Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
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Editorial Review

Before Sgt. Pepper, no one seriously thought of rock music as actual art. That all changed in 1967, though, when John, Paul, George and Ringo (with "A Little Help" from their friend, producer George Martin) created an undeniable work of art which remains, after 30-plus years, one of the most influential albums of all time. From Lennon's evocative word/sound pictures (the trippy "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," the carnival-like "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite") and McCartney's music hall-styled "When I'm 64," to Harrison's Eastern-leaning "Within You Without You," and the avant-garde mini-suite, "A Day in the Life," Sgt.Pepper was a milestone for both '60s music and popular culture.--Billy Altman ... Read more

Features

• Deluxe Edition

Reviews (917)

Great Album by a great Band.
I love this album but...i think Abbey Road,White album and Revolver is even better.

The guitarr solo on the first song...is made by Mccartney. He are also doing the guitar solo on Good Morning Good Morning and Fixing a Hole.

A True Work Of Art
This album really does sound overrated. I thought that before I heard it. I am a 15 year old male that has discovered old music. It is WAY better. There are two bands that have stuck out for me as the best bands of all time. The first is Led Zeppelin. The second is.....

THE BEATLES!

This is their first concept album and MAYBE the first concept album. (I can't remember). Either way it's a true work of art. It's also the first Beatles album I got. (I got the compilation "1" first). I am going to "grade",if you may, each song out of ten. It will mainly be based of relativity to the rest of the album. Most of the songs would get tens otherwise.

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
7/10 This song is very cool. Especially the solo at the beginning. That George is a VERY careful, gentle soloer and it makes him amazing.

"With A Little Help From My Friends"
9/10 This song is very pretty. Ringo's voice makes it softer.

"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"
10/10 Very pretty and poetic. Then a rockin anthem....

"Getting Better"
8/10 Very pretty chorus. The rest isnt so pretty. Paul song. (Most of Paul's are pretty, like Blackbird)

"Fixing A Hole"
6/10 This song is very cool and fun to sing along with.

"She's Leaving Home"
8/10 This song is like a ballad. It is very pretty. It makes you feel out of this world. Quite distant. I think the harp causes that.

"Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite"
9/10 This is like a fun circus song. Very experimental.

"Within You Without You"
5/10 George's only song on the album. It's Indian. My only complaint is it's to long for only one chord (you heard me, one chord).

"When I'm Sixty-Four"
8/10 The sing-along song of the album.

"Lovely Rita"
9/10 It's a really cool song. I can't describe it. Your just gonna have to listen.

"Good Morning Good Morning"
4/10 The least memorable song on the album features Pet Sounds! (haha a rock music pun).

"Sgt. Pepper's... (Reprise)"
9/10 Better thanb the first version. More upbeat. Gets you singing.

"A Day In The Life"
10/10 Not only the best song on the album, possibly the Beatles' best song.

All in all, quite an amazing album. I think everyone should buy this, but not before RUBBER SOUL and REVOLVER, because they lead from beatlemania to this.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
This 1967 release is a monumental rock album. Prior to this release rock was considered low brow and not an art form.However all this changed when The Beatles released this amazing album. With songs like a day in the life, lucy in the sky with diamonds, and I could basically count numerous more. The cover art is a modern day classic and many copied it for several reasons, i.e., the simspons and it is one of the best covers ever created. The beatles also have an awesome collection of muisicians and vocalists. It is not all about Lenon and McCartney. ... Read more

Asin: B000002UAU
Subjects:  1. British Invasion    2. British Psychedelia    3. England    4. Hard Rock    5. Pop    6. Pop/Rock    7. Psychedelic    8. Rock    9. Rock & Roll    10. Rock/Pop   

The Beatles (The White Album)
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
list price: $34.98 -- our price: $27.99
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Editorial Review

Better known as the "White Album," this was meant to be the record that brought them back to earth after three years of studio experimentation. Instead, it took them all over the place, continuing to burst the envelope of pop music. Lennon and McCartney were still at the height of their powers, with Lennon in particular growing into one of rock's towering figures. But even McCartney could still rock, and the amazement on "Helter Skelter" was that he had vocal cords at the end. From Beach Boys knock-offs to reggae and to the unknown ("Revolution #9"), this has it all. Some records have legend written all over them; this is one. --Chris Nickson ... Read more

Reviews (867)

Extremely over rated
They really really really were losing there craft by the time they came out with this self-indulgent excuse for a album.




This should have been a single album rather then a double album, Want a good Beatles album. Pick up Rubber Soul or Magical Mystery Tour.I think the Digimon movie soundtrack is better. Becuse digimon is cool

Another Beatles Classic
"The White Album" is one of the best Beatles albums, it was actually released without a name but called "White Album" by most, it's a double with loads of the most fantastic songs and some quite forgettable aswell, but still it would be hard to not give it 5 stars looking at the great songs it did deliver.

This album pretty much got it all for everyone. "Back In the USSR" with the boys singing in russian and joking with the Beach Boys, the humorous "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", "Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" that is unique and Harrison's psychedelic masterpiece "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" where Eric Clapton plays the guitar. "Martha My Dear" and "Blackbird" are both decent Paul songs here. Lennon's psychedelic protest "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" got some good lines and riffs for sure. The ballad "Julia" is very nice as a closer of album 1.

