Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Pop Rock
Label Number: 483998 2
© 1996 Epic
*No professional reviews are available for this release.
tags: ricky ross, what you are, 1996, flac,
December 20, 2024
Rick Astley - Greatest Hits (2002)
Genre: Pop Rock, Pop
Label Number: 74321 955122
© 2002 BMG/RCA Records
The folks at BMG Heritage did a wonderful job assembling Rick Astley's long-overdue Greatest Hits, for it succeeds in presenting a definitive and complete collection of the 1980s pop sensation's U.S. and U.K. hits. Not only does this set include all of his singles, it also boasts excellent liner notes, photographs, and chart positions. Included are his American chart-toppers "Together Forever" and "Never Gonna Give You Up," the latter arguably one of the 1980s' most recognizable songs, as well as all of his other Top Ten hits, including the Motown-ish "It Would Take a Strong, Strong Man," "She Wants to Dance With Me," and the 1991 ballad hit "Cry for Help." All of Astley's U.K. hits are accounted for, including "When I Fall in Love" and its non-album B-side, "My Arms Keep Missing You," "Take Me to Your Heart," "Whenever You Need Somebody," and "Hold Me in Your Arms," as well as lesser-known singles such as "Hopelessly," "Move Right Out," "Giving up on Love," and "The Ones You Love." Despite the years and changes in musical trends, the songs on this collection still sound fresh and Astley's voice always packs a wallop and leaves one with the undeniable impression that he was much more than a passing fad; he was, in fact, an extremely underrated and timeless talent who should be remembered as much more than simply a late-'80s pop phenomenon.
tags: rick astley, greatest hits, 2002, flac,
Killah Priest - Elizabeth (Introduction To The Psychic) (2009)
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Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: PRO 264
© 2009 Proverbs Records
It's hard to believe that the release date for Wu-Tang Clan cohort Killah Priest's Elizabeth: Introduction to the Psychic wasn't chosen strategically, as it's difficult to imagine a more appropriate time for its unveiling than right before Halloween. There are enough creepy vibes, mysterious murders, spooky spirits, and supernatural monsters teeming from these tracks to fill a dozen horror-film festivals. But as anyone even casually familiar with Priest's output knows, he's not about graphic, Geto Boys horrorcore -- there's a more spiritual/philosophical context to the fright-night feel of Elizabeth. For the work of most rappers, the response "What the hell is he talking about?" would represent a failure to communicate, but for Priest, it's probably right in line with his intentions. Despite the album's titular portent, he doesn't try to tell any linear stories here, striving instead to stir up a mix of wonder, fear, and thrilling confusion in listeners? It's not even clear exactly who Elizabeth is -- from the cover photo and the few hints dropped, an educated guess might be the 19th century Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria, but closer examination makes even that possibility seem unlikely. Like everything else here, she's most likely a product of Priest's fertile, fiendish imagination. Throughout the album, he freely mixes dashes of religious, historical, and mystical imagery with the occasional touch of gangsta sensibility, though this is the furthest from street-real you can possibly get. It's a dazzling trip that finds "the queen of the water spirits" rubbing shoulders with alien abductions, descriptions of elaborate (Medieval?) torture devices, cosmic philosophy, and references to Priest's connection with the Black Hebrew Israelites. The musical framework is similarly far removed from the landscape of mainstream rap. You'll find no jeep beats or shout-out pop hooks here, and the settings incorporate everything from classical guitar patterns to excerpts from the soundtracks of obscure cartoons. The fact that Priest is able to make all these disparate elements work together, not to mention the fact that they work consistently across a double-length album, surely puts him in the running for some kind of Mad Genius of Hip-Hop award.
* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled.
tags: killah priest, elizabeth, introduction to the psychic, 2009, flac,
December 12, 2024
Mystidious Misfitss - A Who Dat? (2024 Reissue)
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*This is a digital store download purchased from Bandcamp.
Originally released in 1995 on CD and LP.
It was reissued in 2024 by 90's tapes.
This pressing contains 23 tracks total.
Country: U.S.A.Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: None
© 1995-2024 90's Tapes
*No professional reviews are available for this release.
* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled.
tags: mystidious misfitss, a who dat, 1995, 2024, reissue, flac,
Kindred The Family Soul - Surrender To Love (2003)
Genre: Neo Soul
Label Number: HB 00008
© 2003 Epic/Hidden Beach Recordings
Philadelphia's Kindred the Family Soul -- aka Fatin Dantzler and Aja Graydon -- are a married duo that fronts a ten-piece band and plays some of the most inspiring melds of soul, R&B, hip-hop, funk, pop, smooth jazz, and soft rock. Surrender to Love is the act's debut full length -- an EP appeared during the previous summer to critical and club acclaim. The quality in all of these self-penned titles is astonishing given what passes for soul these days. One can hear the fine, sweet, emotionally and musically true inspiration of Womack & Womack, Ashford & Simpson, Roberta Flack, and Donny Hathaway here, but also the nu-soul grooves of Fertile Ground, Julie Dexter, and YahZarah as well. The shifting jazzy guitars in "Rhythm of Life," as they wind their way around the syncopated vocals, both as exchanged lines between the pair and as a chorus with a hi-hat and rim-shotting snare, make for a gorgeous midtempo groover that crosses the slick jazzy sophistication of Steely Dan with the soul grit of Lauryn Hill and Freda Payne. The album's first single, with its sweet yet spare washes of strings, subtly shaded guitars, and Dantzler's sweet and in-the-pocket tenor phrasing, is a plea for respite from the grimness of urban life. When Graydon hits the chorus and slides in a filler tag, the cut opens up, and when her verse begins, the listener understands that this is a love song above all, and as lovers plead for transcendence with one another, the listener is moved deeply into their wish for deliverance. There are 18 tracks here, and not a one of them is filler. Each moment of Surrender to Love is saturated in both accessibility and integrity. Soul music is far from dead if one listens to Kindred and their peers; they make the argument that no matter how gritty, how grim the circumstance, the struggle is not without merit. Give a listen to "We," with its manifesto of home in a slow-tempo poetic groove. Other standouts -- even though it's tough to choose -- are "What Happens Now," "Contentment" with its Tuck & Patti airiness, the anthemic "Spread the Word" with its Latin percussion-drenched funk that is equal parts Sly Stone, Ray Barretto, and War, the swinging, jazzed out "If I," which could have been sung by Monday Michiru, and the overdriven hip-hopping funk of "Party's Over." (There's a hidden bonus track after cut 18 so don't take it off prematurely.) This is as impressive a debut as one is likely to encounter in 2003. A mindblower.
tags: kindred the family soul, surrender to love, 2003, flac,
Kindred The Family Soul - In This Life Together (2005)
Genre: Neo Soul
Label Number: EK 96512
© 2005 Hidden Beach/Epic Records
The Ashford & Simpson of neo-soul, Fatin Dantzler and Aja Graydon, aka Kindred the Family Soul, continue their ongoing autobiography in song with their second album, In This Life Together, its title borrowed from a dual memoir by the husband-and-wife acting and activist team of Ruby Dee and the late Ossie Davis, who is quoted and name-checked in "The Quote (Interlude)." Typical of neo-soul recordings, the music, provided by a succession of multi-instrumentalist composer/producers (Yameen, Dinky Bingham, Boy Genius, Kristin Price, Chuck Treece, Easy Mo Be, Elise Perry, Anthony Bell, etc.), is mid-tempo, synthesizer-and-drum-programming-driven approximations of 1970s soul in the manner of Marvin Gaye and Sly & the Family Stone, tricked out with contemporary hip-hop elements, including a couple of unnecessary guest raps. Over the tracks, Dantzler and Graydon improvise singsong melodies and intone repetitive hooks, but what really matters is not the music, it's the message. The couple are unabashedly autobiographical; you can't get through the first real song, "Thru Love," without knowing how many children they have and what their sexes are (a son and two daughters), and by the final track, "Bed Time Story," you're being informed, "Aquil has started a new school, and oooh he's doing well." Such details, however, only serve to make their material universal. In contrast to most urban music (and most pop music in general), the subjects here do not concern new love or love gone wrong, they are about the love continuing in a real, committed relationship, that of a contemporary, working-class African-American couple. That love faces many challenges -- the word "stress" turns up in no less than four songs (post-traumatic on one occasion), and "pressure" and "struggle" are repeated, too. Even in a mutual love song like "Thru Love," the singers pause to ask, "Still, who says it's gonna last forever?" But this is more than just couples therapy set to music. "Sneak a Freak" addresses the possibilities of intimacy sandwiched in between all of life's responsibilities; "Woman First" is Graydon's reflection on how her husband's love helps her get through daily strife ("Ever since I had the babies, I just don't feel the same"); and "Message to Marvin" is an update on Gaye's "What's Going On," with the chorus, "What the hell is going on?" There are also songs of faith ("As of Yet") and reflections on parents ("Struggle No More," which oddly contains a verse contributed and sung by India.Arie that is a complete non sequitur). In other words, the collection presents a full-scale portrait of life for a loving, struggling, contemporary couple with three kids trying to keep things together, a life not that different from most people's. That is actually a refreshing perspective to find expressed in popular music, and one a wide audience should be able to identify with.
