Tracks That Lucky Old Sun
- Midnight's Another Day
- Between Pictures
- California Role/That Lucky Old Sun
- Mexican Girl
- Room With A View
- Southern California
- Oxygen To The Brain
- That Lucky Old Sun
- Good Kind Of Love
- That Lucky Old Sun
- Can't Wait Too Long
- Morning Beat
- Going Home
- Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl
- Cinco De Mayo
- Venice Beach
- Live Let Live/That Lucky Old Sun
Release date: 2008-09-01
RRP: £14.99
Price: £5.39
Review That Lucky Old Sun / Brian Wilson:
Tracks Songs in A&E
- You Lie You Cheat
- Good Night Goodnight
- Harmony 3 (voice)
- Sitting On Fire
- I Gotta Fire
- Harmony 2 (piano)
- Baby I'm Just A Fool
- Harmony 4 (the old man ...)
- Harmony 1 (mellotron)
- Death Take Your Fiddle
- Yeah Yeah
- The Waves Crash In
- Harmony 5 (accordian)
- Sweet Talk
- Borrowed Your Gun
- Soul On Fire
- Don't Hold Me Close
- Harmony 6 (glockenspiel)
Release date: 2008-05-26
Run time: 51 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £4.84
Review Songs in A&E / Spiritualized:The title Songs to Sing in A&E isn't simply a reference to Jason Pierce's chords of choice on this, the sixth album from Spiritualized. Rather, it's a blackly comic reference to the events that preceded this album's creation-specifically, a bout of pneumonia that saw Pierce fighting for his life from a hospital bed. Spiritualized, however, have always specialised in transforming personal travails into great art, and there's something morbidly compelling about a song like "Death Takes Your Fiddle", a chilly blues song accompanied by the wheeze of an artificial respirator. There may be some unfortunate repercussions from Pierce's illness: his voice sounds somewhat frail in comparison to the brave soul we found on 1997's Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space, and this rather seems to expose occasional shortcomings in his lyrics (to follow a song called "I Gotta Fire" with "Soul on Fire" and then "Sitting on Fire" suggests wells of inspiration may be running low). One thing's for sure, though, Pierce is a fine arranger. Lush strings, choirs and flourishes of percussion flesh out simple acoustic songs into impressive symphonies. Meanwhile, "Yeah Yeah" proves Pierce still has a way with an itchy, strung-out blues stomp. -Louis Pattison.
Tracks Phil Collins : Hits
- Easy Lover
- Two Hearts
- Both Sides Of The Story
- Sussudio
- Something Happened On The Way To Heaven
- Separate Lives
- I Wish It Would Rain Down
- You Can't Hurry Love
- In The Air Tonight
- True Colours
- One More Night
- Dance Into The Light
- Another Day In Paradise
- Take Me Home
- Groovy Kind Of Love
- Against All Odds
Release date: 2007-09-17
RRP: £15.99
Price: £3.99
Review Phil Collins : Hits / Phil Collins:For better or worse, Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight" was the "Stairway to Heaven" of the 1980s, winning radio stations' listener polls and even lending its designer threat to an episode of Miami Vice. Hits recalls the days when the Collins name on a disc ensured its immediate embrace by programmers and the public. How you feel about these songs will depend on how you felt about them then; despite the undeniable niceness of "Take Me Home" and "One More Night", they're unlikely to win over anyone who didn't adore them to begin with. Those who cared, though, will no doubt be gladdened to find most of Collins's biggest tunes together on one disc. -Rickey Wright.
