November 30, 2021

Maxwell - Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (1996)

*A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: R&B
Label Number: CK 66434

© 1996 Columbia Records
Maxwell's debut offers up a sophisticated and stylized take on late-'60s and early-'70 soul. Sam CookeMarvin GayeAl Green, and the like are subtly referenced over the course of these 11 tracks of wide-screen soul. Mixing sensual funk with ballad sincerity, Maxwell coolly sings through highlights like "Welcome," "...Til the Cops Come Knockin'," and "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)." The atmospheric, cool-breeze soundscape comes courtesy of Maxwell and Sade cohort Stuart Mathewman. More expansive and airy sounding than the deep groove and gospel sides by fellow retro-soulster D'AngeloUrban Hang Suite is destined to become a classic contemporary R&B disc.

tags: maxwell, maxwells urban hang suite, 1996, flac,

Rahzel - Make The Music 2000 (1999)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: MCADE 11938

© 1999 MCA Records
Spinbacks, rewinds, incredibly deft scratching, playing the old-school hits for an in-the-know audience -- these are the skills that have put hip-hop DJs from Grandmaster Flash to Q-Bert above their contemporaries. Welcome to the ranks one of the most unique talents hip-hop has ever seen: the human turntable known as Rahzel, the Godfather of Noyze. There've been several great human beatboxes in the world of hip-hop (Doug E. Fresh is the most famous), but Rahzel's techniques at recreating a DJ on the turntables are close to unbelievable. On several tracks (taken from live performances), he even recreates specific hip-hop classics -- LL Cool J's "Rock the Bells" and Wu-Tang Clan's "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothing to F*** With" -- with surprising accuracy. And for those with the impression Rahzel is a novelty who can't hold up over the course of a full-length, Make the Music 2000 proves that he's a great lyricist and straight-ahead rapper as well. The production is uniformly excellent, including trackmasters Marley Marl (on the spotlight title track), Pete Rock, Scott Storch, and Bob Power, as well as Rahzel himself on a few tracks -- including one of the best, "Bubblin' Bubblin' (Pina Colada)." And the man also vaults a hurdle with the album's guest rappers. While incredibly passé on most rap albums circa 1999, appearing here are excellent names like Q-Tip, Branford MarsalisSlick Rick, and Erykah Badu. It's not only one of the most fun hip-hop albums of the year, it's one of the best.

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tags: rahzel, make the music 2000, 1999, flac,

Various Artists - Wide Angles (1999)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: BSRCD 10001

© 1999 Blinside Recordings
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tags: various artists, wide angles, 1999, flac,

Various Artists - UHB 4: Stop & Retaliate (1999)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: ORO4000

© 1999 Outhouse/Revenge Entertainment
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tags: various artists, uhb 4 stop and retaliate, 1999, flac,

Angelcorpse - Exterminate (1998)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Death Metal
Style: Blackened Death Metal
Label Number: OPCD 066

© 1998 Osmose Productions
Well, it just goes to show that trusting first impressions can easily be a mistake. When I first played _Exterminate_'s 40 minutes through my stereo, I thought the reports of this album's quality had been grossly exaggerated. What I thought of _Exterminate_ after my first listen was that it was rather average. However, I persisted. On about my sixth spin, I was rewarded for my persistence. It was like suddenly my speakers had been fixed or my ears unblocked: I suddenly realized that _Exterminate_ rules! Though _Exterminate_ is not one of the year's most innovative death metal albums, it has power, energy and riffing to rival even the most formidable of contenders. Imagine "Altars of Madness 2", but without the imitating genericism that this tag suggests. This has the pure energy and vicious death metal kick which makes albums like _AoM_, _Left Hand Path_ and _Necroticism -- Descanting the Insalubrious_ so amazing. This is one searing piece of death metal brutality. Pete Helmkamp's vocals and bass leave deep scars, the twin guitar attack of Gene Palubicki and Bill Taylor further burn the body beyond recognition and John Longstreth's drums clinch the deal by eradicating any flesh still left. These war analogies do not only come from my twisted mind and the wholly violent quality of the music: Helmkamp's lyrics also focus on war and violence and fit the battle-hungry music to a "t". Listening to the chorus of "Into the Storm of Steel" ("Exterminate -- feed the battlefield hunger, With Honor that is loyalty unto death"), you can hear and experience the power which the two combined can produce. I really can't see any fan of brilliant, powerful death metal resisting the temptation to indulge in serious neck snapping activities as a result of listening to _Exterminate_. Though _Exterminate_ has highlights ("Into the Storm of Steel", "That Which Lies Upon", "Sons of Vengeance"), you don't sit there waiting for a good song. _Exterminate_ is a 40 minute hymn to war, death and brutally fast death metal. Prepare yourself for the slaughter.

