Tracklisting: 1. Everything Is Everything 2. Run Run Run 3. I'm an Actor 4. Love for Granted 5. Victim of the Crime 6. (You Can't Blame It On) Anybody 7. Congratulations 8. If It's Not With You 9. Holdin' on Together 10. Alphabetical 11. The Diary of Alphabetical
Review:While this album isn't Phoenix's best, it is a good example of the band trying out different sounds. A bit different from their dance pop rock of United, this album does groove sometimes - from the completely radio friendly intentional "Everything Is Everything" to the funky "Holdin' On Together". I enjoy the use of the synthesizer on this album, usually sounding like those sparse chord flourishes from slow electronica and 80's R&B (see Bobby Caldwell). The album begins to sound really good starting with the fantastic R&B spin "(You Can't Blame It On) Anybody" and onward. I swear "If It's Not With You" could be a D'Angelo track.
Tracklisting: 1. The Way You Look Tonight 2. Love Walked In 3. What Is This Thing Called Love? 4. September In The Rain 5. Prelude 6. Fugue On Bop Themes 7. Let's Fall In Love 8. Ipca 9. How High The Moon 10. Serenade Suite 11. Playland-At-The-Beach 12. Prisoner's Song 13. Schizophrenic Scherzo 14. Rondo 15. I Hear A Rhapsody 16. You Go To My Head 17. Laura 18. Closing Theme
Review: Before the amazing records that pianist Dave Brubeck would eventually put out, here's one during his formative years with his quartet. Someone reviewed this by complaining that it didn't "swing". They are, unfortunately, correct. This album serves mainly as a lesson in jazz, as the track "How High The Moon" shows by providing a brief tour through the history of jazz until bebop. Still, it's a decent record, and contains a few songs that make up for the album's lack of presence. The video below is for a song that isn't on the album but gives you a general idea.
Tracklisting: 1. U Know My Steez 2. Robin Hood Theory 3. Work 4. Royalty(feat. K-Ci & Jujo) 5. Above The Clouds 6. JFX 2 LAX 7. It'z A Set Up 8. Moment Of Truth 9. BI Vs Friendship (feat. M.O.P.) 10. The Militia 11. What I'm Here 4 12. She Knows What She Wantz 13. New York Strait Talk 14. My Advice 2 You 15. Make 'Em Pay 16. The Mall 17. Betrayal (feat. Scarface) 18. Next Time 19. In Memory Of
Review: Classic. Ill. Rap with the dap and all that crap. Before I utter more euphemisms, it's important for all of you to get this now. The beats are sick, and coupled with the rhymes the outcome is a chill, dope hip hop record. Just check out the video below and tell me you aren't convinced. Anything with Guru and DJ Premier has classic written all over it.
Tracklisting: 1. Harmony 2. Papillon de Nuit 3. Who Are You? 4. I Killed My Best Friend 5. I Shall Skip Your Judgement 6. Thank You 7. Ain't Go No... I Got Life 8. Sitting in Your Head 9. Through This Time 10. Hanging Around 11. Mind Is a Horse 12. This & That 13. Locarno
Review: I don't remember how I stumbled onto Le Volume Courbe. The sound is strange, experimental rock with dark lyrics. Charlotte Marionneau sings in English with an adorable French accent, giving a contrast between what is said and how it sounds. "Who Are You?" is such a weird track, featuring a loop of a woman expressing surprise & joy (?). "I Shall Skip Your Judgement" is instrumental cohesive and very nice, but Marionneau's mumbling adds a tinge of oh-shit atmosphere. Not all is strange, of course, the Nina Simone cover "Ain't Go No... I Got Life", "Sitting in Your Head" and "Through This Time" offer a return to normal rock structure. The album ends with "Locarno", a song that falls between dub and abstract - perfect for the indescribable feeling of the record as a whole.
