The most popular music albums for the last time

Exile - Exile Love

2008-01-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

Buy Exile - Exile Love

EXILE released their sixth album, “EXILE LOVE” on December 12, 2007. Their album achieved astounding first day sales - the second highest recorded since daily sales indicators were added in February of 2007. Their firs day sales of 210,000 are second to only Mr. Children’s first day sales for HOME.

The album starts out strongly with a great sounding track, “What is Love.” It features vocals the fade in and out amongst the fast strings and synth sounds. It’s not until the first chorus where EXILE’s R&B comes front and center. Even then, the instrumentation is one of the tracks strengths. On the other hand, the song’s use of “What is L O V E?” doesn’t sound very good, mainly because of the trouble in pronunciation of the word. It’s quite detrimental to the track, despite excellent English elsewhere. Considering its the hook of the song, good pronunciation should have been emphasized. The extro more than makes up for the chorus, with EXILE’s lead vocals accompanied by frenetic strings. Over all, a solid introduction to the album.

“I Believe” was released as a winter single preceding the release of the this album. It doesn’t have the great production and layering of the previous track, but it’s still of good quality. The song is pretty low-key, with decent vocals that don’t really push the envelope. The melody is probably the track’s strengths, but the instrumentation doesn’t help carry that strength across to the listener very well, nor do the lead vocals. As a single, “I Believe” was lacking, and if you’ve heard it before, it can easily be skipped without hurting your listening experience.

“Beautiful” makes a good transition from “I Believe;” the song is mid-tempo R&B with a so-so hook. The track doesn’t sound very impressive in the verses at all. In fact, the verses are very spartan, which does not accompany weak lead vocals well. However, the chorus cues the start of a fuller instrumentation that helps lift the song up. The crescendo is also a great part of the song, but the extro sounds plain awful and Engrishy. “Beautiful” is the weakest of the first three tracks, but it’s a far cry from terrible.

“Hibiki” is the B-side to the “SUMMER TIME LOVE” single; it’s a ballad powered by violins and an R&B beat. It’s a typical ballad filler for a J-pop album. However, this song is weak compared to many of EXILE’s other album tracks, mainly because of the lack of full layering of background vocals. Background vocals are present, but they’re not out in full force. The end effect is a mild ballad the ends up feeling bland. EXILE is capable of better, so this track really falls into the background of the album.

“Kimi Ga Iru Kara” is a B-side from wintry “I Believe” single, and the song ends up sounding wintry as well. “Kimi Ga Iru Kara” has a better variety of instrumentation than “Hibiki,” but is not as good as “I Believe.” These three songs feel so close in nature, and are very slow; it’s hard to recommend listening to all of them. “I Believe” is probably the best choice to listen to, the other two aren’t quite up to par for EXILE.

The album has lost a lot of its initial momentum by this point, as well as a sizable fraction of its starting quality. “Make Love” forces an awkward transition to a dance track that edits the vocals to a large extent. The album gains back momentum, but the track really isn’t that good. It feels over powered. It has a good hook chorus and great vocals, but the synth instrumentation is too much. The song ends up feeling like an extended interlude. In context of the album, the song may be listenable, but the track would have trouble standing alone.

“SUMMER TIME LOVE” is the best song on the album, and the best single released during this era of EXILE. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, you’re probably wondering why I dared make such a statement. I’m sure many people will have a variety of favorites from the album, but this song has the most power, a great hook that lacks detrimental Engrish, excellent instrumentation, a semi-present beat that doesn’t overpower the song, and a fabulous chorus. The song sounds full and upbeat, which are two of EXILE’s strengths. The crescendo and the final chorus are simply cherries on top of the thickly layered icing; the song not only starts out strong, but finishes with a large bang. Unless you can only listen to EXILE’s ballads, SUMMER TIME LOVE is a must listen.

“Sora Kara Ochitekuru JAZZ” slows the album back down to mid-tempo from the last powerhouse track. This song is definitely jazzy, it feels a lot different from many of the album’s other tracks mainly because it lacks a powerful R&B beat. However, jazz is most definitely not EXILE’s strength. The lead singer does pull off the song nicely, but the song can’t help but feel a little sparse and bland compared to other album tracks.

“love” is the album’s full blown mid-tempo R&B ballad. How to describe the flaw with this track? It’s almost intangible; the song sounds fine, but it feels like it could have easily been so much more than just fine. At times, it feels like the vocals and the instrumentation are on the verge of surprising the listener, but there is no surprise in store. The track sounds very typical of EXILE. Considering that they’ve done better ballads, this song really isn’t worth a listen outside of the album.

“sayonara” is, well, you guessed it… ANOTHER BALLAD! By this point the album has inundated the listener in ballads. The best ballad, “I Believe” wasn’t even that good, but nevertheless, EXILE is trying to cater to their fans, who they believe love their ballads. “sayonara” sounds too soft compared to the other ballads, despite at least sounding different. Rule of thumb: EXILE does pop, not acoustic. The vocals aren’t strong enough for acoustic songs, and lack true personality. That means “sayonara” really does not sit well with the rest of the album.

“Kawaranai Mono” is another ballad. I’ve said all I want to say about EXILE’s ballads. At this point, they’ve beaten out all interest the listener has in their ballads. This is really hurting the variety of their album. I can understand an emphasis on ballads on an album about love, but this is over kill. The goal of pop music is to reach out to a variety of listeners in order to attain a large fanbase, and this album is not doing so at all. It’s floundering, in fact.

“Toki No Kakera” is at least upbeat, but as the B-side on “24karats -type EX-,” it is not amazing. The production is noticeably lacking in this mid-tempo track, and the vocals don’t sound perfected. The song is just okay.

“Touch The Sky feat. Bach Logic” is a bonus track, and rightfully so. It’s too R&B and too out of place among EXILE’s other tracks. It’s certainly variety, but it’s variety that’s created at expense of the quality of the music. It’s not really pop at all.

“24karats -type EX-” is dancey and dark with diverse vocals, rapping, and interesting instrumentation. It’s a great way to round out the CD + 2DVD version of the album because it ends the album with power, on a high note. Sowelu gives the track flavor that really helps give the album flavor.

Now, here is where EXILE’s album-selling gimmick comes into play. One album version had two extra songs and the DVDs. However, the other version has the fan favorite and recent heavy download seller, “Lovers Again.” This orchestra version of “Lovers Again” has quite probably helped EXILE move a significantly greater number of albums. It’s that popular. And the song is probably worth your listen in its latest reincarnation.

After listening to the album in its entirety, you may realize how much you have just listened to TAKAHIRO’s lead vocals. The pure concentration of his voice on this album is staggering. He’s leading the song’s, and pretty much unabashedly backing himself up. The problem with this is that his voice, although pretty, soothing, and great for R&B, does not have a great deal of power or range. True, this album strives to differentiate the tracks and give them unique renditions of TAKAHIRO’s vocals by changing up the pace, but oftentimes, this fails. Some tracks, such as “SUMMER TIME LOVE” are excellently produced, and transcend this inherent flaw, while others simply succumb, falling into the abyss of EXILE’s many, many songs in its discography. These vocals are the one main flaw worth noting on this album (other than the flooding of ballads). Over all, it’s a step up from their last studio effort and a decent J-pop release.

Buy Exile - Exile Love

01. What Is Love
02. I Believe
03. Beautiful
04. Hibiki
05. Kimi Ga Iru Kara
06. Make Love
07. SUMMER TIME LOVE
08. Sora Kara Ochitekuru JAZZ
09. love
10. sayonara
11. Kawaranai Mono
12. Toki No Kakera
13. Touch The Sky feat. Bach Logic (CD+2DVD-Only Bonus)
14. 24karats -type EX- (Sowelu, EXILE, DOBERMAN INC) (CD+2DVD-Only Bonus)
15. Lovers Again -Orchestra Version- (CD-Only Bonus)

Dreams Come True - And I Love You

2008-01-18T14:25:00.000-08:00

Buy Dreams Come True - And I Love You

“AND I LOVE YOU,” DCT’s 14th original studio album, was released December 12, 2007. It reached number two on the Oricon charts, selling 374,000 copies its first week.

“a little prayer” begins the album on an irresistible note: the track uses well-layered vocals intermingled with soft R&B beats to create a great atmosphere. If the song were full length, the repetition of the of some phrases would be a problem, but instead, the song prepares the listener for the variety of the album. A well produced track with a variety of sounds, “a little prayer” is a paradigm of what introductions should be.

“Aishiteru no Sign ~Watashitachi no Mirai Yosouzu~” is a ballad, through and through. If you can’t stand the song being slow and repetitive, despite being very pretty and melodic, this might be a song to skip. True, the song sounds very typical of a ballad, but the chorus somehow makes the song worth a listen among all the powerhouse songs among DCT’s discography. The final chorus of the song is fabulous, working as a climax for the song. “Aishiteru no Sign ~Watashitachi no Mirai Yosouzu~” is never over the top vocally, but feels emotional nonetheless. Despite a prolonged extro that thinks too highly of itself, this song is good.

The transition into “Osaka LOVER -ALBUM EDITION-” is a bit forced because of the huge change in beat and rythym. Nevertheless, it works. “Osaka LOVER -ALBUM EDITION-” is just funky, with an infectious beat, interesting background music, and strong vocals. The memorable music of the chorus and the catchy hooks make this song special, as well. Perhaps the best part of the song is the final bridge and crescendo; the addition of more traditional Japanese sounds and fuller keyboards lead the song into its ending stretch with style. The extro, extended in this album version, is interesting clearly marking this as an album only version of the song.

“Appeal” maintains the funky beat of “Osaka LOVER” but tones the energy level down a few notches. That doesn’t mean the keyboards and vocals aren’t as sweet as ever, however. The choruses boom over the verses, and “Appeal” has one of the best final choruses of the album so far. Yoshida Miwa elevates her voice in noticeable manner, giving this track another special feel. Despite being mid-tempo, “Appeal” manages to maintain the listener’s interest through a variety of sounds. The ending monologue probably isn’t necessary, but it does exemplify the melody nicely.

“Sayonara 59ers! -ALBUM EDITION- (さよなら59ers!)” is a mid-tempo song with funk. Utilizing an acoustic guitar, clapping, and trademark beat, the song. For most of the song, “Sayonara 59ers! -ALBUM EDITION- (さよなら59ers!)” drags along, with very stable vocals and melody. It’s not until the ending, where vocal layering, the guitar, and Yoshida Miwa’s lead vocals all kick it up a notch. It’s too little, too late though - “Sayonara 59ers! -ALBUM EDITION- (さよなら59ers!)” feels like a B-side placed among stronger tracks (which it is). There’s no hiding it.

“CARNAVAL ~Subete no Tatakau Hitotachi he~” is in a similar vein as “Sayonara 59ers!” but has much more energy, perhaps because the theme is “CARNAVAL.” Nevertheless, the keyboards just beam on this track, and the omnipresent choir of everyday background voices really give the song personality. Whistles, and various other instruments don’t feel out of place here, mainly because this song is just a mid-temp party for your ears.

“NOCTURNE 001″ starts out with futuristic sounds, before a more traditional piano takes center stage among these beats. This song has much less power than “Aishiteru no Sign ~Watashitachi no Mirai Yosouzu~,” but uses variety in sounds and building power in lead vocals to differentiate. “NOCTURE 001″ is very different, and despite dragging at first, ends with the listener satisfied, mainly due to the complexity of the track. Despite a rough start, the ending vocals and melody are very pretty and memorable.

“Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai” is perhaps the most powerful ballad on the album so far. Vocally, Yoshida Miwa really strives for power. Without that power and corresponding increase in background vocals, this track may have sounding like the other two slower songs on this album. However, “Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai” feels different because of the power behind the whole song. An interesting harpsicord like sound (probably manipulated through the keyboard) adds flavor to this track through slow initial verses. The crescendo is well worth the wait, however. The final bridge leads into piano backed lead vocals before they begin to boom in the extro. “Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai” has one of the best extros on the whole album, hands down, mainly because it sounds so wonderful and is easy to sing along to. The piano fringe at the end is wonderful too - the melody will really stick with the listener.

The piano leads right into the next track, “Kyou Dake wa -ALBUM EDITION-” utilizes a melody during the chorus that sounds reminiscent of “Silver Bells.” There’s not much at fault with the song, although it feels a bit less-well rounded compared to some of the other tracks. “Kyou Dake wa -ALBUM EDITION-” has good tempo, and variety in instrumentation, with modern rythym, and traditional beats. The bridge’s tempo certainly mixes the song up a bit, spicing things up. The ending is also very good, although the choruses throughout the song are a bit slow (despite excellent transitions back to the verses). It’s very pretty song with some roughness, but plenty of goodness.

“UNPRETTY DAY!” starts out pretty well, with an orchestra, before a very 90s beat takes over, ruining the ambiance. Luckily, instrumentation comes back, but besides excellent vocals, this funky track is a little too funky at some points. A nice change of pace, but perhaps a little over the top for some.

“Mata ne -ALBUM EDITION-” is a welcome journey back to a comfort zone. Of course, the song uses the cliché of children, although their voices don’t sound as choir-like as we may be used to. Still, the song has power and rhythm. The choruses sound frenetic, but in a good way, upping the pace of the song and imbuing more energy to the song. Of course, “Mata ne” might get a little repetitive after a while, but it is kind of fun to sing along with. This repetition has duality, then, as it acts as both the strength and weakness of “Mata ne -ALBUM EDITION-.”

“Moshimo Yuki Nara” is another ballad, which banks on differentiating itself by sounding wintry. It’s pretty, but it’s not as good or memorable as the other ballads found on the album. It does, however, lead nicely, into the forward-looking “AND I LOVE YOU.” This final track on the album sounds heartfelt and leaves the listener feeling as through the whole album “AND I LOVE YOU” came from the heart. That’s a nice feeling.

“AND I LOVE YOU” is most clearly an album created by a pop group with great ability and capability tempered by experience. However, experience does not make DCT flawless. Often, long-time musical acts may rest on their laurels while still trying to create new music. DCT doesn’t quite do that here, however, the album does feel like the amalgamation of singles put together with some filler tracks. That’s not a bad thing necesarily, as most of these tracks are strong. However, “AND I LOVE YOU” has many tracks that drag on way past their due-date of stopping, seemingly just to fill the album and make it complete. This, along with an initial feeling of blandness, prevent “AND I LOVE YOU” from standing among their best works. However, some songs on their album do stack up well against classics. “AND I LOVE YOU” is a step in the right direction for DCT, but just a baby step. It’s one of the better pop albums out there, but that should be expected, and part of creating a great album is rising above expectations, which DCT doesn’t do to a certain extent.

Buy Dreams Come True - And I Love You

01. a little prayer
02. Aishiteru no Sign ~Watashitachi no Mirai Yosouzu~
03. Osaka LOVER -ALBUM EDITION-
04. Appeal
05. Sayonara 59ers! -ALBUM EDITION-
06. CARNAVAL ~Subete no Tatakau Hitotachi he~
07. NOCTURNE 001
08. Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai
09. Kyou Dake wa -ALBUM EDITION-
10. UNPRETTY DAY!
11. Mata ne -ALBUM EDITION-
12. Moshimo Yuki Nara
13. AND I LOVE YOU

Bow Wow and Omarion - Face Off

2008-01-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

Buy Bow Wow and Omarion - Face Off

Much like the two album collaboration between Jay-Z and R Kelly, Bow Wow and Omarion combine hip hop and R&B for a full length collaboration.
The interesting thing about this collaboration is both of these artists who were child stars that are trying to shed their former image. Omarion had been in commercials as a child and was later part of the R&B boy group B2K. Bow Wow used to be known as Lil Bow Wow but he wanted to shed his image as a young teenage rapper. He shed the little but as of yet still hasn't quite revamped his image.
Although I don't think many people were highly anticipating this release, the album does pack a serious punch. I must admit I hadn't heard Bow Wow rap since he dropped the Lil from his name, but he has some serious talent. From his first verse on the opening track "Face Off" he establishes himself as the star of the album.
For the most part Omarion is confined to choruses on the album. When he does sing verses he lacks the punch that R Kelly has established for himself in recent albums and remixes. Omarion's choruses do perfectly complement Bow Wow's verses.
As many readers might know, I'm not generally a big fan of R&B tinged hip hop. For the most part on this album, the production is very hip hop. It reminds me a lot of R Kelly's more recent work. The production is hip hop with some singing. Production on the album comes from T-Pain, Rick Ruben, the Neptunes, and Jim Jonsin.
Will the album revamp the images of these two artists? I'm not completely sure. Bow Wow spits lines like "We can do it in the shower/ Bow Wow can go for hours" and it just seems slightly unnatural. Both these guys have talent which seems to be surprising to a lot of people. Maybe if they decided to do a follow up like R Kelly and Jay-Z did, it will be even bigger and even better.

Buy Bow Wow and Omarion - Face Off

01 Face Off
02 Hood Star
03 Girlfriend
04 Hey Baby (Jump Off)
05 He Ain't Gotta Know
06 Bachelor Pad
07 Listen
08 Can't Get Tired of Me
09 Number Ones
10 Baby Girl
11 Take off Your Clothes
12 Another Girl

Jonas Brothers - Jonas Brothers

2008-01-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

Buy Jonas Brothers - Jonas Brothers

One year after their fairly successful debut record, It's About Time, the Jonas Brothers are ready to drop their new sophomore attempt with the help of a new label from Hollywood Records, a company that has produced big teen artists such as Raven Symone and Plain White T's. Their new self-titled album is straight forward and simple proof that these three brothers have matured in every aspect of their music career, and, most notably, in their voices. Interestingly, heavier guitar parts give this album an edgier feel previously not heard. But does this mean a discontinuation of the fun and positive tracks from It's About Time?

"S.O.S," the album's opener, finds the group in the midst of an up and down relationship which they compare to "walking on broken glass." The following track and first hit single from the record, "Hold On," boasts a strong reminder not to completely fall apart in troubled times and holds values in high esteem (Don't give up/Have faith/Restart). The surprising ballad "Hello Beautiful" will no doubt leave fans pleased not only with the song itself, but also with the vocal quality and improvement that has taken place within one year's time. "Inseparable" bears a message of being there for each other no matter what the circumstances are, whereas "Hollywood" is the song on this album that proves it worthy of a 3-star rating. The track lets fans know that this band won't be swayed by Hollywood culture and tells us "the fire's in our hearts."

What and where is that fire though? While it appears most obvious in "Hollywood" that it is Christ's love, it is not so apparent throughout this record. Many songs make it hard to decipher whether they have a faith-based or secular meaning which unfortunately is likely to leave some confused and in the dark.

Overall, though, the Jonas Brothers have maintained their image as a solid choice of music for teens due to this mix of fun, up-tempo, and (mostly) positive songs. Their potential to grow as artists of faith is at its highest level yet, but at least for now, they still seem willing to fill the musical appetite of the Radio Disney crowd only. We can only hope that one day that will change.

Buy Jonas Brothers - Jonas Brothers

01 S.O.S
02 Hold On
03 Goodnight And Goodbye
04 That's Just The Way We Roll
05 Hello Beautiful
06 Still In Love With You
07 Australia
08 Games
09 When You Look Me In The Eyes
10 Inseparable
11 Just Friends
12 Hollywood
13 Year 3000
14 Kids Of The Future

Birdman - 5 Stunna

2008-01-18T13:55:00.001-08:00

Buy Birdman - 5 Stunna

He’s a Cash Money Records CEO, a Louisiana G, and more notably Lil’ Wayne’s daddy. Throughout his come up, Birdman has lost friends, family, and even his New Orleans hood; still his presence lingers. One would think with ten plus years in the game, and not to mention all of his materialistic treasures, Baby has nothing to prove but many believe the Cash Money empire can’t survive without Weezy. With his first stand-alone album in two years, 5 * Stunna (Cash Money), Birdman offers a couple of keepers, but does nothing to really establish himself outside of his son’s success.

In seventeen tracks, Baby finds a thousand ways to utter M.O.B., and stunt over any and everyone. His rhymes are mediocre, but then again complex verses were never expected of him. He does however deliver what he has in the past; catchy beats and top-tier features. The first single “100 Million” caters more to the streets with its hustle hard feel courtesy of Wayne, Young Jeezy and Rick Ross. Cool & Dre utilize heavy synthesizers for the four to rock over as DJ Khaled hypes it up with his signature call outs.

The production recipe does somewhat save the album from being a total loss. The ingredients include the standard gun cocks, birdcalls and handclaps. For the clubs Baby does it big on “Pop Bottles.” With a Jadakiss sample used as the hook, the song has a similar feel to “Diamonds” by Fabolous. Additionally, the faint soul sample and moving keys found on “Believe That,” add some authenticity to his empty bars. In fact, if you’d just listen to the tracks minus the words you would almost anticipate an album of in-depth anecdotes laced with complex lyrics.

When all's mixed and mastered, lyrically, the quote “Like Father Like Son” doesn’t apply. In other words, don’t expect Birdman to sit amongst the greatest rappers of all time. While diehard fans won’t be completely disappointed in 5 * Stunna, those who enjoy true lyricism may be a bit unenthused.

Buy Birdman - 5 Stunna

01 INTRO
02 FULLY LOADED
03 I RUN THIS feat. Lil Wayne
04 THE MONEY
05 INTERLUDE -- "THE OLD MAN" #1
06 100 Million (feat. Lil' Wayne, Young Jeezy, & Rick Ross)
07 BELIEVE DAT feat Lil Wayne
08 DO THE THANG
09 Grind (feat. Lil' Wayne & Brisco)
10 BIG MONEY TALK
11 INTERLUDE -- "THE OLD MAN" #2
12 HEAD BUSTA
13 POP BOTTLES feat. Lil Wayne
14 I'M A STUNNA
15 LOVE MY HOOD
16 INTERLUDE -- "THE OLD MAN" #3
17 Make Way (feat. Fat Joe & Lil' Wayne)
18 SO TIRED feat. Lil Wayne
19 OUTRO
20 We Gangsta (feat. All Star & Yo Gotti)
21 BOSSY (BONUS TRACK)
22 WET PAINT (BONUS TRACK)

Fergie - The Dutchess

2008-01-18T13:45:00.001-08:00

Buy Fergie - The Dutchess

When is a single Pea greater than the sum of her pod? When she steps out with a shrewd, accomplished debut. On The Dutchess, Fergie — a.k.a. Stacy Ferguson, the pert legume whose feminine presence revitalized the Black Eyed Peas — retains the group's proven gift for indelible melodies, but reaches beyond their cartoonish poses and half-cocked raps for a fuller, more diverse sound. Here, she proves herself equally adept at well-deep reggae riddims, giddy dance-floor jams, and fervent ballads.

The album's opener, the self-love anthem ''Fergalicious,'' doesn't stray too far from her recent past, with its spare snare-clap beat set behind familiar ''My Hump''-sy boasts like ''They be linin' down the block just to watch what I got.'' But moments later, she is sweetly smitten on the bashful, bouncing ''Clumsy,'' and by album's end, she's expanding into Broadway-style torch songs on the unapologetically dramatic piano- and string-laden coda, ''Finally.''

Not that she's forsaken her fellow Peas entirely; the three male members appear (silently) in the video for her current chart-buster, ''London Bridge,'' whose horn-hooting, foot-stomping refrain, ''Wanna go down like London, London, LON-don,'' unsubtly, if memorably, combines winky sexual metaphors and club-banging beats. And BEP mastermind will.i.am, along with label prez Ron Fair, produces a number of Dutchess' tracks. They're smart enough to help Fergie navigate several musical genres, as well as personae: One moment she's a fierce, sexaholic superstar (''London Bridge'') and the next a ragga-punk Caribbean princess (''Mary Jane Shoes,'' featuring Rita Marley) or a scared, unguarded woman in love (''All That I Got'').

Though not every track is a gem, The Dutchess reaches further than most albums by contemporary divas, who often seem content to turn out one or two killer singles accompanied by an album's worth of padding. Fergie tries hard to be all things to all (pop-loving) people — and much of the time, she succeeds.

