Michael Jackson - Dangerous (1991)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Pop

Label Number: EK 45400
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© 1991 Epic Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Despite the success of Bad, it was hard not to view it as a bit of a letdown, since it presented a cleaner, colder, calculated version of Thriller -- something that delivered what it should on the surface, but wound up offering less in the long run. So, it was time for a change-up, something even a superstar as huge as Michael Jackson realized, so he left Quincy Jones behind, hired Guy mastermind Teddy Riley as the main producer, and worked with a variety of other producers, arrangers, and writers, most notably Bruce Swedien and Bill Bottrell. The end result of this is a much sharper, harder, riskier album than Bad, one that has its eyes on the street, even if its heart gets middle-class soft on "Heal the World." The shift in direction and change of collaborators has liberated Jackson, and he's written a set of songs that is considerably stronger than Bad, often approaching the consistency of Off the Wall and Thriller. If it is hardly as effervescent or joyous as either of those records, chalk it up to his suffocating stardom, which results in a set of songs without much real emotional center, either in their substance or performance. But, there's a lot to be said for professional craftsmanship at its peak, and Dangerous has plenty of that, not just on such fine singles as "In the Closet," "Remember the Time," or the blistering "Jam," but on album tracks like "Why You Wanna Trip on Me." No, it's not perfect -- it has a terrible cover, a couple of slow spots, and suffers from CD-era ailments of the early '90s, such as its overly long running time and its deadening Q Sound production, which sounds like somebody forgot to take the Surround Sound button off. Even so, Dangerous captures Jackson at a near-peak, delivering an album that would have ruled the pop charts surely and smoothly if it had arrived just a year earlier. But it didn't -- it arrived along with grunge, which changed the rules of the game nearly as much as Thriller itself. Consequently, it's the rare multi-platinum, number one album that qualifies as a nearly forgotten, underappreciated record.

tags: michael jackson, dangerous, 1991, flac,

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Kelis - Kelis Was Here (2006)

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

Label Number: 82876-83258-2

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© 2006 LaFace Records
AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman
"That milkshake song" ("Milkshake") brought Kelis to the mainstream for a couple months during 2003 and 2004. The singer's follow-up -- Kelis Was Here, her fourth album -- bears no retreads. Though lead single "Bossy" makes lyrical references to her number three hit and the moderate breakout "Caught Out There," the song is as distinct as anything she has done before, featuring another variation on her don't-give-a-damn assertiveness, this time over an ornamental and plinky production from Shondrae. The album, like the others before it, deals a number of stylistic curveballs, all of which are handled by the singer like lobs down the middle of the plate. What makes it less successful than 1999's Kaleidoscope and 2003's Tasty is that it's extremely choppy and excessively long, and it doesn't have the range of emotions to match the varied backdrops. There is too much and not enough Kelis; too much material is second rate, and the tougher sides of her character dominate the album -- there are too few equivalents to the softer likes of "Get Along with You," "Flash Back," and "Protect My Heart." Minus the intro, there are 17 songs, which are sequenced in a way that snags any sense of momentum. "Bossy" leads into the plodding and brainless "What's That Right There," an inert club track that relies far too much on an overused Funkadelic song and a tossed-off call-and-response nonsense initiated by producer will.i.am. "Blindfold Me"'s anthemic kink drops directly into a misty-eyed ballad, one of a few instances where Kelis' collaborators ape old Neptunes moves (such as the ones made on Kelis' first three albums), though Scott Storch deserves a commendation for his clone job on "Trilogy." While Kelis Was Here cannot be disregarded, it's more like a lot of songs thrown onto a disc at random than an album. It's more demanding of your deleting and resequencing skills than any other Kelis release. Beware the baffling three-minute jam that ends "Have a Nice Day" and stay for the untitled bonus track, actually titled "F*ck Them Bitches," which continues to prove that any Kelis song involving cursing and putdowns is a brilliant Kelis song.

