October 09, 2024

Sammie - From The Bottom To The Top (Promo CD) (2000)

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*This is a promotional disc not 
intended for consumer sale. 
Contains 14 tracks total.
A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: R&B
Label Number: CDP 7243 5 23168 2 3

© 2000 Freeworld Entertainment/Capitol Records
There's no mistaking little Sammie for Sammy, the post-Pavement indie-rock combo of the mid-'90s. No, Sammie is an urban R&B singer. He's also a kid, not that you'd really be able to tell that from a cursory listen of his debut album, From the Bottom to the Top. At times, his voice does sound a little thin, but for the most part, it's surprisingly soulful and convincing -- not as stunning and assured as the young Michael Jackson, but certainly a lot better than most child singers. If he's not yet skillful enough to disguise the sometimes uneven material, that's still forgivable, because the tracks that do work, work really well. By and large, those are the songs written and produced by executive producer Dallas Austin, who keeps the beats fresh and light and the hooks strong and catchy -- particularly on uptempo numbers like the opener "The Bottom" and "Can't Let Go," featuring Lloyd of N'Toon. That's not to say that other producers and writers come up empty or that Sammie can't handle slower songs -- the midtempo soul of "Crazy Things I Do," produced and written by C. "Tricky" Stewart, is proof that he can -- but he sounds his most infectious when the beat is a little faster and the hooks are a little sharper. Perhaps that's due to the songwriting, which gets a little undistinguished as the tempo slows, or perhaps it's due to the fact that while Sammie is an impressive talent, he has yet to mature. Either way, the end result is the same: From the Bottom to the Top is entertaining, but not always engaging. Still, we have to remember that this is a debut album from a child singer. Judged on that basis, it's charming and, at times, impressive. Sammie does well this time out, and he'll probably do better next time around.

 tags: sammie, from the bottom to the top, promo, 2000, flac,
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October 07, 2024

China - Sign In The Sky (1989)

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*European first pressing. 
Contains 13 tracks total.
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Genre: Hard Rock
Label Number: 842 247-2

© 1989 Vertigo
*No professional reviews are available for this release

 tags: china, sign in the sky, 1989, flac,
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China - Go All The Way (1991)

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*European first pressing. 
Contains 15 tracks total.
Country: Switzerland.
Language: English
Genre: Hard Rock
Label Number: 848 715-2

© 1991 Vertigo
*No professional reviews are available for this release. 

 tags: china, go all the way, 1991, flac,
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Various Artists - Music From & Inspired By The Motion Picture Pootie Tang (2001)

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*A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: R&B, Hip-Hop
Label Number: HR-62329-2

© 2001 Hollywood Records
By mixing older classics with a number of new songs by contemporary artists, the Pootie Tang soundtrack makes for a fun listen, even if it's not as loaded with superstars and potential hit singles as the other rap/urban soundtracks of 2001. There are a trio of songs that were commissioned specifically for the film -- 702's "Pootie Tangin," Karl Clanton's "Why Pootie Why?," and "Ode to Pootie," written and produced by Prince Paul -- all three of which are standout moments on the soundtrack. Elsewhere, the older classics -- Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison" and Zapp's "I Want to Be Your Man" -- obviously stand out for not only nostalgic reasons but also because these are amazing songs that faded into obscurity a bit over the years. There's also a remix of Master P's roof-raising "Make Em Say Ugh" that isn't really that much different from the original in terms of production, but features new rhymes by P, Silkk the Shocker, Mia X, and Snoop Dogg -- this should interest Dirty South fans, as should the admittedly impressive "Dirty Dee," another above-average No Limit contribution. Erykah Badu's "Southern Woman" seems almost effortless, with her singing some insightful lyrics over a sparse human-beatbox track courtesy of Razhel, but it's a wonderful moment thanks to its modesty. Another song worth checking out is Roscoe and Nate Dogg's "Yesterday," yet another stunning moment for the latter smooth-voiced vocalist who seems to be everywhere in 2001. This leaves only a few other tracks of acceptable though not impressive quality on this relatively brief 14-song, 55-minute soundtrack. This lack of exhaustive filler is in fact welcome, and makes the soundtrack a more satisfactory listen. Pootie Tang isn't quite as jaw-dropping as the Baby Boy soundtrack, for the sake of comparison, but it's yet another impressive rap/urban soundtrack for the already soundtrack-heavy summer of 2001.