Even her newfound vulnerability feels right. Famously abbreviated stage outfits aside, Fergie's ardent joy on the John Legend-assisted ''Finally'' track is probably as publicly naked as she's ever allowed herself to be. Not that she's morphing into some kind of ''My Heart Will Go On'' ballad queen; Fergie is too adept on the dance floor to forsake it. And if occasionally the lady doth attest too much to her own physical charms, The Dutchess proves that she's earned her Black Eyed independence — and perhaps even her new royal title.

Buy Fergie - The Dutchess

01 Fergalicious
02 Clumsy
03 All That I Got (The Make Up Song)
04 London Bridge
05 Pedestal
06 Voodoo Doll
07 Glamorous
08 Here I Come
09 Velvet
10 Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal)
11 Mary Jane Shoes
12 Losing My Ground
13 Finally
14 Get Your Hands Up
15 Wake Up
16 Paradise (Bonus Track)

Kylie Minogue - X

2007-12-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

Buy Kylie Minogue - X

The best summary of Kylie Minogue comes from Grant Morrison's 1992 Zenith comic: "Kylie is Vera Lynn for Third World War," yelled an eight-foot raver robot, and though nobody knew it then he was right. Like 1940s siren Dame Vera, she's one of Britain's most beloved entertainers, a comforting fixity in the pop firmament. But since 2001's career-defining "Can't Get You Out Of My Head", there's also an expectation that she'll play the futurist, define pop's leading edge. X, her comeback album after a fight against cancer, doesn't always succeed in balancing these two Minogues.

When Minogue's irrepressible teen chirp dominated Britain's charts in the late-80s, critics deplored her even while conceding that she herself was a likable personality. Minogue's career has often seemed a series of attempts to expand on this basic likability to add sex, or credibility, or modernism to the mix. The main barrier is generally her voice: Thin, slightly nasal, and prone to strain, it's a 128 kbps instrument in a 320 kpbs world. Minogue has usually been skillful enough to pick material that suits it, however. "2 Hearts", X's first single, is a fine example: An electro-rock vamp gesturing toward Goldfrapp, it's built around heavy piano rolls that give the track some bottom and Minogue freedom to hiss and slink.

"2 Hearts" ticks all the Minogue comeback boxes it's an unexpected stylistic move, it plays to her strengths, it's not copying herself or her close peers. It also, unfortunately, sounds like nothing else on X, which hops around searching for a sound it's comfortable with. X can seem like a revision primer for Minogue fans who've ignored the past few years of chart pop here's a bit of Gwen Stefani-style clockwork playground pop; here's some nu-Britney Spears cut-ups; here's some Sugababes sultriness. Here's electro-disco, cosmic disco, and just plain disco disco, plus nods to 1980s street dance and 00s r&b. If she'd thrown in a ska sample and cockney accent we'd have the whole contemporary UK pop scene on a single CD.

As you'd expect, not all of these styles suit her. "Heart Beat Rock", for instance, has fizzy Neptunes keyboards and a hot, stuttering beat. But the half-spoken lyrics need more sass than Minogue can give. Stefani giggling "I can make your heartbeat rock" might have been convincing Minogue just sounds twee. When that track ends and "The One"' shimmers gloriously in with New Order guitars and morse-code synths, the return to 4/4 dance-pop brings an almost tangible inrush of confidence. "I'm the One love me love me love me," she sings, and for these four minutes she is and we do. This kind of unfussy, hook-first music is what Minogue has always been best at, and back in her comfort zone she thrives.

In fact "2 Hearts" aside X's best tracks recall earlier victories. The heart of "No More Rain" is a hushed and lovely meditation on life's prettiness, like Minogue's haunting 2005 track "Made of Glass". Calvin Harris' production on "In My Arms" is like a cassette player version of Justice all hiss and stickytape but Minogue's roots were in cheap Xerox pop and she bounces around the tune with gusto.

Other songs see good ideas more clumsily executed. A Serge Gainsbourg sample makes "Sensitized" swing harder than anything else on X, but Minogue doesn't have the vocal power to match it. "Speakerphone" starts off with a tantalizing harp figure, then bundles it to the back of the mix assuming we'd prefer a Daft Punk retread instead. "Nu-Di-Ty" boasts the same writers, and the same sliced-up vocal treatments, as some of Britney's standard-setting Blackout, but here the relentless identity shifts result in a grating, baffling mess. On Minogue's comeback album, we want to hear Minogue.

Ultimately, we do. "Wow"'s funked-up electro sexiness may feel contrived, but its excitement is infectious anyway: It's great to hear Minogue having as much fun as she did on "The Loco-Motion" 20 years ago. Likability has got Kylie Minogue this far, and it pulls her through again even the weak tracks on X have a sparky enthusiasm that makes their magpie modernism sound less cynical. Vera Lynn wins this one: The third world war may have to wait.

Buy Kylie Minogue - X

01 2 Hearts
02 Like A Drug
03 In My Arms
04 Speakerphone
05 Sensitized
06 Heart Beat Rock
07 One
08 No More Rain
09 All I See
10 Stars
11 Wow
12 Nu Di Ty
13 Cosmic
14 Rippin' Up The Disco
15 Magnetic Electric
16 White Diamond

Shayne Ward - Breathless

2007-12-09T09:32:00.001-08:00

Buy Shayne Ward - Breathless

The Leona Lewis story has eclipsed just about every pop release of the autumn, but it casts a particularly dark shadow on Breathless, the second album from Shayne Ward. While the Manchester lad has toiled tirelessly to shake off his X Factor shackles, undertaking lengthy promo campaigns to place recent singles 'No U Hang Up'/'If That's OK With You' and 'Breathless' in the top ten, Lewis appeared to shed hers without breaking sweat. The number one spot? Hogged. Sales records? Smashed. Next year's Brit Awards? Bagged. To put it in context, Lewis' debut album Spirit has sold more in a fortnight than Ward's eponymous first platter managed in 18 months.

Nevertheless, the success of those singles suggests pop fans are warming to Ward, a process his 'people' have sought to speed up by grooming him as a fun-loving, bed-hopping ladies' man. To that end, he's got himself a buzz-cut (phwoar – manly!), gone shirtless in a promo video (ooh – steamy!) and, as his sophomore album attests, taken his musical cues from Mr. J.R. Timberlake (ah - sneaky!). 'Some Tears Never Dry' and 'Tell Him' are reasonable facsimiles of Timbo's Justified sound, while 'U Got Me So' approximates the tremulous electro of his recent Timbaland hook-ups. Sadly, like large portions of Breathless, they're crippled by the dry, stale whiff of anonymity.

As a young, handsome pop boyo with one eye on the Bliss market, the other on Saturday night at G-A-Y, it makes sense for Ward to ape Timberlake, currently the nearest thing the pop world has to a regnant King. However, his decision to channel George Michael, a contender to that throne back in the late eighties, is woefully misguided. Michael hasn't convinced as a ladies' man since he sauntered into an LA latrine on April 7, 1998, and Ward lacks the vocal charisma to attempt a 'Father Figure'-style soul workout, as he attempts on the vapid 'Stand By Your Side'. Worse still is 'Tangled Up', which photocopies every element of Wham!'s 'Everything She Wants' except the one that really matters: the gutsy, impassioned vocal performance.

Tantalisingly, when Ward concentrates on holding a tune rather than trying to copy the bigger boys in the pop playground, he emerges as a likeable, talented performer. 'Breathless' shows he's capable of selling a slick pop ballad, while the sleek reggae-pop of 'Damaged' makes good use of his impressive falsetto. The Timberlake-on-amyl club rush of 'U Make Me Wish', meanwhile, points to a possible new direction for the talent show survivor. Less cred-obsessed than Timbo, he can release the fun, frivolous pop songs that the increasingly po-faced Mouseketeer is too cool to croon.

As for that lothario act, it's comprehensively quashed by the gooey sentiments of 'If That's OK With You'. "I wanna keep your toothbrush at my apartment," Ward simpers winsomely. "I'll make a second set of keys and ask you to move in." Hard-partying bed-hopper? Nah. This one's more the stay at home type. Once he and his 'people' accept this, Shayne Ward might have a shot at a long-term career.

Buy Shayne Ward - Breathless

01 No U Hang Up
02 Breathless
03 If That's OK With You
04 Damaged
05 Some Tears Never Dry
06 Until You
07 Stand By Your Side
08 Melt The Snow
09 Tangled Up
10 Just Be Good To Me
11 U Got Me So
12 You Make Me Wish
13 Tell Him

Justin Timberlake - FutureSex / LoveSounds

2007-12-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

Buy Justin Timberlake - FutureSex / LoveSounds

As a member of N'Sync, Justin Timberlake fronted innocuous love songs like "Girlfriend" and "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You." Then The Neptunes provided a musical landscape for his debut solo album, "Justified," that features horns, obvious verse/chorus structures and danceable beats.

Now, the flaxen-haired singer is straight up telling women what he wants in a more beat-driven style on his sophomore effort, "FutureSex/LoveSounds." The Neptunes are long gone, replaced mostly by Timbaland.

The 12 songs on "FutureSex/LoveSounds" roll together on the CD like a special club mix. That makes for a perfect soundtrack for a nightclub, but each song taken individually sounds out of context. Perhaps that's why "SexyBack," featuring Timbaland, doesn't necessarily work as a single.

The album kicks off with the title track, which possesses a bass line similar to Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust." With its distorted pre-chorus vocals, the track sounds like a dizzying fairground.

Special guests abound on "FutureSex/LoveSounds." Timbaland--who produced and sang bass on "Cry Me a River" from "Justified"--returns as a singer on "SexyBack." Rapper T.I. appears on the stomping "My Love." Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am sings on "Damn Girl." Finally, unlikely Oscar winners Three 6 Mafia let loose on "Chop Me Up."

But the special guests do not help heal the monotonous nature of the album, which relies on musical textures rather than strong tunes to hook the listeners in. For example, "LoveStoned" builds up with a pre-chorus that never goes anywhere.

A Timberlake release would not be complete without his deft beatboxing skills, found on songs like "My Love" and "LoveStoned." It's impressive but doesn't hold the album together.

Buy Justin Timberlake - FutureSex / LoveSounds

01 Future Sex/Love Sound
02 SexyBack
03 Sexy Ladies
04 My Love
05 Love Stoned
06 What Goes Around
07 Chop Me Up
08 Damn Girl
09 Summer Love
10 Until The End Of Time
11 Losing My Way
12 All Over Again (Another Song)

Whitney Houston - The Ultimate Collection

2007-12-09T06:24:00.001-08:00

Buy Whitney Houston - The Ultimate Collection

Five years before Britney veered towards meltdown, another pop superstar began to teeter at the edges of the emotional abyss. Whitney Houston, a performer who'd stayed serene while selling 170 million albums, scoring seven consecutive US number one hits and belting out the lion's share of history's biggest-selling soundtrack CD, suddenly appeared to lose the plot. She got sacked from the Oscars, lost weight like a warthog who'd just been fitted with a particularly restrictive gastric band, and then told US talk show host Diane Sawyer that she made "too much money to ever smoke crack. Crack is whack," the once impenetrable diva surmised, in a move that makes the present day Britney seem remarkably lucid and media-savvy.

In the light of her ongoing personal and professional tumult - Houston's been absent from the charts for four years, now - her label can't be faulted for cutting their losses with a new hits collection. Sadly, in slimming down Houston's oeuvre to a single disc of chart-botherers, The Ultimate Collection omits several of her best songs. The anthemic 'Step By Step', the elegant, jazz-tinged 'I Learned From The Best' and the searing 'Queen Of The Night' are all missing, their places taken by the grandstanding ballads that made Houston a superstar.

Over the years, these have tended to fall into two categories: the schlocky love songs that are as sweet and gooey as a Nigella Lawson pudding ('Saving All My Love For You', 'I Have Nothing', 'Run To You'), and the inane self-empowerment anthems that have recently become AmIdol audition staples ('One Moment In Time', 'Greatest Love Of All'). Too often, these saccharine songs are a waste of Houston's rich, powerful, opulent voice: asking her to bellow lines like "Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be" is like employing Stephen Fry to write a 10,000-word guide to capped rate mortgages. Worse still, ballad-mode Houston has a tendency to scorch when she should be simmering: the way she smothers 'I Will Always Love You' with melismatic vocal showboating is cold, crass and, ultimately, the very antithesis of soul.

Houston's floor-fillers have aged a little more gracefully, although their clunky, thudding drum sounds tend to be as irreversibly eighties as Joan Collins' Dynasty wardrobe. Nevertheless, 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)' remains buoyant and unshakable; 'So Emotional' houses one of Houston’s most persuasive vocal performances, and 'How Will I Know' is so steeped in melody that its verse – yes, its verse - became the basis for LMC vs. U2's 2004 chart-topper 'Take Me To The Clouds Above'.

However, Houston only truly justifies her superstar status on two tunes from 1998's My Love Is Your Love collection, a largely successful attempt at reinventing the increasingly fusty belter for a contemporary audience. Playing the wronged woman over Rodney Jerkins' percolating R&B rhythms on 'It's Not Right But It's Okay', she sounds spectacular, while Wyclef Jean's tender, romantic 'My Love Is Your Love' manages to humanise an artist who's often seemed like a robotic octave-conquering machine. If today's hitmakers can pull off the same trick – rumour has it Houston's currently sharing studio space with Ne-Yo, will.i.am and Akon - that dazzling voice could still realise its true potential.

Buy Whitney Houston - The Ultimate Collection

01 I Will Always Love You
02 Saving All My Love For You
03 Greatest Love Of All
04 One Moment In Time
05 I Wanna Dance With Somebody
06 How Will I Know
07 So Emotional
08 When You Believe - Houston, Whitney & Mariah Carey
09 Where Do Broken Hearts Go
10 I'm Your Baby Tonight
11 Didn't We Almost Have It All
12 Run To You
13 Exhale (Shoop Shoop)
14 If I Told You that - Houston, Whitney & George Michael
15 I Have Nothing
16 I'm Every Woman
17 It's Not Right But It's OK
18 My Love Is Your Love

Keith Urban - Greatest Hits

2007-12-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

Buy Keith Urban - Greatest Hits

This greatest hits album may leave you wondering if Keith Urban should give his guitar to someone who's actually going to use it to make music worth listening to?

As a general rule, artists release greatest hits collections when they are a) out of ideas or b) in the process of reinventing themselves. Keith Urban's latest offering has left this reviewer desperately hoping that it is b) in this situation. The opening track, Romeo's Tune (which boasts an infectious piano riff and sing-along chorus), would have been an excellent choice to begin this album under ordinary circumstances. However, even if listeners had no idea who originally wrote and recorded this song (Steve Forbert in 1979, incidentally), it is blatantly obvious this is not a Keith Urban song. The fact that Urban uses another artist's song to open his greatest hits collection should immediately concern to anyone thinking of purchasing this album.

Listening to this CD is more or less the equivalent of tuning into your local easy-listening radio station. The songs, with their corny, cliched lyrics - like "It'll run us till we're ragged/It'll harden our hearts" and "I want to love somebody/Love somebody like you" - are incredibly easy to tune out to. Even when a banjo is permitted to feature, supposedly to add interest to an otherwise bland song, it is only to repeat the same riff, ad nauseam.

What this record highlights is the fact that Urban is a safe performer and songwriter. With tracks spanning a 10-year recording career it is interesting, not to mention disappointing, to discover that this artist has not evolved much (if at all!) since his humble beginnings. This reviewer cannot help but feel that Urban, who seems to be producing music for no other purpose than to enhance his media status, would be much better off flicking his sculpted hair around as a male model.

Buy Keith Urban - Greatest Hits

01 Romeo's Tune
02 Got It Right This Time (The Celebration)
03 I Told You So
04 Stupid Boy
05 Better Life
06 Making Memories of Us
07 Once In A Lifetime
08 Tonight I Wanna Cry
09 You're My Better Half
10 Days Go By
11 But For The Grace Of God
12 You'll Think Of Me
13 Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me
14 Raining on Sunday
15 Where The Blacktop Ends
16 .Your Everything
17 Somebody Like You
18 Everybody

Alicia Keys - As I Am

2007-11-24T07:22:00.001-08:00

Buy Alicia Keys - As I Am

Alicia Keys is a force to be reckoned with. She is undeniably one of the best performers of our generation. The power of her voice alone has the ability to bring a person to their knees. Her piano skills are beyond comprehension, yet at only 26 years old she has already proven herself.

At the age of 7, Keys began receiving formal piano training in her home state of New York. At 14, she was discovered by a manager. According to her Web site, she was playing everywhere from small clubs to street corners. This is true passion.

In 2001, she released "Songs in A Minor." The 16-track collection won acclaim from all angles. The album debuted at No. 1, sold more than 250,000 in its first week and picked up five Grammys.

Two years later, in 2003, Keys released "The Diary of Alicia Keys." This brought the hits "You Don't Know My Name" and "Karma." The follow-up was even more successful and earned Keys her sixth Grammy. She was well on her way to a bright future.

On Tuesday, Keys released "As I Am." This powerful album portrays a more mature, unapologetic side of Keys. As each track advances, it keeps you wanting more. You don't want to flip to the next song, you just want to live in that moment knowing that the next track will be just as glorious.

As soon as you put the album on you are sent back in time. If you close your eyes, you can almost see the smoke rings dancing around you as you sit in an old-time Harlem jazz club.

The first single, "No One," is the perfect marriage of Keys' wholehearted lyrics and flowing piano melodies. Her passion is felt strongly in this track as she sings, "I just want you close, where you can stay forever." When you are blessed enough to find this true love, you should not let anything get in the way. This is exactly what Keys is singing about.

Love, relationships and strength are all transparent themes in "As I Am." Keys' capability to pin down an array of emotions is played out brilliantly in all 14 tracks. By listening, not just hearing, you can tell she is in a great place in her life right now.

Keys also tackles the topic of having no regrets in the track "Like You'll Never See Me Again." The title is enough of a clue into what she is crooning about. Live your life - especially with love - like it is the last time you'll see that person. Simple piano chords and Keys' smoky voice drive the point home.

The album is fueled by creativity, sensuality, intuition and, most importantly, heart.

Keys doesn't measure her success by financial means. The collection of lessons learned and experiences gained speak much louder than money ever could.

"As I Am" offers something for both the young and the young at heart. Keys is wise and talented well beyond her years. This is one of the albums that you wait for. Its release has set a high precedent to which many other releases of this year will probably not be able to measure up.

Buy Alicia Keys - As I Am

01 As I Am (Intro)
02 Go Ahead
03 Superwoman
04 No One
05 Like You'll Never See Me Again
06 Lesson Learned (featuring John Mayer)
07 Wreckless Love
08 The Thing About Love
09 Teenage Love Affair
10 I Need You
11 Where Do We Go From Here
12 Prelude To A Kiss
13 Tell You Something (Nana's Reprise)
14 Sure Looks Good To Me

Celine Dion - Taking Chances

2007-11-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

Buy Celine Dion - Taking Chances

On her new album, "Taking Chances," Celine Dion fills each track with cloying sweetness.

The result is 15 songs which all sound more or less the same. While Dion explores different beats and instruments, all of the tracks rely on simple progressions building to a swelling, feel-good chorus at the close.

While Dion's experiments with synths, sitar and strings initially sounds promising, each track quickly proves to be essentially the same light fluff without any of the lyrical or sonorous tension which makes music interesting.

Expect to hear these songs on adult contemporary radio and in waiting rooms across the continent. Their smooth melodies go down easily but without much taste. Bland lyrical platitudes imploring a lover to return affection and asserting one's own power complement the actual sounds of the album.

As such, the soccer mom niche will probably be most interested in this CD, as the songs are not so much music as distilled pop. The strong woman theme of most of the songs seems particularly directed to them.

Moreover, the songs are annoyingly catchy, but only because there is so little to them. Dion refrains from vocal acrobatics to give listeners an easy time of singing along. You know those songs you hate when they get stuck in your head? This album offers 15.

To her credit, Dion actually has a good voice, but she performs just the bare minimum to avoid complicating the tunes. If you're looking for a stand-out vocal performance, skip this album; she sounds fine for what the songs demand of her, but Dion doesn't take any risks on "Taking Chances." Even the gospel-inspired "New Dawn," Dion's most impressive vocal performance on the album, is boiled down to its simplest pop form.

At times, in fact, Dion begins to sound like other pop singers. The synth and drum-machine almost-dance groove and the electrically affected vocals at the beginning of "Can't Fight the Feelin'" sound like a nod to pre-rehab Britney Spears, and the mind-numbingly simple music and vocals throughout wouldn't be out of place on a Shania Twain album.

There are no real stand-out tracks. All are passable but ultimately bland. Despite being penned by several songwriters (Dion didn't actually write any of the songs on this album), they merely mold to a pop standard. As proof, only one song is outside the three- to five-minute mark, supporting the idea that the album is not a cohesive work, but a collection of singles in no way related to one another.

The bottom line is that, for a typical college student, this CD just isn't worth the investment. These songs are all rehashed versions of songs you already know.

Buy Celine Dion - Taking Chances

01 Taking Chances
02 Alone
03 Eyes On Me
04 My Love
05 Shadow Of Love
06 Surprise Surprise
07 This Time
08 New Dawn
09 A Song For You
10 A World To Believe In
11 Can't Fight The Feelin'
12 I Got Nothin' Left
13 Right Next To The Right One
14 Fade Away
15 That's Just A Woman In Me
16 Skies Of L.A.
17 Map To My Heart
18 The Reason I Go On

Leona Lewis - Spirit

2007-11-24T07:11:00.001-08:00

Buy Leona Lewis - Spirit

When Leona Lewis slipped from the spotlight after last year's Christmas Number One, there were whispers that maybe she didn't have the x-factor after all. But in reality, Leona was one of the few people to come out of a TV talent show worth investing some time and money in. Not for her a rush-released covers album; instead it was off to the States to work with a host of big name producers like Dallas Austin and Jam and Lewis.

It's almost a shame all that effort went into crafting a bland pop album strong on mid-tempo balladry and spiralling vocal gyrations, but short on hooks, innovation and personality.

With sights firmly set on the lucrative American market, single ‘Bleeding Love’ is an 80s throwback that even Mariah wouldn't record these days. And the attempts at skittering r'n'b beats on tracks like "The Best You Never Had" and the Ne-Yo- produced "I'm You" are also fairly middle-of-the-road.

Elsewhere, "Take a Bow" is a slice of synthy melodrama, "Whatever it Takes" has singalong potential and big ballad "Footprints in the Sand" is a piano warbler that brings Leona's voice to the forefront. It's an amazing voice, no doubt, but if it wasn't for those elastic vocal cords, this could be anyone.

Only on the Leona co-written "Here I Am" do we get a glimpse of the Hackney girl herself, thrown into the pop machine: "This is a crazy world/These can be lonely days.../Who can you really trust" she asks. Otherwise, Spirit is just the sound of a generic diva.

Buy Leona Lewis - Spirit

01 Bleeding Love
02 Whatever It Takes
03 Homeless
04 Better In Time
05 Yesterday
06 Take A Bow
07 I Will Be
08 Angel
09 Here I Am
10 Im You
11 The Best You Never Had
12 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
13 Footprints In The Sand
14 A Moment Like This UK Bonus Track

Jay-Z - American Gangster

2007-11-24T07:01:00.001-08:00

Buy Jay-Z - American Gangster

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Sean Corey Carter’s storied Rap career should be immortalized in Hip-Hop’s hall of fame. The man effortlessly killed the game for eight straight years and “bowed out” as one of the greatest to touch the mic. Jay-Z would eventually return from his much hyped hiatus—no one believed him—only to have his skills and motivation questioned with the lukewarm reception of Kingdom Come. Now refocused, he returns with American Gangster (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam). A conceptual piece based on specific scenes from the movie of the same name, the album is deceptively one of his best and most personal.

“Pray” sets the tone as Hov ties fragments from the film together with some of his buried early memories. Sweeping violin arrangements and church choir like vocal injections back this unapologetic look into the inner struggles of a minor looking on from the outside of the street game. This is the dramatic flash of his life, in rhyme. Additionally “No Hook” serves as the next chapter of the Carter chronicles as he lightly touches on the death of his pops and his view on hustling as his only choice to get his mother out of the hood.