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Kelis - Flesh Tone (2010)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Electronic, Synth Pop

Label Number: B001437602

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© 2010 will.i.am/Interscope Records
AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman
To say Kelis has been through some changes would be an understatement. Since the 2006 release Kelis Was Here, she moved from Jive to will.i.am's Interscope-affiliated vanity imprint, divorced Nas, and gave birth to a boy. Between all that, in addition to a catalog of four R&B albums that deserved greater sales, she could be forgiven for making something like a mindless dance-pop album. While Flesh Tone is a headlong dive into sleek dance-pop -- one that could have been forecast years prior, given her collaborations with Moby, Timo Maas, and Richard X, and let us never forget Diddy’s “Let’s Get Ill” -- it is much more personal than any of her past releases. “Acapella,” one of two tracks made with David Guetta, seems merely redemptive (“It’s just me surviving alone,” “Before you, my whole life was acapella”) until considering that it comes from a woman whose marriage fell through just prior to motherhood. The song that creates the album’s second greatest rush is also about parenthood; “Song for the Baby” similarly strikes as a boilerplate dancefloor love song on the surface, but once its subject sinks in, “I love you more than you’ll ever know” disarms quicker than any line from “Get Along with You” or “Rolling Through the Hood.” The remaining tracks are based in romantic relationships, but not all of them are about moving ahead. The churning “Intro” is bleak, just about hopeless (“Your force so dark, now my life feels uninspired”), yet it is just as powerful as anything else on the album. Nine songs with seven unique sets of production credits whip by in 38 minutes. The setup works because the songs are conjoined and dynamically ordered, like each collaborator knew what was required to complement the other tracks without sacrificing any distinct sonic character. Whether or not Flesh Tone remains a stylistic outlier, the disc will always be a bright standout in Kelis' discography.

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Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill Acoustic (2005)

Country: Canada
Language: English
Genre: Acoustic
Label Number: 49345-2
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© 2005 Maverick
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
There's an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm from 2002 where Alanis Morissette is performing at a benefit concert that's eventually held at Larry David's home, where she sings a stripped-down acoustic arrangement of "You Oughta Know" with guitarist David Levita for an audience of wealthy Hollywood liberals. This may not have been the genesis of her 2005 album Jagged Little Pill Acoustic -- initially for sale only in Starbucks stores, but released to mass retail in late July -- but that performance not only offers a clue to the sound of this acoustic-based reinterpretation of her blockbuster breakthrough, but also to its target audience. Unlike the 1995 original, this is not a dense, glossy pop album that slyly co-opts and repackages ideas from the musical fringe for a mass audience, nor is this akin to her 1999 acoustic album Alanis Unplugged, where Morissette was still sorting out exactly which direction to take in the aftermath of her phenomenal success. Jagged Little Pill Acoustic is the sound of an artist who is comfortable and settled, fondly reminiscing about her crazy past for an audience that is also comfortable and settled. This is sepia-toned music (which is appropriate, since the cover itself is a sepia-toned replication of the original's artwork), with all of the excesses and eccentricities of youth either romanticized or dismissed with a soft chuckle. Alanis marvels at how crazy she was back then, as she and her audience both congratulate themselves on surviving ten years while reflecting on how much they've personally grown in that decade. All of this is captured in the lone lyrical change: "Ironic" now concludes with Alanis meeting the man of her dreams and meeting not his beautiful wife, but his beautiful husband (she's no longer pronouncing "figures" as "figgers," either). This doesn't change the song or its intent, but it does signal that Morissette has a slightly different perspective, one that is self-congratulatory, more tolerant, and more self-consciously urbane. And that pretty much summarizes the music here, too: it's deliberately mature and certainly more tasteful than the original Jagged Little Pill, the kind of music that would sound good playing in, well, the background of a coffee shop. While there are acoustic guitars at the foundation of each of the 12 tracks here (plus the unlisted 13th bonus track), this isn't strictly acoustic, at least by most standards: with original JLP producer Glen Ballard, who never met a production he couldn't overdub a few more times than necessary, on board as well, it's not surprising that Acoustic winds up being a subdued adult alternative pop album filled with strings, keyboards, and production instead of a stark acoustic record. Since Ballard is a pro and since Alanis has lived with these songs long enough to find different, yet comfortable, ways to rephrase these familiar melodies, it's a pleasant enough listen, but it's hard to see the point of the album. That is, unless it is really for the kind of crowd she serenaded in that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm -- a very satisfied, very comfortable audience that prefers to see the past only through rose-colored glasses that present their history in terms that are more acceptable to who they are now than who they were back then.

tags: alanis morissette, jagged little pill acoustic, 2005,

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Justin Timberlake - Justified (2002)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Pop