tags: kindred the family soul, in this life together, 2005, flac,
Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From a Young Man (2010)
Genre: Alternative Rock
Label Number: 88697741882
© 2010 Columbia/Sony Music
It’s tempting to view Postcards from a Young Man as the Everything Must Go to Journal for Plague Lovers’ The Holy Bible, but the analogy isn’t quite that simple. Everything Must Go was cathartic, the bandmembers exorcizing their grief after the disappearance of Richey Edwards, but Postcards from a Young Man is as celebratory as the Manics get, a record that recklessly flirts with joyousness. Once again, the band abandons coiled, tense art-punk for anthemic stadium-fillers, creating arrangements so overloaded they threaten to collapse in a tower of sitars, strings, mandolins, fuzz guitars, and cameos from Ian McCulloch and Duff McKagan. The presence of an Echo & the Bunnyman and a Guns N' Roses is typical of the Manics’ almost ludicrous overreach: they blend moody Englishness with American hooks, which has been their plan since the outset, but they’ve rarely been as successful as they are on Postcards from a Young Man simply because they let their penchant for exaggeration run wild. With the notable exception of Nicky Wire’s lyrics -- whose small scale almost seems like a relief after the airing of Edwards’ unused words on Journal -- everything here is bigger than usual, the rhythms packing an unusual swing, the productions scraping the sky, and the hooks spilling out of James Dean Bradfield’s mouth and guitar alike. All this bustle winds up being the rarest of things for the Manics: it is fun. Granted, it is serious-minded fun with ambition, but with Manic Street Preachers you take fun whenever you can get it, and they’ve never sounded as ebullient as they do here.
tags: manic street preachers, postcards from a young man, 2010, flac,
December 09, 2024
Adorned Brood - Wigand (1998)
*First pressing.
Contains 8 tracks total.
Country: GermanyLanguage: English, German (Deutsch)
Genre: Black Metal
Style: Folk Black Metal
Label Number: RS 10901
© 1998 Atmosfear
*No professional reviews are available for this release.
tags: adorned brood, wigand, 1998, flac,
Bryan Adams - On a Day Like Today (1998)
*This is the Australian pressing.
This pressing contains 15 tracks total.
Country: Canada
Language: English
Genre: Alternative Rock
Label Number: 541 015-2
© 1998 A&M Records
*No professional reviews are available for this release.
tags: bryan adams, on a day like today, 1998, flac,
Kubb - Mother (2005)
Genre: Alternative Rock
Style: Britpop
Label Number: 9870767
© 2005 Mercury Records
Kubb were the band formed by Harry Collier -- a singer/songwriter originally from Liverpool but raised in the Caribbean -- along with two friends, Dominic Greensmith on drums and John Tilley on keyboards. Collier was spotted by Rollo from Faithless while waiting tables at a London restaurant, and allegedly sang a version of "Happy Birthday" to a customer that got the attention of Rollo. With the singles "Remain," "Wicked Soul," and "Grow" all getting progressively higher in the charts, Kubb's debut album, Mother, was released at the end of 2005, at a time when it had to compete with MOR favorites advertised with million-pound budgets on TV and greatest-hits compilations from just about everybody who had ever recorded even one single. Because of the timing, Mother got a bit lost in the Christmas rush, but perhaps it also got lost because too many tracks sound like the music of others. "Chemical," the longest track on the album at just over six minutes, was a dead ringer for a Radiohead song, as was the track that closed the album, "Burn Again." "Alcatraz" was Keane in disguise, with the same falsetto vocals, and as for "Without You," not only did it nearly share the title with U2's "With or Without You," it featured guitar backing strikingly similar to the Edge throughout the song. It also really wasn't Harry Collier's fault that on the cover photo he looked like Gareth Gates.
tags: kubb, mother, 2005, flac,
Keyshia Cole - Calling All Hearts (Deluxe Edition) (2010)
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*This pressing contains 14 tracks total.