Not forgetting to underscore the proper swag that accompanies a hustler’s bankroll, Young H.O. breaks out the mink and the good jewelry on “Party Life.” Diddy’s lead Hitmen, LV and Sean C., cook up a smoothed out soulful masterpiece as Hov spits some good game to his female companion during an implied lounge setting: “Art with no easel/Please there’s is no equal/Your boy is off the wall, these other ni**as is Tito.”

On a straight up Rap tip the first single “Blue Magic” is an ode to the old school with its simplistic flair. The Neptunes track features knocking minimal synths and a basic drum pattern to compliment S. Dot’s sly 80’s flow. The disc only packs a lean fourteen joints so features are rightfully trimmed down, some key appearances that clearly add to the album’s prowess. Jay and Nas connect in classic fashion with “Success” over booming, rock flavored organs from No I.D and Jermaine Dupri. Additionally, Beanie Siegel adds his Philly touch to the reworked, Isley Brothers tipping lost gem “Ignorant Sh*t.”

Another true highlight of the album lies within its stunning production. Sonically American Gangster is infused with a heavy soul feel provided by the aforementioned Hitmen and even DJ Toomp (“Say Hello”), which corresponds with the time period of the flick, but its sound never gets monotonous. Vibrant horns drive the celebratory “Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)” and chopped up Marvin Gaye harmonies are implemented throughout the buttery “American Dreamin’.”

With the unbearable, Lil’ Wayne assisted “Hello Brooklyn 2.0,” which ruins the album’s pacing, as the only flagrant misstep, American Gangster remains triumphant. There is no definitive radio smash hit present but that’s what keeps the project fresh. Jay goes from running the block to cornering the market without forcing the issue, leaving no need to question his G file.

Buy Jay-Z - American Gangster

01 Intro
02 Pray
03 American Dreamin'
04 Hello Brooklyn 2.0
05 No Hook
06 Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)...
07 Sweet
08 I Know
09 Party Life
10 Ignorant Sh*t
11 Say Hello
12 Success
13 Fallin'
14 Blue Magic
15 American Gangster

Killers - Sawdust

2007-11-24T05:08:00.001-08:00

Buy Killers - Sawdust

The Killers' newest offering, "Sawdust," features a collection of remixes, covers and B-sides. The album is for devout fans only, as any listener can tell why many of these tracks should have remained shelved where they belong.

The massive stadium sound which defined the band on their first two albums and won them so many fans is clearly absent on "Sawdust." For the most part, Brandon Flowers & Co. have traded their fun, upbeat dance rock for midtempo mediocrity. Flowers still writes songs about pretty girls throwing their lives away as well as anyone, but his delivery just sounds bored this time around. His band mirrors this sentiment. There is barely any guitar and virtually no fills. The bass typically sticks to playing the root over the simplest changes, and the drums do little more than keep time. One common thread in most of the Killers' hits, the keyboard, is also underused in the few tracks on which it is used at all.

In such a musical vacuum, Flowers would have free run to let his voice take charge, but he squanders his opportunity. The remix of "Mr. Brightside" is a perfect example. The song is essentially the same, but slowed down with clunkier instrumentals and lazy vocals. Flowers sings as if he knows that he's on a sinking ship. While not a bad vocalist, on "Sawdust" Flowers limits himself to a small range and smaller scope. He never quite attains the hurried, passionate delivery he employed so well on "Hot Fuss." Rather, he lags behind the music on nearly every track and indolently slides into the correct tones.

The ballads are similar let-downs. Even if the Killers are going for a "stripped down" sound, something still has to stand out. The album has the feel of a work in progress throughout, as if each song is still waiting for a riff, a surprise, maybe lyrics about anything beside lost twentysomethings. As they are, these songs are remarkably bare. Each one is little more than a repetitive beat, a boring bass and Flowers' apathy. Sometimes there is guitar.

Essentially, the band fakes its way through 17 tracks, introducing boring new material and wrecking both their own hits and the songs of other bands. In fact, the best track on "Sawdust" might be "Romeo and Juliet," a cover of the Dire Straights song, familiar to all "Empire Records" fans.

Shame on The Killers for releasing such trash to make money. The material on "Sawdust" is not merely disappointing; it's downright bad. "Daddy's Eyes" is the only Killers track worth your money or time. The title of the album only highlights the fact that these songs are useless remnants from actual work.

Buy Killers - Sawdust

01 Tranquilize
02 Shadowplay
03 All The Pretty Face
04 Leave The Bourbon on The Shelf
05 Sweet Talk
06 Under The Gun
07 Where The White Boys Dance
08 Show You How
09 Move Away (Spiderman 3 Soundtrack)
10 Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll
11 Who Let You Go
12 The Ballad Of Michael Valentine
13 Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town
14 Daddy's Eyes
15 Sams Town live from Abbey Road
16 Romeo and Juliet (live from abbey road)
17 Change Your Mind
18 Somebody Told Me
19 Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself
20 Get Trashed

Britney Spears - Blackout

2007-11-24T04:55:00.001-08:00

Buy Britney Spears - Blackout

Well, this is unfortunate. While judges debate her child-visitation rights, Britney Spears has released an album whose title seems to have been inspired by a major flirtini binge. On Blackout, she's singing that she's "so damn high I can't come down," anticipating a night of "dancing tabletop," and issuing a proclamation that's enough to make Sean Preston use Jayden as a protective shield from Mommy: "Maybe I'm a freak, but I don't really give a damn/I'm as crazy as a motherfucker!"
Those words may or may not reflect Britney's true feelings — she didn't write them — but what's notable is that Blackout is the first time in her career that she's voiced any real thoughts about her life. The old provocation game is still afoot, but Britney's stubbornly holding on to her freakness — it's the only form of rebellion she's got left. With a VIP list of puppet masters including Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and Bloodshy, she's all vox-tweaked and ready to bring back the stellar heavy-breathers of her youth, from the Berlin-style New Wave disco of "Heaven on Earth" to the stadium-stomping "Ooh Ooh Baby." It's telling that Blackout's two best tracks — the tabloid-bashing banger "Piece of Me" and the papa¬≠razzi-tease "Freakshow" — suggest that she believes playing the part of the cage-dancing bear is the best way to mess with the media. "Wanna see crazy?" she sings on "Freakshow." "We can show 'em!"

When she's not gearing up for a meltdown, Britney's wielding more melting-ice imagery than An Inconvenient Truth: She's gonna "break the ice," "hit defrost on ya," 'cause she's "cold as fire, baby, hot as ice." Fire and ice — Robert Frost said the world will end in one of those two ways, consumed by passion or frozen by rationalism, and it's clear which option Brit will take. But meanwhile, she's gonna crank the best pop booty jams until a social worker cuts off her supply of hits.

Buy Britney Spears - Blackout

01 Gimme more
02 Piece of me
03 Radar
04 Break the ice
05 Heaven on earth
06 Get naked (I got a plan)
07 Freakshow
08 Toy soldier
09 Hot as ice
10 Ooh ooh Baby
11 Perfect lover
12 Why should I be sad

Andrea Bocelli - Vivere: The Best Of Andrea Bocelli

2007-11-24T04:40:00.000-08:00

Buy Andrea Bocelli - Vivere: The Best Of Andrea Bocelli

Classical crossover star Andrea Bocelli has a huge following, and if you're a fan of the operatic tenor, you probably have most of the cuts on this compilation disc already.

There are four new ones, including a song with classical pianist Lang Lang accompanying. You'll find the Time To Say Goodbye duet with pop-classical queen Sarah Brightman, the Celine Dion collaboration The Prayer and a piece with Kenny G on sax.

But Bocelli sounds the same, whether singing upbeat or ballad, and the songs have little substance. Included is a DVD of American Dream, Bocelli's pre-9/11 Statue of Liberty concert of opera arias and Italian songs. The host links him to the Three Tenors. As if.

Buy Andrea Bocelli - Vivere: The Best Of Andrea Bocelli

01 La voce del silenzio
02 Sogno
03 Il mare calmo della sera
04 Dare to live (vivere) (feat.Laura Pausini )
05 Canto della terra
06 A te (feat.Kenny G)
07 Besame mucho
08 Mile lune mille onde
09 Con te partirB
10 Io ci sarB (feat.Lang Lang)
11 Romanza
12 Vivo per lei (feat.Giorgia)
13 Melodramma
14 Bellissime stelle
15 The prayer (feat.Celine Dion)
16 Because we believe

Spice Girls - Greatest Hits

2007-11-24T04:34:00.000-08:00

Buy Spice Girls - Greatest Hits

The long announced and discussed reunion took place and the next obvious marketing move would be to release their greatest hits. That was easy. What they did was that they played it safe. They are not going to make any new fans and some old fans are going to dislike it, but they managed to bring themselves in the center of attention.

Seven years after their last album release, Forever they supported this release with a world tour. They managed to do a big part of what they hoped for. Their fans are ecstatic while a big part of the music scene is just frowning and ignoring them. Sure the pop scene is a jungle but in ‘96 they where so fresh and in your face. You could see girls dressing up as their favorite spice girl and they were everywhere. The new sound is a bit old and it does not bring anything better.

From the ballads “2 Become 1″ and “Viva Forever” to the pure pop of “Stop” and “Who Do You Think You Are” you could expect more. But they fail to deliver and again they please just their fans. Probably the track which stands out a bit as it is somewhat filled with feeling is “Mama”. Their voices sound a bit softer and they blend surprisingly good together.

It probably is just a marketing ploy but it sounds very good and the girls should be thanked for making it possible for numerous girl bands that followed in their tracks to make it big. But no band has made it big as the spice girls did it.

Buy Spice Girls - Greatest Hits

01 Spice Up Your Life (Morales Carnival Club Mix)
02 Wannabe
03 Say You Will Be There
04 Viva Forever (Tony Rich Remix)
05 2 Become 1
06 Wannabe (Junior Vasquez Remix)
07 Mama
08 Say You'll Be There (Linslee's Extended Mix)
09 Too Much (SoulShock & Karlin Remix)
10 Who Do You Think You Are
11 2 Become 1 (Dave Way Remix)
12 Spice Up Your Life
13 Stop (Morales Remix)
14 Too Much
15 Holler (MAW Tribal Vocal)
16 Stop
17 Viva Forever
18 Goodbye
19 Holler
20 Let Love Lead The Way
21 Tell Me Why
22 If You Wanna Have Some Fun
23 Weekend Love
24 Move Over (Bonus Track)
25 Outer Space Girls (Bonus Track)

George Strait - 22 More Hits

2007-11-24T04:24:00.000-08:00

Buy George Strait - 22 More Hits

You can't help but be impressed by a musician who has had over fifty number one songs and then has enough left over to release 22 More Hits. There aren't too many people who have had a career like George Strait has and when you really think about it - he really is today's "King" of Country Music. Even as you listen to the songs from the earlier part of his career, you can tell he had what it takes to be a long-lasting force in the genre.

When it comes to faster songs, George Strait can really get with it! Plenty are included in this album. Even way back in 1985 with "The Fireman" (which made it to No. 5 on the Billboard chart) you can tell George was going to be a big star. Another song that made it to No. 5 was 1992's "Gone As A Girl Can Get." "Lovebug" peaked at No. 8 but it's definitely a fan favorite. You can try to run away from love, but it's bound to hit you sometime. "It all started with a little bitty kiss and a hug," George sings. I like the song "Don't Make Me Come Over There And Love You," so I was surprised it only went as high as No. 17 on the Billboard Charts. One of my favorite George Strait songs ("Adalida") is also on this album. Going back to 1981 is the popular classic "Unwound," which was the second single George ever released. It went to No. 6 on the charts. Even early in his career George was focused on playing real country music and it's nice that he's continued to be that way as his career progressed.

George Strait's most recent song on this album is "How 'Bout Them Cowgirls," and currently sits at No. 6 on the charts as of this writing. "Amarillo By Morning" is great because it tells a story that's set to music. A rodeo cowboy sings about his life on the road and how he "lost a wife and a girlfriend somewhere along the way." As soon as the piano is heard in the opening of "Marina Del Rey," any George Strait fan would know what song is about to play. It's another one of those story songs I like so much. The Bruce Robison-penned "Desperately" was released in 2004 and went to No. 6. The pairing of George Strait singing a Bruce Robison was a perfect match. "She Let Herself Go" is also a recent single (from 2005) and went all the way to No. 1. No. 4 was the final chart position for "What Do You Say To That" as was the case for 1990's "Drinking Champagne," 1986's "You're Something Special To Me," and "Meanwhile" (from 1999). "Overnight Success" is the final song on the album and completes this special collection of George Strait hits that didn't necessarily make it to the No. 1 position but are No. 1 in people's hearts.

Buy George Strait - 22 More Hits

01 How 'Bout Them Cowgirls'
02 Amarillo By Morning
03 The Fireman
04 Gone As A Girl Can Get
05 When Did You Stop Loving Me
06 Marina Del Rey
07 Desperately
08 The Cowboy Rides Away
09 Lovebug
10 Cowboys Like Us
11 She Let Herself Go
12 You'll Be There
13 Don't Make Me Come Over There And Love You
14 What Do You Say To That
15 Drinking Champagne
16 You're Something Special To Me
17 Meanwhile
18 Adalida
19 If You Can Do Anything Else
20 Unwound
21 If You're Thinking You Want A Stranger (There's One Coming Home)
22 Overnight Success

Westlife - Back Home

2007-11-24T03:00:00.001-08:00

Buy Westlife - Back Home

After half a decade of essentially singing The X Factor songbook, Westlife have resolved to give us a "really strong original pop album". Those expecting a crack at Timbaland-style dancefloor innovation will be sorely disappointed - the Irish lads were always more Gary Barlow than Jason Orange in the hipshakin' stakes; their musical output was generally as cutting edge as a Teasmaid; and uptempo moments like 'Bop Bop Baby' and 'Hey Whatever' tended to be their least successful singles. But given that the British pop scene is currently a hotbed of inspiration - even X Factor champion Leona Lewis has pulled a fantastic single out of the bag – the question has to be asked: is there a place for safe, reliable Westlife in the post CD:UK musical landscape?

Sadly, Back Home answers this question with a shoulder-shrug and a mumbled "Well, not really". Alongside another three cover versions, it's filled with the same sturdy, straightforward love songs that Westlife have been peddling for years. The likes of 'Pictures In My Head', 'Us Against The World' and 'When I'm With You' are robust and reasonably melodic, but they could have been recorded at any point since the group’s 1998 inception. Though Back Home's lacquered-on production gloss is never less than expertly applied, and it's fun to play spot the key change while listening along, there's no getting over the fact that this kind of sappy balladry sounds hopelessly dated in 2007.

Worse still, the album's trite sentiments have a tendency to verge on the cringe-inducing. 'It's You' reels out a parade of cliches that even James Blunt would balk at - "A beautiful angel came down to light up my life" might just be the most uninspired, derivative lyric of the year - while a cover of Lonestar's 'I'm Already There' is almost unbearably maudlin. Its tale of a father missing his family while away on a business trip needles the intestines like a sentimental moment from Friends, especially when Junior gives daddy a bell to find out when he's coming home. His reply? "I'm already there - I'm the sunshine in your hair, the shadow on the ground, the whisper in the wind…" It's tempting to shriek at the speakers, 'That's all very well, but who's going to read Junior the final chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows before he hits the sack tonight?'

Still, Back Home isn't entirely without merit. A cover of Brandy's 'Have You Ever' gives the boys a chance to show off their underrated harmonies - even if its slightly gratuitous a cappella intro brings to mind a thousand "Look! We really can sing!" boyband moments from Top Of The Pops past - while the the Motown exuberance of 'The Easy Way' is the most fun that Westlife have been in years. Not coincidentally, it's the one time that Back Home's pace rises beyond a controlled canter.

Utimately, listening to Back Home is an exercise in pleasant but crushingly inessential boyband nostalgia. Pop music has moved on from this kind of glossy, gloopy balladry and, if Westlife ever want to win over any new fans, they'll have to follow suit. That said, it feels a little harsh to dismiss this quartet of affable, unassuming Irishmen entirely - after a decade of perching on their stools with diligence, dedication and virtually no tabloid misdemeanours, they deserve a little respect.

Buy Westlife - Back Home

01 Home
02 Us Against The World
03 Something Right
04 I'm Already There
05 When I'm With You
06 Have You Ever
07 It's You
08 Catch My Breath
09 The Easy Way
10 I Do
11 Pictures In My Head
12 You Must Have Had A Broken Heart

Boyz II Men - Motown Hitsville USA

2007-11-24T02:02:00.000-08:00

Buy Boyz II Men - Motown Hitsville USA

I'm usually cynical about established artists who haven't had original hits for years and then release a covers album. You're already mentally going through your CD collection, right? But I have to say the latest album from Boyz II Men (their first in five years) shame faces lukewarm attempts at re-creating the Motown sound (think: Human Nature) and the best forgotten Barnesy stab.

Randy Jackson, aka an American Idol judge when not producing Beyonce, Madonna, Elton et al, collaborates with Boyz II Men to serve up a slick production of 12 classics fashioned with an extra soulful R&B kick, capturing the essence of Motown. Boyz II Men's flawless harmonies lap at your ears with their velvety quartet-style vocals. Albeit the lads are one quarter short these days with Michael McCary's exit in 2003 (due to health problems), leaving Shawn Stockman, and Wanya and Nathan Morris to trill as a trio in their clean-cut style.

Songs include an emotion-tugging version of Tracks of My Tears, punctuated by a slower rhythm of the Smokey Robinson original. This one had me hitting the repeat button. The A cappella treatment of Stevie Wonder's, Ribbon in the Sky, shows the boys have stayed true to form as a vocal powerhouse. And Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) beckons you to dance to this brighter version of the Marvin Gaye hit.

The album reflects a mature-sounding Boyz II Men. Motown: Hitsville USA is for those who like their Motown well-done, not half-baked.

Buy Boyz II Men - Motown Hitsville USA

01 Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
02 It's Same Old Song/Reach Out I'll Be There
03 Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
04 Tracks Of My Tears
05 Money (That's What I Want)
06 Easy
07 I Was Made To Love Her
08 All This Love
09 Ribbon In The Sky (A Cappella)
10 Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing (Feat. Patti LaBelle)
11 There'll Never Be
12 Got To Be There
13 War
14 End Of The Road (Feat. Brian McKnight)

James Taylor - One Man Band

2007-11-24T01:39:00.001-08:00

Buy James Taylor - One Man Band

James Taylor is now into his fourth decade of being a top notch entertainer. His songs are alluring and intriguing compositions. His style over the years has changed little, and maybe that is part of his appeal.

With One Man Band you get a double helping of this great musician, a 19 track CD, and a two hour DVD from a live concert from the newly restored Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. As he puts it so well in the introduction “sometimes it is good to go to the well, back to basics, and play the songs in their original form”, and that is what we get with One Man Band. Although older and follicley challenged (bald) his voice has not changed one iota over the years. It is great to see James return to his roots, him, his guitar, and a stage. He does actually have one other performer, I guess that is his One Man Band! Larry Goldings does a very fine job on Keyboards.

It is hard to pick favorite tracks from this guy, they are all favorites, but the one that absolutely stands out is Slap Leather! You have to see this one to believe it, James Taylor abandons his guitar and microphone in favor of a Megaphone and introduces the audience to the finest automatic drum kit ever designed. This would make Rube Goldberg green with envy! While entirely ‘programmable’, the 6 foot long and 3 feet diameter drum containing the rhythm does seem a tad awkward to change between songs!

If you are a James Taylor fan, you will want to put this one on your wish list to Santa. Not only is the music wonderful but the commentaries between songs are priceless. I did not know that James Taylors signature tune You Got A Friend was penned by Carol King or that Joni Mitchell sang harmony on the original version. Being ‘almost’ old I found this a great trip down memory lane. Also featured are favorites ‘Fire and Rain‘ and ‘Carolina in my Mind‘.

Buy James Taylor - One Man Band

01 Something In the Way She Moves
02 Never Die Young
03 The Frozen Man
04 Mean Old Man
05 School Song
06 Country Road
07 Slap Leather
08 My Traveling Star
09 You've Got a Friend
10 Steamroller Blues
11 Secret O' Life
12 Line 'Em Up
13 Chili Dog
14 Shower the People
15 Sweet Baby James
16 Carolina In My Mind
17 Fire And Rain
18 Copperline
19 You Can Close Your Eyes

Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift

2007-11-24T01:31:00.000-08:00

Buy Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is one of the most talented, young performers on the country charts today. At sixteen years old,she wrote or co-wrote all of the 11 tracks on her self titled debut CD released on Big Machine Records. At present, the first single entitled "Tim McGraw" is a Top 20 hit. And with her 12 string guitar, she does a fabulous job of blending modern country with the traditional.

Taylor Swift is only sixteen years old. But don't let her age fool you! She writes and sings with the passion and conviction of a veteran of country music. She loves what she does, and she gives it her all. And that shines through on her self titled debut CD. She wrote or co-wrote all 11 songs on this CD with her writing partner Liz Rose. The first single entitled "Tim McGraw" is a Top 20 hit. Taylor said that the idea for this song came to her while she was sitting in math class. She had spent a wonderful summer with a great guy whom she really loved. But now that summer was coming to an end, they would be going their separate ways. She wrote the song as a reminder that when he heard Tim McGraw to think of her and their summer together. "Picture To Burn" is one of those fun, up tempo 'you were a jerk and you done me wrong' kind of songs. And now "you're just another picture to burn." The ladies will love this one! One thing that makes this CD a joy to listen to is that all of the songs are written about her own personal life experiences. They weren't just picked out and handed to her to sing and put on an album.

The song "Teardrops On My Guitar" can best be described this way. OK, there's this guy that you have this huge crush on. Problem is, he's all wrapped up in this other girl. He's going on and on about how smart she is, how pretty, how perfect. And you have to sit there with your happy face on telling him how glad you are for him. But never meaning a word of it, and it kills you inside to see them together. "Cold As You" is coming to terms with the fact that there are just some people who will never love you. It's coming to the realization that someone isn't the person you thought they were, and to stop making excuses for their bad behavior. With lyrics like "and now that I’m sitting here thinking it through, I’ve never been anywhere cold as you."
One of the more emotional songs on the CD is the song "Tied Together With A Smile." What you might see is a beautiful young girl. All the guys want to be with her. And all the girls want to be like her. But beneath the beauty lies a troubled person dealing with an eating disorder. Taylor said that this song was tough for her to write because it wasn't just another sad song. This was about the lives of her friends and their personal, private struggles.

"Mary's Song (Oh My My My)" was actually inspired by her next-door neighbors. Taylor said that they had been married forever. They talked about meeting as kids, falling in love and getting married. She said that it was so refreshing to see this happy couple because all you read about in the tabloids is who's breaking up, who's cheating on who and who's getting divorced. Taylor said That it was really comforting to know that all she had to do was look next door to find a perfect example of forever."
The CD closes with a fun song called "Our Song." It's actually about a young couple who don't have a song of their own, so the events in their lives become "their song." She also likes this song because it has a banjo, and you can't go wrong when you have a banjo. Taylor said that she wanted this song to be the closing track on the CD because the very last line of the song says "play it again." So, take that as the not so subtle hint to, well, play it again.

Buy Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift

01 Tim McGraw
02 Picture to Burn
03 Teardrops on My Guitar
04 A Place in This World
05 Cold As You
06 The Outside
07 Tied Together With a Smile
08 Stay Beautiful
09 Should've Said No
10 Mary's Song (Oh My My My)
11 Our Song

Paul Potts - One Chance

2007-11-24T01:25:00.000-08:00

Buy Paul Potts - One Chance

Has there even been a star as unlikely as Paul Potts? With his burly frame, Hollywood-defying smile and proudly everyday name, he makes John Prescott seem like a matinee idol. If you spotted him outside your front window, you wouldn’t think, ‘Ah, there goes a man who’s just signed a six-figure record deal!’ You’d just be relieved that the gas man had finally turned up to read the meter. But, thanks to the wonders of reality TV, the former mobile phone salesman from Port Talbot has been handed a chance - One Chance, as his debut LP knowingly puts it - at stardom.