Disc 2 got the blues inspired Lennon song "Yer Blues", odd but good. Harrison's midtempo ballas "Long Long Long" and rocker "Savoy Shuffle", "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey", despite it's odd title it's one of the best song of this album, it's both catchy and cool. Midtempo Lennon song "Sexy Sadie" and Paul's rocker "Helter Skelter" is a classic ofcourse and probably among the tougher songs he ever wrote. "Revolution1" was a great hit and is another midtempo Lennon protest song. Ringo sings "Goodnight" as the closer, and it is indeed a beautiful ending of a great album.

Overall. Great album, got some odd songs here and there but the hits talks for themselves. A bit too long perhaps, but I'm glad it was all released at once. Should have.

"White" is right
I was never a fan of Beatles. I grew up (like the rest of) being aurally assualted by them during every television docu-drama, in every elevator, amidst every familiy road trip. By the time I formed my own musical opinions, I was utterly turned off to anything Beatles so I'll be the first to admit that this cultural inundation prevented me from listening to their music with anything close to a fresh ear. For reasons I cant explain, I re-examined them toward the end of High School. I listened to all the records I was familiar with, namely everything before the White Album and I was impressed. They came up with one adorable melody after another, and paired them with simple lyrical conciets that scanned almost perfectly. None of the music gave me any visceral feeling of musical fulfillment but I must say that there were moments during Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour that came damn close.

A couple months later, I heard the White Album during (gee-wiz) a road trip. I recognized some songs (Ob-la-di, USSR, Blackbird) but most of it was entirely new to me. By the fifth track I began to get that feeling. What I found in the White Album was an intesity and vibrance that was missing from every other Beatles CD (Abbey Road has since become my second favorite). The thing that amazed me most was how or why Lennon and McCartney waited this long to start singing their songs with some fricken balls. There are pre-White Album moments mostly on Lennon tracks like "I am the Walrus," or "A Day in the Life" but thats just what they are, moments. The first disc starts off kind of lukewarm but picks up almost immediately with "Dear Prudence" and doesn't really begin to let up until near the end. To be sure, there are plently of weak spots: "Ob-la-di," "Dont Pass me by," "Birthday," "I Will," "Long Long Long," "Revolution #9," "Good Night" which is why most people are quick to critisize this opus since most Beatles albums dont have "weak spots." Then again, most Beatles albums dont even come close to the White Albums high points of which there are plenty. Harrisons compositions are generally weaker but succeed (for the most part) on sheer ingenuity. Ringo's song is a good effort but pretty disposable. But even McCartney who provides most of the albums cheese, pulls "Helter Skelter" out of his hat which is quite possibly the greatest Beatles recording I've ever heard. Each song on the album displays an interesting musical idea and is worth listening to but in the end, the album belongs to Lennon. Every one of his tracks (with the exception of his lengthy Cagian exercise) hits the mark. He succeeds on song after song at being personal, witty, and utterly euphonious all at the same time and he seems to do it more effortlessly than any other Beatle. Thats not to say he didn't struggle with his compositions. Songwriting is hard work even for a musical genius. Lennons specific genius is his ability to compose songs which SEEM effortless and natural as opposed to McCartney's more contrived approach. Nowhere is this temperamental difference more apparent than on the White Album which is one explaination for why its completely schizo.

This lack of coherence provides most of the fuel for White Album detractors who just cant seem to accept the arguement that the very absence of a unifying concept is, in itself, a concept. This was an experimental album in more ways than one in that it SEEMS to force the listener into a song by song experience SEEMINGLY providing a stark contrast to Abbey Road which is nothing if nota cohesive whole. I believe The White Album can be experienced the same way, though. That is, in fact, why we call it the White Album. Or more accurately, that is why the Beatles didn't give it a real name and made the cover white. You sit back and listen to an array of songs (colors) which are very different (blue, yellow, green, red) when experienced seperately but can also be experienced together as well (white-assuming these colors are light based) thus bringing the listener into a trance-like meditative state--and the Indian influence thus rears its ugly head. In this way, all the supposed filler and mediocre songs serve a purpose. Epstiens death and the ensuing lack of leadership is not the unfortunate cause of the White Album as many people are wont to claim. The Beatles were perfectly capable of not making silly crap like "Wild Honey Pie," "Piggies," or "Martha my Dear." They where perfectly capable of opting for a single disc full of grandiose themes and top 40 hits. Instead they chose to make one of the greatest CDs of all time ... Read more

Asin: B000002UAX
Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Baroque Pop    3. British Psychedelia    4. Folk-Rock    5. Hard Rock    6. Pop    7. Pop/Rock    8. Psychedelic    9. Rock    10. Rock & Roll    11. Singer/Songwriter   

Kid A
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (03 October, 2000)
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Editorial Review

How is it that Kid A's opening track, laden with an electronic vocal stuttering "bleh, bluh-bleh bleh bluh" is the most fascinating statement made in rock & roll this year? Because somehow, even when Radiohead blathers and blips nonsense, it's profound. The band's future-perfect musical grammar may be hard to decipher, and the melody is even more subliminal, but the journey traveled with Radiohead reveals them to be not only rock music's greatest adventurers in 2000, but teachers as well.--Beth Massa ... Read more

Reviews (1978)

Where You Park Your Car?
Minimalist. Sophisticated. Clean sounding. Lack of emotion-the thing of which i love so much about Radiohead.U really have to know the story to know what its all about, to enjoy the album.