Tracks Weezer
- No One Else
- Surf Wax America
- The World Has Turned And Left Me Here
- Undone -- The Sweater Song
- In The Garage
- My Name Is Jonas
- Say It Ain't So
- Buddy Holly
- Holiday
- Only In Dreams
Release date: 1999-03-20
Run time: 41 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £2.97
Review Weezer / Weezer:Blending the best aspects of pop, punk and grunge, Weezer's eponymous debut came as a much needed bit of relief to the too-serious American indie scene of 1994. Produced (and strongly influenced) by former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek, Weezer blends churning, power-pop guitars with Beach Boys harmonies and the awkward lyrics of singer/songwriter Rivers Cuomo. On standout tracks such as "In The Garage" and "The World Has Turned And Left Me Here", Weezer introduced the wider world to the then-new concept of Geek Rock. However, it was "Buddy Holly"-and its corresponding Spike Jonze-directed video-that propelled this album into the charts. Unfortunately, this song also branded them as nothing more than another novelty act, an unfair fate for an album-and band- that's since had so much influence. -Robert Burrow.
Tracks Greatest Hits
- Tush
- Got Me Under Pressure
- I'm Bad I'm Nationwide
- Sharp Dressed Man
- Planet Of Women
- Cheap Sunglasses
- Gun Love
- Viva Las Vegas
- Legs
- Rough Boy
- Give It Up
- La Grange
- Pearl Necklace
- Gimme All Your Lovin'
- My Head's In Mississippi
- Tube Snake Boogie
- Doubleback
- Sleeping Bag
Release date: 1992-04-13
RRP: £6.99
Price: £2.88
Review Greatest Hits / ZZ Top:One of ZZ Top's great gifts is its concision; even in the side-long-jam era of the 1970s, the Texans almost always fit 10 cuts on their albums. Surveying two decades of their output, Greatest Hits isn't the perfect overview you might expect, but it's still a pretty darn good driving album. The disc goes easy on the pre-Deguello stuff surveyed on their earlier best-of, and seems to digitally boost the drums on tracks like the 1975 "Tush". Still, later cuts like "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" and "My Head's in Mississippi" are full-on triumphs of this trio's very weird, very blues-drenched sensibility. -Rickey Wright.
Tracks Into the Wild: Original Soundtrack
- Rise
- Guaranteed
- Society
- No Ceiling
- Wolf
- Far Behind
- Long Nights
- Tuolumne
- Hard Sun
- Guaranteed
- Setting Forth
- End Of The Road
Release date: 2007-12-17
RRP: £15.99
Price: £6.50
Review Into the Wild: Original Soundtrack / Eddie Vedder:
Tracks Come Away with Me
- Cold Cold Heart
- Feelin' The Same Way
- Shoot The Moon
- Nightingale
- Seven Years
- Come Away With Me
- I've Got To See You Again
- One Flight Down
- I Don't Know Why
- The Long Day Is Over
- Turn Me On
- The Nearness Of You
- Lonestar
- If I Were A Painter
Release date: 2002-03-04
RRP: £15.99
Price: £4.21
Review Come Away with Me / Norah Jones:In Come Away with Me, it is not just the timbre of Norah Jones's voice that is mature beyond her years. Her assured phrasing and precise time are more often found in older singers as well. She is instantly recognisable, blending intimations of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone without sounding like anyone but herself. Any way you slice it, she is a singer to be reckoned with. Her readings of the Hank Williams classic, "Cold Cold Heart" and Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You" are worth the price of the CD. Jones's own material, while not bad, pales a bit next to masterpieces such as these. They might have fared better had she and producer Arif Mardin opted for some livelier arrangements, taking better advantage of brilliant sidemen such as Bill Frisell, Kevin Breit and Brian Blade; or if the tunes had simply been given less laconic performances. Jones has all the tools; what will come with experience, and some careful listening to artists like JJ Cale and Shirley Horn, is the knack of remaining low-key without being sleepy-sometimes less is not, in fact, more. -Michael Ross.
Tracks Still On Top: The Greatest Hits
- Real Real Gone
- Whenever God Shines His Light - Van Morrison, Cliff Richard
- Cleaning Windows
- Warm Love
- Back On Top
- Little Village
- Someone Like You
- Saint Dominic's Preview
- Full Force Gale
- Precious Time
- Celtic New Year
- Did Ye Get Healed
- Dweller On The Threshold
- Brown Eyed Girl
- Irish Heartbeat
- Stranded
- Days Like This
- In The Garden
- Have I Told You Lately?
