Labor Days
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (18 September, 2001)
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Editorial Review

Aesop Rock doesn't try to contend with rap music's commercial villains. Instead, on Labor Days, his first release for the Def Jux label, Aesop ignores the mainstream and displays an unshakable confidence rarely seen in independent hip-hop. Although a staccato, Dadaist delivery is his trademark, subsequent listens reveal his storytelling gifts and rhyme structures to be thick with purpose. There's also a sensitivity only hinted at on Float, his first mass release. On "Daylight," he informs, "Life is not a bitch / Life's a beautiful woman," while "No Regrets" tells the life story of a woman who only communicated through her drawings until her death in a nursing home. Thanks to production by Omega One, Blockhead, and Aesop himself, Labor Days is built upon strings, loping bass lines, nodding beats, and expert programming. Surely, this is a fine example of hip-hop's formidable underground.--Arno Kazarian ... Read more

Reviews (89)

C.R.A.P
"...those with less vested in being "intelligent" and "underground" can easily see through the charade..."

Thank You

Is the term "underground" now the new term for being wack. I remember having a discussion way back in '92 about rappers who are impossible to understand being wack. I read a lot of reviews where people claim that Aesop Rock is "Amazing" and this is the best album ever etc etc. If the same boring beat, monotone delivery, lyrics that make no sense, and albums that you don't have one song that stands out is everyone's idea of "brilliant" then kill me now. I finally broke down after hearing the name of some of these "underground" icons and "OBTAINED" their music to see what all the hype is about. Aesop Rock says a bunch of long words back to back, throws a bunch of similes between them and and has all these closet nerd hip-hop fans going berserk. As much as I can't stand EMINEM I would love to hear him do a song dissing this crap because his insults are always so dead on. The real talent is taking everyday language and flipping it into something that could be understood but appreciated. Nobody is doing that anymore. It's NOT inventing a language so you can sound intelligent and impress a few suburbanites who think their rap i.q. is high becuase nobody has heard of their top 10 MCs. If somebody would package a turd, somebody would buy it and lawd it's exquisite design.

"You like to exaggerate, dream and imaginate
Then change the rhyme around, that can aggravate me
So when you see me come up, freeze
Or you'll be one of those 7 MC's..."

-RAKIM

A prophesy from 18 years ago.

AESOPS LABOR...
THIS CD IS PERFECT!!!! ITS ACE ROCKS FISRTRELEASE ON DEF JUX AND THE CD TITLE HAS A BRILLIANT THEME....THIS CD SHOWS HES BEEN HARD AT WORK IN EVEN DELIVERING THIS CD. THE PRODUCTION MOSTLY DONE BY BLOCKHEAD IS AN A+++++ THE BEATS SOUND PRETTY OLD SCHOOL
WHICH IS MY PREFERENCE REALLY. ANOTHER GOOD DEF JUX RELEASE FOR SHO, IF U LIKE FAST RHYMES, INTEKKICTUAL WORDPLAY, AND CRAZY EXTENTED METAPHORS, THIS IS UR CD, 4 UNDERGROUND HEDZ.

Aesop rocks.
This is definitely the Aesop album for beginners. If you have never bought an Aesop Rock record before, this is the one for you. I have to honestly say that this is Aesop's best album. My favorite tracks are Labor, Daylight, Flashflood, No Regrets, Bent Life, and Shovel. ... Read more

Asin: B00005O4UY
Subjects:  1. Alternative Rap    2. Pop    3. Rap    4. Rap & Hip-Hop    5. Underground Rap   

The Head on the Door
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
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Editorial Review

This is the Cure album to start with. Robert Smith and company's best and most coherent statement, The Head on the Door is a successful, if schizophrenic, synthesis of the best of '80s rock, boasting danceable Eurobeat anthems ("In Between Days"), world-music-flavored exotica ("Kyoto Song," the Latin-tinged "The Blood"), and more sullen statements of post-modern angst from the band that gave you such downer epics as Faith and Pornography. More than any other Cure album, Head rewards those who don't subscribe to the darker side of the group's ethos. The use of Spanish guitar and other colorful arrangement touches help to create a rich dynamic. The softer, more introspective cuts (like the claustrophobic "Close to Me," Smith's confessional classic) are also far more effective for them. --Don Harrison ... Read more

Reviews (48)

The start of The Cure's peak period
"Head on the Door" is the first of four consecutive albums that are probably The Cure's best ("Head on the Door," "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me," "Disintegration" and "Wish").What is unique about "Head on the Door" is the diversity of the songs, which are all written solely by Robert Smith, the life force of The Cure.

"In Between Days" is a danceable pop oriented song, reminiscent of New Order, which was basically re-made on the subsequent album into the slightly superior "Just Like Heaven.""Kyoto Song," with its Asian flavor, takes us back to "Japanese Whispers.""The Blood" (a tribute to Latin music) and "Six Different Ways" (with a circus-like feel) are quite unlike anything else the band has done, and fit perfectly on this album."Push" and "The Baby Screams" are dramatic songs, though without the desolation and despair that The Cure became famous for with the release of "Pornography."For fans of that prior album, "Head on the Door" includes the final track "Sinking," which you will find sufficiently depressing.

I'm fairly sure that most Cure fans would agree that "Screw" is easily the weakest track on the album, but one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch.I also never really cared for "Close to Me," but I usually don't like the "silly" side of the band.

And then there's "A Night Like This."Bum - Bum Bum - Bum Bum - Bum Bum - "Say goodbye on a night like this if its the last thing we ever do . . ."It almost sounds like an overture of a dramatic Broadway musical.The saxophone solo is extraordinarily moving as is the entire song.The song is still a highlight at Cure Concerts and, I believe it to be one of the best songs the band has ever recorded.

"Head on the Door" is a good "starter" Cure album (as is their first greatest hits collection) because it shows the different sides of the band, and the songwriting versatility of Robert Smith.Obviously, it's a "must-have" for fans.

Who Doesn't Love What Can Never Come Back??
Arguably the best Cure album ever made. Definitely the highest point of their career--"Head on the Door" marks the band's departure from their earlier, heavier, darker albums, but before the complicated dream-pop riffs that waft through their later work (although "Sinking" and "Push" both straddle the line, respectively).

There's not a bad track on the CD. "In Between Days" and "Close To Me" were the singles that anyone alive, aware, and young during the 80's should remember (with fondness, I would imagine).While not played as often, "The Blood" and "Kyoto Song" are the two strongest tracks, both lyrically and musically.

"Push" is the sound of liberation, and is played best at a deafening volume. Marks the direction the cure would later take in such albums as "Kiss Me" and "Disintegration".

Once upon a time I had this on cassette. I always liked Side A better than Side B. But all in all, the entire thing is superior to most everything I own, Cure or otherwise.

Don't think I was this great at twenty years old
Okay, let's see if this one gets deleted for some reason, too.
Blah blah blah, desert island disc.Wubba wubba wubba, crucial college rock album.Look, if you are a Cure fan and don't own this already, DIE.If you're not a fan of the Cure, DIE.This and Robyn Hitchcock's Gotta Let This Hen Out! were gateway drugs to a very long strange road that veered off of the Bryan Adams/Huey Lewis stuff that blasted out of playground jamboxes back in elementary school and I would not have it any other way.I've stayed on good terms with this album longer than I have most of my friends.Robert Smith gave hope to bleak, pasty fat guys in black with messed up hair all over the world.Thanx Bob.I want "A Night Like This" played at my funeral.

