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| malimbicus
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| One of the best collections I have heard. From all over the world, mixing and blending to give an experience of great depth. Really very good indeed. | |
| Teddy Schumacher
- Interlochen, MI, USA |
| As a Sioux Falls, SD native, I enjoy this album not only for the amazing music, but also with the pride of this band coming from the same city. With fun, catchy music coming from a large band that features horns, a violin, guitars, bass, keyboard, and two drummers, these sounds are easy to become hooked on. Buy it and tell your friends. | |
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| reginald gabbe
- croydon 3136, , australia |
| I bought this record in New York on 42nd street for 2.99 in 1955. I was trying to buy My Fair Lady at the time, in fact i prefer it. Most enjoyable. | |
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| Fred Praone
- Tuledo, OH, US |
| This is the greatest record I have ever heard.
Barry Miles is a genius and one of the primary forces in the creation of fusion music.
Others have been credited with the development of jazz such as Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett. Barry Miles should be included in any literature along with all the others without hesitation. If he should ever be left out, it's the fault and limitations of the author/editor to blame. His brother, Terry Silverlight, the genius drummer, should also be mentioned, as his performances are documented on all those wonderful recordings. | |
| Ayo S
- New York, NY, US |
| Donny McCaslin is great. Recommended Tools really show his talent and how he uses his tool. I also bought Torben Waldorff's Afterburn which Donny plays his tool again. This album also sounds very nice. | |
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| Tim Kelly
- Ft Lauderdale, FL, usa |
| Gladys Hardy - I Love Jesus But I Drink a Little
By: Michael Allison
The brilliance and humor of eighty-eight year old Gladys Hardy has to be heard to be appreciated. This collection of calls to radio and television programs contain some of the funniest material I have ever heard, made even more entertaining by the genuine wit behind it. There are no carefully constructed sets here, just the wisdom of Gladys shared freely with whoever will listen. A true treat, and the best comedy album I've heard in years
Buy the album at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0011NVALI/ecnadmedia-20 | |
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| Rhea Jackson
- Detroit, MI, USA |
| The album is very good. I enjoy all her music. I know of Mrs. Agee because she song at my memorial service Mrs. Bessie Tolbert Webb. I was also wondering could Mrs. Agee contact me by e-mail or phone (313)467-1287 because her and my mother are relatives and we're having a gospel concert in her honoring on September 28, 2008 at 3:00pm. If someone could answer this I will really appreciate it. Thank you Rhea Jackson. We would like for to be on our program, so could some one contact me please. Let me know how we can make this happen. | |
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| patrick corter
- prague, , czech republic |
| still the only the one word: awesome! | |
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| Steve Rogers
- New York, NY, USA |
| Every now and then something arrives in the incendiary shed that just blows me sideways. Lach's The Calm Before has just done that. He sounds like Bob Dylan used to when he had a bee in his bonnet (only not as whiny) and is every bit as entertaining as that suggests. What I love about this is that there's obviously an ego of IMMENSE size at work here. ''This ain't a song, it's my life!'' he sings at one point and that's him only getting started. Let's face it, you don't come up with the kind of ridiculously overwrought shouting vocal parts of Oh Well if you aren't completely in love with yourself as a musician. Self importance oozes out of this record and I absolutely adore it. Of course it helps that its produced by a guy from Pere Ubu and the drums (on most of the album) are having their skins whacked by a guy that used to be in Television no less, but there's only one real star at work here.
Apparently Lach's a bit of a staple on the NY club scene. He's been running a famous open mic show for the past couple of decades at a place called The Fort or The Sidewalk, depending on what web site you read, but seems as I live in the Flat Lands that's of no bloody use to me is it? I'll tell you this though, I'm desperate to go. If there's a place in the world where somebody with this kind of talent plays for next to nothing on a weekly basis, I want to be a regular. As it is, I'll just have to settle for having this little gem of an album in my house.
Jesus this is good. There's your nutshell review right there. Stick it on a poster, you can quote me if you like. I want move to New York. - Incendiary Magazine
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| max
- tlv, , |
| Its an amazing album...i didnt know its possible 2 play the piano in that way...
i would like to get some more music from you... | |
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| This is the best album ever. These guys really know what they are doing it may be their only album but you can tell they took a lot of time and a lot of their own experiences into the 12 songs they have it is a must buy for any person that likes rock music. | |
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| HERoberts
- Mumyville, AL, USA |
| These songs speak out to what everyone longs to put into words, but only he has the ability to put those words so beautifully together. I am in such amazement over this album. One would have to get it to really understand just how incredible it is. The guitar and harmonica music is absolutely breathtaking and his voice is more strong and powerful than ever, yet soft and sexy at just the right moments. Each song tells a story and makes you envision a whole music video in your head as you take each song into the depths of your soul. This album brought me a lot of peace and understanding. I had a real connection to my inner thoughts, and somehow the world became more complete.
I love listening to this CD at home and in the car with the window down as I look out into the world. As the wind hits my face, hearing Bill's voice overpowering even the wind is a very amazing feeling as I look out into the beautiful day. Hearing Bill's voice echo through the wind of the trees and up to the clouds of the sky is an experience like none other. This CD will put you into a state of absolute peace and completion. Everyone not only should get this CD, but needs to get this CD. Bill Mumy music will change your life, and things will never be the same again. You will be more complete and have a deeper understanding of life and emotions. Not only can "The Man" sing, but he can tell a story that will bring tears to your eyes or make you dream for bigger things. THE LANDLORD OR THE GUEST - A haunted sadness. A reflected past. A thought of memories gone. A thought of what the future can be. A moment of truth. Words of beauty and longing orchestrated to rhythm. Songs that everyone can relate to and have felt at one time or another in their life. A journey to the core of your soul. A deeper understanding of your own emotions and feelings. A masterpiece of lyrics, vocals and music. A voice that will give you chills and amaze you like never before. Songs that will not only enhance your life but make you feel whole and complete again. A sanctuary in a world all of its own. (Just a few things that came to my mind while listening to this cd). I love all of the songs but if I had to choose a top 8 list it would be "The Landlord or the Guest," "I Drove By Your House Last Night," "No Show," "Everything and Nothing Has Changed," "Change Myself," "How Does it Go," "My Reflection in Your Mirror," and "Harrigan By the Sea." They are all such beautiful songs. Each song could hit #1 on the billboard charts. This album could sell millions. It is just that good. Bill is just that good. "The Man" has got it goin' on. This is Bill - Brilliant, sensational, sensitive and just all around the best that could ever be. Bill is at his prime. Angela Cartwright did an excellent job with the design and photography on the cover, back, inside and in the cd booklet which is a piece of art all by itself. It is very creative. Bill and Liliana took very artistic pictures as well. And I love the pictures of Bill and his parents when they were younger. It is like finding a beautiful scrapbook in a treasure chest bringing the past into the future and making them one. I am very impressed with this whole production. I had very high expectations of this cd, and Bill outdid even that. Bill is a wonderful gift to the entire music world. This cd is what I call a "Cd Miracle" that has taken off into a life of it's very own. Thanks, Bill, for sharing your amazing talents with us all. May it bring you all of the success that you want it to and well deserve. | |
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| Gordan Gartrell
- Chicago, IL, USA |
| Listen to a song called "Es Tiempo" among others to hear the jaw harp. The band is getting really good reviews from the Chicago press and I hope to catch them in LA. They're on a fantastic record label, Crammed Discs, the same label that brings us Congotronics, Balkan Beat Box, Bebel Gilberto, Romania based Mahala Rai Banda, Timbuktu locals Tartit and more. Come to think of it, one of LA's great bands, Los Lobos, should sign with them for distribution outside the island called the United States. Spread the wealth!
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| Mike
- M-town, TN, u.s and a |
| If you don't buy this CD you are just this side of brain dead! | |
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| DJ
- Collierville, TN, USA |
| This production breaks down the invisible barrier between audience and performer that is the key to making heartfelt music like soul or R&B come to life. Buy this CD an experience southern soul, blues and R&B that will awaken your senses. | |
| W.A.D.
- Aurora, CO, USA |
| Release date is actually April 30th, 1971. The release party was held at the 3.2 beer bar called The Castle in Morgantown W.Va. (I was there, so were The Ides of March.) They no longer had the keyboard player in the band and their music was better because of it. I do find the keys to be a distraction from Tom (Nicky) Nicolas's guitar work. Dave Coombs, father of ESPN's Davey Coombs was band leader and great funk bassist. (Quite a promoter too.) They had opened for Three Dog Night in Columbus Ohio, to a crowd that wasn't ready for them to leave the stage so the main act could come on.
