Enrique Iglesias - Cosas Del Amor (1998)

Country: Spain
Language: Spanish (Español)
Genre: Latin Pop

Label Number: SPD-80002

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© 1998 FonoVisa
Reviewed By AllMusic.com
Here's a Latin-pop crossover anyone with two eyes could have seen coming a mile away. Enrique Iglesias is possessed of a vocal style that obviously has its roots in the rich, romantic Latin ballad tradition, but he's too much the modernist (and aspirant icon) to leave it at that. Buoyed by lush, carefully crafted arrangements, Iglesias incorporates elements of Anglo pop and even some contemporary R&B into COSAS DEL AMOR. From his suave demeanor on the album cover to his impassioned, sensual vocal style, Iglesias stands as something of a Latin Love God, and he doesn't need to sing in English to achieve international appeal among the romantically inclined (especially those of the female gender).

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Alicia Keys - The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003) ☠

*European pressing. 

Contains 1 bonus track.

Country: U.S.A
Genre: R&B

Label Number: 82876 586202

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© 2003 J. Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Since Alicia Keys' 2001 debut album, Songs in A Minor, was ever so slightly overpraised, expectations for her second album, 2003's The Diary of Alicia Keys, were ever so slightly too high. Songs in A Minor not only kicked off a wave of ambitious new neo-soul songsters, it fit neatly into the movement of ambitious yet classicist new female singer/songwriters that ranged from the worldbeat-inflected pop of Nelly Furtado to the jazzy Norah Jones, whose success may not have been possible if Keys hadn't laid the groundwork with such soulful work as her hit "Fallin'." Such success at such a young age, even if deserved, can be too much too soon, since young songwriters showered with praise and riches may find it hard to see the world outside of their own cocoon. The very title of The Diary of Alicia Keys -- at once disarmingly simple and self-important -- suggests that Keys, like Furtado, took her stardom a little too seriously and felt compelled to present her worldview unfiltered, dispensing with artistic ambiguities and leaving each song as a portrait of Alicia Keys, the woman as a young artist. As she somewhat bafflingly says in her liner notes, "these songs are like my daily entrees," which likely means that these were indeed intended to play like unedited entries in a journal, a goal that she's fulfilled quite successfully, even if it does mean that the album often plays as a diary, leaving listeners in the role of observers instead of seeing themselves in the songs. This was a problem on Furtado's nearly simultaneously released Folklore, but Keys trumps her peer in one key way -- musically, this is a seamless piece of work, a sultry slow groove that emphasizes her breathy, seductive voice and lush soulfulness. Tonally, this is ideal late-night romantic music, even when the tempos are kicked up a notch as on the blaxploitation-fueled "Heartburn," yet beneath that sensuous surface there is some crafty, complex musicality, particularly in how Keys blurs lines between classic soul, modern rhythms, jazz, pop melodies, and singer/songwriter sensibility. It's an exceptionally well-constructed production, and as a sustained piece of sonic craft, it's not just seductive, it's a good testament to Keys' musical strengths (which can even withstand Andre Harris and Vidal Davis' irritating squeaky voice production signature on "So Simple"). What the album lacks are songs as immediate as "Fallin'" or as compelling as "A Woman's Worth," and that, combined with her insular outlook, is where Diary comes up short and reveals that it is indeed merely a second album. Such is the problem of arriving with a debut as fully formed as Songs in A Minor at such a young age -- listeners tend to expect more from the sequel, forgetting that this an artist still in her formative stages. So, those expecting another album where Keys sounds wise beyond her years will bound to be disappointed by The Diary of Alicia Keys, since her writing reveals her age in a way it never did on the debut. Yet that is a typical problem with sophomore efforts, and while this is a problem, it's one that is outweighed by her continually impressive musical achievements; they're enough to make The Diary worth repeated listens, and they're enough to suggest that Keys will continue to grow on her third album.

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Alicia Keys - Songs In A Minor (2000) ☠

Country: U.S.A
Genre: R&B

Label Number: 80813-20002-2

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© 2001 J. Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Alicia Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, made a significant impact upon its release in the summer of 2001, catapulting the young singer/songwriter to the front of the neo-soul pack. Critics and audiences were captivated by a 19-year-old singer whose taste and influences ran back further than her years, encompassing everything from Prince to smooth '70s soul, even a little Billie Holiday. In retrospect, it was the idea of Alicia Keys that was as attractive as the record, since soul fans were hungering for a singer/songwriter who seemed part of the tradition without being as spacy as Macy Gray or as hippie mystic as Erykah Badu while being more reliable than Lauryn Hill. Keys was all that, and she had style to spare -- elegant, sexy style accentuated by how she never oversang, giving the music a richer feel. It was rich enough to compensate for some thinness in the writing -- though it was a big hit, "Fallin'" doesn't have much body to it -- which is a testament to Keys' skills as a musician. And, the fact is, even though there are some slips in the writing, there aren't many, and the whole thing remains a startling assured, successful debut that deserved its immediate acclaim and is already aging nicely.

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702 - Star (2002)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: R&B

Label Number: 066 930-2

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© 2002 Motown Records
AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman
Over three years came and went between 702's second album and this one, and it continues in the group's tradition of being able to deliver a couple of solid singles surrounded by middling to fair album tracks. The biggest obstacle, beyond the trio's thin voices, is the fact that the title track, featuring an appearance from Clipse, is one of the Neptunes' weakest productions; it hardly rates with the best of 702's earlier singles. "I Still Love You" is so sparse and hollow -- consisting of little more than a basic kick-drum pattern, drawn-out keyboard notes, and some hand claps -- that it seems like the Neps spent about five minutes on it, but there's an awkward, spacious charm to it. Further production help from She'kspere, Buckwild, Mario Winans, and several others does little to bolster the album's appeal. And like a lot of records released during this era, Star's impact could've been significantly increased with four or five of the weaker songs trimmed off.

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Total - Kima, Keisha & Pam (1998) ☠

Country: U.S.A
Genre: R&B

Label Number: 78612-73020-2

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© 1998 Bad Boy Records
AllMusic Review by Michael Gallucci
On their second album, these '90s soul sistas sex up their lives, and everything around them, quite a bit, turning their fairly standard take on the hip-hop girl group into a late-night bath of delight. But by inviting a who's-who roster into the tub with them (producers here include Missy Elliott, Sean "Puffy" Combs, and Heavy D, among others), Total -- the JaKima Raynor, Keisha Spivey, and Pam Long of the title -- are barely heard. Brimming with the sounds of the world around it, Kima, Keisha & Pam is a studio-powered album that loses its individuality while trying desperately to be a part of the streets and scene. The best track, "Trippin'," is an Elliott-produced slice of robotic R&B that combines the gals' sweet harmonies with state-of-the-soul-art studio savvy. But an album's worth of the sexy same unveils Total's ultimate limitations.

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TLC - Now & Forever: The Hits (2003)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: R&B

Label Number: 82876-50208-2

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© 2003 Arista Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Released a little over a year after TLC's final posthumous 3D, Now and Forever: The Hits is a superb 19-track compilation of the trio's heyday as the greatest girl group of the '90s. With the exception of the minor hits "I'm Good at Being Bad," "Dear Lie," and the holiday single "Sleigh Ride," every one of their hit singles is here, including such decade-defining songs as "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg," "Creep," "Waterfalls," "No Scrubs" (presented in its "Rap Version"), and "Unpretty," presented in a roughly chronological order. TLC had expertly crafted albums, especially in CrazySexyCool and FanMail, but their highlights always appeared on singles, and when they're collected together as they are here, it's not only an excellent career summary, it's an addictive listen.

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Poison - Power To The People (2000)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Hard Rock

Label Number: CYND 6969-2

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© 2000 Cyanide Music Inc.
AllMusic Review by Steve Huey
Following right on the heels of the release of the aborted Crack a Smile sessions, Power to the People might interest some longtime fans, but it's probably borderline at best for anyone who isn't still a complete devotee. There are two distinct sections -- five new studio tracks and a sort of greatest-hits-live show recorded on their 1999 reunion tour with C.C. Deville -- and the liner notes don't give much background about either. The new material isn't bad, although the title track's nod to rap-tinged alternative metal comes off as awkward, more like an Aerosmith/"Walk This Way"-type rocker with no hooks. The others will appeal to longtime fans, though -- "Can't Bring Me Down" is a defiant rocker, "The Last Song" a typical Poison power ballad, and "Strange" a sort of electric/acoustic in-betweener. Furthermore, C.C. Deville makes his Poison lead vocal debut -- complete with vocoder-style effects! -- on the catchy (if unfortunately titled) "I Hate Every Bone in Your Body But Mine." The concert portion is decent, but it isn't really necessary either (and Bret Michaels seems to have lost a bit of range). Hardcore fans will be pleased to have a memento of Deville's return to the band, and the decision to combine new studio tracks with what's essentially a fan souvenir certainly reflects Poison's status as a cult band in the year 2000. But it can't help giving the impression that the band didn't have enough songs (or, perhaps, confidence) to issue a full-fledged new studio album, and the release ends up less than satisfying. 

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TLC - Ooooooohhh...On The TLC Tip (1992)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: R&B

Label Number: 73008-26003-2

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© 1992 LaFace Records
AllMusic Review by Steve Huey
TLC's debut album, Ooooooohhh...on the TLC Tip, established the trio's image and unorthodox fashion sense, which at this point was based on baggy, brightly colored clothes and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes' trademark condom. Some accused them of borrowing their look from Bell Biv DeVoe, and their female-positive, pro-safe-sex attitudes from Salt-n-Pepa, but TLC has the boundless enthusiasm to make it all convincingly their own. What they don't always have are the songs to pull off a consistent album. The most infectious songs are naturally the singles: "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" is bouncy, catchy, and sexually assertive, and "What About Your Friends" is an equally danceable meditation on true friendship. The chart-topping ballad "Baby-Baby-Baby" is typically well-crafted Babyface, if a little by-the-numbers. Some of the album tracks keep the sense of fun going, but others fall flat -- not that they're bad, they just aren't that memorable. On the plus side, Left Eye gets a lot of space for her distinctively nasal, girlish rapping, and the entire group drops rhymes on "Das da Way We Like 'Em." Although it's uneven, the best moments of On the TLC Tip deserved their popularity, and set the stage for the group's blockbuster success the next time out.

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Heart - Bad Animals (1987)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Hard Rock

Label Number: CDP-546676

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© 1987 Capitol Records
AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson
Switching from Epic to Capitol with 1985's Heart proved to be a wise move for the Wilson sisters, who experienced a major resurgence in popularity and gained many new followers. Heart's arena rock sound had become even glossier, and the band was selling more albums than ever. But for all its production gloss (courtesy of Ron Nevison) and pop slickness, Bad Animals comes across as sincere rather than formulaic or cynical. From the rockers "You Ain't Too Tough" and "Easy Target" to the power ballads "Alone" and "Wait for an Answer," all of the songs are quite memorable. The folk elements and acoustic leanings that characterized many of Heart's early ballads were long gone, and the Wilson sisters keep the volume high but slow the tempo.

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Ciara - The Evolution (2006)

*European pressing. 

Contains 2 bonus tracks.