- Here Comes The Night - Them
- Wild Night
- And It Stoned Me
- Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)
- Vanlose Stairway
- Moondance
- Crazy Love
- Baby Please Don't Go - Them
- Gloria - Them
- When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God?
- Wavelength
- Tupelo Honey
- Bright Side Of The Road
- Domino
- Wonderful Remark
- Tore Down A La Rimbaud
- The Healing Game
- Into The Mystic
Release date: 2007-10-22
Run time: 156 min.
RRP: £16.99
Price: £5.20
Review Still On Top: The Greatest Hits / Van Morrison:
Tracks Abba: Remastered
- SOS
- Intermezzo
- Tropical Loveland
- Crazy World
- Mamma Mia
- Bang A Boomerang
- Pick A Bale Of Cotton/On Top Of Old Smokey/Midnight Special
- Hey Hey Helen
- Rock Me
- I've Been Waiting For You
- Man In The Middle
- I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do
- So Long
Release date: 2002-03-22
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.28
Review Abba: Remastered / Abba:
Tracks The Slip + DVD
- Lights In The Sky
- 999999
- Corona Radiate
- Head Down
- Discipline
- Four Of Us Are Dying
- Echoplex
- 1000000
- Letting You
- Echoplex
- 1000000
- Head Down
- Discipline
- Demon Seed
- Letting You
Release date: 2008-07-28
RRP: £16.99
Price: £8.25
Review The Slip + DVD / Nine Inch Nails HALO 27 CD-LE:Having recently and radically reinvented themselves-and their business model-with recent album Ghosts I - IV, Trent Reznor and team are back with another 45 minutes of brand new music. The Slip, released free as a download and licensed again under the Creative Commons license, follows up musically and conceptually on themes already explored on Ghosts I - IV as well as on older projects like Year Zero, With Teeth and The Fragile. Ambient electronic loops mingle with dark lyrics and searing rock riffs to create a progressive and at times prophetic tapestry, which begins with the ambient "999,999", morphs into the scintillating rock of "1,000,000", and the post-disco of "Discipline" and ends with seven-minute meditations like "Corona Radiate". Along the way are some classic NIN moments. "Head Down" harks back to a more traditional sound, while "The Lights in the Sky" won't surprise anyone that knows Reznor's fondness for blending pretty piano melodies with morbid lyricism. There are indulgences here-not least the eleven-minute "The Four of Us Are Dying"-but many will consider it a small price to pay for such beautiful sonic bravery. -Paul Sullivan.
Tracks These Streets
- Jenny Dont Be Hasty
- White Lies
- Autumn
- Million Faces
- Last Request
- Alloway Grove
- Rewind
- New Shoes
- These Streets
- Loving You
Release date: 2006-07-17
RRP: £10.99
Price: £3.99
Review These Streets / Paolo Nutini:19-year old Scottish singer/songwriter Paolo Nutini sounds older than his years on his debut album, These Streets. It's not just his careworn, smooth-as-sandpaper voice, either (although, admittedly, it does help). It's more to do with the maturity of the lyrics, and the casual soulfulness of his delivery. "Last Request" is more the work of a vintage Motown singer than a teenager from Paisley, and it's to Nutini's credit that he carries it off with aplomb. And rather like the soul singers of previous generations, he manages to sing without a hint of hypocrisy about his own sexual exploits ("Jenny Don't Be Hasty") while also questioning his girlfriend's fidelity ("Alloway Grove"). It's the fact that he's so frank, and even a little bit naive, that he manages to get away with it. And though the stripped-down tunes on These Streets don't always immediately grab the listener (the title track, in particular), the songs where Nutini is accompanied by a full band often manage to evoke sunny-day American soul ("New Shoes", for example). This is a strong debut, and considering Paolo Nutini's tender years, bigger things can be expected of him in the future. -Ted Kord.
