Category: Music Reviews

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Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Bjork’s Volta – Chaotic Beauty For Those Who Dare To Submerge

The year was 1992 when one day my college friend came back with Bjork’s debut “Debut” borrowed from her classmate from the Mathematics faculty. I was shocked that Bjork’s debut album can be called music. To my ears, it was just incoherent pieces of tracks of … sound … with some very weird melody. What was she thinking?! Strangely, “Army Of Me” from her second album “Post” has changed my mind. Since then, I have slowly become a convert, religiously buying each of her release from “Greatest Hits” onwards.

Bjork, is an acquired taste.

Last month, I had the same feeling when I first listened to her latest album “Volta”, the same feeling as I first listened to “Debut”. What was she thinking?! Is that music? After a few tries, I gave up listening to it just like some of her recent works. Then one day, I picked up her “Greatest Hits” again – an album that I enjoy and strongly recommend to those open minded ones – and got myself … “Bjork-ized”. “Volta” does not deviate from her previous works in as much as I thought it was. Though, the full bodied to-your-face kind of bass is out. The tracks are a lot cleaner. Lots of layers of electric sound – from ship horns to seagull to sound of water and wind to Chinese instruments to orchestral sound to down right unique drum beats. In fact, the more I listen to “Volta”, the more I get to appreciate the genius of music composition. Bjork has turned her voice from merely human voice into a musical instrument, truly blended into the song with many layers of her voice all combined as one. Her voice is so full of emotion.

The opening track of “Volta” – “Earth Intruders” – starts off with powerful beats and ends with the different sound and pitch of the ship’s horns that only becomes apparent with the more powerful track “Declare Independence” towards the end. The duet track “The Dull Flame Of Desire” is a good example of how Bjork can turn something so simple and short into a full song. Below is the full lyrics of “The Dull Flame Of Desire”.

I love your eyes, my dear. Their splendid, sparkling fire. When suddenly you raise them so to cast a swift embracing glance. Like lightning flashing in the sky. But there’s a charm that is greater still. When my love’s eyes are lowered. When all is fired by passion’s kiss. And through the downcast lashes, I see the dull flame of desire – The Dull Flame of Desire by Bjork.

From the content point of view, “Volta” focuses much on internal emotion in an abstract manner. She writes about someone suffering from Pneumonia, suicide bomber, and my favorite, the powerful “Declare Independence” with lyrics as follows.

Justice. Start your own currency. Make your own stamp. Protect your language. Declare independence … Damn colonists. Ignore their patronizing. Tear off their blindfold. Open their eyes. Declare independence. Don’t let them do that to you.

Each release has earned Bjork – Icelander – an award of one sort or another. Her works often strikes me as an outcome of improvisation. It is chaotic to say the least. But to make something as chaotic as Bjork’s music into something so beautiful to listen to, there is only one person in the world who can do that.

Below is the opening track “Earth Intruders”. If you like it, try out “Innocence” as made by one of her fans.

Again, Bjork is an acquired taste. You either love it, or you don’t.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Prince’s 48th Album “Planet Earth” Sent A Middle Finger To “THE MAN”

The very first Prince fan I have come to know is my Dad. Amongst many things that my Dad and I have in common (oh gosh, my thinning hair), it is Prince’s “Purple Rain”. As I type this blog, my 72 years old dad is still hospitalized in Hong Kong hoping to return home tomorrow. Perhaps I shall pass him the last 3 studio albums of Prince to cheer him up since “Musicology”, “3121”, and “Planet Earth” have somewhat returned to Prince’s root.

As years pass by, I have met more and more Prince fans – very discreetly. After all, it is not like being a fan of Bon Jovi or Linkin Park that people proclaim in public. I often think that people who are fans of Prince are sort of weird in the unique genius way. For those who are fans of Prince, there seems to be a certain connection that transcends words. My Indonesia friend Andre – a Prince fan himself – got me the very-hard-to-get “Crystal Ball” album (3 CDs in one clear container) from US back in 1997. That added to … you may want to pay attention to this .. my twenty-two Prince album collection out of his 48 albums of studio, hits and compilations, and live recording. I don’t think there is another artist that comes close to Prince in terms of my shelf space occupancy.