The album doesn't do them justice, but it's all we have left, and it's pretty good. The songs, mostly original lean a little to the softer side of the band, but the guitar/bass/drums funk pieces were a signature of the group. They really got an audience dancing. | |
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| Edward Bride
- Pittsfield, MA, USA |
| As chairman of the Festival where this was recorded, I can state unequivocally that the New England Jazz Ensemble's performance was a highlight of the weekend. They established a following in western Massachusetts with their performance, two years previous, of Ellington's Nutcracker. Their material at the Festival, in contrast, comprised all new compositions and arrangements. This is a band that must be heard 'live,' and if you can't catch them in person, the CD is the next best thing to being there. The writing is impressive, the soloists powerful, creative, and impeccable. Highly recommended. | |
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| Sam Chatha
- Coventry, , United Kingdom |
| If you have never heard of this band before then what are you waiting for ... Treat yourself to this amazing album!! Mat is a phenomenal lead guitarist, Jon rocks it on base, Mark multi tasks his ass off on keys/guitars and whatever else you can throw at him, Mal absolutely blows your socks off on drums add to that the amazingness of Coyle's vocals and his vocal range put it all in a pot with a shed load of creativity and what you have is the recipe for a unique sound of immense proportions with lyrics that captivate, enthrall, and everyone can relate to without it ever being hard work yet at the same time genius. A Town and Two Cities is the most addictive and enjoyable album ever. | |
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| baykiddead
- Boston, MA, USA |
| This album is easily in my top 50 of all time. It truly defines what an entire album should, and can, achieve. Song for song, each and every one builds on the last and provides a foundation for the next. You'd be hard pressed to find pairings any sweeter than "Hook In Her Head" and "Not Too Soon" or "Red Shoes and Graffiti". Beyond those pairings though, you'll find a record as complete as they come with brilliant moments that defy categorization, allowing lock-step followers of just about any genre to dig any number of sounds provided. I dare any one to listen all the way through and not come away impressed and bummed that this album hadn't been in heavy rotation earlier in their lives. Go on, I dare you. | |
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| Andres Chechelev
- Caracas, , Venezuela |
| Colorful album full of Brazilian feeling. Excellent performance by Milton | |
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| Sophia Schlosser
- Cincinnati, OH, USA |
| This a beautiful band with a unique sound. They truly are amazing and you will not regret buying it. | |
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| Julie / shining star
- Lancaster, PA, USA |
| Your Vegas absolutely ROCKS. You must own this album. It is kickass start to finish, the best album I have owned in a long time. Been listening nonstop. Had the pleasure of seeing YV twice recently, they are AMAZING live and the nicest band as well. Great great talent, full lush sound. You won't regret buying this album. Highly addictive. | |
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| ISSA KEITA
- Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| Greatest music for the bebop lover. Not too hard, not too soft. The ensemble displays an unparalleled melodic virtuosity. I dig it!! | |
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| clint
- rotterdam, , netherlands |
| Remarkable debut EP. This is a band with a sound destined for grandeur. Cinematic, charged, dramatic, sentimental... brilliant! | |
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| Shannon Casey
- Seattle, WA, USA |
| Your Vegas is an amazing band and this is their debut album. It is an incredible album and I would advise any person that likes music to buy it. They're from the UK, but are now living in New York, so you get the best of both worlds. Everyone needs to buy this album; I promise you won't be disappointed if you do. | |
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| J.
- INDEPENDENCE, KY, USA |
| This album is a quality product. Like the critical reviewer pointed out above this CD involves someone speaking about worldly issues. God forbid someone wants to speak about our country and bring some issues to the forefront. Todays youth know very little about the state of affairs for the most part. I think this group and groups like the Flobots are essential in the grand scheme of liberty and freedom. The Flobots are so smooth and composed with their wordplay that it don't always seem like strictly business. It's the perfect mix. If you know hip hop and love a really tight effort this is the best summer/political/feel good CD of '08 to date. It's a guaranteed killer pick up that will be cherished, relished and enjoyed for many years to come. | |
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| Barbara Emert
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| I loved being able to here Harold Van Emburgh sing again. He's my grandfather. | |
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| W
- Lubbock, , |
| This album inspires and personifies the importance of drums. McEntire is the one of the greatest drummers of all-time. This album proves his magnificence and innovation in the field of music. I highly recommend getting this album, and also a few Tortoise albums as well!!! | |
| Ken Cox
- Dillon, SC, USA |
| Roddy Jackson's voice IS gravely - he sounds more like Wanda Jackson or Stevie Nicks with sinus trouble. The Little Richard vocal comparison is a bit weak; I had expected more from this album. The major hits were good but not powerful - certainly no Little Richard here. "There's a Moose on the Loose" is catchy but the sound effects destroy the rockability of the song; the voices sound more human than animal - more of a nuisance than a "looseance" - hey, if he can sing about a deer in a beer, then "looseance" is not quite so bad. His piano work is a tad like Richard; oddly enough, the Jerry Lee Lewis song "Shakin'" is one of the best cuts on the album; also, oddly enough, in its own macabre fashion, "Johnny's Last Ride" has the best piano playing on the whole CD. From the white Little Richard, I just expected more. | |
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| Jenna
- Los Angeles, CA, US |
| First of all - this was released in early 08. TW's first album - Trash Wednesday was in '03, then there was another CD in '06. Absinthe Mind however, is my favorite with the fun cover of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The video is a psychedelic homage to the Beatles. | |
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| Joe Mama
- chicago, IL, usa |
| simply put, this record is awesome. greg ginn released two mojack albums in a couple of months and it's hard to tell which is better. in fact, get both of them. the songs are hard, funky and spastic and the musicians can really play. | |
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| Shelia Erickson
- Denver,, CO, US |
| Peter Britt is a fabulous artist. His songs and his voice are as good as the very best in country. You will be happy you got his cd. Peter is also a published author, his new book ALL THAT I AM I THINK! is a journey into the heart of every woman. You can get his book from his web site, www.peterbritt.us | |
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| Kirby Allan
- Mesa, AZ, USA |
| Thank's much to InSound for your interest in Chaino. I am the producer of all Chaino's works and am very pleased that we were able to get so much recognition from so many of Chaino's fans.
Although Chaino was very difficult to work with, his talent was not. Although perplexed and confused at times, he was indeed an extreme genius and truely one of a kind.
When we were in the recording studio, Chaino would come alive with amazing vibrance, brillance and creativity that overwhelmed everyone in the studio.
After learning a lesson when attending Africa's music festival at the then Gold Coast, recording 200+ master tapes of all the tribes that attended, recording tribes own different versions of "sensual" triditional drumming that was performed at weddings, they were rejected by recording firms because African drumming was too repetitious and boring.
The highlight/most popular of the festival music was of wedding celebrations. The drumming and dance movements was specifically designed to warm up, and prepare the new virgin bride for her wedding night.
(Before Stereo) I filled Hollywood's Gold Star studio with every primitive drum available. I had planned to re-invent primitive music to be better enjoyed by primitive music fans. Chaino and I labored for hours in our efforts to do this. One wild mental experiment of a simple suggestion to be rolled around Chaino's mind as he performed did the trick. It was so simple yet, since 1960, the music industry hasn't yet figured it out as I thought.
I planned to be the first to launch a new artist with 6, droms only, albums to be licensed with 6 different record labels. I only achieved 3 before stereo was born a few months later.
I added music to the new 3 and licensed with 2 record labels.
To clarify misunderstandings about facts, on his life,from Chaino fans, see; ExoticaAndBeyond.com Respectfully Submitted, Kirby Allan
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| Jim Losee
- Gainesville, FL, USA |
| These guys signed to 10spot (Universal Music Group) and released this cd. Buy it...
I picked up a copy of this CD a little while back and all I can say is wow!! The CD has the possibility for at least 5 stand-out singles. This is one of those CDs that you can put in the CD player, and not feel the need to skip a single song. The mixing is incredible, and like I mentioned I see the potential for at least 5 very successful singles off the CD. Also this CD has the perfect balance of heavier and softer songs, the contrast is great and is evident in the powerful songs "Blur" and "Majestic" on one hand; and the soulful ballad "Give In" on the other. You can really tell that the members of this band enjoy what they do, and it shines in the pride they take in their work.
Potential singles: "All Right", "Underneath", "Sometime", "Majestic", "Disease".
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if you only spend 10 dollars on a CD for the rest of the year, this is the one you should spend it on. You will not regret it. | |
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| Jono
- Albuquerque, NM, US |
| I consider the great female jazz singers to include Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and...Jimmy Scott. Cursed with Kallmann's Syndrome (a rare hereditary condition preventing puberty) but blessed with the ability to sing beautifully with a haunting and pure tone, Mr. Scott is in the peculiar position of using a woman's voice to use as he sees fit. Since the 1940's, he's been employing it for crooning and where he really excels is loosing himself in a slow jazz song. Not much was happening for him in the 80's, but in the early 90's he got signed to Sire. It kinda seemed like an odd matching for the same label that had been home to the Ramones, Talking Heads, My Bloody Valentine, and The Cure to sign an artist that who at the time was over 65, worked in jazz instead of Sire's usual mix of post-punk styles, and is usually mistaken for a woman by first-time listeners . ''Dream'' is a great example of an artist being given the right surroundings to work in, right up there with Johnny Cash's American records or John Coltrane's Impulse years. Every song sounds timeless, as if it could have been recorded 40 years ago or just last week, and it's a special treat to hear the legendary vibraphonist Milt Jackson add his touch to this great cd. Recommended for the opened-eared head searching for a good song sung right. | |
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| elena
- skopje, , macedonia |
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| Mick Sallegan
- New York, NY, US |
| I have to admit I missed it. What is destined to become one of the classic rock/pop albums of all time passed right under my radar when it was released in 2000. Not that the independent record company, Sunlight Communication Arts, doesn't deserve some of the blame for inadequate promotion, but that is a sin that stains not only the hands of the indies, but the major labels as well. Nevertheless, it is my humble opinion that ''Once Upon A Time'' by Daniel Jay Paul deserved consideration for the Grammy as album of the year when it was released (a category won by Steely Dan for ''Two Against Nature'' in 2001).