Signed,
epsteinsmutha ... Read more

Asin: B000002H2Z
Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. College Rock    3. Goth Rock    4. New Wave    5. Pop    6. Post-Punk    7. Rock   

Room for Squares
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (18 September, 2001)
list price: $13.98 -- our price: $9.99
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Editorial Review

Singer-songwriter John Mayer fills his debut, Room for Squares, with pep talks to and advertisements for himself. Even when questioning his young life, Mayer's doubts come off glib; not one second of "Why Georgia" convinces that "the stirring in my soul" keeps the artiste awake at night. Between his Dave Matthews-wannabe vocals and the accomplished but bland lite rock of his band, he could be just as easily offering tunes for hire to a coming-of-age network series as making a stand for himself and his worldview. The premise of "City Love"--that Mayer couldn't find his way around Manhattan until finding a girlfriend to root him to the place--is nice but not edifying. "My Stupid Mouth" is similarly fuzzy; letting us in on just what he said to alienate a dinner partner would've gone a long way toward fleshing out the song's pat self-deprecation. Ultimately, Mayer comes off less like a commiserating friend than a blabbermouth who's forever forgetting there's someone else in the room. And instead of whining about a discarded lunch box ("83"), dude, learn to brown-bag it the way the rest of us did. --Rickey Wright ... Read more

Reviews (1008)

OH, IF ONLY I COULD GIVE ZERO STARS...
John Mayer is terrible.He is the most boring, untalented, not-even-good-looking "star" since Debbie Gibson...sorry, Debbie, for putting you two in the same category.He thinks he's Dave Matthews but HE'S NOT EVEN CLOSE!He tries to sing like him but JUST SOUNDS ANNOYING!That's his problem; he tries way too hard to be something he's not.(John, it's nice to imitate your heroes, but have the decency to do it in the privacy of your own home.That's what untalented people do.) Dave Matthews isn't even that interesting, but at least he has talent (in spades) over little Johnny.On top of not having any talent whatsoever, John Mayer had the audacity to be extremely arrogant when he won a grammy this year.He complained that his record company "picked the wrong song to be a single:"THE SINGLE THAT JUST WON HIM A GRAMMY!For crying out loud, John, get a grip.You should be more humble than anyone on this planet.Wait, Hilary Duff (who my 15 year old niece has dubbed, "she who cannot be named") comes pretty close for having the most off-kilter talent/success ratio...or is it Britney Spears?Whatever, they all sound and look the same:BORING, BORING, BORING.

Feel good tunes
Can you think of anyone else similar to John Mayer?There are some, but not many today that have the mellow, kick ass guitar/vocals combination. His lyrics aren't "pop/boy band" type lyrics.They are deep and that makes his music more quality and worthwile.

Just to add...there is going to be somebody similar to John Mayer.He is only 16 years old, but he has a voice and musical sense far beyond his years.Check out Teddy Geiger...he is the next John Mayer.This is good news for John Mayer fans and they can check him out at...www.TeddyGeigerMusic.com

Stick with the true innovators, peeps.
When I first heard this guy, I thought he put to shame greats of the past, like Dylan and J. Taylor.

Upon closer inspection, the two aforementioned could rip John Mayer a hundred new ones and leave him to die. Even Dave Matthews's music is more interesting than this. "Your Body is a Wonderland" sends my stomach into a heaving fit every time I hear it. ... Read more

Asin: B00005OAIE
Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Alternative Pop/Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock   

Neon Golden
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 February, 2003)
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Editorial Review

The combination of meandering acoustic guitar, mournful vocals, post-punk rock, crisp electronica, flutes, dub bass, sax, occasional breakbeat, and banjo could've turned the tender tunes on Notwist's sixth album into chaotic and indulgent noodling. The 15 months spent in the studio putting the unlikely components together, however, pays off with a collection beautiful and dreamy lo-fi lullabies in which hazy pop melodies drift by on an eccentric flow of sensual bleeps, whooshes, and crackles. Even when Neon Golden strays toward more traditional rock, Markus Acher's downtrodden yet hopeful vocals and achingly sweet melodies hold up, as do the sumptuous atmospheric add-ons that link the New Order-like "Pilot" and "One with the Freaks" to the title track's ambient electronic pulses. Yet nothing is more magical or odd than "Trashing Days," where Notwist manages to make pneumatic space-age sound effects rubbing against scraping beats, woozy horns and a quietly plucked banjo, sound like the most natural thing in the world. --Dan Gennoe ... Read more

Reviews (42)

Outstanding
Probably one of the most delicate albums I have ever heard. The Notwist's sound is so carefully constructed, yet so rich I can't be anything other than blown away by it. I know tons of bands who are desperately trying to sound like The Notwist on Neon Golden (Das Pop, dEUS, amongst others), yet I know of no other band that actually sounds like this.

Neon Golden is a outstanding record that can be played both as soothing background music, as well as an album that holds your full attention right to the end. 10/10

i keep this cd close at all times
everytime i listen to the notwist it feels like the first time. if the track 'consequence' does not grip your heart, you have no pulse.

the notwist will make you feel.

Haunting
It's always a treat to run across an album, by a group I've never even remotely heard of, that sounds not quite like anything else, and which proves to be pretty much amazing.Neon Golden is one of those albums.I picked it up on the strength of some random guy's recommendation on some bulletin board which I've since forgotten.And it's very, very, very good.

And the sound is pretty much unique.Yes, I do hear echoes of other artists.The beats, like all beats that go glitch, owe something to good old Richard D. James.The combination of drum-machine/sampler rhythms and sort-of luch instrumentation alternately reminds me of Mum and TV on the Radio.And I get the weirdest LEgendary Pink Dots vibe at times - probably the very faint germanic accent to the vox.

All the name-dropping aside, this doesn't really sound like anything else.You've got these weird glitchy beats.Bubbling bass lines.Guitars, when they're present are run through a filter that I can't identify, but which results in a sound so beautiful and haunting that it almost makes me cry.And then there's strings and woodwinds used in a way that I've never quite heard in a (post)rock context.

It all comes together in songs that sound like nothing else.It's the sort of album you can sink back into, curl up with, explore for days.Discovering it was definitely a high point of last year.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Asin: B00008BL4F
Subjects:  1. Ambient Pop    2. Indie Electronic    3. Pop    4. Rock   

Give Up
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (18 February, 2003)
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Editorial Review

Give Up, the debut release by this indie supergroup composed of Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie and Jimmy Tamborello from Dntel, is a smart, quaint, and often transcendent little pop record. The roots of the album lie in "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan," a woozy, gorgeous song recorded for the rad 2001 Dntel album Life Is Full of Possibilities. With Jimmy in L.A. and Ben in Seattle, the two simply mailed tracks back and forth, collaborating via (you guessed it) the United States Post Office. Lyrically it’s far breezier and happier (though not too happy) than anything Gibbard had written up to this point for Death Cab. The music is an elastic, very smart update of synth-pop and the melodies crystal clear, while the backing vocals courtesy of Jen Wood and Jenny Lewis are spartan and pretty. The songs stick in your head for days at a time. Forget the tags that have been thrown up against this music--Poptronica? New new new order? Please just enjoy this album. It just might be a classic--but of what exactly, we’re not quite sure. --Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (342)

YES...more awful music!!!!
this is terrible!if you are 10 years old i can understand why you may like this.otherwise, i think you have serious issues and are hearing impaired.your ears are broken.you have no idea what 'good' means.i know good and i know crap.i have had experiences with both.i feel that the earth is going to stop spinning and we will all end up floating in space because of too much crap building up on our planet.the postal service is adding to this crap.the postal service is destroying humanity.death cab for cutie is a stupid band name too.more crap.to whovever likes this album...i hope one of your family members dies very soon.this music would make a great soundtrack to a rainbow brite movie or a my little pony commercial.