Prince first made his number 1 US hit back in 1984 with “When Doves Cry” in his Purple Rain era. It was not until 1994 when his gained a UK number 1 with “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”. The early nineties was the time when Prince turned himself into a Symbol that the journalists “pronounced” as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince. In his album “Come”, he basically pronounced himself dead with a cover art of “Prince: 1958-1993” in front of a cemetery. So, Prince was dead and here came the Symbol. His 10th studio album released using this symbol (titled “Love Symbol”) is coincidentally both Cynthia and my favorite. That was before we met.

After a long struggle with the music industry, poor distribution and airplay, Prince in recent years has “resurrected” himself and started to distribute some of his albums using his name via different record companies. It is good news to me because you have no clue how hard it is for me to trace all his work.

No one can tell what the next Prince album is like. I think that is the essence of why some of us are so into his music. He is a genius as a composer, producer, and musician, expert in different types of instruments. He started his music career with pop funk, got heavier with more rock element, then he finally gave in to rap only to head towards jazz and instrumental in the early 2000. In his recent releases, he has mellowed down the experimental nature of his work and created something that perhaps appeal to the general public. “Planet Earth” has a good mix of funk and R&B and pop rock. I always enjoy Prince’s guitar solo and I am glad that lately, he plays it more prominently in his albums. I like the opening track “Planet Earth” – very powerful with a strong rock base. I can understand why people enjoy the smooth R&B “Mr. Goodnight”. My favorite has to be the funk track “Chelsea Rodgers”. That one bass line is used throughout the entire track of close to 6 minutes. If you notice, there is only one set of chords that are being played (Bb C and F). The song doesn’t have noticeable chorus but it is such fun to listen to. The ending track “Resolution” closes the album nicely – musically and lyrically.

Now, what does “Planet Earth” has to do with the ongoing discussion between one of my friends who believes that illegal music download is the way to revolutionize the music industry and I who believe that no one works for free and we have to pay for what we get (see previous blog)? Prince released “Planet Earth” in UK for free with the newspaper “The Mail” reaching 3 millions readers or rather listeners in one day. He practically earned himself a bigger sum (8 times over what he gets from his previous album) to a much wider audience. That was in time for his UK tour. And he screwed the music record company and retailers big time. Something that my friend is glad to hear. For those are interested, here is the link to the news from Time.com.

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Hard Rock & Metal Music Reviews

Untitled – Is This The End Of Korn?

Many see Korn as the “Father of Nu-Metal”, a band that has created and popularized the nu-metal genre since 1994. What is nu-metal you may ask? Linkin Park has enjoyed a commercial success with music of this genre and I am sure many of you have heard a track or two from them occasionally on the radio. There are many reasons to love Korn. For me, I enjoy the guitar riffs that form the foundation of this “Korn sound”. I enjoy the lyrics that are abstractly dark – something I can certainly relate and in some ways, it is similar to my own lyrics writing style. Korn’s front-man Jonathan Davis has an unique voice and the bassist Fieldy adds much power and energy to the music. Korn likes to at times involve fans in designing their album art as well as giving free and unscheduled concerts to please them. I appreciate the effort of Korn reaching out to the fans.

After the departure of Head – one of the two guitarists of the band – Korn is never the same. The combo of the guitarists Head and Munky is what defines this “Korn sound”. In their last studio album, the looped in the famous production team “The Matrix” (who produced albums for Avril Lavigne, Liz Phair, Shakira, Hilary Duff, and etc … the combination of Korn and “The Matrix” is nothing but weird) to make some of their tracks more radio friendly. They did the same for this “Untitled” album.