Label Number: 01241-41823-2

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© 2002 Jive Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Growing up is hard to do, as any teen pop idol will attest. Still, showbiz kids are nothing if not savvy, so they know it's better to make the jump than to idle as an idol, no matter how hard that jump may be -- and no matter how hard they try, it's hard to judge the distance, and they may miss their mark. With his debut solo album, Justified (face it, that title was a given), Justin Timberlake misses his mark slightly; he hits much closer than fellow Mickey Mouse Club alum Christina Aguilera did with her Stripped, but he's uneasy as a suave, mature loverman, particularly because much of his stance is borrowed directly (and rather improbably) from Michael Jackson. JT -- a shorthand nickname that's distressingly inevitable -- shamelessly borrows from Jacko, from the Thriller-era getup and poses to the sharply modernized spin on the classic Off the Wall sound. To be sure, the sound of the Neptunes productions which dominate Justified is the best thing about the album; they have a lush, sexy, stylish feel that is better, more romantic than most modern R&B. Too bad they're delivered by such a cipher. Though he's turned into a technically skilled vocalist, he's still too much of a showbiz kid -- all technique and surface, not much substance. His falsetto may be smooth, but it's utterly without character, which unfortunately describes the songs too: pretty on the surface, but devoid of memorable hooks. This means that what truly stands out is when he breaks from form and tries to prove how street and hip he is, delivering awful double-entendres like "I can think of a couple of positions for you" and "get real wet if you know what I mean" and exhorting the fellas and ladies to sing separately in a cringe-worthy affectation on "Senorita." When he sings that he'll "have you nekkid by the end of the song," he doesn't sound like a seductor, he sounds like a kid actor awkwardly assuming a new persona. This isn't without merit -- the sound, apart from some flop Timbaland productions (which he redeems with the slinky funk of "Right for Me"), works well, and if these cuts were songs instead of tracks, his bland falsetto would be fine. This sure isn't the musical immolation of Christina's ugly Stripped. Unlike that album, this suggests a direction Timberlake could follow in the future, given stronger songwriting collaborators. But Justified is just sound and posturing, with no core. [Bad packaging alert: the foldout booklet for Justified is merely stuck into the digipak for the album, with no sleeve or slot to house it; it's guaranteed to get beat up or lost.]

tags: justin timberlake, justified, 2002, flac,

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Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/ LoveSounds (Deluxe Edition) (2006)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Pop

