Amazon.com

A collection of well-known pop tunes, this record documents those ubiquitous tracks that have been played into the ground at nearly every sports facility in the country. Most, like "Whoomp! There It Is" and "Hip Hop Hooray," are undeniably catchy, and other tracks were downright splendid when they first appeared on the scene. Some even credit "Pump Up the Volume" with being a breakthrough for the electronic music scene of the late '80s and early '90s. Still, bringing musical innovation to light is not what the makers of this recording had in mind. It's all about the trashy glitz, fleeting glories, and mindless greed of late-20-century American sports. Revel in its dubious charms, and risk having your brains turn to mush while a permanent grin takes over your face. --Matthew Cooke ... Read more

Reviews (21)

This CD rules!!
This Cd had the best selection of dance and hip-hop music I have ever heard! This is the best Jock Jams CD. Especially the "Come Baby Come" song.

So Close
This CD has some of the best sports songs ever on it. Like "Let's get ready to rumble", "Get Ready 4 This", "Strike it Up" and "Rock N Roll", among others. But you have to wonder what songs like "Unbelievable" and "Ive got the Power" are doing on there. This CD came so close but didn't quite make it.

Great Music for Parties and Sports Freaks
This album is one of the best I've ever heard! All the music on this album is great for car rides with friends, great for parties and for those who love sports. This album is full of cool late 80's and 90's music. I suggest at least two copies of this album for all households! It's THAT cool!

a must for techno/hip-hop lovers
the cd has its up and downs, the hip-hop/rap being the downs and the techno being the ups. really old skool music.

Music that you can dance the night away!!!!!
I like this music because you can use it to dance. You can also use it for that Pep Ralley before the games. I discovered this when I was in the high school Pep Band. I also discovered that this is music to pump up the team. As in get them excited for the games. I like all the groups such as Village People, M.A.R.R.S, 2Unlimited, and Technotronic. I also like the arangement of Rock And Roll Part 2. Hey! that song should have been used on the Glitter soundtrack. Come Baby Come is like a jumpin kind of song, and that's exactly what I listened to in my early time before I left High School. Man! It's been a long time since I did this. I got this back in 1997. I bought this at a music store. I highly recommend this to future fans. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Fever was released on a wave of publicity as the lead single, "Can't Get You out of My Head," battled on the U.K. charts with the debut effort of Spice diva Victoria Beckham--and it won spectacularly. Kylie Minogue's sound has progressed again since the disco-inspired Light Years, plundering the retro style of post-disco electro from the late 1970s and showing what might have happened if Kraftwerk had produced Donna Summer or Chic. Unlike most pop albums, or indeed pop artists, Fever is geared toward high-energy dance rather than pedestrian "I love lovin' you" ballads. Aside from the aforementioned hit single, another standout is "Give It to Me," a great piece of dance pop that has everything from Britney-style wailings to Basement Jaxx funk wrapped up with a catchy and typically suggestive chorus. The closest Minogue gets to a gentler moment is at the very end with "Burning Up," a breezy guitar progression with a laid-back melody, but it doesn't last long as the need to start dancing again takes hold and Fever breaks into some electro funk, finishing on a definite high. --David Trueman ... Read more

Reviews (305)

A FABULOUS Electro-Pop Album from a Pop Goddess
Kylie has been tearing up the charts all around the globe for 14 years, has 34 top ten hits in the UK, peformed at the closing ceremony at the last Winter Olypmics, and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide (without the help of the US, mind you). She's finally getting her due here in the States... and THANK GOD! The production on this album is pristine with songs ranging from old-style disco to retro-80's super-pop to cutting edge dance tunes akin to Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx. Her voice, a fine-tuned instrument in and of itself, wraps itself around each melody with velvety precision. The number one world-wide smash, "Can't Get You Out of My Head" is a prime example of what this album holds in store for its listeners. Other stand out tracks are the naughty disco-tastic "In Your Eyes", the Ibiza flavored summer tune "Love at First Sight", and the ultra-cool "Fever" and "Give it to Me" which pay some serious homage to the music of the where-are-they-now girls of the 80's (i.e. a certain plucky Laker Girl named Paula). With such a stagnant pop-scene and a less than happy past year, this album is truly the thing to spice things up a bit. Let's hope we can give Kylie reason to stick around in the States for a while...I'm sure she'll make it worth our while.

can't get this CD out of my boombox
Well, Kylie hits us again with "FEVER" the new CD. If you hurry up and order it, you can get 2 bonus tracks "Boy" and "Butterfly".

1. More more more- Not so good. I like the beat and the intro.
2. Love at first sight- THE BEST SONG IN THE CD!! I love this song its funky, hip hop, and up2date!
3. Can't get you outta my head- Getting old now, but still a good dance tune.
4. Fever- My favorite track on the album besides Love Affair
5. Give it to me- A good song but a little short.
6. Fragile- Great lyrics I've got2 say! A nice ballad to cool of the album.
7. Come into my world- A good song with a funky beat,
8. In your eyes- The lyrics are odd in a way but a nice tune!!
9. Dancefloor- I like the lyrics and the beat, so i guess its a good track then!
10. Love affair- Good lyrics. A good 3rd single.
11. Your love- I don't listen to this song that much but its alright.
12. Burning up- A GREAT SONG!!!... The begining you might change it but keep listening!! It gets better. The beat keeps up in the end and its a rockin song man!!
13. Boy- The best of the 2 bonus tracks
14. Butterfly- Its alright i guess.

Well, You need to catch Kylie's Fever because it is one of the best CD's of the year to me!

...

Minogue is a no-no
I bought this Kylie Minogue CD because I kinda liked her American breakout "I Can't"" and expected a disco/pop album like that of her big single, but didn't really enjoy the record on a whole. No great vocal talent except that of a karaoke queen in my opinion! Britney Spears at least has a distinctive sound. I like her new hit "Slow" from her latest release, but Minogue isn't that great. She's yet another in the industry's actress-to-singer formula, like Jennifer Lopez and Hilary Duff.

When it catches
She had me at la, la, la, la...This is a great dance CD. Pop at its best. Her American competitors can't hold a candle to most of her songs on this CD. If you have any rhythm whatsoever, you'll appriciate this CD. Also, check out Body Language.

Standout songs: Love at first sight, can't get you out of my head, come into my world, in your eyes, burning up

good cd
This cd is a preety good dance disc. It hits all the things that make a good dance cd, but thats as far as it goes. If your looking for something that has a bit more, then you might want to look elsewhere, but if you want a good dance disc look no further. ... Read more

Reviews (110)

Musical Epiphany
Without question, this is the best CD I've heard in a very long time. It's a near-perfect blend of sounds - jazz, dub, techno, blues, lounge, funk and latin flavor. Navarre has created a sensational stew here. It's a savory feast for the senses. If you close your eyes, you can hear a sax off in the distance, a flute floating in and around you. You can hear John Lee Hooker whispering some blues riff to you as the lights of the club pierce your soul, taking you on a wonderful trip down the rabbit hole.

Each track offers something new.. Cough up your cash and sample this wonderful collage of sounds. I promise you'll love it..

Enjoyable, but hardly a great leap forward
The music St. Germain created here actually sounds remarkably like a '96 CD called THE NEW GROOVE: THE BLUE NOTE REMIX PROJECT, VOL. 1, on which various hip-hop/club artists remixed classic Blue Note cuts. If you like TOURIST, you should definitely get that CD as well. This record is good, but I think it might appeal more to fans of club music who like some jazz, rather than the other way around. I say that because there isn't much rhythmic complexity within each track, the kind you'll hear from a great jazz drummer (although St. Germain does alter the beat from track to track, I'll give him that). Generally he sets up a simple, steady club beat with each cut, and then the musicians create some jazzy solos on top. If you're used to the more complex rhythms of jazz, you may get bored with these beats.

I think Amon Tobin mines a similar vein much more creatively; his atmospheres are more evocative, his forms more flexible, his music more suprising. I like this St. Germain CD for what it is, an update on '70s jazz-fusion, like a HEADHUNTERS for this decade; but with all the critical bouqets tossed its way, I just expected something really groundbreaking. In my opinion, THE NEW GROOVE was a groundbreaking record; this is just retracing some of the tracks that album left behind.

Sensual but pure
I have always been a lover of classic, acoustic jazz, but St. Germain has topped off my pleasure scale with the amazing fusion of classic style with electronic flair. There are no words to express the way this music seduces heart and mind. It's like a soul bridge to a transparent world that runs somehow simultaneous with our mundane, daily existence. And when you step down into that other place you wonder how you could have lived elsewhere.