I like to listen to an album with a context – a path of discovery. By reading the fine prints in the album sleeve (yes, please buy original!) and reading what the Internet has to say about Korn’s “Untitled”, I learned that in making this new album, they have to do without their original drummer David Silveria as he was on hiatus from the band. Instead, there were three drummers involved in recording “Untitled”. It is kind of sad for the fans. First it was Head’s departure, then David’s hiatus. From first listen, “Untitled” is nothing like the classic Korn sound. It was frustrating to me. Then on second listen, I began to appreciate the new Korn sound – the nu-metal sound with the atmospheres. Not only that, I have started to to pay attention to the different drummer’s style and influence to the music. How often do you find an album that has three distinctive drummers on different tracks?

Initially, Terry Bozzio was announced to replace David Silveria for the recording of one studio album. Terry is a good drummer no doubt (check out the last track). But to me, he has somewhat changed what Korn sounds like. After recording of 7 songs, Terry left due to disagreement of terms leaving another drummer Brooks Wackerman and the front-man Jonathan Davis to finish the job (Jonathan Davis can drum?! Wow). Personally I prefer Brooks Wackerman’s style – a more faithful continuation of what Korn supposes to sound like. My favorite tracks of the album are “Hold On”, “Bitch We Got A Problem”, and “Evolution”. Hearing Jonathan Davis sings and drums “Bitch We Got A Problem” with the hook of “Which one, which one of you is into me? Which one, which one of me is into you?” is as though hearing Jonathan talking straight to me. Strange.

Is “Untitled” the end of Korn? I surely hope not. Fans will follow Korn to the end and I am one of them.

Below is the music video of the song “Evolution”. I think it is a pretty funny video on the decline of mankind. Enjoy.

Categories
J Pop Music Reviews

Love Psychedelico’s Golden Grapefruit – Almost Another Good Old Delico Album

There are many reasons why Love Psychedelico (or better known as Delico in Japan) is different from some of the typical J-pop artists. Vocalist and guitarist Kumi may not have the level of sex appeal like most of the J-pop female artists, the good thing is, she doesn’t have the typical high pitch voice nor the strong Japanese accent in terms of English pronunciation either. In fact, the voice of Kumi reminds me of Avril Lavigne in some bizarre way. The duo of Kumi and Naoki (who plays guitars, bass guitars, and keyboard) keep the sound of Love Psychedelico simple and memorable and there is a certain sense of honestly as compare to the tend-to-be overly produced J-pop albums. Their songs are often in half-English-half-Japanese with a few exceptions that are totally written in English. Cynthia does not listen to any CD from my J-pop collection except Love Psychedelico. If there is one song that may convert you into a Love Psychedelico fan, Last Smile would be it. Go on, click onto it and let it plays as a background music (a video created by a fan).

Love Psychedelico’s album line-up confuses the living crap out of me. Probably part of the sales strategy so that people like me will keep buying the albums. Their first album is titled as “The Greatest Hits”. At first I thought this band has quite a few productions beforehand but it doesn’t seem so. Their 2nd album is “Love Psychedelic Orchestra” while their 3rd album is … “Love Psychedelico III”. Finally came the 4th one “Early Times – The Best of Love Psychedelico”. So how does the 4th one relates to the 1st one? Turns out that the 4th one is their greatest hits for real. Almost. After I bought the album have I realised that it does come with 3 tracks that I did not own (“Fantastic World”, “Everyone, Everyone”, and “Rosy”). It is this kind of confusion that keeps me buying their album I guess.

After their “real” greatest hits album, Love Psychedelico released a live album titled “Live Psychedelico”. Again, why did I buy it? Okay, I am a huge fan and surprise, surprise … it does come with 1 track that I do not have – “Wasting”.

At first listen, I actually enjoyed “Golden Grapefruit” (thank God, finally an album title that doesn’t come with the word “Psychedelico” in any form). Then came the second last song “Everyone, Everyone”. Wait, I have heard of that before! Hasn’t it already been featured in the “real” greatest hits? Also, “Golden Grapefruit” does not come with a translated lyrics in Chinese like the rest.

