the Pointer Sisters' 1984 top five hit -- is

reinvention personified. Cleverly opening with the line "I'm so

excited," referencing another Pointers classic, Nate enchants

with a lower-register vocal that conjures Ruth Pointer, before

launching into an anthemic kaleidoscopic swirl at the chorus.

The radio edit is ideal for FM, but clipped versions of the

Paul Jackson Excursion and Monkey Brothers Electro Lovely mixes

are also worthy. The song stands on its own, but its

double-entendre take on Internet sex is audaciously revealed in

a steamy videoclip on YouTube, which features Nate in myriad

fantasy costumes, along with a willing male partner. The "peak"

scene is enough to make a porn star blush.

Reuters/Billboard

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