Country: U.S.A.Genre: R&B
Label Number: B0015109-02
© 2010 Geffen Records
Whether attributed to the downward trend in album sales or its very title -- one that likely made instant skeptics of those who didn't want Keyshia Cole's sound to change -- the merely-gold-selling status of A Different Me must have greatly impacted the makeup of Calling All Hearts. There are no upbeat pop-oriented songs, and stylistic diversions are not part of the program, either. It is something of a refinement of Cole's first two albums, and yet it involves a revolving door of songwriters and producers. While Ron Fair is as present as ever, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Timbaland, Irv Gotti, Chink Santana, the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, and Chuck Harmony represent a mere fraction of the collaborators. Slow and midtempo material dominates, and so do lyrics illustrating turbulent relationships, though "Take Me Away" -- a highlight -- beams. It drags in spots, due in part to an absence of a "Let It Go"-type track to break up all the introspection and pain, but Cole delivers for those who want to hear a moody, emotional outpouring.
tags: keyshia cole, calling all hearts, deluxe edition, 2010, flac,
December 01, 2024
Bonnie Tyler - Hide Your Heart (1988)
*European first pressing.
Contains 10 tracks total.
Country: United KingdomGenre: Pop Rock
Label Number: CBS 460125 2
© 1988 CBS
The international release of Bonnie Tyler's Notes from America -- titled after the album's lone single -- this is also Tyler's last Columbia release, and her first post-Jim Steinman album. Tyler is still working with the talented Desmond Child (who helped out on Secret Dreams & Forbidden Fire), as well as legendary hitmakers Holly Knight and Mike Chapman. But, aside from the single "Hide Your Heart," this album is perhaps most notable for containing songs that would become bigger hits for other artists at later points in time. "The Best" would become Tina Turner's anthem of choice, while Tyler's cover of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" would be eclipsed by Blue Rodeo's version of the same song. This is a satisfying album, but -- following Tyler's two brilliant masterpiece albums with Jim Steinman (Faster Than the Speed of Night and Secret Dreams & Forbidden Fire) -- one can't help but feel a little bit of disappointment at Steinman's absence. Her last American release for eight years (until 1996's Free Spirit), though she would continue a thriving international career during this time.
tags: bonnie tyler, hide your heart, 1988, flac,
Glenn Tipton - Baptizm of Fire (1997)
*This is the Japanese first pressing.
Contains 12 tracks total.
Country: United KingdomGenre: Heavy Metal
Label Number: AMCY-2058
© 1997 Atlantic/EastWest Japan
As an original member of heavy metal forefathers Judas Priest, Tipton has engaged audiences for nearly a quarter of a century with his aggressive yet melodic guitar playing. His solo album -- recorded in the interim between Priest frontmen -- displays a wide range of styles. Blues, classical, thrash, and traditional British metal all coalesce in this hard-rockin' album, and Tipton (who also sings) gets to work in formats not common to Priest, such as the thrashing punk rendition of "Paint It Black" and the majestic instrumental title track. He even ends the album playing a banjo. [Baptizm of Fire was reissued in 2006 with the bonus cuts "Himalaya" and "New Breed."]
tags: glenn tipton, baptizm of fire, 1997, flac,
Various Artists - The Million Dollar Hotel: Music From The Motion Picture (2000)
Genre: Pop Rock, Art Pop, Film Score
Label Number: 3145423952
© 2000 Interscope Records
The main charm and flaw of the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' The Million Dollar Hotelis exactly the same thing: a sultry, omnipresent moodiness, as seductive as it is lulling. At first, it draws the listener in; U2's "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" and "Never Let Me Go" (performed by Bono and the MDH Band, a superstar collective featuring Brian Eno and Bill Frissell, among others) unspool at a leisurely, graceful pace. It's easy to get lost in the slow, dark crawl of the music. The second new U2 song, "Stateless," maintains the intriguing atmosphere -- halfway between The Joshua Tree and Zooropa -- and then, things begin to unravel. Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love" makes its first of three appearances on the soundtrack. Sonically, it's really no different than the three preceding tracks. After all, it's performed by the MDH band -- but it's sung by Milla Jovovich, the star of the film. Now, Jovovich is a recording artist in her own right, and she's actually one of some merit, yet this recording falls flat, collapsing in vocal histrionics at the end. Once the soundtrack loses momentum, it never regains its forward motion. There are some very good moments scattered throughout the record, from Bono and Daniel Lanois' "Falling at Your Feet" to various assorted instrumentals, but much of it winds up sounding a bit too samey and a little too draggy, with the variations on the basic, elegantly ominous sound wind up not being varied enough. Even though it meanders too much, The Million Dollar Hotel is always on the verge of being compelling, which may be enough for fans of atmospheric film soundtracks, who are accustomed to the music drifting a little bit when it's separated from the visuals.
tags: various artists, the million dollar hotel, music from the motion picture, 2000, flac,