Besides these two minor complains, “Golden Grapefruit” is yet another goold old Delico album. I enjoy the mellow songs of “Carnation” and “Sad Story” a lot. What stand out in this album are the tracks “Help!” and “Good Day, Celebration”. Both are infused with strong dance beat. Kind of refreshing away from their normal style. So yes, “Golden Grapefruit” is almost another good old Delico album with some level of progression.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Cracking The “Tori Amos – American Doll Posse” Code … Almost

I have almost gotten all of Tori Amos’s studio album except her first one – “Little Earthquakes (1992)”. I remember vividly where I was when I first heard of Tori Amos. Back in 1985 when compact disc first became popular, I have made a switch away from cassette format (the first CD I own is Dire Straits’s Brothers In Arms – one of the first albums to be directed in the CD market). However, as a student, the cost of a CD was too high for me to own everything that I liked. Besides, my mother’s constant nagging on the rate I acquired CD worked as a deterrence too. So I relied on the rental market back in HK to satisfy my needs, to sample the music, and to selectively purchase what I really liked.

Back then, I could not appreciate Tori Amos’s music. I think I even rented the album a second time to try it out. Just did not work for me. Interestingly, my sister Lora seemed to enjoy “Little Earthquakes”.

The one song that opened up my mind turns out to be nothing like any of the songs written by Tori Amos. “Professional Widow” released in 1996 is essentially a song of remix and dance beats that does not resemble her style of piano with the backing of a band. Since then, I have been a converted fan.

I don’t think Tori Amos is at all a mainstream artist. But those who love her music follow her career like a cult. Just how diverse is her work of music? Take a look at her collection “Tales Of A Librarian (2003)”. A 20-song set that was re-recorded because the potential was not fully realised in the original recording. This collection covers a wide range of topics such as metaphysics, epistemology, psychology, ethics, Christianity and Christian theology, political science, social problems and social services, folklore, linguistics, natural sciences, astronomy, animals, medicine and health, agriculture, home and family management, the arts, architecture, recreational and performing arts, collective biography, and the history of North America.

Some claim that her new album “American Doll Posse” is merely a concept album. Some think that her brief touch onto the topic of politics is unnecessary. Some comment that “American Doll Posse” is a mix of album materials and B-side stuffs. I beg to differ.

In “American Doll Posse”, Tori Amos has split herself in five rather distinct personae tackling the areas of beauty and love (Santa), the contradicting views of dark energy (Pip), all works of art in the forms of painting and literature (Clyde), objective documentations that challenge perception of the norm (Isabel), and finally the artist herself who laments the limited experience through finite human filter and hence the need to expand herself into different multiverse (Tori). Each persona takes onto her own set of songs and not only that, each comes with an individual blog site as well. A list of blog sites can be found at the bottom of this review.

At first listen, “American Doll Posse” (23 tracks totalled to 78 minutes of music) can be overwhelming. Layer to an album that is structured in 4 blocks of 5 to 6 songs are these 5 personae taking on their own set of songs (within this block structure). Suddenly, there are 2 added dimensions to the entire listening experience. You can (1) listen to the entire album in sequential order, or (2) treat this album as 4 sub-albums as suggested by the sleeve design, or (3) listen according to the personae of Santa, Pip, Clyde, Isabel, and Tori (click onto the picture on the left to see how I manage my play list manually). I have tried jumping the order of the album according to the persona and it is quite a brand new experience.

From the music viewpoint, Tori Amos adopt a classic rock sound blended with her piano track. “Bouncing Off Clouds” as showcased in the video-clip below is my favorite track of the album. It features her iconic Bosendorfer piano that she brings along whenever she performs live. Check out how she played both her Bosendorfer piano and an electric one at the same time at some parts of the song. It is amazing. If you are agreeable to “Bouncing Off Clouds”, I have the links of “Big Wheel”, “Father’s Son”, “Roosterspur Bridge”, and “Almost Rosey” for you.

