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| 101. Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg | |
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Reviews (3)
For those unfamiliar with Billy Bragg, his music may be best summarized as "acoustic punk", but he has experimented with numerous styles over the course of his twenty year career. This three CD set collects them all, in a rough chronological order. Disc one begins in Thatcherite Britain: you can picture Billy sitting in a smoke-filled pub belting out coarse folk tunes and love songs with tender quirky lyrics; we then follow him outside into the middle of the poll tax riots, with socialist anthems and rich ballads that tell stories of heartache and broken dreams. Disc two starts at a time in Bragg's career I'd rather forget, the Britpop period, but thankfully the salvation of the later 1990s soon follows. Here he returns to familiar themes - disillusionment with the state of the world, left wing Utopianism, and, of course, love - but the music is more sophisticated and polished. There's even a few Woody Guthrie covers thrown in for fun (and to remind us of his politics). Disc three is made up of remixes and rarities I've only ever heard live or bootleg, which is why I'm going to break down and buy the album! Regardless of your politics, it's hard not to be moved by songs like "Levi Stubbs' Tears" or "The Space Race Is Over", or to reminisce about relationships gone sour over tracks like "The Price I Pay". Billy Bragg is truly a prolific artist, with a poet's soul and a bleeding heart, and this collection of his work is, as the title says, ESSENTIAL.
The first disc is the more instantly gratifiable (quiet ambient, sonic, subliminal, primeval and surreal). The second disc needs more spins to appreciate, but still as good. The production values of this CD is first class...high quaility sound: guitars, piano and all sort of modern distortions.
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| 102. Blue Bell Knoll | |
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Album Description Reviews (8)
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| 103. The Rutles | |
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Reviews (32)
The production is a bit sparse at times, but the great Neil Innes injects enough energy and wit into every tune to carry them through the thinner moments. "Goose-Step Mama," "Number One," and some of the other 'early' Rutles stuff is good, but when Innes hits the band's 'middle' and 'late' periods--beginning with "Doubleback Alley"--he whips off a few near-classics. "Piggy In the Middle," starts as a baltent rip-off of "I Am The Walrus," but Innes adds a melodic turn that makes it the Rutles own. "Another Day" and "Cheese & Onions" recall 1970-ish McCartney and Lennon without ridiculing either. Which is, of course, the secret to the Rutles greatness: Innes & Eric Idle were great fans--and great friends--of the Beatles. Imitation may be the greatest form of flattery, but it takes a real fan to do it right. By the way, there are those of us who have argued for years that, if the Beatles had ever wanted to get back together post-1980, Neil Innes was the obvious choice for a fourth. As for the eternal question--will the Rutles ever get back together--I think Mick Jagger put it best: "I hope not."
The CD format offers more songs than the LP. One of the extra tracks, "Get Up And Go," sounds very much like the Beatles "Get Back." Although the film "All You Need Is Cash" was nothing more than the casts of Monty Python meeting Second City TV to poke fun at the Beatles legend; this CD is positively no joke. The music is accurate to the point where you would say things like "That sounds a lot like. . . ", but, by the same token, they are slightly different to add a touch of originality. The lyrics are quite charming and entertaining. This is a wonderful CD. It is good for die-hard Beatles fans, as well as those who are not. It is definitely worth every penny. And, yes, "the Rutles DID pass the audition."
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| 104. No Thanks: 70s Punk Rebellion | |
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Reviews (27)
If you like to show off your knowledge of obscure punk bands, or if you think hair gel and a trip to Hot Topic to get a Blink 182 shirt makes you a punker, then this box set isn't for you. It's for people who are interested in, not obsessed with the music and who at least know the difference between punk and "punk." Enough said.
The Misfits recorded plenty of material in the late 70s and are very deserving of a place here. "She" "Bullet" or "Teenagers from Mars" would've been good choices. Perhaps rights issues etc.(like with the Sex Pistols) prevented this? Also, someone mentioned Social Distortion not being here. Though the band was together in the late 70s, their first single didn't come out 'till '81. Nitpicking aside, the collection gives you a better intro. to the roots of punk than anything else on the market. If you're thinking about getting this, Buy it. Also consider picking up the Sex Pistols "Nevermind the Bollocks" The Misfits "Static Age" and The MC5 "Kick out the Jams".
