The Black Crowes Review / M. J. Cole Preview (Album 30)

So, this whole album was great. Really, it's amazing that this could ever ever be a debut album. It sounds like a perfect crossover between Led Zeppelin and Creedance Clearwater Revival. People don't make music like they used to, and this is a warp to the music that used to move people. I really enjoyed it. Really did. The musicallity of it all combined with the guys almost soft AC/DC-style voice really lends to an album that will hopefully continue to inspire and be played. I had never heard of these guys before, except perhaps for the song Jealous Again.

Favorite Songs:
     Twice As Hard
     Jealous Again
     Hard To Handle
     She Talks To Angels

Album: Sincere

Artist: M. J. Cole

Release Year: 2000

"Mainly it is Cole's musicality that shines on the album, which came out after his debut single "Sincere" became the first UK garage tune to hit the UK charts. Cole's insistence on composing on live instruments may explain the three years it took before the album was finished. The tone is set on the introduction - a cascading piano gives way to a punishing bassline." - David Crawford

01 - Introduction

02 - Tired Games 

03 - Attitude

04 - Bandelero Desperado

05 - MJ FM Interlude

06 - Crazy Love

07 - Sanctuary

08 - I See

09 - Sincere

10 - Strung Out

11 - Rough Out Here

12 - Slum King

13 - Radio Interlude

14 - Hold On To Me

15 - Free My Mind
16 - Crazy Love (Radio Edit)
17 - Sincere (Mig's Petalpusher Vocal)

Streaming: Radio3.net

iTunes: M. J. Cole 

Spotify: Sincere

Sounds interesting. Like pre- pre- drum and bass or something. interesting.

~mfm

Dead Kennedys Review / The Black Crowes Preview (Album 29)

I heard somewhere that the Dead Kennedys set up punk, or were the kings of punk, or blazed the trail for punk. Or something like that. Somewhere. Anyways, for good or bad, it's the truth. I don't really like this album, I'll be honest. I don't like the songs, I don't really like the sound of the Dead Kennedys, and I guess that's mostly it. But that's kind of a big deal. The super short songs and strange song matter don't appeal to me. I see how they may have, being something entirely different than had basically ever been heard before. I really only like Holiday in Cambodia because it was an actual song in my ears, not the quick little spaz on the drums like the rest of the songs. That and Guitar Hero.

Favorite Songs:
     Holiday in Cambodia
     Viva Las Vegas

Album: Shake Your Money Maker

Artist: The Black Crowes

Release Year: 1990

"The record stayed on the U.S. charts for 18 months. It was not groundbreaking stuff, but when the music was as funky and punchy as this, it did not need to be. The recording career of The Black Crowes has since followed a somewhat erratic trail, but then their reputation was already assured with this remarkably assured debut." - Lino Portela Gutierrez

01 - Twice As Hard

02 - Jealous Again

03 - Sister Luck

04 - Could I've Been So Blind

05 - Seeing Things

06 - Hard To Handle

07 - Thick 'N' Thin

08 - She Talks To Angels

09 - Struttin' Blues

10 - Stare It Cold

Streaming: Radio3.net 

iTunes: The Black Crowes

Spotify: Shake Your Money Maker

And here I thought 'shake your money maker' was strictly a hip-hop term. Silly me. I apologize for not being on in a long time. I'm going to school. So that takes up most of my time. Looking forward to this album.

~mfm

The La's Review / Bebel Gilberto Preview (Album 24)

(La's preview here) The La's (still no word on if it's the 'las' or the 'el-ays') was straight up 90s. I recognized the song "There She Goes" almost right away. Which is neither bad nor good. I guess if you are writing music then that's a good thing, definitely. It was so interesting reading about that band - which I did a tad of - and hearing how the main singer is a total perfectionist and how they never did anything after that. I didn't look up him specifically, but my gut tells me that he probably didn't go too far after that one album. I also watched the music video for "There She Goes" which isn't something that I do often, but the members are in their 20s, 30s at the very latest. Which strikes me as odd that they would get out of the game so fast. Or perhaps they didn't. Anyways. This is an album where that song will definitely get some playback, but that's the problem with a one hit wonder band. They had some other very good songs, and they remind me of Blind Melon, another 90s band who we may yet hear of.