The album comes with a DVD that contains a short video of her photo shooting session as well as a song “My Posse Can Do”. “My Posse Can Do” is a great song on its own. Too bad, it couldn’t be fitted into the album of 78 minutes.

I tend to be long-winded when it comes to artists who inspire my own music creation journey. Thanks for your patience and if you are already a Tori Amos fan, I bet you have got “American Doll Posse” the first day it was released.

Related Sites: Clyde’s blog site, Pip’s blog site, Isabel’s blog site, Santa’s blog site, and Tori’s blog site.

Categories
Hard Rock & Metal Music Reviews

Within Temptation’s The Heart Of Everything – Yet Another Powerful Delivery From The Netherlands Band

Not many of you may have heard of a symphonic rock band Within Temptation from the Netherlands as they are relatively quiet outside the European and Australian charts. Nevertheless, if you enjoy listening to Evanescence, Within Temptation may offer you a much better alternative in terms of consistent song delivery, richness of rock and metal sound supported by a good symphonic ambiance, and the voice of Sharon den Adel is much better than Amy Lee from Evanescence. Within Temptation may also be more accessible to general audience as compares to one of their “competitors” from the same country, After Forever. The new album from After Forever is inspiring though the sound is more leaning towards metal while the fourth album from Within Temptation sounds pretty much like their previous one “The Silent Force”. In fact, both Cynthia and I think that the tunes are more catchy in “The Silent Force”, which brings out the question: is their new album “The Heart Of Everything” worth checking out?

I have to admit that over these 10 years of music creation, Within Temptation – though only have four albums – has become more sophisticated in terms of sound and melody. And with such a progress, I was slightly taken aback when I first heard of this album’s first single “What Have You Done feat. Keith Caputo” that has such as strong resemblance to Evanescence’s debut single “Bring Me To Life” (two vocalists – male and female). Perhaps it is Within Temptation‘s strategy to break into the global market. Nevertheless, “What Have You Done feat. Keith Caputo” is a great song and I have included its music video below. If you like that song, don’t miss another of their single “Frozen”.

If you buy the original CD, it comes with an “Opendisc” technology that enables you to view and listen to the exclusive contents streamed to your computer via the Internet. It has a couple of live recordings (four in total) as well as 11 video clips from their previous albums. I value bands with vocalists who can sing live well and the lead vocalist of Within Temptation, Sharon den Adel, truly shines when she is out at stage.

I personally do enjoy listening to this new album “The Heart Of Everything”. Content-wise, the band draws some of the concepts from the Christian Theology. There are songs of constant conflict and sorrow, sin and forgiveness. suffering and hope. My favorite track of the album is “Hand Of Sorrow” that contains a stunningly memorable chorus with the following lyrics:

So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed.
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?
So many years have past, who are the noble and the wise?
Will all our sins be justified.

Talking about powerful tune of the chorus using the symphonic sound, the band even throws in a few Latin words inside “Our Solemn Hour”.

Sanctus Espiritus, redeem us from our solemn hour.
Sanctus Espiritus, insanity is all around us.
Sanctus Espiritus, is this what we deserve.
Can we break free from chains of never-ending agony?

Within Temptation does not belong to the genre that appeals to the general public. But if you are, you will probably add this group into your music collection by now. And don’t forget to check out their previous album “The Silence Force”. It contains great songs such as “Memories”, “Stand My Ground”, and “Angels”. The video of “Angels” is just beautiful, with a strong reference to good and evil.

Okay, I better put a stop in this blog. Or else I will keep on writing. Such a strong urge to do a write-up on their previous album.

Two weeks later after first drafting this blog: Okay, I cannot resist the temptation of sharing one of my favorite songs from their previous album. The song “Memories” is just beautiful. The video is beautifully filmed and the singer is beautiful in the video. If you find the song above too noisy for your liking, you may like this one better.