Not since Roy Orbison's 1961 classic ''Crying'' has a song reached the emotional depths of unrequited love of this record. From the mournful title cut, through the jazz-swing flavored ''It's Cloudy'' to the rocking conclusion of ''Remember Me'', the listener is immersed in wave after wave of passion carried along by Daniel's soaring guitars and smokey vocals.
Recognized much more as a writer (author of the novel ''The Last Sunset'') the songs here are a testament to his craft, but his achievement as a recording artist is truly a pleasurable surprise. It is finally a long over-due addition to my recording collection.
Mick T. Sallegan - The Rock Report
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| The Warped Vinyl Junkie
- Chattanooga, TN, USA |
| There are 6 good Ivory Joe Hunter songs on this CD. "If You Want My Love," "In Memories," "If You Were My Own," "How About Me," "'m Cuttin' Out," and "I Need You So" are excellent Ivory Joe tracks, and some of them are difficult to find elsewhere. However, the other four tracks on this CD ("Blue Blues," "Cold Blooded Woman," "I'm Lost Without You," and the title track "It's Been Too Long") are by Memphis Slim (or someone trying very hard to sound like him). So, no, this is not the best of Ivory Joe Hunter; it's not even ALL Ivory Joe Hunter; NOT EVEN THE TITLE TRACK is by Ivory Joe Hunter. It's a fine CD with good sound, but be forewarned that 40% of this CD is not Ivory Joe Hunter at all. Having said that, the 60% that is him, is prime IJH and I can't imagine an Ivory Joe fan that wouldn't enjoy it. It gets only a B minus, however, because almost half the album is by Memphis Slim. | |
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| Shannon Casey
- Seattle, WA, USA |
| This is a great album from Drop Dead, Gorgeous. I am new to the band and I am so happy I found them. They are a great band and this album will not disappoint. I would recommend it to everyone who likes good music. | |
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| Jonathan Visio
- NYC, NY, USA |
| This is Such a beautiful Christmas CD. I heard about it and bought it for my mother and Father. I bought myself one. It very moving and his voice is amazing! His back story is also amazing. If you buy only 1 Christmas CD....think about this one! you will be very happy you did! | |
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| DEREK SWANSON
- Venice Beach, CA, usa |
| Good album. Sounds authentic, like the rest of the BJM catalog. My favorite song on this album, "Sailor", is actually a cover of the Cryan Shame's "The Sailing Ship". Too bad credit isn't given to them anywhere on my copy of this record. The new album, "My Bloody Underground" is a good one as well. | |
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| callie awesome
- dopemills, NC, usa |
| this cd is super great
one of the best cds i own
and i suck at writng reviews, but no joke
amazing cd
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| Rustem
- Kazan, , Russia |
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| Ben Johnson
- Valdosta, GA, United States |
| This review is wrong about a lot of things. First of all, the band comparisons are lackluster. This group falls much deeper into the hardcore/punk genre than Korn, Bizkit, or Blink. This CD is much more in stride with the early 90's west coast stuff like 7 seconds, bad religion, or pennywise, while maintaining that famed aspect of hardcore originality. All that aside, this is probably my favorite record of theirs to date. Also, this is not their debut release. Their debut was in '95 called "Call on my Brothers." An amazing record as well. Check these guys out!!! | |
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| ozzy
- compton, CA, usa |
| tziteeeeeeeeee | |
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| Emilio Starz
- trieste, , italy |
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| Sean
- Atlanta, GA, USA |
| Man, I am "BLOWN AWAY" by this guy!! His rendition of "Merry Christmas Baby"; is off the HOOK!! And yes, you can definitely hear the SRV influences in his style. Is this cat black or white, cuz I can't tell. I want tour info!! I have got to see this dude LIVE.. Somebdy email me if you are a fan and have info about this guitar genius. You can reach me at seanalan69@yahoo.com
Thanks for keepin' the BLUES alive. | |
| Mike Zimbouski
- Imperial City, AK, Coruscant |
| ''Joker Hysterical Face'' is at least in part an attack on the retrograde UK game show ''3-2-1'' and its host Ted Rogers, a rather smarmy fellow who also appeared on the show ''Joker's Wild.'' ''Marquis Cha-Cha,'' ''Solicitor in Studio,'' and ''Hard Life in Country'' are, as far as I can tell, flight-of-fancy anecdotes with no connection to any specific figure. ''Marquis'' tells the story of a refugee war criminal who ends up making propaganda broadcasts for a nameless Latin American proto-fascist government. ''Solicitor'' details a lawyer's failed attempt to kickstart a pop career for himself, and ''Country,'' a rural lynching. ''Room to Live'' and ''Detective Instinct'' seem like typical Smith free-association bits, and ''Papal Visit'' takes on His Holiness in a brooding, almost atonal piece filled with menace. One of their best. | |
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| carolyn
- inglewood, CA, u.s.a. |
| GENIUS! | |
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| Shannon Casey
- Seattle, WA, USA |
| This is a great follow up to their first album, 'We Don't Need to Whisper.' My favorite song is 'Everything's Magic' but all the songs are amazing. I would recommend this album to anyone. | |
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| pedro nieto
- dalton, GA, usa |
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| Joey Newman Guitar Keyboards, Vocals
- Monterey-Carmel, CA, usa |
| I know quite well the enormous amount of responsibility that a band either accepts or lets some one else do one of the very important if not crusial part of a mix down by him or her self away fromthe constant bickering from the group an the studio they are going to is the very latest the best. They can't let you make mistakes. When all are together again two elements appear first, the whippering sound of some one painfully realizing how of very very little value the bullshit that seemed to have worked so far is not even registering with the key people. He needs to set down and maintain silences The next guy is your man, sure he's too loud his oppinons artn't spoken to be reviewed they are absolututes that are going to get the job done. With a little bit of your help the project could do more then anyone ever thought possible. | |
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| Bernita
- Rehoboth, GA, USA |
| I would like to have the lyrics to "Keep Me All The Way". I love that song. It touches me deep within my heart every time I hear it. | |
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| Jeff Epstein
- Laurel, MD, USA |
| Better Dreams is The Kennedys' 10th album, and the duo has progressed so much in 14 years that anyone who has not heard them recently really needs to get updated. The Kennedys are still fun to listen to, and the brillant harmonies and jangle sounds of the sitar and electric guitar are still there, but they now write and perform with a little more substance and gravitas. It's quite becoming.
Musically, Maura and Pete have, over time, sampled and processed flavors from friends like Dave Carter, Tracy Grammer, the Nields, and many others, while retaining their musical core. The result, starting with 2006's "Half a Million Miles" and culminating with this album, is a more thoughtful, mature perspective that is marked with finesse. Finesse in the writing, finesse in the production, finesse in the performance. Pete and Maura have mastered their craft, and it shows.
It also shows here stylistically, in several songs, such as "Sago Mine" that lean more toward bluegrass and traditional folk. Among the pals helping out with that instrumention are Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson(Hungrytown, The Stranglings). But the album has several styles in it, from rockier, poppier numbers ("Speed of Sound", "Give Me Back My Country") to Indian/British pop ("Kindred Spirits"). The Kennedys are not afraid of a little variety, and that makes for a better album.
Except for the final gorgeous instrumental meditation ("Pace") by Pete, Maura's lead vocal shines over it all, and on this album she sings with more control, range, and precision than ever before.
The songs, according to The Kennedys, are all inspired by their dreams. The opening track, "Breathe" is a reflection on birth and death, and the two political songs ("Give Me Back My Country" and "American Wish") are grounded in so much grass-roots patriotism that they seem more like dreams for a better country than for any specific political position.
"Better Dreams" is simply an outstanding album. We should all have such good dreams.
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| Maximillian Power
- SF, CA, USA |
| A beautiful trip through the haunted back roads of Americana, narrated by a sly Englishman with a taste for poetry.
"Lost Again" is a near perfect song - an ethereal ballad to guide you home after a long night filled with sin. | |
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| justin castillo
- Sheridan, OR, USA |
| Before He Cheats deserves all the radio play it has gotten. It makes me wonder why more and more country doesn't make Top 40 radio. | |
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| jen k
- blah, , canada |
| fucking amazing shit!!!!!! omfg! | |
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| pedro gonzalez
- distrito federal, , distrito federal mexico |
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| tarcisio
- new york, NC, |
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| Mike Zimbouski
- Imperial City, AS, Coruscant |
| In the very first seconds of The Willsaphone Stupid Show, the tone for the entire piece is set. A woman sets the date for us, and pronounces her name and the names of her family with such gravity as to make it clear that these names are the most important thing in the world to her. It will remain so throughout the 2 CDs; if it doesn't happen outside the home, it is distant and unworthy of notice. This is the motif we will return to again and again as we explore the world of the Weatherman.
