America

1. Bella Cubana/El Manicero/Echale Salsita/Lagrimas Negras/Son de la Loma/

2. Comparsa/La Tarde/Quimbombo/El Fiel Enamorado/Felipe Blanco/El Manicero

3. Quiereme Mucho/Jarabe Tapatio/La Colegiala/Moliendo Cafe/La Paloma/La C

4. Ave Maria Lola/Ud. Abuso/El Africano/La Cruz de Palo Bonito/La Batea/Ay

5. Flor de la Canela/Dos Gardenias/Blancas Margaritas/La Jardinera/La Boye

America,Juan Pablo Torres,Noel,Latin,Tropical

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Average customer rating: Not a favorite Something new I like, finally Great Stuff - Impressive Guitar Work icky is right The Return of the Vampire Orphans!!!

Icky Thump The White Stripes Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Garage Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Blues Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Easy Tiger Sky Blue Sky Era Vulgaris Zeitgeist Favourite Worst Nightmare ASIN: B000OYC3J8 Release Date: 2007-06-19

Tracks:

1. Icky Thump
2. You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)
3. 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues
4. Conquest
5. Bone Broke
6. Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn
7. St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air)
8. Little Cream Soda
9. Rag And Bone
10. I'm Slowly Turning Into You
11. A Martyr For My Love For You
12. Catch Hell Blues
13. Effect and Cause

Amazon.com

Bagpipes, a song written as the soundtrack to a Michel Gondry music video, Patti Page's musical shadow, and Jack and Meg co-narrating a scavenger's rummages: It must be time for Icky Thump, the many-flavored riposte to 2006's Get Behind Me Satan. The duo starts big with the title track--Jack's fast-tumbling, falsetto-tinged lyrics jagging on hyper keyboard-sounding segues and Meg's pounding drums. They rarely shy from an idea, invoking acoustic Bob Dylan to frame "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues," but interjecting a series of distortion-laden guitar paroxysms for good measure. The end of Icky, on "Effect and Cause," is where Jack's trademark vocal warble and spare, quick acoustic strums meet Meg's single-minded beats. Everywhere on Icky giant riffs leap and shout, with Flamenco horns and those eerie bagpipes and rhythmic shifts and Jack's impatient vocal kinetics, marking new territories even as the White Stripes again populate them with vintage ideas. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Description

The White Stripes are back with the most bombastic album they've ever produced! While revealing the band's roots in American folk music, Icky Thump is an explosive, revolutionary assault that brings together garage rock, every blues style of the past 100 years, nouveau, and flamenco. This is truly a modern rock and roll masterpiece!

Customer Reviews:

Not a favorite.......2007-08-01

I really wanted to like this. Jack's fine. Meg needs more practice. Good vocals, better guitar, but very poor percussion/rhythm. I find myself skipping forward a lot, and then ejecting within minutes.

Something new I like, finally.......2007-07-31

These two keep getting better. I really think this is their best. If you've liked previous recordings give this a listen.

Great Stuff - Impressive Guitar Work.......2007-07-30

I'd been thinking of picking up a White Stripes CD for some time and finally got this one. I love it! Several songs have clear Led Zep influence (my favorite all time band). The things that Jack White does with his guitar are incredible.

icky is right.......2007-07-30

I only liked the first song. This CD just did not resonate with me like all their others. Maybe Jack should spend less time ragging on Detroit and more on writing.

The Return of the Vampire Orphans!!!.......2007-07-30

Hello World,
Get some sun and get some lessons you two. Get out and go for a hike or a fishing trip. You two "winners" look like vampire zombies, who's songs interchange with songs from before. My God, Romero will be calling any day now! Anywho, onto the music... nice hooks but overused chords might pay to get some lessons from "better" guitarists. Dont be so vein Jacko... the likes of Derek Trucks and Dan Auerbach should help ya out, maybe? And to Miss White, sexual frustration shouldn't lead to killing a bass drum sweetie. WE HEAR IT ALREADY! Maybe Janet Weiss could help ya out with that one huh? The White Stripes is an understatement!!!!! These two are "The Ivory Barcodes" huh now thats fitting!!!!!!!!!!
Enjoy Junk! (note:im nut rezpunsible fer n e mispellings)

Average customer rating: True to his classic sound Bottom line, it's a good CD. Disappointed :( Superb Got a mind full of good intentions and a mouth full of Raisinets