Categories
Country Folk & Jazz Music Reviews

Martina McBride’s Waking Up Laughing – Each Song Tells A Story Well

15 years of music career, 9 studio albums and a greatest hits compilation, country singer Martina McBride’s new album “Waking Up Laughing” is packed with songs that have beautiful lyrics showcasing her superb soprano voice. Some label her as the Celine Dion of country music and I like how she makes an effort in telling a story for every songs that she makes believe. If you pay attention on how she tackles each song vocally with a beginning, a middle, and an end, you may realize that her change in vocal register is smooth and well controlled – be it as just a whisper or at climax. Beautiful execution.

Part of the reason why I love country music is the subjects covered. In the song “Anyway”, she sings that even though whatever you build from scratch may crumble, dreams may never come true, hope may be lost, people whom you love dearly may walk away from you, prayers that may not be answered – just do it anyway. To me it is very motivating. As for “Love Land” – a poetic piece of work – the story begins with a girl having to marry a man because she was carrying his baby. It was not the fairy tale that she dreamt of but she really loves the guy. Then the baby did not make it to see the world and she kept blaming herself for all the mistakes she made in life …

For the longest time I blamed myself. Thought I was paying for my mistakes. But we tried again. Now we’re watchin’ him blow three candles out. He’s daddy’s little man. And only God could have planned. The steps I’ve taken. That led me to where I am. Love Land.

Another song “House Of A Thousand Dreams” spins the story from the wife’s perspective seeing her husband lost his job and the condition of their house has deteriorated since then. In her mind, she says …

My husband’s a good man. Gives all that he can. I know he thinks he’s let me down. I just want him and the children to be happy. It’s not always easy, but it’s all I dream about.

And from the little boy’s perspective …

My daddy’s a strong man. My momma, she loves him. And they love my brother and sister and me. Sometimes at night we lay out in the backyard. And take turns wishing on the first star we see.

Besides these three outstanding songs of my favorite, there are others that though painted with a grim situation (child sexual abuse), hope follows (“But when it rains, the past gets washed away, and then she smiles ’cause she knows in the end the world gets beautiful, beautiful again”). And of course, there are some that are so love overdosed (“Woke up in the middle of the night and saw you sleepin’. I was hoping that you were dreamin’ about me. Kissed your cheek and said I love you. You reached for me and then you mumbled, I love you too, is everything ok?”). Some have ideas that are just so obvious but yet with such an impact – if you are trying to find a reason to stay in a relationship, maybe it’s time to walk away.

Below is her live performance of the song “Anyway” at American Idol result show. Check out how her soprano voice rode the wave towards the end. I thought that sort of effort is only for live (especially that American Idol style of ending) but when I hear the recording, it is the exact same thing. Worth checking out if you don’t mind country music.

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Hip Hop R&B Music Reviews

Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad – Probably The Most Notable Pop R&B Album Of Lately

From the pop R&B artist who brought us the Nike endorsed upbeat single “S.O.S” and that heart wrenching yet beautifully written “Unfaithfull” comes a new album “Good Girl Gone Bad”. If you have not heard of the song “Unfaithful”, do click onto the link and check it out. It is hard to imagine that a 18 years old girl has the level of maturity to pull that one off. And Rihanna did that beautifully.

I have no idea where Barbados is (okay, I read that it is the most easterly island in the Caribbean and have obtained independence from UK in 1966) but Barbadian singer Rihanna has certainly made her home country proud with her charm and music.

What I love most about “Good Girl Gone Bad” is its strong opening. It is hard not to fall in love with the first five songs of the album at first listen. They are stylishly crafted and make you want to dance. If “Unfaithful” is my favorite track from her previous album “A Girl Like Me”, “Umbrella feat. JAY-Z” has to be the one in this album. In fact, I have never heard the word “umbrella” being sung with such a style. One time, I was out there at the Singapore Botanical Garden and there were two young girls singing happily with the hook from “Umbrella”. And that level of happiness is contagious. Soon I was having the song in my head. If you take a look at the lyrics from Rihanna’s official website, “Umbrella” is a song about two lovers who take an oath together and are determined to stick with one and other through thick and thin. Quite a meaningful song it is.

