Although the States must salivate until just before Valentine's Day for the domestic release of Kylie Minogue's Body Language, in the interim we can satiate a yen for aging, aggressively sultry Aussie discotheque princesses via younger sis Dannii. Like Kylie, Dannii is almost unnaturally petite and posh, specializing in breathy, icy club pop that frequently sounds not of this planet. The ladies' delightfully androgynous, wet-dream-in- cyberspace videos go a long way toward coloring the Minogue mythology, which too often renders the music incidental. Truth is, Dannii's Neon blazes with a V.I.P. room/velvet rope eroticism that her sister prefers to inflate, distort, and drag out into the sunlight. Surprisingly, Dannii's reined-in, demure approach begets inconsistency. Nights' leadoff track employs the following hyperventilating, merry-go-round chorus: "Put the needle on it/I'll tell you where I want it/C'mon and spin me on it/All my freaks say . . ." Hello, METAPHOR OF THE YEAR! Similar come-ons are less successful as the record thumps and humps along. The strip joint throb of "Vibe On" would be, oh, a tad more alluring without Dannii and guest Riva trading lame moans about "XXX batteries" and, far worse, the concession "Looks like I'm a vibraholic now." Luckily, most of Nights isn't as licentious; the more traditional club tracks ("Loop," "For the Record") grind in an inviting, simple, "I'm gorgeous and I don't wanna be alone" vein. Nothing remotely groundbreaking here, but if you've invested in Kylie couture, Dannii is a must-have accessory. ANDREW BONAZELLI
AL GREEN
I Can't Stop
(Blue Note)
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Blue Note's put some of that Norah Jones windfall into Al Green's first collaboration with producer/arranger Willie Mitchell since 1985. But where He Is the Light was made for a gospel audience, I Can't Stop revisits the sweet and rough soul music Green and Mitchell perfected together in the early '70s. (Some of the same players show up for these sessions, too.) The new material isn't as stellarinsert the obligatory "What is?"but Green delights in his own power and gift for romance. That the delight never quite shades into the eccentricity of his country and Orbison covers or the post-Mitchell Belle Album doesn't take away from the fact that he's on pointe throughout. And at least two cuts deserve spots on Green's next multidisc career overview: The title track, a reclamation of the old Hi Records mid-tempo strut, and the longest performance, "My Problem is You," which suggests some kind of previously unimagined Memphis supper-club blues. Growling, repeating syllables, sighing, and casually reaching for high notes, the Reverend acknowledges that there may be a conundrum over which the Almighty holds no dominion. It's "Problem" that encourages Al Green to convince us once more, and to shred any argument that I Can't Stop is a mere nostalgia trip. Sure, he should be a guest on the next Basement Jaxx album. But he belongs right here, too. RICKEY WRIGHT
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