Tracklisting: 1. Samba Triste 2. Do Jeito Que a Gente Quer 3. Valsa Nº 1 4. Babel 5. Samba de Deixa 6. Chico Ferreira e Bento 7. Casa Velha 8. Tempo Feliz 9. Tristeza 10. A Primeira Vez 11. Canto de Ossanha 12. Samba da Minha Terra 13. Cidade Vazia 14. Bahia
Review: Excuse my earlier review. I was thinking of another album. Perhaps this review will illuminate this record:
"We think that the 1976 record Tristeza, compared with Samba Triste and Melancolie that were produced at the same time, is the most interesting one. Except for two tracks, A Primeira Vez and Na Baixa Do Sapateiro, BP is accompanying himself on guitar, more often than on any other record. It can only be guessed whether the title Tristeza 1976 is a reference to the 1966 Tristeza on Guitar.
Unusual is the slower version of Canto de Ossanha, which like the other songs on the record belongs to the faster part of the live repertoire of these years. BP's Version of A Primeira Vez is anticipating his later singing and playing style.Na Baixa Do Sapateiro comes in his usual masterly effortlessness, that is always surprising. Also on this record are musicality and imaginativeness more important than mere technical virtuosity.
The studio recordings Tristeza 1976 and Samba Triste show style and experience of the live repertoire of the mid-70ies with and around the bass player Guy Pederson. These recordings were the last studio recordings with Guy, his preferred musician of the last years, between 1972-1975.
1989 Tristeza 1976 was released on CD, together with Samba Triste, except for the track So Danco Samba. Nowadays this is a rarity as it has never been re-released with the original cover." (BOG)
Tracklisting: 1. Special To Me 2. My Flame 3. Love Won't Wait 4. Can't Say Goodbye 5. Come To Me 6. What You Won't Do For Love 7. Kalimba Song 8. Take Me Back To Then 9. Down For The Third Time
Review: If you ever needed an album to lay your old lady to, here it is. Soulful, R&B to hit the sheets. Aside from the title song, other tracks stand out such as "Can't Say Goodbye" and "My Flame". Bobby Caldwell himself has yet to make another album like this, but I'm glad I got the chance to listen to this cause it is a fantastic album.
Tracklisting: 1. Intro 2. Maniac Psycho 3. Step Up 4. Funky Lemonade 5. In My Room 6. Age Ain't Nothin' But a # 7. Shorty Said Nah 8. Let the Horns Blow 9. Roadrunner 10. Fabulous Chi 11. Looped It 12. Check My Record 13. Murder Chi Wrote 14. Chi-Ali Vs. Vanilla Shake 15. Jump to the Rhythm
Review: A dope emcee at the age of 14 years, Chi-Ali was the youngest member of the Native Tongues during the early 90's. The beats are fantastic and Chi-Ali's rhymes show talent and maturity (despite his age, I guess). "Funky Lemonade", "In My Room" a sex groove, "Age Ain't Nothin' But a #" are the key tracks. "Jump to the Rhythm" is an effective party track, just remember that you're hearing a 14 year old talk about getting honeys like vitamins. Classic.
Tracklisting: 1. Sara Smile 2. Rich Girl 3. It's A Laugh 4. Wait For Me 5. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling 6. Kiss On My List 7. You Make My Dreams 8. Private Eyes 9. I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) 10. Did It In A Minute 11. Maneater 12. One On One 13. Family Man 14. Say It Isn't So 15. Adult Education 16. Out Of Touch 17. Method Of Modern Love 18. Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid
Review: Throwback Friday. Often sampled in hip-hop records (MF Doom comes to mind), Hall & Oates were one of those R&B/pop rock groups of the 80's that became a crate digger's dream. Surely not a rare gem (they're somewhat well known), the tunes are still very good. One listen to "Sara Smile" or "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" and I'm pretty sure you'll agree with me this is boss.
