Saturday, December 29, 2007

2008 - Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks !!

2007 debut album from the UK songstress Kate Nash. Pop music with indie sensibilities and an experimental edge permeate much of this album, and it is topped off with Nash's distinctive estuary vocal stylings. Since the album's release, Nash has been the talk of the town in the UK, where she regularly appears in most of the music magazines from NME to Q. She has quickly risen the ranks from 'darling of the critics' to commercially-successful artist, and deservedly so. Features 12 tracks including the single 'Foundations'.

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Friday, December 28, 2007

2007 - Amy McDonald - This Is The Life !!


Amy MacDonald is that proverbial old head on young shoulders, a Scottish singer-songwriter who, despite her tender 19 years, writes songs with the grace, wisdom, and proficiency of one with a score more on the clock. As influenced by the Libertines as by any venerable old folk hand, the eleven songs on This Is the Life combine a traditional, acoustic folk-rock sound with a youthful spirit and self-assured lyrics that veer between the observational and the confessional. "Poison Prince" is a jagged guitar strut dedicated to some Doherty-like bad boy, a song every bit as pathos-laden as the Libertines at their doomed, romantic best with a closing treatise to find "An upbeat song/So we can dance the night away," while "Mr. Rock & Roll" begins as a wryly withering jibe at some perennial party animals, but by the chorus has softened into a subtle, touching tale of human coupling. MacDonald's age doesn't seem to have been an impediment--"Youth of Today," reportedly written when she was 15, is one of the better tracks here, while "Footballer's Wife" is a clear-headed attack on vapid Barbie-doll celebrity that suggests this girl is very much on the right track. "Rolling Stone, here I come, watch out everyone/I'm singing my song," she sings on "Let's Start a Band." Let that be a warning to you.

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Thursday, December 27, 2007

2007 - Aerosmith - Back In The Saddle !!

Live Aerosmith Concert !! A must listen for all Aerosmith fans !

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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

2007 - NME presents - The Essential Bands !!


2007 two CD release, the fourth in the very successful NME Essential Bands series of albums. Once again, the album combines the unique and famous NME brand with the very best of 2007's commercial Indie hits and up-coming bands. Reflecting a change in this market over 2007 the album includes the likes of Mark Ronson, Kate Nash and Amy Winehouse, alongside more familiar offerings from Kasabian, Hard-Fi, Kaiser Chiefs, Babyshambles, Klaxons and The Enemy. 40 tracks !

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Monday, December 24, 2007

2008 - Leona Lewis - Spirit !!


Leona was the winner of the 2006 season of the UK's talent show X-Factor and Spirit is the first release under a partnership between the show's creator Simon Cowell and music mogul Clive Davis. Working alongside the world's biggest producers and songwriters, Leona has put together an unrivaled collection of songs. The album plays host to a veritable 'who's who' of writers and producers, with the likes of Dallas Austin, Soulshock and Carlin, Jam and Lewis, Walter Afanasieff And Salaam Remi all having lined up to work with Leona. Each of the tracks on Spirit has the potential to be a single.

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Saturday, December 22, 2007

2008 - Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark !!

DBT s brand new album is a Southern gothic rock n' roll masterpiece with 19 songs adding up to over 75 minutes of pure rock n roll. The band continues its notorious 3-guitar attack with the promotion of longtime sidekick John Neff to full member. Patterson Hood contributes 9 songs to the album (The Righteous Path, Daddy Needs A Drink), 7 songs from Mike Cooley (A Ghost To Most, Lisa's Birthday) and 3 songs from Shonna Tucker (The Purgatory Line). This it the first time Shonna has written the songs for a DBT album. All this is enhanced with musical contributions from he legendary Spooner Oldham.

As Patterson Hood says about the songs on the album, Stylistically, they run the gamut from old-timey sounding country to a heavy R&B influence. Some songs that are quieter than any we've ever recorded and some that rock harder than anything we've ever done. In the end it's still all Rock and Roll (which is why that will always be the description of choice to us when describing our music in stylistic terms).

Drive-By Truckers are one of the most unique recording artists and live bands in popular music today. The Truckers write about people, places and situations like no one else, and have build an amazing worldwide audience in the process.

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Friday, December 21, 2007

2007 - Top Gear - Seriously Cool Driving Music !!


Featuring the best of the current guitar-led crop on CD1, with a high calibre selection of classic rock on CD2, this album is the perfect soundtrack to every journey, from a midnight blast to the commute to work.

The first disc features the likes of The Killers and Kings Of Leon to Kasabian and Kaiser Chiefs, with disc two playing host to Robert Plant, David Bowie, T. Rex, Deep Purple and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s almighty classic ‘Free Bird’ amongst others.

That’s a total of 39 tracks!

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Monday, December 17, 2007

2008 - Joe Jackson - Rain !!


About the four-year break between albums, Jackson says: "I wasn't in a hurry to make a new album. I promised myself that I wouldn't make a record until I had an album's worth of songs that were the best I could do. I think several of these songs are the best songs I've ever written, and I wanted to have 10 or 12 songs that I felt that way about before I put out another album. I used to be a bit of a workaholic, but I am now much more patient. The quantity has gone down, but the quality has gone up."

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Saturday, December 15, 2007

2007 - OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud !!

OneRepublic considers its music to be influenced by everyone from the Beatles to U2, and anything in between. "We're no respector of genre," says frontman Ryan Tedder, "If it's a good song or a good artist whether rock, pop, indie or hip hop, they've probably influenced us on some level...nothing's new under the sun, we're a sum of a bunch of parts." They aspire to move their listeners the way Bono does onstage. "You go to a U2 concert and it's like church," Tedder says. "I'd love to make people feel like that. I don't want someone to just say, `Oh, nice voice, nice song.' I want that person to walk away and feel like he or she has had a religious experience; we want them to feel moved."