Planet Earth Prince Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | R&B | Styles | Music General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music Sony | Computers Brands | Computers Features | Electronics | Desktops | Monitors | Networking | Notebooks Similar Items: S.S.T./Brand New Orleans Libertad 3121 Absolute Garbage Zeitgeist ASIN: B000RMC7H0 Release Date: 2007-07-24

Tracks:

1. Planet Earth
2. Guitar
3. Somewhere Here On Earth
4. The One U Wanna C
5. Future Baby Mama
6. Mr. Goodnight
7. All The Midnights In The World
8. Chelsea Rodgers
9. Lion Of Judah
10. Resolution

Amazon.com

Because it would be un-Prince-like to release a new studio album without kicking up a little controversy first, the Artist Formerly Known As a Cool-Looking Symbol gave away copies of Planet Earth with a British news tabloid weeks before its U.S. release. Among the reasons he shouldn't have: nobody who catches wind of the peerless funk-rock-soul he lays out on these 10 tracks--least of all longtime fans--would think twice about shelling out for it. A big chunk of the appeal is that Prince finds his way back to his guitar here. The title track, a politically right-on-time environmental rant, steers him back toward "Purple Rain" territory, as does "Lion of Judah" ("Guitar," oddly, doesn't--it's more of a straight-up, shout-it-out modern rocker). And the flirty numbers are seriously flammable: "Somewhere Here on Earth" seduces with a crackly jazz vibe, while "Mr. Goodnight" gets friendly with a refined slip of rap. Coolest of all are two tracks at cross purposes-- "Chelsea Rodgers" fuses funk with disco until it's so far off the hook it's in a heap on the floor, and "All the Midnights in the World" paints a picture of artistic maturity through piano and lyrics that lean hard on positivity. There's an elegance to it that Prince fans, no strangers to pop music that's truly sublime, won't fail to appreciate. --Tammy La Gorce

Album Description

Simply put, Planet Earth is the album longtime Prince fans have been waiting for. Several cuts on this album revisit some of the classic Prince sound the captured fans all over the world and helped deem him an incomparable music icon. Superstar and legendary musician prince kicked off 2007 with a show stopping Super Bowls Half-time performance. Prince pulled out all the stops during the second most-watched super bowl broadcast ever. With an estimated 93.2 million viewers to entertain, Prince wasted no time showing off his stages powers and irrefutable guitar skills. He masterfully captured the attention and respect of music fans in general, while sending a message to long time Prince fans that he was ready to once again reign supreme.

Customer Reviews:

True to his classic sound.......2007-07-31

Prince has cleaned up his act. No naughty lyrics here. Just classic Prince melody. The guitar is back y'all!

Bottom line, it's a good CD........2007-07-31

Ever since Musicology, all of Prince's albums have either been considered his return to form or another disappointment. To me, it's just unfair to compare 2007 prince to 1985 prince.

He's released so many albums and has so much material still locked up in the vault, you can't blame the guy for running low on ideas. All of the past greats still recording, from Paul McCartney to Stevie Wonder, aren't even coming close to their primes.

So instead of using the "Purple Rain was 5 stars, so Planet Earth gets 3" approach, I chose to judge it for what it is. All 10 songs are iPod worthy, and like 3121 and Musicology, this one has a couple truly Prince-calibur tracks mixed in. Some complain about the bad pacing, but this format makes you want to listen all the way through and gives the feeling of a true album, instead of a collection of songs.

A lot of reviewers will tell you simply to listen to his past work instead, but true fans can appreciate this just as a fresh Prince album that's among the best of the year and can be listened to front to back.

Disappointed :(.......2007-07-31

Like another reviewer mentioned, due to critical praises I expected a lot more from Prince's latest CD, but was let down. I like a couple of the songs, but I'm not crazy about them, which for a crazy Prince fan like me, is a big downer. Oh well, thankfully I have all his previous other great stuff to listen to (which I'm doing right now).

Superb.......2007-07-30

This is the best over-all album I've heard of Prince since his ground-breaking 'Purple Rain' quite a few years ago. From the title of the album, I thought it would be an earth theme package but it's anything but - although the title song is a great piece of work in itself. Something on this album for everyone. Some ballads, others racier tunes. Extreme good orchestra rifts with piano, guitars and sax. Any of these selections could be a hit and almost made for FM radio. My favorite album of the year so far.