THE ELECTRONIC DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
This cd isn't the best cd I have ever heard but is still very good. To be honest I like more DCFC but they are still one of the best music bands on these days of bad , overrated, and unoriginal music. The combination bewtween the electronic beats and the voice of the singer is great and sometimes beautiful soundscapes result in their songs. My personal favorites are Nothing Better and Brand New colony, please check the lyrice of nothing better, they are just amazing and the way the singer combines with the woman to sing the song together is awesome. This cd is worth your money and really deserves serious attention.

decent beats, cheesy vocals.
sorry, but the vocals sound like he's reading paragraphs from a short story written in a high school creative writing class.the awkwardly square delivery and below average voice do not help either.a few of the tracks have rather nice beats.more poetic lyrics and an interesting voice and postal service might actually have something. ... Read more

Asin: B000089CJI
Subjects:  1. IDM    2. Indie Electronic    3. Indie Pop    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. United States of America   

Wiretap Scars
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (13 August, 2002)
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Editorial Review

When hirsute El Paso, Texas, emo godsAt the Drive-In abruptlycalled it quits and split into two factions--unofficially, the afros and non-afros--dismayed fans feared that it spelled the end for their pummeling,tight-wire guitar rock. Not so. While hairy frontman Cedric Bixler and guitaristOmar Rodriguez did, indeed, venture into weirdo space jazz under the name theMars Volta, guitarist Jim Ward, bassist Paul Hinojos, and drummer Tony Hajjarstay on course as Sparta. Wiretap Scars echoes the reckless beauty of thetrio's former band. The album features raw punk fury on "Cut Your Ribbon,"emotional dissonance in "Cataract," and an absurdly exuberant melody("Glasshouse Tarot") or two ("Mye") scattered about. And it rocks like abastard. --Aidin Vaziri ... Read more

Reviews (102)

Great Atmosphere
This album has an atmosphere which many heavier rock albums fails to achieve. Sparta are a lot more experienced than many other bands of their genre, taking many influences from At the Drive-In, although they still create a unique and fresh sound. There are many moments of sheer brilliance on this album. 'Cataract' and 'Glasshouse Tarot' demonstrates everything great about this band, with it's sentimental verses and emotional choruses. Sparta have a very delicate songwriting style, never overdoing anything. This album does have some weaknesses. I think these lie in the louder songs. Jim Ward's shouting voice is an aquired taste and I personally like it, although at times it gets a bit... boring. His voice in the softer songs is perfect. The production and interaction between all of the band members is good, and showing the experience of the band.

i made a mistake...
i made a huge mistake with this album, i heard the demos before i heard the finished versions. if anyone else did this then i would think they would probably agree with me when i say that Jerry Finn, as he does with so many other bands, sucked the life out of this album. i like the songs, some of them i love, but none of these versions stack up to the demos, they all sound clinical and passionless in comparison. one large part of this is the damned vocal tuning Jerry Finn seems intent on putting onto EVERYTHING he records, but also it just lacks the soul that you can hear easily enough on 'austere' even. anyway, it is a good album, just don't listen to the demos if anyone offers them to you, otherwise you'll be ruined for this cd.

Sparta - Wiretap Scars
"Wiretap Scars" is the 2002 Dream Works release by Sparta; El Paso's own art rockers. With this catchy, wistful, passionate, and abrasive record these gentlemen leave no doubt in the listener's mind that they have plenty left to say, even after the ATDI disbandment. Sparta's first full length is not going to cause a revolution in sound, triggering consumers to look at music in a different light. However, "Wiretap Scars" is a well executed rocker with a purpose. Check Out "Air" and "Collapse."
4/5 ... Read more

Asin: B000069KO6
Subjects:  1. Alternative Metal    2. Emo    3. Pop    4. Post-Hardcore    5. Punk Revival    6. Rock   

Danse Macabre
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (21 August, 2001)
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Editorial Review

The old saying goes that if you pretend to be something long enough, you'll eventually become it. If this is true, then the men of the Faint must have spent a lot of time between their rocking debut album, Media, and their third full-length, Danse Macabre, practicing their Duran Duran, Cure, and Depeche Mode impressions. In the process, they have become all that is, was, and probably ever shall be good about new wave music, combining arty electronics with smart social commentary to create an album that is sublime in its ability to recall more goth-rock times while still coming across as entirely original. Songs such as "Posed to Death" and "The Conductor" take on sounds of the band's contemporaries--in these cases, Marilyn Manson and Daft Punk, respectively--but their doing so seems rooted in clever reclamation of new wave sounds appropriated by current artists. In making angular, passionate, and hypnotic music, the Faint are not out to give a history lesson but rather to move a languorous generation of indie kids. And whether mentally or physically or both, Danse Macabre will do just that. --Sarah A. Sternau ... Read more

Reviews (52)

The 80's called....
They wish they had a band like The Faint.Saddle Creek mainstays, The Faint, had begun dabbling with synths on Media, long before Blank-Wave Arcade & Danse Macabre. However, where Media was angsty-indie-rock that was more miss than hit, and Blank-Wave Arcade was too synthy, squelchy and sexual, Danse Macabre finds its balance.This album is like a new-wave, hard rock, dance, post-punk, Cure meets Depeche Mode in a steel-cage kinda thing.I don't think there are really any "weak" tracks, although some are stronger than others.My favorites are: Agenda Suicide, Let the Poison Spill..., The Conductor, and Ballad of a Paralysed Citizen.Good times.

My Favorite Faint
I can't name a band I'm comfortable putting above The Faint in terms of sheer pleasure derived, but in terms of talent, I'm similarly hard-pressed. I believe that there is nothing like this particular album. As much as you will hear "The Faint are 80's wannabes," I think that is an extremely superficial observation. It is not entirely wrong. It is what I thought at first, and it is actually what turned me on to them. It is simply that one gets over that within the first 3 or 4 listens. The people who dismiss them for their 80's imitating have made no attempt to delve into their music. I find it's very easy to dismiss anything without trying to get a feel for it. As I've listened through Danse Macabre an infinite number of times, I now cannot hear the Duran Duran, Cure, Depeche Mode. I love Depeche Mode in their own rite and do feel that they are the biggest influence on The Faint, but by no means do I dwell on their musical likeness when listening to these guys. They are their own entity with lyrics that rival the best storytellers and a "dancebility" more powerful than anything I've ever heard in a club. Listening to The Faint sing incessantly with fervor and style about death and sex throughout this album brings me to laughter. However, their music is far too intense and all-encompassing of my emotions to allow a chuckle during a song. The transitions are too perfectly conceived to get a chance in between songs. And So, I must wait until I've finished listening entirely through the album, for what is most likely the fourth time on repeat, before I can enjoy their unique sense of humor that suits me so well. Every single song is one to turn up extremely loud and go crazy with. It is satisfying to listen to The Faint with a friend, but for obvious reasons, I feel it is more fun to listen on your own...unless you've got liquour (which I don't advocate...it would just make the side-effects of Faint-listening more comparitively normal). I really think of Danse Macabre as a twisted, beautiful, masterpiece in every way. Godspeed.

Storytelling set to Music
This is one of the best CD's I've bought in years.I originally heard The Faint by accident via listening to Yahoo Launchcast - and the music was so compelling I've gotten all of their CDs.

From what we have seen regarding commercial music - its pretty easy to have a rocked-out beat - but its harder to have lyrics with substance.The Faint's songs on 'Danse Macabre' not only have rocked out beats - but the songwriting for each song is top notch.

'Glass Danse' is a natural standout - but 'Violence' is a piece of storytelling set to music.The rest of the CD is gem-worthy as well.There's not a single song on here that I would skip.this is the first CD I've listened to in years where I've listened to for the *entire* playtime.

If you are looking for some quality music with killer beats - 'Danse Macabre' is the way to go. ... Read more

Asin: B00005NF1H
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Between The Never And The Now
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (24 June, 2003)
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Editorial Review

If a record company devised a formula for the all-encompassing rock album, the result would probably sound something like Between the Never and the Now. Wide-eyed emo sensitivity, nu-metal chug, old-metal screaming, skate-punk sing-alongs, Goth-rock doom, and grunge gloom coalesce in the Seattle five-piece's appealing debut. For the most part, the mish-mash works surprisingly well, thanks to the extra anguish, circular guitars, and operatic vocals. "Stay Home" and "Lipstick Tourniquet" wallows in manic grandeur and the jaunty slacker chorus of "Opiate Summer" contrasts appealingly with the demonic verses. The pieces don't always fit: "PS Love the Black" is a mind-numbing nightmare of styles that lumbers along like Frankenstein's monster. That said, when singer Zack Davidson bellows "You're the champion of my bleeding heart" as "There Only Is" crescendos, the formula is hard to knock. --Dan Gennoe ... Read more

Features

• Enhanced

Reviews (61)

Scream or no scream?
I love this CD. There's not a single track I don't like. However, if you don't like screaming bands, if you're one of those people that says "How much talent does it take to scream? I can't even understand him!" Then you probably won't like it. I normally don't like screamers. But the way Zack does it... it's inbetween melody and the things he's singing about are just so emotional that when he screams you know it's not an "I'm cool" scream. It's emotional without being angsty. And they're amazing live. I saw them last night. So... It's kind of safe to say that if you don't like scream then it's probably safe to say that you won't like it. If you don't mind, you'll love it.