Tracks The Ultimate Collection
- Get Outta My Dreams
- Caribbean Queen
- The Colour Of Love
- There'll Be Sad Songs
- Loverboy
- Suddenly
- Everythings So Different Without You
- Mystery Lady
- Love Really Hurts Without You
- Nights Feel Like Gettin' Down
- Love Is Forever
- Suddenly (Live)
- The Long And Winding Road
- Love Zone
- Can We Go Round Again
- LOD/ Love On Delivery
- When The Going Gets Tough
- Red Light Spells Danger
Release date: 2004-10-04
RRP: £13.99
Price: £3.92
Review The Ultimate Collection / Billy Ocean:
Tracks Blackout
- Why Should I Be Sad
- Ooh Ooh Baby
- Perfect Lover
- Gimme More
- Freakshow
- Break The Ice
- Radar
- Toy Soldier
- Get Naked (I Got A Plan)
- Piece Of Me
- Hot As Ice
- Heaven On Earth
Release date: 2007-10-29
RRP: £16.99
Price: £4.15
Review Blackout / Britney Spears:Poor old Britney Spears hasn't exactly had a good time of it lately, what with her recent lackluster MTV performance and dubious appearances all over the tabloids. Blackout, her fifth studio album, is being touted as a bit of a comeback album, the title allegedly alluding to how she is "blacking out" all negative media coverage and focusing on getting back to form. Backed by an array of superstar beatmakers-Bloodshy & Avant, Pharrell Williams, T-Pain, Danja-Blackout presents a soundtrack that brims with trashy new-wave `nowness'. Tunes veer from the highly infectious "Freakshow" and "Toy Soldier" to the unconvincingly lascivious "Get Naked," "Ooh, Ooh Baby", and downright uninspiring ("Radar" and "Hot As Ice")-with some inroads into dirty disco ("Heaven on Earth") along the way. The tunes aren't bad, but the brittle, robotic soundtrack does start to feel dated and dull, especially when Britney's vocals are so intensely processed they feel equally starchy and disinterested. Comeback album it may be, but "Blackout" doesn't point towards any clear future for Britney-nor for pop music in general. -Danny McKenna.
Tracks The Reminder
- Intuition
- My Moon My Man
- Sea Lion Woman
- The Water
- Honey Honey
- The Limit To Your Love
- So Sorry
- I Feel It All
- 1234
- How My Heart Behaves
- The Park
- Past In Present
- Brandy Alexander
- Honey Honey
Release date: 2007-04-23
Run time: 55 min.
RRP: £13.99
Price: £6.50
Review The Reminder / Feist:Feist is the solo project of Canada's Leslie Feist, a prolific artist who has also played in one capacity or another with Broken Social Scene, Kings of Convenience and half a dozen other bands. The Reminder, her third release, comes from the same well of quiet, appealing songwriting, and delicate vocalizations that made 2004's Let It Die such a sweet treat. This one is a bit more hushed and ballad heavy, closer to Cat Power than Peaches (with whom Feist has also worked with in the past) but maintains an indie-minded blend of confessional pop, jazzy folk, and lo-fi torch songs. The comparatively upbeat single "My Moon My Man" splits her voice off into unexpected harmonies, just dissonant enough to stick in your head. It's hard to predict where her melodies are going to end up; "Brandy Alexander" starts with a simple snap-pulse, and gradually unfolds into a cathartic chorus of sweeping vocal overlays. Throughout, the record profits from a simple, unfussy aesthetic that keeps the production minimal and the emphasis squarely on Feist's cracking, wistful vibrato. Everything sounds deliberate, but not obsessed over, like an e-mailed wedding invitation. It's a low-pressure vibe, welcoming and content to linger. And linger you will. -Matthew Cooke.