The thing that strikes me the most about St. Germain is the consistent and simple grooves that are almost predictable and unmoving...but not quite. They evolve slowly, conservatively peppered with lively, brief bursts and subtle, almost ghost melodies in the distance. Motego Bay Spleen is a perfect example of this. So Flute does similar but the expressions of melody beyond the main groove are erratic and playful, leaving you always guessing what's coming next. Land of...starts out with an organ funk piece that digs into your deepest soul and slowly ebbs into a "walking" groove (for lack of a better term) and horn work that you can't help but move to. Sure Thing is the most urban-feeling song on the album with spicy (and at times, dissonant) electric guitar riffs and soulful, almost unintelligible vocals that work the human voice like an instrument. Outstanding. I haven't found a song on this CD that I don't like.

I don't know if it's possible to become bored with St. Germain, but it's entirely conceivable to become lost.

this is one of the coolest cds in the world
Tourist is not just one of the better cds out there, but it is one of the best cds in my collection which is quite obviously the best cd collection in the world. Buy it, if you don't like it, you're not only deaf, but also retarded.

That Nu-French-Acid Jazz Thang
Whereas the spirit of jazz seems to have been castrated here in the United States, giving birth to all sorts of perverse "smooth jazz" incarnations, elsewhere in the world - particularly in France, it would seem - jazz is dancing and celebrating life as passionately as ever.

St. Germain is a wonderfully delicious mix of house beats and jazz improvisation; rather than rehash old jazz tunes and subject them to an electronica-plastered martyrdom, St. Germain - Ludovic Navarre and company - use live instrumentation for their creative and intoxicating mix. A little Latin groove here, some hip-hop and r&b there, a driving house beat and downright manic solos all fit together to remind us of what it is that jazz is supposed to be.

This is one of the few CDs that I own that really seems to cross over and through the various genre gaps; it is smooth - that is, sexy and classy (without being pretentious) at the same time - but also has an excess of pizazz that keeps the listener engaged and flowing. Such genre-bending both subverts and converts jazz as it has been and propells it into a potential future-made-present; the rumors of a better sound are heard here as a whisper expressed in symphonic song.

Perhaps[?] oddly enough, everyone that I have ever played this CD for - whether a 19 year-old Marine, a banker in her mid-40s, or college students that prefer rap and its various metal cross-breeds - liked it. While I doubt world peace will begin with bringing the people together to listen to St. Germain's "Tourist", at the same time there really is something ... beautiful about so many different people being able to listen to and appreciate the same music. It whispers something of the beauty within human subjects.

This is a really, really great CD; 5 stars does not do it justice as it is in a class of its own, far beyond the all-too-quantitative measurement of 5 stars. It breathes spirit and creativity - the best that music as expression and imagination has to offer. Paint your canvas with some passionate new colors; bring the diaspora of your friends together... ... Read more

Album Description

Nouvelle Vague is a French electronica project initialized by multi-instrumentalists and producers Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux.

Marc first came to recognition with his band Ollano, known for their Francophone trip-hop / jazz-fusion and his movie soundtracks such as "the kidnapper's theme". He soon moved into the realm of club music, initially recording for the UK’s own Paper Recordings and progressing into a more creative and eclectic producer under the guises Avril on FCom, and Volga Select on Output Records.

Olivier Libaux has been involved with many French pop acts during the nineties and started working with Marc in 1998.

Nouvelle Vague which translates to "new wave" in English, and bossa nova in Portuguese, revisits a number of both Marc and Olivier's favorite tracks from the early eighties, taking in bands such as The Clash, Joy Division, and the Cure in a stunning combination of bossa nova, jazz and sixties pop. ... Read more

Album Description

FILMS ABOUT GHOSTS, a greatest hits package featuring songs from every fase of the band's ten-year recording career. Also includes the hit single from SHREK 2, "Accidentally In Love." ... Read more

Amazon.com

Like their musical grandfathers the Rolling Stones, this UK-based garage-rock act have the common sense to name themselves after a great old blues song, Skip James' "22-20 Blues." The constantly touring four-piece has a lot going for them: swaggering vocals, revved-up slide guitar playing, and a strong rhythm section. The real problem with the 22-20s is that every single riff the band plays has been raved-up a hundred thousand and one times before, often with more energy, wit and invention. The band is definitely good, really good in fact, as the most cursory listen to "Devil in Me" or "Why Don't You Do It for Me?" reveals. But when you tackle this kind of up-tempo, distorted guitar on top of Bo Diddley beat with lyrics about love and loss schtick, you go up against the Yardbirds and Gun Club and Gories and White Sripes. So let's hope that next time out, these boys rock harder, weirder, or just you know, more rocking-er.--Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great
This is a band that I have heard about for a while. I heard their EP a few months ago and it was okay and then easily forgotten. Now we have a full album and the story is different. Now I think that I know what people were reacting to. Some music just comes out good, when played right, that you don't have to fix or try to hard. Rock and Roll and Blues have been important music for almost 70 years now. Bands that get the blues, can't relate to what is supposed to be important pop music. The 22-20s are like many British bands, from Cream on, that have a fascination with the heaviness and power of the blues. Jet and The Datsuns have fizzled out for me. The 22-20s are the real deal. The Hiss where one band that made cool sounds. The 22-20s have taken over. Songs like "Devil In Me" and "Baby Brings Bad News" are great songs. The intensity of "22 Days" is impressive. They must be a good band to see and have a little party.

Classic Potential
Nowadays I find it difficult to find much appeal in the music of a lot of bands. Catchy hooks and riffs, a danceable beat, etc. are fine, but I also look for something that moves me and makes me feel like it has staying power. In my opinion, the music of the 22-20s fits all of these categories. This is the first band I've heard come out of the U.K. since Radiohead that I think has the potential to have some staying power. Their music has been compared favorably with that of The Rolling Stones and The Doors, but I find that the 22-20s sound has more in common with a band like Cream or Aerosmith circa 1972 than with the first two bands. Most of the tracks are driven by powerful drum work and overlaid with plenty of distorted guitars and solid bass lines. This is music with passion and fire. This is a return to the days of the British blues explosion of the 1960s, but with a 21st century edge to it. If you like no-nonsense, balls-to-the-wall rock this is a CD for you. And if my recommendation isn't enough, consider this: The Black Crowes asked the 22-20s to open for them on a leg of their U.S. tour. That says a lot about the kind of music they play and kind of heart they bring to that music. Buy this disc!

Solid Debut
Despite being no competition for the cream of today's British bands like of Franz Ferdinand or Feeder, the 22-20s are good at what they do, and that's Blues-y Rock. There are also frequent comparisons to The Rolling Stones and The Doors.

There are no weak tracks here, but then again, there are no outstanding songs either. "Such A Fool" almost sums up the entire album, it's an intense rocker with more than a hint of Blues. In comparison, "Friends" is a Bob Dylan-esqe acoustic number. With a bit more polish The 22-20s could emerge to be a key band 21st Century Brit Rock.

Essential Tracks: Baby Brings Bad News / Friends ... Read more

Amazon.com

Colombian superstar Shakira's first English-language disc, Laundry Service, carries the pointed credit "Entire Album Produced by Shakira." That might be a signal to U.S. fans who helped two of her previous discs go platinum under the media radar--a sign that this planned breakthrough has more to offer than the input of a score of image makers and outside writers. And it does; even the occasional clunky lyric comes directly from her overflowing heart. Laundry Service's meld of danceable pop and rockier ideas and textures follows the similar path of the singer-songwriter's previous work. Indeed, for all its high-end production values, the record is ultimately one of the least glossy crossover vehicles imaginable. Despite an occasional lean toward Celine Dion territory ("Underneath Your Clothes"), it has a freshness that's sure to win over new listeners even after the first single, the sly "Whenever, Wherever," has reached the saturation point. While still not fully formed as an artist, she's getting close to something of her own--something that may flower after she dumps the vocal Alanis-isms. For now, it's still a pleasure to watch her grow. --Rickey Wright ... Read more

Reviews (572)

ONE OF TODAY'S REAL TALENTS
My initial impression BEFORE listening to "Laundry Service was "here we go..yet another girl pop singer to go with Britney, J. Lo, Ashanti, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera etc. etc. etc. and the rest". Don't believe first impressions. I watched her "Unplugged" DVD which is in Spanish (I don't speak it) and was really impressed by her abilities as a performer. Then I heard this CD. Shakira absolutely leaves those other girls for dead in the talent realm. I have heard this album over and over and the thing that strikes me most is the diversity of styles and influences that abound on this album. I'm surprised no one else has mentioned the nod to The B52's "Rock Lobster" during the guitar break in "Objection (Tango)". The opening to "Poem To A Horse" reminds me of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday". How cool. The other tracks particularly "Fool", "Underneath Your Clothes", "The One" and the Spanish language tracks are all quite good. The lady obviously is careful with her image and it's refreshing to see such an attractive female performer as Shakira NOT flashing bare body parts in her videos, something her contempories are guilty of as an apparent distraction from any lack of quality in the songs portrayed. She also had the good sense to NOT turn the clip to "The One" into an entry to a wet t-shirt competition. If you've seen the clip you'll know what I mean. The serious, talented girls like Shakira, Norah Jones and Australia's Delta Goodrem will concentrate on the music and not the image because that's what's important. If you want to determine the song's quality, listen with your ears, not your eyes. I recommend "Laundry Service" heartily as an enjoyable album to listen to, something I can't say about the recent boring efforts of her "R&B" contempories.

Shakira is one of the best artists...
I totally love her new album! I don't usually buy a single artist cd, because I usually will regret it. So I usually buy various artists albums. But Shakira's new single "Whenever, Wherever" is the reason why I brought her cd...and I haven't stop listening to it! I am now actually finding time almost everyday just to listen to her cd! The music and the lyrics of the songs, are just..wow! Track #2 "Underneath your clothes" is my next favourite song on her album. Very touching and emotional. And Track #11 "Eyes like yours (Ojos Asi)" is just great to dance to. Also, some recognition to Track #9 "Poem to a Horse"; very meaningful. Except for the 4 Spanish songs on the album, which I have no clue what the heck the lyrics mean. But even though I don't understand Spanish, I still listen to them because I love the rhythm and the music of these 4 Spanish songs. I actually have tried to sing along with the Spanish lyrics in my hands! It is that good! And I don't know why some people are comparing her to Britney. Britney doesn't write her own songs! Don't compare Shakira to Britney just because Shakira dyed her hair! In my opinon, Shakira is better than her!

not so into this...
ok i dont mean anything bad about shakira... i mean its just an opinion about her music im not here to criticize her or talk bad about her. but just like some1 before me said, its really true that her music sounds better in spanish... in all kinda ways... im not even into this kinda genre of music, but i just had to put my review here after seeing a video of hers now on tv (poem)... ive heard her album 'laundry service' too, and honestly it wasnt that nice (for me).......

Laundry Service
Laundry Service~ Shakira is one hot and sexy singer. She is so amzingly good looking that it is almost criminal. Her vocal skills are very good. Her lyrics are fun and fancy free. She is one of my favorites...

The best break-through act ever
This cd is brilliant, Shak knew how to mix all different kind of styles, and she used her voice with everything it has.
In contradicti to other,s i think the lyrics aren't bad becuz of her 'bad english'. Her english is very well, and the lyrics are just different from those simple Britney-lyrics. Shakira uses metaphors, strange rhymes etc. Very original.
Shakira is brilliant in writing music. She knows every instrument, and she is involved to every instrument used. Whenevr wherever has brazilian drums and a panflute. Underneath your clothes, is a quite acoustic song with instruments like horns and trumpets in it, Objection is a pop/rock/tango song, one of the most original songs on the cd. Rules is kinda 'back to the 70s' song, the one is a beautiful rockballad with strings in it (my fav shaki song). Ready for the good times is an '80s disco song, but with cool guitars, Fool is a quite bluesy rockballad and great lyrics! Te dejo Madrid is a cool rock song, with a cool harmonica, and ik makes you wanna sing and dance... and the lyrics are very funny! Poem to a horse is a rock song with trumpets and greta lyrics. Eyes like yours is an english version of Shakira's Ojos asi (1998). and seurte and te aviso te anuncio are spanish versions of Whenever... and Objection.

Ver original, and totally NO latin Britney! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The eighth album by these OG glitch kingpins is a curious thing. While none of the album's sounds are particularly different (Autechre is working with pretty much the same palette started with), it's not like they've gone laptop folk or added favela beats. The band's relentless experimentation continues unabated. Each of these songs here has more parts than an entire Rush album; every succeeding Autechre album has gotten more complex, as if there were Oulipo-style rules system guides the entire practice. But, while some patterns change rapidly--the complex and jagged try dancing to this rhythms rarely repeat for very long–-sine tones and drones underneath it all change very slowly. So, while the music may be composed in a postmodern way, then, it's staunchly modernist in its sharp, subtle honing of minimalist compositional techniques. The contrast between the jagged sounds and the surface and the moaning bass tones will either thrill or bore. There is no middle ground.--Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Don't Judge Too Quickly
At first listen, you may say Untilted is the worst CD
you've ever heard in your life and be strongly tempted
to hurl it in the gargabe.However, don't judge too
quickly.Give it another chance or two and you'll see...oh
my goodness...I love it!Warning: the first three minutes
of track one are VERY ANNOYING and may turn you off...
but allow yourself to get past that....eventually you too may realize...this CD is 5 stars!

A new one for the books.
It's always an event when these guys put a new album out, and as usual, Autechre has given us a work of art that is both unpredictable and serene in it's charm. Charm? Do you have a better word in mind? As you know it's difficult to describe the sonic structures of Autechre's pieces, but this album will grow on new and old listeners alike.O, and go see them live. jb

Still godly
Decades ago, a famous sportswriter, apparently tired of criticisms of his favorite sport, wrote "baseball is dull only to those with dull minds".While that point is certainly debatable when it comes to the national pastime (this guy wrote before the days of three-hour games), it applies equally well to the work of Autechre.This English duo (Sean Booth and Rob Brown, if you want to get all specific) has spent the past decade or so composing some of the most original and experimental electronic music ever made (oh, screw it, this is some of the most original and experimental MUSIC ever made, period), winning a small army of enthusiastic converts while alienating others who apparently can't figure out how an hour of glitches and bleeps constitutes music.That said, there aren't a lot of artists out there who can consistently come out with something at least interesting, and whatever one thinks of them, Autechre do manage to challenge perceptions and screw up minds with each successive release.In spite of some accusations, whatever else Autechre may be, they're not dull.

Anyway, this all leads us to Untilted, the eighth album in the Autechre canon and one that should please all those looking for their customary blend of bizarrely arranged bleeps, sweeps, and creeps.Despite occasionally bringing in sounds somewhat similar to the dronings on an MRI machine, Untilted is a surpisingly musical release, occasionally managing to sound catchy even amidst a flurry of determinedly abstract time signatures and song structures.At the same time, Untitled is still an Autechre release, and as such the focus remains on feeding your brain first and foremost.As you'd expect from the group that brought us Tri Repetae ++ and Confield, intellectually severe, high-speed musical calculus is the order of the day.

I personally found this album to be somewhat more instantly gratifying than its predecessor Draft 7.30, but that doesn't mean there aren't voluminous reams of complexity for you to decipher.Tracks open with a frenzy of spastic beats and pummelling percussion before gradually evolving into slower, more atmospheric pieces without sacrificing Autechre's trademark mathematical precision.Dense, rapid-fire sensory overload steadily gives way to hypnotic drones that are only somewhat interrupted by the jagged sounds that skid over them.Booming backbeats, out-of-time glitches, and even some subtle melodic underpinnings are interspersed into bizarre, ever-shifting sonic landscapes.New and fascinating uses for the drum machine are repeatedly discovered, with slice-and-dice programming (especially on the brilliant Augmatic Disport) that almost redeems the machine's use on countless boy-band atrocities.And the epic, 15-minute closer Sublimit cycles through every trick in Autechre's book, easily ranking among the most convincing displays of their demented genius as it staggers and stutters through a dizzying array of beats and textures.

In the end, Untilted is a quintessential Autechre album: strange, abstract, unique, and sure to be divisive.However, as a fan of Sean and Rob's work, I for one wouldn't have it any other way.While the forthcoming Meshuggah full-length will probably ending up grabbing my coveted album of the year designation, for now Untilted holds the top spot.

Misunderstood composition
Autechre have been given a bad rap in recent months for this album. It hasn't been panned so much as simply disregarded as 'another autechre album'. Its a disappointing evaluation, given the quality of the song craftsmanship on this album - seriously. Gone are the sped up beats that mangle the song out of control (found on Confield (think of cFern, Sim Gishel and the way too intense end to Lentic Catachresis) and the unfortunate end to the otherwise sublime Cap.IV off Gantz Graf). Instead the songs are, generally speaking, patient even as they are intense.