Got a mind full of good intentions and a mouth full of Raisinets.......2007-07-30

Prior to "Planet Earth," the last Prince album I can say I liked was "Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic." The last two ("3121" and "Musicology") - though obviously both commercial comebacks - did next to nothing for me. They were just more additions to the growing list of disjointed, thrown-together sub-par works that Prince began releasing back in '94 with "Come" (though not including every album after that, just that the good ones were less and less frequent). I distinctly remember how distressing it was for an artist who was responsible for such a long line of carefully crafted albums to expect record buyers to be satisfied with willful sloppiness. Yeah, with "Come" (and others) he was hurrying to get out of his Warner's contract - but all these years after the fact, what matters is the music and not his fued with the label. I continue to maintain that he hasn't released a truly great album since 1992's 'Symbol' album (and even that one was flawed, i.e. Tony M was still on board). And I still say that "The Truth" (i.e. disc 4 of "Crystal Ball") is the closest he's come to that greatness in the years since.

All that said, I'll reiterate: I like this new album. It turned out to be a nice surprise - not a major return to form, but a mostly consistently enjoyable collection of new songs. Are they all new? It's hard to say - I do have trouble believing all the musicians who are credited in the album's sparse (nearly non-existant, truth be told) liner notes turned up for recent sessions. Some of this music was quite possibly in the can for many years - the wildly varying tone, and overall sound, throughout the album supports this idea. Before delving into a song-by-song look, I'll summarize my overall feelings. The focus here seems to be tight, concise pop songwriting. Prince used to break boundaries and take chances with song form, but since those days seem long gone I'm satisfied to hear relatively straightforward songs containing strong melodies and memorable hooks. It's far preferable to the aimlessness of recent sludge like "3121" and "Musicology." I also like hearing so many guitar solos - much more than anything since "Chaos and Disorder" way back in 1995. Throughout "Planet Earth," there are lots of little musical surprises and quirks - unexpected chord changes, unpredictable melodic twists, unusual backing vocal arrangements. No, it's not "Lovesexy" revisited by any means, but it keeps the listener from being bored to tears (like the last couple of albums did).

To be more specific, take the opening - and also title - track. On a musical level, "Planet Earth" sounds very much to me like the Prince of old. The plaintive - though highly dramatic - verses that give way to swelling choruses, ultimately climaxing with a passionate guitar solo: it's a full-fledged epic Prince track (bold move to open the record with what sounds like a big finish). The piano/synth/backing-vocals section midway through sounds the vintage late-80s era. Lyrically, I'm less enthusiastic. Prince didn't used to be so literal when tackling "big issues." Here - not surprisingly, given the title - he deals mainly with the fragility of our ecosystem. Sorry, but no celebrity can escape the hypocrisy charge when lamenting the mistreatment of the atmosphere while simultaneously boasting of private jets traveling the four corners of the globe. Prince, how big is your carbon footprint? In the final verse, he sings about sending off young soldiers to fight a war, asking "If they're blessed to make it home, will they still be poor?" I'm not exactly sure what he's implying about the financial status of the armed forces, but I am a bit confused about something: in this song, and later in the album, the lyrics do get a tad bit political. I was under the impression that Jehovah's Witnesses remain strictly apolitical. How can he include this type of subject matter without violating that belief? I'm not taking any shots at his religion, I'm just genuinely curious about this seeming contradiction.

"Guitar" takes us back to mid-90s NPG, "Undertaker" style. I wouldn't be surprised if that's Michael B kicking it on this rock track. Many have mentioned it - and 'I will follow' their lead (get it?) - the main riff sounds like a certain early U2 song. Once you accept that, the song is a fun rocker with some good solos and a light-hearted lyric (what a relief after the pretentions of the first song's message).

"Somewhere Here On Earth" starts off with a hokey 'scratchy record' sound, apparently signaling it's 'old school' balladry. There's also a bit of cringe-worthiness in the lyric, "In this digital age, you could just page me/I know it's the rage." Um, really? I don't know many people who still carry around pagers - but I guess "You could just text me" didn't rhyme as well. Or it could suggest this song's been in the vault for a few years. That wouldn't be a stretch, as it sounds like it could've been on just about any album from "Around the World In a Day" onward - which I mean in the best way: it's a very good falsetto ballad in the classic Prince mold. A tad overlong, though, at nearly 6 minutes, as no new ideas are introduced to justify the length.

Things get even better with "The One U Wanna C" - a straight-ahead pop tune with a subtle, yet comfortable, countryish twang. Again, this sounds so unlike anything Prince has done in years I can't help but wonder if he pulled it out of the vault. As lightweight as it is, I love everything about it - except for the line "I ain't trying to be a hater" (which is the first of several instances of Prince forcing some 'modern' slang into his lyrics). I do like that he sings "I come like thunder" and "If u wanna get creamy" because it proves that the JW's didn't shut down the innuendo completely.