Tracks The Bends
- Black Star
- Just
- Fake Plastic Trees
- Street Spirit (Fade Out)
- Planet Telex
- Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was
- Nice Dream
- Sulk
- High and Dry
- My Iron Lung
- The Bends
- Bones
Release date: 1995-03-01
RRP: £13.99
Price: £3.68
Review The Bends / Radiohead:After the massive success of Pablo Honey-or, more specifically, the single "Creep"-had made them a household name, most had written Radiohead off as one-hit wonders. That they could return with an album as awesome and monumental as The Bends, therefore, must have been particularly unexpected. Not that Pablo Honey is a bad album, but rather, when compared to the epic grandeur of The Bends, it's obvious that the five Oxford-based boys had matured immensely since the release of their debut. "High And Dry", "Just", "Street Spirit", "Fake Plastic Trees": nary a pop song among them, yet it's testament to their greatness that they all were hit singles. And really, it's easy to see why: Thom Yorke's falsetto crying over a wall of acoustic and electric guitars, as lyrics and music blend to create a masterpiece of melancholy beauty. The Bends is one of the most essential albums of the 1990s, and a spectacular indicator of further greatness to come. -Robert Burrow.
Tracks 1967-1970 : The Blue Album
- Ob La Di Ob La Da
- Come Together
- Lady Madonna
- All You Need Is Love
- Hey Jude
- Day In The Life
- Don't Let Me Down
- Across The Universe
- Let It Be
- Old Brown Shoe
- With A Little Help From My Friends
- Back In The USSR
- Let It Be
- Long And Winding Road
- Something
- Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Ballad Of John And Yoko
- Here Comes The Sun
- Here Comes The Sun
- Across The Universe
- Something
- Hello Goodbye
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
- Come Together
- Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
- Strawberry Fields Forever
- Revolution
- Fool On The Hill
- Get Back
- Magical Mystery Tour
- Back In The USSR
- Penny Lane
- Octopus's Garden
- Old Brown Shoe
- I Am The Walrus
- Get Back
- Long And Winding Road
- Don't Let Me Down
- Octopus's Garden
- Ob La Di Ob La Da
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
- Ballad Of John And Yoko
Release date: 1993-10-05
RRP: £24.99
Price: £10.28
Review 1967-1970 : The Blue Album / The Beatles:Even as the Beatles began heading toward an inevitable break-up, their prolific ways continued; this two-disc look back only skims the surface of their later achievements. Excerpts from Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, the white album, Abbey Road, and Let It Be compete for space with classic singles that do as much or more to prove their eclecticism: the epic ballad "Hey Jude", the plaintive "Strawberry Fields Forever", straight rock & roll of all stripes from the plainspoken "Revolution" and "Get Back" to the surreal "Come Together". Decades after the split, this (and its companion set of 1962-1966 cuts) remains a favoured introduction for young listeners and a key sampler for veteran fans. -Rickey Wright.
Tracks 101 80s Hits
- Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
- Lavender - Marillion
- Together In Electric Dreams - Oakey, Philip & Giorgio Moroder
- Rush Hour - Wiedlin, Jane
- Tarzan Boy - Baltimora (1)
- Too Shy - Kajagoogoo
- If Only I Could - Youngblood, Sydney
- Our House - Madness
- Power Of Love - Lewis, Huey & The News
- I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - Proclaimers
- Our Lips Are Sealed - Fun Boy Three
- Only You - Yazoo
- It Started With A Kiss - Hot Chocolate (1)
- Come Live With Me - Heaven 17
- Turning Japanese - Vapors
- Walking On Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
- I Want That Man - Harry, Deborah
- Best - Turner, Tina
- Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
- I Should Be So Lucky - Minogue, Kylie
- Golden Brown - Stranglers
- Baggy Trousers - Madness
- Rio - Duran Duran
- Enola Gay - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
- Little Respect - Erasure
- 19 - Hardcastle, Paul
- Kayleigh - Marillion
- China In Your Hand - T'Pau
- She Makes My Day - Palmer, Robert
- Missing You - Waite, John
