A concept album based around the lives of Imelda Marcos and her nanny Estrella Cumpas, and 's ( ) is primarily a great pop record featuring a bevy of name female vocalists. Grand conceptual themes aside, , , and cohort (aka ) have delivered a kooky, fun, theatrical, and -- more often than not -- deliriously listenable collection of '70s and '80s club pop. Inspired by a disparate set of sources, not the least of which included his reading of 's book as well as various reports detailing the former First Lady of the Philippines' penchant for disco and club life, formulated this would-be stage production based around the notion -- as he says in the liner notes -- of the "bubble worlds of the rich and powerful" set to the popular sounds (disco, soul, Latin beats, cabaret) of Marcos' time in power. While there is no dialogue in this production, has crafted each track throughout the album to tell the story and evoke the emotional state of Marcos and her longtime nanny Cumpas' emotional state. And while the story hangs together quite well, the main impression you are left with is that have impeccable taste in female singers. Here we get British songstress ( ) delivering the title prologue track, an anthemic disco-inflected number that recalls any number of Studio 54 diva hits. Similarly, takes on the role of Marcos' mother, Remedios, on the eerie flamenco-infused Along the way you get '80s pop icon , alt-country-rocker , Irish soul siren , Philly punk-dance singer , and others. ~ Matt Collar