Uh-oh -- Prince gets all lover-man in "Future Baby Mama" -- and there's another (obvious) example of that 'modern' slang. Building a song around the phrase "baby mama" wasn't a great idea, even if he did break out the Linn for this one (which isn't all that exciting anyway - he was trying to evoke the old days in the exact same way back on "Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic" back in '99!). Still, it ain't an entirely unpleasant sounding song, but it feels very out of place in context of the four songs that preceded it. Maybe the course will be corrected shortly...

...in a word, no. "Mr. Goodnight" sounds like it could've been on ANY "Emancipation"-onward album. It's a sort-of rap song, and I hoped he was done with that kind of thing. Suddenly the vibe of the album has been completely altered, and necessarily in a good way. Not that I don't love the funky R&B that has been Prince's bread and butter his entire career - I most certainly do. But this generic-sounding stuff evokes "New Power Soul" more than "Sign O the Times"...or even "Diamonds & Pearls" for that matter. In fact, songs like "Come On" and "Shoo-Be-Do" from that 1998 disappointment KILL this "Mr. Goodnight" bit of indulgence. Oh well, at least it DOES have the funniest food reference in a Prince song since the immortal "Cap'n Crunch with soy milk."

"All the Midnights In the World" - short, but oh so sweet. My favorite track, and it clocks in at just 2 minutes, 21 seconds. THIS is classic Prince pop: idiosyncratic lyrics, melodically inventive, captivating vocal performance. Can this possibly be a new song? Or is this some lost "Dream Factory"-era track? It's so fantastic I can't really explain it. Who but Prince would include a reference to Zuzu's pedals from "It's a Wonderful Life"? "Amethyst and rubies, crystals and black pearls/I'd trade them all just to spend with you/All the midnights in the world." I don't usually use words like splendiferous, but it truly applies to this gem of a song.

Nowhere to go but down, I guess, after such a natural high - but "Chelsea Rogers" is actually a pretty entertaining dance track nonetheless. It's a funky disco-style song, sung along with a husky-voiced woman (reminded me of Mavis right at the beginning). It doesn't really DO all that much in nearly 6 minutes (one of only three tracks that push past 5 minutes). It's about the same length as the title track, yet unlike that well-structured epic, it wears out it's welcome after the halfway point. I haven't really bothered to figure out if the lyrics, which apparently concern a real-life fashion model, tell a coherent story.

"Lion Of Judah" brings it back to guitar-oriented rock. It's grown on me over repeated listenings, though I'm not sure what he's getting at in the lyrics. Sure sounds like something was on his mind though. A failed relationship, it would seem - one that he didn't want to end, and felt ended in the midst of miscommunication...leaving him seeking some sort of revenge? I don't know really, but I like the guitar playing.

"Resolution" - bouncy up-tempo pop, kinda like a less corny "Graffiti Bridge." Also kinda like the opening track: I like it musically, I'm less wild about the lyrics. It's actually a good bookend - both songs tackle "big issues," albeit in a clumsy way. I really like the melody, the simple arrangement, and especially the backing vocals. But spelling out the world's problems in less than four minutes is a tough order for anyone. Actually, in the final verse ("Love is like a circle, no beginning and no end..") he has the right idea - keep it a bit vague, rather than trying to specifically explain the "main problem" with war (that no one ever wins) and with people (that they never do what they say). In fact, his reasoning is incorrect in both cases, so why bother trying to cover so much ground in one song? Anyway, the lyrics are just too dopey-hippy for me to take seriously - I still enjoy the heck out of the song on a musical/performance level.

I've been listening to the album as I write this. I really have to say: the highest praise I can offer is that every time it ends, I feel like starting it up and listening all over again. I haven't felt that way about a Prince album in far too long. Not because it stands as a truly classic Prince album, but because it's the most tuneful and entertaining album he has released in ten years. And, of course, there's that track 7 that brings joy everytime it rolls around.