Favorite Songs:
     Timeless Melody
     There She Goes
     Doledrum
     Failure

Album: Tanto Tempo

Artist: Bebel Gilberto

Release Year: 2000

"But it is Babel's voice - a chewy, purring, Marlboro-burnished voice that sings English in a pleasingly goofy Brazilian accent - that makes Tanto Tempo so compelling. Tanto Tempo went on to become the biggest-selling Brazilian album outside of Brazil. And although Suba's [the producer] innovations would be elaborated and superseded and outflanked by assorted sources - by Sao Paulo's drum 'n' bass jocks, by the experimental electronica boffins on Trauma Records, and by the "favela chic" of Rio's "baile funk" oddballs - Tanto Tempo remains a landmark in electronic music." - John Lewis

01 - Samba da Bencao

02 - August Day Song

03 - Tanto Tempo

04 - Sem Contencao

05 - Mais Feliz

06 - Albuem

07 - So Nice (Summer Samba)

08 - Lonely

09 - Bananeira

10 - Samba e Amor

11 - Close Your Eyes

Streaming: Radio3.net

iTunes: Tanto Tempo

Spotify: Bebel Gilberto

Hmm...Brazilian music you say? With Drum 'n' Bass and electronic roots? I'm enticed, to say the least. 

~mfm

The Cramps Review / The La's Preview (Album 23)

(Cramps preview here) So. The Cramps...is exactly what my ears had after listening to this. No, not really. I don't think that your ears can cramp. That's a little harsh too, but seriously. I was not terribly impressed with it. That's the thing, I'm not terribly impressed with many of the albums in this book. Which makes me sad. Only a couple of albums have really stuck out to me or are things I would listen to again. This was kinda weird, it reminded me of noise rock. Just sounds, and mediocre sounds. It's ok. I probably won't ever listen to it again. I did like on of the remakes that they did. But nothing really stuck out. You need the kind of songs that people will want to do remakes of. But then again, this was supposed to be a pretty experimental album. So... experiment a success? They were active up until about 2009 (according to Wikipedia), which I find interesting because I have never heard of them. They also changed members over 20 times. So I'll let that speak for itself. Maybe we will see them again.

Favorite Songs:
     Fever (Cover)
     TV Set
     I Was A Teenage Werewolf

Album: The La's

Artist: The La's

Release Year: 1990

"So with a mass of critical acclaim and strong sales in their favor, why did The La's release only one album and then fade away? Well, by most accounts, lead singer and songwriter Lee Mavers always was a surly perfectionist, and maybe a touch unstable with it. The band took four years to make The La's and burned through at least as many producers before the label finally lost patience and insisted they release the version piloted by Steve Lillywhite. Soon after, when Lee Mavers was asked to describe the album to NME he replied, "I hate it, it's the worst. A pile of shit. There is not one good thing I can find to say about it." Definitely the minority opinion, there, Lee." - Rob Morton

01 - Son Of A Gun

02 - I Can't Sleep

03 - Timeless Melody

04 - Liberty Ship

05 - There She Goes

06 - Doledrum

07 - Feelin'

08 - Way Out

09 - IOU

10 - Freedom Song

11 - Failure

12 - Looking Glass

Streaming: Radio3.net

iTunes: The La's

Spotify: The La's

My god there are a lot of albums in this book.

~mfm

Deee-Lite Review / Ryan Adams Preview (Album 18)

(Lite preview here) So...That album was exactly as I thought it would be. It was this strange combination between electronic beats and this strange singing / chanting. All jokes aside though, the album actually would be a pretty sweet album if you could take out the singing from the lady; not that I didn't like it, it just would have been better in my opinion. The electronic beats were actually pretty sweet to listen too. I liked the beats, but like I said...the entirety of it was less than to be desired. Actually, I didn't even notice that the band name is pronounced "delight" until a couple of days ago.

Favorite Songs:
     Deee-Lite Theme
     What Is Love
     Groove Is In The Heart

The double-oh's.

Album: Heartbreaker

Artist: Ryan Adams

Release Year: 2000

"Heartbreak and hard drink have inspired many great albums, but rarely one as tender as this, Ryan Adams' solo debut. Adams recorded Heartbreaker - a brutally honest chronical of the highs and lows of love - in the wake of two scarring breakups ... Heartbreak transforms Adams into the critics' darling - he was called a "visionary rock troubadour" by NME - but failed to win over a mass audience." - Theunis Bates

01 - Argument with David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey

02 - To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)

03 - My Winding Wheel

04 - AMY

05 - Oh My Sweet Carolina

06 - Bartering Lines

07 - Call Me On Your Way Back Home

08 - Damn, Sam (I Love A Woman That Rains)

09 - Come Pick Me Up

10 - To Be The One

11 - Why Do They Leave?