As a newcomer to Negativland (the only other album I own by them is Escape from Noise) I confess I can't really gauge how typical, or atypical, a production TWSS is, or where it rates on the Negativland quality scale. All I can do is judge it on its own merits, and report its accomplishments. Among those are several striking, painstakingly detailed portraits, both of the people in David Wills's life and the hermetically sealed world most of them inhabit.
The first portrait is of young David; an excitable, enthusiastic youth with forty kinds of ambition and energy. He runs around recording everything in his microcosmic world, saving the most mundane things for posterity with the zealousness only new members of life possess. He does weather reports more to hear himself saying the brave, foreign-sounding words rather than any genuine interest in weather. He devotes himself slavishly to his recordings, proclaiming them "the greatest radio in the world" In short, he would be a perfectly normal hyperactive precocious kid if it weren't for one thing.
As children, we tend to look to our environment for cues on how to behave, largely because we fear the repercussions of the omnipresent authority figures. Once we make the inevitable leap to the free zones of the neighbor's backyard or the school playground, however, this changes. We become more attuned to our own instincts, and simultaneously the need for respect of our contemporaries increases in inverse proportion to our fear of parents, teachers, et al. This change in attitude is nominally called "becoming cool", and it has been proven to lead to such behaviors as shooting BB guns at school busses, shotgunning kinger beers, and the present-day indie-rock scene. For whatever reason, though, young David missed the cool bus. It's hard to figure whether his own eccentricity separated him from his peers or grew out of his isolation, but the tragicomic result is that he's left with no role model to emulate or impress except the person he's afforded the most exposure to, and the one choice that will doom any prepubescent American male to be the kid you beat up in the playground: his mother. So here's this incredibly bright, curious kid, adopting the persona of a woman who, as we'll see, is in many ways the antithesis of his own questing spirit. Disaster can only result.
The "Weatherman Vs..." pieces provide a perfect example of this. So he had imaginary friends, big deal, so did I and so did you, now don't bother to deny it. And he's hardly modest in his choices; no anonymous Ray or Rick for him to play with. No, he picks probably the ideal playmates for a nine-year-old kid; the Monkees. But once he's got them, he hasn't the slightest idea what to do with them. He scolds them, he lectures them, he puts them to work. He pulls off the neat trick of isolating himself from his own creations, severing whatever bond he and they might have formed with the talismanic, oh-so-parental phrase "before I flip my lid!" It is little wonder that he would, in time, become more at home with manipulating inanimate objects.
Someone--I think it was Al Kooper--said that the child is father to the man, and in that light the cries of "oh, baloney!" and the Lone Ranger theme on the tapes are the sounds of David giving birth to himself, which, if you're fortunate, is the grisliest image this journal will ever be graced with. The end result of what I can imagine was many years of humiliation and isolation in educational institutions is a man who laughs heartily when embarrassed, who is simultaneously fearful of the outside world and its messiness and willing to go to any length to please others. And who still lives with his parents in his thirties.
The reason for that last, though, is obvious. However odd his parents may think him, they share one common trait with David; the desire to escape or burrow away from a world that they fear. We don't get a very detailed picture of John Louis Wills, but if he's anything like some of the suburban fathers I know, he stays well out of the way of anything that might seem unconventional, whether it be comb music, being recorded, or what have you. Grandma Wills seems utterly at sea at all times, no matter what year it may be. And David's mother doesn't seem to have an outside existence other than her family. She revels in the mundane, perfectly at home with the tedium of suburbia, where bagels gone bad are considered a crisis and a siren going by marks the acme of excitement for the day. This is a woman who cannot imagine herself doing anything extraordinary, who breaks into laughter at the sound of herself singing, who balks at the idea of dreams about fire. She gives no encouragement to her son on what is obviously his life's work; when pressured to make things specific for the future radio audience, she replies "...crazy, nobody's going to listen to this," drawing a flustered "Why not?" from the Weatherman. Anything different or unusual either brings great amusement or perplexity. But no curiosity lies behind these emotions, no desire to understand what makes people tick. The oddities of modern times are simply dismissed as "weird" or "crazy" and they continue with their cooking and dressing to go out. These and many others are the demons David must do battle with as he plods down the audiotape-lined corridor of the past.
Don Joyce as the laconic, bemused, utterly unconcerned Waxley Molding, always ready to willfully ignore David's discomfort if it means producing interesting radio, offers the perfect counterpoint to the Weatherman's tentative persona for the entire first disc. However, when we return for the second installment, something has shifted. It's no longer just David suffering his way down memory lane by his lonesome, while Don/Waxley messes with the delay and makes fun of David's club soda. Now, the whole gang is here, with the exception of Hosler, and the atmosphere has changed markedly. Instead of one man beating himself up over the person he used to be, it's a bunch of guys sitting around a room, reminiscing and laughing over old times. Even David is able to loosen up and have a few chuckles at his relatives' expense; must've been refreshing to be the laugher instead of the laughee for a change. The reason for this shift of balance is the company; David is now with people who have helped him form an identity completely seperate from the kid who used to stare silently at his neighbors from his backyard, and he can look back and laugh, and perhaps trick himself into thinking he has escaped the fate of his family. This, however, is an illusion; he still goes home to them every night, after all. In fact, it's quite odd that David threw his lot in with these men, who dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to exploring the weirdness that his family decries so fervently, to dancing so lustily with the unconventional.
All of these elements--David's desperation to be accepted, the ha-ha-aren't-we-glad-we're-not-like-that congratulatoriness of the group themselves, the willful uninterest in other people's lives--come together on the album's climactic segment, "Casual Talk." David plays a brief tape for his mother, a clip of a man saying "Welcome to Casual Talk at Dave's house!" She can't understand what it says. So he plays it again. She still doesn't get it. He plays it over and over again to the point of agony, to the point where you just know that she can understand it and she's pretending not to out of sheer stubbornness, and he knows this as well, and neither one will own up to it. It's one of the most unsettling moments between parent and child I've ever viewed in any form of art, far more disturbing in its implications than Mommie Dearest could ever be. The fact that she never shows the slightest bit of interest in why it's so gol-danged important to her son that she understand this bit of tape speaks volumes. The boys in the studio can't believe it. They burst into hysterics, David included. According to Richard Hell, Nietzche once said that all laughter is the expression of an emotion that has died. How's that for a secondhand quote?
But you gotta love the callers, the only links to the real world we have inside the plastic bubble that is TWSS. Through that phone line comes all the loneliness, the looniness, the creativity, the misguided rage, the confusion and frustration that are the province of the sort of people that Grandma Wills doesn't know, and that the whole family have labeled "too weird" and sealed themselves off from, either unaware or unconcerned by the fact that everyone on the outside thinks they're just as idiosyncratic, if not more so. To his credit, the Weatherman displays admirable people-handling skills here; he does seem to be in possession of a bit of charm and know-how, particularly in talking to people whom he clearly is on a superior plane to, such as children and mentally deficient persons.
I have no doubt that Negativland in toto, and David Wills in particular, did not set out to paint a portrait of suburbia as dystopia. The fact that that is how it comes across may be a reflection of the accuracy of their reporting, or may simply be a product of your humble reviewer's bias. However, the picture they've sketched is an endlessly fascinating one, and with all the usual brilliant sonic variance we've come to expect (the "Revolution 9" samples were an especially nice touch). The Willsaphone Stupid Show may have its frightening elements, but it also possesses a dark beauty. As such, it'll have me coming back to explore its muttered asides and faint conversations many, many times. | |
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| Aaron Jr.
- Darby, PA, United States |
| "I dont need 500 words!" | |
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| Aleta
- New Haven, CT, USA |
| Who wrote this first review? Abraham Adzinyah is one of the formost master drummers to come out of West (that's right, West, not East) Africa. His timing is impeccable, he has taught by first or second degree, just about everyone who calls him or herself an African Drummer in this nation for the past 35 years. | |
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| Luno
- Western, MA, USA |
| Legend has it that when Atlantic Records executives heard the final cut of Boys for Pele, many of them were speechless, leaving the meeting to cry in private. The follow up to Tori Amos' 1994 classic Under the Pink, Boys for Pele, while not musically dissimilar to its immediate predecessor, (the two albums merge seamlessly in the context of Amos' 2006 box set A Piano: the Collection,) is conceptually speaking, an underworld away. Murky sonic spaces and dense production set the stage for a shaky exploration of the feminine psyche. It's Persephone crossing the River Styx, if you will. From the free associate dream state of "Horses&" through the 'trash harpsichord' stylings of "Blood Roses" and "Professional Widow" to the now more relevant than ever "Muhammad My Friend" Pele is uncompromising in its individuality and was a make or break for many fans at the time of its release. If you can find this record in its rare vinyl issue, I highly recommend it. The murky master and high camp theatrics are well suited to the turntable experience. | |
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| Luno
- Western, MA, USA |
| Of the 20 or so Tori Amos EPs and singles I have collected over the years, this is one of the very best. In addition to a radio length edit of "Cornflake Girl" one of her most widely known songs and undeniable crowd favorite, this CD5 also includes three of her most lovely non-LP b-sides. "Sister Janet" a gorgeous precursor to the revelatory "Marianne" which would grace Boys for Pele two years later, is lyrically imperfect but nonetheless a worthwile listen. "Daisy Dead Petals" could easily have found a spot on Under the Pink, with its quirky lyrics and ebbing arrangement of strings and woodwinds, while the closing track, "Honey" is a song Amos has long bemoaned not having included on Pink. It is the epitome what her work embodied in this period, undeniably sensual and haunting, an intriguing tale locked in a lyrical code the most gifted of cryptologists could dream of cracking. Whether you're a long time Tori Amos fan or just curious, this single is money well spent. | |
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| Luno
- Western, MA, USA |
| I've owned a copy of this CD5 since around the time of its initial release in 1996. Of the 20 or so Tori Amos EPs and singles I've collected over the years, I personally feel the Pele era discs are some of her less engaging work.
This EP is bookended by BT's remixes of "Talula&" beginning with the Tornado Mix, which improves on Amos' original production by condensing verses and replacing live drums with programming, and ending with the Sythasia Mix, nine minutes which in no way resemble or relate to the original track. The three non-LP tracks featured here include "Samurai&" one of a handful of improvisational collaborations between Amos and her long-time bassist George Porter, Jr. Also featured is "Frog on My Toe&" arguably one of her better b-sides from the Pele era (this one is also featured on of the two UK singles along with "Sister Named Desire" and "Alamo" a collection far superior to its US counterpart) and her charming cover of Chaz and Dave's "London Girls&".(Check out the "Caught a Lite Sneeze" single for another Chaz and Dave cover "That's What I Like Mick".)
All in all, not Tori's most engaging EP, nor is it her least. Not essential for any but the most devoted of fans and collectors. | |
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| BROOKS , MATT
- SUTTON IN ASHFIELD, , ENGLAND |
| GET THIS TOP 80s TEST TUBE ALBUM AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE AND SLAP IT ON YOUR SOUND SYSTEM,THEN TURN IT UP AS LOUD AS YOU CAN WHILE DRINKING SEVERAL CANS OF BEER ! LIFE IS BLISS. | |
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| BROOKS , MATT
- SUTTON IN ASHFIELD, , ENGLAND |
| FANTASTIC PUNK ALBUM,TEST TUBES STILL GOT THAT ROGUEISH FUN IN THERE MUSIC WHAT ALL T.TUBES FANS LOVE.DONT MISS OUT ON THIS ONE OR IT COULD BE "YOUR UNLUCKY DAY" | |
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| Martin Garcia
- Chicago, IL, USA |
| Coti es la ostia... Me encanta... Esta bien que se puede encontrar este disco en esta pagina web... | |
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| Meemeesiko
- The box oustide Stater Bros., CA, USA |
| Hardly anything I have ever listened to in my life comes close to OK Go. I guarantee that no matter what music you listen to, you will find a song on this album that gets you singing along. If you have had any temptation to buy this album at all, you will be satisfied. Enjoy! | |
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| John Bell
- Calgary, , Canada |
| God, I love this album. Reminds me of Roger Waters and the Alan Parsons Project, personally. Not what I would have expected at all, but it's fucking great anyway. Reeder was always my favourite Kyuss bassist, so it's good to hear some solo material from him. I definitely recommend this album to anyone who's even remotely interested. | |
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| Jamie Bunker
- Rothesay, , Canada |
| Few albums are as perfect as Big Red Letter Day is to me with my musical sensibilities and likes. It has everything that I could ever want in a Pop Rock album. Great songs with not only hooks galore, but lyrics that actually invoke true feelings without becoming cliche. And really there is not one bad song on this entire album. I have been listening to it since I found it in a used bin back in 1995. The only other disk that would come close to being as played as much for me would be Smashing Pumpkins "Siamese Dream" (though that is not a comparison of style). | |
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| Stefan Wild
- Ithaca, NY, |
| Turn up the gain! Cracking distorted vocals over walls of distortion. Sounds headache-inducing? There's enough sweet melody packed in here to bring the bees back. | |
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| Stefan Wild
- Ithaca, NY, US |
| This record got me through freshman year in college. Enough of a space rock nod to turn down the lights to while still having plenty of Frankie Stubbs-style intricately woven guitars to fuel the finger-pointing spazz-outers. While the production may have been better in later releases, Mock Orange sadly never topped this gem.
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| Alyssa
- , VT, |
| This cd is by far the best cd I own! Ok Go's sound is unlike any other artist, and they are so much fun to listen to. If I could suggest any cd to buy right now, this would be it! | |
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| Helene Levett
- Perth, , Australia |
| I love this album, it's much different from the first and it gets you moving. I listen to it all the time! | |
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| Liz Armstrong
- Westminster, CO, United States |
| Commit This to Memory is by far the best thing to come out during the "Boombox generation". It conveys an emotion usually left untapped by most other artist. Their sound is so unique, with their up-beat lyrics, and their heavy synth sounds. Motion City Soundtrack's latest album, to me, is easiest to relate too. It is definitely a good one! | |
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| Ashley Shea
- San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Completely and utterly brilliant. I think the world would be a better place if more people listened to this band. The Positions are so fun, poppy and classic that you'll hear it once and you can never get away from it. I know that sounds like a bad thing but it isn't. It's wonderful. It's gorgeous. | |
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| Alexander Gordon
- Montreal, , Canada |
| This release surely touches perfection from every aspect...It's truly a masterpiece and "Firestorm" is here to please even the most demanding ones. This Prussian quintet managed to deliver an album that reveals the obvious connection of classical music with heavy metal. They call their music "orchestration black metal" and this is what it is!!!! The Baltic Symphonic Orchestra and Prussian Chamber Choir enrich Tvangeste's sound creating an incredible final result. CRADLE OF FILTH (especially on the vocals and the atmosphere) meeting bands such as ANCIENT RITES (on the keyboards) and THERION and all these wrapped up with classical arrangements...and then there is the use of violin, which makes them sound so cryptic and melancholic with the feeling of damnation floating over our heads from the very first second...The production is very good and gives the proper significance to the guitars and drums and yet always in the background keyboards are haunting you and Ekaterina's violin enchants you and leaves you breathless. The lyrics are perfect and it's like a story being unfolded right before your eyes, it's like Miron the vocalist is narrating a story, a story not to be forgotten...Finally, there is the cover artwork I'd like to speak about. It's simply perfect, wonderful, amazing! Surely, one of the best artworks I've ever seen! Great drawings, huge booklet, great cover and I also liked the booklet's paper (it's the first time I see such a cardboard used for an album). I finished the review and yet I think that I wrote too little and that I haven't managed to pass out to you the greatness of this release... Sometimes words are too little to express the beauty of the sound and image... | |
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| Christy Mannering
- Bear, DE, USA |
| They come to us from Peterborough, Ontario. Their music has a (Christian) Pop Rock feel to it. Perhaps a tone-downed Anberlin or more Waking Ashland, if you need comparisons.
Who are they? Jason Dunn: Lead Vocals, Daniel Biro: Bass guitar, Jonathan Steingard: Guitars and Skwid: Drums. The sound of this foursome has me addicted. I love their music, it's full of energy, but also meaningful in content. You know how some albums are good, but there are parts that leave you hanging, leave you wanting more? Not so with this one, "Smile, it's the end of the world" is perfectly complete. | |
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| Andras Aron Ivacson
- Timisoara, , Romania |
| I will start by saying that I will keep it simple because this record being my all time favourite record EVER released there's too much to say of this. I own this CD for three years now and during the first listen I knew I'll love this. And I do. It's the kind of sonic experience - "music" is a way too narrow category to describe this marvelous gem - that needs a lot of time and a lot of listens but eventually it will grow on you should you be open minded enough. One of the main aspects is that this record was created not from manipulated machine or inhuman sounds but from child/adult/animal sounds and a bit of guitar psychedlia here and there. The other issue is that everything evolves around you as you listen to it. Each song evolves within itself but the album as a whole evolves aswell. From the distorted child moans of the opener "Edward's intent" to the closing track the nice and calm guitar-piece "thank you and goodnight". My personal favourite is the fifth track entitled "...and now the man you've all been waiting for", a 18 minutes and 30 seconds long track of low frequency hum, distorted bass lines, some glitch now and then. It is awesome! It is wonderfully hypnotic, it really puts you into a different state of mind and that is what I love in the whole record. It's not just that "oh what beautiful melody, what complex drumming etc" but it really has a deep effect on you if you give it enough time. Patience is the key. And the man you've all been waiting for comes somewhere a little bit after the middle of the song. Someone actually says something but I honestly don't know what. By the time I get there, around 38 minutes from the start of the album, I'm too "out there" too clearly hear what he says. It truly is wonderful. The artwork was done by the main man of the group Aaron Turner (the other three collaborators are Jeff Claxide, Luke Scarola and James Plotkin) of Isis and it is just as wonderful as the record itself and it really fits the sounds heard on it. Because of the material and the production it has a very very organic sound aswell. Sounds nice? It is. A drone/noise/experimental record that is actually organic and not soulles, cold as most records in the genre. I recommend this to anyone with an open mind and thirst for something that is truly new and experimental. In the most true sense of experimental, because none of the so-called prog. scene is nowhere near being this experimental and progressive. This record doesen't just reuse or rearrange the instruments/sounds in a different way but creates a whole new "diffrent way". Put this on and weep with Edward as the all immortal god of sound builds the pyramids and the colloseum with one hand right before your eyes turned back into your head, pushed against your skull. Hope I will be able to raise a little interest for this collaboration as it deserves every bit of it. Thank you for the audience. | |
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| mArk
- Stockdumb, CA, US of A |
| Behind Fugazi's 13 songs, this album has influenced my buying habits for the past 15 years more so than most records of its era. Well, I?d have to put Sebadoh's Weed Forestin above it...maybe Pavements S/E but STILL! I'd even put it above in many ways of Nirvanas Nevermind. Admit it though...Nevermind still influences us all. Anywhoo, it is a must have. Round out your library and buy it. | |
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| Marsha
- Culpeper, VA, United States |
| I recommend getting this album. A few of my favorite songs would have to be The Hand that Feeds, and Only. But, I highly recommend buying their "And All That Could've Been" album. It has a lot of their songs in the live version, and it sounds so much better! | |
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| ehsan
- london, MT, england |
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| mark james
- detroit, MI, usa |
| this album is an amazing ride for those of you who can sit and listen to a 70-minute album in its entirety. if this is you, sit back and sip and smoke righteously, for this record will transport you to a new land, where time and space melt and new senses are ignited...some of the minimalist compositions will not thrill mike patton fans, in which case y'all might wanna fast forward to "innocent eye, crystal see" after setting aside eleven minutes of your day. at 10:10 it's not the end! eyvind kang is a mellow and quite brilliant composer of thrilling proportions. | |
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| mark james
- detroit, MI, usa |
| Wow. Rarely do healthy, strong trios like The Slip ever make it to our ears...if they do, they have added a keyboardist and a vocalist. This album starts reminiscent of some remote Kaua'i north shore...then dips and weaves into complex time signatures with guitar shock effects and the most creative bass lines ever. These boys are a joy to see live. Jump on the preserve wagon before they blow up! The Slip create vivid landscapes and fresh attire. | |
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| mark james
- detroit, MI, usa |
| Don't deny your roots. That's what K4AD speaks about on this album. The members have since disbanded, but this record conjures fond memories of post-melodic-punk every time it spins...'member smoky punk rock shows where you felt every lyric? 'Member wishing you could jump on stage and sing every word? Songs like "Sleeping Hero" just never go away. You can play them over and over and they never get old. A must hear. | |
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| Mike Kendall
- west tisbury, MA, Madagascar |
| just like marc lucas said, amazing, everyone should have it. | |
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| Eric Rohn
- Grinnell, IA, USA |
| The Constant Flame is a series of pieces dedicated to both the living and the dead. Percussionist/Drummer Alex Cline lays out most of the compositions with his ensemble and a few guests including his brother and extraordinary jazz guitarist Nels Cline. Most of the tracks are pretty spacey, jazz centered experiments that range from decent to driving and wonderful. While the presence of a vocalist on some of these tracks may be somewhat off-putting it works surprisingly well in the context of the music. Check out the driving, circular "Paramita" or the fiery improvisation that comes out in the second half of "The Constant Flame." This album isn't brilliant, and probably not for everyone, but experimental jazz/percussion fans and those interested in either of the Cline's work should check this out. | |
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| Strømdal, kjell sander
- skien, , norway |
| I picked this album up as a mistake at a local record fair in Skien, Norway. The biggest mistake was that I did not pick up the other one as well! Willowz kick ass! There are life changing songs on this, so be prepared to get messed up, in a good way! | |
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| Jenny Fong
- Auckland, , New Zealand |
| As a Mars Volta fan, I didn't think Omar's solo music would be anywhere near as good. My advice, do not underestimate Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, he is a musical legend. This album is awesome, it contains mainly instrumental songs which is very different from anything I've heard before, at times it is beautiful, at times creepy. The last song contains vocals by Cedric of the Mars Volta - if the Mars Volta tried to do a pop song, I think this is what it would sound like. A very creative album. | |
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| Nicole Thompson
- Renton, WA, USA |
| Even better than their first CD; The Benjamin Gate came back with another great CD. Adie's vocals are better than before, the lyrics are perfect to chill to, and you're sure to really enjoy this CD if you like electronic and Christian music. Easily one of the best CDs in both categories. | |
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| Nicole Thompson
- Renton, WA, USA |
| Adrienne's vocals are sure to pierce you. These guys are from South Africa and really know how to write lyrics. This is a great cd if you are looking for electronic music with beautiful lyrics. | |
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| Elizabeth
- B, ME, USA |
| I L.O.V.E. this album! I always love their music, and it's wonderful to hear this after 3 long years of waiting! I think it's fantastic! | |
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| Nicole Thompson
- Renton, WA, USA |
| The album consists of twelve songs with beautiful melodical lyrics. The girls sing in perfect harmony, not trying to over power another. The lyrics are so smoothly composed, that you actually feel like you're floating away. My heart even felt like it was being healed with the happy lyrics of moving on and being happy for what there is. That's what I got from the songs. I remember when I first heard 'Marvelous Things' last autumn, I knew then and there I was getting the album. The lyrics are absolutely genius and the harmony is original. I've not heard any other band who plays this way. They've been compared to Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer, and that's the closest comparison. Though, the lyrics surpass Nash's. If you like Sixpence, you'll fall in love with Eisley's beauty. Pick up this album if you are looking for something fresh, because this, my lovely, is fresh. | |
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| Leanne
- Nantwich, , England |
| This is an amazing album..i listen to it loads and its always just as good! Ace band! EVERYONE should own this album!! | |
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| Michael Britten
- Keansburg, NJ, USA |
| 1978 brought David Bowie to the height of his cocaine addiction, but also resulted in some truly groundbreaking music. Stage is the live album documenting Bowie's world tour following the release of Heroes and Low, the first two of a three-album sweep referred to as the ''Berlin era'' of his career. David Live came out only four years earlier, and featured some goods in its own right, notably ''Changes'', ''Aladdin Sane'', ''Space Oddity'', and ''The Jean Genie'', as well as explosive performances that accurately reflect the album's title. Stage, too, is an appropriate moniker for 1978's album; nothing is quite so full-on energetic as its predecessor, but fitting with the timeframe in which it was recorded, Stage has Bowie and his band delivering some very epic, amazingly clear sounds -- truly, a show worth seeing. Bowie even treated fans to a wealth of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars tracks, and vocally stops the collective hearts of every living thing. I'm inclined to believe that Low might be in place of Stage here as my favorite piece of "Bowie-ana", except that Low doesn't have six glory-ridden minutes of ''Heroes'' after its version of ''Warszawa''. | |
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| Greg McGuinness
- Waverley, , Australia |
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Easily my favourite album, along with the Saints All Fools Day. Brilliant blend of diverse sounds and melody. Structured riffs, unstructured vocalist, but that's a good thing. The retro organ thing kills me, never heard it work in this sort of sound before. | |
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| Ben Raymond
- San Diego, CA, USA |
| The Rum Diary is not a band that you'll catch playing the same tune twice. On each release, the band makes a significant change in its sound, loosely staying in the post-rock/shoegaze realm, but not really giving much thought to whether or not it is sufficiently contained within a musical genre. We're Afraid of Heights Tonight opens with a short horn introduction and then quickly transitions into the subdued indie rock atmosphere of "Back in the Hardcore Days." The Rum Diary extracts the somber melancholy from bands such as Muse and inject with a dose of airy, angelic vocals. We're Afraid of Heights Tonight is a slow, collected album that consciously tries not to get carried away with its own passion; instead, The Rum Diary creates swirling, catatonic songs that lightly tumble through the gentle sonic landscape as a young boy might explore an open field on a warm Californian summer day. The band's talent and influence does not end there. Harnessing the shoegazing ways of My Bloody Valentine and Starflyer 59, The Rum Dairy march forward through the album with lush, ambient, music that adds a little bit of post-rock/psych rock glamour to the band's indie-rock core. The longer tracks can't resist the temptation to lavish themselves in extraneous composition, and it in the tracks "Mothball," "My Lungs Have Felt Better," and "The Sunken Fields (TL-05)" that the band's post-rock tendencies tend to come closest to the surface. | |
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| Eric
- Grinnell, IA, USA |
| For all the profanity in the title and band name "Bastards of the Beat" is really quite a sweet (in a romantic sense) album. This is rock music with a touch of country and nothing too fancy, but it's done well without ever sounding overproduced or stale. The music is guitar heavy and ranges from spacey slower songs ("Sleepsinging," "Texas," "Newborn History") to driving rockers like "The Sound," "What You Get," and the albums highlight "The Lost Complaint." While not entirely original in its techniques, Bastards of the Beat is enjoyable because it's an album full of energy and exuberance. It's hard to put this album on and not fall back in love with rock and roll. | |
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| Drew Housman
- Miami, FL, USA |
| This cd is amazing. A tribe called quest is one of the greatest and perhaps overlooked hip-hop groups of all time. They provide jazzy beats with a smooth vibe of rhyming over them. This cd contains the best of the best of their hits, and with Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip as guests you can?t go wrong. This is a must own for any Hip-hop fan, or anybody open to hip-hop music. | |
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| Michael Britten
- Keansburg, NJ, USA |
| Any argument that can be thrown against #3 or Johan Hedberg and Peter Gunnarsson is completely parried by the fact that the material stands as amazing pop. "Rent A Wreck" seems like it can power an entire metropolitan area on account of its "bah-bah-bah"'s alone; tracks "Trees And Squirrels" and "Little Boys In The Ghetto" both sound and feel like alternate takes on the best of The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs. It's incredibly surprising and almost criminal that Suburban Kids With Biblical Names didn't find success, much less garner real attention when #3 was released last year. With the "indie darling" status bestowed upon countryman Jens Lekman for his adherence to a similar pattern, and the clever icon dropping heard in song "Parakit" (Pavement and The Smiths showing up together anywhere should have caused collective aneurysm among the music press), Suburban Kids With Biblical Names' lack of attention is truly confusing. But, just as Hedberg and Gunnarsson went out to bring genuine, engaging pop back to the ears of the world, hopefully my writing this review will bring their names to mind when people go out looking for their own next big thing. | |
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| Alex Stegeman
- Des Moines, IA, USA |
| One thing is obvious as I look through my music collection: I am a Swedophile! Mysteriously, I am drawn to the artists who call "the land of the midnight sun" their home. Of course, Labrador Records is the supreme voice of Swedish music (in my opinion) with such pop gems as Acid House Kings, The Mary Onettes, and my favorite, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names. Their first lp, #3 a joy to listen to; the duo have a sound as quirky as their name. "Loop Duplicate My Heart" and "Funeral Face" are goofy love songs, while "Peter's Dream" is a nostalgic journey about skateboarding, drinking cheep beer, and life as a little punk. SKWBN define their intent to "turn all the dancefloors into burning infernos of bah bah bah" on the instantly catchy "Rent A Wreck". I am patiently waiting for their first American tour, but I certainly wouldn't wait to buy their debut LP. | |
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| Ian
- New York, NY, |
| As great as "Dig Your Own Hole" was, only the most diehard Chemical Brothers fan won't admit it is a little dated. The stadium sound cultivated in that album is replaced with a much more dancefloor oriented sound in "Surrender." From the driving relentless bass in "Under the Influence" to the New Ordery "Out of Control" (thanks to Mr. Sumner of course), to the rock-ish "Let Forever Be" the entire album is designed to get you moving (something previous albums touched on, but never to this extent). Will this age better than "Dig Your Own Hole"? Well only time will tell, but the pastiche nature of the songs (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s?) certainly helps it out.
Oh and Hey Boy, Hey Girl is so ridiculous, you have to love it. | |
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| Shellene Williams
- Brooklyn, NY, USA |
| If you don't already have this album,then you've just commited a felony and should be thrown in jail for it. =) | |
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| Melissa Bhagwandin
- Toronto, , Ontario |
| My favourite album, ever. So easily listenable, so catchy, so lasting, so everything rad. You're not cool if you don't like this album. You're cool if you do. | |
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| Michael Britten
- Keansburg, NJ, USA |
| Cusp probably isn't at all evocative when reading about it; I could describe any manner of dissonance or cacophony, and it would never accurately reflect the sound committed to disc here. Comparing the 40 minute aural composite to the world inside a clock, where time ironically is of no consequence, or the punishment of Sisyphus, all grueling labor for a single moment of serenity soon shattered, are little more than ways of stretching my own descriptive abilities, nothing more. Maybe they've given some idea -- a rough sketch, perhaps -- of just what Cusp is. The fact that this review is more so comprised of huge masses of text than any other should tell you: discussing the work of Everlovely Lightningheart, much like listening to it, is not so simple. It might be unnerving, sapping, even downright stressful; for those reasons, it truly is not something recommended for everyone. However, if you do find yourself taking time and investing it into Cusp, you'll be on similar ground where I and my goal of noise/art collective membership lie: waiting on the outskirts, in uncertainty, and wondering just how deep repeated ventures can take me before I give up, or commit to this damn thing. | |
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| Bernard
- Levis, , Canada |
| Great first effort from a Scream Emo band, a nice album with pretty catchy songs and nice lyrics. The album is easy to listen from end to end, I practically never skip songs. It's in my constant rotation since it has gone out. If you like Thursday, Taking Back Sunday and bands like that, the Used are definitely for you! | |
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| Alice Lacey
- London, , England |
| Oh No is one of those albums that you can play at any time and from which you will instantly get a huge surge of endorphins, leaving you grinning, and, if you know the band already, dancing. The songs are varied in their style and all pure genius, with intelligent lyrics and catchy riffs, entertaining you for hours (if, as I am, you are in the habit of playing the CD on repeat until you are forced to go to school or work or bed). Buy the CD. I am addicted. | |
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| Josh Neaves
- Jackson, MS, United States |
| I stuck with the notion that anything my parents ever listened to was terrible until I was about 22. That's when a desperate day put Sgt. Pepper's in my hands and the history of music changed for me. I knew the album would be good, but I never knew how relevant it could still be after over over 30 years. Straight lines can be drawn from this record to the bands of today (from Smashing Pumpkins to Britney Spears to Arcade Fire). For the Ipod generation there are skippable tracks such as Fixin a Hole but standout tracks are the norm (e.g. Day in the Life, She's Leaving Home). As a whole the album provides a long trip through a short time span. All the positive critics were right about this one. This is the pinnacle of music. | |
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| Bernard Croteau
- Levis, , Canada |
| Billy Talent has a unique sound! When I first heard that CD, I got literally blown away. I didn't like it much at first, but after 3 to 4, the songs grew on me and I couldn't stop listening to it. It's been 2 years that I first listened to that CD, and I still do.
Its Great Punk-Rock, energetic and fun music. | |
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| Chris George
- Brantford, , Canada |
| The debut album Bloodwork by From Fiction, one of Canada's hardest math rock bands, starts off with an intense kick to the balls. The punk driven album pulls you in with full force and doesn't come up short with just seven songs, it leaves you wanting more, much more. Their implosive beats and jaw dropping riffs, shows listeners that they provide such energy into everything they do. You just know they put their blood, sweat and tears into making this an incredible work of art. Each song has its slow quiet build-up and then it hits you, like a violent explosion. The vocals in each song expand the sound to reach a new height. The last minutes of the album ends the way it started - with an intense kick to the balls. | |
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| Peter Snyder
- Boston, MA, USA |
| When I received this album as a gift 8 months ago, I listened to the first two tracks, dismissed the whole thing as boring, and moved on. Just yesterday the track "New Grass" came on shuffle, and I was floored. Its the first time I've ever been completely compelled to stop in my tracks and listen to a piece of music from start to finish. As silly as it may sound, the song conjures images of heaven and dying in my head, and I'm confident in saying that its the best 9 minutes of music I own. As I go back and listen to the rest of the CD, I'm finding things I love about every song. Just like every piece of music I expect to still be listening to in 5 years, this album took some effort to appreciate, but now that I've put my work in, its endlessly rewarding. | |
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| Pierce
- Ferndale, MI, US |
| Not quite an album, not just a compilation, Eternal Dream of Sound is quite possibly THE ADD-addled-audiophiles fantasy wrapped up in two discs. Sprawling in content, tone and--as indicated--sound, this treasure is far more valuable then most releases could hope to offer. Mesmerizing juxtapositions abound, most of the tracks focus on 3+ different songs (sometimes in less then a minute) being spliced by the turn of analog radio tuner, adding bugged out psychedelic mix tape masterpiece flourishes to an already astounding collection. Music that, ultimately, most of us have never/will never hear, this is not some gimmicky teaser for those India bound or looking for a laugh. While both reactions may occur, this set is recommended for connoisseurs of music. Broad elusive titles with countless highlights, appreciation really is limitless. | |
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| David Burkhardt
- Ebensburg, PA, US |
| Love this album and don't understand the disinterest. There's a pleasing tone of rhythmic and lyrical roots (Alberta, Little Sadie, Gotta Travel On). Some tunes are just beautiful and moving (I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know, Living the Blues, Copper Kettle, Take Me as I Am). There's a mix of elements, direction and purpose in this album but much of interest and something for any Dylan fan to love. It's a telling and colorful self-portrait. | |
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| Jacob Gallant
- Clayton, NC, USA |
| You seriously need to buy this album and anything else OK Go. They are amazing and incredible and extremely talented. If you haven't heard of them, preview them and then buy their music. | |
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| Andrew Schubert
- Tempe, AZ, USA |
| Incredible artwork, Incredible musicians (DR. Know of Bad Brains anyone?) and Mos is a great frontman. This album flows well from track to track with no bullshit, just amazing song after song. Especially the nine minute "Modern Marvel" with the Marvin Gaye samples. Maybe you should buy Gaye's "What's Goin' On" and then this. | |
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| Julio Cesar Garcia
- Guadalajara, , Mexico |
| For collectors!!! | |
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| Michelle Price
- Columbus, OH, USA |
| Phenomenal! If I was deserted on a desert island for the rest of my life and could only bring one CD with me. This would be it. It really is my favorite album of all time. You know those songs that you never get tired of hearing, no matter how many times you hear it? This CD is jam packed with those songs. I highly recommend you buy this CD if you don't already own it! | |
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| Ian Signore
- Centerville, VA, USA |
| When asked what kind of music I like, I feel 100% confident in giving the automated response that most people give by saying "All kinds of music!". I know it's annoying, but after years of music listening research, I've come to the conclusion that good music can be found in every genre of music. For instance, hip-hop isn't one of favorite genres of music, but I love Gym Class Heroes. I usually listen to indie rock, pop, or electronica music, but this album fills my, once thought to be non-existent, hip-hop needs. Songs like "Taxi-Driver" confirm their 'indie-cred', if that matters to you, where they spend about two minutes rapping with only the use of band names, dropping acts such as, Taking Back Sunday, The Postal Service, Brand New, Get Up Kids, and many more. But, their real talent shines through on tracks like, "Faces in the Hall" and, "Graduation Day" when Travis McCoy paints some of the most interesting and heart felt stories with his lyrics. | |
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| Johnny B
- Chapel Hill, NC, USA |
| I love this record. Elevator Action plays dirty, ballsy glam-punk with pop hooks and vocal harmonies that make for a sound that is as enjoyable as it is aggressive. EA shows they know how to write a catchy tune, but they aren't afraid to punch it up a bit with occasional bursts of feedback and screamed vocals to wake you up and remind you that you're getting your ass kicked in the best possible way. | |
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| John B
- Chapel Hill, NC, USA |
| This is a remarkably solid album of enjoyable pop rock. It continues the progression The Talk has started, each album becoming more ambitious and melodic, while never losing sight of quality song structure and pristine hooks.
Each song is enjoyable in its own right, but truly excels when put next to the rest of the tracks on this criminally overlooked album. | |
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| Mel Chan
- Perth, , Australia |
| Wind and Fire is one of those great albums that gets you in and you have to listen to it over and over, because the stories catch you with their hidden messages. Angel in the Mirror is one of these. Plus Underworld. Darren has a fantastic voice - I had to buy the album after I heard it playing at a Perth nightclub. Buy it - you won't regret it! | |
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| Mel Chan
- Perth, , Australia |
| Lightning Woman is a great album - interesting, fun and lively. Darren has a great voice - lots of catchy lyrics you can sing along to. The songs I like best are Crocodile Man (coz you can go mad!!!) and Proud Warrior (coz its very sentimental and emotional). I'd recommend this album to anyone who wants a diverse sounding and totally rockin CD! | |
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| chris shaw
- greenbelt, MD, USA |
| On the Beach isn't just one of my favorite records: it's the only one I need. Even though I was born 23 years after this record came out, it was made just for me. I heard about this record from someone else, and without having heard it, I went to the local used record store just to buy a copy. They didn't have any on the shelf, but I recognized Neil Young's voice on the in-store speaker, and I just knew: they were playing the very album I had come looking for. They sold me the opened copy. I drove the 5 minutes back home and spent the next 30 minutes idling in my car listening. I didn't even take my seatbelt off. I have a thousand albums, and I don't need 990 of them. Every minute I spend not listening to this album is a minute that I will never get back. | |
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| Peter Pendergrass
- Greensboro, NC, USA |
| I love Regina Spektor dearly. If you bought Regina's "Soviet Kitsch", loved it, and want to hear more, this is for you. This is not an album of new songs, I repeat NOT. This is a sort of anthology of the high points from Regina's first 3 albums (the proverbial "best of" compilation). Featuring mostly selections from "Songs" and and a few from "11:11" and "Soviet Kitsch," this is a great way to sample her early stuff without having to scavenge soulseek and ebay. Be Warned: Regina's early stuff is a little less easy to listen to. It's more experimental and less melodic. There is more classical influence and she is in the midst of developing the sound she has on Kitsch. I love it. I think you'll love it if you give it a chance. I RECOMMEND YOU GET THIS AND LISTEN TO IT BEFORE "BEGIN TO HOPE" COMES OUT, SINCE THIS WILL BE EVEN HARDER TO GET INTO AFTER YOU HEAR REGINA GETTING ALL... "POPPY". I'm not so sure about her upcoming album, but her old stuff is great (IMO). | |
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| lorenzo
- bcn, , spain |
| As the title itself, deep songs with a touch of diferent sounds. | |
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| Ralph Alfonso
- Vancouver, WA, canada |
| Strange Lights and Resolutions marks the first full-length studio effort from Montreal electro jazz merchants Kobayashi. Recorded on 24-track tape in just under a week, the album infuses mature arrangements with the energy of spontaneity and improvisation. The analog process adds the desired roundness to Kobayashi's sound - a dark blend of jazz, funk, dub and trip-hop. From gripping opener "Never Was", to the intriguing grooves of "Narn't" and the haunting pronouncements in "Shadows", the album strikes a balance between simple and sophisticated, cerebral and soulful, experimental and tasteful.
Special guest on the album is Rosina Kazi, vocalist from Toronto group LAL (voted #1 Soul album in Exclaim 2004 Year in Review). | |
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| BRock Thiessen
- Vancouver, , Canada |
| Darren Hayman, the former front man of the unacknowledged Hefner, has once again decided to brave the elements and crawl out of his cosy hiding hole with an album. Since his last offering as The French - which delved deeper into the garage sale electronics of Hefner's 'Dead Media' - he has gotten married, enrolled in art school, and recovered from a 6 month internet chess addiction. This new anti-rock and roll lifestyle has done wonders and left Hayman in top form. He has toned down the electronics a bit and humbly brought a ukulele and battered telecaster for protection making the songs much warmer and inviting here. Also, his character sketches about retiring school teachers, plummeting air hostesses and bingo-parlour champions are by far the best he has done in years. Sadly, 'Table For One' will probably fall way under the radar here in North America and push Hayman one step closer to obscurity. | |
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| stephen latona
- Philadelphia, , usa |
| Best rock n roll record ever made period. From rock anthems to ska/ reggae to barroon ballads to straight ahead pop this is the one to learn from. First heard it in 1980 in NYC, still gives me the chills. "The Right Profile" is one of the most underrated songs in the history of music. Every kid in America and the world should be weened on this pivotal record from the only band that matters. | |
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| Erik Kistel
- Van Nuys Por Vida, CA, USA |
| Being a fairly recent fan of Boris, I enter each album with an entirely open mind. This album really surprised me just with where it starts and exactly where it goes. It is like a vision quest through a dark, damp tunnel, leading to a shattering place of light and orgasmic feedback ecstacy.
The beginning starts out slow and quiet almost sounding like Mogwai or The last Earth album. There are even some mournful Japanese vocals. This builds slowly until the final release which is massive in it's embrace. I highly recommend! | |
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| Charles Press
- Berkeley, CA, USA |
| This is an astounding CD, not just for fans of great acoustic guitarists. If you only know the Sun City Girls and not Sir Richard's solo work, you'll be in for a wonderful surprise. If you listen to similar artists like Glenn Jones and Jack Rose, you'll love this CD! | |
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| Ian Feng
- Austin, TX, us |
| Let's face it, this is THE one New Order album that everyone must own. Brotherhood may have Bizarre Love Triangle, but only Power, Corruption and Lies is so compulsively and consistently listenable with nary a filler track in sight (earshot?). Beginning with the impossibly catchy Age of Consent, it just keeps going from there. It has been a long slow decline for New Order since this album, but what a peak it was. Oh...and Blue Monday is here too. What else could you ask for? | |
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| Andy Insound
- New York, NY, |
| Usually when bands mention having Zeppelin as an influence this translates into hedonistic rockers soaked in bravado. Citay draw on a different side of Zeppelin, the quiet acoustic moments of Black Mountainside or What Is And What Should Never Be. Marrying the laid back strums to flashes of electric guitar straight out of the Brian May songbook. Derivations aside the combination is well worth checking out and comes across as something completely deserving of the ideas it incorporates. | |
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| Nick Fletcher
- Lakewood, CO, USA |
| DeVotchKa is perhaps the best musical group that no one knows. They are dark and beautiful - and they produce music that will bring tears to your eyes (for good reasons). The lead singer's vocals bear an uncanny resemblance to Morrissey, but they are put to use in a completely new context of spooky gypsy textures. 'How It Ends' is DeVotchKa's best effort to date, and does not include one throw away track. Every song fits perfectly into a soundscape made for dimly lit rooms and twilight boozing. Recommended for those with a longing to feel something from the music they listen to. | |
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| Justin Time
- Indio, CA, USA |
| This is a remarkable album, removed from the masses by a remarkable voice. I've been to one of Mia's shows and she was only more confirmed as an idol once I'd heard her speaking voice, which is exactly the same as her singing voice; soft and,...well pronounced, like hearing the beauty of a delicate rose petal! Mesmerizing. This album is definitely more listener friendly than her other previous albums. Some of the songs on this album are shorter, well-crafted, full band versions of those found on her previous albums on which she performs them mostly solo with an acoustic guitar or piano. | |
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| S. Sharpe
- New Orleans, LA, USA |
| Great mix of rock, pop, punk and garage! Four Stars.
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| Charlie Chesman
- Brighton, , United Kingdom |
| This album ROCKS!!!!!! Both of their albums have a certain sound which no other band has. This is seriously good. Buy it and treasure it!!! I love it! | |
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