Average customer rating: Dissapointment reigns supreme! Not bad, but Iha and Darcy are clearly missing A good album. The Pumpkins are back! I feel used and lied to

Zeitgeist Smashing Pumpkins Manufacturer: Martha's Music / Reprise ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Icky Thump Libertad Our Love to Admire Year Zero Era Vulgaris ASIN: B000OQF6N6 Release Date: 2007-07-10

Tracks:

1. Doomsday Clock
2. 7 Shades of Black
3. Bleeding the Orchid
4. That¹s the Way (my Love is)
5. Tarantula
6. Starz
7. United States
8. Neverlost
9. Bring the Light
10. (Come on) Let¹s Go!
11. For God and Country
12. Pomp and Circumstances

Amazon.com

Inside the buzzing hive of Smashing Pumpkins' guitars is clearly where bandleader Billy Corgan feels most comfortable. So, after a seven-year hiatus for the short-lived group Zwan and his surprisingly sunny 2005 solo album, Corgan has revived the Pumpkins in all the six-string-spattered shades of emotional gray that made them one of the greatest bands of the alt-rock era. Longtime drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, along with famed boardsmiths Roy Thomas Baker and Terry Date as well as Corgan himself coproduced. Chamberlin also supports mountainous layers of guitar with his fiercest playing. California musicians Ginger Reyes (bass) and Jeff Schroeder (guitar) complete a version of the band dedicated to early bare-knuckled form, with a few exceptions: Corgan's grown into a more powerful wordsmith and his lengthy guitar solo explorations of yore are replaced with a trim, barbed textural approach that's ultimately more vicious. That is, until the centerpiece "United States" stretches into an epic punk-metal-informed sibling of Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun," with Corgan's strings singing like explosions and twisting metal as he warbles about revolution. Much of this album conjures literal and sonic visions of apocalypse, but there's grace, too, in the blithe grind of the hopeful "That's the Way (My Love Is)" and the melodic "Neverlost." Overall, Corgan's captivating effort to mine both the spirit of these turbulent times and the soul of his defining band is a smashing success. --Ted Drozdowski

Album Description

The Smashing Pumpkins are back! After seven years, the acclaimed Pumpkins have returned with Zeitgeist. Featuring the single "Tarantula," this new sound is not to be missed.

Customer Reviews:

Dissapointment reigns supreme!.......2007-07-31

Woah. When I heard Corgan was bringing the pumpkins name back from the dead for another album I was quite worried. The worry proved correct. Where the hell have the classic melodies gone? Remember the chorus to "Cherub Rock"? Remember the riff from "Zero"?
I listened to this with no cynicism, I gave it a good shot. I've had it for at least a month now. I think it's a huge dissapointment. There's SO much more to Billy than what is presented on this album. I rank Siamese Dream in my top albums of all time list. That album meant so much to me when it was released and still does. This album doesn't make me feel much at all.
It's more a sad feeling than annoyance. I understand how hard it has probably been for Billy to try and sort this all out.
I give Jimmy one star for his drumming which is and will ALWAYS be sensational no matter what he is playing along with. I give Billy one star for the amount of emotional effort that has probably been invested in the last couple years of getting this back together. I don't really like any of the tracks. None of them move me at all.
I really believe that Billy should have shut the Pumpkins down after Mellon Collie. It would have been hard for us fans but he would have cemented himself in history as someone who never compromised.
This may sound very VERY lame but ever since he shaved his head, things have been very different :P

Not bad, but Iha and Darcy are clearly missing.......2007-07-31

I'm a huge pumpkins fan, so of course I was eager to get their latest record. It definitely has some rocking riffs (Billy and Jimmy know how to do that!) but I feel like overall most of the songs are more atonal and purely rhythmic and lack the roundness and fullness of say Mellon Collie or Siamese Dream. It's alsmost as if not having James Iha and Darcy is limiting the music--even though Corgan was always the major creative influence--when it's just Billy and Jimmy, it sounds like, well just Billy and Jimmy. Worth picking up if you're a fan, but I didn't hear anything that makes me think "this is up there with my other favorite sp songs".

A good album........2007-07-30

With Zeitgeist, frontman Billy Corgan, along with drummer Jimmy Chamberlin have successfully reformed the Smashing Pumpkins and revitalized the band after seven years of silence. Despite several other projects, it seems the Pumpkins have been and always will be this duo's best artistic outlet.

As a pumpkin fan of many years, I was at first a little skeptical of a new album to be released without guitarist James Iha and Bassist D'arcy Wretzky. I know there are rumors that those two never had much of a role on any albums, but it still seemed incomplete to go on without them. However, after listening to the album several times, I must admit that the band has proven they can still make good music without all four original members.

Zeitgeist comes on strong and rocks hard throughout most of the record, proving that not only are the Pumpkins still capable of making good music, but can still rock, even into their 40's. Zeitgeist, a nostalgic record, largely rehashes (albeit a in a much sunnier fashion) the past.