12 - Shakedown On 9th Street

13 - Don't Ask For The Water

14 - In My Time Of Need

15 - Sweet Lil Gal

Streaming: Radio3.net

iTunes: Ryan Adams

Spotify: Heartbreaker

I hope that it's not country music. More heartbreak...

~mfm

AC/DC Review / Deee-Lite Preview (Album 17)

(AC/DC preview here) AC/DC is considered by many a classic rock and roll band. This album came out the same year that the previous lead singer died. They didn't waste very much time getting back into the groove of things, and subsequently created one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time. The songs are all pretty similar, but that isn't a bad thing. They hit their stride of heavy riffs that many people will air-guitar, catchy lyrics for pretty much every song, and in most a guitar solo that can still compete with the greats, not to mention the not-so-subtle sexual references in almost all the song names. The only complaint that I have for part of the album is the studio fade-out. This isn't just for AC/DC though, it just stuck out to me for this album in particular. It doesn't seem very 'musician' to me to make a song end by simply fading into the background. It's ok guys, just write an ending to the song. Other than that, this album has stood the test of time rather grandly.

Edit: I recently picked up this vinyl for about 8 bucks. It still reeks of that 'classic rock-n-roll' smell

Favorite Songs:
     Shoot To Thrill
     Back In Black
     You Shook Me All Night Long
     Rock & Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

Album: World Clique

Artist: Deee-Lite

Release Year: 1990

"Recent history has not been been kind to this New York City-raised group that took its name from Cole Porter's "It's Delovely." The trio is commonly remembered as a one-hit wonder, but the gold-certified debut World Clique still stands as a convincing argument that Deee-Lite deserves to be more than just a Trivial Pursuit answer." - Jim Harrington

01 - Good Beat

02 - Power Of Love

03 - Try Me On...I'm Very You

04 - Smile On

05 - What Is Love

06 - World Clique

07 - E.S.P.

08 - Groove Is In The Heart

09 - Who Was That

10 - Deep Ending

Streaming: Radio3.net

iTunes: World Clique

Spotify: World Clique

I am not looking forward to this album honestly. It looks ridiculous.

~mfm

The Shamen Review / Air Preview (Album 12)

(Shamen preview here) 2011 Grammys were on last night. I totally called who was gonna be Song of the Year.

Anyways.

I have said this before, it's hard to tell sometimes what makes some of these albums make the cut. I think that it has more to do with timing than anything really. The first album to do something - and it doesn't necessarily have to be super-awesome at it - is usually considered the groundbreaking album. So what we have here is an early 90s club banger. The songs are very house style (house techno), and from what I know the first album from the UK to really bring this kind of sound to the mainstream. I like it.

Favorite Songs:

     666 Edit

     Progen 91

     Possible Worlds

     Move Any Mountain (This song wasn't on the Book's list of songs, but when I downloaded it, it was added on as probably an after effect)

Album: The Virgin Suicides

Artist: Air

Release Year: 2000

"Seldom has sound and vision collided so gracefully as it did on Air's soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's directorial debut. The synergy between the images, which tell the tragic tale of five sisters with nothing to live for, and the French electronica duo's mesmerizing, drama-rish score is so great that it is impossible to imagine either existing without the other." - Jim Harrington

01 - Playground Love

02 - Clouds Up

03 - Bathroom Girl

04 - Cemetary Party

05 - Dark Messages

06 - The World "hurricane"

07 - Dirty Trip

08 - Highschool Lover

09 - Afternoon Sister

10 - Ghost Song

11 - Empty House

12 - Dead Bodies

13 - Suicide Underground

Streaming: The Virgin Suicides

iTunes: The Virgin Suicides

Spotify: The Virgin Suicides

The review made this album sound AMAZING. I may have to watch the movie as well.

~mfm

Dexy's Midnight Runners Review / The Shamen Preview (Album 11)

(Dexy's preview here) What up everybody. Hope things are going well.
Alright enough chit-chat. This is business. 10 Albums done already. Only...990 to go. Dexy's Midnight Runners is a band I had never heard of before. But I think that I can tell you why. My music taste is based a lot on my fathers, as I may have said before. And...This is nothing like anything he has listened to before. Probably, again, because there is a lot of foreign music in this book. And this album falls directly into that category. I like some of the music, groovy and jam-tastic, but the main singers voice didn't do it for me. Too British or something. It wasn't as powerful as I thought it should have been or could have been. I do like the horn section during many of the songs though, they add something that is missing from a lot of music these days: music.