Promising major label debut for an awesome band
this album is a great addition to any rock lovers' cd collection. every song is great from beginning to end. the guitars roar, circle and sweep, the drums pound and sooth, and the bass pops and bounces and to top it off are zach davidsons' abstract, surreal, lyrics adding up to one sweet sound. the opener is emo-ish, while "Opiate Summer", "Caught you like a cold" and "Por Vida" are rockers that grind and burn "Shatterday" is a huge singalong anthem, "Accident sex" and "Ambulance Chaser" are slow, building up before exploding. "Suicide party" and "Lipstick tourniquets" remind me of the late At The Drive-in. the worst song in my opinion is the last one, but it's real easy to skip

Between the Good and the Awesome
Whenever you attempt to jump headfirst into what seems to be the forthcoming "latest trend" you run the risk of haughty criticism and disappointed music fans who are sick and tired of fads. Vendetta Red is a "screamo" band, and one of the most stereotypical at that. You will find catchy punk melodies, emo moments, and the occasional gut wrenching scream. It all sounds so formulatic but then again, many genres are. Vendetta red though has an approach that shocked me to the songs. Even the heaviest numbers (with the exception of "Por Vida") start out calmly and the verses are almost always laid back. There is plenty of room to work with, and every number almost seems brooding (but not with the overuse of angst). The album opener is a great example of their sound in general. The slowly moving verses climax to a triumphant chorus that is shattered by a screaming bridge after its second appearance. "Opiate Summer" has a pop/punk feel to it, and a dang catchy chorus. "Shatterday" passes quickly, and is one of the least obvious example of their talent. They are able to pull off chaotic disasterpieces like "lipstick tourniquet" and calm to beautifully chugging ones such as "seconds away", one of the many highlights.

Vendetta red mashes a lot of styles into one on the album, and however generic you blame them for being they still can surprise you at every turn. The end of the cd really pulls everything together. "Ambulence Chaser" is a breather from the surrounding tracks, the three heaviest on the album. The final two intend to go out with a bang, "Por Vida" rocks out in its entirety and the closer "PS love the black" is a lot of pieces thrown together but still surprisingly enjoyable. Most of the pieces came together perfectly on this album, with each listen it becomes more and more appealing. They may just run together with other bands at a glance but the music speaks for itself and this album is one of the best in its genre. ... Read more

Asin: B00009MGQN
Subjects:  1. Emo    2. Pop    3. Post-Grunge    4. Rock   

Rip the Jacker
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (22 July, 2003)
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Editorial Review

Although he's come close before, the third time's the charm for Canibus. Rip the Jacker, the final installment of the poetic MC's indie-release trilogy (and his fifth album overall), delivers exactly what his fans have been waiting for. The album does away with the defects that plagued its predecessors, namely sub-par production and half-hearted attempts at commercial viability. Instead of spreading the wealth among a half-dozen mediocre beat makers, Canibus offers Stoupe, of Jedi Mind Tricks fame, full control behind the boards, and that level of commitment makes a world of difference. Stoupe's beats draw from a wide range of influences, meshing well with Canibus's complex imagery. Bis also shuffles the deck a bit here, adding some sophisticated narrative lyrics to his usual arsenal of battle rhymes. Speaking of battle rhymes, check out "Poet Laureate II," which is seven perfect minutes of straight spitting--no hooks and no choruses, the beat changing several times to fit the flow. --Rebecca Levine ... Read more

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• Explicit Lyrics

Reviews (143)

If this had been his debut...
... then battle rappers wouldn't be finding it so hard to make way into the game today; the Canibus Syndrome wouldn't exist.
It's all been said before: this album finally fits adequate production with Canibus's complex lyricism. (I liked Mic Club, but even those beats are dwarved by these).
There's nothing on here that's skippable, it's all good; Stoupe's really an incredible producer, and I'm going to check out more of his stuff after hearing these beats.
My only beef is with the d*ckriders here, the guys who're saying Canibus would kill any commercial MC, given the chance, when the truth is, Canibus took his shots at the best commercial lyricists, and he blew it!
He took shots at LL first. His first single was for LL! We thought LL's career was over after that, but he came back and surprised everybody, totally ripping Bis's a** to pieces.
Next, he had beef with Eminem, and even a little-known beef with Jay-Z. Both are some of the most respected lyricists in the game, and both blew Canibus underground, and he's been there ever since.
This turn of events settled something in my mind: Canibus is a battle rapper that COULDN'T WIN A BATTLE TO SAVE HIS LIFE!! It's sad, too, cuz Bis really does have a unique style, and an amazing grasp of the language. Lyrically, he's near-genius; his biggest problem has always been knowing when to pick his battles. I don't care how lyrically adept you are - taking on Jay-Z and Eminem two or three years ago was suicide, cuz even if you won the battle, those two were still MTV darlings, and the teeny boppers would come out on their side no matter what.
So, while this is Canibus's best album, with every track an underground classic, and every lyric a stunning literary work, great lyrics and dope beats aren't everything to everyone. Even if Canibus had won those battles, he'd still have lost the war.

Canibus has done it again!
LL COOL J is the wackest vermin, scumbag, garbage piece of crap! Canibus ripped LL because LL should retire like Larry Holmes!

This album is one of the greats!
First of all, if you're a fan of Jay Z (wack) or The Game (wack) or Kayne West (wack), then you probably shouldn't even be reading this as I already know that you have horrible tastes in music and that you're a commercial flunkie! The truth is that Canibus will destroy any mainstream, commercial, bubble-gum rapper who raps about their bling bling and their Escalades. Canibus raps about philosophy and UFO's and scientific wisdom, material that 99% of you commercial groupies couldn't understand. This album was perfection, finally Bis has the beats to compliment his lyrical prowess. Anyways, go ahead and cop this album tomorrow! ... Read more

Asin: B00009Y3PI
Subjects:  1. East Coast Rap    2. Hardcore Rap    3. Pop    4. Rap & Hip-Hop   

Hatful of Hollow
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (09 November, 1993)
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Editorial Review

The Smiths tend to be thought of as a band one grows out of--music you listened to as a depressed adolescent and then abandoned when you overcame it all. Such a notion denies them their place in the rock pantheon, not only as an inspiration to countless indie-rock outfits but also as the band that challenged the received wisdom of rock & roll machismo. Fronted by the fey, sexually ambiguous Steven Patrick Morrissey, who married painfully honest lyrics--almost embarrassing in their self-effacement--with arch humor and a melancholic delivery, the British band was quite an anomaly to an America still emerging from the bloated-rock tyranny of the likes of Journey and REO Speedwagon. Hatful of Hollow, released as an import in 1984 and domestically in 1993, is a collection of singles, many recorded live for various radio shows. More-muscular versions of most of the tracks here can be found on the collection Louder Than Bombs, but Hatful has a vitality to it that the studio-bound, somewhat antiseptic Bombs lacks. Check out Johnny Marr's delicate acoustic guitar on the aching "Back to the Old House" or the band's looser workouts of such now-classics as "This Charming Man" and "Still Ill." Two songs not found on other albums make this a must for fans: "Handsome Devil" and "Accept Yourself," a bouncy, jangly number on which Morrissey croons convincingly, "Others conquered love, but I ran / I sat in my room and I drew up a plan." Perfect music for your awkward inner child. --Steve Landau ... Read more

Reviews (56)

THEIR BEST
In their short career, this mighty band released some of the finest music ever committed to vinyl. The 60's belonged to The Beatles, the 80's to The Smiths. Of all their albums this is by far their most satisfying. It's made up of b-sides, radio sessions and some new tracks. Most albums of this type (I think this was one of the first of it's kind) contain a lot of filler, and are usually stop-gaps between 'proper' albums. Not the case here. The radio session versions of songs from their debut actually sound better. Johnny Marr's guitar playing never sounded better, the lyrics are top-drawer, and Morrissey is in fine voice. You really should own this album.