Tracklisting: 1. Re: Person I Knew 2. Polka Dots and Moonbeams 3. I Fall In Love Too Easily 4. Stairway to the Stars 5. If You Could See Me Now 6. It Might As Well Be Spring 7. In Love in Vain 8. Very Early
Review: "Bill Evans is a musician you never tire of listening to. He has the ability to play a tune freshly, every time. This recording is, in my opinion, his finest. The first date after the untimely death of Scott LaFaro, this album is beautiful ,melodic and haunting. Every tune is played with typical Evans genius, but on this session he seems to be expressing his musical ideas with even more flavor and emotion. The first cut is the most expressive and emotive I have ever heard in the trio setting. I am sure it was dedicated to LaFaro, even though it supposedly is an anagram for the producer of the date, Orrin Keepnews. Evans expresses his passion, joy and grief for his young bassist in every note and the result is, to my mind, stunning. I love Chuck Israels' bass lines and the chords Evans plays quietly over the bass solo are beautiful and ephemeral. Every tune on this CD is wonderful, the playing of everyone is at such a high level of creativity that this music will live on forever. This is a can't miss choice if you like piano music." (kenneth maclean)
The review above is quite spot on. Contains "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" a personal favorite of mines. A little late for Sunday, but close enough.
Tracklisting: 1. Preparations 2. Black Sand 3. Dragon's Crotch 4. Teeth Of All Types 5. Go Forth And Gather 6. Gone In Time 7. Nicaragua 8. Strong Swimmers 9. Outta California 10. It's Tough 11. Wrong Way 12. The Community Bed
Review: Psychedelic blues rock. I'll be damned if no one else agrees with me that the female vocalist in this band sounds just like Chan Marshall of Cat Power. It was the initial draw for me. I can't say too much for this record, the tracks drag on - sometimes much too long. It's alright for what it is, but I kind of feel the part of me that would usually dig this is lost amidst all these new expectations of what real good stuff should sound like. Oh, well. I'm sure someone else can pick this up and enjoy it more than I have. "Strong Swimmers" and "It's Tough" are high points.
Tracklisting: 1. Subject To Love 2. Missing In Action 3. Girl(s) 4. Darling 5. Lost And Found (Featuring Pacific!) 6. An Answer 7. Otaku 8. Summary 9. I'm On The Line 10. Di Solito 11. Schizo Time
Review: A decent electro pop album. The album starts strong but takes a nose dive into repetition and lack of direction. I had high hopes after hearing multiple remixes from Popular Computer (the Pacific! and Shinichi Osawa tracks to name a few). The song "Girl(s)" is probably the strongest track on the record, sound very much like a particular Daft Punk song. The album loses it's charm once you've heard about seven songs that just repeat sentences like 'missing in action' or 'I'm on the line' ad nauseum. There are a few great tunes and ideas thrown around, but it's just not enough for me to recommend it seriously. But give it a listen first, I'm sure it'll grow on you as it might with me.
Tracklisting: 1. Let's Stay Together 2. La-La For You 3. So You're Leaving 4. What Is This Feeling 5. Old Time Lovin 6. I've Never Found A Girl 7. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart 8. Judy 9. It Ain't No Fun To Me
Review: Whenever the Reverend Al Green is mentioned, I get the chills. Something about the soulful R&B this man produced makes every day worth living. Let's Stay Together is a classic soul record and belongs in your collection if you have any appreciation for the vocal abilities of humankind or our potential to groove. If you are an extraterrestrial, well, shit. You've got me.
Tracklisting: 1. Abandon 2. Over The World 3. Carried Away 4. New Man 5. Said So What 6. Atlanta 7. Love In The Ruins 8. With The Fishes 9. The Way You Arrive 10. All Our Weekends 11. Sex Tourists 12. This Could Go Wrong
Review: I've been in a bit of music drought. A lot of new rock music just doesn't fit with me. Thankfully, I found this one year old record. If I had to describe it, I'd call it emotional indie rock. It makes me feel like putting it on and zoning out, getting lost in my thoughts about life. That said, the songs are fairly repetitive, stretching into the 5+ minutes each. However, it is very catchy, melancholy, and perfect to slumber or drift away to. Still, it is a rock record, and contains a fair amount of energy. On heavy rotation for me.
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