It's not often that the liner note "thank yous" on a record offer much insight to the album itself, but with
Nikka Costa's second album,
Can'tneverdidnothin', her four shout-outs help define exactly where she's at. First, there's a thank you to
Justin Stanley, her co-writer and producer, who functioned as her chief collaborator. Then, there's
Randy Jackson, the American Idol superstar and
Nikka's manager, who "fight[s] everyday for the artist I want to be." Then,
Lenny Kravitz gets acknowledgements for "the stinkiest groove that whooped my ass everytime," with
Prince getting the final tip of the hat for "support, advice and inspiration." Good thing
Costa gave credit where credit is due, since
Can'tneverdidnothin' bears the imprint of all four inspirations: it plays like an update of a mid-period, mid-'80s
Prince album, punctuated by a couple of
Lenny's fuzz-drenched retro rockers and given a slick, savvy show-biz presentation that's smart enough to have a couple of stylish, artsy touches like cameos by
Jon Brion,
Wendy Melovin, and
Roots drummer ?uestlove. While it's easy enough to play spot-the-influence here,
Costa pulls off a nifty trick by defining herself through her idols, finding her personality within the parameters of
Prince and
Lenny Kravitz. Not only does she have charisma and a powerful, soulful voice, she's a strong writer and the music here is muscular, funky, and imaginatively arranged, a significant step forward from her promising 2001 debut,
Everybody Got Their Something. This is big, dynamic music that cries for a big audience -- the kind of mainstream pop/soul/rock amalgam that got good reviews and airplay in 1990, but is rare in 2005. Not only aren't there many artists making this music, there is no outlet on radio or TV for this kind of sharp, professional, carefully constructed, and passionately performed genre-hopping pop (the best you get in 2005 is
Joss Stone playing against her strengths in Gap commercials). And that's a shame, because
Can'tneverdidnothin' not only deserves to be heard, but it's the kind of splashy, impassioned, infectious record that could make
Nikka Costa a star -- maybe not on the level of
Prince or
Madonna, maybe more like
Lenny Kravitz, but a star nonetheless. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine