Beyonce @ The 2008 New Yorkers For Children Fall Gala Last Night @ Cipriani's

SOLANGE
“Sol-AngeL and the Hadley St. Dreams”
(Music World/Geffen)

In the booklet for her second album, “Sol-AngeL and the Hadley St. Dreams,” the R&B singer Solange poses in front of two large posters on which sentences are written multiple times, schoolchild-punishment-style: “I will not get pregnant at 17,” “I will not have a famous family.”

Well, what’s done is done, but Solange is not quite the petulant rebel she would like to be painted as. While she may have missed some of the memos received and followed to the letter by her much more famous sister, Beyoncé, she appears to have intercepted some of the ones meant for Amy Winehouse, whose shadow looms large here.

Even just a couple of years ago, major labels were not exactly clamoring to sign retro-soul singers, even one who shares DNA with the most dynamic R&B performer of the decade (to say nothing of one whose 2003 debut release, “Solo Star,” was characterless pop R&B).

But Solange is no Ms. Winehouse, even if she has corralled a host of top producers — the Neptunes (“I Decided,” Parts 1 and 2), Soulshock and Karlin (the excellent “Sandcastle Disco”) and Mark Ronson (“6 O’clock Blues”), the architect of Ms. Winehouse’s sound — all in the service of creating a Motownesque fantasy world in which Solange can distinguish herself from the family brand.

This is a peppy album, rich with thumping horns, crisp percussion and light piano melodies. As homage, it’s impressive. But Solange can’t quite keep up. Her voice lacks texture and depth, making her frustrations almost indistinguishable from her celebrations. Being different, it turns out, is not quite enough — though, if we’re splitting hairs, Beyoncé got here first, too, in “Dreamgirls.” JON CARAMANICA

20 Fall Albums We Can't Wait to Hear

BEYONCÉ
As yet untitled
Ring the alarm! Queen B has a new piece of jewelry on her finger and a whole new set of tunes to go with it. (Nov. 18)

Music Review

Doll Domination (2008)

The Pussycat Dolls

There are two kinds of girl groups: those anchored by a superstar (the Supremes, Destiny's Child), and those made up of charismatic personalities 
endowed with limited individual gifts (Spice Girls, TLC). The Pussycat Dolls are 
neither — they're a brand, not a band. This follow-up to 2005's multiplatinum PCD finds lead Doll Nicole Scherzinger in the spotlight, and she's no Beyoncé. As for the others, well...can you name them? Do you even know how many there are?