 tags: various artists, music from and inspired by the motion picture pootie tang, ost, soundtrack, 2001, flac,
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October 02, 2024

Various Artists - Bait: Music From & Inspired By The Motion Picture (2000)

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*A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop, R&B
Label Number: 9 47859-2

© 2000 RuffNation Records/Warner Bros.
The original soundtrack to Jamie Foxx's action/comedy Bait features a contemporary mix of hip-hop and R&B from Memphis Bleek, Scarface, Fat Joe, Donell Jones, Mya, and Ramsquad. Nelly & the St. Lunatics' "Icey," Total & Missy Elliott's "Quick Rush," Trick Daddy's "Can't F**k With Me," and Liz Leite's "L.I.Z." are some of the album's highlights, along with performances by Beanie Sigel, No Question, Sonz of Sacrifice, and Majusty.

 tags: various artists, bait, music from the and inspired by the motion picture, ost, soundtrack, 2000, flac,
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Various Artists - Hardball: Music From The Motion Picture (2001)

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*A photo of the disc is included ion the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop, R&B
Label Number: CK 86025

© 2001 So So Def Recordings/Sony Music Soundtrax
Hardball. Let's face it. The movie is The Bad News Bears set in inner city Chicago, with a love story thrown in just for good measure. The soundtrack feels like it was made for Lil' Bow Wow, so its no surprise that the pint-sized rapper shows up on more than one track. The collection bounces back and forth from lighthearted hip-hop, like "Where's the Party At" and "Big Poppa," to heavier street songs like "Ghetto" and "You Can't Break Me." Much of the album is mediocre R&B and rap, but Mobb Depp's "Play," a soulful call to city youths, is a true gem. The songs are full of cute little baseball references and there's even an urbanized version of "Take Me out to the Ball Game." The soundtrack closes with a saccharine-sweet ballad from Xscape, just to let you know that this story has a happy ending.

 tags: various artists, hardball, music from the motion picture, soundtrack, ost, 2001, flac,
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September 26, 2024

Various Artists - The Karate Kid: Original Movie Soundtrack (1984)

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*First pressing. 
Contains 10 tracks total.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hard Rock, Pop Rock, Pop
Label Number: 551 136-2

© 1984-1995 Karussell/Spectrum Music
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

 tags: various artists, the karate kid, original movie soundtrack, ost, 1984, flac,
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Various Artists - Music From & Inspired By Shaft (2000)

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Funk, R&B, Hip-Hop
Label Number: 73008 26080-2 RE-1

© 2000 LaFace Records
Music/Film composer David Arnold has a few popular box office film scores under his belt, including The World Is Not Enough (1999), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Godzilla (1998), and Independence Day (1996). How did he land the lackluster deal for the action thriller Shaft?

Isaac Hayes, of course, is the only originator to this classic namesake. His "Theme From Shaft" is a '70s standard, therefore, it carries things this time around as well. There is more of an urban, gangsta rap tone to this version -- unexpected, but not surprising. West Coast rapper Too $hort claims he was never a sucker, getting nasty ghetto-style on "Pimp Sh*t." Things get even raunchier with songs from hoarse-throated beatboxer Mystikal, OutKast, and Goodie Mob's Big Gipp. But Shaft is known for being smooth, too. R. Kelly and Donell Jones attempt to lay the lights down low, but time is cheap. Shaft does not uphold its original musical savvy. Once is enough, and sadly only an average resurrection to one of the '70s signature funkadelic anthems.

 tags: various artists, shaft, music from and inspired by shaft, ost, 2000, flac,
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Various Artists - Honey: Music From & Inspired By The Motion Picture (2003)

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop, R&B, Dancehall
Label Number: 62925-2