Its not easy to listen either but i have to be very optimistic cause all the songs, seems like everything in its right place. takes time for it to grows on you. And now i cant stop playing it. Thom sings as if he wants to be a robot, a machine, a ghost sometimes. Not a fun album.Perhaps radiohead's most serious album.Is this a work of a genius? I dunno. I just cant stop playing it.When i reach home after days job, i think this album first to be played at home and the first one too at the morning bell.W. Axl Rose likes this album so much he danced salsa to the tune of National Anthem in limbo......just kidding, and thats what this album's been missing. humour. But who needs humour when the centre story is about a genetic (?) kid A.I wish i could stop playing this but i just cant make it dissapear completely.But dont be an idiotique,listen to this on headphone if u cant 'get' it.This could be your own soundtrack of your own life's motion picture.

I dont mention the Tressfinger cause i'm not sure if I really like that song.

Special
First time I listened to this ablum I hated it. Absolutely hated it. I wanted to break the cd. I listened to it again and started to like it. I really started to feel the music. 5 years later this is my favorite album ever. Radiohead is not my favorite band, but this cd really does something to me. The music is really like nothing else. I honestly can not describe in words the type of comfort and ease this album gives me. I cant expect everyone to like this album, but its worth a listen. If I were stuck on a desert island and I could only have one possession it would be Kid A. No contest. I cant recommend this album enough. It's beautiful...

Dreamy
Awesome, at first i didnt get into this album but then when u lie down and close your eyes its takes you on a journey. I wont rate the songs individually because i see the album as one continuous song. Just dont judge the album by on the first listen. Also dont think of it as music as most of it isnt, just open your mind ... Read more

Asin: B00004XONN
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

The Cream of Clapton
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (07 March, 1995)
list price: $13.98 -- our price: $9.99
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Editorial Review

For a single disc, this is an admirable chronological tour of superstar Eric Clapton's mid-'60s-to-early-'80s career. It begins too late to include his gestational work with the Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. However, the singer-guitarist's days in Cream ("Sunshine of Your Love," "Crossroads," "White Room"), in Blind Faith ("Presence of the Lord"), as a fledgling solo artist ("After Midnight," "Let It Rain"), in Derek and the Dominos ("Layla," "Bell Bottom Blues"), and through the rest of the '70s ("I Shot the Sheriff," "Cocaine," "Wonderful Tonight," "Promises") to his '81 hit "I Can't Stand It" are well documented by this collection's 19 cuts. The down side is that the CD also vividly illustrates how insubstantial Clapton's work turned in the mid-'70s. But that won't be a problem for fans seeking hits. --Ted Drozdowski ... Read more

Reviews (81)

Pure Talent
Eric Clapton would have to be one of the most talented Guitar players out there.

The beest compilation of Clapton's non blues 1966 -1981
Well, actually there are some blues tracks, Strange Brew and the live Crossroads by Cream. Still one point off, since there's nothing bluesy of the post sixties -solo Clapton. Not even Have you ever loved a woman. Plus, there's no Can't find my way home and Further on up the road, which was one of Eric's best known seventies tracks. And nothing from his last Polydor record, Money and cigarettes either. Not stellar, but still THE BEST 1 DISC CLAPTON COMPILATION

The Cream of Clapton
This album shines by featuring some of the most utterly amazing songs you will ever hear. Eric Clapton is a rock-and-roll GOD. You will not, can not, be dissapointed with a purchase of this CLASSIC compilation. ... Read more

Asin: B000001EEA
Subjects:  1. Adult Contemporary    2. Album Rock    3. Blues-Rock    4. British Blues    5. Hard Rock    6. Pop    7. Pop/Rock    8. Rock    9. Soft Rock   

The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (14 October, 1997)
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Editorial Review

There has never been a better showcase for improvisational rock than this 1971 concert recording, and few (if any) live rock albums are in its rank. With only two studio albums (and plenty of touring) under their belt, the Georgia sextet tore into the Fillmore East with road-tested buoyancy. Titanic guitarist Duane Allman was at the peak of his powers, pushing his foil, Dickey Betts, to unsurpassed peaks. Vocalist-keyboardist Gregg Allman would have been a star in any other setting; here he's merely one more component in a brilliant ensemble. Duane Allman died shortly after At Fillmore East shipped, and the Brothers haven't scaled such heights since. But, then, neither has anyone else. --Steven Stolder ... Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered
• Live

Reviews (140)

5 stars - retort to Dork posting Fred Dursts Numba One Fann
I actually own this CD and can truthfully give 5 stars.This is a true classic -- probably their best.In response to Fred Dursts Numba One Fann posting, not that anyone would actually take a 17 year old, Hippity Hoppity loving, goober's review with any seriousness, this Allman Brothers classic has already stood the test of time and will be around long after Fred Dursts Numba One Fann hits puberty (in about 10 years +).Of course, if youv'e never even heard of the Allman Brothers, this may not be for you.And besides, "they've never even been on MTV".

one of the greatest live albums ever
the allman brothers band live at fillmore east is certainly one of the greatest live albums ever recorded.IT IS A MASTERPIECE.i own this cd since 10 years and still listen to it frequently.this brilliant southern rock group contained two of the greatest guitarists in Duane allman and Dickey betts. and featured blistering live renditions of classics like STATESBORO BLUES,WHIPPIN POST and more.very very highly recommended.get this with THE OUTLAWS'S BRING IT BACK ALIVE and LYNYRD SKYNYRD'S ONE MORE FROM THE ROAD and FOGHAT'S LIVE album.five stars.please avoid crap like 50 cent,ludacris,ja rule,nelly,usher,green day,linkin park and any band which features on MTV and TRL.