- I Got You Babe - UB40 & Chrissie Hynde
- Black Man Ray - China Crisis
- We Close Our Eyes - Go West
- Thinking Of You - Colourfield
- Souvenir - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
- Criticize - O'Neal, Alexander
- Kids In America - Wilde, Kim
- Gold - Spandau Ballet
- Let's Dance - Bowie, David
- Never Never - Assembly
- 9 To 5 - Easton, Sheena
- Church Of The Poison Mind - Culture Club
- Tide Is High - Blondie
- I Just Died In Your Arms - Cutting Crew
- Respectable - Mel & Kim (1)
- Living In A Box - Living In A Box
- Hand On Your Heart - Minogue, Kylie
- Leave A Light On - Carlisle, Belinda
- Embarrassment - Madness
- King Of Wishful Thinking - Go West
- Body Rock - Vidal, Maria
- Temptation - Heaven 17
- Kiss Me - Duffy, Stephen 'Tin Tin'
- Let's Go All The Way - Sly Fox (1)
- Geno - Dexys Midnight Runners
- Girls On Film - Duran Duran
- Solid - Ashford & Simpson
- Straight Up - Abdul, Paula
- Classic - Gurvitz, Adrian
- Red Red Wine - UB40
- Message To You Rudy - Specials
- Good Heart - Sharkey, Feargal
- Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
- Mary's Prayer - Wilson, Danny George
- White Wedding - Idol, Billy
- Room In Your Heart - Living In A Box
- Save A Prayer - Duran Duran
- Cambodia - Wilde, Kim
- Alive And Kicking - Simple Minds
- Labour Of Love - Hue & Cry (1)
- Echo Beach - Martha & The Muffins
- We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) - Turner, Tina
- Vienna - Ultravox
- Every Day Is Like Sunday - Morrissey
- Heaven Is A Place On Earth - Carlisle, Belinda
- Wired For Sound - Richard, Cliff
- I Want To Break Free - Queen
- It Ain't What You Do It's The Way That You Do It - Fun Boy Three & Bananarama
- Don't Go - Yazoo
- It's My Life - Talk Talk
- Dancing With Tears In My Eyes - Ultravox
- Whole Of The Moon - Waterboys
- True - Spandau Ballet
- Never Ending Story - Limahl
- Keep On Movin' - Soul II Soul & Caron Wheeler
- Nothing Has Been Proved - Springfield, Dusty
- Rebel Yell - Idol, Billy
- Chant No 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) - Spandau Ballet
- Good Life - Inner City (1)
- Time (Clock Of The Heart) - Culture Club
- Stop - Erasure
- We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off - Stewart, Jermaine
- Reflex - Duran Duran
- Call Me - Blondie
- Ashes To Ashes - Bowie, David
- Road To Nowhere - Talking Heads
- Too Much Too Young - Specials
- Ghost Town - Specials
- Hey You The Rock Steady Crew - Rock Steady Crew
- Don't Worry Be Happy - McFerrin, Bobby
- Do You Really Want To Hurt Me - Culture Club
Release date: 2007-02-26
RRP: £17.99
Price: £7.89
Review 101 80s Hits / Various Artists:
Tracks Language. Sex. Violence. Other?
- Brother
- Dakota
- Feel
- Deadhead
- Superman
- Devil
- Rewind
- Doorman
- Pedalpusher
- Girl
- Lolita
Release date: 2005-03-14
RRP: £14.99
Price: £2.95
Review Language. Sex. Violence. Other? / Stereophonics:Stereophonics' fifth album will inevitably provide more material for the band's critics, if only for the fact its title has clearly been rather lazily inspired from the back of a rental video case. The music within, however, is anything but laid-back: the employment of Argentinean drummer Javier Weyler, who replaces founding member Stuart Cable, sees the band venturing further along the hard-rock path that spawned previous denim-and-leather-clad tracks like "Moviestar". The first three tracks find frontman Kelly Jones is in downbeat mood, his vocals drawled and insouciant, and his lyrics distinctly sour-take the raging "Doorman", where he rails against some faceless bouncer with surprising and rather paranoid ferocity: "You like nothing more than to break my face/ You like to throw me out on the street!". Things sweeten towards the album's middle, providing two of the album's stand-out tracks: the chiming, electronic-tinged "Dakota" is a light, buoyant anthem that deserves to be a hit, while "Rewind" is a reflective moment that pricks memories of mid-period U2. But on the whole, Language. Sex. Violence. Other? isn't an album out to win new fans - it's an album that caters to the Stereophonics' rock faithful, and it's them who'll really dig it. -Louis Pattison.