Billy delivers bone-crushing walls of guitar sounding similar to the likes of Pumpkin classics Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness, as well as screeching guitar solos harkening back to the neo-psychedelic sounds that made Gish great. Jimmy pounds the heck out of the drums in manic fashion, giving the album a raw, untouched feel.

Production is approached differently than on previous albums. Corgan's voice seems to float above the music, and in places is strangely chorused (with itself?). Jimmy's drumming is front and center, sometimes does not blend as well with the music as it could.

There are moments that will quickly bring the listener back to the Pumpkins familiar mid-90's territory such as the hard hitting numbers "Doomsday Clock," "7 Shades of Black," "Tarantula," "Bring the Light," and "(Come On) Let's Go."

"Bleeding the Orchid," a dark, catchy track is reminiscent of a sound somewhere between "Adore" and "Machina."

"That's the Way (My Love is)," "Starz," "Neverlost" and "Pomp and Circumstances" are well-done mid-range rockers that are closer to the sound found on Zwan and Billy's solo record.

One difference with Zeitgeist, and perhaps in an attempt to stay relevant, is that the band takes on some political issues. Even the artwork indicates early on that this album has something to say. On the epic, standout 10-minute long rocker "United States," Billy calls for revolution, for change and challenges political apathy with the ironic statement "I don't know what I believe, but if I feel safe, what do I need?" In the pop number "For God and Country" Billy questions patriotism and fighting for a country under God. Coming from a band that mostly wrote songs about the inner struggle with all of it's associated emotions and search for meaning in a sometimes-hard life, it is a bit odd to hear a less timeless theme such as politics come forth.

What is missing on this record are the more somber, more mellow songs, which in the past have been a huge element of the pumpkins repertoire. Also missing are the incredible combinations and buildups from of quiet-to-loud. While the new sound is definitely high-energy and aggressive, it is playing only on the heavy elements of the past, which are only part of the puzzle that defines the "Pumpkin sound."

The Pumpkins are not breaking any new ground with Zeitgeist, but they are also not tarnishing their legacy as a great band, which is more than can be said of many reunion efforts.

Overall, Zeitgeist is a good record. One of the best of the year, in fact, and it is a record that stands out from most of the popular modern rock of the moment. Most people will find the songs, aggressive edge, excellent guitar and drum more than appealing. Zeitgeist is not the Pumpkins' best, but it is definitely an album worth buying and listening to for Pumpkins fans old and new.

The Pumpkins are back!.......2007-07-29

I was pretty disappointed with their last album before their break-up, Machina. I felt it was a little over-indulgent and had a lot of hard edges without the poignant lyrics Corgan is known for. However, this album reminds me of Melon Collie. Only difference is... they were able to resist the urge to put every single diddy they did while hanging out in the studio on the album. It's a short (by Pumpkins standards) and intense album with the pretty melodies set to ripping guitars. It's a great CD. I feel like they're back.

I feel used and lied to.......2007-07-29

I loved the Smashing Pumpkins, and basically anything Billy Corgan touched up to even Machina. I can honestly say, they (he) changed my life with Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie, and all the b-sides and side projects in between. I remember him saying in a interview when the band finally broke up for good, "I just want to stop before people stop caring." After this album, I no longer care. Zwan, the solo album were forgivable, but this is disgraceful and a shameful to a new level. I tried to listen to this album over and over, thinking it will click or I'll get it, but no, there's very little magic left at all in Billy's creativity tank. For example:
"I'm gonna make it I'll take it
Like everybody else
Belle of the fawning
I'm yawning..."
It isn't just the lame lyrics, it's the way he sings it, the effects they use, the everything. This reminds me of when I found out Santa Clause wasn't real, or when Jordan came out of retirement. Nothing is so good or bad that it can last forever; he should have left it be (Lucas should have left Star Wars be), he's going to discredit all previous work if he doesn't stop after this album. The magic is gone, his true fans who were truly changed by him are looking (listening) for something that isn't there. I'M YAWNING

Average customer rating: A step to the right, and slightly backward My Two Cents Hoping for more Darker, more moving, Interpol scores again- Where's the bass?