The band was formed in Colorado by Tedder and high school classmate Zach Filkins. The pair moved to Los Angeles, where they picked up fellow Coloradan, guitarist/keyboardist Drew Brown and drummer Eddie Fisher. The band's most recent inductee, Brent Kutzle, plays bass and adds something extra to live shows with his classical cello. In addition to his work with his own band, Tedder is a Grammy nominated writer & has written & produced tracks with/for various other artists, including Natasha Bedingfield, Jennifer Lopez, Lil' Jon, Paul Oakenfold, t.A.T.u., Bubba Sparxxx, Tupac and uber-producer Timbaland. A remix of OneRepublic's song "Apologize" is featured on Timbaland's album, Shock Value.

The song "Apologize" explores the personal pain of multiple relationships gone awry and the necessity of moving on, while "Stop and Stare" describes the common frustration of getting to a place in life where you think, "How in the world did I end up here, this isn't where I wanted to be, watching what I wanted pass me by." "The lyrics have shades of melancholy, and there is a definite emotional undercurrent running through them," says the band. "If you can't tap into emotion, you're just selling catchy tunes."

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Monday, December 10, 2007

2007 - Crowded House - Time On Earth !!

Fourteen years, a live CD/DVD, some solo albums, and one tragic suicide after Crowded House's last release comes this highly anticipated reunion. Singer/songwriter Neil Finn and bassist Nick Seymour reunited after the 2005 death of drummer Paul Hester, brought in a new member and two producers (Ethan Johns and Steve Lillywhite) to replace longtime cohort Mitchell Froom, and the impressive result is a logical and overdue addition to the band's previous four albums. Finn's knack for a melodic ballad remains firmly in place as Time on Earth coasts on his dreamy voice and introspective, hook-laden pop choruses. However, this is a more reflective collection that requires a few spins to fully reveal its charms. Finn co-writes "Even a Child" with Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, and that and the frisky "She Called Up" are the most buoyant tracks on this predominantly pensive disc. Finn has generally shaded towards a darker edge and this hour-long set might have benefited from more of the lighter touch he applies to "Transit Lounge," a song enhanced by Beth Rowley's lovely and startling wordless vocals along with jazzy electric piano and even airport sound effects. Strings, sitar, and intricate production add subtle elements that bolster the timeless musical qualities Finn has always reveled in. The ominous, even brooding "Silent House," a co-write with all three Dixie Chicks, is another highlight that sounds like nothing either has done before as it floats along on fuzz guitar and hurdy-gurdy, both courtesy of Johns. Trimming some weaker cuts would have made this a more focused listen, but Time on Earth is a worthy successor to Crowded House's existing catalog--a high compliment indeed.

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Saturday, December 8, 2007

2007 - Stephen Colbert - I Am America !!

Stephen Colbert was The Daily Shows longest-running and most diverse correspondent. In addition to his role as Senior Political Correspondent he was one of the hosts of Even Stephen, a point-counterpoint assault featuring co-correspondent Steve Carell, and the host of This Week in God, in which he reported on all things theological with the assistance of the God Machine. His personality, insight and overall rightness could only lead to The Colbert Report, a half-hour nightly platform for him to give his take on the issues of the day, and, more importantly, to tell you why everyone else's take is just plain wrong.

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Friday, December 7, 2007

2007 - Hiroshima - Little Tokyo !!

Hiroshima has been around since 1980 and has successfully brought a new sense of jazz to contemporary jazz with its mixture of jazz styles and world music. Hiroshima has pioneered and developed a sound that is uniquely theirs with influences from Asian, Latin American, African American, and more. Their music is imaginative with its intricate jazz motifs.

There are eleven songs in this CD collection. These songs are "Midnight Sun," "On the Fence," "Lanai," "Red Beans and Rice," "Sir Charles," "Hidden Times," "Shades of Honor," "Quan Yin," "Drama," "Hiro Chill," and "Little Tokyo Underground." These songs reflect the themes found in Little Tokyo, a well-known Asian neighborhood in Southern California. "Quan Yin" and "Red Beans and Rice" speak volumes on how harmony can be fully realized in a jazz setting! These songs will appeal to a large audience.

There is an exotic dimension to this CD collection the defies definition. That it is one of Hiroshima's most creative releases to date is definite. Every performance shines with individuality, whether in solo or in group expression.

The songs in this collection are highly lyrical, positive, and enjoyable listening. Hiroshima continues to provide jazz listening audiences with top of the line performances and music. Highly recommended.


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Thursday, December 6, 2007

2007 - Air Traffic - Fractured Life !!

2007 debut album from new British indie-rock sensations Air Traffic. 2007 has so far seen a host of UK tours, including dates with Ghosts, the Pigeon Detectives and Snow Patrol. features 11 tracks including the singles 'Charlotte' and ‘Shooting Star’ !

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Saturday, December 1, 2007

2007 - She Wants Revenge - This Is Forever !!


This Is Forever continues where their self-titled debut left off, a
figurative morning after to the dance of the night before. Still continuing on the same path of creating thought provoking and emotional dance music, the album deals in the familiar themes of love, loss, and betrayal, yet somehow even darker in tone, with beats that bang even harder, and if it's possible, even catchier songs...a tall feat, but one they welcomed with open
arms. With no intention of playing it safe this time out, the guys have crafted a challenging and compelling album that they are proud to present to their loyal fans and the uninitiated alike.

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