MP3MANIACO

Daryl Hall - Sacred Songs [1980]

maniaco — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:39:52 GMT

Música: Contemporary Pop Rock

Comentário AM:

In what must be the most bizarre coupling ever, Hall is accompanied by none other than King Crimson figurehead Robert Fripp on production and, of course, on guitar. This record suffered at the hands of record company mismanagement. Originally recorded in 1977, Sacred Songs wasn't granted a release until 1980. RCA worried about Hall's lack of commercial vision. However Hall and Fripp's creativity strangely works. Sure, there are pieces that wouldn't do as singles, but for an album regarded as being so uncommercial, there are plenty that could have been: the wacky title song, "Something in 4/4 Time," "Farther Away," and "Why Was It So Easy" (the latter being one of Hall's best ballads). Most bonkers of all is "Babs and Babs," a straight-ahead Daryl Hall track until a Fripp soundscape kicks in from nowhere! Fripp's own "Urban Landscape" shows him having withdrawal symptoms from Bowie's infamous Heroes sessions. The onward march of studio technology means that the sound here is slightly dated. Still, it's a must-have purchase, ending with another killer ballad "Without Tears" -- Earth magic indeed.

4.5

Daryl Hall - Sacred Songs [1980]

Sparks - Hello Young Lovers [2006]

maniaco — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:26:45 GMT

Música: Contemporary Pop Rock

Comentário AM:

Why it is that after years or even decades some artists continue to thrill and entertain while others just burn out badly is one of those great mysteries, but in the example of Ron and Russell Mael, aka Sparks, they're firmly in the former category. Hello Young Lovers is their 20th studio album in 35 years, not to mention one of their best. Following on from their enjoyable all-classical instrumentation experiment, Lil' Beethoven, Sparks take their cue here from the album's one song that added full rock band instrumentation to all the strings, "Ugly Guys with Beautiful Girls." The resulting fusion on Hello Young Lovers -- with the brothers and drummer Tammy Glover now accompanied full-time by former touring guitarist Dean Menta, along with Redd Kross' Steve McDonald guesting on bass and Jim Wilson on guitar -- audibly harks back to the U.K. glam era of the band but crucially does not simply replicate it. Instead, it's as close to a full mélange of all the band's various sounds thus far over the years, as Lil' Beethoven's orchestral swoops are shot through with feedback and subtler hints of the various dance incarnations of the duo. Opening track "Dick Around," with its rapidly ascending and descending melodies, absolutely precise performance (Russell's voice continues to be one of the best ever in the field while Ron's ear for immediate but busy-as-heck hooks similarly hasn't gone stale), and back-and-forth arrangements between strings and guitar is a tour de force on its own, not to mention showing that the trademark Mael misanthropic wit remains fully intact. From there, Hello Young Lovers is off to the races, with only a tiny misstep or two along the way ("Here Kitty" is cute but slight, "Metaphor" takes a while to connect fully). First single "Perfume" is a delight, a finger-snapping swing of a song that's still very 21st century, with a classic Russell spoken word break to boot. Other highlights include the outrageous "(Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country?," a reworking of the American national anthem that turns into the slyest post-9/11 song yet, and the stellar conclusion "When I Sit Down to the Play the Organ in the Notre Dame Cathedral." "Waterproof" might be the best song in the end, Russell singing like butter couldn't melt in his mouth about being a merrily heartless bastard untroubled by his former love's "Meryl Streep mimicry" while the sound moves from chamber music to a hint of '30s jazz to a full rock-out apocalypse. If, as is often alleged, Queen ripped off Sparks to fully kick-start their own career, Hello Young Lovers is Sparks having the last and best laugh, not just on their former rivals but on all those bands now and then whose members may have listened in but never showed even a tenth of the Maels' genius and inspiration.

Sparks - Hello Young Lovers [2006]

Jack Johnson - To the Sea [2010]

maniaco — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:22:07 GMT

Música: Contemporary Pop Rock

Comentário AM:

Jack Johnson quietly turned into a star over the course of the 2000s, so it’s only fitting that he inaugurates the second decade of his recording career with To the Sea, an album that feels like the work of a soft rock superstar. Of course, that’s what Johnson is, but he’s avoided sounding that way by performing soft-shuffle acoustic numbers, camouflaging his pop move as a soundtrack to Curious George, then getting mellowly introspective on 2008’s Sleep Through the Static. To the Sea blows away the drowsy cobwebs from Sleep, pushing the acoustic guitar to the background and letting his band groove politely, usually in an amiable, unhurried gait that never breaks a sweat even when the musicians goose the tempo a bit. Call it the signature of a surfer so bleached by the sun that he rushes nothing, but To the Sea substitutes the sunset strum-alongs of his earliest records for a sleek daytime sheen that might glimmer too brightly for hippies but it makes for a better overall pop record, the kind of album that suits Jack Johnson’s stature as surfer turned AAA crooner.