As with any box set from various artists, it is easy and fun to second guess the track selection. For example, I think LA punk is completely over-represented. Also I would have liked Plastic Bertrand's Ca Plan Pou Moi and something by the Bizzaros. And where are the Suicide Commandos? Nonetheless, even if you own half of the songs, stop hesitating and buy the set. It's another quality Rhino product with great sound and a great book.
Despite such a daunting task, Rhino for the most part manages to come up all aces on "No Thanks! The '70s Punk Rebellion," dancing a razor's edge by adopting an approach which allows for the inclusion of bands that were originally tagged with the more palatable "new wave" label, crusty, true believers in the cause, and record collector geek-fodder alike. In order to buy into what Rhino is selling, you may have to suspend some of your beliefs as to what "punk" actually is/was. It's inevitable that most of the attention is paid to the nerve centers of New York and London and except for the Sex Pistols, all of the usual suspects are present and accounted for. The Clash, Ramones, The Damned, The Heartbreakers, The Buzzcocks, Richard Hell, The Stranglers, Television, and Generation X all take a bow (or two) and rightfully so, but kudos to Rhino for looking to other places on the globe, like Ohio (Dead Boys, Devo, and Pere Ubu), Australia (The Saints), Ireland (Boomtown Rats, The Undertones, and Stiff Little Fingers), and Scotland (The Rezillos). Shame on them for including so many songs that were previously available on their "D.I.Y." series back in the early 90's. "No Thanks!" also lifts a pint to bands without whom this compilation wouldn't even exist, like The Stooges, The New York Dolls, and yes, The Dictators. On the other hand (are you sitting down?), where's the MC5? Another sticking point, for me anyway, is the inclusion of Californians like Black Flag, Fear, Dead Kennedys, The Dils, and The Germs, all worthy of the "punk" brand, but their staunch nihilism is somehow out of place here. I say that disc space would have been better filled with Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi," The Professionals' "1-2-3" or "The Magnificent," Chelsea's "Right To Work," or anything by Radio Birdman. Of course I was also fooled by the first few Buster Poindexter albums, so proceed with caution. Arguing over what rightfully qualifies or doesn't qualify as "punk" may be part of the attraction of a compendium like this. Obvious margin walkers would have to include Nick Lowe, Mink Deville, The Runaways, Blondie, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, The Soft Boys, and Joe Jackson, all of whom made the cut due to either an abrasive attitude, enduring cult status, a snappy wardrobe, or the right haircut. As for the Talking Heads, I still say the world would have been a better place had they never entered a recording studio. At the end of the day, though, we should all genuflect to Rhino for their single-minded and undying devotion to their subject matter. And when it comes to packaging and reissues, there is simply no one better. "No Thanks!" contains a 100-plus-page booklet crammed full of essays by producer Gary Stewart and Billboard's Chris Morris, quotes from several of the culprits responsible for the noise, photos galore, and a track-by-track analysis by Ira Robbins and Dave Schulps, whose Trouser Press took up the slack heroically and brilliantly in the late 70's when Creem was going down the tubes. Add to all of this the fact that this box contains tracks by the likes of the Rich Kids, Subway Sect, The Mekons, Alternative TV, and The Pop Group which are getting harder and harder to find stateside, and what you're left with is a no-brainer. At this point in my life, that's a godsend.
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| 105. Within the Realm of a Dying Sun | |
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Amazon.com Reviews (49)
My favorite song on this CD is the Summoning of the Muse. It is haunting and etherial, with both uplifting tones and tones of absolute despair. The clear chimes of the bells, and then the addition of Gerrard's soaring, mournful, emotional voice makes the song an absolute necessity for anyone who likes DCD, or music that will focus your emotions. It is so beatuiful... Xavier is another transfixing song. Perry's voice blends with the music so well, and the lyrics are very interesting and profound, if you are patient and listen carefully enough to figure out just what he's saying, because he does mumble sometimes. Anywhere Out of the World is the 1st song, and the dark piano/chime (I don't know what it is, only that it sounds perfect) sets the mood perfectly. The Perry comes in, and you settle in for a time of dark(but not depressing), beautiful music. Cantara starts out slow, and then speeds up with a fast, more middle-eastern style song. The voices start out a little harsh, but then you just get caught up with it. It's enthralling. If you are new to DCD, Start with this CD or Aion. If you have some DCD albums, and are considering getting this one, I'll join with the other viewers in saying that this album is a spectacular piece of work, and one will not be sorry after listening to it. I think that The Summoning of the Muse makes the whole CD, but all of the other songs are excellent, too. You will not regret it.
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| 106. Just Enough Education to Perform | |
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Amazon.com Reviews (50)
It doesn't open brightly, though. "Vegas Two Times" would've fitted quite nicely on "Performance And Cocktails", launching into a boring tune after a ridiculous 50 seconds of warming up sounds. Worst song on the album. "Have A Nice Day" should have been the opening track. Overall, this is a solid recording from a great Welsh band, who have proved with this release that their music is maturing a great deal. Keep up the good work!
I think of it this way. To me and a lot of other people, this record is like your favorite old pair of jeans. When a new style of clothes hits the stores, we may buy it because it's new, exciting, or different. But, if you're anything like me you eventually get sick of the novel and go back to the old favorite pair of jeans. There's nothing flashy, shocking, or groundbreaking about this Stereophonics album. Most music that is those things fades out as quickly as it hit the scene. Bands like the Stereophonics stay on the radar because they continue to give you what you like. If you like bands like Travis, Starsailor, or any of the myriad bands of this genre, this album is terrific. It delivers a lot of the emotion and feelings that got you liking the Phonics in the first place. If you're not a fan of this type of tunes, you may want to stay away from it. "Just Enough Education to Perform" won't be enough to "convert" you to Britrock or even to this band. But if you like this stuff, you won't be dissapointed. ... Read more | |
| 107. The Fine Art of Surfacing [Bonus Tracks] | |
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Album Description Reviews (4)
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| 108. Supergrass Is 10: Best of 94-04 | |
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Reviews (3)
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| 109. Second Coming | |
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Reviews (57)
Overall, a strong successor to The Stone Roses' excellent debut that also serves as their epitath.
John Squire's guitar playing here is consistently mesmerizing and enlightening. His blistering solos on the epic, atmospheric opener "Breaking Into Heaven" (ingenious intro) and the classic comeback single "Love Spreads" (like "Voodoo Child" with religiously controversial lyrics) are a thing of magic, and his sublime, more harmonic riffing on "Ten Storey Love Song" and "Your Star Will Shine" prove that his technique is just as melodically subtle as it was brazenly pyrotechnic. Mani's bass playing is thick and swampy, an ideal compliment to Squire's bluesy inclinations. Reni adds his characteristically accomplished drumming and beautiful background vocals, and Ian Brown noticeably grows as vocalist, eschewing his previously naive whisper for a sleazily enthralling moan. The instrumental work alone merits much praise and attention; Squire as a virtuoso blues guitarist is far superior to Jack White or any of the current "blues revival" axemen, and Mani and Reni comprise one of the finest and most versatile rhythm sections of all time. The songs here aren't to shabby either. In addition to the ones I named above, you also get the frenetic dance-blues fusion "Begging You," the vague Zeppelin parody "Tears," and the fiery Hendrix tribute "Driving South." Yet despite these ubiquitous strengths, almost every single review of this album that I have read begins with a line similar to: "Well The Stone Roses have finally followed up their absolutely perfect debut album..." When reviewing an album, I try to judge it on its own merits and not rank it relative to another album that was recorded at a different time with different intentions. "The Second Coming" is far different than its predecessor, yet I think that this is not necessarily a bad thing. When listening to the awesome psychedelic blues mayhem that fills these twelve tracks, I get the notion that the band didn't want to make a clone of "The Stone Roses." After all, they had pretty much maximized their previous musical style, producing some truly awesome classicist pop and spawning a thousand guitar-rock/pseudo-dance bands in the process. I honestly belive that if they had made another album just like their debut, it would have worn out its welcome and been judged by the same impossible standard as "The Second Coming." Everyone had already made up his mind about the Roses' second album, dismissing it with narrow-minded musical prejudice. In conclusion, the new, heavier direction is brave and admirable. At least the Roses didn't bend to the level of Oasis and begin spewing rudimentary and unimaginative pop. The songs here are thoroughly melodic, intensely rhythmic, and mostly well-written, making this "disappointing" sophomore album better than the best efforts of most other bands.
I really have to respectfully submit a theory that those who don't like this CD had expectations problems from the first release. This CD is not "The Stone Roses Part II" it is a new direction with hints at the old direction (listen: "Ten Storey Love Song"). This is a BIG slice of funk, blues, pop, and rock that would make any rock music fan drool endlessly. I am so sad that this CD is not listened to and admired as it should be. From the opening jungle sounds, betraying the (ultimately) African (or African American) influences which shaped this wonder to the final guitar soloing, breathy singing of Ian Brown, and rollicking bassline of "Love Spreads", this CD is full of quality art. Please, if you discovered the Stone Roses late or just never picked this up, pick it up and listen to it as a work of art. An independent CD not related to the first CD in any but the smallest ways. Let me put you in the picture, Thank you Stone Roses for giving us this beautiful CD and all the other wonderful music you created!
Which understandably gave me pretty high expectations for the follow up. Which the boys decided to call 'Second Coming,' out of either ego or a weird fatalistic sense of acceptance. Because a second coming, this record ain't. I still remember listening to it the first time, sitting on the floor, trying to convince myself that it was actually good. I couldn't, and ended up selling it for cigarette money. Five years later, I decided to give the thing a second chance. And I found myself liking it a lot more. Honestly, if this were the debut album from some random unknown band, I'd probably say it has a hell of a lot of potential and some catchy, engaging tracks. But it isn't some band I've never heard of - it's the Stone Roses - and this doesn't measure up to what they were capable of in the past. What's wrong with this album? First, it doesn't feel as though the boys ever really came together on their songs the way they did in the past. It's like Brown or Squier wrote a couple of songs, played it for the band, and then just recorded the thing, right then and there. There isn't the loose effortless feel - there are clearly 4 separate musicians who aren't quite on the same page, musically speaking. Second, John Squier is not a terribly good writer of lyrics - some of them are, in fact, painfully bad. Third, Squier is an excellent guitarist. Not a problem in and of itself. But here, he seems very eager to show the whole damn world just how good he is. And how funky (which is not very). His soloing is incredibly self-indulgent and really sticks out like a sore thumb. So is there anything good about this album? Absolutely. About half the songs are quite good. 'Breaking Into Heaven,' after the interminable intro, is excellent. As is 'Ten Story Love Song,' idiotic lyrics excepted. 'Your Star Will Shine' is quite lovely. 'Begging You' is a nice dancey little number that, unfortunately, suffers from extremely muddy production. 'Tears' is quite cheesy, but there's something compelling about it. And 'Tightrope' is, in my opinion, almost worth the cost of the album. It's not like much the Stone Roses have done before, but it's lyrically excellent, and has a nice loose feel to it. It would have been nice to hear more in this vein. The rest of the album is, if not unlistenable, very very generic. Nothing horrible, but nothing beyond your standard middle-of-the-road mid-90s radio pap. With a really really technically proficient guitarist. So, all in all, there's good stuff here. For a big Stone Roses fan, this is hard-listening, making you wonder what might have been. For a Stone Roses neophyte, this is quite good, so long as you keep in mind that their previous album is the best musical thing this universe has ever seen.
Tally 'em up: 28 stars You're more or less looking at a 2 star album. ... Read more | |
| 110. Chrome | |
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Amazon.com Reviews (26)
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| 111. Hounds of Love | |
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Amazon.com Reviews (97)
Appreciation of "Hounds of Love" (and all of Kate's work) requires active listening rather than passive hearing. "Hounds" is composed of two conceptual movements. "The Ninth Wave" (cuts 6 through 12) is a fairly straight forward narrative about death and resurrection. The lullaby (And Dream of Sheep) softly woos the listener into the tragedy awaiting "Under Ice." "Hello Earth" is the most moving musical description of spirituality that I have ever heard. The ending (The Morning Fog) portrays an angelic resurrection. The second movement ("Hounds of Love" cuts 1 through 5) is not so easy to define. Certainly the theme is love, but what kind of love? Is this a story about fear and intimacy (Hounds of Love) or is there an darker underlying theme of incest (Cloudbusting). Kate has composed two incomplete musical theater pieces with story line and characters. Only your imagination and creativity can fill in the missing parts. Listeners will be well rewarded.