© 2003 Elektra Records
Not surprisingly for a film that looks and plays like a cross between Glitter and Save the Last Dance, Honey's soundtrack features a lot of stylish, danceable hip-hop and urban pop, led by Missy Elliot's "Hurt Sumthin" and Fabolous' "Now Ride," one of the biggest rap hits at the time of the movie's release. Indeed, with the inclusion of tracks like Sean Paul's "Gimme the Light," Nate Dogg's "Leave Her Alone," and Tweet's "Thugman," the soundtrack does almost as good a job of rounding up hip-hop and urban trends in 2003 as that year's Now That's What I Call Music! collections did. Blaque's "I'm Good" and Tamia's "It's a Party" are two of the album's most infectious tracks, while Amerie's "Think of You," Goapele's "Closer," and Yolanda Adams' "I Believe" edge closer to standard urban balladry. Erick Sermon's "React" and Mark Ronson's "Ooh Wee" are a couple of the other hip-hop highlights of this soundtrack, which isn't always inspired but does work well as a kinetic set of hip-hop and urban music.

 tags: various artists, honey, music from and inspired by the motion picture, 2003, flac,
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September 23, 2024

Various Artists - Ghostbusters (Original Soundtrack) (1984)

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*U.S. first pressing. 
Contains 10 tracks total.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Pop Rock, Pop, Film Score
Label Number: ARCD-8246

© 1984-1985 Arista
The soundtrack for the 1984 blockbuster comedy Ghostbusters, which starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis as a New York-based team of spook exterminators, follows the most common soundtrack formula for summer blockbuster hits: throw on a bunch of pop songs that were heard in the movie only for a few seconds, combine them with a couple of excerpts from the original score, and -- voila! -- you have a soundtrack album that makes for a very disjointed, schizophrenic listen, and does very little to conjure memories of the film. The major exceptions to the latter complaint, the songs which do conjure memories of the movie, are the two tracks from Elmer Bernstein's score, Mick Smiley's "Magic," which played a major role in the film, and the witty Ray Parker, Jr. theme song, "Ghostbusters," which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. (He lost to Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You.") Years later, Parker's refrain of "Who you gonna call?" has remained a part of the cultural lexicon. As for Bernstein's contribution, he has a tendency to write film music characterized by eerie keyboard meanderings which add little to the scenes he writes for.

 tags: various artists, ghostbusters, original soundtrack, ost, 1984, 1985, flac,
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The Immortals - Mortal Kombat: The Album (1994)

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Country: Belgium
Language: English
Genre: Techno
Label Number: 7243 8 39629 2 1; YARDCD8

© 1994 Vernon Yard Recordings
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

 tags: the immortals, mortal kombat the album, ost, 1994, flac,
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Various Artists - Bringing Down The House (Original Soundtrack) (2003)

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop, R&B
Label Number: 2061-62386-2

© 2003 Hollywood Records
While the movie that inspired it may go for predictable laughs, the soundtrack to Bringing Down the House is surprisingly fresh, mixing contemporary urban and classic soul with tried and true and up-and-coming hip-hop artists. Maybe it's not such a surprise that the album mixes songs like Eve and Jadakiss' party-starting "Let Go (Hit the Dance Floor)" and Barry White's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More Babe" so adeptly, considering that the film's star, Queen Latifah, was also an executive producer on the soundtrack. Latifah appears on the album twice, crooning and rapping on the sweetly soul-tinged "Better Than the Rest" and displaying her still-formidable skills on "Do Your Thing," which also features Mario Winans. A fair portion of the soundtrack stays on the mellow, laid-back side -- even Foxy Brown's "Whatcha Gonna Do" is surprisingly subdued -- as exemplified by Floetry's "Where's the Love," Kelly Price's "Ain't Nobody," and Calvin Richardson's "Next to You," but Mr. Cheeks' "Move Somethin," N.E.R.D.'s "Rock Star," and the Unit's "Gutta" give the album a harder edge. Overall, Bringing Down the House is better than it has any right to be, and far superior to the movie it supports.

 tags: various artists, bringing down the house, original soundtrack, ost, 2003, flac, 
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Various Artists - Step Up (Original Soundtrack) (2006)

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*European pressing. 
Contains 16 tracks total.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop, R&B, Dancehall
Label Number: 82876 88063 2

© 2006 Jive/Zomba Label Group Records
Like Save the Last Dance, Honey, and Take the Lead before it, Step Up plays like a fun, lively time capsule of urban pop and rap singles that were made for dancing. Though the soundtrack is toploaded with the one-two-three punch of Yung Joc's "'Bout It," Ciara and Chamillionaire's "Get Up," and Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole's "(When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me," the entire set is pretty strong. Kelis' "80's Joint," which lives up to its name thanks to its nimble bassline and squelchy synths, Petey Pablo's "Show Me the Money," and Clipse, Re-Up Gang, and Roscoe P. Goldchain's "Ain't Cha" are some of the most energetic standouts, while Chris Brown's wistful "Say Goodbye" and Drew Sidora and Mario's duet "For the Love" get the film's romantic angle across without interrupting the flow of the more danceable tracks. Step Up just might be one of those soundtracks that's actually better than the movie that inspired it.

 tags: various artists, step up, original soundtrack, ost, 2006, flac,
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September 19, 2024

Slade - Slayed? (1972) ☠

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*European first pressing. 
This pressing was digitally remastered 
by Jim Lea for Perseverance Ltd.
Contains 10 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Glam Rock
Label Number: 849 180-2

☠: Selected by Buccaneer
© 1972-1991 Polydor
Slade might have built its everywhere-but-America fame upon a succession of gut-tearing hit singles, but the band's true rocking credentials were on display elsewhere, in the second to none stage show that had already been preserved on the epochal Slade Alive! earlier in 1972 and across the chain of storming B-sides that had accompanied the smashes so far. Slayed? may have been only the band's second studio album in four years, but it reinforced that barrage with enough mighty stompers that the band could have taken the next year off and still not run out of steam. Even if one excises past hits "Gudbuy t' Jane" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" from the equation, Slayed? is a nonstop party, from the riotously self-fulfilling prophecy of "The Whole World's Goin' Crazee" to the down-key but still eminently stompalong-able "Look at Last Nite," the latter a reminder that, even at its loudest, Slade was still capable of some fetching balladry. Or should that be the other way around? The tomahawk riffing of "I Won't Let It 'Appen Again" is another highlight -- a similar arrangement was later borrowed, to excellent effect, for sometime support band Blue Öyster Cult's version of another Slade favorite, the rocker anthem "Born to Be Wild," while "Gudbuy Gudbuy" lurches like a battalion of tanks and matches a stirring Dave Hill guitar break to one of Noddy Holder's coolest-ever vocals. A couple of covers break the Holder/Lea songwriting domination. A bass-heavy blues boogie through Janis Joplin's "Move Over had graced a Slade BBC session earlier in the year, and provoked such a great response that they had no option but to re-record it, while the closing medley of "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Feel So Fine" was the closest you could come to the mania of a Slade live show without actually going out and buying a ticket. Of course, listeners don't have that option today. But stick on Slayed?, crank the volume well up -- and the whole world will be going crazee all over again.

 tags: slade, slayed, 1972, flac,
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Slade - Rogues Gallery (1992 Reissue)

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*Reissued in 1992 by RCA Records
This pressing contains 10 tracks total 
and non-remastered audio.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Hard Rock
Label Number: 74321 10563 2

© 1985-1992 RCA Records
Thanks to a pair of Quiet Riot cover versions of early Slade songs, Slade was brought to the attention of a new generation of hard rock fans, who turned around and made their first album in ten years a fair-sized hit. Aiming to capitalize on their resurgence, the boys went back into the studio to record the follow-up, Rogues Gallery, even going so far as to give opening track, "Hey Ho Wish You Well," the same galloping beat and Celtic string work that made "Run Runaway" such a great comeback. Unfortunately for everyone (most notably the band), the decision was made to lay on a whole pile of keyboards this time out, perhaps trying to tap into the success Van Halen had achieved with breakthrough album 1984; the end result was an album that was far less endearing than Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply. In fact, some of the songs are downright embarrassing, like "Walking on Water Running on Alcohol," which marries a "Be My Baby"-style big beat to Van Halen keyboards and then adds a melodramatic but ultimately sad-sack set of lyrics. Far worse is first single, "7 Year Bitch," which could have been a thoughtful look at someone who's attracted to younger women, but which kills off any chance of moral high ground with the question "...can you control the bitch?" (whether the question was asked in persona or not). Given the title of the album, perhaps such sentiments shouldn't be all that surprising, but it has to be said that the rogues' gallery concept probably would have been a lot more convincing if the music had been stripped of the keyboards and overly slick production and given more of a rock & roll edge. That edge doesn't really emerge until the track "Lock Up Your Daughters," tellingly a track that the band pulled out of the vaults.

 tags: slade, rogues galley, 1985, 1992, flac,
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Various Artists - Dark City: Music From & Inspired By The Motion Picture (1998)

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Electronic, New Wave, Instrumental
Label Number: TVT 8160-2

© 1998 TVT Soundtrax
Trevor Jones' soundtrack to Dark City is very much what one would expect from a film about evil bald men who control the night. It is not as stark and intriguing as the film, but as a stand alone, it is a mild balance between Batman and The Crow. The grimness is offset by several artist vocal cuts, some inspired by the film and some contained in the film. Anita Kelsey's dark lounge song "Sway" is melodic and trance-like; hearing it gives the feel of a snake slithering through tall grass, as it weaves in and out of tone. As good as it is, it will never be as striking a solo piece as seeing it lip synched in the film by the gorgeous Jennifer Connelly. In fact, the soundtrack never really breaks into its own; it serves as tone for the film, but is not very listenable outside of that. Take the gloomy track "Emma," for example. It is so low key that you wonder why it is even included -- without a picture in front of it is turns up as dead air. "Into the City" and "You Have the Power" are synthetic orchestrations with better energy, not classic themes, but they do make for standout tracks.

 tags: various artists, dark city, music from and inspired by the motion picture, ost, soundtrack, 1998, flac,
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Various Artists - The Avengers: The Album (Music From & Inspired By The Motion Picture) (1998)

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Film Score, Electronic, Alternative Rock, Pop Rock
Label Number: 83118-2

© 1998 Atlantic Records
The Avengers was a quintessentially English television show, and even in its Americanized, updated feature film version, many of its sensibilities are British, not American. That's why the ska-punk of Sugar Ray and Dishwalla's post-grunge stand out on the otherwise stylish soundtrack to the Uma Thurman/Ralph Fiennes/Sean Connery wannabe blockbuster -- without flair and camp, it's hard to fit into the world of The Avengers. The Verve Pipe try to remedy that situation by collaborating with XTC's Andy Partridge, a quintessentially English pop songwriter who just happens to lack style; consequently, "Blow You Away" -- a tune that sports a modern, techno-conscious production previously unheard of in a Verve Pipe song -- is a catchy, well-constructed track that nevertheless sounds out of place on an album that's slanted toward modern British dance and pop. Most of the music on The Avengers is John Berry filtered through big beat and trip-hop. It's not necessarily cutting-edge -- Stereo MC's and Utah Saints are simply playing catch-up, while Grace Jones has never sounded more awkward. Much of the rest, however, is quite fun. Roni Size's "Visiting Angel" proves his mastery of elegant jungle; Suggs' ridiculous "I Am" has some charm; Babybird's "Bad Twin" is appropriately ironic in its melodic gloom; and Marius de Vries explodes the theme, re-creating it as a thundering club cut. These moments may not be enough to make The Avengers consistently entertaining, but it's enough to make it an enjoyable listen.

 tags: various artists, the avengers the album, music from and inspired by the motion picture, ost, 1998, flac,
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Various Artists - The All Time Greatest Movie Songs (1999)

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B, Pop Rock
Label Number: EK 69879

© 1999 Sony Music Soundtrax
Now, here's an album title to conjure with! What could The All Time Greatest Movie Songs be? Let's see, if we go by the most popular songs ever heard in the movies, we'd be talking about "White Christmas," "I Will Always Love You," "The Third Man Theme," "Cheek to Cheek," and "Buttons and Bows," to cite the longest running number one hits. Are any of those here? No. Well, OK, how about "greatest" as in "best," say, for example, Oscar winners like "Over the Rainbow," "All the Way," "Moon River," "The Way We Were," and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life"? Any of those here? Nope. OK, we give up. What are the all-time greatest movie songs? As it turns out, they are (with one, licensed exception) all songs that happen to be under the control of Sony Music and (with one exception) all songs from movies of the 1990s. Granted, there are some big hits and Oscar winners here, starting with Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" and including Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia" and Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle's "A Whole New World," and some of Sony's biggest stars of the moment, including Will Smith, Lauryn Hill, and Babyface, as well as blue-chip talents like Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, and Michael Jackson, are represented. But that title could only have been conceived by a marketing staff as ignorant as it is arrogant.

 tags: various artists, the all time greatest movie songs, 1999, flac,
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Various Artists - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2010)

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Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock, Glam Rock
Label Number: 0343-2