20 tracks total

Country: U.S.A
Genre: R&B

Label Number: 88697056852

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© 2006 LaFace/Zomba Label Group
AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman
Evolution is a slow process, so it shouldn't be startling that The Evolution is not a quantum leap forward from Goodies. Ciara's second album, The Evolution is held together by a handful of immaterial monologues that would be best left to an interview disc. Take "The Evolution of Music," where she states, "I feel like music is so different than what it used to be, and because of that, I was inspired to do something different this time around." And then in comes "Promise," yet another song referencing Kraftwerk and Zapp, and it also takes cues from prime Janet Jackson and Aaliyah -- so, no, it's not different at all. Make no mistake, though. The song is tremendous, one of the sexiest, slow-tempo, non-breakup songs of the past ten years. Yet, for all the talk of developing and being different, one might expect an album not as firmly rooted in electro and early '80s R&B as Goodies. (Even the album's sleek cover, somewhere between Robocop and the Pointer Sisters' Break Out, has a devolved look.) Those who can disregard the discrepancies between the pronouncements and the actual content will find an album that's on equal footing with Goodies. With the exception of "Promise," The Evolution lacks clear-cut highlights on the level of "Goodies," "1, 2 Step," and "Oh," but there are fewer outright disposables. Ciara and her songwriting partners' injection of a little more substance into the songs tends to pay off, as on "Like a Boy" ("What if I had a thing on the side, made you cry?/Would the rules change up, or would they still apply?"), while "My Love" and "So Hard" also surpass the aching and breaking moments on the debut. As expected, there are plenty of tracks geared toward letting loose and dancing, and most of them do deliver, even if they don't seem quite as fresh as Ciara's past hits.

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Heart - Passionworks (1983)

*This is a repress of the original 1983 LP pressing on CD. 

Mastered by Greg Fulginiti. 

Contains 11 tracks total an non-remastered audio.

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Hard Rock, Pop Rock

Label Number: EK 38800

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© 1983 Epic Records
AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson
1983's Passionworks marked the end of an era for Heart; it was the last album that the Wilson sisters recorded for Epic, where they had recorded late-'70s classics like Little Queen and Dog & Butterfly. Unfortunately, Heart's relationship with Epic had turned sour by 1983; in a 1987 interview, Ann Wilson asserted that Epic didn't do nearly enough to promote either Passionworks or 1982's Private Audition. But all certainly wasn't lost; at Capitol, Heart enjoyed a major revitalization in 1985 -- both commercially and creatively. Although Passionworks was recorded under less-than-ideal circumstances, it isn't a bad album. Passionworks, which was produced by Keith Olsen, didn't go down in history as one of Heart's essential releases -- it isn't in a class with Dreamboat Annie, Little Queen, Bad Animals, or 1985's self-titled Heart, but it isn't an album that the Wilson sisters should be ashamed of either. Passionworks gets off to an impressive start with the hit "How Can I Refuse," an arena rock jewel. Most of the songs that follow aren't as strong, but they're decent. While "Sleep Alone," "Blue Guitar," and "Ambush" aren't masterpieces, they're likable examples of '80s hard rock/arena rock. "Allies," meanwhile, is a glossy power ballad that was written by Journey's Jonathan Cain and should have become a hit. In 1983, Cain's song was perfect for Heart because by that time, their ballads had become much more amplified. While early Heart ballads like "Dream of the Archer" and "How Deep It Goes" had a pastoral, acoustic-oriented folk-rock outlook, the Wilson sisters became masters of the high-volume power ballad in the '80s. Passionworks isn't recommended to casual listeners, but serious Heart devotees will find it to be an enjoyable way for the Wilson sisters to end their Epic period.