A good way to tell if someone's been listening carefully to the album is if they review and suggest there was 10 seconds of silence before the first beat - there wasn't! It was quiet - if you never heard it, then I think your headphones are too low (this of course is an old trick to get people to set their volume accordingly - like adjusting the contrast on your monitor). Then the beat comes in - its fast, in control and never boring. the song changes momentum a few times and works its way through the idea. Ipacial Section operates in a similar tone - hard beat - work through the idea, get somewhere interesting. The same I suppose can be said for a number of tracks on the album, such as the haunting Pro Radii or the enchanting Augmatic Distort - the latter starting off incredibly heavy and fast but ending on a worderful even keeled note. The melody of that song in the interim is well worth the wait - like pen expers of confield, its a song structure trying desperately to break through (or at least put order to) the noise around it - clever.

The second half of the album is a bit weaker, but the sound production in The Trees is phenomenal - truly making the brain dance. Sublimit is a hot, and fun closer.

To those who say that autechre are just doing more of the same - I don't get it, is the music about the novelty or the unfolding of the ideas? If you're just hunting for sounds - I suppose yeah, as they do use several familiar instruments. But noone ever disses a rock band for keeping their kit. This time it seems like AE had fun with their instrumnets and came out with a consistent, measured and engaging album. Finally - play it loud on headphones - its rewarding.

My brain exploded on April 19th 2005
What can I say? I must have gone through this album 15 times since I bought it (on the day of it's release), and I still can't put my finger on the reason why I haven't yet thrown it out the window.

First off, this album is no more listenable than a thousand marbles falling down a set of steel stairs, yet, I keep can't stopputting it on, because for some reason, it is highly rewarding. Melody is nearly absent, for the exeception of fermium, and maybe a few short parts of other songs, but here, melody is not what one must look for.

I think that the major point made by this album, even if this may sound like a very bad point, is the incredible talent that brown and booth are gifted with. The main recurring thought that I had while listening to this album is just how amazingly sharp and precise every single blip and bam is.

Booth, I think it was, said in an interview that Untilted was the album that took them the least time to create, yet it sounds like they spent 15 years working on it.

I will attend their concert in Montreal tonight and I hope that it will help decipher Untilted for me. I know I like it, but I want to know why. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

very playful.Cute and lively.
This music is so fun! Lets children learn to love and appreciate classical.My children beg for this cd! Its nicely put together.

Not just for babies
This CD contains lightly arranged pieces which suit children very well. I am a 19 year old college student, and I use it personally for study music-it is really good background music without any of the distractions that usually arise from trying to listen to music and do homework at the same time. Highly recommended for children as well as adults.

A wonderful CD
I received several classical music CD's as gifts before my daughter was born, and out of all of them (also including classical CD's I had already owned) this is definitely my favorite. It stands out because it is not full of simply "traditional" arrangements but rather is very light and playful - there are all sorts of cute little chirping and whirring noises that add to it as well. It is just a lot of fun, and provides the perfect background for cuddling with your new little one.

There is one comment below from someone who thought the music was too simple and was of poor quality. I would agree that the music is very simple (not a bad thing), but disagree with the notion that it is poor quality. Anyway, this should be just one CD in a library of different types of music, classical and other, to help your child's music appreciation develop. If it happens to expand other developmental skills as well, even better!

Works as advertised-
The Mozart Effect - Music for Babies is a pretty good disc. Admittedly not the best Mozart recordings around, but then my child is not exactly picky. I prefer Genie's Angels All Around as a lullaby CD but either The Mozart Effect or Angels All Around would make excellent baby shower gifts.

Works Like A Charm
This is a must have for all infants and a terrific baby shower gift. My son is 14 months old and he has been listening to this CD for about 10 months. It has a TERRIFIC soothing effect on him. I think Mozart has become a musical comfort object for him, much like his soft blankie has become a comfort object. If he is cranky in the car and trying to unwind for a nap, I pop this CD in and he is automatically soothed. It's like magic.

I like that this CD is organized into more up tempo songs for playtime, and slower paced songs for sleepytime. I admit I wouldn't buy this CD if I were looking for some real Mozart listening pleasure, but this is for my infant, not for me. (Although I do admit, I am also soothed too by a little Mozart Effect.) And, I wish there weren't two versions of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but it is still worth the $$. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential recording

"Well I guess it would be nice, if I could touch your body...." Given George Michael's restroom hi-jinks in early 1998, those words from "Faith" sound pretty funny, but they sounded fresh and exciting blasting out of car radios all over America in 1987. Michael's stunning solo debut (after four years in the lightweight British duo Wham!) sold seven million copies and yielded six Top 10 hits. Some of those were among the decade's best pop, including the hiccuping title track, the heartfelt ballad "Father Figure" and the wicked R&B groove of "I Want Your Sex." Unlike so much 1980s treacle, this disc hold ups surprisingly well--even if Michael hasn't always done so himself. --Michael Ruby ... Read more

Reviews (52)

Faith (1987)
Back then, I never really paid any attention to George Michael's music. It wasn't because I didn't like him or because he was gay. I had nothing against him and I still don't. When you're young, you don't tend to pay attention to a certain amount of music. Well, at the beginning of the summer, I heard One More Try and from then on, I became an instant fan of his. In fact, he has become a favorite of mine, right next to Madonna. This guy's got a voice of gold. You can't tell me that George doesn't have a great voice. He's got an amazing voice. This is an incredible debut album. He was a smash when he was with WHAM! With this album, he wanted to prove that he could do better as a solo act. And he proved himself right. He released six singles from this album. All six singles shot straight to #1.

FAITH
The first single from the album. It went to become a #1 hit for him. Although, it isn't one of my favorites, it's still an upbeat song. And yes, you gotta have faith. You gotta have faith, faith, faith.

FATHER FIGURE
The second single from the album. It was a another #1 hit. Great song. His vocals run real smooth on this one.

I WANT YOUR SEX (Parts 1 & 2)
Part 1 was the third single from the album. Some say that part 1 was a #2 hit, but apparently, those dead @$$'s are wrong. It was a #1 hit. Just so you know, this is not all one song. Part 1 ends at 4 minutes and 36 seconds. After that, part 2 starts. Part 2 ends at 9 minutes and 17 seconds. Both parts are awesome.

ONE MORE TRY
The fourth single from the album. Yet again, he scored himself another #1 hit. This is the one that turned me into a huge fan. I really get that feeling from it because it is a ballad that was composed correctly.

HARD DAY
I'm not sure if this was a single. It appears on his greatest hits, but I'm still not sure. But, anyhow, it's a great song.

HAND TO MOUTH
Great. Smooth.

LOOK AT YOUR HANDS
Very Funky.

MONKEY
The fifth single from the album. Another #1 hit. It's not one of my favorites.

KISSING A FOOL
Thie sixth and final single from the album. The last #1 hit from the album. This is one of my favorites and it's also my mother's favorite. This may be a jazz song, but it's too irresistible. The sound is very smooth. He sings it with passion and emotion. I own a little karaokee machine. Every chance I get, I always do this one. I sing pretty well, too.

HARD DAY (SHEP PETTIBONE REMIX)
Just as good as the original album version.

A LAST REQUEST (I WANT YOUR SEX pt. 3)
A great way to end the whole I-WANT-YOUR-SEX era. Very romantic for the ladies, if ya know what I mean.

If you buy this album, I can guarantee you that you'll be buying it again after you wear your first copy out. I definitely wore out the first copy I owned. Buy it and prepared to be amazed and impressed. Remember, you gotta have faith. Yes, you gotta have faith, faith, faith.

Songs of Faith and Inspiration,supposedly
George Michael solo debut album spawned six Top 10 hits. I WANT YOUR SEX(part 1) became a hit prior to the album's release and was heard in the movie BEVERLY HILLS COP 2. The title track has religious inspiration,that featuring a cathedral organ heard in the introduction. The album garnered quite a few Grammys,I must admit,one of them being album of the year in 1988. I think the others are best male vocalist and song of the year(don't know which one that is). George Michael had a hit album in 1984-85 with Wham!'s MAKE IT BIG which sold six or seven million copies like FAITH. The cassette and CD formats feature I WANT YOUR SEX PART 3 and HARD DAY(Shep Pettibone Remix).

George Michael's "Thriller".
If I remember correctly, I believe this was the best selling album of 1987. Why, well six of these were big hits, and one quite controversial at the time. This album also is fairly diverse, having upbeat dance tracks, and smooth ballads as well, and all very good. The songs "Faith", "I Want Your Sex", and "Monkey" all got your feet moving, while others like "One More Try" and "Father Figure" were slow and sexy. "George Michael" has had good albums since this one, but there's no doubt this is possibly his best, and is one of the 80's best too.