Our Love to Admire Interpol Manufacturer: Capitol Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Icky Thump Zeitgeist An End Has a Start Favourite Worst Nightmare We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank ASIN: B000PY32CO Release Date: 2007-07-10

Tracks:

1. Pioneer To the Falls
2. No I In Threesome
3. The Scale
4. The Heinrich Maneuver
5. Mammoth
6. Pace Is the Trick
7. All Fired Up
8. Rest My Chemistry
9. Who Do You Think
10. Wrecking Ball
11. The Lighthouse

Amazon.com

Moving up to a major label has hardly lifted Interpol's spirits. This is a good thing. Even with the twisted Wild Kingdom album cover and bassist Carlos Dengler's unexpected Wild West makeover, on its third studio album the black-clad New York quartet still sounds inflexibly menacing, grasping tighter than ever to its doomy post-punk influences and delving further into frontman Paul Banks's emotional unrest. Everything sounds a little bigger and brighter, sure, but at their core songs like "Rest My Chemistry" and "Wrecking Ball" are heroically sinister, goaded on by prickly riffs and slow-bleeding rhythms. The group briefly jumps to life on the buzzing "Heinrich Manouver" and exhibits an unexpected dash of humor on "No I in Threesome," but it's the closing "Lighthouse" that best defines the set--a late-night lament that simply steals away into the dark. --Aidin Vaziri

Amazon.com

Our Love To Admire is at once unmistakably Interpol and undeniably new. The witty and perverse "No I In Threesome" is an upbeat ode to shaking up a staid relationship propelled by Carlos D's peerless bass melody while the tenderly observant "Pace Is the Trick" proves that the band are still the masters of the dramatic - check the painful pause right before the sinfully satisfying return of Sam's thundering drums and Daniel's ringing lead guitar. The band's impressively seductive evolution is obvious all over the record, but never more so than on tracks like "Mammoth," "Who Do You Think" and on the album's lyrical centerpiece, the ghostly "Rest My Chemistry." While Daniel is understandably proud of the song he cautions against reading too much autobiography into its lyrics. "We always leave the interpretation to the listener," he says. "I mean, you shouldn't watch a movie for the first time listening to the director's commentary!"

Our Love to Admire closes with "The Lighthouse," a funereal dirge that is among the most unexpected and memorable songs ever recorded by the band. Almost entirely percussion-free, the song is constructed around Daniel's mournful guitar and Paul's sparten lyrics. Not only is it one of their finest moments to date, it provides the album's most goose-bump inducing moment, the very same reflex shivers that make Interpol live shows such an exhilarating experience. As the very last song the band recorded for the album it was, they say, the hardest to play. The hypnotic guitar part was played on a 50-year-old guitar that had toxins on the strings, providing Daniel with a blistering and painful sensation in his fingers. The band weren't even sure the track would make it out of the studio, but once they heard Paul's remarkable vocals they were floored. The song - and the album - doesn't so much end as it bleeds to a close with a long, echoey coda filled with feedback and strings. A fittingly dramatic end to a stunning and emotional journey. Interpol is back, every bit as good as before but charged with a new spirit, a new direction, a new label and, most of all, a new confidence.

Interpol Photos

More from Interpol

Antics

Turn on the Bright Lights

The Black EP

Customer Reviews:

A step to the right, and slightly backward.......2007-07-30

Interpol is potentially the best band of the last decade. 'Turn on the Bright Lights' seems to be unanimously applauded, while even 'Antics' tends to divide fans in a deep way. While TOTBL was a moodier and perhaps more bold stroke, Antics showed a band who were able to refine their sound while still moving forward. OLTA is a step a little to the right and backward: it's safer and this time the attempt to refine the songwriting takes the band away from some of the things that made them great.

'Pioneer to the Falls' is one of Interpol's finest monents and a strong opener. However, the album takes a severe step in the wrong direction and never regains its footing. 'Wrecking Ball' is the only other really great addition to the Interpol catalogue, while 'Heinrich', Rest my Chemistry', 'Mammoth', and 'Pace is the Trick' are all good and do possess an Interpol-esque quality but miss the mark. For someone new to Interpol they will likely find this album good, however anybody familiar with Interpol's previous efforts will likely begin the wait for the fourth album (it will be great!).