Favorite Songs:
     The Team That Met In The Caffs [Mostly Instrumental]
     Love Part One [Monologue]

The 90s, aka the oddest decade of the 90s.

Album: En-Tact

Artist: The Shamen

Release Year: 1990

"The Shamen combined underground dance culture with pop sensibility, resulting in 100,000 sales of their 1990 album En-Tact. A coded love letter to the joys of extacy, it led to one million album sales in the UK alone. In retrospect, time has been kinder to En-Tact's more innocent, less earnest dance anthems." - Andy Pickering

01 - Human NRG

02 - Pro-Gen (Land Of Oz Mix)

03 - Possible Words

04 - Omega Amigo (Steve Osbourne Mix) 

05 - Evil Is Even

06 - Hyperreal

07 - Lightspan (Will Sinnott / Irresistible Force Mix)

08 - Make It Mine (V2.5 Evil Ed)

09 - Oxygen Restriction

10 - Hear Me O My People

Streaming: Radio3net.ro

iTunes: En-Tact

Spotify: En-Tact

I like electro music. Could be interesting.

~mfmf

Cocteau Twins Review / Doves Preview (Album 6)

(Twins preview here) The Cocteau Twins album is...strange. To say the least. I mean it was interesting, but I don't understand what was so special about it that I had to hear it before I die. Sound wise, it was as if the main singer for Coldplay (Chris Martin, who I love by the way) was born a girl, singing over mediocre house music mixed with some synthy-electro guitar. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I didn't really enjoy it as much as I think the authors of this book had intended. I just thought that it was 'meh'. So, needless to say there won't be a whole lot of replay value for me for this album. I will say though, that all the songs had fantastically entertaining names.

Favorite Songs

     ...
     *crickets*

The first album of the 21st century:

Album: Lost Souls

Artist: Doves

Release Year: 2000

"Appropriatley, Lost Souls contains reference points to much of Manchester's glorious musical heritage - notably the seductive melencholy of Joy Divisions and early New Order, the sparkling musicality of The Smith's, and the rhyths of early house music. (The album is dedicated to Rob Gretton, New Order's manager, who had signed Sub Sub to his label, Rob's Records.)Nominated for the Mercury Prize, Lost Souls remains one of Doves' strongest offerings, a stellar achievement from a band who had lost everything." - Peter Notari

01 - Firesuite

02 - Here It Comes

03 - Break Me Gently

04 - Sea Song

05 - Rise

06 - Lost Souls

07 - Melody Calls

08 - Catch The Sun

09 - The Man Who Told Everything

10 - The Cedar Room

11 - Reprise

12 - A House

iTunes: Lost Souls - Doves (has some extra bonus songs or whatever, I won't be acknowledging those songs in the review)
Spotify: Lost Souls - Doves

It's interesting that you can tell very obviously that "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" is very blatantly English. I haven't heard of a couple of these bands before, and looking ahead, there are a lot of English references and bands that played and developed there (England).

~mfm

Adam And The Ants Review / Cocteau Twins Preview (Album 5)

(Adam preview here) Adam And The Ants...Where to start. It's actually pretty cool. I think though, that its really one of those albums that was really really cool, and now, it is less cool. Some of the songs are really pop-esque, like Dog Eat Dog and Antmusic. Other songs seem to be a little experimental. The sound in all the songs is really cool, and is nicely combined with Adam's voice in most of the album. The tribal drums in the first song are really snazzy. I won't be listening to any of the songs I don't like probably ever again. The songs I do like though, those are pretty cool and will stick around.

Favorite Songs
     Dog Eat Dog
     Jolly Roger

Moving into familiar territory (1990s):

Album: Heaven Or Las Vegas

Artist: Cocteau Twins

Release Year: 1990

"This was the strongest and most cohesive set of songs the Twins had released since 1984's Treasure. Gone was the trademark ghostly, muted album artwork. Instead, the cover features a colorful swash of Vegas neon swirling against a deep blue and red sky. Similarly, the sound of Heaven... is warmer and more inviting." - Rob Morton

01 - Cherry-Coloured Funk

02 - Pitch The Baby 

03 - Iceblink Luck 

04 - Fifty-Fifty Clown

05 - Heaven Or Las Vegas

06 - I Wear Your Ring

07 - Fotzepolitic

08 - Wolf In The Breast

09 - Road, River and Rail

10 - Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires

iTunes: Heaven Or Las Vegas (Remastered or something)

Spotify: Heaven Or Las Vegas

Sounds like weird 90s jam. Early, early 90s jam. So, still recovering from the 80s jam.

~mfm