A Must Have Classic!!!
This CD is a classic that endures all the fickleness of time. George Michael has mastered an imaginative mix of upbeat and cool tunes with beautiful musical arrangements.

"Faith" is a great upbeat jingle that never fails to get you moving. "Father Figure" is as close to perfect as an artist can get. "I Want Your Sex" is a fun club beat. "One More Try" a slow sad song with great music behind it. "Hard Day" my personal favorite track on the CD because of the heavy bass. "Hand To Mouth" is jazzy and easy to listen to, nice drum influences. "Look At Your Hands" this one could have been left off. "Monkey" another dance mix. "Kissing A Fool" so here is where the 40's jazz begins. You will be able to listen to this CD over and over again and across many years. Have faith!!!

Solo debut
I've never been into pop music and all that stuff, so I never cared about George Michael in his Wham days. But as a solo artist I have to give him credit, he's escaped all that pop stuff & tried to be a more mature artist. This 1987 album 'Faith' was a nice first try at being a solo artist. George abandons pop and tries be more funky. The stripped down acoustic title track is still hitting all these years later, and cuts like 'I Want Your Sex' and 'Father Figure' are also cool. The second half of the album is okay, a bit hit & miss but overall this is a nice effort and has aged nicely considering it came out in the 80s and the kind of tacky production technique they employed back then (check the uneccesary remix track for some awful sounding 80s mess). His best albums are still his two follow ups, 1990s 'Listen Without Prejudice' and 1996s 'Older'. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Ulrich Schnauss's A Strangely Isolated Place was released in Europe during May of 2003, but fans had to wait over a year for it to arrive on these shores. The Berliner's follow-up to Far Away Trains Passing By is another gentle and fascinating record, similarly drunk with melody. But Schnauss has augmented his electro-synth sound with tsunamis of huge, arching major chords that rival M83's over-the-top lushness. Shoegazer influences show up in the Slowdive-esque "Gone Forever," as well as the My Bloody Valentine buzz in "Clear Day". Despite Place's ethereal sheen, the bones of solid dance-ability are also here, as several clever DJs have already noted (see Sasha's use of "On My Own" for Involver). The record could use a few well-placed batches of noise to act as counterpoint, but long-suffering fans of early Cocteau Twins looking for a fix of dreamy songcraft should find much to love. --Matthew Cooke ... Read more

Reviews (36)

I'd give it ten stars if I could...
This is one awesome CD. I originally bought it because I saw two songs I liked on the CD case - "Brickhouse" by The Commodores, and "Car Wash" by Rose Royce. Not being too familiar with the funk genre at the time, I figured this would be another of my CDs where I bought it for the two or three songs I liked, and the rest were throwaways. Besides, it was on sale, and looked like a good bargain.

After having played the CD, I was like, WOW! Every song on this CD totally jams! I found myself buying albums from the likes of Issac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield just through the influence of this CD. I now have a much broader musical taste and enjoy the strains of "The Theme from Shaft" while rolling down the highway. This is my favorite CD by far, and is unlikely to be unseated by another in the near future.

Yes!
This CD rocks the house. It's got all the classic funk songs, from Shaft to Superfly to Brickhouse and Car Wash. It is excellent. The tunes just keep bouncing around in my head. It's great dance music as well. This is a classic, buy it today.

luv da funk
volume 1 and 2 of pure funk r the twon best funk cds out there buy them 2day

PURE!
Thank you, oh funk-compilation-geniuses. This CD introduced me to funk and lifted me out of the disco genre. While "Don't Stop the Music" is a low point, and i have developed a pyschological block to "Car Wash" (very like my relationship with fleetwood mac's "Landslide") the rest of the album is funk, at it's purest best. "Brick House" "Shining Star" and "Lady Marmalade" are very, very worth the money. It's a great CD for listening to when you're having a low day (i.e. Mondays), or at a party. Basically rooted out all of the crappy funk that otherwise innocent souls would have had to sift through.

Solid!
Pure Funk is the best compilation CD of funk I've seen. Although there are a couple of misses and boderline songs (Cameo, Yarbrough and Peoples), the disc holds up very well. It would be hard to include more funk hits into one disc, but a glaring missing-in-funk-tion is James Brown's "Get on Up" or "Hot Pants". The first four songs are worth the price of the album. ... Read more

Album Description

Internationally renowned DJ/Producer/Remixer and all around modern music catalyst Paul Oakenfold returns with a melodic trance monster of an album on "Creamfileds." Throughout his storied career, two releases have stood out as the quintessential Oakenfold mix albums: 1998's "Tranceport" and the recently certified Gold 2002 release, "Perfecto Presents Another World."Both of these releases embodied the uplifting, grandiose trance vibe that helped firmly establish electronic music in the global mindset.With "Creamfields," Oakenfold revisits the vibe of these timeless mix albums, yet in classic Oakey style, he does it with a whole new bag of tricks for 2004

Oakenfold takes the role of the DJ one step further on "Creamfields."The album features original Oakenfold re-edits of every track plus new remixes produced exclusively for this release, including the exclusive Oakenfold 2004 remix of U2's smash "Beautiful Day", an exclusive remix of Oakenfold's collaboration with Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell, "Time Of Your Life", as well as club anthems from Mauro Picotto, Nubreed, and D:Fuse. With "Creamfields", Oakenfold delivers a full two CD's of the classic uplifting melodic trance sound that he has become famous for, and the re-edits and remixes bring the continuity of the album to a whole new plateau. "Creamfields" is the album that Oakenfold fans have been waiting for. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Following one of the most licensed CDs in history, 18 delivers more of the gospel samples and spiritual exploration that made Play Moby's breakthroughalbum. But keep your expectations in check. On 18 there is barely a body-rocker in the bunch. This is often a somber, melancholy disc, blanketed in thewashed-over cinematic orchestral melodies Moby's been fond of since his classic self-titled debut. It requires several listenings before the gems shine through theambient fog--and most depart from Play entirely. On the deceptively minimalist opening track, Moby delivers a powerful message through his thin littlevoice. "We are all made of stars," he sings, and indeed he's believable. MC Lyte punches out an infectious rap over old-school beat-box rhythms on "Jamfor the Ladies," offering one of the disc's few roof-raisers. "At Least We Tried" is a tear-jerking swan song of the highest order, and, finally, "The Rafters"resurrects early-‘90s house piano, which will make any of Moby's career-long fans pine for his earliest club hits. The diminutive DJ needn't have produced PlayPt. Two to keep his new fans engaged. Fortunately, his greatest talent for cooking up interesting sounds is still audible; you just need the patience to findit. --Beth Massa ... Read more

Reviews (248)

Play Pt. 2? Not really...
For his follow-up to the tremendously successful "Play," Moby gives us "18" new tunes -- some familiar-sounding, others not so much. ...Songs like "In this World," "One of These Mornings," or "I'm Not Worried At All" follow what might be called the Play formula: take an old archived soul/blues/gospel sample and put it over beats, violins, and whatever else sounds good. Other tunes on 18 follow a similar formula, but are more extensive in their sampling: "Sunday," for instance, is ultimately more of a traditional song as opposed to one where Moby has the same lyrics loop indefinitely. (Although the refrain does repeat itself dozens of times, of course.)

Then there's the anomolies. "We Are All Made of Stars" would not have fit on Play at all. "The Great Escape" sounds like This Mortal Coil (it would've fit perfectly on "Blood," TMC's third and final album). "Extreme Ways" also differs from Play's tone. "Harbour," with Sinead O'Connor, would have seemed out of place on Play. "Jam For the Ladies" has an old-school hip-hop feel to it. Granted, there are styles in Play that aren't in 18--no dance hall-style techno, for instance, but there's more new styles than abandoned styles in evidence on 18.

The songs I mentioned are enough to make 18 more than just Play Pt. 2. It's true, however, that anyone familiar with Play will feel at home listening to 18. But that has as much to do with Moby's orchestral aesthetic as his choice of songs. He tends to use his synth violins, for example, in ostensibly the same way (= the same voicings) in lots of songs--both on Play and on 18. I call this simply "the Moby sound." There's nothing intrinsically wrong with having an identifiable style, so I don't fault him on that count.

Is 18 groundbreaking? Hardly. But if you liked Play, will you like 18? Definitely.