Phenomenal Record
While this was the second record released by The Smiths, it wasn't a proper album, rather a collection of BBC sessions and singles.That being said, it's fantastic and certainly better than their first album.The singles are great, as was always the case with The Smiths: How Soon Is Now, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Girl Afraid, Hand in Glove.But the BBC sessions offer a different sound for much of the material that was written and recorded around the time of their first album.Most of these versions are superior to the studio counterparts, especially Accept Yourself, This Night Has Opened My Eyes, Handsome Devil, and What Different Does it Make?.Essential Smiths for any fan.

Phenomenal Record
While this was the second record released by The Smiths, it wasn't a proper album, rather a collection of BBC sessions and singles.That being said, it's fantastic and certainly better than their first album.The singles are great, as was always the case with The Smiths: How Soon Is Now, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Girl Afraid, Hand in Glove.But the BBC sessions offer a different sound for much of the material that was written and recorded around the time of their first album.Most of these versions are superior to the studio counterparts, especially Accept Yourself, This Night Has Opened My Eyes, Handsome Devil, and What Different Does it Make?.Essential Smiths for any fan. ... Read more

Asin: B000002MIF
Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. College Rock    3. England    4. Indie Pop    5. Pop    6. Rock   

Actually
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
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Editorial Review

When they released Actually, their second proper album, in 1987, the Pet Shop Boys proved they were no flash-in-the-pan pop sensation. Neil Tennant wrote about disaffected consumerism ("Rent," "Shopping") with the wry insight only the former editor of a teen pop magazine could have. Often accused of being emotionally bankrupt by their critics, Tennant and his partner, keyboardist Chris Lowe, effortlessly proved them wrong, camouflaging clever commentary ("It's a Sin") behind deadpan attitude and catchy dance music. The jewel in Actually's crown is probably "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a classic hit for which Lowe and Tennant coaxed '60s pop icon Dusty Springfield out of semiretirement. Actually has aged better than anybody--including perhaps the Pet Shop Boys themselves--could have expected. --Elisabeth Vincentelli ... Read more

Reviews (36)

Avoiding the one-hit wonder tag
The Pet Shop Boys stylized Actually to melt the coldest of hearts, and it almost does. Their success of West End Girls was surely a threat to their longevity, considering they were just two guys with synthesizers who wrote pop music. But they duck the pitfall with style.

Some of their best singles are found within, like Heart, It's A Sin, Rent and What Have I Done To Deserve This? And what isn't a single can definitely hold its own to say the least: King's Cross, It Couldn't Happen Here (dedicated to a deceased friend of theirs), and I Want To Wake Up.

But Actually occaisionally lapses into kitchiness as with the silly-sounding anti-capitalist Shopping and the overly-campy Hit Music. One More Chance gives a rough first impression with Neil Tennant's faked enthusiasm ("push me in a corner and I'll scream").

For its faults, Actually is an easily enjoyable album. In one album, the Pet Shop boys simultaneously dodged the sophomore slump AND the one-hit wonder tag. Not everyone can do that.

My first album ever owned is still the best
I like Pearl Jam and Nirvana and Coldplay, but on buying this album again, I am reminded how the Pet Shop Boys were the stand out band in the 80s.

Timeless 'Hit Music'
This is definately the album that was a catalyst for their career.With the popularity of their first album PLEASE, this album exceeded everyone's expectations and since then they have been known as the band that always has a hit every couple of years.Bands come and go, some flourish for years and then eventually disappear.

Pet Shop Boys are quoted as one of the first bands that continually keep going regardless of the era or fads that pass through.Their music is original for any decade.This album ACTUALLY is a perfect example of their creative intelligence and wit just beginning.

What makes this album marked as a favorite among fans is not just that half the songs were radio hits, it's more that every song is unique and sounds completely different from the next track.They experiment with numerous types of styles, and often go from electronic to a sudden orchestra of strings and trumpets.

This kind of strange and sudden diversity is their trademark.ACTUALLY is the album that states that this was just the beginning; bringing popular tunes in a more intelligent and sensual manner that goes deep into the soul, and with each new album since they continued to touch listeners through classical, electronic, rock, and even operatic pieces.

An example is the track "Hit Music"--very typical 80's, fun and simple to listen to.In their own blunt way, Pet Shop Boys will go to a slow and romantic pace of action, that lasts for only a few seconds, if not a full minute.But always knowing to bring audiences back to the original sound, they tempt our hearts with quite beautiful, flirtatious chords that wink at you, and stop...and then begin again.This could be why they are known for their live concerts seeming like "stories performed", actors playing out roles as they sing to the side of the stage.It's no wonder why they are asked to write hip musicals.And why not?It's hip music.

Great album to start off with; and just a preview of albums to come in the 90's and into the 21st century. ... Read more

Asin: B000002UD7
Subjects:  1. Dance Music    2. Pop   

God Loves Ugly
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (11 June, 2002)
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• Explicit Lyrics

Reviews (59)

Hip-hop in its purest form
Simply put, if you've been turned off to all of the hip-pop garbage of late, this album will make you love hip-hop again. I've heard people use the phrase "life music" to classify atmosphere's sound, and that definition is right on point.Slug's lyrics are hard hitting, down-to-earth (no money-cash-hoes rhetoric), and intertwined with the beats perfectly.You owe it to yourself to give this album a listening to.Pure hip-hop, period.

This album is on the top of my playlist!
I've heard quite a bit from this local artist and this is by far my favorite album.Slug shows real depth and the beats are fantastic.Check it out.

Sweet
On this cd, Atmosphere starts to get better known, but it doesn't sell out like their worst cd Seven's Travel. Thishas dope beats, lyrics etc. Slug and Ant put a lot of effort into this cd, and it payed off because this cd is sweet. if you are a Seven's Travel fan don't buy this, because 99.9% of the people who liked that cd are Atmosphere posers who don't know Atmosphere's real music. If you are into, Headshots Se7en, Overcast, and Lucy Ford buy this cd, if you arent buy Lil John and the Eastside Boys. Best songs, The bass and the movement, F*@k You Lucy, Hair, God Loves Ugly, Give Me, and One of a Kind. ... Read more

Asin: B000067ULR
Sales Rank: 6656
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rap & Hip-Hop    3. Underground Rap   

Moondance
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
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Editorial Review

Van Morrison went a long way towards defining his wild Irish heart with his first two classic albums: the brooding, introspective Astral Weeks (1968), and the expansive, swinging Moondance. If the first was the work of a poet, its sequel was the statement of a musician and bandleader. Moondance is that rare rock album where the band has buffed the arrangements to perfection, and where the sax solos instead of the guitar. The band puts out a jazzy shuffle on "Moondance" and plays it soulful on "These Dreams of You." The album includes both Morrison's most romantic ballad ("Crazy Love") and his most haunting ("Into the Mystic"). "And It Stoned Me" rolled off Morrison's tongue like a favorite fable, while "Caravan" told a tale full of emotional intrigue. Moondance stood out in the rock world of 1970 like a grownup in a kiddie matinee. --John Milward ... Read more

Reviews (141)

Not really a review.....
I know I will catch grief for taking up space without any review but...will someone tell me when in blazes they are going to remaster this masterpiece?!!