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Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (1999)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Industrial Rock, Alternative Rock

Label Number: 0694904732

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© 1999 Nothing/Interscope Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
As the double-disc The Fragile unfurls, all of Nine Inch Nails' trademarks -- gargantuan, processed guitars, ominous electro rhythms, near-ambient keyboards, Trent Reznor's shredded vocals and tortured words -- are unveiled, all sounding pretty much how they did on The Downward Spiral. Upon closer inspection, there are new frills, yet these aren't apparent without digging -- and what's on the surface isn't necessarily inviting, either. There is nothing as rhythmic or catchy as "Closer," nothing as jarring as the piano chorus of "March of the Pigs," no ballad as naked as "Hurt." When Reznor does try for something immediate and visceral, he sounds recycled. Fortunately, The Fragile lives up to its title once the first disc is over. There are some detours into noisy bluster (some, like the Marilyn Manson dis "Starfuckers, Inc.," work quite well) but they're surrounded by long, evocative instrumental sections that highlight Reznor's gifts for arrangement. Whenever Reznor crafts delicate, alternately haunting and pretty soundscapes or interesting sonic juxtapositions, The Fragile is compelling. Since they provide a change of pace, the bursts of industrial noise assist the flow of the album, which never feels indulgent, even though it runs over 100 minutes. Still, The Fragile is ultimately a letdown. There's no denying that it's often gripping, offering odd and interesting variations on NIN themes, but that's the problem -- they're just variations, not progressions. Considering that it arrives five years after Spiral, that is a disappointment. It's easy to tell where the time went -- Reznor's music is immaculately crafted and arranged, with every note and nuance gliding into the next -- but he spent more time constructing surfaces than songs. Those surfaces can be enticing but since it's just surface, The Fragile winds up being vaguely unsatisfying.

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Ciara - Goodies (2004)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: R&B

Label Number: 82876-62819-2

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© 2004 LaFace Records
AllMusic Review by Jason Birchmeier
Thanks to a few productions by hitmakers Lil Jon and Jazze Pha, there are indeed some Goodies to be found on Ciara's debut album, even if the young dance-pop singer does little to distinguish herself from the legion of fellow young dance-pop singers filling the urban American airwaves. The title track is far and away the highlight here, one of seemingly countless Lil Jon songs to become hits in summer 2004 (others including Usher's "Yeah!," Trillville's "Neva Eva," Lil Scrappy's "No Problem," Pitbull's "Culo," and Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek"). "Goodies" is fairly similar to these songs, except that it's sung by a young girl. In fact, the song is an apparent response to "Freek-a-Leek," employing a near-identical beat and the services of that song's rapper, Petey Pablo. The difference is that while "Freek-a-Leek" took the hardcore rap perspective of courtship, boasting of Petey's sexual exploits and how he can provide all a woman could possibly want physically, Ciara takes the contemporary R&B perspective, boasting contrarily that she has what all the guys want but won't be exploited: "I bet you want the goodies/Bet you thought about it/Got you all hot and bothered/Mad 'cause I talk around it/If you're looking for the goodies/Keep on looking 'cause they stay in the jar." It's a simple song, yes, but it's quite a rousing album opener. From there, the next four songs -- "1, 2 Step," "Thug Style," "Hotline," "Oh" -- are good, if not great, as executive producer Jazze Pha serves up some first-rate beats and catchy hooks here and there. But just as Beyoncé's Dangerously in Love descended into boilerplate balladry during its second half, Goodies unfortunately follows suit, bringing the initial festivities to a cloying conclusion. In the end, the beats of Lil Jon and Jazze Pha are the true Goodies here. Ciara is likeable enough, especially on the dance songs, where she resembles a young Janet Jackson, not so much actually singing as projecting a personality onto the productions. However, when she turns to run-of-the-mill ballads on the album's second half, she seems just as faceless as the songs themselves, lacking panache and, at times, personality.

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Heart - Heart (1985) ☠

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Hard Rock, Pop Rock

Label Number: CDP 7 46157 2

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© 1985 Capitol Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Heart was pretty much considered washed up when they released Heart in 1985. They learned a few important things while they had taken a short sabbatical -- they knew that hooks were important and they knew they could play up their looks for MTV. So, they delivered both with Heart, giving their audience anthemic hooks and tightly corseted bosoms, leading to the most popular album they ever had. This doesn't mean it's the best, since its calculated mainstream bent may disarm some long-term fans, but it is true that they do this better than many of their peers, not just because they have good polished material from professional songwriters but because they can deliver this material professionally themselves. Yes, "These Dreams," "Never," and "What About Love" don't quite fit into the classic Heart mode, but they are good mid-'80s mainstream material, delivered as flawlessly as possible. There's still a lot of filler on this record, but the best moments are among the best mainstream AOR of its era.

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Heart - Little Queen (2004 Remastered Edition)

*Reissued and remastered in 2004 by Epic/Legacy Records. 

Contains 2 bonus tracks. 

12 tracks total

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Hard Rock, Folk Rock

Label Number: 508342 2

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© 1977-2004 Epic/Legacy Records
AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson
After acquiring a substantial following with Dreamboat Annie, Heart solidified its niche in the hard rock and arena rock worlds with the equally impressive Little Queen. Once again, loud-and-proud, Led Zeppelin-influenced hard rock was the thing that brought Heart the most attention. But while "Barracuda" and "Kick It Out" are the type of sweaty rockers one thought of first when Heart's name was mentioned, hard rock by no means dominates this album. In fact, much of Little Queen consists of such folk-influenced, acoustic-oriented fare as "Treat Me Well" and "Cry to Me." Anyone doubting just how much Heart's ballads have changed over the years need only play "Dream of the Archer" next to a high-volume power ballad like "Wait for an Answer" from 1987's Bad Animals.

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DIO - The Last In Line (1984) ☠

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Heavy Metal

Label Number: 9 25100-2

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© 1984 Warner Bros. Records
AllMusic Review by Eduardo Rivadavia
Following the extremely warm reception given his self-named band's well-deserving debut album, Holy Diver, Ronnie James Dio figured there was no point in messing with a winning formula, and decided to play it safe with 1984's sophomore effort, The Last in Line -- with distinctly mixed results. Although technically cut from the same cloth as those first album nuggets, fist-pumping new songs like "We Rock," and "I Speed at Night" curiously went from good to tiresome after just a few spins (a sign that the songwriting clichés were starting to pile up...read on); and the otherwise awesome, seven-minute epic, "Egypt (The Chains Are On)," inexplicably lost it's strikingly sinister main riff halfway through, in what sounds like a mastering snafu of some kind. On the upside, more dramatic, mid-paced numbers such as the title track, "One Night in the City," and "Eat Your Heart Out" -- as well as the driving "Evil Eyes" -- delivered enough compelling riffs and melodies to outweigh Ronnie's once endearing, but now increasingly troublesome repetition of words like "rainbow," "fire," and "stone" in seemingly every song. Finally, the distinctly more commercial pairing of heavy rocker "Breathless" and the power ballad/single "Mystery" gave undisguised notice (along with the slightly sleeker production throughout and more generous keyboards from new member Claude Schnell) of Dio's intention to broaden their audience by tapping into the rising tide of pop-metal. This would bring dire circumstances on their next album, Sacred Heart, but despite the telltale signs of decline cited above, anyone who loved Holy Diver will likely enjoy The Last in Line nearly as much.

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DIO - Dream Evil (1987) ☠

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Heavy Metal

Label Number: 9 25612-2

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© 1987 Warner Bros. Records
AllMusic Review by Rob Theakston
Dream Evil is by no means a departure from the Dio formula that was so successful for his first three solo albums. All of the elements that made them so successful are yet again retained here. However, what makes things different this time around is that Dio has more of a melodious side to him, which he puts use here rather than relying on the riffs and delivery he learned at the school of Sabbath. He even touches on the power ballad (a sure sign that the style had fully infiltrated metal) with "All the Fool Sailed Away." The title track and "Sunset Superman" also proved to be two of Dio's most well-known, and most loved songs in his massive catalog. Not an essential release, but one that diehard fans will be sure to want in their collection.

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DIO - Sacred Heart (1985)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Heavy Metal

Label Number: 9 25292-2

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© 1985 Warner Bros. Records
AllMusic Review by Eduardo Rivadavia

Although relatively strong sales at the time of its release would appear to refute this claim, Dio's third album in three years, 1985's Sacred Heart, was a terribly divisive affair, and is largely viewed as a disappointment in retrospect. This is because, although many brand-new yet fickle-minded fans were attracted by the album's noticeably more commercial hard rock songwriting, almost as many of Dio's most loyal, long-serving supporters were turned off by this new direction -- as well as the already stagnant clichés being recycled from prior triumphs. If only writer's block had been to blame, but the unnecessary live audience added to the album's obviously self-referencing opener, "King of Rock and Roll," seemed to point to a single-minded and egotistical leader instead. So when he wasn't putting his ever more despondent (and soon to be terminated) henchmen through the motions on rote metallic anthems like the title track, "Like the Beat of a Heart," and "Fallen Angels," singer Ronnie James Dio seemed intent on strangling every last creative spark out of them in a bid to score a pop-metal hit. Among the top candidates, the synth-drunk "Hungry for Heaven" and the deplorable "Shoot Shoot" proved especially forgettable and contrived, and even though "Rock 'n' Roll Children" succeeded in cropping up frequently on MTV at least, Ronnie's distinct lack of sex appeal (not to mention his 40-plus years of age!) killed any possibility of true crossover success in image-conscious America. In the end, selling out with Sacred Heart plunged Dio's career into a steep decline from which it would never entirely recover.

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Nickelback - All The Right Reasons (2005)

Country: Canada
Language: English
Genre: Post Grunge

Label Number: 168 618 109-2
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© 2005 Roadrunner Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
With their fourth album, All the Right Reasons, Nickelback ditch any pretense of being a grunge band and finally acknowledge they're a straight-up heavy rock band. Not that they've left the angst of grunge behind: they're a modern rock band living in a post-grunge world, so there are lots of tortured emotions threaded throughout the 11 songs here. But where their previous albums roiled with anger -- their breakthrough "How You Remind Me" was not affectionate, it was snide and cynical -- there's a surprisingly large sentimental streak running throughout All the Right Reasons, and it's not just limited to heart-on-sleeve power ballads like "Far Away" and "Savin' Me," the latter being the latest entry in their soundalike sweepstakes. No, lead singer/songwriter Chad Kroeger is in a particularly pensive mood here, looking back fondly at his crazy times in high school on "Photograph" ("Look at this photograph/Every time I do it makes me laugh/How did our eyes get so red?/And what the hell is on Joey's head?"), lamenting the murder of Dimebag Darrell on "Side of a Bullet" (where a Dimebag solo is overdubbed), and, most touching of all, imagining "the day when nobody died" on "If Everyone Cared" (which would be brought about "If everyone cared and nobody cried/If everyone loved and nobody lied"). Appropriately enough for an album that finds Kroeger's emotional palette opening up, Nickelback try a few new things here, adding more pianos, keyboards, and acoustic guitars to not just their ballads, but a few of their big, anthemic rockers; they even sound a little bit light and limber on "Someone That You're With," the fastest tune here and a bit of relief after all the heavy guitars. All this makes for a more varied Nickelback album, but it doesn't really change their essence. Sure, they stretch a little bit, but they still favor clumsy, plodding riffs, still incessantly rewrite the same chords and melody, still harmonize exactly the same way on every song, Kroeger still sounds as if he's singing with a hernia, he still writes shockingly stupid lines that make you long for the days of such subtle double-entendres as "she's using her head again" (such as "She'd be pissed if she could see the parts of you that I've been kissing," "It's just a little hard to leave/When you're going down on me" -- and, mind you, this album does not carry a Parental Advisory sticker, even though "a**holes" is prominently used in two songs), and despite the attempted sarcasm of "Rockstar," he still shows no discernible sense of humor. Which means, despite all their newly developed relative nuances, Nickelback remain unchanged: they're still unspeakably awful.

tags: nickelback, all the right reasons, 2005, flac,

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DIO - Holy Diver (1983) ☠

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Heavy Metal

Label Number: 811 021-2

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☠: Selected by Buccaneer

© 1983-1986 Mercury
AllMusic Review by Eduardo Rivadavia
After playing a major role in five positively classic heavy metal albums of the late '70s and early '80s (three with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and two with Black Sabbath), it seemed that singer Ronnie James Dio could truly do no wrong. So it wasn't all that surprising -- impressive, but not surprising -- when he struck gold yet again when launching his solo vehicle, Dio, via 1983's terrific Holy Diver album. Much like those two, hallowed Sabbath LPs, Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules, Holy Diver opened at full metallic throttle with the frenetic "Stand Up and Shout," before settling into a dark, deliberate, and hypnotic groove for the timelessly epic title track -- a worthy successor to glorious triumphs past like Rainbow's "Stargazer" and the Sabs' "Sign of the Southern Cross." But subsequent metal anthems like "Straight Through the Heart," "Invisible," and the lycanthrope lullaby "Shame on the Night" were no less inspired; and by injecting uncommonly catchy melodies into the heavy rock riffery still dominating more accessible numbers such as "Gypsy," "Caught in the Middle," and hit single "Rainbow in the Dark" (where the singer himself played rather spotty keyboards), Dio proved himself perfectly capable of competing with the increasingly commercial hard rock fashions soon to come. Although most fans would agree that Dio would arguably never again replicate the simply sublime symbiosis of beauty and brawn achieved by the all-time standout "Don't Talk to Strangers." And, to be fair, aside from Ronnie's unquestionably stellar songwriting, Holy Diver's stunning quality and consistency owed much to his carefully chosen bandmates, including powerhouse drummer (and fellow Sabbath survivor) Vinny Appice, veteran bassist Jimmy Bain, and a phenomenal find in young Irish guitarist Vivian Campbell, whose tastefully pyrotechnic leads helped make this the definitive Dio lineup. So, too, is Holy Diver still the undisputed highlight of Dio's career, and, indeed, one of the finest pure heavy metal albums of the 1980s.

tags: dio, holy diver, 1983, flac, ronnie james,

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Poison - Poison'd! (2007)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Hard Rock

Label Number: 09463 93815 2 4

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© 2007 Capitol Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Not quite a new album and not quite a comp, Poison'd! is a collection of covers from Poison, many recorded in 2006 and 2007 with producer Don Was, but also some pulled from previous albums dating as far back as Look What the Cat Dragged In and Open Up and Say...Ahh!. To the band's credit, it doesn't always sound like the music was recorded 20 years apart. Was' production is punchier, beefier than the early stuff, and Brett Michaels' voice is, conversely, a little rougher, but this is still recognizably the work of Poison, a band that never seemed all that heavy no matter how loud the guitars roar, a band that never seemed all that dirty no matter how much they wanted to wallow in sleaze. This inadvertent lightness means that they sound as convincing covering Loggins & Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance" or Jim Croce's "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" as they do singing Grand Funk's "We're An American Band" or Kiss' "Rock and Roll All Night," but it does rob Bowie's "Suffragette City" of some needed muscle and turns the Who's "Squeeze Box" into the insufferable cloying novelty it always wanted to be. But there are also some nice surprises along the way, particularly in the spirited, propulsive version of Tom Petty's "I Need to Know," the subdued country twang on the Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" (reminiscent of Michaels solo work) and, especially, the fizzy punch of Sweet's "Little Willie," one of the first times Poison had ever earned the glam appellation they so often receive. So, Poison'd! is an uneven lot -- as any theme-based comp spanning 20 years would be -- but it's more fun than any new Poison album in recent memory and more fun than it should be, even if it's not quite as much fun as it could have been. But that's the perennial Poison problem -- the image always was more fun than the reality.

tags: poison, poisond, poison'd, 2007, flac,

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