Label Number: 88697-17391-2

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© 2006 Jive, Zomba Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Give Justin Timberlake credit for this: he has ambition. He may not have good instincts and may bungle his execution, but he sure has ambition and has ever since he was the leading heartthrob in *NSYNC. He drove the teen pop quintet to the top of the charts, far exceeding their peers the Backstreet Boys, and when the group could achieve no more, he eased into a solo career that earned him great sales and a fair amount of praise, largely centered on how he reworked the dynamic sound of early Michael Jackson at a time when Jacko was so hapless he turned away songs that later became JT hits, as in the Neptunes-propelled "Rock Your Body." That song and "Cry Me a River" turned his 2002 solo debut, Justified, into a blockbuster, which in turn meant that he started to be taken seriously -- not just by teens-turned-adult, but also by some rock critics and Hollywood, who gave him no less than three starring roles in the wake of Justified. Those films all fell victim to endless delays -- Alpha Dog aired at Sundance 2006 but didn't see release that year, nor did Black Snake Moan, which got pushed back until 2007, leaving Edison Force, a roundly panned Shattered Glass-styled thriller that sneaked out onto video, as the first Timberlake film to see the light of day -- but even if silver screen stardom proved elusive, Justin didn't seem phased at all, and his fall 2006 album FutureSex/LoveSounds proves why: he'd been pouring all his energy into his second album to ensure that he didn't have a sophomore slump.
If Michael Jackson was the touchstone for Justified, Prince provides the cornerstone of FutureSex/LoveSounds, at least to a certain extent -- Timbaland, Timberlake's chief collaborator here (a move that invites endless endlessly funny "Timbaland/Timberlake" jokes), does indeed spend plenty of time on FutureSex refurbishing the electro-funk of Prince's early-'80s recordings, just like he did with Nelly Furtado's Loose, and Timberlake's obsession with sex does indeed recall Prince's carnivorous carnality of the early '80s. But execution is everything, particularly with Timberlake, and if the clumsy title of FutureSex/LoveSounds wasn't a big enough tip-off that something is amiss here -- the clear allusion to Speakerboxxx/The Love Below would seem like an homage if there weren't the nagging suspicion that Timberlake didn't realize that the OutKast album bore that title because it was two records in one -- a quick listen to the album's opening triptych proves that Justin doesn't quite bring the robotic retro-future funk he's designed to life. Hell, a quick look at the titles of those first three songs shows some cracks in the album's architecture, as they reveal how desperate and literal Timberlake's sex moves are. Each of the three opening songs has "sex" sandwiched somewhere within its title, as if mere repetition of the word will magically conjure a sex vibe, when in truth it has the opposite effect: it makes it seem that Justin is singing about it because he's not getting it. Surely, his innuendos are bluntly obvious, packing lots of swagger but no machismo or grace. They merely recycle familiar scenarios -- making out on the beach, dancing under hot lights, acting like a pimp -- in familiar fashions, marrying them to grinding, squealing synths that never sound sweaty or sexy; if they're anything, they're the sound of bad anonymous sex in a club, not an epic freaky night with a sex machine like, say, Prince. But Prince isn't the only idol Justin Timberlake wants to emulate here. Like any young man with a complex about his maturity, he wants to prove that he's an adult now by singing not just about sex but also serious stuff, too -- meaning, of course, that drugs are bad and can ruin lives. Like the Arctic Monkeys deploring the scummy men who pick up cheap hookers in Sheffield, Justin has read about the pipe and the damage done -- he may not have seen it, but he sure knows that it happens somewhere, and he's put together an absurd Stevie Wonder-esque slice of protest pop in "Losing My Way," where he writes in character of a man who had it all and threw it all away...or, to use Justin's words, "Hi, my name is Bob/And I work at my job," which only goes to show that Timberlake lacks a sense of grace no matter what he chooses to write about.
Graceless he may be, but Timberlake is nevertheless kind of fascinating on FutureSex/LoveSounds since his fuses a clear musical vision -- misguided, yes, but clear all the same -- with a hammyness that only a child entertainer turned omnipresent 21st century celebrity can be. Timberlake yearns to be taken seriously, to be a soulful loverman like Marvin Gaye coupled with the musical audaciousness of Prince, yet still sell more records than Michael Jackson -- and he not only yearns for that recognition, he feels entitled to it, so he's cut and pasted pieces from all their careers, cobbling together his own blueprint, following it in a fashion where every wrong move is simultaneously obvious and surprising. There is no subtlety to his music, nor is there much style -- he's charmless in his affectations, and there's nothing but affectations in his music. At least this accumulation of affectations does amount to a semblance of personality this time around -- he's still a slick cipher as a singer, yet he is undeniably an auteur of some sort, one who has created an album that's stilted and robotic, but one who doggedly carries it through to its logical conclusion, so the club jams and slow jams both feel equally distant and calculated. There is, however, a flair within the production, particularly in how foreign yet familiar its retro-future vibe sounds.

tags: justin timberlake, futuresex lovesounds, future sex love sounds deluxe edition, futuresex/lovesounds, 2006,flac,

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Mariah Carey - Glitter (2002)

Country: U.S.A
Genre: R&B, Disco, Hip-Hop
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© 2001 Virgin Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Mariah Carey's first album for Virgin Records was supposed to be a triumph, an album that confirmed her status as pop's reigning diva, while serving as the soundtrack to a film that proved her crossover status was every bit as potent as that of her unexpected arch-rival Jennifer Lopez. Instead, Glitter proved to be an utter meltdown -- the pop equivalent of Chernobyl. It's hard not to sympathize with everybody involved, actually, from Mariah herself, to all the musicians and producers involved in this and the film, plus the label that shelled out millions of dollars for a proven quantity that suddenly stopped delivering the goods. Because Glitter is a catastrophe -- it captures Mariah on a downturn of creativity and popularity, just when she needs to shine the brightest, and then it was paired with an extremely public emotional breakdown, highlighted by a bizarre appearance on TRL, where she was seemingly dressed only in a T-shirt and handing out Popsicles, plus a scarily suicidal message posted and then quickly deleted from her website. Poor Mariah! Poor Virgin! Who could have predicted this pop perfect storm? And, when you're seeing it unfold, or listening to it unspool, it's hard not to be shocked by the miscalculation of every aspect of Glitter. Superficially, it's not that all far removed from her last Columbia album, Rainbow, but if that record illustrated the freeing effect of her divorce from Tommy Motolla, this album shows that Mariah needs some guiding force, something to keep her on track. Otherwise, she sinks into gormless ballads, covers of early-'80s funk tunes that sound exactly like the originals, hip-hop funk that plays plastic and stiff. This touches on everything Mariah tried before, but nothing works -- not the oversinging, not the sentimental, not the desperate attempts for street cred. If she indeed was paranoid about Lopez's career and success, as certain tabloid reports indicated, she shouldn't have made a record that seems to ape On the 6 the way that album slavishly followed prime Mariah. It's an embarrassment, one that might have been easier to gawk at if its creator wasn't so close to emotional destruction at the time of release.