Masterpiece - His all Time Best Album
My Favorite Van Morrison album of all time and One of the Best album Of the Rock Era. My favorite Songs are the Title Track, "And It Stones Me" and "Caravan". But all the Songs are Terrific. A classic Rock album.

moondance
This album is like a greatest hits album in its self. Instead of buying that messed up greatest hits album van released a couple of years agobuy this. you will be listening to this for the rest of your life. Its great. ... Read more

Asin: B000002KHF
Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Blue-Eyed Soul    3. Celtic Rock    4. Folk-Rock    5. Ireland    6. Jazz-Rock    7. Pop    8. Pop/Rock    9. R&B    10. Rock    11. Singer/Songwriter    12. Soft Rock    13. Vocals   

All-Time Quarterback
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (18 June, 2002)
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• Enhanced

Reviews (4)

Great
I really enjoy this album. I think that is all there is to say! If you are a Deathcab, Postal Service, or general fan of anything Ben Gibbard...you should own this right now.

All-Time Quarterback
¡All-Time Quarterback! shows what potential your kids could have.Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard plays around with kid instruments and comes up with a warm and charming low-fi masterpiece.Half of this 11-song, 28-minute disc was originally recorded to walkman and many of the songs previously released as part of 1999's ¡All-Time Quarterback! CD-EP and the home-recording cassette-only The Envelope Sessions.As a whole, ¡All-Time Quarterback! has the feel of an album of hidden tracks or studio outtakes."Plans Get Complex" is simply sing-song with its toy guitar and broken Casio underpinning.The previously unreleased "Dinner At Eight In The Suburbs" and the jaunty "Untitled" sound like early Pet Sounds demos while Gibbard employs a toy piano to seriously alter the mood on his cover of the Magnetic Fields' "Why I Cry."Unfortunately, despite this present collection, Gibbard has hung up the ATQ mantle writing it off as a fun one-off side project.¡All-Time Quarterback! is a fine example of songs that stand on their own merits, recordings that haven't seen Pro Tools, and a combination of the both into a darn good album.

ben gibbard for president
this is benjamin gibbard of long touted "best band in the nrthwest" death cab for cutie singing by himself and with others, playing songs that come from the heart, the mind, and the little child in all of us...love redemption faith and other emotions so key in life are played here in broad terms and easily digested tidbits....this was orginally released a very very long time ago and was out of print since...but the cool kids at barsuk have decided to give all another crack at it, with the bonus footage being nearly as essential as the older disc....their are two unheard songs and a mini movie that will warm the cockles of any heart....very highly reccomended for those that love the indiepop front and even those who are in love with singer-songwriters with guts and pinnache (john vanderslice, bright eyes, neil halstead, etc)...get this record to mend and to be....whole. ... Read more

Asin: B000066JEM
Sales Rank: 10946
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Glory: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (29 June, 1992)
list price: $16.98 -- our price: $9.99
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Editorial Review

Director Edward Zwick's 1989 tale of the first company of black soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War captured America'sabiding fascination with that great struggle. However, its most unsung player was composer James Horner, who created one of his most grand andmemorable scores. So memorable, in fact, that some of its rich cures havebeen recycled by other filmmakers and Horner himself. More than anyother single work, it's Glory that's responsible for Horner'sremarkable rise to the top of his profession in the '90s. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more

Features

• Soundtrack

Reviews (82)

A masterpiece.
I have been a fan of James Horner's music since I was three. "Glory" is certainly one of his greatest works. Horner's soaring score - sometimes heartwrenching and always inspirational - accurately captures the drama and beauty of the actual film.

Almost Equal With Braveheart!
This score I truly believe to be one of the most beautiful in the last decade, right up there with Braveheart and Schindler's List!

Horner's Best
I have long been a huge fan of film music, and James Horner is indeed one of my favorite composers.The score to 'Glory', without a doubt, is his best work.The choral melodies are hauntingly beautiful, and the amazing percussion scoring paints the theme of battle quite vivdly.There are bits of theme throughtout the tracks that hint at what later became Horner's score to the Mel Gibson movie 'Braveheart' (another wonderful album to have in your collection).Also, the mingling of Carl Orff's famous 'Carmina Burana' was quite innovative and brilliant for the time this score was written.I definitely recommend this album for any lover of music - film, classical or otherwise - it is a necessity. ... Read more

Asin: B000000WH5
Subjects:  1. Film Music    2. Original Score    3. Pop    4. Soundtrack    5. Soundtracks    6. Soundtracks & Film Scores   

52nd Street
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (20 October, 1998)
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Editorial Review

Following up his 1977 breakthrough smash The Stranger was no easy task for Billy Joel; 52nd Street shows he wasn't quite up to the challenge, though it sold similarly well and kept the momentum for his fast- track career until the more impressive Glass Houses appeared in 1980. 52nd Street isn't without its moments: "My Life" remains one of Joel's most memorable hit singles, "Half a Mile Away" is a wonderful slice of infectiously upbeat pop, and "Rosalinda's Eyes" sways to an alluringly airy Latin feel. But macho poseur numbers such as "Big Shot" and "Stiletto" are embarrassingly overwrought, while the arty "Zanzibar" ultimately comes across more as pretentious than adventurous. The closing title track fails to convince anyone Joel is a cool blues hound. --Peter Blackstock ... Read more

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• Enhanced
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (54)

Deserted IslandAlbum
Ditch the pop music on side one. Track 1,2,3. Now let's hear some music! Anyone that can honestly say they love music can NOT turn off the infectious sound of Zanzabar. Now we have Rosalinda's eyes (a song that my children have learned to love thru listening to vinyl on those nice eveninigs with a bbq and friends) one of the best song that Billy ever wrote. What can I say about Stillitto, other than perfect? Buy this album get thru the usual hit machinePop music and enjoy a great adult comtempory sound.

Outstanding Collection - many tracks underrated
Billy Joel's fifth album, "The Stranger" was a landmark album for the man known as "The Piano Man". It established him as not only a critically acclaimed artist, but one that could be a major commercial selling one as well. Top to bottom, "The Stranger" was as good an album as any in the 1970s. The question would be whether or not Billy Joel could follow it up. This question would soon be answered when Billy Joel's "52th Street" would be released. Billy would use much of the formula that worked well on the "The Stranger" and produce a product that would be another legendary album.

I look at Billy Joel's career as having three phases.The first phase is what I call "Old Billy Joel".This basically includes all of his material from "Cold Spring Harbor" through "Turnstiles". These are perhaps the strongest days as the piano sound, but they also contain most of Joel's least heard material. The next phase is what I call "Middle Billy Joel".This was his most successful period and covers from "The Stranger" to "Billy Joel Greatest Hits Volume 1 and 2".Joel would go through a transition during this phase - expanding his musical horizons and exploring different avenues.The final phase is the "Later Billy Joel" phase - this covers "The Bridge" to "River of Dreams".In this phase, Billy would start to incorporate some of his older styles of music while not abandoning his desire to continue to explore new avenues."52th Street" definitely is a Phase 2 album that continues Billy's desire to broaden things beyond just the piano.

On "The Stranger" Billy Joel incorporated two main themes:1) An "Old New York" style of music that can best be described as a street-sounding jazz sound;2) A Melting Pot Theme - a mix of various cultural themes (Latin, Italian, Viennese, etc). From a musical standpoint, Billy provided a balance to his trademark piano playing with guitars and horns.In a lot of ways, "52th Street" continues these themes - without any loss of quality. Like its predecessor , Billy's "52th Street" will also provide the same high quality lyrics for the songs.The big difference I find between the two albums is that many of the songs on "52th Street" don't get the attention like the ones from "The Stranger" got - and that just isn't fair.

Here is a review of each of the tracks:

"Big Shot": This is one of the better-known songs. This has more of a guitar edge than a jazz sound, but it still has a "New York" sound to it.There are some nice horns in it.Billy provides almost an Italian-American/New York ("melting pot")sound when mid-way through the song he sings "You had be a big shot, didn't you" with a heavy accent.