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
To me, Moby's 18 is the sound of a man trying to get more licensing contracts. He made a superb album with Play, and he managed to license every song on the album for use in movies, commercials, etc. And more power to him. It was a great album. Moby's always been changing in his sound, but it was no surprise to hear that once he was able to sell out big time, he stuck with the same sound he was using. Not that that's such a horrible thing. But some of these songs could pass for carbon copies of Play songs. We get similar-sounding field recordings of southerners singing "Lordy, don't leave me all by myself." More than reminiscent of "Oh Lordy, my trouble so hard" from "Natural Blues." "Bodyrock" gets done over as "Jam For the Ladies." "Extreme Ways" sounds like "South Side." It goes on. But it's not entirely the same. Moby seems to be going new age on us all, writing songs for Sinead O'Conner to sing over Enya-like sounds. Oy. The album seems like excercise. Boring. "The Rafters" is the only song that I really like, and even that one suffers from a seemingly patented Moby swelling synth-string treatment that was originally used so well in "Porcelain," but now seems to pop up in every single one of his songs.

Oh, and let's not forget that as of right now, I know of at least three of the songs from the album are licensed, with more to come for sure. To teach a dog a new trick, you give him a treat. Well, Moby is sure desrving of his treat this time. He did his trick just as you hoped.

Moby Does It Again
The follow-up CD to the 1999 smash-hit Play well lived up to its expectations. While not quite as good as its predecessor, I don't think anybody will be disappointed.

Moby continues to re-define techo in this new album, reminding us all of how far he's come since his raw, electronic beat days. Like Play before it, 18 is full of spiritual, emotional songs--although often he uses this emotional power to create somewhat depressing (but still very beautiful) music, as can be seen is such tracks as "Sleep Alone", "18" and "At Least We Tried".

In contrast to Play, there are more slow and melodic songs and less hip-hip and R&B songs. Strangely, although I ordinarily don't care for hip-hop or R&B, I was sad to see both go.

Overall, though, this album is a must-buy, and I stand fully behind my 5-star rating. As with Play, all of the songs are unique and special on their own, but come together to create a spiritual journey into a wide spectrum of emotions when the album is played in its entirety.

Superior yet still uneven followup to 'Play'
I usually don't write reviews for C.D.s, but I felt compelled to add my opinion on "18" because I feel this album has been misrepresented by many other reviewers.

The main thing that helps in listening to this album is to forget everything else about Moby (mainly "Play," which this album resembles in only the slightest way). It also helps to forget We Are All Made of Stars once the track is done playing, since the other songs don't follow its lead (even though that single was, ironically, the reason I bought this album in the first place).

If you just judge the songs for what they are, not expecting a lot of radio-friendly singles (like We Are All Made of Stars, not that I consider it mindless pop but it is something which is commercially equipped) or "Play, Volume 2" you realize that they are quite good. The barrier to the enjoyment (or popularity) of this album is the expectations that exist because of the success of "Play" and the sometimes quite unconventional nature of the songs. It's a good album, just not good in the way you're likely to expect it to be.

"18" hits higher and more frequent highs than "Play," in my opinion. Unfortunately it also has a lower low (Harbour). But it averages out as a better album. We Are All Made of Stars is the best vocal techno song I've heard in English (Japanese electronic artist tend to be very good at this format, which seems to elude Western musicians). Extreme Ways is an excellent "angry rocker," only with the "rock" part replaced with electronica. I say that because, with a different instrumental arrangement, these lyrics would be worthy of Dylan or Petty. But the instrumentals that do back the song are some of Moby's finest work, a layered electronic masterpiece. In This World is far superior to Natural Blues, which it is naturally compared to. Great Escape is both a great song and testament to Moby's versatility as a songwriter (it's composed for Classical strings, and is a moving love song like nothing he's written before). Jam for the Ladies is an enjoyable departure from Moby's usual style (if there *is* anything that can be called his usual style, this isn't it) Then the instrumantal tracks Fireworks and 18 prove that his focus on vocal songs hasn't caused his talent for composing instrumentals to wane. On the down side, I don't know what these other reviewers have on track 15 of their copies of "18." I find Harbour to be not only the obvious weak point of this album, but the most unlistenable song Moby has ever issued under his name. The lyrics are uninspired, the vocals are poorly delivered, and there's nothing about the instrumental backing to make the track interesting at all. But it is only a momentary lapse of dignity for Moby.

The biggest weakness of "18" is the weakness of all Moby's albums: it fails to hold together as a unified work. The songs are good (although some are a bit weak, and the album would have benefited from the removal of Harbour and 1 or 2 of the gospel songs, to shorten it to the approximate length of "Play"), but together they seem like just a collection of songs, a singles collection or "best of" compilation, rather than parts of a whole. Then don't flow and there is nothing which unifies them (although a couple songs are linked to each other). It seems like Moby just browsed a database he had his 150 unreleased songs on, picked 18 he thought were objectively the best, with no regard to their style or tone, then kept them in the order they had been filed on the database, rather than arranging them in a way that allowed the moods of the songs to compliment each other. The result is "18," a good collection of songs, but with almost no feeling of unity.

Basically "18" shows that, despite all his other successes evident on the record, Moby has failed to make the full transition from a single artist to an album artist. It is a good album to own, but it has a number of idiosyncracies that prevent its widespread enjoyment, and some that prevent me from being able to give it 5 stars. I hope Moby's next (non-Voodoo Child) album maintains these strengths (as well as new innovations) *and* is also able to exist as a unified whole, like all the truly great albums do.

When he's good, he's very good. When he is ho-hum, he's
Moby has stated that he has written over 3,000 songs but that they won't be released because most of them aren't that good. I believe it. His good stuff is great - original, sincere, ear-popping music that makes you realize that there are musicians doing creative music. His other stuff is boring - anyone with a synthesizer and a beat machine can grind out this stuff. It is amazing that Moby can't tell the difference because he will include simplistic synth chords shifting slowly and then give these pieces grandiose names as if he thinks they are profound when they are nothing but noodling on the keyboard that anyone can do. This is a good album but be ready to junk a few songs before you upload it to your ipod. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

NOT the 80s!!!
Just listened to my friend's CD. This was NOT the 80s I remember. This compilation is the kind of lowest of lowest common denominator garbage that gives the 80s a bad name. Unfortunately there are few alternative collections that roll together the true new wave groundbreakers, godfathers of electronica, and pre-90s alt rocker forebears that made the 80s a phenominal time for good middle-of-the-road pop rock - no such thing even exists today. The radio is full of teeny-bopper pop, rap, or classic rock. Please Music Industry, help us!!!

How can it be 2003 now??? Where did my youth go?
Yes, I am too old for teenie bopping now, but I can listen to this and bring it all back ike it was yesterday. I close my eyes and my hair still shines, there are no crows feet threatening my eye area and my thighs are an acceptable size. Nice selection of hits from the 80s. Sit back and enjoy

Great CD
I love this cd. There are many different types of eighties. If you feel like a ballad there is one if not you can find something fast. Its has many of the songs you love and some you never really heard but sre still great.

A Couple Radio Edits Apparent
Ah, the 80s-a musical era filled with big hair, candy-fluorescent-colored music videos, and some of the most high-style, low-substance pop tunes ever recorded. But in spite of these apparent drawbacks, I found quite a few tracks on this collection of Reagan-era pop-charting tunage to be a reasonably enjoyable and nostalgic diversion. Heck, just listenin' to the first disc alone took me back to those lazy days when I'd veg out to the playlist of the local Top-40 station!

Sadly, although I loved more than a few of the cuts in this collection, I made the sad discovery that at least two of the tunes-- Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and Paul Young's 'Every Time You Go Away'-are not the LP renditions. I'm sure a few of the other tracks in this set are the radio edit versions as well, though I couldn't tell ya exactly which ones. Needless to say, if you're a stickler for owning the entire uncut tune, I recommend you look elsewhere...

'Late

80's Pop Hits
Never heard of the songs on the 3rd CD? Whoever said they didn't hear of the 3rd CD must not have been listening too closely. The songs on these THREE CDs are great!!! I was stationed overseas during most of the 80's and heard every song played on the Armed Forces Radio Network. ... Read more

Album Details

Reissue. The Motherlode, the Standard of all 'lounge' Collections...the One Collection Every Other Collection Released Since Aspires to Be. The Assembly of These Tracks Stands as a Monumental Work of Art. Every Recording is Placed Together Here So Precisely and the Quality of Each Track So High. When Someone Asks 'what is a a Good Compilation', this is Far and Away Light Years Beyond all the Rest. Based on Music Heard in Paris' Buddha Bar, Each Track is a Mesmerizing Wonder, Expertly Chosen and Sequenced, Each Perfectly Fitting Puzzle Pieces. It Stands as Simply the Best of the Genre. The Music Here Inspires You to Expand Your Musical Horizons and Seek Out More of the Same as You Become Familiar with These Songs after Repeated Plays....and You Simply Can't Get Better Than That! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Superb
I bought Buddha Bar V because of the catchy title and the beautiful artwork. To my delight, what I found was an excellent compilation of Euro-Eastern mixes that blew my mind away. Both technically and artistically pleasing, I listen to this compilation and look forward to future mixes by these talented artists. It is like Yin, and Yang, one CD being very soothing and healing, and the other being more energetic and upbeat in tempo. I love it, it is a masterpiece!