© 2010 Universal/ABKCO/Iliad
The soundtracks to movies adapted from comic books are often marketing free-for-alls; promoting bands takes precedence over choosing songs that make sense for the film. However, nothing could be further from the truth for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’s music. Since so much of the comic revolves around the bands that the characters play in, the film was already somewhat protected from having a bunch of random songs crammed into its soundtrack, but the film’s creative team ensured that the music was done right. Director Edgar Wright's other films (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, etc.) boast soundtracks that brim with personality onscreen and play more like mixtapes than albums in their own right; that feeling continues here with picks like Beachwood Sparks' “By Your Side,” T. Rex's “Teenage Dream,” and Frank Black's “I Heard Ramona Sing.” The musicians who bring the comic’s bands to life are just as cleverly chosen. Beck revisited his slacker-punk roots with the songs he wrote for Scott's band Sex Bob-Omb; though they’re performed by Michael Cera and the other actors in the film, “Threshold,” “Summertime,” and “Garbage Truck” still have Beck's gloriously messy early-‘90s vibe to them. Later, he contributes “Ramona,” a dreamy ballad that sounds more like his 2000s work. Meanwhile, Broken Social Scene are Crash and the Boys, the rival band whose “I’m So Sad, So Very Very Sad” lasts a whopping five seconds. Every part of the soundtrack shows how much care went into it, from choosing artists like Broken Social Scene and Metric to nod to the story’s Canadian setting, to the 8-bit version of “Threshold” that reflects Pilgrim’s immersion in video games. The sweetest detail may be the song that started it all: “Scott Pilgrim,” by the Canadian all-female band Plumtree from their 1997 album Predicts the Future, holds within it all the breathless true love and crunchy guitar goodness that sparked the comic. Somehow, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World's music remains true not just to the comic, but to the work of everyone involved in the story at every stage, with plenty of fun and heart to boot.

 tags: various artists, scott pilgrim vs the world, original motion picture soundtrack, ost, 2010, flac,
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September 16, 2024

Ambrose Slade - Beginnings (1969)

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*European first pressing on CD. 
This pressing has been digitally remastered 
by Jim Lea for for Perseverance Ltd. 
Contains 12 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Label Number: 849 185-2

© 1969-1991 Polydor
Time was, Beginnings represented a holy grail of sorts for Slade fans (and original Fontana pressings still do). Thankfully, a rash of reissues have taken much of the edge of the market, and the band's debut album, cut while they still traded as Ambrose Slade, is readily available for all to hear, and what a joy it is. Of course, little of what you'd expect from Slade is actually in place, although Noddy Holder's vocals, naturally, are unmistakable. The songwriting duties are split between well-executed covers and full band compositions -- the Holder/Jim Lea team of future renown has still to crystallize itself, and their one joint effort, the hauntingly folky "Pity the Mother," has little in common with anything the future held. But the opening "Genesis" will be familiar to anyone who rocked out to the second album's "Know Who You Are," proving that the band already knew a great song when they wrote one, and a cover of "Born to Be Wild" sets them up for the definitive version featured on the first live album. A floor-shaking slam through the Amboy Dukes' "Journey to the Center of Your Mind," and a suitably deranged romp through Frank Zappa's "Ain't Got No Heart," meanwhile, demonstrate the band's musical versatility, and while there are a handful of disappointments ("Martha My Dear" is almost heinous), still Beginnings stands as, indeed, a fine beginning. But things were going to get a lot better than this.

 tags: ambrose slade, beginnings, 1969, flac,
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Slade - Play It Loud (1970)

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*U.K. first pressing on CD. 
This pressing was digitally remastered 
by Jim Lea for Perseverance Ltd.
Contains 12 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Hard Rock
Label Number: 849 178-2