Hounds Of Love was a huge influence on Prince at the time, when he made Parade, Sign Of The Times and Lovesexy. Many other musicians have declared themselves Kate Bush fans, like recently Outkast and perhaps surprising to some Johnny 'Rotten' Lydon - who by the way hates Tori Amos or Torrid Aimless as he calls her. Indeed, and if you want new agey elves & fairies music, go buy an Enya CD instead. Some pointers that might help you get it. The whole album is about Love and Life. Big words, I know, but Kate Bush always manages to find the perfect balance between complexity and simplicity. Running Up That Hill is about a love between man and woman, Hounds Of Love is about fear of love/embracing life, Mother Stands For Comfort is about her mother (did Kate have a bit of a strained relationship with her mother?) and Cloudbusting is about her father (with whom she is very close). I always read The Big Sky as being about her brothers, growing up with them, something like that. Picking the B-side apart as if they are seperate songs doesn't make much sense. The Ninth Wave is a story - nothing confusing about it! - about a girl drowning (Under Ice), her struggle against death/out-of-body experience (Waking the Witch/Watching You Without Me), will to live (Jig of Life), nightly rescue (Hello Earth) and new appreciation of life waking up in the morning (Morning Fog): I'll tell my mother, Of course Hounds Of Love is not as neatly literal as the basic arch sketched here. It transcends it with rich imagery and symbolism and music that sounded like nothing else around when it first came out and imho still sounds totally fresh today. Claiming that Lionheart is better is utter nonsense. Kate Bush herself has said in interviews she wasn't happy with it. Record companies preferred their artists to release a record every year. Lionheart was put together from leftovers of the Kick Inside. After Lionheart Kate Bush decided from then on she would take her time and only release albums when they're ready. ...rumors are the new album is almost ready and to be released in 2004. ... Read more | |
| 112. Screamadelica | |
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Amazon.com Reviews (47)
On 'Screamadelica' this fusion of styles can be seen in the band's choice of producers, Jimmy Miller and Andrew Weatherall. Most of the album sounds like 12-inch remixes of the original guitar based songs. A process which has become standard for a lot of British guitar bands' C.D. singles. For anyone who's ever been at a rave most of the tracks on 'Screamadelica' make perfect sense as an aid to an ecstacy high, the slow long drawn-out build up adds to the sense of euphoria that occurs at the track's zenith. As an all-out fusion of rock and dance I think 2000's XTRMNTR was a more inspired effort, but 'Screamadelica' was the beginning of Primal Scream's music experimentation. 'Screamadelica' is frequently listed on British music mags top 100 lists. However in the cold light of day 100 years from now, without cultural reference to the time it was created, pop music historians maybe slightly bemused as to why an album built around repetitive riffs should be lauded in the same way as the expressive, original song structures of 'Revolver' and 'Pet Sounds'.
The record works really well as it progresses in pristine order from the setting of the opening tones of euphoria to the really dance-based tracks in the middle of the album to the comedown towards the end. Screamadelica was the first essential record by the Primals, and they didn't make another till 2000's polar opposite Xtrmntr, a dirty hell of white noise, industrial trance and electro-punk, but somehow the perfect companion to the blissed-out sounds of this party classic.
Impressive enough yet far from stunning.
Primal Scream has gone on to produce wonderful music over the past 10 years- stretching their themes and artistry to new heights while keeping one foot planted on their roots. Before exploring these other options, however, experience Screamadelica and understand where they came from and why so many listeners rave ... Read more | |
| 113. Weightlifting (Bonus DVD) | |
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| 114. One Step Beyond | |
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Album Description Reviews (8)
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