It’s been less than a month since Potts won Britain’s Got Talent in front of 13 million viewers, but, thanks to the boundless, awe-inspiring commercial savvy of Simon Cowell, his album is already on the shelves. Unsurprisingly, it’s probably the least creatively inspired release of the year. Its tracklisting is designed to appeal to mums pushing their trolleys around Tesco's – there’s an Italian-language opera version of ‘Everybody Hurts’, a cover of Il Divo’s cover of ‘You Raise Me Up’, and a Granny-pleasing trundle through Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Music Of The Night’. Naturally, ‘Nessun Dorma’, the Puccini tearjearker that gave Potts the vehicle to beat a gap-toothed six-year-old warbler and a stage school brat who dressed up Mary Poppins to win the ITV talent hunt, opens the album. In fact, the only surprise is that ‘Unchained Melody’ – a favourite of Cowell-endorsed reality TV stars since the days of Gareth Gates - has been omitted.

One Chance’s arrangements, of course, are uniformly tasteful and unambitious. The London Symphony Orchestra brings a bit of sweeping melodrama – and a much-needed injection of classical gravitas – to six songs, but there’s nothing here to break the sense of tasteful calm. It’s a minor miracle that the album’s clutch of producers, whose most notable member is Westlife and Britney Spears hitmaker Per Magnusson, managed to knock out something so scrubbed and manicured in such a small space of time. Poor old Per. The temptation to knock out a few rabble-rousing bars of 'If I Let You Go' or '(You Drive Me) Crazy' between takes must have been incredible, but every time he'd have to steel himself. No! There's work to be done! Simon could drop in any second!

The album’s saving grace is Potts himself. He doesn’t quite manage to revitalise these classical crossover warhorses – his version of ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ is far less affecting than Sarah Brightman’s, and his rendition of ‘Music of the Night’ lacks the West End pizzazz that Michael Ball brought to it – but his relatively untrained tenor is earthy and unostentatious. His success might not prove conclusively that Britain’s Got Talent, but it does suggest that Britain – or, more accurately, the British TV-viewing public – has got plenty of heart.

Buy Paul Potts - One Chance

01 Nessun Dorma
02 Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partiro)
03 Amapola
04 Everybody Hurts (Ognuno Soffre)
05 Caruso
06 Nella Fantasia
07 Por Ti Sere (You Raise Me Up)
08 A Mi Manera (My Way)
09 Cavatina
10 Music Of The Night

Mannheim Steamroller - Christmas Song

2007-11-23T15:18:00.000-08:00

Buy Mannheim Steamroller - Christmas Song

The CD, which features guest vocalists Olivia Newton-John and Johnny Mathis, Mannheim Steamroller: Christmas Song includes 12 holiday classics and new original compositions. The album, already at platinum status, is the first new Mannheim Steamroller Christmas studio release since the multi-platinum Christmas Extraordinaire in 2001.

Mannheim Steamroller kicks-off its annual Christmas tour in Boise, Idaho, on Nov. 20 and will perform in 13 cities. Tour information is available at www.mannheimsteamroller.com.

Mannheim Steamroller is the #1-selling Christmas artist of all time and one of the top 50 best-selling artists of the last two decades, outselling such top artists as Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Sting, REM, Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi. Composer and creator Chip Davis started Mannheim Steamroller more than 30 years ago with his Grammy Award-winning Fresh Aire series. With more than 32 million albums sold, an annual Christmas tour that is consistently ranked as the best selling of any artist, a successful Mannheim Steamroller gourmet food line, and a new medical endeavor helping hospital patients recover quicker through audio technology (Ambience Medical), Chip Davis is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the music industry.

Buy Mannheim Steamroller - Christmas Song

01 Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
02 The Christmas Song (With Johnny Mathis)
03 Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
04 It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
05 Feliz Navidad
06 Catching Snowflakes On Your Tongue
07 Masters In This Hall
08 Above the Northern Lights
09 Frosty the Snowman
10 Traditions Of Christmas (Music Box)
11 Christmas Lullaby (With Olivia Newton-John)
12 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

David Gray - Life In Slow Motion

2007-11-23T15:04:00.001-08:00

Buy David Gray - Life In Slow Motion

Unbeknownst to many here in the States, Englishman David Gray has been making music since 1993. It took him six years to gain mainstream recognition, as Dave Matthews courted him to the then-new ATO Records just in time for his breakthrough White Ladder in 1999. Although it wasn’t an immediate hit in the U.S., White Ladder eventually spun off a string of radio and video hits, including “Babylon” and the movie soundtrack staple “This Year’s Love.” While he doesn’t have near the catalog, it’s impossible not to draw comparisons between Gray and the likes of Ryan Adams, Billy Bragg, or even Van Morrison. His unquestionable ability within this singer-songwriter crowd is an enduring hint that a career-defining masterpiece might be on the horizon. In the meantime, Life in Slow Motion stands on its own as a very solid effort.

Only occasionally resorting to electronica, Gray keeps it simple this time out and primarily acoustic. A hushed synthesizer ushers in the central piano of “Alibi,” a vocal treasure that picks up, for all intent and purposes, right where 2002’s A New Day at Midnight left off. For whatever reason, however, the singing herein seems more vital and burning. “Tell the Repo Man and the stars above that you’re the one I love,” Gray establishes on the first single “The One I Love”, while abundant strings unfold in a very Tunnel of Love kind of way. “Slow Motion” takes a while to build, but once there, the chorus is a thing of beauty- an ultra-dramatic crescendo of strings and horns, with a sparse slide guitar and Gray’s blistering high-end above it all. “Bada dat, dada dat, dada dat, da da da,” never sounded so good!

A tip of the genre hat goes to Bob Dylan on the strikingly restrained “From Here You Can Almost See the Sea” complete with Gray’s best falsetto endeavor. The jumpiest entry within Life in Slow Motion appears way late on “Hospital Food”, an ill-advised title but a great cut that brims with Elvis Costello and The Attractions flavor. “Tell me something I don’t know,” Gray jests, while full-band accompaniment spills in behind him. The closer “Disappearing World” is an uncommon rocking moment along an otherwise serene course.

One could very much say that Gray has borrowed the song-crafting strengths from Ryan Adams’ Heartbreaker or last year’s Ray Lamontagne record (Trouble) in building his finest mission to date. Whether the aforementioned masterpiece is still somewhere in Gray’s future is anyone’s guess. The good news is that there aren’t many artists writing this high a caliber of songs these days that would even call for that wait.

Buy David Gray - Life In Slow Motion

01 Alibi
02 The One I Love
03 Lately
04 Nos De Caraid
05 Slow Motion
06 From Here I Can Almost See The Sea
07 Ain't No Love
08 Hospital Food
09 Now and Always
10 Disappearing World

Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride

2007-11-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

Buy Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride

Once again she has done it. She does it so well that Faith and Leann may be having another fit as Carrie Underwood takes home Female Artist of the Year again for her stimulating new album "Carnival Ride."

With her intense voice and damn good looks, this girl has got the ability to make people stop, look and listen.

She starts off inspirational with her first single "So Small." It makes hearts flutter, and puts life into a simple perspective.

Underwood's voice is among the best. She hits every note and pours passion into every word. Talent like this is hard to come by and the stigma of her American Idol status is lost as she opens her vocal cords to her listeners. Underwood is a true star and a star that will keep rising as she has conquered not only country and pop music charts, but the infatuation of millions of other listeners.

Taking this ride with Underwood will make anyone a believer that this world may actually have something good to offer. And Underwood is absolutely one of those things.

Buy Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride

01 Flat on the Floor
02 All-American Girl
03 So Small
04 Just a Dream
05 Get Out of This Town
06 Crazy Dreams
07 I Know You Won't
08 Last Name
09 You Won't Find This
10 I Told You So
11 More Boys I Meet
12 Twisted
13 Wheel of the World

Bruce Springsteen - Magic

2007-11-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

Buy Bruce Springsteen - Magic

It's been a long time. How many years? Oh, 23 or so. 1984. That was the year that Born In The U.S.A. came out. That was the year that I got out of school, felt lonely, spent too much money on records and beer, got a job, got married.

It was also the last time that a new Springsteen album came out exclusively on vinyl. Records. You know, those big black circles?

Tonight I got home to relive a big part of my past. Those who are purely from the digital age might not get this, but the unwrapping of the album and the first examination of the package is important. The cellophane comes off and the album unfolds. The artwork, the lyrics, the liner notes, heck, even the smell — all part of the experience. I'm instantly transported back through all of those years of listening to records, growing into adulthood, and trying to figure it all out.

Things are a little different now. Of course, I'm a different person. So is Bruce. And then there's the technology. Not that leaks were impossible in the past, but today, the Internet and the digital transmission of music have made early bootlegging quite common. This goes both ways. Many of us were quite sure that the "leak" of the single "Radio Nowhere" was intentional, an example of the new "viral marketing." The reasons for releasing Magic on vinyl are in question as well: is it an early boost for next week's CD release, or a cynical move that qualifies the record for the 2007 Grammy cycle.

Everything is in question, amplified by the ever-present Internet chatter. Why did Bruce do this? Why did he do that? Why did he not do that? He can't be sincere, he's worth too much money! Patti is the E-Street Yoko. Clarence is too old. Oh, and let's not get started on the political statements. Obviously, Springsteen has forgotten his roots and has become mired in a greasy pool of self-indulgence.

Don't you believe it.

I've listened to Magic twice this evening. There are echoes of Bruce's recent past, his middle years, and most definitely his roots. Put plainly, the record flat-out rocks. Walls of sound. There are grinding guitars, pounding drums, ghostly keyboards, piano, glockenspiel, snarling guitar solos, harmonica, melodies galore, cool vocal harmonies ... and Clarence. The BigMan. The longtime friend. The anchor. Bruce's singing on Magic takes some interesting turns as well, with swooping melodies pitted against a few very different song structures. While listening to "Girls In Their Summer Clothes," I scribbled down "...I've never heard Bruce sing like this before."

Magic ends with the hidden track "Terry's Song," a heartfelt tribute to his longtime friend Terry Magovern, who passed away at the end of July. One line brings into focus the many reasons why I love this music, and why music in general is so important to me: "Love is a power greater than death."

Buy Bruce Springsteen - Magic

01 Radio Nowhere
02 You'll Be Comin' Down
03 Livin' in the Future
04 Your Own Worst Enemy
05 Gypsy Biker
06 Girls in Their Summer Clothes
07 I'll Work for Your Love
08 Magic
09 Last to Die
10 Long Walk Home
11 Devil's Arcade
12 Hidden Track

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

2007-11-03T01:26:00.000-07:00

Buy Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

What on paper looks mis-matched can often be utterly right. Raising Sand has to be one of the best ever examples of this. Most people would have bet on Plant’s ex-band mate, John Paul Jones, as being the one to have forged this big league bluegrasss pairing. After all he's worked with Chris Thile and Nickel Creek as well as Uncle Earl, and plays a mean mandolin himself. But no, it's the grizzled, leonine king of c*ck rock who gets to get up-close and personal with the Union Station legend. And thank goodness it was, because Raising Sand has to be one of the releases of the year.

The first thing you notice about Raising Sand is how the pair's vocals compliment each other. Krauss’ honey-sweet chords can be saccharine on her own work at times, but here she's balanced by the mature grain of Plant's almost whispered delivery. On Killing The Blues or Gene Clark’s "Polly Come Home" they nudge up against each other, buoyed up by Greg Leisz’s floating pedal steel. And this from a man reknowned for going ‘baybeeee, baybeee’. Phew...

The selection of songs proves to be just as inspired as the pairing. With material by the Everlys ("Gone, Gone Gone"), Townes van Zant ("Nothin’") and even one from Plant’s last collaboration with Jimmy Page ("Please Read The Letter" – completely improved from its original incarnation) it would be hard to go that wrong, but the best of an embarrassment of riches has to be Krauss’ rendition of Tom Waits "Trampled Rose". Spellbinding doesn’t even come close to describing this.

The album’s other main star has to be T Bone Burnett. His production adds a veneer of authenticity and his choice of musicians is spot on at every turn. Marc Ribot (guitar) along with Dennis Crouch, Mike Seeger, Jay Bellerose, Norman Blake, Greg Leisz, Patrick Warren, and Riley Baugus make this a stunning, dark, brooding collection, comparable in tone to Daniel Lanois' masterful job on Dylan's Time Out Of Mind. It captures a gothic southern vibe effortlessly.

Hearing Krauss emote so bluesily on tracks like "Rich Woman" is a revelation, while her coruscating fiddle on "Nothin'" is rawer than you’d ever expect to hear from such a pillar of the new bluegrasss community. Raising Sand is proof that even with such dynamite raw material sometimes things really do add up to far more than the sum of their parts. Superb, in every way…

Buy Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

01 Rich Woman
02 Killing the Blues
03 Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us
04 Polly Come Home
05 Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)
06 Through the Morning, Through the Night
07 Please Read the Letter
08 Trampled Rose
09 Fortune Teller
10 Stick with Me Baby
11 Nothin'
12 Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson
13 Your Long Journey

James Blunt - All the Lost Souls

2007-11-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Buy James Blunt - All the Lost Souls

Vast success traditionally has an alienating effect on rock stars. Fame and wealth removes them from the real world, insulating them from public opinion. You would be forgiven for assuming such a fate had befallen James Blunt. Two years into his recording career, he lives in an Ibizan mansion with a nightclub in its basement, paid for with the proceeds of the biggest-selling album of the 21st century thus far: his debut, Back to Bedlam, has shifted 14m copies. If you believe the gossip columns, his life seems to primarily consist of getting his aristocratic leg over with celebrity hotties: Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Mischa Barton, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and a Pussycat Doll, names that rather suggest intellectual profundity may not be uppermost in the former Household Cavlary officer's check-list of feminine prerequisites. But despite the rarefied lifestyle, news has clearly reached Blunt that a lot of people seem to hate both him and his music. "Me and my guitar play my way," he wails, midway through Back to Bedlam's follow-up, on a song called Give Me Some Love. "It makes them frown."

It's difficult to know how upset Blunt is by the adverse reaction to his success. He certainly sounds upset: he sings Give Me Some Love in a tremulous warble, replete with pregnant pauses, suggestive of brimming eyes and quivering lips. But then James Blunt sings everything like that. The tremulous warble replete with pregnant pauses is his default vocal setting. Live, he has tremulously warbled the Pixies' visceral Where Is My Mind? and tremulously warbled Supertramp's jaunty Breakfast in America. In the admittedly unlikely event that Back to Bedlam's follow-up contained a cover of Boney M's Hooray! Hooray! It's A Holi-Holiday!, he'd tremulously warble that as well.
Nevertheless, Give Me Some Love offers further evidence of the effect the opprobrium has had on the singer. It seems to have brought on a debilitating attack of dyslexia. "Won't you give me some love?" he sings, adding bafflingly: "I've taken shipload of drugs." Perhaps a shipload is like a shitload, only bigger, evocative of the vast container vessels that sail the world's seas. Perhaps he's substituted the letter t with p for reasons of probity: this is, after all, an artist beloved of censorious Middle England. Or perhaps his detractors are right and it doesn't mean anything. Perhaps it's just a crock of ship.

Still, not even his loudest detractors could call him sloppy. As befits a former military man, All the Lost Souls is a model of ruthless efficiency. A crack team of co-writers has been assembled: his collaborators have variously worked with Britney Spears, Dr Dre, Robbie Williams, and - rather more pertinently, cynics might suggest - Daniel O'Donnell and James Last. The results are slick. It would be churlish to deny that One of the Brightest Stars has a nice tune, or that there's something compulsive about the piano riff of I'll Take Everything. Occasionally, however, Blunt appears to be following a successful formula a little too mechanically for his own good, as if he's ticking boxes. A song about the end of a relationship that implies the other participant may be dying: check. Song pondering the ramifications of Blunt's role in the Kosovo conflict: check. Song that attempts to assert Blunt's love of music by making slightly clanging references to classic rock: check.

Elsewhere, songs ruminate about celebrity, among them the deeply peculiar Annie, on which the titular heroine's failure to achieve fame is bemoaned -"Did it all come tumbling down?" - and Blunt, gallant to the last, offers her the opportunity to fellate him as a kind of consolation prize: "Will you go down on me?" More bizarre still, he offers her the opportunity to fellate him in the kind of voice normally associated with the terminally ill asking a doctor how long they've got left: tremulous, replete with pregnant pauses, suggestive of brimming eyes, etc. The overall effect is so bizarre that it overshadows anything Blunt may have to say about the fickle nature of fame. You come away convinced that the song's underlying message is: give me a blow job or I'll cry.

But then, as has been established, Blunt always sounds like that, which may be All the Lost Souls' big problem. If you sing about killing a man, as Blunt does on I Really Want You, in precisely the same voice you use to sing about fellatio, it's bound to have an emotionally levelling effect: you're going to come across as if you don't mean any of it. And perhaps that, rather than his class or his looks or his success, is the reason so many people dislike James Blunt. There's something weirdly insincere about what he does. He sounds, as he himself would put it, like a bit of a bullshipper.

Buy James Blunt - All the Lost Souls

01 Empty Walls
02 Unthinking Majority
03 Money
04 Feed Us
05 Saving Us
06 Sky Is Over
07 Baby
08 Honking Antelope
09 Lie Lie Lie
10 Praise the Lord and Pass
11 Beethoven's C
12 Elect the Dead

Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead

2007-11-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Buy Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead

As the lead singer for the massively popular nu-metal outfit System of a Down, Serj Tankian roared and howled his way to fame and fortune. But in 2006 System of a Down went on hiatus indefinitely and Tankian has since been hard at work on his solo debut, "Elect the Dead."

The album features grinding guitar riffs, erratic tempos and politically charged vocals. If that sounds familiar it's because all of those terms just so happen to fit System of a Down to a T. Indeed, with "Elect the Dead," Serj Tankian never strays too far from his origins.

But that isn't a bad thing. The fact that Serj managed to make a record that shares a sonic resemblance with his former work separates him from countless solo efforts that strive self-consciously to be different simply for the sake of being different.

Nevertheless, "Elect the Dead" can sometimes be a challenging listen. The album's sound is dissonant and baroque, with a tendency towards bizarre vocal touches.

The uninspired lyrics don't help make the album any more accessible. Despite shimmers of greatness, they fall mostly into two categories: broad, heavy-handed rants about relationships ("why do we sit around and break each others' hearts tonight?") and broad, heavy-handed rants about politics ("we are the cause of a world that's gone wrong.")

Meanwhile, some of the songs are just plain mediocre. The repetitive chorus of "Baby" might get stuck in your head, but you'll probably want it out again as soon as possible. Worse still, the slow-as-molasses title track is oversaturated with anguished vocals and unmemorable piano.

Thankfully, the bad tracks are heavily outnumbered by the good. At his best, Tankian demonstrates his knack for taking songs in unexpected but glorious directions.

When "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" switches gears suddenly from a lurching, overbearing verse into a staccato vocal pre-chorus and then transforms into a lethargic piano interlude, the effect is downright jarring. But repeated listens reveal the track to be markedly charming in its eclectic eccentricity.

Similarly, "Sky is Over" combines jittery piano with fierce guitar and then includes a delightfully surprising breakdown in which Serj warbles "La-la-la" repeatedly. Also, the irresistibly sinister "Lie Lie Lie" uses the sound of a woman's shriek to great effect.

But for every one of these interesting, unique musical decisions, there's a chorus that consists of nothing but power-chords or a song that sticks with a standard, dull structure. Strangely enough, this dichotomy works: by juxtaposing the complex and the simple, the stimulating and the bland "Elect the Dead" manages to challenge the listener while retaining a distinctly catchy pop aesthetic.

Few artists succeed in walking this line as well as Serj Tankian. With "Elect the Dead," he lays the ground for what could be a very rewarding solo career.

Buy Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead

01 Empty Walls
02 Unthinking Majority
03 Money
04 Feed Us
05 Saving Us
06 Sky Is Over
07 Baby
08 Honking Antelope
09 Lie Lie Lie
10 Praise the Lord and Pass
11 Beethoven's C
12 Elect the Dead

Backstreet Boys - Unbreakable

2007-10-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

Buy Backstreet Boys - Unbreakable

So the Backstreet Boys - unlike most of their late '90s bubblegum pop contemporaries, including Britney Spears - have gamely decided to face the reality of their peculiar situation.

They know boy bands always trump "man bands." Nonetheless, the Backstreet Boys have opted to trot out age-appropriate songs on the new "Unbreakable" (Jive) album, trying to make it work on the strength of their strong (and still-improving) voices instead of up-to-the-moment production.

It's a noble enough ambition, but the execution is a bit lacking. The Backstreet Boys, who have found a home on adult contemporary radio in recent years with big power ballads like 2000's "The Shape of My Heart" and 2005's "Incomplete," offer up lots more to choose from on "Unbreakable." The problem is there's very little separating the new single "Inconsolable," a piano-driven, sorta-rock, sorta-R&B ballad, from "Incomplete," or from the new songs "Unmistakable" and "Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon," for that matter.

Buy Backstreet Boys - Unbreakable

01 Intro
02 Everything But Mine
03 Inconsolable
04 Something That I Already Know
05 Helpless When She Smiles
06 Any Other Way
07 One In A Million
08 Panic
09 You Can Let Go
10 Trouble Is
11 Treat Me Right
12 Love Will Keep You Up All Night
13 Unmistakable
14 Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon
15 Downpour (bonus tracks)
16 In Pieces(bonus tracks)
17 Nowhere To Go (Bonus Track)

Juanes - Fijate Bien

2007-10-30T03:51:00.000-07:00

Buy Juanes - Fijate Bien

This is Colombian's first album, with which his worlwide cfame started. Culd be that this is his best album too. He is fresh here and authentic. Not spoiled with Grammies yet. The ideas suffocate even within one theme, as, for example, in Para ser eterno. Perhaps, this is Juanes' best song. Only A Dios le pido can compete with it, I think. Besides, there are excellent Podemos hacernos daño made a-lo vallenato, and beautifully arranged Volcano. They have much Colombian and little USA. With every next album this proportion will be worsening. The album is a bit raw, but instead of getting more mature with every next work, Juanes decided to go the opposite direction. The very first work has remained the most musical so far.

Es el primer album del Colombiano con cual su fama mundial se empezo. El esta todavia fresco y autentico aqui. No estropeado con Grammys. Las ideas sofocan dentro de cada cancion, como, por ejemplo, en Para ser eterno. Ese puede ser su mejor tema. Solo A Dios le pido puede competir con el, creo. Ademas, aqui hay canciones excelentes Podemos hacernos daño, hecha como un vallenato, y Volcano, arreglada muy lindo. Ellas todavia tienen mucha Colombia y pocos EEUU. Con cado album proximo esta proporcion se va a peorar. El album esta un poco crudo, pero en lugar de madurar con cado proximo trabajo, Juanes decidio tomar el camino totalmente diferente. El primer trabajo se ha quedado el mas musical.

Buy Juanes - Fijate Bien

01 Ahi Le Va
02 Para Ser Eterno
03 Volcan
04 Podemos Hacernos Dano
05 Destino
06 Nada
07 Fijate Bien
08 Vulnerable
09 Sonador
10 Ficcion
11 Para Que
12 Me Da Igual

Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II

2007-10-29T03:49:00.000-07:00

Buy Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II

Although I consider myself a pretty major Neil Young fan, I will be the first to admit that there are large chunks of his catalog that are — shall we say — "spotty."

There are of course those Neil Young records which are unqualified masterpieces — a category where I would squarely place Harvest, Harvest Moon, Rust Never Sleeps, and Freedom. And for every one of those, at the other end of the spectrum you've got those records like Everybody's Rockin and Life that just kind of make you scratch your head and go "what was he thinking?"

But there are also those albums that I like to think of as Neil's "in-between" records. A few of these have been real surprises that have grown to be among my favorites over the years, such as the droning, depressing On The Beach and the grungey, Kurt Cobain-influenced Sleeps With Angels (whose Cobain tribute "Change Your Mind" is a song I'd rank among his best).

Neil also has made a handful of albums that have one or two standout tracks, with the rest consisting — on the surface at least — mainly of filler. American Stars And Bars struck me that way the first time that I heard it, with the brilliant "Like A Hurricane" standing way out from the rest of the pack on that record. Even so, over the years the rest of the album eventually really came to grow on me - especially the fireside crackle of "Will To Love." The more recent Are You Passionate is another one of those, although nothing else on that album has stayed with me quite the same way the blazing guitar of "Comin' Home" did.

On an initial listen, Chrome Dreams II really feels like another one of those type of albums. Like those other "in-between" albums, lying at the center of Chrome Dreams II are two standout tracks.

The sprawling, eighteen minute "Ordinary People" is one of those marathon Neil Young songs, like "Hurricane" and "Cortez The Killer," that basically serves as a vehicle for him to go off on a trance-like guitar excursion for which he is so well known.

Unlike those songs, however, the guitar work is less grungy sounding than recent electric Neil Young - and definitely less so than on Living With War, last year's cranked to eleven anti-Bush rant. In places the guitar here actually hearkens more back to the psychedelic sound of something like Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and that album's own twin blasts of extended, electric Neil, "Cowgirl In The Sand" and "Down By The River." There are also some nice keyboards, and a horn section backing the track that takes you back to the bluesy sound of This Note's For You.

"Ordinary People," like many of the tracks here is also apparently one that has been around for awhile, which explains some of the dated sounding references to people like Lee Iacocca in the lyrics. Available in bootleg versions for years, the track is said to be part of an original Chrome Dreams CD that Neil nearly released in 1976.

As the story goes, he shelved the project after Joni Mitchell criticized it as being a little too "all over the place." Whether he chose to revisit this project now as a result of his ongoing trip through the vaults for the impending definitive series of Archives said to be finally about to see the light of day or not, the description fits here as well.

The other "big" track here is "No Hidden Path," which like "Ordinary People" is another lengthy electric guitar workout, which at eleven minutes is only slightly shorter. Here again, the big dark sounding guitar work is front and center, but Neil again seems more interested in revisiting the more psychedelic edges of his early work than the grunge of nineties-era Crazy Horse. For fans of the lengthy Neil Young guitar opus in the tradition of "Hurricane" and "Cortez," these two tracks alone make Chrome Dreams II a must-have.

Outside of those, Chrome Dreams II is an album that is as all over the place as its apparently thirty-year-old source material would seem to indicate. The rest of the album is a mixed bag to be sure. "Dirty Old Man" is a goofy-ass songs in the tradition of Ragged Glory's "Fuckin' Up" that Neil comes up with from time to time. This one is about a "Dirty Old Man" who likes to get hammered and fool around with the boss' wife. The track is actually a lot of fun, and hearkens back to the lovingly, but sloppily executed rock sound that fans of Crazy Horse will love.

"Boxcar" starts out with the sort of banjo sound that would have been right at home on Prairie Wind, and maintains a lovely sort of country vibe, as it weaves a plaintive tale of a vagabond on a freight train in the lyrics.

Meanwhile, other tracks here seem to take on a more spiritual tone. The borderline gospel of "Shining Light" never makes it quite clear whether the "shining light" that Neil has found here comes in the form of carnal love or the divine. Either way, the song is one of the prettiest he has included on an album in awhile. "The Believer" is another song that seems to hint at spirituality, but is never overtly clear about it. The arrangement here is a quiet, simple, and understated one of piano, guitar, and drums.

For "Spirit Road" he once again straps on the electric guitar and mines more familiar terrain in the lyrics as well. "Spirit Road" finds him "headed out on the long highway in your mind" in search of the "spirit road you had to find" where "getting home to peace again" await the traveler at the road's end.

So on its surface, Chrome Dreams II is a mixed bag that feels like one of those notoriously "in-between" Neil Young albums I alluded to earlier. Some are calling it his best in years, although I'm not really sure I'm quite ready to go there yet. What I will say is that there is at least a little bit of every element here that has made Neil Young such an enduring artist over the years.

There's some nice quiet acoustic stuff, some of the grungier sound you'd more often associate with Crazy Horse, and even a few surprises in the form of a few gospel flavored tracks. And there are at least two lengthy electric guitar classics in the mode of "Like A Hurricane."

For right now, that's good enough for me.

Buy Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II

01 Beautiful Bluebird
02 Boxcar
03 Ordinary People
04 Shining Light
05 The Believer
06 Spirit Road
07 Dirty Old Man
08 Ever After
09 No Hidden Path
10 The Way

Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace

2007-10-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Buy Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace

Earlier this year, RCA released a 10th anniversary edition of the Foo Fighters' The Colour and the Shape, a reminder of the days when the group wrote big songs that were both catchy and palatable. The nostalgia trip continues on the band's latest album, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, which reunites the Foos with Colour producer Gil Norton (who has since worked with Jimmy Eat World, Maxïmo Park, and Morningwood, among others). The result, however, feels like a retread, a shame for a band that-- as one of the few late 1990s/early 2000s modern rock groups to enjoy a long run of success-- has practically become a walking metonym for alt-rock in the same way Kleenex has for tissues.

Album opener and first single "The Pretender" goes through the same motions as early, successful anthemic rawkers "I'll Stick Around" or "Monkey Wrench", and packing plenty of clever ideas and fist-pumping firepower, it's the most interesting song the band's released in quite a while. But deploying that same vitriol proves clumsy on hard-rocking post-relationship bummers like "Let It Die" (featuring the infinitely repeated plea "Why'd you have to go and let it die?") and "Long Road to Ruin". Even "Erase/Replace", sporting the album's catchiest chorus, can't atone for its hackneyed heartache and Fugazi-lite riffs.

On The Colour and the Shape, Norton brushed up the already passé grunge sound of the Foos' debut, applying a sleeker, arena-sized version of the loud/quiet dynamic he famously produced on the final three Pixies albums. While Norton's touch often sounded hyperbolic (see: Colour's "Enough Space" and "Up in Arms"), he was merely an accessory to a band that was ready for its close-up. Now, with the Foos being full-fledged rock stars, Norton's presence takes a backseat to the band's heightened technical skill, which has grown exponentially since the addition of dexterous guitarist Chris Shiflett in 1999. The band hardly rallies around Grohl's ear-grabbing melodies and complementary guitar lines anymore, opting instead for a vanilla classic rock sound where vocals do their bit and showy solos or overly complicated riffs fill in the empty spaces. Bent on striking the right big rock pose at the right time, these potentially simple and endearing three-minute pop songs sound cold and detached compared to heart-wrenching Foo pop gems like "Big Me" or "Everlong".

For the past decade, the Foo Fighters have used acoustic numbers as placeholders to fill out their albums, a trick gone too far on 2006's unplugged record Skin and Bones. Several campus-lawn ballads on Echoes trigger nightmarish flashbacks from that live album, most notably "Stranger Things Have Happened" and "But, Honestly". Grohl's split-personality of happy-go-lucky punk-prankster and teary-eyed balladeer has never felt more dissonant than on these heart-on-sleeve pieces, and unfortunately, a quarter of the album succumbs to this schmaltz. Echoes does attempt to forge new ground, as Grohl's longtime affinity for Tom Petty sounds very apparent on the Americana-faded "Statues" and "Summer's End", though the novelty quickly wears off, the coyote-howl of the guitars lacking the necessary power to mask the drab melodies.

Echoes' most telling slip-up comes during "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners", an instrumental track dedicated to the Tasmania coal mine victims that clashes the band's magnanimous intentions with an awkward musical direction. Sounding like a Led Zeppelin III outtake, the track highlights the Foo Fighters' unsolicited willingness to be everything to everybody all the time. Consequently, they're sounding less and less relatable, leaving us pining not just for the days of a little grunge trio from Seattle, but for the relentlessly catchy and charismatic Dave Grohl of the Foos' still-fantastic self-titled debut and the better half of The Colour and the Shape.

Buy Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace

01 Pretender
02 Let It Die
03 Erase/Replace
04 Long Road to Ruin
05 Come Alive
06 Stranger Things Have Happened
07 Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)
08 Summer's End
09 Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners
10 Statues
11 But, Honestly
12 Home

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

2007-10-27T03:47:00.000-07:00

Buy Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

Watching Amy Winehouse live is a confusing experience. There's this skinny, slightly gawky teenager (well, she still looks like a teenager) on stage and yet, via an amazing feat of lip-synching, the voice of a 40-year-old black woman from Brooklyn is coming over the PA.
It is nothing short of mesmerising, as you might expect of an artist whose quirky, eccentric and fearless lyrics explore avenues alien to most songwriters. Witness 2003's debut album Frank, which, thanks to risque tracks like 'Fuck Me Pumps', 'Stronger Than Me' and 'In My Bed', was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize and earned Winehouse nominations for two Brit awards.

What was particularly intriguing about the 22-year-old was how she managed to sound like a Fifties jazz club singer while singing outre lyrics about life in contemporary London. This compelling duality is continued with a deft change of backdrop on Back to Black, wherein she assumes the role of an Aretha Franklin-style soul singer complete with doo-wop backing groups while again singing of her contemporary urban experiences. It should keep popular culture students busy for the next 20 years in the way that Mick Jagger in the mid-Sixties prompted countless theses on the subliminal black person within. None the less it works - even though this area of pop culture has been mined remorselessly for the past 50 years - by dint of its clever melody lines and smart lyrics.
As if to emphasise just how wise she is, Winehouse has kept each track to around the length of a 45 (remember those?), enabling her to make her point and move on without running the risk of outstaying her welcome. So whether it's the rousing, churchy 'Rehab', in which Winehouse describes how her father tries to wean her off alcohol ('Try to make me go to rehab/ I say no, no, no'), or the serious soul of 'Love is a Losing Game', Back to Black isn't shy of betraying its debt to pop.

What the American market will make of it, though, is anybody's guess. Indeed during 'Me and Mr Jones (Fuckery)' I had this crazy fantasy in which I pictured the effect of this song being pushed on the American FM pop stations. Given the uproar in middle America a couple of years ago when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's left nipple at the SuperBowl, trying to imagine what our Stateside friends would make of Amy Winehouse and the word 'fuckery' was worth the price of the record alone. The medium may be American but the message is very British, which is why if Amy Winehouse continues in this fashion she could end up being a national treasure.

Buy Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

01 Rehab
02 You Know I'm No Good
03 Me and Mr Jones
04 Just Friends
05 Back To Black
06 Love Is A Losing Game
07 Tears Dry On Their Own
08 Wake Up Alone
09 Some Unholy War
10 He Can Only Hold Her
11 Addicted

Josh Groban - Noel

2007-10-26T05:55:00.000-07:00

Buy Josh Groban - Noel

Perhaps it’s because I’m a faithful follower of Josh Groban, otherwise known as a “Grobanite.” Perhaps it’s because we in Northern Michigan embrace Josh Groban as one of our own given that he attended the Interlochen Academy of the Arts during the summers of 1997 and 1998 as a musical theater major, and it was at that time that Josh was revealed to master producer David Foster. Perhaps it’s the way that Josh Groban is as deeply devoted to his fans as his fans are to him.

I’m confident it’s because of all of the reasons stated above, and more, that I am loyal to this very talented, charming artist who possesses a work ethic that is focused and passionate. The warm resonance of his voice and how he arranges his songs in a way that draws the listener in makes them feel like they’re in an intimate setting, and Josh is singing just for them. Combining a classical/pop sound, he has a way of moving his listener to a place that is very special, and, at least for me, there has never been an occasion where I wasn’t moved to tears many times listening to his messages of love, loss, celebration and hope through his gift of music. His song “To Where You Are” holds a very unique and sacred place in the hearts of my family and me when we lost a beloved member of our family. Even now, when I hear that song, I feel as if our dear one is standing right here beside us.

Josh came back to Interlochen in the summer of 2004 to grace us with a concert that stands out in my mind as one of the most splendid and marvelous concerts I have ever seen. It was as if our prodigal son had returned and we welcomed him home with wide open arms with hearts full of pride and smiles. It was our sincere hope that summer evening that Josh felt the warmth of those who have adopted him as one of our own and, yes, we’d love for him to come back to us very, very soon.

Three years have passed and with each tour he has accomplished, it is apparent how much he’s grown and how he has taken what he’s learned and, with that work ethic, he’s succeeded in becoming one of the most beloved entertainers in the world. He has participated in many projects, including lending his singing talent to movie soundtracks such as “The Polar Express”, “AI: Artificial Intelligence”, “Troy”, and who can forget his role in television’s “Ally Mcbeal” when he sang “You’re Still You.” He’s performed with artists such as Celine Dion, Charlotte Church, Lara Fabian, Sara Brightman and many, many others.

It was in November of 2001 that Josh’s first self-titled album, “Josh Groban” was released and, from that moment on, his career has flown on the very wings of the heavenly angel who touches his remarkable voice. His other works include “Closer” (2003), “Awake” (2006), and live concerts, “Josh Groban In Concert” (2002), and “Josh Groban: Live at the Greek” (2004) that are a joy to listen to. And, yes you guessed it; I’ve played and replayed the DVD’s of those concerts countless times. Once the DVD of the live concert from his “Awake” tour comes out in early 2008, I’ll be right back in line, buying up another Josh Groban masterpiece.

Buy Josh Groban - Noel

01 Silent Night
02 Little Drummer Boy
03 I'll be home for Christmas
04 Ava Maria
05 Angels We Have Heard On High
06 Thankful
07 The Christmas Song
08 What Child is this
09 First Noel
10 Petit papa Noel
11 It came upon a Midnight Clear
12 Panis Angelicus
13 O Come all Ye Faithful

Santana - Ultimate Santana

2007-10-25T03:45:00.000-07:00

Buy Santana - Ultimate Santana

There have been 'Best of' Santana discs before, mostly collected from the early instrumental discs. Here, however, 'ultimate' may just literally mean 'the latest' disc, as there are mandatory new songs (only one of which really works). It features a great deal more of what Santana has been known for recently - collaborations with guest vocalists.

The 'essential' old stuff is there - Oye Como Va, Samba Pa Ti and Black Magic Woman - but they're alongside Number 1s like Smooth and Maria, Maria. Nickelback's Chad Kroeger adds vocals to Into The Night, and it's a bit of a frog chorus. Neither Tina Turner nor Michelle Branch can save The Game of Love (in two separate versions) from mediocrity. However, Carlos Santana's guitar is a thing of real beauty - fluid lines and remarkable funk allow screaming emotion and gorgeous Latin melody. That ability to wrest something unique from a song is shown on his 1977 cover of She's Not There, which becomes wild panther-like in his hands. There isn't another guitarist who sounds like Santana, and the number of guest stars (including J Lo in a new song here) is testament to his enduring appeal.

Buy Santana - Ultimate Santana

01 Into The Night (featuring Chad Kroeger) - previously unreleased
02 This Boy's Fire(feat. Jennifer Lopez and Baby Bash) - previously unreleased
03 Smooth(w/Rob Thomas) - from Supernatural (released June 1999)
04 Maria Maria(w/Product G&B) - from Supernatural (released June 1999)
05 Oye Como Va- from Abraxas (released Sept. 1970)
06 Black Magic Woman- from Abraxas (released Sept. 1970)
07 Evil Ways- from Santana (released Aug. 1969)
08 Corazon Espinado(w/Man- from Supernatural (released June 1999)
09 Europa - from album Amigos (released March 1976)
10 The Game of Love (w/Tina Turner) - previously unreleased
11 Put Your Lights On(w/Everlast) - from Supernatural (released June 1999)
12 Why Don't You & I(w/Alex Band of The Calling) - (single released internationally July 2003)
13 Everybody's Everything- from Santana III (released Sept. 1971)
14 Just Feel Better(w/Steven Tyler) - from All That I Am (released Nov. 2005)
15 Samba Pa Ti- from Abraxas (released Sept. 1970)
16 No One To Depend On - from Santana III (released Sept. 1971)
17 The Game of Love(w/Michelle Branch) -from Shaman (released Oct. 2002)
18 Interplanetary Party- previously unreleased

Eric Clapton - Complete Clapton

2007-10-24T03:44:00.000-07:00

Buy Eric Clapton - Complete Clapton

Although that disc is called the ‘Complete Clapton,’ I’d think that moniker would be best used on a giant box set. This collection is quite the grand one, but it seems a bit wrong to call a two disc set “complete” when the man has undoubtedly done much more work.

That minor quibble out of the way, the set is one of those that I dearly love – the instant collection (complete or not). This set gathers many songs, totaling 36 tracks, that will be very familiar to our ears, from his Cream Days (“I Feel Free,” “White Room,” etc.), one from Blind Faith (“Presence of the Lord”), and two from Derek and the Dominoes (“Bell Bottom Blues” and “Layla”). Not to mention many of his solo hits, including “After Midnight,” “I Shot the Sheriff (but I didn’t shoot the deputy, the mind fills in),” “Tears in Heaven,” and many more.

He even teams with B.B. King (“Riding with the King”) and J.J. Cale (“Ride the River”). This wonderful set collects quite a number of great songs from Clapton from 1968 up to 2006.

If you’re a fan you may have all the albums that those came off of, but if you’re a casual listener this set offers you an easy say to instantly purchase some great guitar work…. But I did not shoot the deputy.

Buy Eric Clapton - Complete Clapton

01 I Feel Free
02 I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart
03 Sunshine Of Your Love
04 She's Waiting
05 White Room
06 Forever Man
07 Crossroads (Live At Winterland)
08 It's In The Way That You Use It
09 Badge
10 Miss You
11 Presence Of The Lord
12 Pretending
13 After Midnight
14 Bad Love
15 Let It Rain
16 Tears In Heaven
17 Bell Bottom Blues
18 Layla (Unplugged)
19 Layla
20 Running On Faith (Unplugged)
21 Let It Grow
22 Motherless Child
23 I Shot The Sheriff
24 Change The World
25 Knockin' On Heaven's Door
26 My Father's Eyes
27 Hello Old Friend
28 Riding With The King (With B.B. King)
29 Cocaine
30 Sweet Home Chicago
31 Lay Down Sally
32 If I Had Possession Of Judgement Day
33 Wonderful Tonight
34 Ride The River (With J.J. Cale)
35 Promises
36 I Can't Stand It

Katie Melua - Pictures

2007-10-23T03:42:00.000-07:00

Buy Katie Melua - Pictures

Katie Melua will forever be indebted to her musical mentor. The doe-eyed chanteuse was signed by Mike Batt, the Ivor Novello-winning songwriter whose credits include 'Bright Eyes', 'A Winter's Tale' and, perhaps most tellingly, 'Remember You're A Womble', while she was learning her trade at the London School for Performing Arts & Technology. As her manager, producer and primary songwriter, Batt proceeded to steer his protege towards the sort of record sales that most fledgling guitar-strummers can only dream of: Melua's first two albums, 2003's Call Off The Search and 2005's Piece By Piece, have shifted an astonishing seven million copies.

But this third album, Melua has recently announced, is the last that she and Batt will make as a "creative team". Like the teenage son who suddenly twigs that he's become bigger, faster and stronger than his dear old dad, Melua seems to have realised that she's outgrown her mentor. And rightly so: the six songs she's penned for Pictures are altogether more vital, more interesting and more affecting than Batt's seven offerings. (Producer and protege share the songwriting spoils on two songs, it should be noted.) Her 'Perfect Circle' is a sprightly slice of jazz-pop with a wonderfully dexterous melody, while the dream-like jangle of 'Spellbound' has a lovely hint of the carnival to it. Best of all is the coruscating 'What I Miss About You', which starts life as a straightforward, treacly ode towards a former lover, before taking a jaw-dropping turn towards the bilious. “Your skill of putting me down in front of everyone we knew," Melua seethes. "That’s what I don’t miss about you." The fresh-faced folky insists the song isn't based on personal experience, but the hint of fury in her voice makes you wonder - just for a second - if she's quite as honest as her wholesome reputation attests.

Batt's songs, though deftly arranged, tend to be hampered by a crippling sense of whimsy. 'Mary Pickford', on which Melua name-checks a succession of thirties film stars over acoustic guitar arpeggios, tasteful string washes and softly-shaken maracas, is desperately twee, while the hackneyed couplets of 'What It Says On The Tin' don’t deserve the languidly sexy vocal with which Melua imbues them. But the album's only real stinker is 'Ghost Town' - one of two songs bearing a Melua/Batt credit – a ghastly cod-ska tribute to the Specials classic of the same name.

However, Batt's sense of the absurd does pay the occasional dividend. His 'Scary Films' welds an entertaining tribute to the slasher flicks of Hollywood's past - "The vampire's a joke because I know he's just a bloke," indeed! - to a 'Black Velvet'-style bluesy strut. As cheekily enjoyable as a midnight Haribo binge, it feels like the last hurrah for the Melua/Batt "creative team".

Buy Katie Melua - Pictures

01 mary pickford
02 it's all in my head
03 if the light go out
04 what i miss about you
05 spellbound
06 what it says on the tin
07 scary films
08 perfect circle
09 ghost town
10 if you were a sail boat
11 dirty dice
12 in my secret life

Coheed and Cambria - No World For Tomorrow

2007-10-22T03:38:00.000-07:00

Buy Coheed and Cambria - No World For Tomorrow

Those who have been hip to Coheed and Cambria over the course of what no comprises four albums know full well that this installment represents the conclusion of the ongoing saga of the characters for which the band is named. A four-part ongoing conceptual piece is largely unheard of in the world of music (it's something that lends itself to literature or film much easier), but C&C have persevered and put tremendous faith in their ardent fans, giving them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their attention spans.

For the most part not much has changed in the world of the band, with the major exception of gaining a new drummer (and using Taylor Hawkins for the bulk of the studio sessions). Claudio Sanchez is still letting loose with his Geddy Lee inspired high pitched timbre and there's still the detailed layering of his and Travis Stever's guitars, creating a sheer metallic interface that wavers steadfastly between Prog and Pop.

In fact, it's these very same skirling guitars--with a slight '80s bent, mind you--that lead into the album's title track, which continues to ride with emphatic propulsion thanks to "dueling" guitars that flutter between left and right channels. "The Hound (Of Blood and Rank)" is an intriguing number that borrows from The Who, Judas Priest, and Loverboy. At least those are the influences that bleed to the top, whether it's via the opening synths, the rolling vocal chorus or the slick guitar solo tossed in at the 2:47 marker.

The '80s sensibility continues on "Feathers," but when we say '80s we're not talking Hair inspired, but more just ballsy rock (think Jefferson Starship, Triumph or Saga to a degree). In many respects Sanchez is exploring more of his melodic side, incorporating chunks of mainstream rock vocal theatrics into their chugging mix. It makes for an interesting blend of retro shock and present day blitz. With "The Running Free," synth burbles re-enter the mix, creating ethereal ambiance that offsets the grinding guitar crunch. Sanchez lets loose with piercing glory, riding the sonic crest with assured measure. The chorus again calls upon the visions of the '80s, crooning with a pop inflected precision (just wait till you hear the "oh-oh-oh's").

Acoustic guitar leads you into "Mother Superior," which has Sanchez delivering a melodramatic swoon that's drenched in breathy inflections. The track pretty much retains its down-tempo stance, using military cadence rhythms (lots of snare), atmospheric synth, and hypnotic guitars. It's a restrained slice of progressiveness. "Gravemakers and Gunslingers" has a smidgen of Sabbath buried in the rhythm guitar and a whole lotta attitude built into the rest of the song. The track gets into truly bugged terrain toward the midway part where deep, Stygian vocals play off cherubic fantasies. Like many of the tracks on the album there are several overlapping layers to this one and listening to it on headphones may be the only way to go. The guitars continue to skirl and grind on "Justice in Murder," while Sanchez lets his voice run amok.

The final five tracks on the album are lumped into their own section subtitled The End Complete. Part 1 is titled "The Fall of House Atlantic" and on paper it could easily be mistook for a musical interlude about Dune or an allusion to Poe. Delving into mock opera it is filled with swelling vocals and urgent acoustic guitar and serves as the intro to Part II, "Radio Bye Bye." This track is more guttural and to the point, thanks to cranking guitars and steady rhythms, not to mention Sanchez in restrained vocal mode. Part III, "The End Complete," goes for dissonance at the outset, then dips into chugging guitars that echo and drift between the channels. Sanchez delivers a piercing veil that rides the turgid guitar riffs and then soars into chaotic joy on the chorus. There's more intense vocalistics in store, however, as Sanchez lumbers into scream therapy, demon-from-hell growling, and careening frenzy. At 7-minutes and 44-seconds it's the most epic number on the entire album, at least time wise.