Jack Johnson - To the Sea [2010]

Colbie Caillat - All of You [2011]

maniaco — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:15:33 GMT

Música: Contemporary Pop Rock

Comentário AM:

Colbie Caillat’s sweetness turned a little too syrupy on her sophomore set, Breakthrough, so it’s a relief to hear a bit of a snap to the sunny songs on 2011’s All of You. It’s a difference evident in the rhythms -- she’s not just strumming, she’s swinging, sometimes urged along by handclaps -- it’s a difference evident in the bigger, bolder melodies and, most of all, it’s evident in the production, the record bubbling with textures and colors that keep Caillat from succumbing to her inherent pleasantness. Colbie is so cheerful she even brings warmth to notoriously chilly hitmaker Ryan Tedder, who nobly sacrifices his sheets of sounds at the altar of Caillat’s beachside pop because there is no darkening her sun. Despite a slightly heavier accent on reggae, both in the rhythms and the lyrics, the noteworthy shift on All of You is that Colbie Caillat has embraced soft rock, letting her surface shine and sparkle, letting her songs pulse with melody instead of drifting off into an amiable sleep. The result is easily her best record yet: a soundtrack equally comforting during a lazy weekend afternoon or a hard Monday morning.

Colbie Caillat - All of You [2011]

VA - Barry Lyndon - OST [1975]

maniaco — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:34:08 GMT

Música: Soundtracks/Original Score

Comentário AM:

An absolutely superb selection of music. Again and again Kubrick revealed his genius in moviemaking with every detail, including his choice of musical accompaniment. The Handel is bold and poignant in all its variations. The rivetting Schubert Trio in E-flat IS the scene in the movie, and remains the scene on the soundtrack and is played eloquently and flawlessly with that odd droll depth which was sometimes characteristic of the Baroque. A truly amazing listen. It will transport you out of the bussle of the 21st Century with such profound delicacy. This one work alone would be worth the price of the CD, but there's so much more. There's also a Mozart march, a wonderful Bach Adagio for duel harpsichords, a gorgeous cello concerto by Vivaldi, and the hypnotically exquisite Cavatina by Pasiello. There are a couple of rare modern sublimes as well, Sean O'Riada's amazingly ethereal "Tin Whistles" and his "Women of Ireland." And then there's a few works of period traditional music which add filigree to the whole ensemble. It's a complete soundtrack, so like most soundtracks, there's a couple of pieces you probably won't want to listen to over and over again, but you can program those out with your CD or mp3 player (the two marches, while well-performed, distract from the otherwise delicate minuet pace of the whole ensemble, so I edit them out). Most of this music places you right in the period, but at the same time, much of it is so rare and wonderfully performed that it also transcends time and place with moments of the highest aesthetic pleasure. I converted it into my mp3 collection and pick and choose from its flavors for aesthetic sustenance according to my appetite. It's a small banquet. You can't help loving this collection. The Schubert trio in E-flat, especially, will stay close to your heart the rest of your life. It has to be one of the most beautiful recordings of all time--an amazing mixture of pathos and deliberation--so much like Barry and Lady Lyndon.

4.5

VA - Barry Lyndon - OST [1975]

VA - Lost in Translation - OST [2003]

maniaco — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:25:28 GMT

Música: Soundtracks/Dream Pop/Indie Pop Rock

Comentário AM:

Lost In Translation as a movie had a major impact on me. It got me to thinking about where I was going with my life and what it really means to be happy. As such I think of it as invaluable, and it was a given that I was going to buy a copy of the DVD. In a more subtle way, the soundtrack is just as much a must-have for lovers of the movie. So many of the moods that Sofia Coppola sets depend heavily on visuals (particularly the night scenes of Tokyo ablaze in neon and bustling with activity) and sound (namely the music). It's hard for me now to look at a night-time cityscape of red lights atop buildings without thinking of Death In Vegas' "Girls." There are other songs that grew on me more gradually but are no less important. "Sometimes" by My Bloody Valentine did not elicit a major reaction from me initially but before long I started to fall under its spell of fuzzy guitar chords and soothing vocals (yes it's hard to understand what the lyrics are, but the vocals are more like another instrument than a vessel for words). "Just Like Honey" by The Jesus and Mary Chain was a clear winner too -- I'm not sure how I did not get into this band sooner, considering how much I like some of their contemporaries such as The Cure. But the short tracks that appear in between these songs -- "On the Subway," "Ikebana," "Alone in Kyoto," "Are You Awake," etc. -- these are the "audible wallpaper" that kind of hold everything together. Many people will complain that these atmospheric tracks are just filler, but don't buy into that simplistic argument. These are the tracks that you almost don't even notice because they fit into their respective scenes so perfectly. They are just as important as the lighting, acting, and cinematography, but most people don't think enough to go back and associate these tunes with their corresponding events in the film. It's true that the Teaches of Peaches song (do I have that right?) is not on the soundtrack but frankly it would be completely out of place if it were. The scene it was used in is, to put it mildly, a bit raunchy, and at odds with the movie's overall intelligent, introspective feel. If you loved Lost In Translation, then this CD is a no-brainer purchase. Or even if you haven't seen it, but you like Air and other music that sets a navel-gazing mood, it's STILL a no-brainer purchase.