Badd Boring Long Songs With Dumm Solo's!!!
Yo my hip- hop lovers, whut is down this nite??By now, we all be in agreeance that hip-hop, nu-rock and rap rule the world, its all over MTV and gets the respect of journalists and fans alike!!For some reason though, some old dinosaur rock stations continue to play boring old bands that only seem to care about long dumm solo's in songs with no real hint of song writitng talent or any kind of trendy fashion sense!!Worst of all, none of these bands like the Allman Brother's have never been on MTV, TRL or any pop radio station that matters!!This Allman Brother's CD is apparently some old live show recorded ages ago, its not like anyone remembers this show or cares about it, so why in da hekk would they release this??Its just lots of long boring noise with toons that go nowhere!!You can't dance to this stuff and this music won't get you the respect of MTV DJ's either!!People, please, just stick with TRU talent, whether its great punk rawk like Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Blink 182, My Chemical Romance and the funny Green Day, or talented rapperz like 50 Cent, The Game, Nelly, Ja Rule, U$her, Ludacris, and the very dark Will Smith....and of course the best is TRU medal bands such as Limp Bizzkit, KoRn, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Disturbed, Mudvayne, Endo, Breaking Benjamin, Kid Rokk, Staind and the very brutal Creed!!Let these stinky old bands that play too many boring notes fall by the wayside, we don't need their kind in our day 'n age!!Hekk, by now their probably assistant fry cooks at a truck stop in south central Mississippi!!Peace out greasy rock fans!! ... Read more

Asin: B000003CMB
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Murmur
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
list price: $9.98 -- our price: $7.99
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Editorial Review

Though critics swamped R.E.M.'s 1983 full-length debut with country-rock comparisons to the Byrds, Murmur sounds like no one else. The title is an apt description of Michael Stipe's singing style, although his smooth pop vocal mannerisms sweeten the enigmatic poetry. Like all great bands, R.E.M.'s individual parts (Peter Buck's ringing guitar, drummer Bill Berry's persistent thumping, and Mike Mills's unifying bass) are as interesting as the collective sound. The album-opening "Radio Free Europe" and "Talk About the Passion" endure as its radio singles, but the rest of the songs hang together well taken as a whole. --Steve Knopper ... Read more

Reviews (144)

bury me in the mulch, mom
Remember when R.E.M. was really great?Play this cd again sometime and you will.Largely acoustic, it defines "warm" and spawned a revolution of sorts in popular music.But the heck with that, it's just a super nice record made before Stipe lost his hair, stopped eating and went goofy.

Brilliant album!
I remember playing this CD for a friend of mine last year and his response? - "That's not that original. It's just average, highly melodic pop-rock". This is true, but when I told him it was made in 1983, his jaw dropped. It almost blows my mind that music like this was being made in 1983, when crappy synth-pop and crappy hair-metal and crappy syrup-ballads ruled the radio. I imagine being a teen or young twenty-something in 1983 (though I was born a year later) and listening to this album as a breath of fresh air. R.E.M. defined college-rock in the 80's, and really the only other American band I can think of that this this type of music as well are The Replacements. Anyway, since this album, R.E.M. has made some brilliant masterpieces and a few duds, but they are still to this day one of the best bands around and as evidence, ALL their 80's stuff still works today.

(4.5 Stars) A murmur-able debut
R.E.M debuted in a memorable way with "Murmur", an album that seamlessly blends jangle-rock (eg: The Byrds), folk, punk, and pop into one nifty package. Although it's not R.E.M.'s absolute best album (in my opinion at least), it's one of their best for sure. This album also sounds incredibly fresh for something out of 1983.

Songs like "Radio Free Europe", "Catapault", and "Sitting Still" are shimmering, jangly, deliciously catchy pop/rock tunes. Although many of Michael Stipe's mumbly lyrics are politically charged (which gives "Murmur" a punk element), the emphasis is clearly on catchy hooks.

Other songs rely on pretty melodies, like the gorgeous mid-tempo pop of "Pilgrimage", the delicate "Perfect Circle" (led by some nice piano work), and the sweeping ballad "Talk About the Passion".

There's a wide conveyance of mood through the music on here. "Laughing" has a stark, somewhat desolate feel. "Moral Kiosk" and the brooding closer "West of the Fields" sound urgent and serious. The folksy "We Walk" feels breezy and carefree.

Other highlights include the artsy "9-9" and the incandescent "Shaking Through".

It's hard to say any negative things about "Murmur", because there's not a whole lot of flaws on here. If you're new to R.E.M., their debut is a good place to start.

Best Songs: Pilgrimage, Talk About the Passion, Perfect Circle, Catapault, 9-9, Shaking Through.

... Read more

Asin: B000001I0A
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Rock of Ages [Deluxe Edition]
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (08 May, 2001)
list price: $17.98 -- our price: $13.99
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Editorial Review

This 1972 live album is a watershed recording for the Band. Recorded the previous New Year's Eve, the two-disc concert recording presents the core quintet fortified by a five-man horn section overseen by New Orleans ace Allen Toussaint, and it is capped by a guest appearance by Bob Dylan. The brass and reed players incite the group to gut it out with more unrestrained fire than these road-hardened vets were accustomed to. The lion's share of the set selections are culled from the quintet's first four studio albums; only an ebullient cover of the Marvin Gaye hit "Don't Do It," the unremarkable original "Get Up Jake," Garth Hudson's mind-boggling organ improvisation "The Genetic Method," and an absolutely piercing version of Chuck Willis's "Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes" spice up the reliable album selections on disc one. But Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel sound like they're having so much fun singing the likes of "King Harvest," "Stage Fright," "Caledonia Mission," and "Chest Fever" that it matters not that Robbie Robertson's writing muse had already pretty much dried up. The 2001 digitally remastered reissue includes an entire second disc of previously unreleased tracks, including four with Dylan at the mic. More than four years would pass before the Robertson version of the Band would call it a day following its star-studded Last Waltz, but, as a live entity, here is where they crested. --Steven Stolder ... Read more

Features

• Extra tracks
• Live
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (29)

One of life's necesseties
There was a time not so long ago when musicians, rather than technology created the music of our lives. From that time, there are recordings that belong in any serious music listener's collection: Live at the Filmore East, Waiting for Columbus, Taj Mahal's Live at the Filmore, and The Band's other live set The Last Waltz are significant examples. Music played live with the warts, pimples and attitude, all in place. As Van Morrison repeats in his Last Waltz version of Caravan - "Turn it up, so you know it's got soul!"

Still pleasing after all these years..
As a fan of live recordings, I rate this as one of the best...along side Sam Cook(e) at the Harlem club, the Allmans Filmore expedition, little known Irma Thomas and whatever you chose from BSpringsteen. In any case, I purchased this a vinyl in my halycon days at IU circa 1972( I recall seeing the boys in Bloomington around that time).My test for just how good music is, or at least how much I like it-which I always mistake for just how good it is-is how often I come back to it...and this one has stood the test of time.
My favorite is Don't you Do It. I love that New York's best horn men are driving the beat to where I wish it would all go. It showcases the great writing, outstanding musicianship and unbridled energy of the Band that no studio album can.
I'm glad the boys were able to do this one.
Pick it up if you like intelligent, high energy never say die music!

This Album is Everything The Band and American Music Is !
I purchased this album on a college steel drum band trip three years ago.Of all the CD purchases I have evr made, this is my favorite.I work in radio and use this album often, especially when playing Americana music.That is because this album and The Band express in these songs what America was (and is occassionally now) and paint a picture, much like their own Civil War type publicity photos, of America that is raw, basically human, pre-automation and industry and essentially agrarian. The characters in the songs work the land, fall on hard times, get depressed over failed romances with symbolic women, and seek their dreams in a land where the commoner is allowed happiness.The songs are literary, epic, and illustrative.The arrangements here are much akin to the way the songs would have been performed were they included in the F.S. Walcott Rabbit's Foot Ministrel's Show.The horns are not pretentious, but only augment the raw feel of the songs.The Band was never about a slick studio sound.The explored the raw passion of music that Levon and Robbie learned from the Delta Blues.This passion translated into their music which defies categorization.I am generally very critical of music, but this album transports my spirit each time I listen.It goes with me everywhere.I recommend this record to anyone.If you are sentimental, it works to bring back old times.If you are young, petulent, cynical and skeptical, this record will grow on you and with you as you mature.Hell, it may even help you grow.Buy this record. Peace. ... Read more

Asin: B00005B4GB
Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Canada    3. Country-Rock    4. Folk-Rock    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Rock & Roll    8. Singer/Songwriter   

Up
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (27 October, 1998)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $10.99
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Editorial Review

After R.E.M.'s somewhat ambitious 1996 album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, failed to ignite Billboard's Hot 100, you might have figured the band would return to the rock-solid bombast of Monster or the consumer-friendly pop of Green. But R.E.M. have enough cash not to worry about commercial failure, and they've already been to the top of the mountain, so for now they'd rather explore its lush valleys and secret caves. Up is an atmospheric journey as impressionistic as Enya and as evocative as John Barry. Some critics have compared it with the band's delicate and emotionally revealing gem Automatic for the People, but Up is more ambitious and creative. Sure, most of the songs are pastoral, but they're undercut with drama and sonic experimentation. The melodies are generally spare, the beats sparse. Guitars flicker in and out, providing tension and dynamics, while quivering strings, layered keyboards, and washes of feedback color the songs like textured lines of paint in an oil portrait. The only blatant pop song is the single "Daysleeper." The rest of the album ebbs and flows, each song a separate component of a complete artistic expression. The sound may be influenced by guitarist Peter Buck's cinematic jazz side project Tuatara or by Michael Stipe's celluloid excursions, but its source doesn't matter. What's important is that more than a decade after their sell-by date, R.E.M. continue to challenge and inspire. Things are definitely looking up. --Jon Wiederhorn ... Read more

Reviews (432)

This album blows
I love r.e.m., but this album blows. It's apparent ever since the drummer left that this band has gone down hill. I saw r.e.m. in 1995 when they were probably the biggest band in the world during the monster tour. Don't you miss the early 90's output. Out of time, Automatic for the people, and Monster are a lot better then anything R.E.M. has put out in the past ten years, case closed.

A Work of Art
This album is an absolute work of art.This was the first R.E.M. album I ever bought, having picked it up on vinyl in 1998 purely to see how they sounded sans a drummer.Before buying this album, I knew their radio hits and that was about it.

Really, the only two tracks on this album that are textbook R.E.M. are "Lotus" and "Daysleeper".Otherwise, this album is very Genesis-esq with plenty of layered synthesizers and drum machines.This seems very much to be an experimental album.The departure of their drummer must've made R.E.M. examine their identity as a band.And I must say that the finished product is a winner!In addition to "Lotus" which is a great rocker, the standout tracks include "Suspicion", "Hope", "At My Most Beautiful", "Walk Unafraid", "Daysleeper" and "Falls To Climb".

I'd recommend this album to anyone who just enjoys great music."Up" is slow at times, fast at times, but fantastic from start to finish.