tags: mariah carey, 2001, glitter, 2002, flac,

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Kelis - Kaleidoscope (1999)

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

Label Number: 7243 8 47911 2 4

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© 1999 Virgin Records
AllMusic Review by Jaime Sunao Ikeda
This release showcases the development of a great talent. The album's flaws stem from steps taken backward toward what one could call "mainstream" R&B. It's when Kelis and her production team create tracks that best fit her voice and uniqueness that the end results are outstanding. Although comparisons to Neneh Cherry are inevitable, she does carve out a niche for herself, armed with undeniable talent. Kaleidoscope starts out strongly enough with standouts such as "Caught out There," "Get Along with You," and "In the Morning." Sadly enough, the focus seems to lose its footing midway and from there on out, the remaining songs run from average to good. As an artist who could become, with the proper guidance, a prominent figure for years to come, Kelis is one not to dismiss.

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Kelis - Wanderland (2001)

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

Label Number: CDVUSDJ205

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© 2001 Virgin Records
AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman

Wanderland unfortunately didn't build on the promise Kelis showed throughout 1999's Kaleidoscope, and it didn't even come out in the States, but quickly dismissing it as a sophomore slump would be rash. In fact, the album's first three songs -- "Young, Fresh n' New," "Flash Back," and "Popular Thug" -- are on an even standing with the best of the singer's debut. "Young, Fresh n' New" is particularly stunning, a buzzing grind with a chaotic loop that could've been lifted from a pinball machine. As a song, it doesn't have much grounding, yet the Neptunes cast their disorienting eccentricities all over it and come up with a production that could've only been suited for Kelis. After that solid beginning, the album continually loses steam and gains it back. The revolving door of guests hinder the album more than it bolsters it; "Perfect Day," for instance, sounds more like a No Doubt album cut with a guest appearance from Kelis than the other way around. Despite the album's bumpiness, it proves that Kelis and the Neptunes should remain linked indefinitely. Until the third album, hope for two things: a more consistent batch of songs and no assistance from those who don't inhabit Kelis' and the Neptunes' world.

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Bruce Dickinson - Balls To Picasso (1994)

Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Heavy Metal

Label Number: CDP 79 4 273 2

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© 1994 Never Records
AllMusic Review by John Franck
Immediately following his departure from metal legends Iron Maiden, singer and jack of all trades Bruce Dickinson signed a new deal stateside to Mercury Records and went to work on his second solo effort. Notwithstanding some dreadful artwork, his Polygram debut, Balls to Picasso, is somewhat of a disappointment and, for the most part, an ill-conceived project. Eager to get away from the classic galloping we'll-march-to-the-war Maiden sound, the singer joins forces with a band by the name of Tribe of Gypsies. The band (which managed to generate quite a buzz on its own but alas never found a home for itself) features Roy Z, Dickinson's chief collaborator/songwriting partner for this album. Eddie jokes aside, if Dickinson wanted to get away from the classic Iron Maiden sound, he sure does a good job on this album. Unfortunately, the singer fails to come up with anything truly groundbreaking or even interesting here (save for the album closer, "Tears of a Dragon"). Balls to Picasso gets underway with the messy, seven-minute "Cyclops." Following it is "Hell No," which, again, makes a valid argument for the singer's newfound musical freedom and prerogative to shun a sound that he once helped create. Not only is "Hell No" not Maiden-ish at all, it gives way to the über-heavy, down-tuned rumblings of "Gods of War" -- which takes flight like some sort of ode to Pantera gone New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The end result? Nothing substantial. Maybe a good idea on paper but definitely lost somewhere along the way in the execution. Moving forward, "1000 Points of Light" is another faux pas. Nicking its main riff from, of all places, Living Colour's "Cult of Personality," the cut erupts into a bizarre Queensrÿche-meets-Prong chorus and bridge that leave one scratching his or her head. Only Dickinson's strong vocal delivery manages to salvage the song from being a complete disaster. Other cuts like "Laughing in the Hiding Bush" and the soft "Change of Heart" fare a little better. Bongos give way to the lyrically challenged "Shoot all the Clowns," which, stunningly, comes across like some sort of bad L.A. hair metal experiment meets "Welcome to the Jungle." "Fire," a strange stream-of-consciousness warble, gives way to a classic Maiden-type chorus. Just when you thought all was lost, surprise of all surprises, the album closes with the absolutely magnificent "Tears of a Dragon." Maybe it's the cut's familiar Iron Maiden aesthetic, or perhaps it's Dickinson's wonderful vocal delivery. Who really knows. But what is known is that it's by far the album's best song. Superficially, it threads typical Dickinson territory. However, upon closer inspection, it's obvious that with lyrics like "where I was, I had wings that couldn't fly," there's no love lost between the singer and his former bandmates. It's clear that the singer makes a clear open and shut case for his need to "release the wave and let it wash over me" as he sings about unburdening himself from the artistically stifling direction of his previous outfit. Looking back, the singer made very few new friends with this release and would go on to record far superior solo records like Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding. These last two records in particular would see the singer receive worldwide press accolades and a warm reception from some old-school Maiden fans. Again, deservedly and predictably, the album's closer, which musically veers into familiar Maiden territory, is probably what the singer's fans expected all along. Also worth noting, the musical direction of the aforementioned track would be later revisited six years down the road -- it would foreshadow a direction that the Dickinson-reunited Maiden would take on some of Brave New World's more introspective songs.