© 1970-1991 Polydor
This album demonstrates Slade's image evolving, along with their sounds; four rather respectable lads are on the vintage cover photo, reversed to negative for the back side, delivering a more refined hard rock than portrayed by future titles like "Gudbuy T'Jane" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now." Chas Chandler's production beefs up the bottom with noticeably more bass and piano than on Ballzy by Ambrose Slade. Also there is less cover music here. What sounds like the opening to the Yardbirds version of Graham Gouldman's "For Your Love" emerges as Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil's "The Shape of Things to Come." Things to come is exactly what this album is, from the Ten Years After inspired original "Raven" to the more ominous "See Us Here," which is Noddy Holder sounding as sinister as Ozzie. Slade has gone from redoing classics of the genre to copping riffs and writing their own rock essays. "See Us Here" is subtle Black Sabbath, when the Sabs are on their best behavior. One of the album's most outstanding tracks is "Dapple Rose," a take-off of the Move when Jimmy Miller gave that band their number one British hit, "Blackberry Way." The violin adds to the majesty of the big vocals and pretty guitar, delivering a commercial performance very unlike the stuff that would make them famous. J. Griffin/R.Royer's "Could I" sounds like heavy Chinn/Chapman with a sludgy solid hook that gives birth to an elegant chorus and fade. Very sophisticated, which is where the first album was heading. "Know Who You Are" is a wonderful study here; the band is more proper dipping into that Yardbirds bag again on this original. By the time it was re-released on Slade Alive, only two years later, the song would become part of their glam success. But here, Neville "Noddy" Holder is kept on key by Chas Chandler, and that restraint makes for an intelligent album of rock which draws from all of the aforementioned sources, Ten Years After, Sabbath, "The Move," Yardbirds, as well as the Beatles, Steppenwolf, and Kaleidoscope U.K. Surprisingly, there's no Animals or Hendrix that can be seen on the surface, an original like "Pouk Hill" leaning more toward the rock side of things than the blues embraced by Jimi and Eric Burdon. Nick Innes' "Angelina," however, takes that early pop/blues sound Z.Z.Top gave to their early-'70s single "Francene" and shows what that style sounds like when performed by Englishmen as opposed to Americans. "Dirty Joker" seems almost anti-gay, a paradox for a band that would be so essential to the glam blitz which Bowie, T. Rex, and Mott the Hoople were all part of. There should be more similarities to Mott, but there are not, the final track, "Sweet Box," taking a Beatles riff from "She Said" and mutating it beyond recognition, experimenting with rock & roll in an inspiring way. Although the latter-day Slade were fun, it is the music of Ballzy and Play It Loud which was more serious and which demands repeated listenings. Wonder what would have happened if Slade had dismissed the humor and kept on this more serious course? They certainly had the chops for it, and this is, on the whole, a good record apart from what they became famous for.

 tags: slade, play it loud, 1970, flac,
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Slade - Old, New, Borrowed & Blue (1974)

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*European first pressing on CD. 
This pressing was digitally remastered 
by Jim Lea for Perseverance Ltd. 
Contains 12 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Glam Rock
Label Number: 849 181-2

© 1974-1991 Polydor
It took Slade two years and one hits-and-rarities compilation (Sladest) to get around to following up 1972's U.K. chart-topping Slayed?, two years during which the entire complexion of the band had altered dramatically. No longer the rampant yobs out on the stomp of yore, the quartet members placed the rabble-rousing bombast of old far behind them during 1974, and switched their songwriting efforts to more mellow pastures -- the gentle "Everyday," the yearning "Far Far Away," and the decidedly pretty "Miles Out to Sea." Old New Borrowed and Blue was the album that introduced the chrysalis to its audience -- not that you'd know it from the opening bellow. Riding a raw guitar line based, very loosely, around the guttural riffing of the Beatles' "Birthday," "Just a Little Bit" cranks in with almost metallic dynamics, even retaining the in-concert ad-libbing that had long since made it a highlight of the live show. "We're Gonna Raise the Roof," "When the Lights Are Out," and "My Town," too, offer little that Slade wasn't already well renowned for and that, perhaps, was what the bandmembers were thinking as well. The glitter-soaked thunderclap was old news now; they could write those rockers in their sleep. The vaudeville piano-led "Find Yourself a Rainbow," though, was new territory altogether, while the country-rock-inflected "How Can It Be" posited a direction that Holder himself admitted had long been a regular on his home turntable. It was "Everyday," however, that held the secret of the band's future, a crowd-swaying singalong of such scarf-waving majesty that it might well be single-handedly responsible for every great record U2 has ever made. It was certainly Slade's most memorable new single in a while and, as the cue for further airborne anthems, it became one of the most crucial songs in the group's entire repertoire. On an album that, at best, can be described as patchy, "Everyday" is a new day altogether.

 tags: slade, old new borrowed and blue, 1974, flac,
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