Tracks Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire)
- Plastic Man
- Drivin'
- Mindless Child Of Motherhood
- Drivin'
- Australia
- She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina
- Brainwashed
- King Kong
- Victoria
- Yes Sir No Sir
- She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina
- Nothing To Say
- Plastic Man
- This Man He Weeps Tonight
- Some Mother's Son
- This Man He Weeps Tonight
- Mr Shoemaker's Daughter
- Mindless Child Of Motherhood
- Arthur
- Shangri-la
- Mr Churchill Says
- Young And Innocent Days
Release date: 2008-02-26
RRP: £5.99
Price: £2.72
Review Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire) / The Kinks:Written as the score for a never-aired BBC television drama, Arthur is the story of late-'60s English working-class exhaustion. Perhaps not the most attention-grabbing subject for a rock album, but in Ray Davies's hands it's rich in texture and stylistic possibility. From the rousing ode to Britain's glorious past ("Victoria") to its less-than-glamorous present (that being the late '60s), Davies portrays a life of cautiously reduced expectations. Arthur once dreamed of owning his own business but has settled for a car and an indoor bathroom ("Shangri-La"). One of his sons spends his time complaining about the system ("Brainwashed"), the other dreams of moving to a new land of opportunity ("Australia"), and when they get together for Sunday dinner there's simply "Nothing to Say. " The Kinks at their mighty and surprisingly tender best. -Percy Keegan.
Tracks We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
- Live High (Album Version)
- A Beautiful Mess (Album Version)
- Details in the Fabric featuring James Morrison (Album Version) 00:05:46
- Yours (Album Version)
- Lucky featuring Colbie Caillat (Album Version)
- Only Human (Album Version)
- Coyotes (Album Version)
- Make It Mine (Album Version)
- If It Kills Me (Album Version)
- The Dynamo Of Volition (Album Version)
- Love For A Child (Album Version)
- Butterfly (Album Version)
Release date: 2008-06-09
RRP: £15.99
Price: £5.25
Review We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. / Jason Mraz:Since 2002's jaunty Waiting for My Rocket to Come, Jason Mraz has developed into a more mature, well-rounded pop artist. We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things is his most multi-dimensional work yet, covering everything from groove-based material to ballads. While tracks such as "Make It Mine" and "Butterfly" refer back to the catchy style of previous albums, there are many other styles and textures on display here. His duet with Colbie Caillat, "Lucky," for example, explores his folkish, acoustic side, as does the compelling "Details in the Fabric," both of which are excellent songs. Mraz gets a little more experimental on "Coyotes," which toys with a clubby electronica and strangely seems to work, and on "The Dynamo of Volition" for which he employs a hectic, rapping-style of vocal over a typically contagious rhythm. His ballads, such as "Love For A Child", "If It Kills Me" and "Beautiful Mess" (these last two saved for the end) show a more sensitive side; and even when his lyrics are occasionally clumsy, Mraz manages to make his point in an emotive way. Easy-going and sunny, but with laudable elements of depth and innovation, this is Mraz at his best so far. -Danny McKenna.
| Browse Adult Contemporary:
Models & Brands:
That Lucky Old Sun, Songs in A&E, Phil Collins : Hits, Weezer, Greatest Hits, Into the Wild: Original Soundtrack, Come Away with Me, Still On Top: The Greatest Hits, Abba: Remastered, The Slip + DVD, These Streets, The Ultimate Collection, Blackout, The Reminder, The Bends, 1967-1970 : The Blue Album, 101 80s Hits, Language. Sex. Violence. Other?, Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire), We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. |