Things get toned down a hair on Part IV, "The Road and the Damned," which employs a much more symphonic approach, coupled with soaring neo-balladeering. As for the final, closing track, Part V, "On the Brink," it begins calmly enough with drifting ambiance that leads into pseudo Country guitar and a vibe not quite unlike mid-period Pink Floyd. It may be the most progressive--but in an uncharacteristic way--track on the entire album. Sanchez's vocals are at their peak here, eschewing his often ear-splitting wail for a more earthy approach; call it Coheed Jazz, if you will. An intriguing ending to an interesting album.

On the whole No World For Tomorrow is an interesting endeavor, treading a lot of musical terrain and making some inventive choices in terms of genre manipulation. Astute music lovers will hear bits and pieces of numerous musical acts floating through every song like deceptive specters, which makes for compelling listening, albeit on a strangely d¿j¿ vu level. The group's willingness to experiment and tweak the conventions of well-known genres (Pop, Alt-Rock, Prog, Metal, and even Burt Bacharach-styled lushness) is their strongest suit. Yet given this hodge-podge musical assault it's very safe to say that Coheed and Cambria is not for everyone.

Buy Coheed and Cambria - No World For Tomorrow

01 The Reaping
02 No World For Tomorrow
03 The Hound (of Blood and Rank)
04 Feathers
05 The Running Free
06 Mother Superior
07 Gravemakers & Gunslingers
08 Justice In Murder
09 I - The Fall of House Atlantic
10 II - Radio Bye Bye
11 III - The End Complete
12 IV - The Road and the Damned
13 V - On The Brink

Timbaland - Shock Value

2007-10-21T03:37:00.000-07:00

Buy Timbaland - Shock Value

When it comes down to the big three producer-MCs who have defined club-friendly rap over the past decade-- Diddy, Pharrell and Timbaland-- Tim's the one who's been best able to rein in his self-indulgent tendencies. He hasn't spent more time being a pop icon than a musician, hasn't suffered from any major dry spells of creative entropy and, most importantly, has known enough to let his beats do most of the heavy lifting. This might be one of the reasons he's considered by most trainspotter pop fiends to be more of a genius than those other two; even when Tim runs his mouth, it's typically been innocuously catchy-- even complementary-- enough to keep the production's strengths at the forefront. The other main factor in his genius, as anyone who's had a radio on at any point in the last decade knows, is his ability to integrate unexpected niche-genre sonics most hip hop and R&B producers wouldn't steer towards-- bhangra, jungle, trance-- and use them for a kind of universal club futurism that, since it fits well in damn near every place people dance, makes for an easy route to chart and cultural dominance.

When Tim's shit goes wrong, though, it's harder to get to the root of the problem. His recent bodybuilding obsession, his divisive, grandstanding mini-sets during the Justin Timberlake tour, and his forehead-smack of a beef with Scott Storch (?)(!) have made for great blog-snark gossip fodder, but they don't necessarily signal any kind of creative decline, especially after the juggernaut year he had in '06. But while solo Timbaland's always been a mixed bag, Timbaland Presents Shock Value is more mediocre than it has any right to be, filled with overreaching pretense and phoned-in vacancy-- either trying too hard, or not hard enough.

Almost everything potentially great and really wrong about Shock Value is exhibited in leadoff track "Oh Timbaland". The beat's built on the same piano hook (from Nina Simone's "Sinnerman") that Kanye West pillaged for Talib Kweli's "Get By"-- he's just made it more manic, releasing some Dirty South tension with Shaq-hand-sized claps and Catfish Collins chicken-scratch guitar. It's a hell of a way to start things off, even assuming you don't care that a song about a man futilely trying to escape his transgressions is being appropriated so Tim can issue death threats and brag about his private planes. Simone's reconstructed voice is a sinister hook ("Oh Timbaland, where you gonna run to?"), and Tim's answer to this haunting, retribution-of-God threat (a quickly tossed-off "nowhere"), is a sign of the hubris to follow.

Not that Tim half-asses anything on the production end. The first two-thirds of the album are front-loaded with the kind of futuristic club beats his rep rests on, and some of them-- the berserk Bootsy-meets-Thomas Dolby-by-way-of-Basement Jaxx house-funk of "Release" and the "The Way I Are", which sounds like "Push It" gone trance-- are straight-up jaw-droppers. But the record's also plagued with some of the most empty, dead-eyed, joyless lyrics to hit the clubs in a while. Tim's on-record persona has soured drastically in the last few years, trading in the relaxed party-rocker's swagger of Tim's Bio and Indecent Proposal for a tensed-up, violent defensiveness. Where he used to be all about shaking off haters and basking contentedly in his wealth, he seems a lot more obsessed now with maintaining a shaky thug cred and using his status as a bludgeon.

"I know shit ain't sweet, so the shit get deep/ I'm rich, I can pay to have you six feet deep," he mutters lifelessly on "Come and Get Me", while the petulant hostility of "Kill Yourself" culminates in a chorus ("Go on, kill yourself, kill yourself, kill yourself/ If I was you I wouldn't feel myself") that feels like the Dew-fueled frothing of a 14-year-old caught up in an anime message board flamewar. Even his turn on the hilarious failure of a strip-club jam "Bounce" (as in "...like your ass has the hiccups") is riddled with death threats and gun talk; at least guest rapper Dr. Dre-- who, admittedly, resorts to terrible Chinese-name double-entendres ("Sum Yung Ho") and rhyming "ain't this money handsome" with "ain't this a panty anthem"-- remembers it's a track about fucking.

In this context, rife with fuck-you-haters self-consciousness and obnoxious posturing, even the guest roster on this album feels like it's caught up in a lazy arrogance. Justin Timberlake shows up on three tracks, first offering more of the usual Prince-baiting on lead single "Give It to Me", and then some ecstatic harmonies on "Release", which are great when you can hear them under Tim's atonal half-sung bellowing. (This same atonal half-sung bellowing overextends its welcome on almost every non-rap track, by the way.) Unfortunately, his dopey "you on me and me on you and you on her" traffic control on "Bounce" marks one of the album's most slack-jaw stupid moments. Aside from a freaky-as-hell Missy, pretty much every guest rapper-- from 50 and Tony Yayo to Attitude and D.O.E.-- rhyme like they didn't have to pay half a mil to get their spot on the track. (Jay-Z and Kanye were supposed to be on the album, but missed the deadline-- aw, don't be sad, there's a Magoo appearance!)

Then there's the much-touted rock collaborations, which either fail to play to the bands' strengths (the Hives' Howlin' Pelle Almqvist-- backup singer?) or prove why Timbaland is still a hell of a lot more interesting than most modern rock in the first place. The only thing more cringeworthy than the first time Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump screams a simpering "wipe that smi-hul off your fucking fayyyyce" in "One & Only" is the eighth time-- though the line "Be my unholy, my one and my lonely" is a pretty strong contender. And the last track, "2 Man Show", features Tim admonishing Elton John for coming in too early with the piano, then spends the rest of the track talking about how great the song actually is rather than just proving it. Like almost every other lyric on the album, it's all a conceited bluff.

So Timbaland spends an hour on the wrong side of the "ft.", fans wind up cringing for a while, and then we suddenly remember he's doing the Björk album and we get geeked again. As bad as this album is, it's not offensive enough to worry about for too long; if its contents were split up into 17 singles and B-sides and one-shots and scattered across the charts for 15 months, it'd hardly be worth worrying about. It's just that it's disconcerting sometimes to be confronted with an entire album's worth of evidence that geniuses can fuck up, just like everyone else.

Buy Timbaland - Shock Value

01 Oh Timbaland - Timbaland
02 Give It to Me - Nelly Furtado, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake
03 Release - Timbaland, Justin Timberlake
04 Way I Are - Keri Hilson, Timbaland
05 Bounce - Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake
06 Come and Get Me - 50 Cent, Timbaland, Tony Yayo
07 Kill Yourself - Timbaland
08 Boardmeeting - Timbaland
09 Fantasy - Timbaland
10 Scream - Keri Hilson, Nicole Scherzinger, Timbaland
11 Miscommunication - Keri Hilson, Timbaland
12 Bombay - Jim Beanz, Timbaland
13 Throw It on Me - Timbaland
14 Time - She Wants Revenge, Timbaland
15 One and Only - Timbaland
16 Apologize - Timbaland
17 2 Man Show - Elton John, Timbaland

Gary Allan - Living Hard

2007-10-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

Buy Gary Allan - Living Hard

Gary Allan's latest album "Living Hard", is certainly appropriately titled. Country music fans know what a difficult, transitional time Gary has been going through, but this new CD clearly proves that he is coming out on the other side, still rockin, still full of passion, still "Living Hard". From the opening track, which is also the CD's first single release, "Watching Airplanes", written by Jim Beavers and Jonathan Singleton, the album takes on a personal theme of strength and moving forward.

Gary shows some real hard rockin' in tracks like "She's So California", written by Gary Allan, Jon Randall and James Hanna, about a beautiful, sweet "love em and leave em" type girl, "Wreckin Ball" penned by Keith Gattis and Audrey Freed, about a beautiful, but "spare no hearts, love em and leave em type girl", and "Like It's A Bad Thing", written by Neil Thrasher, Tony Martin and Wendell Mobely, about living life on your own terms and not worrying about other's opinions, "I don't know about you, but I was put here to live and love, so what if I don't do it like everybody else does", a real anthem to where Gary is at now in his life.

"Learning How to Bend" by Gary Allan, Matt Warren and James Le Blanc and "Trying To Matter", written by Gary Allan, Odie Blackman and Casey Beathard, are lyrically powerful tracks filled with raw emotion in Gary's gravelly voice as he delivers such personal lyrics of a man beginning to dip his toes into the waters of a new relationship, "still learning how to pray, how to trust, how to let you in, how to fly, how to bend". But, then in "Trying To Matter", realizing it's never too late to start over, we are all just trying to matter to someone.

"Living Hard", penned by Gary Allan, Odie Blackman and Bob DiPiero, is a down and out, hard rockin, guitar pulsating, drum pounding, hip shaking, stadium pleasing blow out track. Absolutely brilliant lyrics about that "glamorous life on the road" of a musician, just love the line, "run like a Stone, startin to look like Dylan". Gary sure bursts the bubble of any fantasies we might have of a music man's touring life, the "living hard is hardly living". Pay attention all you country music wannabe's!!

By far my favorite track is "Yesterday's Rain", penned by Gary Allan, Matt Warren and James LeBlanc, with it's soft fiddle background and gentle swaying rhythm is an absolute standout song. Gary's voice loses it's "rock" edge in this deeply personal, romantic song where he remembers a loved one lost. He opens his heart up and let's us briefly inside, as we listen to the aching lyrics, "I've been told I shouldn't stand in your rain, but that's the only place I can see your face". "Let your memory soak me to the bone, reminds me that I'm not alone in yesterday's rain." Truly a beautiful tribute to Angela and the love he still holds for her.

"Living Hard" is pure Gary Allan, personal, raw, honest, emotional. It's hard rockin' and sweetly country, sung with that distinctive voice only Gary has. I completely enjoyed this album and am looking forward to more single releases from it. It is great to see and hear Gary Allan back at his best, successfully pushing that "envelope" of Nashville. Great job, Gary!

Buy Gary Allan - Living Hard

01 Watching Airplanes
02 We Touched the Sun
03 She's So California
04 Like It's A Bad Thing
05 Learning How To Bend
06 As Long As You're Looking Back
07 Wrecking Ball
08 Yesterday's Rain
09 Trying To Matter
10 Half Of My Mistakes
11 Living Hard

Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad

2007-10-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Buy Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad

As if the title doesn't inform the listener of what to expect, Jay-Z kicks things off by reminding us "Uh-uh, uh-uh, Rihanna, good girl gone bad…" before launching into a swagger and shuffle that actually shows him still in top form. The beat is all boom and Rihanna drops her still somewhat shrill vocals over the groove, which eventually morphs into a strange electro grumble surge sounding a lot more alternative (think '80s) than post-millennial R&B. Of course we're talking about her hit "Umbrella," which has the Barbados sweetie sounding a lot more like some forgotten New Wave princess than a soulful femme fatale. It's an intriguing shift in sonic dynamics, that's for sure, and should be applauded for flipping the script on a stylistic convergence.

While the opening track is sizzling, it certainly doesn't set Rihanna up as the heir apparent to the modern R&B chanteuse title. The retro blip and bleep mock techno shuffle continues on "Push Up On Me," which is all escalating echo electro claps and surging synth that again takes a steady lurch back to almost two decades ago when Planet Rock was the de facto sound in the East Coast clubs and Euro discos. A bona fide house schism is injected in to "Don't Stop the Music," which sounds ripped from the Studio 54 and New York gay disco scene, dripping back to sweltering grind and pump.

With "Breakin' Dishes" Rihanna goes for the call-n-response chant stylings (think "Oh Mickey You're So Fine" but given an electro-shock treatment) at the outset and then swerves and perves over the slinky synth squiggles like a worm on ecstasy. If the flashback grind and swelter hasn't been enough for you so far brace yourself for the New Order overload on "Shut Up And Drive." Whoa! At first the driving guitar grind is disconcerting, but it eventually kicks into overdrive and should win you over, especially when Rihanna swoons about laying in the cut and referring to herself as "a fine-tuned supersonic speed machine…"

Just as you're warming up to Rihanna channeling Gary Numan she flips the script yet again and delivers the acoustic guitar tinged "Hate That I Love You" which is geared much more to the suburban thirtysomething crowd than the inner city hipsters. Yet for all its contemporary pop stylings, it also showcases the beautiful timbre of her voice juxtaposed to Ne-Yo's sweet falsetto. It's probably one of the better modern duets from two superstars in waiting. This track more or less kicks off a series of more traditional R&B numbers, ones focused more on Rihanna than the electro theatrics. "Say It" is dressed in a warm, silky groove with slight hints at island rhythmatics (it's one of the only tracks to break the '80s cycle and sample Mad Cobra's '90s jammy "Flex"). It's one of those between-the-sheets jams that will resonate with the ladies and the men out to woo them.

"Sell Me Candy" is one of the less inspired numbers on the album, resorting to the now tired candy/ice-cream metaphors which have been played to death in rap for more'n a decade now. Toss in that the production is jumbled and noisy, beats rolling and colliding in chaotic fashion. It's sort of cutting edge, but Rihanna's vocals just never seem to mesh with the sturm and twang. Boom bap beats return on "Lemme Get That," one of the smoking Timbaland tracks on the album. It's traditional Timba, bursting at the seams with electro surge and grind. And Rihanna commands the track, no question about it.

Buy Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad

01 Umbrella - Rihanna & Jay-Z
02 Push Up On Me
03 Don't Stop The Music
04 Breakin' Dishes
05 Shut Up And Drive
06 Hate that I Love You (Feat. Ne-Yo)
07 Say It
08 Sell Me Candy
09 Lemme Get That
10 Rehab
11 Question Existing
12 Good Girl Gone Bad

Kanye West - Graduation

2007-10-18T03:35:00.000-07:00

Buy Kanye West - Graduation

When Kanye West comes up in conversation, the word “restraint” doesn’t usually get thrown around much. West has always come off as exuberant and overexcitable, a twitchy little guy perpetually uncertain of his status. Even when he steps outside of himself and catches a fleeting bout of righteousness, there’s something embarrassing about it: witness his “George Bush doesn’t care about black people!” outburst, next to a horrified Mike Meyers, on national television. His music overflows with a similar spirit of torrential eagerness, sprouting codas and instrumental breakdowns and full choirs on its way up, up, up. There’s probably no more irrepressible persona in hip-hop than Kanye West, which is why one of the most shocking things about Graduation, his third album, is that in some ways he displays something nearing restraint.

One, the album tops out at a spare thirteen tracks, compared to The College Dropout’s 20 and Late Registration’s 21. Two, apart from a ragged-sounding Lil’ Wayne on “Barry Bonds,” Graduation has no guest MCs. Sure, the music still overflows with West’s trademark generosity, but there are fewer moments of bloat than on the caloric Late Registration, which as a listening experience was akin to eating an entire cheesecake at one sitting. In some ways, Graduation serves as a document of West’s maturation.

Musically, at least, it’s the most accomplished thing he’s ever done. Never content to sit still, West has moved from the Dropout’s soul samples to Registration’s orchestral grandiosity to, on Graduation, a fascination with Euro-disco and expensive-sounding synths. The good news is in such unfamiliar surroundings, West retains both his confidence and his attention to detail. Kanye has always made headphone records, and this one is no exception: he’s as obsessed with sonic detail as any producer this side of Timbaland or Trent Reznor. Check out the forlorn guitars chiming in unison at the close of “Stronger”; the random trumpet blurts in the left channel on “Drunk and Hot Girls”; the multitracked, interlocking vocals on “The Good Life”: Kanye tucks enough flourishes in to the corners of the record to reward repeated and close listening.

He also continues to push at mainstream hip-hop’s sonic contours, sampling a number of unlikely sources that only start with the Daft Punk bite for “Stronger.” Can’s “Sing Swan Song” provides the basis for a song called “Drunk and Hot Girls,” which will probably cause the heads of record nerds to explode nationwide. Elsewhere, he samples Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne” and Laura Nyro’s “Save the Country.” The gorgeously airy track for “Flashing Lights” builds from mournful strings (courtesy of Gamble and Huff arranger and soul-music veteran Larry Gold), a slithering house backbeat, and Day-Glo synths, and is one of the most unabashedly graceful things I’ve heard on a commercial hip-hop record in years.

But he still can’t totally suppress those outbursts, which means that Graduation, like its predecessors, is disarming, exasperating, and entertaining in about equal measure. There are the fits of pique: “You should be honored by my lateness / The fact that I would even show up to this fake shit!” he explodes impatiently on “Stronger.” There’s the obsessive, defensive self-assessment; on “The Glory,” he devotes about eight lines of a verse analyzing his decision to wear a lavender tuxedo to the Grammys last year. Several million albums into a multi-platinum career, and he’s still justifying his decision to drop out of school: “Scared of the future, complacent career student / Some people graduate but be still stupid,” he rhymes on “Good Morning.”

And yet, just when his massive inferiority complex threatens to suffocate the atmosphere, he drops “Everything I Am.” On it, Kanye ruefully surveys the consequences of his inability to keep his mouth shut: “So say goodbye to the NAACP Awards / Goodbye to the India.Arie award / They’d rather give me the ‘N***a, Please’ award.” There’s something endearing about him admitting “I’ll never be as laid back as this beat is,” especially when the beat in question is such a beautiful piece of soul-rap, with a scratched hook from DJ Premier. He also shows that he hasn’t completely forgotten about the outside world: “Just last year Chicago had over six hundred caskets / Man, killing’s some wack shit,” he rhymes, before adding sarcastically, “Oh I forgot, except for when n***as is rappin.” It’s as dogmatic as he cares to get, but it also works.

The only disappointment about Graduation is the continued narrow lyrical focus. When West showed up in 2003, he seemed wry, observant, and empathetic enough to tell any story: three albums into his career, it has become clear he can only obsessively reiterate his own, which has not changed much over the course of three albums. The point is driven home by “Homecoming”—a song also found on the advance copy of The College Dropout, known at that time as "Home"—which features a big, stadium-ready beat and a hook from Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Over this backdrop, Kanye rhymes about his guilt over leaving Chicago to pursue stardom. That the song fits in so well lyrically with the rest of Graduation demonstrates starkly that West hasn’t traveled very far from his defining moment. In some ways, he is still reliving it. Only the production values have changed.

Buy Kanye West - Graduation

01 Good Morning
02 Champion
03 Stronger (Feat. Daft Punk)
04 I Wonder
05 Good Life (Feat. T-Pain)
06 Cant't Tell Me Nothing
07 Barry Bonds (Feat. Lil Wayne)
08 Drunk And Hot Girls [Feat. Mos
09 Flashing Lights (Feat. Dwele)
10 Everything I Am (Feat. Scratch
11 The Glory
12 Homecoming (Feat. Chris Martin
13 Big Brother
14 Good Night (Bonus Track)
15 Bittersweet Poetry (Feat. John)

Seether - Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces

2007-10-17T03:26:00.000-07:00

Buy Seether - Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces

Rock band Seether has recorded a new album called "Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces," set for release October 23rd. The 12-set album is said by the band to be their most diverse yet, but by listening to the record, the song are quite redundant.

Seether had to cancel several shows due to a death, in which four of the tracks are derived from that tragedy. The opener "Like Suicide" is one of them. With lyrics like "she belongs to heaven" and "another complicated suicide," the song touches on some heavy screaming and hard guitars that sometimes are almost too much to take. So the next track "Fake It" uses the same vocal effect as "Like Suicide." "Fake It" is musically too similar to the latter and is their current single. The song reeks hypocracy and lies. The video was recently shot and shows a less serious side.

Seether is tough, but gentle. Previous acoustically written songs including "Broken" make Seether able to crossover to mainstream pop radio. "Walk Away From The Sun" is guitar and piano built. However, lyrically this wouldn't pass on mainstream pop as they have lyrics about depression that result in loss of life. "Could die for a gun/ Walk away from the sun/ And kill everyone," doesn't exactly give the image of picture perfect world. Coincidentally, "No Jesus Christ" sings of putting a gun in his mouth. Parents: don't let your kids get ahold of this dark album.

"Waste" is hard, but transcends a common theme in songs. When things in life just go wrong, an escape is usually desired. Here, the feeling is a sense of being misplaced and wanting to get away because everything in that current time is just a waste. Redundantly, "Eyes of the Devil" almost melodically imitates "Waste," with different lyrics.

Maybe the only friendly song lyrically and musically is "Rise Above This." It is a typical rock song acceptable by radio standards due to its easy guitars and soaring vocals. It is perhaps the most tame of the record in terms of production. "Breakdown" is a close second as there are no extreme guitar riffs or high powered shouting. "So break me down if it makes you feel right/ And hate me now if it keeps you alright/ So you can break me down if it takes all your might," plays out over simple guitar solos and power chords.

In music, it's popular for musicians to record responses to each other when a relationship is broken. However, there is no retaliation to Amy Lee's "Call Me When You're Sober." The lyrics on this record are dark and depressing and almost violent at times. Maybe when the band said it was diverse they really meant the message of the songs are different than before. It is enough to please the fans but should be listened to with caution by the casual fan as the lyrics get offensive and inappropriate for younger generations purchasing the music.

Seether's Finding Beauty in Negative Places will be released on Wind-Up Records October 23rd.

Buy Seether - Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces

01 Like Suicide
02 Fake It
03 Breakdown
04 FMLYHM
05 Fallen
06 Rise Above This
07 No Jesus Christ
08 6 Gun Quota
09 Walk Away From the Sun
10 Eyes of the Devil
11 Don't Believe
12 Waste

50 Cent - Curtis

2007-10-16T03:24:00.000-07:00

Buy 50 Cent - Curtis

Even though he might not admit it publicly, 50 Cent is looking at some serious pressure coming into Curtis (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope). His debut, Get Rich Or Die Trying, killed everything moving in 2003. As a follow up his soldiers would put up respectable numbers individually going into the G-Unit general’s follow up, The Massacre. Fast forwarding to only a year ago, the immense leverage has been severely handicapped. Along with Mobb Deep, Banks and Young Buck would all sell below gold and a couple of the members of the crew got sent packing. Now with his momentum slowing down Fif attempts to extend the championship run.

In traditional fashion 50 starts off ready to hurt something. “My Gun” is a dark look into his innate “have gat will travel” mentality. Resembling what Em’ did on “Gatman And Robin,” the speedy synth grooves compliment the tough talk nicely. “Man Down” slows down the pace a bit as Ferrari flows over some chunky pianos. His stick up kid wit is still very much apparent with lines like “Southside, I make the best of the worst/We got to share the same b*tch, okay I go first.” As far as stand out joints go, “I Get Money” is Curtis at his best. A monster record for the clubs, newcomer Apex borrows some classic lines from Audio Two’s “Top Billin’” and blaring boom baps familiar to Cassidy’s “I’m A Hustla.”