tags: angelcorpse, exterminate, 1998, flac,

Angelcorpse - Of Lucifer & Lightning (2007)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Death Metal
Style: Blackened Death Metal
Label Number: OPCD 2194

© 2007 Osmose Productions
Judging from their name alone, there should be confusion as to what style of music Angel Corpse specialize in. But if you're still searching for answers, just take a gander at the album title and cover art of their 2007 release, Of Lucifer & Lightning (with a cover illustration depicting what appears to be Beelzebub eating an upside-down Jesus Christ, with Armageddon going on in the background). Yep, black metal/death metal is the name of the game here -- gobs of it. Indecipherable vocals, metronome-gone-mad drumming, rubbery riffs, and spine-tingling guitar solos abound -- a recipe that has been adopted by countless similarly styled extreme metal bands since the 1980s. But if straight-ahead, no-frills death metal is what you're looking for, such rapid-fire tracks as "Antichrist Vanguard" and "Henexsabbat" should leave you writhing in delight.

tags: angelcorpse, of lucifer and lighting, 2007, flac,

Acetone - Acetone (1997)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Indie Rock
Label Number: 9 46818-2

© 1997 Vapor Records
Acetone's third proper album finds the trio sinking deeper into a well of despair, with nothing but sparse guitar pickings, cracked vocals, and shambling rock figures to help. After the group picked up a rootsy bent on the 1995 mini-LP I Guess I Would, they seemed too timid to even imagine the up-tempo rock songs of their debut, when that was the one thing that worked for them. The tracks on Acetone seem barely thought through, and the hopelessly out-of-tune vocals by Richie Lee (not to mention the haphazard harmonies of Mark Lightcap) come across as calculatingly folksy.

tags: acetone, acetone album, 1997, flac,

Acetone - If You Only Knew (1996)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Indie Rock
Label Number: Yard cd12

© 1996 Vernon Yard Recordings
Half of this record was recorded in Nashville, but it contains none of the twang of 1995's I Guess I Would EP. The band instead honed their sound down to a fine point, giving their first fully realized album. "If You Only Knew" leads off and it perfectly sums up the sound of the band with its gliding, harmonious blend of vocals, bass, and guitar. Snaking basslines rise up and the band finally capture the sound of the Velvet Underground's third record. "In the Light" introduces the pattern of Acetone, which involves taking a gentle riff, repeating it slowly, adding whispered vocals, and then slowly dropping a low-key drum track in. This is material that is often attempted, and often completed with less than interesting results. Acetone's gift lies in their ability to keep their low-key blues rooted in melody and something close to funky. This is most evident in "I've Enjoyed as Much of This as I Can," when both Mark Lightcap and Richie Lee exchange medicated vocals while a slippery guitar theme repeats and repeats, drawing the listener into some half-lit room of guitars and smoke. The song "99" takes the upbeat route, and it's this tendency to do so that is what separates them from any of their space rock peers (perhaps separating them from wider acclaim as well). The band are unafraid to rock in the classic sense. A track like "When You're Gone," with its slow burn and gradual buildup, pretty much explains why the band have been cited as favorites by bands like the Verve and Spiritualized. Unafraid to show their own influences, "Hound Dog" takes your basic Bo Diddley riff and slows it down by about half, and adds gracious amounts of slowly enveloping guitar work. Not willing to take the simple loud/soft dynamic like so many other bands in the same space, Acetone succeed because of their ability to sound like a group rather than a formula.

tags: acetone, if you only knew, 1996, flac,

Bad Azz - Personal Business (2001)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Style: Gangsta Rap, Pop Rap
Label Number: 04992 50076 2 6

© 2001 Priority Records
Bad Azz first burst onto the scene as a member of the LBC crew, which Snoop Dogg affiliation helped elevate his career. After appearing alongside some of the West Coast's finest, Bad Azz debuts with PERSONAL BUSINESS, bringing his own brand of gangsta rap to the forefront. Bad Azz's hardcore production adds the right flavor to his quick-tongued lyrics on songs such as "W.C.Plantation" and "Tha Money in the Briefcase," and he catches the high rollers with smoothed-out trackslike "Too Many Choices" and "It's On All Day." Joined by Ice Cube and Xzibit, on PERSONAL BUSINESS Bad Azz gets his business right.

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tags: bad azz, personal business, 2001, flac,

Mil - Street Scriptures (2001)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Style: Gangsta Rap, Pop Rap
Label Number: 01241-41709-2

© 2001 Jive Records
Fresh off the success of other Philadelphia rappers such as Eve, Beanie Siegel, and the Roots, Mil tries to add his name to the list of hip-hop artists who came out of the City of Brotherly Love. While Mil does little to raise Philly's musical profile, he does nothing to embarrass his hometown either. Mil is the protégé of Siegel and on tracks like "Street Shit," Mil sounds remarkably like his mentor. Most of the songs on the Street Scriptures are the same time-tested tales of street life with beats provided by some of the biggest names in hip-hop, such as Mannie Fresh and Irv Gotti. "Murda Mil" is a slow, monotonous track with little to say. Certain tracks work when he adds biographical elements to the lyrics as in "'Put Me On," but there are too few of those moments in Street Scriptures. While Mil does a serviceable job, it's hard not to think that he could have done more, considering all the assets he had to work with.

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tags: mil, street scriptures, 2001, flac,

Marley Marl - Re-Entry (2001)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: BBEBGCD004

© 2001 BBE
At 39 years of age, veteran rap producer Marley Marl's return to recording came as part of the London-based BBE (Barely Breaking Even) label's Beat Generation series. The series was an attempt to reclaim hip-hop from the clutches of overexposure. While Marl hadn't really recorded a true full-length album since his In Control, Vol. 2 in 1991, he remained a fixture in the hip-hop community (and influence on producers like Pete Rock and Jay Dee), producing tracks throughout the '90s for artists such as Capone-N-Noreaga, Rakim, and K Def & Larry O. Marl was directly responsible for putting together the Juice Crew, one of hip-hop's all-time elite teams that included the likes of Roxanne Shante, MC Shan, Big Daddy Kane, Masta Ace, and Biz Markie. The Juice Crew's late-'80s battle for rap supremacy with KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions remains one of the most compelling legends of rap lore. Re-Entry's against-the-grain format just might have won over a few young undergrounders, but it is not extraordinary by any stretch. One would have thought that a super-producer of Marl's caliber would fetch a number of name MCs; this is unfortunately not the case, with the exception of Big Daddy Kane, Capone, and a couple of talented undergrounders. Some of the old Marl magic does resurface on the thuggish "What U Hold Down," and the maestro even branches out on the jazz-funk exploration "Hummin'," which features hip-hop forefather Roy Ayers. Many of the cuts here are just instrumentals that surely smack of filler, but Re-Entry certainly has its moments -- moments that might just have some listeners reminiscing back to the Juice Crew era.

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tags: marley marl, re entry, 2001, flac,

DJ Clue - The Professional 2 (2001)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Style: Gangsta Rap, Pop Rap
Label Number: 314 542 325-2

© 2001 Roc-A-Fella Records
Mixtape DJs have sure come a long way over the years, and no one knows that better than DJ Clue? The NY-based spinner got his start peddling mixtapes on the streets. A few years later, his album The Professional, Pt. 2 hit the Billboard Top Ten album chart. Looking at the list of artists on Clue?'s play list, it's easy to see why the album has had such success. This time out, Clue? enlisted the likes of Jay-ZDMXBeanie SigelRedmanNasFoxy BrownTrick Daddy, and Eminem among many others. What is likely to draw the attention of hip-hop fans are the exclusive tracks on the album, including "Change the Game (Remix)," which mixes artists from both coasts such as tha Dogg PoundJay-ZBeanie Sigel, and Memphis Bleek. Another exclusive track is "What the Beat" with Method ManEminem, and Royce da 5'9". Also impressive are "Live From the Bridge" by Nas and "The Best of Queens" by Mobb Deep. While there aren't any dead spots on the album, The Professional, Pt. 2 suffers in comparison to some of Clue?'s other mixtapes because he plays it safe, relying too heavily on big-name rappers. One of the joys of a good mixtape is discovering new artists alongside more established ones, but Clue? offers too few opportunities to check out something new. Also annoying is Clue?'s habit of shouting over all of the tracks. While it's common for mixtape DJs to shout and give shoutouts over tracks, Clue? takes it to an extreme. There is a lot to like about The Professional, Pt. 2. He should let the music speak for itself.

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tags: dj clue, the professional 2,  2001, flac,

DJ Clue - The Professional 3 (2006)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Style: Gangsta Rap, Pop Rap
Label Number: B0006163-02

© 2006 Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

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tags: dj clue, the professional 3, 2006, flac,

November 29, 2021

Blonde Redhead - Blonde Redhead (1995)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Indie Rock
Label Number: SLR 011

© 1995 Smells lIke Records
Recalling the no wave movement of the late '70s, the self-titled debut of New York City's Blonde Redhead is a glorious piece of dense, art-damaged noise, with songs that move from drifting melodicism to raging aural assaults in the course of a few measures. Taking their cues most directly from Sonic Youth (Steve Shelley produced the album), Blonde Redhead revel in noise and create vast sonic landscapes out of which songs naturally emerge. The focus here tends to be on atmospherics, and yet there is never the feeling of utter chaos; instead, the album functions like a work of controlled mayhem, referencing a wide range of musical approaches. The opening track, "I Don't Want U," starts off like jazz-rock, building momentum until it erupts in a blast of indie rock noise, anchored throughout by a steadily rolling bassline. "Snippet"'s quite-loud-quiet dynamics are offset by the driving rock of "Mama Cita," and the album's closer, "Girl Boy," comes across like delirious dream pop. The entire album is drenched in dense, multilayered feedback, with a rhythm section that works to keep the guitars in control, underpinning the attack. Blonde Redhead have created a great record, especially for fans of experimental rock: difficult, noisy, and exhilarating.

tags: blonde redhead, blonde redhead album, 1995, flac,

Blonde Redhead - La Mia Vita Violenta (1995)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Indie Rock
Label Number: SLR#018

© 1995 Smells Like Records
With their second release, La Mia Vita ViolentaBlonde Redhead maintain their organically low-fi aesthetic and continue to prove themselves as one of indie rock's real triumphs. Even after the departure of guitarist Maki Takahashi, they still make more noise with three people than most bands could make with ten. Guitars tear into the songs -- pointed, direct, and tough -- while the vocals of Kazu Makino and Amedeo Pace weave tightly into drummer Simone Pace's impeccably precise backing. Timing is everything, and Blonde Redhead certainly have it. They're dirty when they need to be and crystal-clear when the situation calls for it. Never angry, the trio plays hard and fast to the point where the instruments seem to play themselves with the deftest of precision. The production is so skillful that even with the most Spartan of recording gear, guitars end up sounding synthetic, in that painting-looks-like-a-photograph kind of way. And the volatile changes -- from sweet acoustic strums to drilling power chords -- make this album a whirl of unexpected surprises. La Mia Vita Violenta is math rock without the nerdiness and art rock without the pretentiousness.

tags: blonde redhead, la mia vita violenta, 1995, flac,

Blonde Redhead - Misery Is a Butterfly (2004)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Indie Rock
Label Number: CAD 2409 CD

© 2004 4AD
In keeping with the group's move from Touch & Go to 4AD, Blonde Redhead's Misery Is a Butterfly is their darkest and most delicate album to date. The brilliant Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons and Melodie Citronique EP found the band moving away from the cerebral, no wave-influenced style of their earlier albums and toward a more intricate, emotional sound, but this album's preoccupation with filigree and shadow both reflects and represents the sensibilities of the label that released This Mortal Coil's Filigree and Shadow almost two decades earlier. The band's transition from their old home to their new one is smooth, but not as smooth as the album's actual sound; Misery Is a Butterfly's lush production and arrangements polish away with virtually all of the edges and angles that still informed their sound on their most recent recordings and pretty much defined their earliest ones. The move is both liberating and limiting: the album's soft focus allows Blonde Redhead to explore its relatively newfound romanticism more deeply than before -- particularly on the Eastern-tinged "Anticipation" -- but with less tension between the fragile and harsh aspects of the band's sound, its soft focus occasionally drifts into lack of focus. Songs such as "Melody" and the title track are lovely, but feel busier and more drawn-out than necessary; however, the indulgence that makes Misery Is a Butterfly's weakest moments somewhat ponderous also makes its best songs sweepingly romantic. The strings and keyboards that swirl around "Elephant Woman," "Doll Is Mine," and the gorgeous duet "Pink Love" give the album a brooding, overwrought feeling that conjures up fairy tales and lovesick recluses, and the album's song titles are just as evocative, alluding to love that is distorted, bruised, and in the case of "Equus," usually forbidden. There's something decadent about the album's layers of sound, and its wide scope paradoxically makes it one of Blonde Redhead's most insular albums; indeed, the indulgent isolation that permeates Misery Is a Butterfly makes it akin to Suede's Dog Man Star and Goldfrapp's Felt Mountain, in mood if not exactly in sound. The Blonde Redhead of old returns, somewhat, on more high-strung songs like "Falling Man" and "Maddening Cloud," both of which add some much-needed urgency to the album's mannered heartache. Misery Is a Butterfly might be a slightly less magical album than Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons because the listener is more aware of the effort going into the spell, but it's still an album of unusual grace.

tags: blonde redhead, misery is a butterfly, 2004, flac,

Blonde Redhead - 23 (2007)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Indie Rock
Label Number: CAD 2717CD

© 2007 4AD
With each album since Melody of Certain Damaged LemonsBlonde Redhead has made huge strides forward with their sound. Misery Is a Butterfly pitted fragile melodies against dark, swirling arrangements, and its tragic glamour turned the album into a cult favorite. On 23, the band trades the cloistered chamber rock of Butterfly for tone-bending dream pop and subtle electronics; while the wide open spaces sound a little bare at first, this streamlined approach ends up making this Blonde Redhead's loveliest and most accessible work yet. The group begins each album with a bold statement of purpose, and 23 is no different. The epic title track's delicate electronic rhythms, swooping, shimmering guitars, and majestically bittersweet melody pitch it somewhere between My Bloody Valentine and Asobi Seksu, showing how a more restrained Blonde Redhead can still sound lush and haunting. "Spring and Summer by Fall"'s streaming, comet-tail guitars and "Silently"'s thorny melody hark back to Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, while "Heroine"'s vocoders sound surprisingly fresh, giving the song a fairy tale-meets-sci-fi vibe. This more whimsical, if not exactly lighthearted, feel flows through much of 23, especially on "Dr. Strangeluv," which boasts playful percussion and sparkling synths, and "Top Ranking," which layers Kazu Makino's vocals into futuristic girl group harmonies. However, Blonde Redhead hasn't ditched the brooding beauty of Misery Is a Butterfly entirely. "The Dress" is just as darkly stunning as any song on that album, with looping gasps and insistent guitars circling lyrics like "the fear starts creeping up when you have so much to lose," while "SW"'s melody and psychedelic brass interlude have a Butterfly-esque intensity. And as always, Blonde Redhead has a flair for haunting melodies, particularly on "Publisher," the chorus of which sounds peculiarly like Aerosmith's "Dream On." 23 is stunning -- in fact, its only flaw might be that its track listing is a little top-heavy, resulting in an album with an amazing first half and a flip side that is only very good. Nitpicking aside, 23 is mysterious and modern, with an artfully strange beauty that is more memorable than perfection.

tags: blonde redhead, 23, 2007, flac,

Cenospecies - In Definition (2003)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: pk3356

© 2003 Peak Records
*No professional reviews are available for this release.

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tags: cenospecies, in definition, 2003, flac,

Mr. Complex - Hold This Down (2001)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: SVH-010

© 2001 Seven Heads/CoRecords
To too many people this might as well be Mr. Complex's first LP, as the first was rather slept on and uncirculated. His connection with 7 Heads Records has definitely boosted his street credibility, with people like El Da Sensei of the Artifacts on their management team and up-and-coming artists such as J-Live and the Unspoken Heard in their lineup. The album is tight from the opening track to the inspired live performance in Belgium, Germany at the end. Complex is just that -- a complex metaphorical rapper, intelligent enough to know there's more to rap about than guns, girls, and drugs. Admittedly, he's a lot easier to follow and understand that other metaphorical rhymers such as Aesop Rock or Chino XL, but still brings a fresh flow that sounds very loosely like Pharoahe Monch. A good album throughout, and surely worth its purchase price.

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tags: mr complex, hold this down, 2001, flac,

November 28, 2021

Ice Cube - Kill At Will: E.P. (1990)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Style: Gangsta Rap, Political Hip-Hop
Label Number: CDS 7230

© 1990 Priority Records
Ice Cube's riveting debut album, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, was still burning up the charts when Priority Records released this EP, which lacks that album's overall excellence but has its moments. With Kill at WillCube unveiled his engaging "The Product" and "Dead Homiez," a poignant lament for the victims of black-on-black crime that is among the best songs he's ever written. Enjoyable but not essential are remixes of "Endangered Species (Tales From the Darkside)" and the outrageous "Get Off My Dick and Tell Yo Bitch to Come Here." Clearly, Kill at Will was intended for hardcore fans rather than casual listeners. [The EP was later added to a 2003 expanded edition of AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted.]

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tags: ice cube, kill at will, ep, 1990, flac,