Listen with headphones on
This album has been unfairly maligned. Up is possibly my favorite REM album. You simply cannot expect a band that has endured for so many years to keep making the same kind of music. And so REM has done an orchestrated album, but a thoroughly modern one-- mixing electronica with classical instruments. The sonic craftsmanship here is sublime, almost like an electronic Pet Sounds. (In fact, "At My Most Beautiful" is the band's tribute to Brian Wilson.) Listen with headphones for sounds you didn't hear on your stereo. Guitars, keyboards, and strings come in and out, and drums come and go. On top of that, the melodies float along, and Stipe's lyrics can be intriguing. Nothing is expected. REM is still putting its heart and soul into creating albums, and they're not afraid to move into new territory. ... Read more

Asin: B00000DD54
Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Alternative Pop/Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock   

Kind of Blue
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 March, 1997)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $7.99
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Editorial Review

This is the one jazz record owned by people who don't listen to jazz, and with good reason. The band itself is extraordinary (proof of Miles Davis's masterful casting skills, if not of God's existence), listing John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on saxophones, Bill Evans (or, on "Freddie Freeloader," Wynton Kelly) on piano, and the crack rhythm unit of Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Coltrane's astringency on tenor is counterpoised to Adderley's funky self on alto, with Davis moderating between them as Bill Evans conjures up a still lake of sound on which they walk. Meanwhile, the rhythm partnership of Cobb and Chambers is prepared to click off time until eternity. It was the key recording of what became modal jazz, a music free of the fixed harmonies and forms of pop songs. In Davis's men's hands it was a weightless music, but one that refused to fade into the background. In retrospect every note seems perfect, and each piece moves inexorably towards its destiny. --John Szwed ... Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (536)

The Rembrandt of Music
This isn't just the greatest jazz music of all time, it just may be the best music ever recorded of any genre.Period.

Absolute Perfection!
This is quite simply one of the best jazz albums ever created. Over the years I have collected several hundred albums by all different artists. I have a particular affection for trumpet, and especially for Miles.

This album was the first ever given to me, and is the gold standard by which all other music I have ever heard or owned is judged. My collection started with this and since has turned into a runaway train.

If I had to give up the rest of my music, I could survive for eternity with this album. There is nothing more to say, just listen.

If you could only own one album for the rest of your life
If I was limited to five albums on a desert island, I would also take along "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd, "Siamese Dream," by the Smashing Pumpkins, "Revolver," by the Beatles, "A Love Supreme," by John Coltrane, and "Strangeways, Here We Come," by The Smiths, but if I could only take one, it would be "Kind of Blue."

Simply put, "Kind of Blue" is the best record ever made, by any artist, in any genre of music, ever.It will survive any amount of playing; it is impossible to tire of this wonderful album.It is unlikely it will ever be surpassed. ... Read more

Asin: B000002ADT
Subjects:  1. Hard Bop    2. Jazz    3. Modal Music    4. Pop    5. Trumpet    6. United States of America   

Bitches Brew
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (08 June, 1999)
list price: $24.98 -- our price: $22.99
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Editorial Review

The revolution was recorded: in 1969 Bitches Brew sent a shiver through a country already quaking. It was a recording whose very sound, production methods, album-cover art, and two-LP length all signaled that jazz could never be the same. Over three days anger, confusion, and exhilaration had reigned in the studio, and the sonic themes, scraps, grooves, and sheer will and emotion that resulted were percolated and edited into an astonishingly organic work. This Miles Davis wasn't merely presenting a simple hybrid like jazz-rock, but a new way of thinking about improvisation and the studio. And with this two-CD reissue (actually, this set is a reissue of the original set plus one track, perfect for the fan who's not so overwhelmed as to need the four-CD Complete Bitches Brew box), the murk of the original recording is lifted. The instruments newly defined and brightened, the dark energy of the original comes through as if it were all fresh. Joe Zawinul and Bennie Maupin's roles in the mix have been especially clarified. With a bonus track of "Feio"--a Wayne Shorter composition recorded five months later that serves both as a warm-down for Bitches Brew and a promise of Weather Report to come--this is crucial listening. --John F. Szwed ... Read more

Features

• Extra tracks
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (95)

WOW!Love Miles Davis....I'm a new listener...
...of Jazz that is.Never paid it much attention though I did like a lot of Glenn Miller's Big Band stuff.Anyways, I saw Miles music previewed in a scene in a jazz club of the movie "Collateral" with Tom Cruise and Jamie Fox.So then on the soundtrack is the song "Spanish Key" I believe it was...anyways I was hooked!!

The upbeat tempo coupled with The way Miles smoothly and sleekly attacks the wind with his trumpet's sound is just a pure form of art as well as a great overall musical experience.

As I said before, I'm not a Jazz expert, but I find Miles music, specifically on this album, to be superb.Songs that are lengthy, chillin', "cool" and fun are Bitches Brew, Spanish Key, and Pharoah's Dance.They are all great and I'm glad I was able to turn a new leaf and begin enjoying a genre of great music that I had pretty much ignored before.You can throw this CD into your player and listen to it for the duration more than once, whether at work, home, or in your car!Check out Miles Davis, you won't regret it!

1. Pharaoh's Dance
2. Bitches Brew
Disc: 2

1. Spanish Key
2. John McLaughlin
3. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
4. Sanctuary
5. Feio [*]

The New Direction of Jazz
Here's all I'm going to say about this album, "Bitches Brew," it marked the new direction in jazz and this album along side of "Kind of Blue" are the only two Miles Davis albums that matter.

This album broke the barriers of music. It broke all the misconceptions, rules, and any other formality that went along with music at that point in time. It's an essential! For serious fans only!

Extremely Important Listen
This is not my favorite Miles album.I really don't even like it all that much, save a track or two.I personally prefer early Miles over jazz/rock-fusion Miles, but I give Bitches Brew 5 stars because this is one important jazz album.It doesn't matter whether Davis was the first to try to marry jazz and rock, what matters is that he was the most influential and classic jazz artist to try to do it--therefore calling the world's attention to it.Even if you don't buy it, every jazz head needs to hear this once and compare it to Miles' earlier works of art and the music that has come after it. ... Read more

Asin: B00000J7SS
Subjects:  1. Avant-Garde    2. Drums    3. Fusion    4. Jazz    5. Jazz-Rock    6. Pop    7. Trumpet    8. United States of America   

Either/Or
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 February, 1997)
list price: $15.98 -- our price: $13.99
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Editorial Review

Blessed with the voice of a wispy angel, Elliott Smith creates sad little pop songs, which, like the work of Nick Drake (to whom he's been compared) threaten to disappear into the night air. Several of the tracks here were featured in Gus Van Zant's movie Good Will Hunting, and they're among the album's best (though "Miss Misery," nominated for an Academy Award is only available on the soundtrack album). "Angeles" and "Say Yes" are bittersweet laments that feature Smith's idiosyncratic guitar picking, which is well served by the album's decidedly low-fi production. --Rob O'Connor ... Read more

Reviews (109)

Shuffling your deck of trick cards
This is my favorite as it was my first exposure to Elliott. Notice I did not say it was his best, lord, I don't really think I could name a best album. I love all his LPs and all the heatmiser stuff as well. I Started listening to Elliott before XO came out and since first listen have been devoted since. I'm not going to say this is his best, just that there is something about this LP that tugs at me more than his other stuff. Maybe it's the fact that the title is the same as a Kierkegarrde piece, Ida know. I do think its better to start with either this or Roman Candle or his S/t lp over XO, figure8 or Basement as your first exposure. Build up the latter day lushness. So many great songs here with a beautiful minimalism, Strong beginning with a strong ending.A few great slow numbers like Between the Bars and 2:45am, a few almost out of place uptempos like Pictures of Me, and Cupid's Trick(But OH do I love both so much, especially Pictures). I've always loved Music, but Elliott was probably one of the first artists whose songs spoke to me fairly directly. His death really shook me up, more so than any other musician I can recall, I was too young to comprehend who Lennon was when he passed, and when Cobain passed, well at that time let's just say I was in rejection of the Majors(allthough now I recognize his talent). Don't get me wrong I'm not necessarily comparing, just stating. Sad songs buck me up, as kind of sick as that sounds. Check out Either/or, it's a beautiful testament rom a beautifull writer.

Beautiful
Elliott Smith was one of the most gifted artists to ever live. His lyrics were beautiful, as was his voice. He put such emotion into his music and into his lyrics, it's as if you can feel his pain and feel his emotions coming out of the speakers. His music is mostly somber and downbeat, but amazing nonetheless.

Say Yes is by far my favorite song, but the album is full of beautifully written and beautifully preformed songs.

Pretty essential.
While he's often portrayed as a bit of a downer and sort of a mopey singer-songwriter type (understandable, in light of his personal life), Smith revealed himself with this record, and from this point on in his career, to be, first and foremost, a student of the pop song.These songs are really just as much about the melodies and deft chord changes as they are about the maudlin stories behind them.Every single aspect of the music is perfect -- not a single note feels wasted, and each song demonstrates remarkable life and movement.Smith was clearly being very smart and careful with these songs.

This is easily the best place to start with Smith, and maybe even the place to stop, depending upon your personal taste."Either/Or" is much more artful and nuanced than Smith's earlier work, and really nails the Beatles/Big Star tradition in which he operates.It's also much rawer and stripped down than his later albums -- none of the production work is cringe-worthy, and the lyrics pack a gut level immediacy that began to dissolve as Smith began to focus even more on writing pop masterpieces.This is one of those rare albums that's very personal and emotionally involved but also smart enough to know that all of the feeling in the world can't save a shoddily constructed song. ... Read more

Asin: B00000373U
Subjects:  1. Indie Pop    2. Indie Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock    5. Sadcore    6. Singer/Songwriter   

Nevermind
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (24 September, 1991)
list price: $13.98 -- our price: $11.99
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Editorial Review

If Nevermind's sound is familiar now, it's only because thousands of rock records that followed itwere trying very hard to cop its style. It tears out of the speakers like a cannonball, from the punk-turbo-charged riff of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" onward, magnifying and distilling the wounded rage of 15 years of the rock underground into a single impassioned roar. Few albums have occupied the cultural consciousness like this one; of its 12 songs, roughly 10 are now standards. The record's historical weight can make it hard to hear now with fresh ears, but the monumental urgency of Kurt Cobain's screams is still shocking. --Douglas Wolk ... Read more

Reviews (1424)

oh my god
im 13, and i wasnt even born when this came out. it sucks, this music is dying fast - the alternative image in rock is crumbling to a joke and people are goin to stop spiking their hair up and listening to a joke. grow your hair and bow down and worship metal

nirvana sucks!
nevermind is amongst the most overrated and lousiest rock albums of all time.awful songs like smells like teen spirit and polly reek!.there are absolutely no guitar solos in this album.this is just noise.THIS IS ONE ALBUM WHICH EVERY ROCK FAN SHOULD AVOID.get any album from LED ZEPPELIN,BLACK SABBATH or DEEP PURPLE instead.

Nirvana Rocks
One of my favorite albums of 1991. This along goes great with Use Your Illusions 1 and 2, Metallica, and On Every Street. My favorite one would be Smells Like Teen Spirit. Lithium would be my second fave. In Bloom would be my 3rd favorite. Come As You Are would be my 4th favorite. This is a must have for any rock fan. ... Read more

Asin: B000003TA4
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Unplugged in New York
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (01 November, 1994)
list price: $13.98 -- our price: $9.99
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Editorial Review

The last Nirvana collection recorded before the untimely death of Kurt Cobain, Unplugged caught many by surprise with its stripped down, neo-acoustic offerings with a bridled fury. When Cobain sings, "I swear I don't have a gun, I don't have a gun" with clenched teeth (instead of an open howl) and when the haunting strains of "About a Girl"--from their earliest LP--chills even with quieted guitars, you discover a new appreciation for the nuances of one of the greatest bands of recent times. Highlights include covers of three Meat Puppets tracks (featuring special guests Curt and Kris Kirkwood of that influential "college rock" band), the weepy cello on the Vaselines' "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam," and their cover of David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World." --Lorry Fleming ... Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (367)

Incredibly poignant
Before this performance, many people viewed Nirvana only a loud punk/grunge band that was incapable of subtlety of finer emotions and, before I continue, I should say that I was one of those people.

This performance, however, shows that Nirvana was capable of playing music that was quiet, thoughtful and touching.These songs are incredibly poignant, especially when one considers that Kurt Cobain would be dead soon after.The re-working of old Nirvana staples to suit the more acoustic, intimate setting and the addition of several interesting covers adds to the value of this CD.Kurt and the band seem to take these songs to another space entirely.

'Unplugged in New York' makes it easy to appreciate the mellow side of Nirvana and Cobain's undeniable talent as a songwriter.Even if you are only a casual Nirvana fan, this set help you to appreciate the band from a totally different perspective.The songs here are filled with barely masked pain and it makes them all the more beautiful.I'm glad I bought this CD.

It's amazing what a junkie can do when he gets his fix
Why'd Kurt have such a mellow vibe during the whole performance? Because he had some MTV execs score him some heroin before the show. No joke. Just listen to the way he says "I've already had three cups of tea already, but thank you". Kurt was blitzed. It's amazing that he gave such a good performance on heroin. Yeah, that does embody a lot of what Nirvana was about.

oh
I don't own any Nirvana cd's and I've never been to a Nirvana concert. Nirvana never interested me UNTIL I saw Nirvana unplugged on MTV. Wow. Great work Nirvana. RIP Kurt ... Read more

Asin: B000003TB9
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock    3. Rock/Pop   

Weezer
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (10 May, 1994)
list price: $13.98 -- our price: $9.99
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Editorial Review

There's a classic episode of The Little Rascals where one of the gang can't join everybody else on the ballfield because he has to stay home with his younger brother, who has the croup. "I can't come out and play," he whines. "I've got to stay home and grease Wheezer!" Nobody at Geffen Records knows whether this was the inspiration in naming Weezer, but it makes sense. Like many of their peers, the members of the Los Angeles quartet seem to have spent their formative years in front of the TV; when they were a little older, they were just as entranced by college rock. Finally, ala the Rascals, one of the gang said, "Hey, kids, let's put on a show!," and the result is Weezer's uplifting, unpretentious, and extremely endearing debut.

The self-titled Weezer is lean and mean at 10 short, punchy tunes, but nearly every one is powered by a larger-than-life chorus or a simple but effective lyric. "Undone-The Sweater Song" uses an unraveling sweater as a metaphor for a relationship on the rocks; "Buddy Holly" pays heartfelt tribute to the '50s rocker, and "In the Garage" paints a scene of suburban teens jamming while surrounded by posters of Kiss. Producer Ric Ocasek of Cars fame pushes the vocals and rhythm guitars, and this bare-bones approach may earn comparisons to fellow garage-pop band Green Day. But Weezer has more in common with the late, lamented Big Dipper, another group of slacker wiseguys that you just had to love. --Jim DeRogatis ... Read more

Reviews (444)

Great Album
People think Weezer's a bunch of emo kids trying to be rock, but thats not true. Just because the lead singer has glasses doesnt make him emo. I remember when I 1st heard this album from my friend Ashley. She was obessed with Weezer, I only liked a few songs but then again I really wasnt paying very much attetion to it. Then later on as I got older(now 15), I was making a radio station on yahoo, and when I played it Weezer was on. I listened to and loved it right away, then I went out and brought the CD when I was at the races. I loved every song on this album. This would have to be one of the best Weezer albums ever. "Buddy Holly", "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here", "Sweater Song", "Surf Wax City" are there best songs ever. You should check them out if you havent heard much of this band.

not a kid
I had a gift certificate to a record store, and with Beverly Hills on the radio now, i decided to score myself some weezer cds.

In the time of Dookie, this sounds so much more professional and comunicatative(is that even a word?) then that time. But the fact remains, Weezer don't comunicate and don't even like each other, but it doesn't show here.

My name is Jonas starts the album so innocently and well done.
Buddy Holly is probably the next great track, Undone, Say it aint so, in th e garage, and holiday are probably the best. But where green day passed weezer was when green day made albums where every song is good. Weezer never does that. But what do I know?

WWW!
This is so terrible! These guys make poor music...I they are just ne*ds!!!! And try to make rock music! No,,,no!!!! It's just like long haired and black leathered guy tried to make pop music! ... Read more

Asin: B000003TAW
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock    3. Rock/Pop