BY ANTHONY LOMAN In the hands of a lesser voice than Michael McDonald's, the job of covering the great songs of Tamla Motown is a daunting task and one which, many other artists have tackled and either failed miserably at or their interpretations have simply left the listener thinking, not bad but why bother.' But since Michael McDonald - a one time Doobie Brother - is arguably the finest blue-eyed soul voice of the last three decades, the chances of him falling short of the mark when embarking on his Motown album project in 2003 were pretty slim but, even he must have been somewhat taken aback by both the fantastic critical reaction to it and subsequent great sales figures. As expected, McDonald's ever-distinctive honeyed tones wrapped themselves perfectly around the Tamla catalogue to supremely stylish effect. And so, as the old adage goes, "if it ain't broke don't fix it", it's no surprise that McDonald has recently released his second collection of classic Motown covers with all the signs being that history will once again repeat itself with respect to its commercial and critical success.

McDonald is currently in the middle of a UK tour, ostensibly to promote his Motown 2' album, and performing recently at Manchester's Apollo theatre, he thrilled his audience with his stunning renditions of such perennial favourites as The Four Tops' Reach Out I'll Be There' & Baby I Need Your Lovin', Marvin Gaye's What's Goin On', I Heard It Through The Grapvine' and Mercy Mercy Me' and the beautiful Stop, Look, Listen(To Your Heart)' on which he dueted superbly with his big-lunged female backing singer. But the show was not solely about his Motown albums, far from it in fact, as long-time fans of McDonald were treated to songs from the singer/songwriter's own rich back catalogue including Sweet Freedom', What A Fool Believes', On My Own' and I Keep Forgettin' together with a few reminders from his Doobie Brothers days. Although now completely white of hair and beard and sporting a comfy looking sweater that was not exactly the height of fashion, McDonald proved that despite now being bracketed as one of pop music's elder statesmen, with a voice of such soulful and peerless quality, he still has plenty to offer in these modern times.

A fantasy figure for millions of guys the world over, a role model for countless young girls, a movie star, dancer, pop star, successful businesswoman with her signature perfume and own line of clothing, filthy rich and, oh yes, the proud owner of a backside that is widely regarded as an object of wonder, it's fair to say that Jennifer Lopez, a.k.a J-Lo, has a few things going for her.

Although she has neglected it in recent times in favour of her movie career and multitude of other interests, J-Lo has always been at pains to stress that music is her first love and so, it is little surprise to see her back with her fourth album release entitled Rebirth' (SonyBMG), having sold a mere 35 million copies of her previous three albums.

Once you get beyond her stunning photos on the cover and in the little CD booklet (if ever there was a case for the return to vinyl and the much missed gatefold sleeve then this surely is it), you'll find Rebirth' is a polished blend of hip-hop, R&B, soul, pop and dance with a splattering of lush ballads for good measure. No one would ever claim this to be ground-braking stuff, least of all probably J-Lo herself, but what she does, she actually does very well indeed and Rebirth' on the whole, is likeable stuff with the record's best moments being the recent number 1 single Get Right' - a stripped down to the basics dance track and the slowie Hold You Down', a collaboration with rap star Fat Joe. J-Lo's big mistake however is roping into the proceedings her latest squeeze and husband number three, Marc Anthony. Their joint effort, This Is Me' is, I'm afraid, beyond cringe worthy and hopefully, she'll learn the error of her ways for next time. Then again, if the rumours are to be believed, there is a high probability that the afore-mentioned Marc Anthony will have been relieved of his husband duties by then.