"Honesty":This is a very powerful song that builds up as it goes along. This is more of a piano based song and can easily fit into it. The one thing that gets overlooked is some of the powerful percussion later in the song - especially some of the crashing cymbals.Lyrically, this song is as good as any Billy Joel song.

"My Life": This is a signature Billy Joel song. Billy piano is the more dominant instrument, but there is some nice guitar work.Many people forget this became the theme song for the TV show "Bosom Buddies". Many people don't realize that one of the terrific background vocalists is none other than Chicago vocalist, Peter Cetera.

"Zanzibar": After the first three songs, most of the songs are forgotten about.This song is in this category and is probably one of the best on this collection. This song has a terrific "Old New York" flair to it.There is is almost a piano bar feel to this song.I love Billy Joel songs with "characters" (i.e. "Piano Man" and "Anthony's Song").This song introduces us to two characters - Ali and Rose. It starts out as a fast paced song.There is a beautiful soft interlude almost 3 minutes into the song with some horns, then the pace picks up again.

"Stiletto": This is also one of the best on this collection.This is another overlooked song. Once again - a definite "New York" feel to it.It starts out with some nice horn work, then has some of Billy's best piano work. There is also outstanding percussion in this song. A Stiletto is some sort of a "dagger" and this song deals with backstabbing. Terrific track.

"Rosalinda's Eyes": This song is a Latin influenced song - keeping with the "Melting Pot Theme".References to "Herald Square" keep to the "New York" feel. Ralph MacDonald who performed on "Saturday Night Fever's "Calypso Breakdown" provides percussion. Billy does a great job giving the vocals a Latin feel as well. Another great track.

"Half a Mile Away": This song has a great balance of piano and guitar as well as horns.It has some terrific background vocals.It definitely has an "New York" sound to it.Ralph MacDonald also contributes percussion

"Until the Night": This is perhaps the most underrated of all the underrated songs.It starts out with a retro sound - something Billy Joel has always been interested with.This is one of Billy's first songs with a true late 1950s sound to it.This is a sign of things to come (i.e. his 1983 "An Innocent Man" album).

"52th Street": The title along is New York sounding and the song lives up to this.This is almost the perfect New York/Street sounding jazz song - perfect way to wrap up the collection.

The liner notes include all of the lyrics as well as musician and production credits.This is truly a magnificent collection.If you like "The Stranger", this album is sure to equally satisfy - as well as provide some "forgotten" Billy Joel tunes.Highly recommended.

This is the Piano Man's work
Lemme say "The Stranger" and "52nd Street" are among my top favorites I can add from Billy Joel who I'm a big fan to. He actually has a unique style w/ a good tone too.

This album kinda reminds me when I was listening to some jazz while growing up. First of all, it's not that I started it big when I was 13 or 14.

Can't say much about it but it's still good and real diverse. My main man Freddie Hubbard (who I'm a huge fan to) is taking it easy on his solo on "Zanzibar" with a jazz feel at the end before blending into rock w/ special Mike Mainieri on vibes and marimba.

Love every minute of it. This would take me back into the man's work of today since Elton John which I like who can his songs good w/o going off balance. My favorite songs are Zanzibar, Big Shot, Honesty, My Life, Stilletto, Half a Mile Way and 52nd Street.

So those are my top picks. Well enjoy the masterpiece from the legendary Billy Joel and most definitely check out "The Stranger" which is hot feat. "Just The Way You Are" which is one of my favorites and most definitely I would like to sing one day among others. A must-have. ... Read more

Asin: B00000DCHD
Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Pop    3. Pop/Rock    4. Rock    5. Singer/Songwriter    6. Soft Rock   

Meteora
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 March, 2003)
list price: $19.98 -- our price: $14.99
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Editorial Review

Linkin Park’s second studio effort (not counting the 2002 remix album Reanimation) overflows with glossy production values and Big Rock oomph, fully embracing the pop instincts of their Hybrid Theory debut. For many, Theory sounded inexcusably corporate, from its too-timely rap-rock sound to the long list of product endorsements included in the liner notes. Meteora will only amplify those complaints, but this album is actually truer to the band’s nature. It’s still impossible not to hear strains of Limp Bizkit, Korn, Rage Against the Machine, and the like. None of those acts, howeve, would try something as blatantly anthemic as "Easier to Run," which would sound fine to a Def Leppard fan, or as borderline danceable as "Breaking the Habit" and "Session." Linkin Park is what Trent Reznor was always afraid of becoming, but if you ever wished he would drop the pretenses and just make a hair-metal record, you'll find Meteora to your liking. --Matthew Cooke ... Read more

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Reviews (1407)

What the hell was I thinking?
I'm sad and ashamed to admit that Linkin Park was my first introduction to "rock" music. Now, in 2004, I want to smack myself silly. This boy-band and their ilk did more to hurt rock music than revitalize it. I feel as if I have literally been woken up from a trance. Please avoid this at all costs, if you want to hear a good fusion of rock and rap than check out early 90's bands like Orange 9mm. and RATM. If you want good, original rock n' roll with real soul and honesty then check out Queens of the Stone Age.

Linkin Park is not metal...
Linkin Park is not metal, its more like pretty boys trying to be metal and rap like Limp Bizket...Metal bands are not about pretty boys rapping and looking all pretty and not yelling their brains out..I havent once heard a metal song by this band..Its one of the wrose albums I have ever heard.

Linkin Park is great. Until you listen to real music.
This cd has plenty of catchy tracks, namely Somewhere I Belong and Numb to name two which have also got clips.
The rest of the other tracks kind of blur together.
Even the good tracks on this cd can't last repeated plays, after awhile one just finds them utterly predictable.
I could care less if this band made bajillions, but at least they could make their later releases somewhat different.

The music aside, I recommend not reading this band's lyrics, which are utterly average and gives one a feeling that the band members perhaps hired angsty high school teens to write their lyrics for them ... Read more

Asin: B00008H2LB
Subjects:  1. Alternative Metal    2. Pop    3. Rock   

In Casino Out
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (18 August, 1998)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $10.99
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Reviews (52)

PLEASE COME BACK AND SAVE MUSIC!!!
At the Drive-In really needs to come back and save music.I was 11 when I first saw them..they blew my mind.They instantly became my favorite live show ever.For anyone who never got to see them live, I'm sorry.I've seen the Mars Volta and Sparta live and it's nothing compared to what ATDI had.This record is the best work they ever did.I can't even suggest any band that they are in the vain of.They were their own and to compare them to any other band would be an insult.I just hope they come back together at some point and save the music industry...It needs help.K

If you can't get the best of us now...
This is a really fun cd! The band's second full length album, this one feels a small step up in maturity and songwriting from the band's previous, "Acrobatic Tenement." It's slower in some places, but faster in others, and the playing in general is better.

Unlike AT, this album doesnt open very well. Alpha Centauri is okay. Its fast, kind of dissonant, but in a cool way. Chanbara is just ugly, I think, but the percussion is cool and it grows on you. Things pick up at track 3, Hulahoop Wounds, a really catchy, well written song with awesome lyrics. Track 4, Napoleon Solo, is slow and haunting. The way it builds is brilliant and the bridge is one of the most beautiful things ever. Track 5, Pickpocket has some really awesome guitar playing and is very catchy. Its short, but not as short as some of the tracks on the last album (like Star Slight). For Now, We Toast is a great pop tune. The verse is really catchy, and while a little irritating, the chorus is too. The lyrics are about digging a tunnel out of a prison. It's really cool. A Devil Among The Tailors is my least favorite on the album. I think its ugly and boring. The dissonance that the band often uses is used too much here, and it just sounds bad. However, things pick up with Shaking Hand Incision, which is intense and complex, one of the best songs on the album. The drummer is really awesome here. Then comes Lopsided, a powerful, creepy ballad about some sort of mystery with a ship. I don't get it, but its really cool. Hourglass is a radiohead-esque lo-fi ballad which starts out great and keeps getting better, until its perfect ending, where it gets distorted. The last track on the album, Transatlantic Foe, is in my opinion the band's greatest song. It's beautiful, upbeat, and the perfect closer for the album. The lyrics make no sense but I love them.