The mood is switched up on “Follow My Lead.” Produced by The Bizness, 50 does his thing with Robin Thicke on the back up vocal help out. The track has a jazzy feel with its accompanying dusty keys. Jackson raps to ladies with suave lines that will make them forget about that suspect GQ cover. As far as key collaborations 50 and Mary J. make a stellar team on “All Of Me.” Blige sets the tone off properly with her golden vocals over crisp drums and chopped up horns. In vintage Fif fashion, he mixes in his Queens bravado with some Hollywood charm and wins: “When I smile your smile should be as big as mine/To know me is to love me I’m one of a kind/Even when you hate me you love me, forever you’re mine.”

Unfortunately the album doesn’t progress further than that. Curtis goes hard on the hoes on “Come And Go” but doesn’t connect in part to a lackadaisical beat. Also, 50 sounds flat when he steps out his comfort zone. “Ayo Technology” features a Timbaland masterpiece but even with Justin Timberlake helping out, it still sounds incredibly forced. Same deal when he aims for a more pop crowd on the Dr. Dre helmed “Fire” with Nicole of the Pussycat Dolls.

At the end of the day, Curtis is a step backwards for 50. While the album is not a total brick, it lacks a true consistency where his previous work flowed seamlessly and almost every record worked. Even his harder records “Straight To The Bank” and “Touch The Sky” fail to make a considerable impact. Clearly 50 still has the talent to recreate the magic, but he won’t wow many but the most diehard of fans here. But then again, there is always Vitamin Water.

Buy 50 Cent - Curtis

01 Intro
02 My Gun Go Off
03 Man Down
04 I'll Still Kill
05 I Get Money
06 Come & Go
07 Ayo Technology
08 Follow My Lead
09 Movin' On Up
10 Straight To The Bank
11 Amusement Park
12 Fully Loaded Clip
13 Peep Show
14 Fire
15 All Of Me
16 Curtis 187
17 Touch The Sky

Rascal Flatts - Still Feels Good

2007-10-15T03:22:00.000-07:00

Buy Rascal Flatts - Still Feels Good

Rascal Flatts fifth album "Still Feels Good" is a perfect follow up to "Me And My Gang", with a perfect title, an affirmation that "The Gang" is still quite happy making their kind of country music and that it "Still Feels Good". Rooney, DeMarcus and LeVox are like everybody's "boy's next door neighbors ... just average Joes", charming and seemingly unaffected by all their success and mounting number of awards. This low key, humble approach to their career is one big reason Rascal Flatts is the reigning 2006 CMA, ACM and CMT Vocal Group of the Year.

"Take Me There" the album's first single release was written by Kenny Chesney, Neil Thrasher and Wendel Mobly. It has a great instrumental section, filled with awesome guitars riffs. It is the story of the deep love a man has for the woman in his life, so deep that he wants" everything about you and I want to go down every road you've been, where your hopes and dreams and wishes live ... I want to know the girl behind that pretty stare". It showcases the harmonies that we have become so accustomed to brilliantly.

"Here", written by Jeffrey Steele and Steve Robson is a wonderful love song about when a guy finally opens his eyes to what is standing right in front of him ... "so caught up in holding what I never thought I'd find", but he thanks God for all the hardships, tears, heartaches and stumbles that it took to get him right "Here" in her arms ... "I wouldn't change a thing ...”

"Bob That Head", by Michael Dulaney and Neil Thrasher and "Secret Smile", written by Don Mescal and Steve Robson, are both rockin, honky tonk songs, with some awesome strong pounding drums, smashing guitar playing ... and some fun lyrics on top of all that! These are going to be dance floor favorites.

"Help Me Remember", penned by Hillary Lindsey and Wendel Mobley and "Still Feels Good", written by Gary LeVox, Neil Thrasher and Wendel Mobley approach the subject of love from opposite sides of the fence. "Help Me Remember" is an aching power ballad about a couple facing their broken relationship ... and wanting to gather only the "good times", remember the way it used to be. "Still Feels Good", the title song is a swinging song about how love "still feels good" after all their years together ... just as exciting now as the day they fell in love. Two songs of love ... but very different, indeed.

"Winner At A Losing Game" written by the Flatts and "Better Now", written by Busbee, Gregory Becker and Darrel Brown both have brilliant harmonies, lyrics that express so beautifully that feeling we all have experienced at least once ... loving someone who just doesn't love you the same way ... "if love is really forever ... I'm a winner at a losing game".

"Everyday", penned by Alissa Moreno and Jeffrey Steele is precisely what we listen for in a Rascal Flatts album ... blended, powerful voices, meaningful, honest lyrics about the power of love and faith ... with words like, "everyday you save my life".

"She Goes All The Way", by Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus, Joe Don Rooney and Monty Powell is a surprisingly wonderful duet with Jamie Foxx. A ballad that blends Gary's and Jamie's voices magnificently. I was amazed at the softness of Foxx's harmonies in lyrics like ... "giving more then she takes ... cause it's more then love she makes ... she goes all the way". It's a powerful love song in every sense.

"It's Not Suppose To Go Like That", is a real standout song for me. This was penned by Bobby Pinson and Jimmy Yearly and lyrically tells a powerful story of lives cut short by innocent, random acts of "not thinking of the consequences". It reminds us how precious life truly is, a socially conscious song ... one all parents, teens, children should listen to closely and take the meaningful lyrics to heart ... "life is a journey, constantly touring down an unknown path ... but it's not suppose to go like that ... I wonder if guardian angels cry when they see it all played out ... and as they stand with their hands tied ... oh, do they cry out loud" I, too, wonder if the angels cry as they watch our foolish stunts ... knowing there is nothing they can do to save us from ourselves.

In "Still Feels Good", Rascal Flatts proves that they are alive and well, and that this trio is definitely on the cutting edge of country music ... even paving the way for some new artists. Like the first four albums ... .number five is better than ever and a "must have" for every Rascal Flatts fan out there ... and for any fan of just great country music!

Buy Rascal Flatts - Still Feels Good

01 Take Me There
02 Here
03 Bob That Head
04 Help Me Remember
05 Still Feels Good
06 Winner at a Losing Game
07 No Reins
08 Every Day
09 Secret Smile
10 Better Now
11 She Goes All the Way
12 How Strong Are You Now
13 It's Not Supposed To Go Like That

Dave Gahan - Hourglass

2007-10-14T03:20:00.000-07:00

Buy Dave Gahan - Hourglass

This has presumably been a strange and exciting decade to be a member of Depeche Mode: Seven years during which dark, blustery electro-pop has come back as a mainstream force, especially in their native UK, and sometimes in exactly the terms they were supplying it 15 or 20 years ago. They've noticed this, surely. Perhaps it's why, after sidetracking into a minimal, techy sound on 2001's Exciter, they ran right back to blaring, grainy bombast on 2005's Playing the Angel. And perhaps it's why, after a solo debut that differentiated itself from DM by putting a guitar up front, singer Dave Gahan has veered back toward the drama you expect of him.

The problem is that while Hourglass has Gahan sounding a lot more assured and competent as a songwriter, it's also too much what you'd expect of him. Holed up in a New York studio with Depeche Mode's touring drummer and guitar player, he's constructed a Pro-Tooled set of dark rock grooves and electronic buzzing that won't shock anyone who's heard him or his band since, say, Songs of Faith and Devotion-- it's tasteful, professional, and as sophisticated as you'd expect from veterans. But it's also the kind of rote music that has very little purpose on its own. It's the kind that needs a very good singer-- and a very good songwriter-- to give it a reason to exist.

Gahan isn't that guy right now, and his presence here seems as rote as the music. He's addicted to the grand, prophetic register he's been singing in for years now, but he's not so good these days at making it seem like there's a reason for him to stay in that place. Lyrics about religion and self-doubt may be Depeche Mode's stock in trade, but none of them necessarily support the sinister breathing and chest-beating drama Gahan goes for-- drama that seems awfully routine here, like a product he's manufacturing.

It's a feeling that infects a lot of the tracks here, among which even the better ones can be too transparently professional, faultless but inessential. "Endless" looks to recapture the 00s with a minimized glam beat, the same T Rex shuffle that's put acts like Goldfrapp on the charts-- but Gahan seems to be copping his hook from Depeche Mode's "I Feel You", and all the sensual atmosphere he's pumping out feels more like branding than substance. The single, "Kingdom", sounds limp and listless, a big melody in a song that feels like it came out of a box. The tracks here that actually surprise-- the ones that take risks, jump out of the realm of expectations, or at least push Gahan's usual persona to the point of self-parody-- just wind up underlining the lack of spark in the songs around them. "Deeper and Deeper" is great precisely because it's so potentially embarrassing: Gahan is growling, play-acting a little monster, anteing up and putting something in the game. It's too rare of an occurrence here, and a little more of it would have provided much better context for the tracks-- "Down", "Miracles", "Saw Something"-- where Gahan does what Gahan does perfectly well.

It's possible to give albums like this a sense of risk and vigor, as proven just a couple months back by another 80s-alternative mainstay, someone Gahan has surely sat next to in a whole lot of record collections: Siouxsie Sioux burst out with exactly the same kind of deep, dark, guitars-and-electro solo pop record, and it was packed with all the verve this one's missing. I don't doubt that those who have followed Gahan and Depeche Mode for years will find things to like in Hourglass and enjoy hearing him continue to struggle with the topics he and his lyrics always do; he's eloquent and interesting, and I have no doubt that he's feeling every word and note here. But I'm guessing that for most, on this record, hearing Gahan feel it will be as exciting as watching any other professional perform the task he's a pro at, whether it's chopping down trees or rebuilding car engines.

Buy Dave Gahan - Hourglass

01 Saw Something
02 Kingdom
03 Deeper and Deeper
04 21 Days
05 Miracles
06 Use You
07 Insoluble
08 Endless
09 Little Lie
10 Down
11 Kingdom (Single Version)

Jennifer Lopez - Brave

2007-10-13T03:18:00.000-07:00

Buy Jennifer Lopez - Brave

Every generation has its share of pop idols that are blessed with great songwriters, catchy hooks and addictive beats and not much else. Jennifer Lopez is one such idol. For almost a decade now, she’s spun off high-gloss pop albums, rife with songs that songs that sound great when you’re playing the car stereo. The fact that those songs sound great has much to do with the songwriting and more likely, the production. Lopez is not a singer of any great value, and you get the feeling that if she were not already a successful actress and dancer, no way she would have gotten a record deal and a lot of her songs would be just as good-if not better-had they been sung by someone else.

While Lopez has certainly had a successful music career, how many people out there actually go into their CD collections and pull out one of her old albums to listen to on purpose? Her music has a temporary appeal that ultimately results in quite a few copies of the Lopez catalog in used bins across the country. As someone who has owned each of her previous five English-language albums at one time or another, I can say that they’re fairly interchangeable. Her first couple of albums had a more pronounced dance/Latin influence, but everything since has had the same fairly disposable vaguely urban sound that positions her as sort of a 21st century Lisa Lisa. Throw some danceable beats together, pay for a couple of recognizable samples maybe add a guest rapper or two, and voila! You have an instant J. Lo album!

She stepped out of her comfort zone earlier this year by making a complete Latin-pop album, and the title of her newest English effort is Brave, so I assumed that this album would be a little different, perhaps more daring vocally or musically. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Brave is more of the same when it comes to Lopez. It’s danceable pop/R&B in the vein of all her previous releases. I guess you could look at that in a good way. She could have gone for the trendy sounds of a Timbaland for this album (the two have worked together before), or gone the simple but popular schoolyard-anthem route favored by Gwen Stefani or Fergie. However, not a lot on this album sticks to the ribs. Lopez’s singing is as bland as ever, and the production doesn’t really pop in the way that previous hit singles like “Waiting For Tonight” and “Get Right” did. While there are a few bright moments interspersed through the album, this might be the weakest effort of Lopez’s career, and that’s saying quite a bit when you consider that 2002’s This Is Me…Then is the only one of her efforts that’s slightly better than average.

In an era when producers like 9th Wonder, Kanye West and Just Blaze are doing new and inventive things with samples, it’s sort of sad to see Lopez still relying on Puffy-style beat jacking for many of the songs on her new album. The first single “Do It Well” pilfers Eddie Kendricks’ over-sampled “Keep on Truckin’”, the intriguingly titled “Hold It Don’t Drop It” lifts sizable chunks from the Tavares disco classic “It Only Takes a Minute”, and “Gotta Be There” swipes it’s title from a Motown-era Michael Jackson classic while also borrowing a good amount from another MJ oldie, “I Wanna Be Where You Are”. So much so that it can almost be considered a duet. If you like this song, it makes better sense to just listen to the original. And this is actually one of the album’s better tracks.

Brave reaches beyond only mediocrity twice over the course of it’s 40 minutes. The opening track “Stay Together” is a peppy throwback dance tune. It could’ve easily been a hit during the late ‘80s/early ‘90s heyday of dance-pop, when acts like The Cover Girls and Seduction were the rage. Oddly, the album’s other standout track is the piano-spiked ballad “Wrong When You’re Gone”. The pretty melody and catchy hook combine to lift this track above the generic remainder of the album.

I’d imagine that you know what to expect if you’re picking up a Jennifer Lopez album, and Brave doesn’t deviate much from her typical pattern. Her thin voice (which sounds more computer-processed than usual on this album) doesn’t have much in the way of character, leaving the song to rise and fall based on their amount of musical ear candy. Lyrically, you’re not getting much beyond the typical love song (the rock-etched “Mile in These Shoes” can be classified as semi-autobiographical and completely embarrassing), and there’s not even an interesting guest appearance to be had (Ludacris, the album’s only guest performer, obviously had a paycheck and only a paycheck on his mind when he phoned in a rhyme on “Do It Well”’s remix). Great pop artists, think Madonna, Janet or even Christina and Justin, have enough personality to elevate their music past the level of fluff, and when that fails them, they get saved by ace production. Brave has neither a strong artistic personality nor boffo production, and as a result, ends up being just another disposable pop record with no redeeming value.

Buy Jennifer Lopez - Brave

01 stay together
02 forever
03 hold it dont drop it
04 do it well
05 gotta be there
06 never gonna give up
07 mile in these shoes
08 the way it is
09 be mine
10 i need love
11 wrong when youre gone
12 brave
13 do it well featuring ludacris

The Hoosiers - The Trick To Life

2007-10-12T03:16:00.000-07:00

Buy The Hoosiers - The Trick To Life

Anyone who managed to sit through the whole of Radio 1's recent 40th birthday compilation CD will no doubt tell you how nauseatingly bad a cover version can be. Mika massacring The Police, The Feeling butchering Carly Simon, Robbie Williams gurning his way around The Kink's 'Lola'...the list goes on. Yet despite all of these musical crimes, there is one step lower than cringe-inducing musical re-interpretations of iconic hit singles. That lowly step is when you find a band who are not only willing to pillage and poke through pop history, but who also have the guts to re-package it under a different name and proclaim it as something fresh and original. Perky 'oddball' rockers The Hoosiers are such a band. Their debut album The Trick To Life is the result.

ELO, 10CC, Supertramp, The Cure, even Razorlight...just a few names who are given The Hoosiers treatment. You'll recognise the key changes, smell a whiff of their riffs and spot a cheeky glint in Irwin Sparkes' eye as he delivers his elaborate falsetto vocals, but their charm offensive begins grating your ear drums after about 30 seconds of opening track 'Worried About Ray'. Half the problem with The Hoosiers is that their 'influences' are about as corny and cheese-stinkingly addictive as any reasonable human being should surely be able to stand. You wouldn't think that ELO's 'Mr Blue Sky' could become more chiseled in its shiny pop gleam, yet somehow The Hoosiers savage the track on 'Goodbye Mr A', with their bubblegum, cartoon rock ladling on the cheese like a nightmarish school dinnerlady. Similarly on 'Cops And Robbers' they waddle through 'Love Cats' by The Cure, nicking its funky bass flicks, hurling in a bucketful of screeching snyths, and Sparkes unwisely doles out another helping of his nasal vocals on top.

The short, sharp guitar snatches on 'Worst Case Scenario' recall Razorlight's more recent singles, but again Sparkes' tendency to throw himself headfirst into the track, like a child on a first visit to water-park, gives a sickening flavour to the tune. Fairground rides, children's TV show themes, chocolate bar adverts, ice cream van tunes all sound like jolly good fun, but when they are shoe-horned into 3-minute snippets the resulting effect is not too dissimilar to eating a three day-old kebab that's been left festering under your bed. It leaves you feeling a bit dickey. Jaunty, ostentatious, and with forced grins on their faces, The Hoosiers come across like a stage school indie band. The Hoosiers are faintly reminiscent of The Office's David Brent. They are keen to rock out with the kids and show they're down with the hip cats, but their forced fun and unrelenting enthusiasm for the task in hand leaves you covering your eyes with your hands. Or maybe more accurately, covering your ears with your hands, because it's all too God-awful to listen to.

It's hard to take The Hoosiers seriously, yet at times on the record they appear to be yearning for some sense of credibility. They could be perhaps be forgiven as being over-eager, scarily happy wannabes if they didn't stray into furrowed brow serious mode on various occasions. Sparkes' hollering on 'Money To Be Made' and 'Run Rabbit Run' sounds like it wants to be bunched up with Jeff Buckley as the warbles and quivers over notes try to regain a modicum of calm amongst the sherbet lemon pop hooks and shrill squeals of their up-tempo numbers. However, there's a soulessness to his voice that you'd imagine isn't a million miles away from hearing George Bush singing along with the lyrics to 'Imagine' or 'Give Peace A Chance'. The band have cornered a huge market with their quirky schtick already, so the album's certainly going to have its fans. What's less certain is if any will be proudly holding the record aloft in their music collections in five years' time - or even six months!

Buy The Hoosiers - The Trick To Life

01 Worried About Ray
02 Worst Case Scenario
03 Run Rabbit Run
04 Goodbye Mr A
05 Sadness Runs Through Him
06 Clinging On For Life
07 Cops And Robbers
08 Everything Goes Dark
09 Killer
10 Trick To Life
11 Money To Be Made

Colbie Caillat - Coco

2007-10-11T01:56:00.000-07:00

Buy Colbie Caillat - Coco

Let's just get this out of the way: I'm a sucker for a ukelele. And as if the rest of Colbie Caillat's Coco release wasn't amazing enough in and of itself, she's got the laid-back island vibe covered front and center. And so I'll just say it: I love Colbie Caillat.

You should too, by the way. She's got the smoky, sultry voice, the catchy, intelligent songwriting, the sunshine-infused, happy-go-lucky, folk meets acoustic pop, coffee house vibe... She's brilliant.

Need proof? She's an entirely self-promoted artist who climbed her way up the MySpace ranks to now get 50,000+ plays a day. You'll be hard-pressed not to hear her singles "Oxygen" or "Realize" on a pop radio station. She's been featured in Rolling Stone. She claims inspiration from Lauryn Hill, The Weepies, Fleetwood Mac, and others (and you can hear the influence in her sound) - and many are calling her a female John Mayer or Jack Johnson (although, for just once, I'd love to see a female artist get her own without being compared to male powerhouses). I just hope that when it comes to Grammy time, that she gets her just recognition. Because her music absolutely deserves it.

Tracks like "Oxygen," "Bubbly," "Feelings Show," "Realize," and "Tied Down" (featuring the ukelele!) showcase Colbie Caillat's relatability to her audience. Her sound is like a a favorite cozy blanket; you want to just wrap it around you and melt within the relaxation. In fact, as you hear her sing - despite the fact that she looks strikingly like Jennifer Aniston (I actually thought when I first saw the cover of her CD that, God forbid, Aniston actually put out an album) - you feel as if she's your own best friend, just relaying a story here and there about her everyday life. She has the ability to touch your heart, stimulate your senses and add sunshine to your day.

Buy Colbie Caillat - Coco

01 Oxygen
02 The Little Things
03 One Fine Wire
04 Bubbly
05 Feelings Show
06 Midnight Bottle
07 Realize
08 Battle
09 Tailor Made
10 Magic
11 Tied Down
12 Capri

Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion

2007-10-10T01:52:00.000-07:00

Buy Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion

There are a lot of children involved in UK chart-topper Mika's debut album, Life in Cartoon Motion. His flashy video for the British No. 1 "Grace Kelly" features a young girl in a gauzy yellow dress atop a piano, mouthing the words of a certain captivating Hollywood princess. The implication-- although nothing on this album is so much implied as flamboyantly howled-- is that this pint-sized Grace is a cute stand-in for a heartbreaker his own age. In "Lollipop", a chorus of children scream emotive truisms about how "love always gets you down." And in "Any Other World", a group of churchy teens cry themselves to sleep singing, "Say goodbye/ To the world you thought you lived in." The whole album reeks of wide-eyed youth, Mika appearing not so much an inquisitive elder as a peer, comfortable among his backup vocalists, advice-givers, and child actors. It's in this cushy setting that Mika wastes classical training to borrow respectful (Freddie Mercury) and cheap (Robbie Williams) pop tricks that depreciate exponentially in his hands.

There's virtually zero worth to this album, a combination of zealous experiments with Garage Band and would-be Music and Lyrics soundtrack cuts, but to a regenerative surplus of hypnotized young souls, this is brilliant stuff. It's as if Mika and his over-production team knew-- despite the lack of confidence that torments the album-- that songs like coming-out party and high school musical tribute "Billy Brown" were just what a million people bedazzled by staid British pop music would pay money for. Turn the dial just a few degrees in either direction of the Scissor Sisters-- the UK's most successful act of 2005-- and you get the odious "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)", a pumping, chorus-infested jam session complete with gospel backup singers that tragically feels the need to reassure "big girls" they can be beautiful.

"Erase", in another life, might find itself on an "American Idol" winner's album as one of the filler tracks, and here the hybrid of lugubrious, wispy piano verse and Avril Lavigne-lite chorus is a fitting U.S. bonus track. "Any Other World" starts with a foolhardy piano line, but soon transcends to more breathless melodrama about relinquishing innocence for experience or something. There's a hollow quality to much of the music and its lyrical content, insulting our intelligence and slandering Fiona Apple's dozy adage that pop's subjects must be "broad enough that everyone can relate to them." In effect, the only perfectly not broad moment on this album is the only one of merit: An aging female relative, I assume, sharing the anecdote of being jilted by a man who ran off and married someone else.

For his part, Mika seems as if he's banking on the belief that listeners too lazy to replay their 90s favorites will hold a lighter to anyone who can resuscitate a formula, regardless of how dead it looks. Taking basic AAA chord progressions, dramatic string sections, backup vocalists, and his own virtuosic but easily satisfied voice, he creates a world of relatable montages. The album mildly undulates in tempo and mood, but is altogether uniform in its money-hungry quest to transport music lovers to a horrific place where pop songs double as cruise-ship entertainment.

Buy Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion

01 Grace Kelly
02 Lollipop
03 My Interpretation
04 Love Today
05 Relax Take It Easy
06 Any Other World
07 Billy Brown
08 Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)
09 Stuck In The Middle
10 Happy Ending + Ring-Ring

Bob Dylan - Dylan

2007-10-09T01:50:00.000-07:00

Buy Bob Dylan - Dylan

Oh, how is it even possible to say a bad word about a Bob Dylan album? Arguably the most brilliant songwriter of our time, an absolutely fascinating evolution of an artist: poet, rebel, activist, balladeer, country singer, troubadour.... We all know the list of accomplishments that can follow his name. Even more impressive is the fact that it’s a list that’s had many of these twists and turns just in recent years of recording, and also includes such off-the-beaten track moves as books of poetry, dips into film including 2004’s Masked and Anonymous and the self-penned Chronicles: Volume One in 2005. It’s a vast and always intriguing catalogue of work that Dylan has provided us with, but this latest offering from the library of Columbia/Legacy, DYLAN, should not be confused with an offering from the man himself. And perhaps that is the sole reason I can bring myself to utterly say that this is not a necessary addition.

Dylan’s music has been remastered, recycled and repackaged in so many ways that the ridiculous number attempts is probably only forgiven because of the extraordinary level of songwriting that we’re dealing with. To date, there have been three volumes of Greatest Hits (released in 1967, 1971 and 1994 respectively), the Biograph box set in 1985, an Essential Bob Dylan in 2000, a Best of in 2005, a remastering series of his first most influential albums, The Bootleg Series Volume 1-3 in 1991, and yes, the list goes on here too. There is no doubt that we’re talking about a catalogue of work here that is deserving of the title “masterpiece”, but do we really need to be presented with these same songs over and over again?

Besides Disc Three of DYLAN, which covers the more recent years of studio work, all but a small handful of the songs on this new three disc set have already appeared at least once before on another compilation. In fact, the only previously unreleased track—the only remix ever to be approved by Dylan, Mark Ronson’s remix of “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)—is only available through the digital version of the album being sold through iTunes. It’s ironic that so many attempts have been made to fit Dylan’s career neatly into a box when he has spent his entire career genre-bending, defying expectations and dodging any sort of pigeon-hole that people have tried to carve out for him. But it’s also getting tired. According to the advance press released for the compilation, song selections were greatly influenced by the input of fans offered through the website set up to promote DYLAN, though the predictable track listing found here really doesn’t indicate anything out of the ordinary.

The latest incarnation of retrospective on DYLAN is one that takes a mainly chronological focus, including the key songs from his albums to paint a sort of linear picture of all of the expected landmarks of his career: from his “Song to Woody” in 1962 and rise to fame in the later ‘60s, through the personal and professional roller coaster of the early ‘70s to mid-’80s that saw critics claiming the end of his career at least a few times, up to the widely acclaimed trilogy that began with Time Out Of Mind and led to yet another comeback for the artist in the late ‘90s. Just trying to mark three such definitive timelines for Dylan’s career is restrictive and insisting on “fitting” the songs together like one big jigsaw puzzle feels like we’re missing the point completely.

Really, there isn’t a single song here that isn’t a winner (it is Dylan, after all), but it’s all far too familiar territory and just seems to be shelling out the same snapshot of the singer that we’ve all been getting for years. Frankly, he’s a much more interesting artist and more challenging song samples definitely exist: Dylan’s often bratty persona and tumultuous relationship with the media as represented “Ballad of a Thin Man”, lesser known examples of exceptional lyricism like “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”, moments of womanizing swagger heard on “Oh, Sister”, and instances of his twisted humor as on “Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum” are just a few. There are a million other unrepresented moments throughout Dylan’s career that would have offered a more thoughtful and unique portrayal of such a vast artistic landscape: there’s certainly enough diversity to be found throughout Dylan’s 45 years of work.

Ultimately, it may simply just come down to the fact that there is no box set that could ever properly house the likes of someone like Bob Dylan. There is really nothing linear about his career, and certainly nothing so conventional about his work that it could be expected to be presented in any sort of meaningful way within such unoriginal parameters. So, grab this album for the catalogue of great songs if you don’t already have the classic albums that they’ve been picked from. But, really, we should all already have these albums.

Buy Bob Dylan - Dylan

01 A Fool Such As I
02 Big Yellow Taxi
03 Can't Help Falling In Love
04 Lily Of The West
05 Mary Ann
06 Mr Bojangles
07 Sarah Jane
08 Spanish Is The Loving Tongue
09 The Ballad Of Ira Hayes

Matchbox Twenty - Exile on Mainstream

2007-10-08T01:49:00.000-07:00

Buy Matchbox Twenty - Exile on Mainstream

Confidence can take you a long way. Matchbox Twenty have the self confidence of mainstream American pop rock, and twenty eight million album sales to show for it. For this music the rules have been laid down by Springsteen, U2 and INXS. The emphasis is on craftsmanship, 'classic' songs with bridges and middle eights, big gestures and bigger emotions.

This collection of hit singles contains 6 new songs. For these the band have slimmed down to a four piece and are writing collectively, rather than just being a vehicle for singer Rob Thomas’ material. To my ears, these changes have done them a power of good. “How Far We’ve Come” springs out of the traps like a sleek and hungry greyhound. It boasts a powerful hook and a tightly written and convincing lyric. “I’ll Believe You When” and “If I Fall” are bright, sixties-style pop, “All Your Reasons” combines punchy rock with memorable harmonies. The writing and arrangements are polished and detailed. Steve Lillywhite’s clean, well-lit production gives the band character and drive.

However, the already released material is a decidedly mixed bag. Some songs like “Long Day”, and the funky “Disease” have good hooks, with original touches here and there, like the banjo in “Unwell”. But the production is pretty ordinary and so are some of the songs, which too often plod along. Thomas substitutes long-winded lyrics and trembling vocal rhetoric for real emotion on the irritating and unconvincing “Push”. “Real World” is limp, finger pointing and tuneless. it's hard to believe a song as ordinary as “Bent” was a number one in the US.

So the new songs are better than the old ones. Surprisingly for a greatest hits package, Exile On Mainstream suggests Matchbox Twenty’s best music could be in their future, not their past.

Buy Matchbox Twenty - Exile on Mainstream

01 How Far We've Come
02 I'll Believe You When
03 All Your Reasons
04 These Hard Times
05 If I Fall
06 I Can't Let You Go
07 Long Day
08 Push
09 Real World
10 3am
11 Back 2 Good
12 Bent
13 If You're Gone
14 Mad Season
15 Disease
16 Unwell
17 Bright Lights

Reba McEntire - Reba Duets

2007-10-07T01:40:00.000-07:00

Buy Reba McEntire - Reba Duets

Reba McEntire is something of a throwback to the old days of country music. She’s very much old school, possessing both the classiness and grit of Loretta Lynn and the homespun glamour of Dolly Parton. And as one of the female pioneers alongside Parton in making country music palatable to a mainstream, pop audience; Reba is a bridge to the newer generation of crossover country artists. Still rooted firmly in country as opposed to the Top 40 leanings of many of her female contemporaries, Reba is still recognizable and appreciated by fans outside of the spectrum of country music thanks to a myriad of critically acclaimed successes in the worlds of music, stage, and television.

In addition to numerous music awards, she has received the prestigious Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Award for her performance on Broadway in Annie Get Your Gun. Her work on her sitcom, Reba earned her a Peoples Choice Award. McEntire’s accolades outside of the music world are as impressive as her numerous achievements within.

For nearly three decades, Reba’s voice manages to sound sweet without being syrupy, while being extremely powerful. McEntire’s vocal strength yields a different kind of authority than the bluesy, drawling growl of Janis Joplin, the weathered rasp of Marianne Faithful, or even the soul-shrieking powerhouse of Tina Turner. Instead, Reba’s voice combines the aspects of all three singers but tempers it with a Southern sweetness and an unmistakable femininity. Whereas the aforementioned belters carry an element of androgyny, Reba’s voice is clear and crisp, yet still manages to convey a sense of fearlessness and strength, bursting through with a power from the bottom of her soul. It’s the voice of a woman who is very at home with being a girly-girl at times, but a no-nonsense one.

On Reba Duets, Reba hooks up with a variety of chart-topping superstars in the genres of pop and country music. Ever the charming Southern belle, McEntire does not set out to outshine her company. In many cases they shine right along with her, producing some gorgeous results on several pieces on the album. While some of the guest artists fade into the scenery, the one constant that remains throughout the whole of the disc is that Reba sounds as effervescent as ever on every single track.

McEntire’s vocal persona shines through instantly on “When You Love Someone Like That” with LeAnn Rimes. The two women’s voices blend well together with Rimes sounding like a younger version of Reba. In this duet, Reba assumes the role of the wise woman who’s been there, a comforting, reassuring presence to the heartbroken LeAnn, assuaging her grief over a relationship gone bad. While definitely a falling within the jurisdiction of new school country, slightly poppy and with an edge of female empowerment, the song plays up the grand old tradition of country music of concise and emotion-packed storytelling with a single song. The song is one of the standout pieces on the disc. The pairing shows off the tremendous vocal range of both women, hitting high notes as a harmonious tandem and skillfully choosing the right moments to nail it for dramatic and passionate effect.

Reba shares the stage with Ronnie Dunn, one half of Brooks & Dunn, on “Does The Wind Still Blow In Oklahoma”, a very traditional, male/female duet, saturated with country fiddling. A fish out of water tale, Reba and Ronnie Dun put on a verbal play written in the form of letters written home to family about finding a special, fellow Okie in the wild and wooly world of California.

Perhaps the most unique track on the album is the outstanding duet featuring Reba alongside Kelly Clarkson on Clarkson’s hit “Because of You”. This isn’t the first time Reba has sang with Clarkson who is arguably the most vocally talented Top 40 star currently plying her trade. McEntire performed a duet or two with Kelly on American Idol with a redux of her 1993 classic duet with Linda Miles, “Does He Love You?” Revamping the track, the delineation between pop and country is sharp. Reba’s voice carries her familiar, full-bodied twang alongside Clarkson’s, powerful, pop-tinged, multi-octave alto. As with Reba’s turn with LeAnn Rimes, the double-feature cover of Clarkson’s hit showcases two women with exceptional and distinctive voices playing to one another’s strengths.

Not every song on Reba Duets makes for a strong pairing. One of the more uptempo ballads on the album, “Faith In Love” with country/rock outfit Rascal Flats is a good but rather average piece while the same can be said for “She Can’t Save Him” with Trisha Yearwood.

On “Everyday People”, Reba’s duet with the celebrated Carole King becomes an anthem for Habitat for Humanity, one of the many charitable organizations Reba works with. Unfortunately, King tries to affect too much of a Southern twang instead of singing with her real voice. In contrast with Kelly Clarkson’s strong, self-possessed, and unashamedly pop/rock tones, it’s a bit of a downer to hear a legend like King playing the vocal equivalent of “dress up”. It’s an attempt to better fit in with Reba’s honest timbre, where a contrast could have better served the track.

Similarly disappointing, is the unexpected surprise cameo by Justin Timberlake on “The Only Promise That Remains”. Timberlake relegates himself to background vocal duties on this track. He fades into a secondary role as opposed to the other artists on who make a strong showing next to the legend. Timberlake sounds pretty enough and does contribute a certain mood to the piece, however, anyone expecting more of a collaborative effort out him would be sorely disappointed.

With a nice array of guest artists, vocal styles, and tracks each with their own unique flavor, Reba Duets far exceeds the expectations of albums where one artist isn’t solely responsible for the quality of the material. Most duet albums are marred by uneven collaborations, and fortunately, this one isn’t one of them. With an abundance of storytelling and artists with the ability to convey the proper emotions on each mini-drama contained on the album, Reba Duets is largely a strong showing, with even the lesser offerings on the album substantially outweighed by its significant merits.

Buy Reba McEntire - Reba Duets

01 When You Love Someone Like That (LeAnn Rimes)
02 Does The Wind Still Blow In Oklahoma (Ronnie Dunn)
03 Because Of You (Kelly Clarkson)
04 Faith In Love (Rascal Flatts)
05 She Can't Save Him (Trisha Yearwood)
06 Everyday People (Carol King)
07 Every Other Weekend (Kenny Chesney)
08 These Broken Hearts (Vince Gill)
09 Sleeping With The Telephone (Faith Hill)
10 The Only Promise That Remains (Justin Timberlake)
11 Break Each Others Hearts Again (Don Henley)

Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

2007-10-06T01:38:00.000-07:00

Buy Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

All eyes have been on Nightwish over the last three years following the huge commercial success of previous album "Once" and of course also the dramatic letting go of previous vocal powerhouse Tarja. Now more than ever Tuomas and company have immense pressure placed upon them to deliver the goods with the sixth full length edition to the Nightwish catalogue.

As bombastic and grand as they have ever sounded, the fourteen minute monster of an opening track "The Poet And The Pendulum" is not just a statement to anyone who may have questioned the future of the band, but is also if you will, the title track with the pendulum on the front cover of the album and is also the epitome of the whole album to come. The band sound as heavy as they have ever been before - full of sound, many layers, the backbone of the music is still the same but of course the slightly different line-up brings with it some slight changes. One of the unique selling points of Nightwish was Tarja and her strong, classical, operatic voice booming over the metallic symphonies, but Anette has more of a rock type of singing that just does not project as Tarja's did, it isn't as powerful and has nothing really unique about it at all, but this still doesn't mean she doesn't have a sweet voice.

"Dark Passion Play" although still very much a Nightwish album is one of the most adventurous outings of the band's history. The album is more diverse than anything we have heard before and must be the bravest as well opening with a near quarter of an hour epic. "Amaranth" sounds very commercial and appealing to the wider audience, "Master Passion Greed" must be the heaviest thing this band have ever put onto CD with furious guitaring, double bass drumming and Marco taking to the lead vocal position, and to another far out tangent of the musical spectrum of the album we even have strong folk elements with "The Islander" and "Last Of The Wilds" that seem to work surprisingly well. The band clearly show with this album that they are not just a typical, simple one-track female fronted symphonic metal band that many people may pass them off for these days.

This is a long album running in at just over seventy-five minutes and so almost inevitably we have some forgetful and morbidly bland tracks, "Eva" being the worst culprit here, I am sure this track must have some deep value in it somewhere but you just can't hear it. It is the slow track of the album that is neither stirring or emotional, nothing special here at all. "Sahara" and "7 Days To The Wolves" also slip way below the radar as well as a couple of other average tracks on the album that unfortunately fail to capture your imagination.

It is difficult to say the least to simultaneously arouse the attention of the two worlds of popular commercial success and the more underground true heavy metal listeners, but this album is one that will please both camps. This still has that Nightwish charm about it, but if you purchase this album hoping it will be just like the others you may be a little let down - not because this is of a lesser quality, but has just adopted a slightly different style which may in fact introduce new fans to the band. "Dark Passion Play" will understandably split the listening audience as most things would after such a change, but this is probably the best album the band could have made given their circumstances and the pressure, and they certainly deserve a thumbs up for the brave effort.

Buy Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

01 Poet and the Pendulum
02 Bye Bye Beautiful
03 Amaranth
04 Cadence of Her Last Breath
05 Master Passion Greed
06 Eva
07 Sahara
08 Whoever Brings the Night
09 For the Heart I Once Had
10 Islander
11 Last of the Wilds
12 7 Days to the Wolves
13 Meadows of Heaven

Michael Buble - Call Me Irresponsible

2007-10-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

Buy Michael Buble - Call Me Irresponsible

There should be little explanation as to why Michael Bublé's newest CD, Call Me Irresponsible, tops the list of best-selling albums on iTunes as of the writing of this review. The Canadian-bred crooner pushes songs that are immediately recognizable to any generation of listener and has a unique ability to put a modern spin on standards while remaining remarkably faithful to them.

On this, his third studio album, Bublé covers a wide range of styles adding blues-pop and early-70's R&B to his favored Sinatra-era swing and jazz. The best of the latter category is "That's Life," which Bublé introduces with a gospel choir and, when singing solo, possesses all the charm and swagger that made the Chairman of the Board a cultural juggernaut. "The Best is Yet to Come" opens the album with a few simple a capella measures but quickly launches into the Vegas showcase style that Bublé finds so irresistible. On the other hand, he infuses the title track with a smooth jazz. The beauty of Bublé is that he can win no matter which of these hands he plays.

Bublé's voyages into different genres, while certainly not new for him, is where his success wavers (if only a little). The Spanish-themed "Wonderful Tonight" leaves me searching my music library for the original. To be fair, though, the rest of the numbers that stray from the standards formula are fine. His almost by-the-letter rendition of "Me and Mrs. Jones" is haunting; the spicy "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" is fresh, thrilling, and sexy; and "Always on My Mind" is sleepy and far sweeter than the Willie Nelson or Elvis Presley versions.

The two original songs on the CD are the biggest swings away from the big band feel, but they're also two of the album's best. "Lost" is honest and heartfelt, and "Everything," arguably the best track of of the baker's dozen available (it makes sense that this is the first single), is a sunny ballad that will have better staying power than the hit "Home" after thousands of radio plays.

A first listen to Michael Bublé makes you wonder if he wasn't born in the wrong decade, but once you become familiar with his work, you grow thankful that he's making music now, and Call Me Irresponsible; is proof.

Buy Michael Buble - Call Me Irresponsible

01 The Best Is Yet To Come
02 It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)
03 Me And Mrs. Jones
04 I'm Your Man
05 Comin' Home Baby (duet with Boyz II Men)
06 Lost
07 Call Me Irresponsible
08 Wonderful Tonight (duet with Ivan Lins)
09 Everything
10 I've Got The World On A String
11 Always On My Mind
12 That's Life
13 Dream

R.E.M. - R.E.M. Live 2CD

2007-10-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

Buy R.E.M. - R.E.M. Live 2CD

If there is any braying demand for a full-fledged ‘official’ R.E.M. live album - after years of relegating such material to B-sides, compilations and concert videos/DVDs - then it probably isn’t for one culling performances from the current decade. A ragged pre-Murmur set would certainly be historically intriguing, shows taped between 1985’s Fables of The Reconstruction and 1986’s Lifes Rich Pageant could potentially hold some invigorating moments, decent companion CDs to the self-descriptively titled 1990 flick Tourfilm and the band’s first MTV Unplugged session would undoubtedly be welcomed too - but surely there’s been no raging lust for post-Bill Berry concert recordings from 2005?

Was this collection merely conceived by Warners to recoup the huge advance for renewing the group’s contract around 1996’s New Adventures In Hi-Fi? Whilst conceding to label pressures is certainly something Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe might never openly admit to, they may one day begrudgingly confess to this being an attempt to reconnect with their ‘organic’ creative principles, that have all but been eviscerated by the ponderous and over-polished displeasures of 2001’s Reveal and 2004’s Around The Sun, especially given that tracks from the latter LP seem so deliberately and desperately pushed to the fore. Whereas the financial success of a possible commercial compromise is hard to judge this side of the Christmas sales figures, attempts to rejuvenate music seen as past the ‘listen-by-date’ are easier to assess.

It’s certainly fair to say that the songs picked from the otherwise unloved Around The Sun do sound a lot more muscular and rawer than their over-cooked studio incarnations. “Boy In The Well” picks-up a darker gravitas not dissimilar to “Undertow” from the underrated New Adventures. The strangely-endearing “Electron Blue” and the lush “Leaving New York” reposition themselves to be like the better cuts on 1998’s meandering Up. The Bush-baiting “Final Straw” finally has its poignant yet angry lyric matched properly, with an insistent early-Dylan semi-acoustic groove. Sadly, the equally politicised “I Wanted To Be Wrong” is still flatly-rendered with syrupy synths and the forgettable “Ascent of Man” flops around again in its own tediousness.

Beyond brave efforts to rehabilitate Around The Sun, the augmented-trio also make detours into lesser-aired back catalogue entries, with largely commendable results. “I Took Your Name” and “Walk Unafraid” are resuscitated with reassuringly powerful menace. The vintage eco-hymn “Cuyahoga” comes with renewed zeitgeist-relevant gusto, as does the prowling “Orange Crush” and the sublime “Drive”. A couple of the more obscure flashbacks stumble a little though, with “So Fast, So Numb” tossed-off somewhat sarcastically and “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” being maimed with a corny Mills lead-vocal. However, the previously unreleased glam-pop-racket of “I’m Gonna DJ” does help to liven-up the encore, as a sort-of-sequel to the Monster outtake and onetime tour favourite “Revolution”.

And then there’s the bonafide ‘hits’ of course. It’s hard not to be swept-up in the euphoric delivery of “Bad Day”, “Imitation of Life”, “What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?”, “The Great Beyond” and “The One I Love” but it’s a little tougher to sustain such deep affection for “Losing My Religion”, “Everybody Hurts” and “Man On The Moon” due to their over-played familiarity and Stipe’s increasingly-coarse larynx.

Whilst the 2 audio CDs here will get (and generally deserve) a good few spins, the accompanying DVD (featuring the exact same content) is really more for the truly devoted fan, who can get past the slightly pretentious camera work, the Zoo TV-aping on-stage visuals and Stipe’s joke-worn-thin face-paint. If you still need a truly innovative reel of R.E.M. show footage, then the DVD reissue of Tourfilm is still the place to go. Taken as a whole package though, R.E.M. Live is a flawed but respectable enough addition to the canon of three men who can still conjure up a bit of magic, albeit in spite of themselves.

Buy R.E.M. - R.E.M. Live 2CD

01 I Took Your Name
02 So Fast, So Numb
03 Boy In the Well
04 Cuyahoga
05 Everybody Hurts
06 Electron Blue
07 Bad Day
08 The Ascent Of Man
09 The Great Beyond
10 Leaving New York
11 Orange Crush
12 I Wanted To Be Wrong
13 Final Straw
14 Imitation Of Life
15 The One I Love
16 Walk Unafraid
17 Losing My Religion
18 What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
19 Drive
20 (Don't Go Back To) Rockville
21 I'm Gonna DJ
22 Man On the Moon

Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight

2007-10-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

Buy Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight

Wow. Simply wow. Just a great album. Talk about changing gears. Talk about sounding more pure and more raw than ever before. Talk about finding a new take on old sound. Talk about making both simultaneously successful. Talk about not skipping a single heart beat.

I think this is one of the best rock albums I’ve ever heard. It’s not fake. There’s no trying to imitate another band just to make the transition smoother into the more hard rock world. It’s unique to say the least. It’s Linkin Park. And for what may be the first time, you can actually hear and feel the electric guitar and drum in their natural form. As God intended them to be. With Minutes To Midnight, Linkin Park break out of the nu metal genre with minimal withdrawal symptoms for their hardcore fans who have come to expect anything less from the band. This album is the rock anthem for summer 2007.

The songs vary. It has the hard rockish tunes with Chester screaming as well as the melodic tracks and a more mellowed out hip hop element by way of Shinoda who produced the album alongside the music giant Rick Rubin. Chester and Shinoda rarely mix together anymore. Instead, the band lets each one take the lead separately on separate tracks. And it works. Shinoda even writes himself a political song with “Hands Held High”. On top of a marching band snare drum and a chorus of ‘amens’, he rhymes of Iraq: “At times like this you pray, But a bomb blew the mosque up yesterday. There’s bombs in the buses, bikes, roads, inside your markets,your shops, your coves.” and of Bush: “a leader so nervous in unobvious ways. Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay.” But Shinoda trades rhymes for singing it out on “In Between”.

Other rarities include Brad Delson leading his guitar through hard rock tracks like “Given Up”, “No More Sorrow”, and the U2 sounding track “Shadow of the Day” as well as a solo in tracks like “In Pieces” and the initially acoustic based “The Little Things Give You Away”; an ode to New Orleans where Chester sings: “But now there will be no mistaking. The levees are breaking. All you’ve ever wanted was someone to truly look up to you. And six feet under water, I do.”

All in all, a very impressive album and the current love of my life.

Buy Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight

01 Wake
02 Given Up
03 Leave Out All The Rest
04 Bleed It Out
05 Shadow Of The Day
06 What I've Done
07 Hands Held High
08 No More Sorrow
09 Valentine's Day
10 In Between
11 In Pieces
12 The Little Things Give You Away

Annie Lennox - Songs of Mass Destruction

2007-10-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

Buy Annie Lennox - Songs of Mass Destruction

Annie Lennox has always been somewhat of an enigma, a voice like an angel but one that’s been known to hang out in smoke-filled nightclubs and not adverse to a drink. Her stylized look has been know to appear that she’s an angel, but one from “down under” where the temperatures are rather hot.

But I digress… with her latest solo effort; she strives to address some of the issues of our time. To that end the album has a very dark quality since Lennox obviously sees the world that way. I’m pretty pessimistic as well, but even with the pessimism the songs still have an uplifting quality to them.

Actually, that may be more from the first track Dark Road’s lyrics (and others as well), but they all still have a beat that’s hard to get depressed to. So there may be hope for us all yet. The song that might be the most press is “Sing” with a chorus of 23 fellow female artists (including Madonna, Faith Hill, KT Tunstall, Celine Dion, and many more) and is done to bring attention to the AIDS/HIV crisis.

She uses her vocal instrument well and adds a great bluesy, smoky quality to all the songs and they range from gospel to rock. Even if the world is a dark place, the album is a bright shining light and well worth having.

Buy Annie Lennox - Songs of Mass Destruction

01 Dark road
02 love is blind
03 smithereens
04 ghosts in my machine
05 womankind
06 through the glass darkly
07 lost
08 coloured bedspread
09 sing
10 big sky
11 fingernail moon