Out of the first five strong openings, Cynthia likes the fourth track “Breakin’ Dishes” a lot. I can certainly understand why. The beat is unique, the bass-line is powerful, and the melody is funky. As for me, the fifth track “Shut Up And Drive” (her second single after “Umbrella”) has a special place in my heart. “Shut Up And Drive” begins with a sampling from the 80’s rock band New Order’s “Blue Monday” and it sounds interesting to mix 80’s rock sound into today’s pop.

The problem of having such a strong opening in an album is how then to follow it through. The album could become tiring and old if the same style continues. Doing anything different may make it hard to follow the energy through. And perhaps that is why both Cynthia and I feel that the next two songs that are more mellow and with a pure R&B sound fall short of expectation. It is especially disappointing to me when “Hate That I Love You feat. Ne-Yo” (written by the same songwriter who wrote my favorite song “Unfaithful”) does not manage to rekindle the magic of “Unfaithful”.

Then comes the urban and reggae influenced “Sell Me Candy”, “Lemme Get That” (co-written by JAY-Z), and “Rehab” that are produced by Timbaland – the producer who created hit singles for Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, and Nelly Furtado – just to name a few. Out of these three songs that are produced by Timbaland, I enjoy “Rehab” the most. This mellow “Rehab” is co-written by Justin Timberlake and he sings the backing vocals for the song. Just beautiful.

What happens when you put JAY-Z and Ne-Yo together with Stargate as the production team? A powerful slow song with meaningful lyrics on humanity – “Question Existing”. And if Ne-Yo has somewhat disappointed me with that one song in the middle of the album, his work on the last slow track “Good Girl Gone Bad” has certainly fully redeemed himself (okay, that song in question is not that bad … the beat is pretty funky). What a way to close this 45 minutes album.

Perhaps for some, it is not a question of whether or not to get this album but should or should you not spend the extra money and get the Collector’s Limited Edition. This special edition comes with an entry pass for 2 to Powerhouse with a catch – for ladies only. But the good thing is that this pass works on weekends and weekends only (Fri/Sat before 11pm). This is way better than the entry pass to The Boiler Room from the Bon Jovi Lost Highway album that only works on weekdays. Entry pass aside, this special edition comes with an additional CD that contains over 78 minutes of 12 remixes including S.O.S. as well as two previously unreleased songs “Cry” and “Haunted” – both remixed by Steve Mac. Steve Mac’s work is probably my favorite amongst the rest of the remix teams. Though it is strange to hear the song “Umbrella” being spanned at a much faster speed, I can imagine those who enjoy disco and trance music may like this CD.

Below is the video clip of her first single “Umbrella”. If you like it, you may try out her second single my favorite “Shut Up And Dance” and Cynthia’s favorite “Breakin’ Dishes”.

Related Website: Rihanna’s Official Site.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Kelly Clarkson’s My December – Has She Found Her Own Style Finally?

When someone as popular as Kelly Clarkson releases an album, I really should come out with a review fast. Real fast, like on the same day. However, lately my life has turned busy so sorry guys for the delay. Nevertheless, Kelly Clarkson’s “My December” has jumped the queue of the coming soon list.

Big question to myself after listened to “My December” for a good number of times is: why didn’t Clarkson stick with her previous formula and release a popular but forgettable album? We all agree that her “Thankful” and “Breakaway” are both great album. Easy to the ears, great melody, but unfortunately easy to be forgotten too.

Another big shocking revelation to myself is that I thought I have heard all that pop rock has offered. Majority of my collection are from that genre. Then I realised one little detail from Clarkson’s 3rd album that makes me want to go back to my collection and to pay that extra attention again.

So what is that big shocking revelation? “My December” is predominantly a rock album with lots of electric guitar sound and drum and it sounds strange to me that except the first 10 seconds of so, Kelly Clarkson’s vocals fill the entire song literally from beginning till end. Hardly are there any gap for the instruments at all – be it as slow or fast songs. Not sure if it is just me, I found it strange. I am used to rock music having space for the guitar solos and so on. That usually makes the music more memorable, to me at least.

But that is not necessarily bad news. Because Kelly Clarkson has a great and versatile voice. And I can certainly see the footprint of her ex-boyfriend all over the entire album. In her 3rd album, Clarkson has decided to participate in the songwriting for all her songs. That makes this album more honest, more personal. This also makes “My December” one dimensional in terms of topic and some songs are outstanding while some are not really on par. The standard is varied.

I particularly like some of the more unusual songs from “My December”. Hands down to the last track “Irvine”, the real gem of the entire album. It is just her and the acoustic guitar with this slow song split into two parts having a 1 minute silence in between. This close to 9 minutes song captures Clarkson’s emotions well. Part one of “Irvine” is a song of desperation. Part two is a song of recovery with a hint of angst and musically it is mixed with the old record sound. This hidden track is called “Chivas”.

Other slow songs I love are “Sober” and “Maybe”. Both are beautifully composed and executed. I love the ambiance created by “Sober” and I love how “Maybe” starts with just acoustic guitar, and then drum, and finally the song explodes into a full rock ballad. Some may like the single “Never Again” – a fast rock song. My pick would be the more unusual “Haunted” and “Yeah”. The music of “Haunted” somehow reminds me of Evanescence.

So in total I did a count. I love 6 songs out of 13. Rumor says that the record company nearly can this album. Some may think that Clarkson has committed a career suicide. She defied the record company, fired her manager, and cancelled her tour due to disappointing sales. The real test is how many American Idol fans are going to stick by Clarkson after this change in music direction. Kelly Clarkson would have my full support had the quality of her songwriting was more consistent and to stay with one style – probably more of the acoustic type and let her vocal shines. As for her next album, if any, I think I will make some serious sampling before purchasing it. Not that I don’t love her voice. I just not sure if she will change her music direction again.

“My December” is not as forgettable compares to her other albums. It is short of a great album though it has some great songs sung by a great voice.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Missy Higgins’s “On A Clear Night” – Brilliance Voice Over Mediocre Music

It pains me much to write such a title because I have great respect to those who write the lyrics and music of all the songs in the album. Missy Higgins’s debut album “The Sound Of White” is brilliant and should not be missed. If you have not heard of her music, I strongly recommend “The Sound Of White” instead.

Australian singer songwriter Missy Higgins’s key selling point is her honey like mellow voice with a good texture and she has the right technique to control her voice. She may not have a big voice but she certainly has an unique one. That pretty much matches all the mellow songs of hers perfectly. If you are not familiar with Missy Higgins’s music, I urge you to check out the video clip of The Special Two. I have also found two live clips from her previous album as well – Scar and The Sound Of White.

“The Sound Of White” is very piano-driven while “On A Clear Night” is more band-driven. I often think that if the artist’s voice is unique enough, he or she can almost get away with mediocre music. It may be true in this case because while “On A Clear Night” may not have the same level of sparks as her debut, “On A Clear Night” is now certified nine times platinum and is one of the highest selling Australian albums of all time. It is quite an admirable achievement consider that Missy Higgins is originally an Indie singer from Melbourne (how many indie singers from non-US and non-UK countries are well known worldwide?).

There are some tracks from this album that I do enjoy such as “Sugarcane” and “Where I Stood”. Below is the video of “Where I Stood” and if you want more, try out “Steer” – her first single from “On A Clear Night”. On the record, I am still glad that Missy Higgins has released another good album that has added to my music collection. I just wish that it was as brilliant as her previous one.