Fans of punk/rock/emo, or anything else really, should own this. It's a great CD! And while you're at it, check out The Mars Volta, which has the singer and lead guitarist from this band. They're even better!

Gored my neck, don't spare me death...
Somehow ATDI keep getting labeled as a pop punk or emo band. Pop punk bands write songs that are easy to listen to, and that people can relate to. Emo bands have become essentially pop punk bands but darker and edgier. At The Drive-In's songs are neither easy to listen to, or easy to relate to. From obstinate lyrics (Widows! An antique replacement/Widows! A briefcase filled with Mace/Widows! Six legged lost and found, found")to the bilingual lyrics ("Tour de force! Tour de force! De facto! Ayachuco! Ayachuco! Ayachuco!"), nothing about this album is easy. But it is oh so rewarding. Omar A Rodriguez-Lopez is a brilliant guitarist/songwriter/producer/musician, Cedric Bixler is a great singer (though more raw here than on the Mars Volta's recordings), Jim Ward is an excellent rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist, and the other two Sparta guys no one talks about aren't too bad either. This is more listenable than the Mars Volta, but far more engaging than Sparta's fairly bland releases. Anyone who says ATDI are a pop punk band are wrong. In fact, anyone who tries to stick a label on ATDI are wrong--this is just good music. ... Read more

Asin: B00000BKBR
Sales Rank: 5351
Subjects:  1. Emo    2. Indie Rock    3. Pop    4. Post-Grunge    5. Punk Revival    6. Rock   

Quality Control
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (20 June, 2000)
list price: $13.98 -- our price: $13.98
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Editorial Review

The thrill of invention never stops on this first full-lengthalbum from Jurassic 5. Coming out of L.A.'s kinetic hip-hopunderground, the multitalented combo whips up an irresistible flow ofcharisma and keeps the fun at a high-voltage level. J5 can pivot on adime from one style to the next--street-corner barbershop, turntablefriction, or kick-ass swing. But the constant focus is on theessentials of the art: Quality Control fuses fantastic wordplayand MC skills with a killer grab bag of beats. It's the achievement ofJ5 to look back in a way so fresh it shines a light ahead. --ThomasMay ... Read more

Features

• Explicit Lyrics

Reviews (209)

Just Buy It!
The reason my title is so generic is that I can't think of any title to describe this CD. It is really good. The beats are very unique and sound like no other. If you played me just the beat I could instantly tell you that it was J5. Of course the beats are merely the first thing that you notice. Then you start to hear all of the MCs. All of them are very good. Their lyrics are like tongue twisters so just trying to say them seems like a challenge let alone saying them so well. Next you begin to listen to Numark and his cuts. He is nothing special, but he is very good. Overall, this is one of the best hip hop albums to come out in a very long time.

Classic, Classic, Classic
This was a great era. 1998-2000, you had the Roots blowing up, Mos Def, Talib, and Hi Tek, actually, the majority of Rawkus blowing up, Dilated getting some play, then comes J-5.When I first heard them, on THe Beat Junkies Volume 2 mix cd, I was like, aww snap, that old school sound is back.When this cd came out, it just helped push underground, or as I call it, pure hip hop to the front.Too bad now in 2005, besides Kanye and the mighty Mos, all the other cats who are blowing up from the underground are putting out garbage.But enough of that, let's get back to the task at hand.This was just raw fun, from the musical old school beats, to the old school lyrical format, especially how they trade off on the verses.What is tight is that they harmonize on the choruses, like I think I heard Afrika Bambatta and the Zulu nation do that sometimes.Anyways, musically, these guys brought hip hop to back in the glory days, when it was all about fun and the art of rhymes, with nice playfull musical beats.Lyrics were simple, yet intelligent, and they were about subjects that actually mattered.I hope these guys will always be the way they are, because too many mc's have fallen off.THey had enough people diggin them with the way they were.If you like music and pure hip hop, get this now.If not, you have a problem.

Classic, One of my all-time favorites
Quality Control hits all the same highs as Jurassic 5's excellent EP of three years earlier, stretching out their resume to nearly an hour with a few turntablist jaunts from resident beat-jugglers DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist. The formula is very similar to the EP, with the group usually going through a couple of lines of five-man harmonics before splitting off for tongue-twister solos from Zaakir, Chali 2na, Akil, and Mark 7even. As expected, there are plenty of nods to old-school rap, from "LAUSD," with its brief tribute to hip-hop classic "The Bridge" by MC Shan, to "Monkey Bars," where the group claim inspiration from their heroes, Where Quality Control really laps previous Jurassic 5 material is not only the lyrical material, though, but the themes and focus of the message tracks "Lausd," "World of Entertainment and "Contribution." The four-man crew take on major media and the responsibilities of adulthood with a degree of authority, eloquence, and compassion never before heard in rap music. Though critics and uptight rap purists might fault them for not pushing the progression angle enough, Jurassic 5's rhymes are so devastating and the productions (by Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist) follow the raps so closely it certainly doesn't matter whether the group are old-school or not. ... Read more

Asin: B00004THKW
Subjects:  1. Hip-Hop    2. Pop    3. Rap & Hip-Hop    4. Underground Rap   

When The Pawn...
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (09 November, 1999)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $7.99
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

When the Pawn Hits fulfills the promise of Fiona Apple's debut, Tidal, a strong statement given that her first outing was one of 1996's most exciting collections. Dark and emotionally dense, Apple's sophomore effort is awash in alluring and witty undercurrents that belie its creator's youth. --Steven Stolder ... Read more

Reviews (515)

Fiona is an artistic genius.
Fiona Apple is an artistic genius. I love this album for it's depth, honesty, poetry, and intensity of spirit. The way Fiona's voice cracks at the end of the song, I Know, is hearbreaking. And the way Fiona compairs one way love with anorexia in the song Paper Bag is ingenius. I wish there were more artists like this out there on the scene today. Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Corinna Fugate, and Vanessa Carlton stand as one of a kind songwriters. I hope they release Fiona Apple's new CD soon! I will be the first to buy it! Free Fiona!

Another bite from the Apple
Recently I picked up Fiona Apple's second album, When The Pawn Hits The Conflicts He Thinks Like A King What He Knows Throws The Blows When He Goes To The Fight And He'll Win The Whole Thing `Fore He Enters The Ring There's No Body To Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand And Remember That Depth Is The Greatest Of Heights And If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where To Land And If You Fall It Won't Matter, Cuz You'll Know That You're Right....which is typically shortened to When the Pawn... I was inspired to do this by my recent listening to the unreleased Extraordinary Machine, which is floating around all over the internet, and I would buy in a heartbeat.

So, When The Pawn... is another excellent album from Fiona. I've been listening to it mostly as I drive to and from work this week, and have fallen in love with a number of the tracks: "To Your Love", "Fast As You Can", "Limp", "Get Gone", and "A Mistake" are the ones which come to mind. Fiona has her own rather unique musical style, a mix of rock and blues and jazz and funk which complements her interesting and thoughtful lyrics.

This is not dance music. The songs don't all sound the same. The lyrics don't read like they were written by a teenager. If that's not your cup of tea, perhaps you should move on.

It's too bad that musical crap like Britney flourishes, while Fiona creates excellent music and is mostly ignored. Even the Grammy-winning Norah Jones can only aspire to be as thoughtful as this.

So, in case you were wondering, I do recommend this album. ;)

Vastly overrated
I don't know who the people leaving all these "she's a genius" reviews here, but let me tell you, this album is a huge disappointment. I bought the album lured primarily by the glowing reviews, and I feel cheated.

The music is neither melodic nor touching, instead she produces a cocophany of loud noise and hopes her fans will see it as a "wonderfully elaborate arrangement".

The vocals are unremarkable, the composition is mediocre, and the lyrics are hardly poetic. This is just another singer riding high on the hype generated by her record label. ... Read more

Asin: B00002MZ4W
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock