• Moving away from here
  • The E.P. Roundup
  • Griffin House: Lost & Found
  • Patti Smith: Twelve
  • Bryan Ferry: Dylanesque
  • Trisha O'Keefe: Star Burns Brightest
  • Amanda Marshall: Everybody's Got A Story
  • Feist: The Reminder
  • Bear McCreary: Battlestar Galactica Season 2 (Score)
  • Amy Winehouse: Back to Black
  • Wednesday, November 23, 2005

    Glen Phillips: Winter Pays for Summer

    Just as Darius Rucker will always be Hootie to America, Glen Phillips will forever be "Toad" of Toad the Wet Sprocket fame. But, I'll be honest, I tihnk that's ok, because this guy has, in my opinion grown out of the "Toad the Wet Sprocket" shadow. Or, as much shadow as the band had.

    After seeing Glen Phillips, Kim Richey, and Griffin House, I was convinced to purchase this solo album of his first, mostly because there was no Richey or House albums available at Newbury Comics. And it was a good 12 dollar purchase.

    The lead off track, Duck and Cover does a great job of getting you into the album, and for the most part, setting the pace. It's a mostly upbeat, moving, enjoyable collection of 13 tracks.

    Released is a sweet sounding, emotion-provoking tune. The simplicity of his voice and guitar, and the minimal backing insturmentation draw you into the track something fierce.

    The closing track, Don't Need Anything, is a sweet and honest tune where he proclaims he "don't need anything that i don't have." For some reason, this track vaguely reminds me of Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These years." Except simpler. Just House and his Piano. Its really quite wonderful.

    In the end: This is a truly enjoyable album, and, as such, I think it will appeal to a vast amjority of people on one level or another. And he's a smaller artist, so he deserves some support. He's "teh r0x0r."

    On the web: You can get bootlegs of both Glen Phillips and his work with Richey/House at www.archive.org/audio .
    Glen Phillips | The Weekly Review Traveling Road Show

    Technorati Tagged: Glen Phillips | Toad the Wet Sprocket | archive.org

    Wednesday, November 16, 2005

    Madonna: Confessions on a Dance Floor

    I'll start simple: This is the biggest piece of shit of this decade.

    I'm not saying this for any other reason than that it is true.

    I was not impressed with the first single, "Hung Up." It has a mildly head bopping beat, in the same vane as that song they play behind that annoying SNL skit with Will Ferrell and the other guy as annoying clubbers. You don't want to, but you end up bopping.

    But I also know that not being impressed with the first track is NOT always indicative of the album's strength. Madonna has put out some good efforts in the past, and I gave ol' Esther a chance.

    And my insides have not yet stopped bleeding.

    The album is the kind of thing 17 year old eurotrash clubbers on Ecstacy would love. Or, rather, would have loved a few years back. Madonna is just a few years behind the curve on this one.

    I cannot and will not offer additional tracks to listen to. Its not worth time or the plastic the disc is pressed in.

    In the end: Some people will love this album. However, I'm hoping most of my more regular readers will believe what I say when I suggest you "put this straight in the microwave." This is a coaster.

    Wednesday, November 09, 2005

    The Essex Green: The Long Goodbye

    I picked this album up after seeing this group at the Paradise this past weekend. I enjoyed the use of less-than-average rock instruments, such as violins and eukalalie.

    Listening to the album brought me down a bit because it felt as though the band had more Rock(tm), more oomph live than on the album, but that doesn't mean its bad... just a bit mellow.

    The whole of the album has a certain 70s folk/rock/country feel, which they make work very well. While listening, there were points where I truly questioned when this album was made.

    The lead off track, By the Sea has a certain body shake-a-bility, with the singers sweet voice pulling you into a time warp. And the use of a flute-esque instrument is actually complimentary, not frivolous.

    I could walk through a few more songs, but the theme that would come up, again and again, would be how earily this sounds 70s-ish, but modern at the same time.

    Tracks to perk your ears up to include Southern States, Julia, Old Dominion (who doesn't like a banjo?), and Whetherman.

    In the end: Anyone who enjoyed that soft music of the 70s will adore this modern album. The experimenting with different instruments will turn some people on to it, but I know this kind of music just isnt for everyone. Its not offensive in any way, just soft... rather, mellow.

    On the web: Photos from their show at the Paradise back in November can be found in my fotki collection.

    Technorati Tagged: The Essex Green | Small Artists

    Tuesday, November 08, 2005

    Various Artists: The Matrix (Soundtrack)

    This one comes to us all the way from 1999. While watching "The Matrix Reloaded" this weekend on TBS, I remembered just how good the first Matrix's soundtrack was, and busted it out onto the iPod. It may be some of the finest musical / film pairings in movie history.

    To make a soundtrack out of music that already exists, you need to find trakcs that may mostly, but not completely, mesh with your desired emotional response. Things may be lost. Not on this album.

    Every track worked so perfectly in the first installment, you would almost think that the music had been tailor-made for the film.

    The Propellerheads' "Spybreak!" for the lobby scene fills in the sonic background so beautifully, damn near seamlessly, to create a nearly 4-minute scene that you cannot look away from.

    Rob Dougan's (aka Rob D) "Clubbed to Death" may not spark any thoughts on the title of it, but if I tell you it was the music playing behind the scenes while Morpheus & Neo walk by the woman in the red dress, you'll remember the music crystal clear. The beats almost seemed to match foot steps in such a perfect way.

    Meat Beat Manifesto's "Prime Audio Soup" played behind the scene where the camera pans around the telephone as they enter the matrix to visit the Oracle. The only real line that is in the song is "Set Me Free." Well-placed, again, perfect tempo.

    Rob Zombie's "Dragula" is almost a no-brainer for how it was used in the film -- the club scene at the beginning where Neo meets Trinity. Its the perfect underground club, heavy beats kinda tune. Using this almost feels like cheating. Almost.

    Rage Against the Machine's "Wake Up" plays at the end of the film and along with the first half of the credits. The title as well as some of the lyrics work excellently to convey the violent, revolutionary feeling that is meant to be conveyed by Neo.

    The rest of the album I really can't place in the film, and I know some did not actually make it into the film, but more importantly, the glaring hole in the soundtrack is Massive Attack's "Dissolved Girl," which is playing while Neo is half asleep running his news search.

    In the end: Do I have to even say? This is music/movie gold. You may not like the genres of music on this album, but once you've seen the movie, you can't help but love some, if not all, of the tracks.