4.5

VA - Lost in Translation - OST [2003]

Hans Zimmer - Sherlock Holmes - OST [2010]

maniaco — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:13:31 GMT

Música: Soundtracks/Original Score

Comentário AM:

Those who think they’ve heard every sound and device in Hans Zimmer’s film score bag are in for a surprise with this one for Sherlock Holmes, the 2009 Guy Ritchie film starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams. Zimmer has pulled off a score that rivals his finest work, yet sounds like little of it. Here, sounds are as important as instruments, and they often come from organic means -- through these cues we hear the sound of a piano being played on its side, and resembling something between a dusty upright, a children’s instrument, and a Wurlitzer -- check the opening cue “Discombobulate.” Other classical instruments are used to warped yet humorous effect -- the trombone in “I Never Woke Up in Handcuffs Before” is a stellar example when played against a gypsy violin, an accordion, dumbeks, and other hand percussion. The comically operatic theater mood of “My Mind Rebels at Stagnation” is quirky and dramatic. A sparely plucked banjo enters with the piano to double with the piano before being joined by a full symphony and a gypsy-polka band before shifting the entire piece into an abundantly orchestrated folk-dance tune. All musical roads lead to “Psychological Recovery . . . Six Months,” the album’s longest track at over 18 minutes. It is in some ways the cut that evokes Zimmer’s sense of the dramatic best, and yet even here there are so many twists and turns, it feels more like a suite than a soundtrack cue. As original soundtrack scores go in the 21st century, this is one well worth exploring -- wonderfully weird and full of minor astonishments and generous quirks that will endear it to listeners of many stripes.

Hans Zimmer - Sherlock Holmes - OST [2010]

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - OST [2011]

maniaco — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:05:08 GMT

Música: Soundtracks/Original Score

Comentário AM:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' second score for a David Fincher film, finds them further pushing the boundaries of their collaboration. Their brilliant Academy Award-winning score for The Social Network was as much an aural portrait of the film’s version of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg as it was a backdrop for the film’s action, juxtaposing bright, clinical electronics with bottomed-out desperation; however, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo only has hints of its protagonist, defiant hacker Lisbeth Salander, flitting through its massive length -- over three hours, making it longer than the actual film -- like a ghost in the machine. Indeed, the music’s most Salander-like trait might be how often it defies convention. While the opening cover of Led Zeppelin's “Immigrant Song,” which features the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O standing in for Robert Plant's barbaric yawp, goes in an industrial rock direction that nods to Nine Inch Nails' ‘90s heyday (indeed, there’s more than a touch of the ‘90s to Lisbeth’s goth-hacker persona), the bulk of the score is cavernous, elongated, and surprisingly restrained given its sheer size. The pair rarely turns up the volume, and even on louder cues such as “With the Flies” and “You’re Here,” the effect feels more like industrial music’s ghost than a full onslaught. Instead, Ross and Reznor craft almost unrelenting tension and paranoia with dark electronic drones that are only slightly mitigated by piano, guitar, and percussion but still leave a feeling of deep unease, particularly on tracks like “Under the Midnight Sun,” which closes with a sinister, respirator-like loop. When they do break this mood, it leads to some of the score’s loveliest moments, such as “What If We Could?,” which pairs a delicate piano melody with a discordant electronic shadow, and the equally lovely and unsettling “Please Take Your Hand Away.” The duo spends just as much time establishing the film’s frosty environs on tracks such as “Hidden in Snow,” which evokes dripping icicles paired with dubstep-like bass, while clever contrasts like “Perihelion”’s hypnotic, almost squealing drones and “Aphelion”’s receding tones add to the score’s cohesiveness. There’s also an oddly feminine depth to the score’s layered sounds, making it easy to get lost in the intricacies of texture and melody of cues such as “Cut into Pieces” and “Hypomania.” Hearing the entire score at once might be exhausting for casual listeners, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a musical labyrinth that is well worth getting lost in for Ross and Reznor fans as well as soundtrack buffs.

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - OST [2011]

The Frames - The Cost [2007]

maniaco — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:40:28 GMT

Música: Alternative Pop Rock

Comentário AM:

You're three tracks into The Cost before you find a song, "The Rise," that opens with anything but singer Glen Hansard's voice as the first thing you hear. The beauty is, you're waiting for the voice, with its hints of Cat Stevens's tonality and its utterly distinct Irish lift. It's Hansard that provides the Frames with such a rising vibe, the sense of a band always lifting off, pressed higher by Colm Mac An Iomaire's violin. Mac An Iomaire's strings slip and slide in the thickets of guitar, playing exceptional cat and mouse both when the guitars are clear and crisp and when they're crashing furiously. The Frames wouldn't claim to write epic tunes, but over and over the songs build toward ecstatic sonic events. Witness the hushed open to "People Get Ready" how it morphs into a violin and guitar-grit blast of wind-blown energy or the distortion-scoured hum behind Hansard's lone voice on "True" launching a languorous, piano-driven backdrop as the singer lets loose a first-class yowl--the stuff of anguished beauty.

4.5

The Frames - The Cost [2007]

Weezer - Weezer (Red Album) [2008]

maniaco — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:30:30 GMT

Música: Alternative Pop Rock/Punk Pop

Comentário AM:

An old critical cliché is that eponymous albums are statements of purpose, so what to make of Weezer and their third color-coded self-titled album? Well, the band proves that axiom true, as every one of these eponymous efforts functions as an act of introduction, from their 1994 Blue debut to their 2001 Green comeback to 2008's Red Album, where Rivers Cuomo turns many of the group's long-standing rules upside down. This isn't a radical sonic makeover -- ever a pop formalist, Rivers has Weezer stick to their signatures of big guitars and bigger hooks -- but rather a question of attitude, as Cuomo loosens up as he stares down his impending middle age, choosing to get silly rather than serious. He tears down his self-imposed three-minute barriers, writing two long-form suites (and another track that clocks in over five minutes), he sneers at Timbaland's hitmaking prowess in "Pork and Beans," he never avoids his age, whether he's making asides to Rogaine or indulging in warm nostalgia in the pseudo-"In the Garage" sequel "Heart Songs" and, most importantly, he steals a page from the Noel Gallagher playbook and deliberately shares the spotlight with his bandmates. Not for nothing does Weezer cover "The Weight" as a bonus track on one of the international editions of the Red Album -- nowadays, everybody in Weezer gets a chance to sing lead, just like the Band did way back when. Bassist Scott Shriner is given Cuomo's mildly creepy original "Cold Dark World" to sing, but longtime fellow travelers, guitarist Brian Bell and drummer Pat Wilson, write and sing their own tunes ("Thought I Knew" and "Automatic," respectively), turning in sweet pop tunes that complement Cuomo's style even if they help give the Red Album a bit of a ragged edge, especially when compared to the brutal efficiency of Maladroit and the oversized, highly buffed Make Believe. Of course, the very point of the Red Album is for Weezer to not take things so seriously, to reconnect to their beginnings while taking the advantage of their rock star status to act seriously goofy. This freedom is entirely within the mind -- musically, this is all easily identifiable as Weezer -- but it invigorates such seemingly by the books rockers as "Troublemaker," where the loopy lyrics are as prominent and irresistible as the hooks. As the album opener, it sets the stage for a cheerfully restless record, one where all the parts don't fit and it's better because of it, as it has a wild, willing personality, suggesting that Weezer is comfortable as a band in a way they never quite have been before. Given that feeling, it makes perfect sense that the Red Album is another self-titled record, as it plays like an opening to a new chapter instead of merely more of the same.

4.5

Weezer - Weezer (Red Album) [2008]

Marina and the Diamonds - The Family Jewels [2010]

maniaco — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:22:45 GMT

Música: Alternative Pop Rock

Comentário AM:

"Did you find your bitch in me," Marina Diamandis asks on "Hermit the Frog," a track not unlike many others suggesting that Marina & the Diamonds' debut album is not scared of being inarguably ballsy. Track to track, each song is more quotably engaging than the next on The Family Jewels, the debut record by Marina & the Diamonds. Diamandis, the sole artist behind the band, does a masterful job of navigating through styles and genres on a varied debut that hoards influences from '80s dance records, late-'90s female rock, and post-millennial synth pop and throwback soul. If one wanted to compare her to contemporaries, one could start by listening to "I Am Not a Robot" and feeling the influence of Kate Nash, or turning to "Oh No" and understanding the Ke$ha vibes that adorn some of the more spiteful, playful tracks. Wrap these songs together with a voice not unlike Florence Welch's and one gets an album that is unified by two traits: undeniable bite and unforgettable hooks. Sure, not all of The Family Jewels is necessarily mainstream enough for radio waves or single jewel cases; however, not one track on this album lacks a hook that wouldn't have listeners of a wide span of ages singing along. Much of this can be credited to Diamandis herself, who wrote seven of the 13 tracks on her debut, and contributes on the other six. And even with Liam Howe at the production helm for ten of the tracks, nothing feels stale, dated, or perpetuated. The contrast from single to single validates this: "Mowgli's Road" bursts out with an almost childlike rhythm that is supported by howling monkeys, only to be followed by "Hollywood," a playful frock rooted in synthesizers and a massive chorus. Diamandis earns a large number of brownie points for owning a unified sound on her album that invests itself in every track, sparing no album cut for the sake of quantity over quality. The Family Jewels is a record that is creatively ubiquitous and aggressive, traits that make this album not unlike Amy Winehouse's Back to Black or maybe even Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville.

Marina and the Diamonds - The Family Jewels [2010]

Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding [2011]

maniaco — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:15:20 GMT

Música: Alternative Pop Rock/British Trad Rock/Britpop

Comentário AM:

Common sense never counted for much within Oasis. Everything that should have come easily never did, with the band stumbling and squabbling through stardom, creating great individual moments but somehow just missing a masterpiece. Conventional wisdom painted the brothers Gallagher as ego and id incarnate, the former belonging to classical craftsman Noel and the latter to shaggy animal Liam, but after the group’s 2009 split the journeymen that filled out the rest of Oasis stuck with the younger Gallagher, the quartet going on to perform as Beady Eye, releasing Different Gear, Still Speeding in early 2011. In a sense, this Steve Lillywhite-produced debut contains few surprises: it sounds like Oasis minus Noel, who always was the Gallagher on easier terms with modern music, meaning that Liam ratchets up his love of the ‘60s, going so far as to swipe the chord progression from “All You Need Is Love” for “The Roller.” So why does Different Gear, Still Speeding feel fresher than any Oasis album since (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, even their excellent last two records, Don’t Believe the Truth and Dig Out Your Soul? Because this is an Oasis driven by Liam, the purest rock & roll star of his generation. He’s so sure of his swagger and taste that he truly believes that blatant hero worship is rebellion, and so his music actually retains a wild spirit even as it follows a classicist blueprint to the letter. This untrammeled rock & roll gusto makes the bulk of Different Gear pure fun in a way the carefully considered post-Morning Glory records never were, and it also means that Beady Eye aren’t quite as sure-footed on their ballads: they are a band of instinct, not introspection, and listening to them follow Liam’s id throughout Different Gear, Still Speeding is infectious.

Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding [2011]

More MP3MANIACO´S

maniaco — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:35:13 GMT

System of a Down - Toxicity [2001]

Róisín Murphy - Overpowered [2007]

Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love [2004]

Secret Garden - Ultimate Secret Garden [2004]

Santana - Abraxas [1970]

Cornelius - Fantasma [1997]

Pleymo - Rock [2003]

Three Days Grace - Three Days Grace [2003]

Within Temptation - The Heart Of Everything [2007]

Hatebreed - Perseverance [2002]

Underoath - Define the Great Line [2006]

Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive! (Live) [1976]

maniaco — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:41:23 GMT

Música: Hard Rock/Arena Rock/Album Rock

Comentário AM:

At the time of its release, Frampton Comes Alive! was an anomaly, a multi-million-selling (mid-priced) double LP by an artist who had previously never burned up the charts with his long-players in any spectacular way. The biggest-selling live album of all time, it made Peter Frampton a household word and generated a monster hit single in "Show Me the Way." And the reason why is easy to hear: the Herd/Humble Pie graduate packed one hell of a punch on-stage -- where he was obviously the most comfortable -- and, in fact, the live versions of "Show Me the Way," "Do You Feel Like I Do," "Something's Happening," "Shine On," and other album rock staples are much more inspired, confident, and hard-hitting than the studio versions. [The 1999 reissue in A&M's "Remastered Classics" (31454-0930-2) series is a considerable improvement over the original double CD or double LP in terms of sound -- the highs are significantly more lustrous, the guitars crunch and soar, and the bottom end really thunders, and so you get a genuine sense of the power of Frampton's live set, at least the heavier parts of his set, rather than the compressed and flat sonic profile of the old double-disc version. Frampton and the band sound significantly closer as well, even on the softer songs such as "Wind of Change," and the disc is impressive listening even a quarter century later. Of course, one must take this all with a grain of salt as a concert document -- as was later revealed, there was considerable studio doctoring of the raw live tapes, a phenomenon that set the stage for such unofficial hybrid works as Bruce Springsteen's Live/1975-85 and countless others.]

4.5

Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive! (Live) [1976]

Barry Harris - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 12 (Live) [1990]

maniaco — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:34:42 GMT

Música: Piano Jazz/Bop

Comentário AM:

That Barry Harris opened his Maybeck Recital Hall appearance with a beautiful treatment of "It Could Happen to You," reveals alot about the diverse talent of this great pianist, who was noted more for his bop orientation than for playing ballads. Harris charges into a Monkish rendition of "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" and follows this with another ballad, "I'll Keep Loving You" which then segues into "She," with just the slightest hint of stride. There's a beautiful symmetry to Harris's program and to his playing too, which is full of subtleties - and surprises. Take the medley on the eighth track, which opens with a melting "It Never Entered My Mind," segues into the themes from "Meet the Flintstones" and then "I Love Lucy." Nothing is overstated or overplayed - just wonderful stuff.

4.5

Barry Harris - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 12 (Live) [1990]

The Corrs - Unplugged (Live) [2000]

maniaco — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:25:36 GMT

Música: Alternative Pop Rock/Contemporary Pop Rock/Celtic Pop/Celtic Fusion

Comentário AM:

Some bands work studio magic to bring their songs to life. Others do it the old-fashioned way, writing their own material and playing their own instruments. These Irish rockers are of the latter category, and they prove it on this brilliant recording of their MTV "Unplugged" session. The album opens with an almost haunting acoustic rendition of their "Talk On Corners" hit 'Only When I Sleep'. Backed by a Dublin orchestra and Andrea Corr's powerful vocals, the band shatters all rumors that they are nothing but mere studio magic. Performing live, especially with an orchestra, means that some songs will have to be re-worked -- and they are, but not necessarily for the worse. In the tounge-in-cheek ballad 'What Can I Do', they manage to combine both versions - the original and Tin Tin Out Remix - to create a beautiful sound backed by gentle orchestral strings. 'Forgiven Not Forgotten' sounds even more mystical in its acoustic state, and the jig 'Toss the Feathers' sounds more Irish than ever with Caroline Corr's rhythmic bodhran driving it forward. The album is full of great material, including previously unrecorded songs that the group has been performing live for years, including a gently touching cover of REM's 'Everybody Hurts' and an amazing duet between sisters Sharon and Caroline to Jimmy McCarthy's 'No Frontiers'. Not many bands can place such delicate ballads in the hands, or, rather, voices, of their backup singers, but the sisters do the song justice with some of the most beautiful harmonies I've ever heard. Also featured on this record are two new hits - the jovial 'At Your Side' and the melancholy yet enticing acoustical 'Radio'. While the former is a testament to loyalty, the latter is both dark and uplifting at the same time. What makes "Unplugged" different from other Corrs' albums? For starters, it has a distinctively Irish feel to it. Without a lot of percussion, Caroline's bodhran, Andrea's tin whistle, and Sharon's violin effortlessly shine through, creating a bit of a rough edge to such brilliant tracks as 'Little Wing' and 'Runaway'. The acoustic-ness of it is immediately appealing, giving it a relaxed, mellow effect. And, best of all, it was recorded live -- without overlapping tracks and re-takes, proving once and for all that the Corrs are just as amazing outside the studio as they are inside of it.

The Corrs - Unplugged (Live) [2000]

Jackson Browne - Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1 (Live) [2005]

maniaco — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:14:41 GMT

Música: Folk Rock/Contemporary Pop Rock

Comentário AM:

With nothing more than an acoustic guitar or piano, a quick wit and a voice that's aged like the finest wine, Jackson Browne comes off sounding as youthful and vigorous as he was in his earliest days. These songs are lyrical masterpieces, performed by a truly gifted singer/songwriter/musician. The poetry of "These Days," "For a Dancer," "Fountain of Sorrow," and "Take It Easy" has yet to be surpassed, even 30 years later. It's just plain fun to hear acoustic renditions of "Lives in the Balance" and "Looking East" (you can ignore the brief, petty political commentary that proceeds them, if you wish). "For Everyman" still remains a lyrical masterwork; and "Your Bright Baby Blues," played in a bluesier fashion, becomes a rejuvenated work of art. The only problem with this album, really, is that it only contains 12 songs; thankfully, this is SOLO ACOUSTIC VOL. 1; meaning, if there isn't a VOL. 2 in the works, then there are going to be some very disgruntled fans out there. Jackson Browne is a true artist; if you've heard any of his music, you know this. If you haven't, then do yourself a favor and buy this album; if you are a fan of music--whatever genre--you will not regret it.

Jackson Browne - Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1 (Live) [2005]

Aretha Franklin - Spirit in the Dark [1970]

maniaco — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:23:00 GMT

Música: R&B/Soul/Deep Soul

Comentário AM:

Spirit in the Dark was one of Aretha Franklin's more overlooked albums from her Atlantic prime, despite the inclusion of a couple hit singles (the title track and "Don't Play That Song"). The disc includes five of her own compositions (the most she ever recorded for a single album) and her usual eclectic choice of cover material. On this record, the covers ranged from B.B. King and Dr. John to Jimmy Reed and Goffin/King's "Oh Not My Baby." The album also benefits from great backup players: Both the Muscle Shoals rhythm section and the Dixie Flyers contributed to the sessions, and Duane Allman lends his guitar to a couple of tracks. Though it doesn't rank with her very best Atlantic LPs, it's an exuberant and remarkably consistent effort.

4.5

Aretha Franklin - Spirit in the Dark [1970]

Alice Russell - My Favourite Letters [2005]

maniaco — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:16:15 GMT

Música: R&B/Neo Soul/Downtempo

Comentário AM:

Soul era-inspired U.K. vocalist Alice Russell, if anything a child of Chaka Khan, became increasingly known throughout the early 2000s with her contributions to recordings from Bah Samba, Quantic, TM Juke, and Nostalgia 77, and she also released some ambitious albums for the Tru Thoughts label. Under the Munka Moon (2004) and My Favourite Letters (2005) jumped over several pigeonholes from track to track, at various times falling in line with later 4hero (à la Creating Patterns and Play with the Changes), throwback funk, folk-soul, and modern organic R&B. Under the Munka Moon II (2006) was a hodgepodge set including the Bugz in the Attic mix of her collaboration with Susumu Yokota, a cover of Idris Muhammad's blissed-out Paradise Garage classic "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This." Pot of Gold, produced by TM Juke and released during the tail end of 2008, came out through the Six Degrees label and was firmly rooted in late-'60s soul.

Alice Russell - My Favourite Letters [2005]

Robin Thicke - Something Else [2008]

maniaco — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:09:55 GMT

Música: Contemporary R&B/Neo Soul/Blue Eyed Soul

Comentário AM:

Looking like a Europop album from 1997 or 1998, Something Else's sleeve design would be much more indicative if it grafted a bunch of little Robin Thicke heads onto each dancing and playing body in Ernie Barnes' Back to Sugar Shack, the painting used for Marvin Gaye's I Want You. Not only would it be apt, it would play to Thicke's predilection for populating his covers with several images of himself. But it would obviously cause some problems. While a few songs do modernize the sound and feel of Gaye's steamy 1976 classic -- filled as they are with serene sexual energy and lush, impeccably layered arrangements built on rolling bongos, liquid basslines, and Thicke's acutely Gaye-indebted upper register -- there are several inspirations floating throughout, including indications that Thicke has a deeper understanding of Brazilian music, correctly believes that Philadelphia International did not flame out in the mid-'70s, and has transitioned into doing rocking R&B à la Van Hunt (cool, relaxed, natural) rather than pre-New Radicals Gregg Alexander (forced, awkward, unintentionally seriocomic). Following The Evolution of Robin Thicke, which went to the top of the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and reached number five on the Billboard 200 (there was an Oprah appearance), Something Else features improvements in every aspect. From the tropical serenade opener to the album's quietly dazzling true close (the somber Lil Wayne collaboration "Tie My Hands" is really a bonus cut, having already appeared on Tha Carter III), Thicke has shed his affectations to the point where it's much easier to detect the sincerity he once obscured with hubristic tendencies. No longer a show-off, he sounds much more sure of himself; he would not have been able to pull off a socially conscious Southern-styled ballad like "Dreamworld," whether from a writing or singing standpoint, in 2003. Though his sources remain numerous, this is his most focused, least scattered, and least dilettantish set, and it benefits greatly from its brevity relative to The Evolution. That means everything has a deeper resonance -- especially the ballads, of which there are several. The man does know his audience.

Robin Thicke - Something Else [2008]

Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra [2011]

maniaco — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:03:09 GMT

Música: Contemporary R&B

Comentário AM:

Frank Ocean co-wrote songs for John Legend ("Quickly") and Brandy ("1st & Love"), signed to Def Jam, and connected with rap group Odd Future, but his career as a solo artist did not gain traction until he linked to an upload of this, his first mixtape, on his Tumblr blog in early 2011. Compared to most releases of its kind, Nostalgia, Ultra is plotted with care, not slapped together with haste. It shifts between original material -- produced by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, MIDI Mafia, Happy Perez, and James Fauntleroy II -- and anti-pigeonhole re-voicings of songs by Coldplay, Mr. Hudson, Eagles, and MGMT. Ocean also weaves clever threads, like mentioning Stanley Kubrick one moment and sampling dialogue from the director's Eyes Wide Shut during another. Ocean's uniqueness doesn't lie in the productions he uses -- they're neither exceptional nor particularly left of center here -- or his range of inspirations and references. It's all in his wistful, often self-effacing perspective and numbed, restrained delivery, heard at full power in "Songs for Women," where he tries to arrange an after-school rendezvous in his dad's empty house and brags about "harmonizing to Otis, Isley, Marvin" but eventually laments that his woman doesn't listen to him or his music: "It's like she never heard of me." Much of the material indeed carries a longing for the past -- strange since Ocean is still in his early twenties. When he's not looking back, he's still living in his head. "Swim Good," a grim escape fantasy, has the singer driving his car to the shore, his trunk “bleeding” with “broken hearts”: “I woulda put tints on my windows, but what’s the difference?/I feel like a ghost, no Swayze, ever since I lost my baby." "Nature Feels" is a Garden of Eden fantasy over the swirling neo-disco of MGMT's "Electric Feel." And then there's "Novacane," a dreamlike midtempo tale filled with drugs, conquests, and anxiety. Oddly (or fittingly) enough, it's one of the most realistic, down-to-earth songs on the set.

Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra [2011]

MP3MANIACO´S

maniaco — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 21:13:02 GMT

Jesu - Silver [2006]

Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma [2010]

Onra & Quetzal - Tribute [2007]

L'Arc-En-Ciel - Ark [1999]

L'Arc-En-Ciel - Awake [2005]

Beck - Mellow Gold [1994]

Fennez - Venice [2004]

Poco - Pickin' Up the Pieces [1969]

Poco - Crazy Eyes [1973]

The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute [2005]

65 Days of Static - One Time For All Time [2006]

Eva Cassidy - Songbird [1998]

Soul II Soul - Keep on Movin' [1989]

maniaco — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:46:14 GMT

Música: Electronic/Club Dance/House/Soul/Urban

Comentário AM:

When American urban-contemporary radio was bombarding its listeners with one Guy clone after another in the late '80s and early '90s, British neo-soulsters like Soul II Soul, Lisa Stansfield, and the Chimes offered highly creative and gutsy alternatives. With influences ranging from Chic to hip-hop to African music, Soul II Soul's debut album, Keep on Movin' (titled Club Classics, Vol. 1 in its original British incarnation), was among the most rewarding R&B releases of 1989. Soul II Soul leader/producer/composer Jazzie B takes one risk after another -- all of which pay off. The group enjoyed major hits with the Chic-influenced gems "Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life" (both of which feature the gifted Caron Wheeler), and equally superb are the African-influenced reflections of "Dance" and "Holdin' On," the soulful grit and intensity of "Feel Free," and the hypnotic house music of "Happiness." Though Wheeler was Soul II Soul's best-known singer and went on to enjoy a career as a solo artist, Rose Windross and Do'Reen (both expressive soul divas) also do their part to make Keep on Movin' the artistic triumph that it is.

4.5

Soul II Soul - Keep on Movin' [1989]

Dieselboy - System Upgrade [2000]

maniaco — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:40:42 GMT

Música: Electronic/Jungle Drum n Bass/Club Dance

Comentário AM:

For Dieselboy, one of the premiere American drum'n'bass DJs, a system upgrade means getting the latest dubplates on yet another mix album so it doesn't sound like he's losing touch with the fast-moving, British-based jungle scene. As such, System Upgrade includes all-new productions from some familiar labels -- Ram, Tech Itch, Moving Shadow, Renegade Hardware -- all of which favor the jungle two-step with paranoid bio-tech samples and effects. Admittedly, the once-stale darkstep drum'n'bass sound began getting a bit more interesting after the turn of 2000 -- thanks in part to excellent producers like Ram Trilogy and Bad Company, both present here. Still, for better or worse, jungle fans are going to get exactly what they're expecting: a dozen or so newish tracks from the top labels in the UK, mixed to perfection. It's the standard drum'n'bass mix album, not so heavy on ideas but completely up-to-date -- that is, until next year's edition appears on the racks... For me, this is one of my top five commercially-available d&b mixes of all time. What does it for me on this album is the progression, the energy, and the flow. In addition to picking out some very memorable tracks, just about every mix seems "logical," not that attitude of "Hey, listen to these two stormers I can mix." In other words, the mixes allow the tracks to complement each other, rather than just pile up drum parts and create white noise. The entire mix manages to maintain energy, and contains several "high points" that serve to really make the hair on the back of my neck stand up when I hear them, even for the millionth time or so. Finally, and possibly most importantly, the mix flows. By the end of the disc, the music is somewhere other than where it started. It progresses from front to back while still maintaining some common elements and loops throughout to give it unity. With all this said, however, just check it out. Seriously. Strap on a pair of good headphones, sit back, and it will all make sense...

4.5

Dieselboy - System Upgrade [2000]

Diplo - Fabriclive.24 [2005]

maniaco — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:33:28 GMT

Música: Electronic/Electro/Club Dance/Bass Music/Party Rap

Comentário AM:

Fabriclive.24, the first widely released mix album from dance music's most innovative tastemaker of the new millennium, was expected to be a storehouse for reams of hot new productions (or, at least, new to most listeners). Instead, Diplo chose to compile the greatest hits of electro as a salute to his youthful fondness for Miami bass, and sprinkle a few of the Brazilian baile funk tracks that has made his reputation to readers as widely varied as URB and The New Yorker. The appeal of this disc lies squarely with the latter audience; although Diplo's mix makes these tracks sound as great as they ever have, dance fans aren't going to be highly interested in a mix whose first third includes the familiar classics "Clear" by Cybotron, "Don't Go" by Yazoo, "When I Hear Music" by Debbie Deb, "Don't Stop the Rock" by Freestyle, and "Al-Naayfish (The Soul)" by Hashim. Near the halfway point, Diplo finally starts digging deep in his crate to play a few rarely heard Brazilian tracks -- all from the Link label except for one of his own productions, a party bass track recorded with Pantera os Danadihnos. Aside from the familiar track selection, Diplo is magnificent in the mix, continually showing why he's one of the most popular party DJs around. Whether it's dropping a few indie rock tracks near the end of the mix, or slotting some Southern rap tracks (from Killer Mike and Ludacris) without a pause, Diplo does an amazing job of making the familiar sound refreshing.

Diplo - Fabriclive.24 [2005]