The First Entry of the Buddha-Bar Series.
This is the debut entry of the "Buddha-Bar" series, and considering that it was released back in 1999, the material still sounds remarkably fresh. A co-worker of mine recommended the Buddha-Bar series since she knows I'm really into downtempo music with a touch of Eastern flavor. When I approached this set, the first thing that grabbed me was the rather steep pricetag, which seems to be putting off quite a few listeners. But the deal is this: "Buddha-Bar" is recommended depending on who you are. If you're a casual listener who buys maybe 3-5 CDs a year, then this may not be a wise purchase. However, if you're a music lover who has an extensive and diverse range of genres in your collection, then I don't see how forking out the extra cash should be that big a deal. The fact is: the material on this album is very good. In this handsomely-packaged collection, we have two discs: "Buddha's Dinner" and "Buddha's Party." The stronger of these two discs is definitely the "Dinner" one, which has mellowed-out tracks that really give off a sense of calm. My favorite track has to be the lovely "What Will I Be" by Zeave Ben. It's one of those tunes that stayed imprinted in my head because the song is so distinct and beautifully arranged. The "Party" disc has slightly less of an Eastern vibe, but has a fair amount of really good dance tunes that are decent enough for any party. The main attractions here are the Eurodisco bounce of So Emotional, who does a cover of the hit "All By Myself" as well as Byron Stingily's "Flying High," which gets a Brazilian makeover by DJs Masters at Work. While not quite flawless, I'm overall pleased with "Buddha-Bar," and I hope to explore other volumes of this fine series.

Where it all began
It is rare for me to get into a series of compilations that leaves me breathless because the music is simply incredible. The Buddha Bar series really changed my life when last year I bought "Buddha Bar V" on a whim. I was so taken by the Asian-influence in the music I heard through out the two cd disc. There were none of the same old songs that I kept finding on other chill out compilations. The Buddha Bar series really raised the bar on chill out music with the quality in songs the djs picked out. Normally I refuse to pay anything more than $20 for a cd but I will make an exception with the Buddha Bar cds. The quality is too good to pay any attention to the price tag.

I stopped by my favorite record store this afternoon after an afternoon matinee of "Dogville". I was going to buy two other cds but the moment i saw last year's re-issue of the first "Buddha Bar" cd, I put those cds aside and grabbed the "Buddha Bar" cd immediately. Parisian dj Claude Challe begins the music nirvana that I know of as my favorite chill out series. Just like the other Buddha Bar cds, there are two discs. One is labeled as the dinner disc which contains laid-back, mellow music while disc two is the party disc which contains dance tracks. I especially loved the Party cd. I loved the remix of Faithless' "Drifting Away", Malik Adouane's "Shaft", and the cheesy So Emotional cover of Celine Dion's "All By Myself". Both cds were a good mix of modern and traditional Asian/Indian dance music which reminded me of Ravin, who mixed the latest Buddha Bar cd. Claude, Dave, and Ravin are all different. I have enjoyed all their work on the Buddha Bar/Chill Out in Paris/Siddharta series. They are all excellent djs. It was great to hear the original dj of the Buddha Bar cds. I have yet to hear a Buddha Bar cd that I didn't like.

This is the CD that started it all !!!
Buddha Bar....Claude Challe....Legendary !!!
When Claude Challe lent his mixing talent to Buddha Bar, something special happened. Buddha Bar is the posh restaurant/club in the financial district of Paris, owned by none other than Johnny Depp, brought to life by the likes of George Visan and DJ'd by Ravin, the Jr David Visan and of course, Claude Challe.

Claude Challe has a reputation for excellence, whether as 'the man with the golden shears' as a 19 year old Parisian in his own salon, or as a free spirit, travelling the near East and India, and as a musical genius.

The arrangements Claude Challe has compiled here are breathtaking. Indeed, "Buddha Bar" may yet become it's own genre. People have tried, but cannot find an appropriate moniker for his work. Among the genre names that don't quite fit are electronica, dance, world, ambient, but Buddha Bar serves best.

He creates a mood. Slow and sensual early on, to more upbeat further in. But the total package is inimitable.

Danceable, and imminently listenable, this listeners advice is to hear this CD and continue with Claude Challe's solo compilations and get all the Buddha Bar's out there !!

I'd also recommend going to Paris to visit the actual Buddha Bar, as well as Barrio Latino, but the sound systems at each simply do not do the music justice. But for cool destinations, they absolutely can't be beat.

Cheers ! Monty and Amber Overson, San Jose, California.

The Ultimate Music Listening Experience
This is what started it all..Buddha Bar I..i can't say it's my favorite .. cuz it has a league of its own..apart from its emotional value..because i bought it in Paris..this Album never leaves my Stereo..I listen to it all the time..day and night..asleep or awake...
I just can't Describe the pleasure this CD gives me... ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Doesn't beat the first "Fired Up!," but still real neat
I remember the first "Fired Up!" album from 2003 being a sweet compilation.It made Six Flags feel like an office cubical.I thought a sequal album would be just as good.Looking at the commercial for volume two, I was defenitely going to buy it once I could, but I didn't think it would reach the quality volume one had.I was right that even though it wasn't going to be as good as the first "Fired Up!," but still enjoyable. This CD features dance hits like IIO's "Rapture (Tastes So Sweet)," a classic from 2001.I remember listening to this on the radio back in 2001-02.The more I listened to it, the more I wanted this song, and I listened to it enough that I bought the CD single.There's also Tiesto's remix of "Silence" by Delerium feat. Sarah McLachlin.It's a great song, and a great remix too.I wish it was the whole version though.There was some parts of the song cut out.This album also includes "I'll Fly With You (L'Amour Toujours)" by Gigi D'Agostino.The version on this album is the one with those special beats and the guy saying.... well I dunno exactly what he's saying.He's saying something like "a-da-wa-da-eh wa-da-ah-ah-steh wa-da-in-in-steh wa-da-a-da-da-eh."The other version made it feel more like a romantic musical play.Another song on here is "Breathe" by Telepopmusik.The vocalist in this song sounds sort of like she's singing over the phone.I wonder if that's why they're called "Telepopmusik."This CD also has Darude's classic, "Sandstorm."It's defenitely a rampant, wild track!I could run non-stop whenever I hear this tune.There's also DJ Sammy's "Heaven," The Hani Radio Edit of Kelly Clarkson's "Miss Independent," "Stranger In My House" by Tamia, "Desire" by Ultra Nate (Oh, Ultra.You never fail to impress me.), Amber's "Sexual (Li Da Di)," "Weapon Of Choice" by Fatboy Slim (Finally, something faster), and more. It's a great album, but not at the same level as the first one.I'm guessing they were running out of good song ideas to put in their albums.Hopefully, there isn't a pattern where these albums get worse and worse each release.As long as they continue to include quality anthems on their CDs, I'll be satisfied.Fair enough quality for this CD overall.

ya this music was good five years ago...
Ok, so this music was hot five years ago. How can they actually call this new? These songs are for people who really are out of the music scene...

Use caution while driving!
I thought Fired Up was great, Fired Up 2 is even better! Every song on this CD is great. Especially Sandstorm - I was driving around listening to it today and ended up getting pulled over for speeding...try and explain yourself out of that one! I highly recommend getting this, you won't be disappointed.

Much better selection of songs
The first volume of Fired Up! was great, don't get me wrong. But in my opinion, this one has a much better selection. I had been wondering where songs like "Heaven" and the Thunderpuss Remix of Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right, But It's Okay" were, though here they are! Definitely a CD that can keep you moving. Great if you go to the Gym. Some standouts include the ever-famous DJ Sammy cover of Heaven, "Absolutely Not" by Deborah Cox, The DJ Tiesto remix of "Silence", and the amazing remix of Tamia's "Stranger In My House". The only ones I don't really enjoy are Weapon of choice, and the remixes of Miss Independent and He Wasn't Man Enough. Weapon of Choice is just...too long for the same thing over and over. And Miss Independent and He Wasn't Man enough were fine as they were. These mixes make them seem much slower.

But otherwise, a great CD. Definitely recommend it.

Just as strong as the first Fired Up!
I liked Fired Up 2.I've been listening to it the past several days.Most of the songs I've heard on some other dance albums, but one of the standouts is the Hani remix of Kelly Clarkson's Miss Independent.It just puts her in a different light. It makes the album version sound like a Puff Daddy remix. The smooth keyboards and rapid paced sound actually works for Kelly. Don't know if she actually sang on that song or if Hani took the vocals from the album song and put it in that remix. All the songs from Amber, to Daniel Bedingfield, to Toni Braxton to Deborah Cox to Dirty Vegas' funky Days Go By are on here. The only song I hate on here is Fatboy Slim's Weapons of Choice. This song suffers from having too many samples and snippets going on in a 5-minute plus song.Plus it looks out of place of the more pumping dance tracks on the album. The rest of the album remains consistent for much of the 72 minutes. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the decade of decadence, Duran Duran knew how to live the life. Itwas reflected in their videos (sailboats, silly white hats, tropical surroundings, grease-painted feral women) and garishly displayed in their public lifestyles. But if you can remove these connotations from the album that started it all, you'll be left with music that is anything but gaudy. For the most part, Rio is an eerie and sumptuous record. With their raspy, arpeggio synth sounds and Simon Le Bon's uninflected vocals, the misty ballads "Lonely in Your Nightmare" and "Save a Prayer" can still tear your heart right out of your chest and abandon it bleeding on a rain-soaked cobblestone street. With the dance-oriented singles "Rio" and "Hungry Like the Wolf," you dry out a bit, but the songs are far from airy or whimsical. One anomaly in this release, though, is the inappropriate prominence of John Taylor's bass lines. In every song, it sounds as if he is mixed more in expectation of a solo than as an integral part of the rhythm section. Ignore this technical distraction, however, and you'll enjoy rediscovering this gorgeous body of water-colored synthpop. --Beth Bessmer ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Video Glitch for Win2000 & WinMe
If you are running Win2000 or WinMe and you do not have QuickTime installed on your computer, DO NOT follow the link provided on the enhanced portion of this CD. If you do, you will be downloading an older version of QuickTime that is compatible only through Win98. The result could be severe audio breakup. Instead, go to Apple's site and download the current version of QuickTime [v.5.0.2] which is compatible with Win2000 & WinMe and follow the installation instructions. Then get ready to be disappointed with the notecard-sized videos. As for the CD audio...mastered much too bright. As for the failure to use the ALBUM MASTER to cut the CD...shame on EMI/Capitol. Very amateurish. This disc is a great disappointment. P.S...Where is the ZERO in the ratings system???

Rio - 20 Years Later.
Although it was originally released in May 1982, Duran Duran's second album, "Rio," didn't catch fire on these American shores until a year later, thanks to the breakthrough single and video "Hungry Like the Wolf." It was perfect timing for the British group: the year was 1983, during which MTV culture was taking shape and revolutionized the way we listen to music. That, coupled with the group's stylishly produced videos and new romantic-inspired pop, helped make Duran Duran such an important staple in 1980s music. Here, virtually none of the 80s cheese you find from trendier groups appears on this CD. There's the dynamic title track (replete with a sax solo from Andy Hamilton), the seductive "The Chauffer," the uptempo rocker "Hold Back the Rain," and the funkified "My Own Way" (which differs from the original mix on the 1981 single). "Rio" is one of the first LPs I ever purchased (I still have the original vinyl), and it gives me great teenage memories. On its own merits, the record really deserves 4 stars, but it gets an extra one for its sentimental value. (By the way, this remastered version is the original pressing of "Rio" that was released overseas, and not the remixed version that was once available in America.)

no not five stars,O-N-E STAR ONLY
I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT THIS IS NOT 1982.NO ONE LISTENS TO SUCH SILLY FOGIE NEW WAVE DANCE MUSIC WHICH HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN FOR DECADES.AVOID THIS SLOPPY ALBUM AND GET SOMETHING NICE AND RECENT LIKE AUDIOSLAVE'S AWESOME DEBUT CD INSTEAD AND ENJOY YOURSELF.LET THESE OLD FOGIES LIE IN THE EIGHTIES WHERE THEY BELONG.

"Oh Rio, Rio, dance across the Rio Grande"
This is a good CD for fans of Duran Duran and is hailed as one of their best. I don't agree but it's still very good, I believe. The songs are entertaining, even if they aren't the best things ever written, examples being Hungry Like the Wolf, Hold Back the Rain, and a few others. I was quite impressed with New Religion. Very interesting song that is supposedly a conversation between "the ego and the alter ego". The chorus is great. The lyrics don't make a whole lot of sense but I think they can be understood on a gut level if you don't try to analyze them word for word. Lonely in your Nightmare, Save a Prayer and The Chauffeur are very pretty. I think I may have gotten more meaning out of the songs than was actually intended, or maybe not, but it doesn't really matter as listening to music is a personal experience anyway, and for me this album is a good musical experience.
So if you're not too proud to admit that you like Duran Duran, this might be a good CD to get.
Yes, a good CD but don't get it for the DVD-rom extras. You need a special computer for that. I don't know what the deal is.

For all of you complainers of the fact it's not the version
For all of you complainers of the fact it's not the version you had back in the 80's I know of a website that will straiten you up. There were 5 versions of the ablum made, and many of the songs have even 13 versions of the songs, only 1 song from the album is the same no matter which version you have or had for it is the only song that has 1 version that song is Last Chance On The Stairway. (...)

By the way stop your bitching about the album I have the US 1st version I LP, I have The US 3rd version on cd..with bonus tracks, the remasterd cd, plus I only the 81>85 box set, Night Versions, and Strange Behaviour, plus Decade, and Greatest, plus Decade on VHS and Greatest on DVD..so I have many versions of the songs, not all...I consider all versions to be a goal for me to have...so..read about the different versions before you complain! ... Read more

Album Description

On number six in this Buddha-Bar series, musical alchemist Ravin returns with a sublime selection of tracks, half of which are previously unreleased. Artists on this double disc include B-Tribe, 1 Giant Leap, Erik Satie, Cellar 55, Slow Train, Loopless, Sarah Vaughan, Bliss, Afterlife, and many more. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Another Addition for Your Collection
Incredibly, the quality of the Buddha Bar series is holding steady, which is good given that the quality level is about as good as it gets. I have all six Buddha Bar CDs (as well as a growing collection of other "chill out" CDs). On most of the Buddha Bar CD collections, I tend to favor the CD with with the uptempo beats. On BB6, however, the slower "Rebirth" CD is stunning the way it draws you in. I played "Rebirth" on my computer one night while working and found it hypnotic. And another word to the wise: this CD is very romantic--actually it drips with passion (check out track 12)--and will complement more than dinner.

Siddharta vs. Buddha-Bar
Ravin used to guarantee good quality and a "new" journey on each release. He is obviously putting his selecting method on random. If you check out Siddharta 1 & 2 you will find many of the same acts and especially artists signed to Music For Dreams. Does Ravin own shares in that company? To me it's too much of the same thing and I always expect to be introduced to something new and exciting, not the latest tracks from a few producers. Get your act together Ravin or you will kill the Buddha-Bar series forever!

High quallity work
Its very usual nowdays finding CDs with classical music remixes. This time was Erik Satie and his Gnossienne n.º 1. Usually I don't like this kind of remixes, but this one worked very good! So... pay attention to this song (n.º 6, CD 1) and compare it with the original to verify the quallity of Buddha Bar works.

Ravin's chapter....
Very good C.D. Ravin continues with his hypnotic way of mixing music. Altough Buddha - Bar VI is very slow , relaxing and u will find less rythm than the rest of the serie , this C.D. is not pretentios and has a lot of substance .
I rate this C.D. 4 stars because the only CD (from world and lounge music) i would rate 5 stars is Amnesty internatonal 40th Annyversary also by Ravin.
My favourite song is Daniel Masson -Sonargaon (one of the best songs i ever heard)
Danny- Romania

this is pathetic guys i am sorry !
no no no no.do not even bother to buy this album.i am shocked.just pathetic.i own all albums , 1,2,3,4,5. Every CD is like a mirror.it shows u ur life.ur worth.listening to the music is like ur own life replaying.this CD has gone way way off track.itz more like some beat up old hangout.no class.no finese.sorry.the guys giving high rating to this either are these new age kids or trance lovers.am sorry.
save ur money.grab a beer and listen to Vol 5 CD1 again.another tip people: buy any buddha bar cd compiled *ONLY* by DJ David Visan(BB4,5).The fellow is a genious.Better than his mentor Chaude Challe.The others,like Dj Ravin,Dj Joseph Balasandra take a break !!!! ... Read more