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Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth (1997)

Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Heavy Metal

Label Number: 06076-86217-2

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© 1997 CMC International Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Of all of Bruce Dickinson's solo albums, Accident of Birth sounds the most similar to Iron Maiden, which isn't surprising since former Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith co-wrote many of the songs and plays on the record. The album is better than many latter-day Maiden efforts, and though the songwriting is occasionally uneven, the best moments (including "Man of Sorrows") make it an intriguing album.

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Reverend Bizarre - In The Rectory of The Bizarre Reverend (2002)

Country: Finland
Language: English
Genre: Doom Metal

Label Number: SFGCD10

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© 2002 Sinister Figure
AllMusic Review by Eduardo Rivadavia
Curiously, of all the major heavy metal subgenres steadily embraced by Finnish bands starting in the early ‘90s (black metal, death metal, power metal, folk metal, you name it), doom seemed to be the last to arrive in a significant way. Whether this was a matter of simple coincidence, or because it's much more difficult to stay warm when playing music so damn slow, virtually all that the snow-bound country could muster before the turn of the millennium were obscure funeral doom trawlers Skepticism and the heavily gothic-leaning Shapes of Despair. But at last, Lucifer said "Let there be Reverend Bizarre": a Sabbath-worshipping trio whose 2002 long-form debut, In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend, championed vintage doom of the highest order. You know, the kind that comes with very large crosses, much standing around in snow-covered graveyards, frequent references to Aleister Crowley, and, most important of all, very large and scary goats…as seen on this album's cover detail taken from Francisco de Goya's Witches Sabbath. All this proves the perfect framework for monolithic tracks like "Burn in Hell!" and "Sodoma Sunrise," where the band treats every majestic mega-riff as though it's both the first and last they'll ever play, and where Albert Witchfinder's vibrato-laden, semi-operatic vocals (he doesn't bother with deathly grunts until second to last track "Doomsower") don't quite challenge a Messiah Marcolin, but still prove far more melodramatic than a Bobby Liebling or certainly Ozzy himself. Meanwhile, the song "In the Rectory" recalls Cathedral for sheer, slow-crawling concentration, and the especially sorrowful "The Hour of Death" Electric Wizard for its unmitigated sense of imminent dread. And it's a testament to the strength of Reverend Bizarre's power chords and melodies that one doesn't even start to mind the preposterous lengths of most of these tracks until the final, titanic, 21-minute grind of "Cirith Ungol" (no relation to the ‘80s L.A. band). Given that these mere six, colossal tracks were packed into a CD-busting 75 minutes, it's no wonder that In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend managed to announce Reverend Bizarre -- and really Finland's -- true arrival on the international doom stage.

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Pentagram - First Daze Here: The Vintage Collection (2016 Reissue)⚓

*Reissued & remastered in 2016 by Relapse Records. 

Contains a second disc with 2 bonus tracks. 

A photo of the disc is included in the RAR file.

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Doom Metal

Style: Traditional Doom

Label Number: RR7311

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© 2002-2016 Relapse Records
AllMusic Review by Eduardo Rivadavia
Ever wonder how it felt for blues historians to uncover the lost 78s containing Robert Johnson's timeless Depression-era recordings? Well, if there's a heavy metal equivalent to this experience, then First Daze Here may well be it. Yet another Pentagram collection gradually unearthing this once amazingly obscure band's rare singles and even rarer studio recordings, it's not the most comprehensive, nor is it definitive, but it boasts the best selection and certainly the best sound quality. Most of these tracks were recorded between 1973 and 1974 at various low-budget sessions in the Washington, D.C., area by the group's original lineup, and digital remastering has done wonders to resurrect their original power and appeal. What most people don't know is that Pentagram's early work was hardly dominated by the Sabbath-heavy proto-metal which would characterize their mid-'80s releases. Rather, while this was certainly a core component of the band's sound (see "When the Screams Come" and "Review Your Choices"), their love for the '60s-based psychedelic hard rock of Blue Cheer was just as pronounced, especially on offerings like "Lazylady," "Hurricane," and "Last Days Here." Barnstorming opener "Forever My Queen" is probably their best-known early single, and with reason, as it remains a career high watermark; but it's long-forgotten gems like "Living in a Ram's Head" and the awesome "Be Forewarned" (later given a more traditionally metallic treatment in the early '90s) which will prove especially thrilling to fans of the '70s' sonic aesthetic. For them, as well as most serious metal historians, this is an essential purchase.

tags: pentagram, first daze here, the vintage collection, 2002, 2016 reissue, remaster,

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Ramones - Road To Ruin (1978)

*First pressing. 

Contains 12 tracks total.

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Punk Rock

Label Number: WPCP-3144

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© 1978-1990 Sire Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The loud-and-fast, campy-and-catchy formula began to wear a little thin by the time of the Ramones' fourth album, Road to Ruin. Following the exact same blueprint as its three predecessors, Road to Ruin simply doesn't yield the same results as the other records. In part, it's because the band sounds a little forced on the harder numbers, but the main problem lies with the undistinguished material. "I Wanna Be Sedated" is a classic, and "Questioningly" proves that the Ramones are just as effective when they slow the tempo down, yet much of the record sounds like the Ramones trying to give the people what they want. Since they were still in their prime, such nondescript material sounds good, but the record has neither the exuberant energy or abundant hooks of Ramones and Rocket to Russia, and it's the first suggestion that the Ramones may have painted themselves into a corner.

tags: ramones, road to ruin, 1978, flac,

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Ramones - End of The Century (1980)

*U.S. first pressing. 

Contains 12 tracks total.

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Punk Rock

Label Number: 6077-2

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© 1980-1986 Sire Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Road to Ruin found the Ramones stretching their signature sound to its limits; even though there were several fine moments, nearly all of them arrived when the group broke free from the suddenly restrictive loud-fast-hard formula of their first records. Considering that the Ramones did desire mainstream success and that they had a deep love for early-'60s pop/rock, it's not surprising that they decided to shake loose the constrictions of their style by making an unabashed pop album, yet it was odd that Phil Spector produced End of the Century, because his painstaking working methods seemingly clashed with the Ramones' instinctual approach. However, the Ramones were always more clever than they appeared, so the matching actually worked better than it could have. Spector's detailed production helped bring "Rock 'n' Roll High School" and "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" to life, yet it also kept some of the punkier numbers in check. Even so, End of the Century is more enjoyable than its predecessor, since the record has stronger material, and in retrospect, it's one of their better records of the '80s.

tags: ramones, end of the century, 1980, flac,

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Ramones - Leave Home (1977)

*Japanese first pressing. 

Contains 14 tracks total.

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Punk Rock

Label Number: WPCP-3142

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© 1977-1990 Sire Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Of course the Ramones' second album, Leave Home, is simply more of the same -- 14 songs, including one oldie ("California Sun"), delivered at breakneck speed and concluding in under a half-hour. The Ramones have gotten slightly poppier, occasionally delivering songs like "I Remember You" that are cloaked neither in irony nor seedy rock & roll chic. Still, the biggest impressions are made by the cuts that strongly recall the debut, whether it's the ersatz Beach Boys of "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," the singalong of "Pinhead," or the warped anthems "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" and "Commando." Song for song, it's slightly weaker than its predecessor, but the handful of mediocre cuts speed by so fast that you don't really notice its weaknesses until after it's all over.

tags: ramones, leave home, 1977, flac,

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Ramones - Rocket To Russia (1977)

*First pressing. 

Contains 14 tracks total.

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Punk Rock

Label Number: WPCP-3143

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© 1977-1990 Sire Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The Ramones provided the blueprint and Leave Home duplicated it with lesser results, but the Ramones' third album, Rocket to Russia, perfected it. Rocket to Russia boasts a cleaner production than its predecessors, which only gives the Ramones' music more force. It helps that the group wrote its finest set of songs for the album. From the mindless, bopping opening of "Cretin Hop" and "Rockaway Beach" to the urban surf rock of "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" and the ridiculous anthem "Teenage Lobotomy," the songs are teeming with irresistibly catchy hooks; even their choice of covers, "Do You Want to Dance?" and "Surfin' Bird," provide more hooks than usual. The Ramones also branch out slightly, adding ballads to the mix. Even with these (relatively) slower songs, the speed of the album never decreases. However, the abundance of hooks and slight variety in tempos makes Rocket to Russia the Ramones' most listenable and enjoyable album -- it doesn't have the revolutionary impact of The Ramones, but it's a better album and one of the finest records of the late '70s.

tags: ramones, rocket to russia, 1977, flac,

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Ramones - Ramones (1976)

*First pressing. 

Contains 14 tracks total.

Country: U.S.A
Genre: Punk Rock

Label Number: WPCP-3141

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© 1976-1990 Sire Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

With the three-chord assault of "Blitzkrieg Bop," The Ramones begins at a blinding speed and never once over the course of its 14 songs does it let up. The Ramones is all about speed, hooks, stupidity, and simplicity. The songs are imaginative reductions of early rock & roll, girl group pop, and surf rock. Not only is the music boiled down to its essentials, but the Ramones offer a twisted, comical take on pop culture with their lyrics, whether it's the horror schlock of "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement," the gleeful violence of "Beat on the Brat," or the maniacal stupidity of "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." And the cover of Chris Montez's "Let's Dance" isn't a throwaway -- with its single-minded beat and lyrics, it encapsulates everything the group loves about pre-Beatles rock & roll. They don't alter the structure, or the intent, of the song, they simply make it louder and faster. And that's the key to all of the Ramones' music -- it's simple rock & roll, played simply, loud, and very, very fast. None of the songs clock in at any longer than two and half minutes, and most are considerably shorter. In comparison to some of the music the album inspired, The Ramones sounds a little tame -- it's a little too clean, and compared to their insanely fast live albums, it even sounds a little slow -- but there's no denying that it still sounds brilliantly fresh and intoxicatingly fun.

tags: ramones, ramones album, 1976, flac,

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Various Artists - Queen of The Damned: Music From The Motion Picture (2002)

Country: U.S.A

Genre: Industrial Metal, Alternative Metal

Label Number: 9 48285-2

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© 2002 Warner Bros. Records
AllMusic Review by William Ruhlmann
An hour's worth of contemporary metal constitutes the soundtrack for the vampire movie Queen of the Damned. The unusual element that lifts this collection beyond being a typical various-artists album masquerading as a soundtrack is the inclusion of five specially written songs by Jonathan Davis and Richard Gibbs that relate, at least slightly, to the film. Davis and Gibbs have persuaded a who's who of metal vocalists -- Wayne Static of Static-X ("Not Meant for Me"), David Draiman of Disturbed ("Forsaken"), Chester Bennington of Linkin Park ("System"), Marilyn Manson ("Redeemer"), and Jay Gordon of Orgy ("Slept So Long") -- to sing their songs. The rest of the album is dominated by tracks from Warner metal albums by the likes of Static-X ("Cold"), Disturbed ("Down With the Sickness"), and Deftones ("Change [In the House of Flies]"), plus a few tracks licensed from other labels and metal bands, including Dry Cell, who preview their forthcoming album with "Body Crumbles." The result is an overview of the metal music of the day, with its crunching guitar chords, pummeling drums, and harsh vocals singing desperate lyrics. The gothic, threatening tone of the music is appropriate to a horror movie, but the soundtrack also does double duty as a genre sampler.

tags: queen of the damned soundtrack, queen of the damned music from the motion picture, 2002, flac, ost,

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