The tone is there for a great Interpol album but it lacks in so many ways. Paul Banks brought his voice and he sounds great,pushing his voice in new directions; but the lyrics fail to grab. On previous efforts Banks' vague and ambiguous lyrics had a way of getting under your skin, here he often goes for clairty( 'Chemistry', 'No I in threesome' which is indeed a song about a threesome..how un-Interpol), however Interpol is at their best when they rely on the atmospheric sense of mystery they are able to create instrumentally and vocally. And when Banks does go for ambiguity he comes up a little short . Daniel Kessler seems to be Interpol's only member who showed up to have a serious go at it. Sam Fogarino, one of the best drummer's in alt/rock music today, is almost completely absent from the album with the exception of 'Pioneer'. Carlos is also barely present, although he does experiment with double bass. Overall Interpol just doesn't function as a band here with the rhythm section feeling particular absent. Also it sems Interpol tried the ever doomed task of "trying to please the old fans while winning over the rest of the world at the same time", which never works. Hopefully the members of Interpol will shake this one off and go back to making albums to please themselves first. Every band needs to fail, and this is it for Interpol. However, I do believe they will be back better than ever for the next album.

My Two Cents.......2007-07-30

It is my opinion that with Our Love to Admire Interpol has returned to the subtlety of Turn on the Bright Lights, and is a better album than Antics. I owned Bright Lights for almost a year after it came out before I really listened to the album and came to appreciate it. This was partly due to how different it was from all the other music on the radio, with its eccentric lyrics and subtle musicality. You really needed to pay attention while listening to value it (at least I did). It is now one of my all-time favorites.

When Antics was released, I listened to it the first time and felt like I "got it," meaning it was in a similar vein as Bright Lights but lacked the nuance that had rewarded close listening. It's a good album, but not great. The first time I heard the new album I wasn't blown away. But I did hear some of the seeds of what had made Bright Lights so remarkable, and I stuck with it. After listening to it for a few weeks, I have to say I think Our Love to Admire is a great album. I won't do a song by song thing, since that has already been done by other reviewers. Basically, the whole record is full of little surprises and clever touches that make listening to it sort of like trying to complete a puzzle or a crossword: you're listening to a song that you've heard a dozen times before when something pops out at you from the bass line or the percussion and totally changes the shape of the song. It is that kind of detail that makes Interpol such a great band, and it really comes through on this album.

Hoping for more.......2007-07-30

Having been a big fan of the first two albums, and seeing them a couple of times in concert, I eagerly anticipated the latest release from Interpol. However, I find my self disappointed with the new album, not so much because I feel it is a bad album, but because after listening to it 5 times, I would be hard pressed to talk of any songs that grabbed my attention. I couldn't even start to hum a few bars of anything on it, and that is just so not Interpol.

Pioneer to the Falls, The Heinrich Maneuver and Rest My Chemistry sound like they would have fit in nicely with either of their first two albums, but neither would have been stand outs. Not that they are bad songs, they just don't grab you and pull your soul into the song like a good portion of their previous work would do.

For now, Our Love to Admire will sit in the drawer. I'll probably go see them in concert when they swing by, in hopes that their stellar live show will turn my opinion of the new material. Until then I'll throw on Turn on the Bright Lights and enjoy Interpol's past brilliance.

Darker, more moving, Interpol scores again-.......2007-07-29

Interpol has hit the target again with this excellent new album. Darker than their first wonderful album, more intense than the more subdued second, 'Our Love to Admire' instantly pulls the listener in with the trademark Interpol sound, but this time with a more mysterious, more atmospheric feel. There is a maturity of sound here, full of interesting chord changes and surprising measure patterns that shows these boys are growing up. There are no filler songs here, but the 'Lighthouse', an especially haunting, moving piece, proves Interpol can indeed take their their clever, pithy, staccato sound and create something more melodic and with a deepness of feeling. Highly recommended, my favorite new album so far this year.

Where's the bass?.......2007-07-29

With Antics, I could see Interpol's progression, however, I feel that this third album is a step backward. The sound relies heavily upon the guitars, the lyrics' comprehensives is nearly absent (but then again, they usually are) and there are long semi-silent, slow portions of the album that make me press Skip Forward.

In comparison to the past two albums, I really think it falters. Turn on the Bright Lights was a great, moody, NYC album that really worked on a lot of levers. The tempo changed from song to song with some great power riffs and patches of silence soon followed by a booming bass and ghostly rhythm guitar sections.

Antics turned up the volume and tempo and was a great progresson from the first album. I really enjoyed seeing the band perform both albums at their shows in 2005.

This third album sounds like they tried to slow everything down again, but made it really boring, possibly because of over-processing the album. Everything sounds kind of washed out and not as crisp as past albums. What I miss the most is the bass and drum driven songs. Sure, they throw in some bass/drum solos, but you don't feel it in every song like you could in their past two albums, Antics in particular.

Average customer rating: Some of the best rock music of the last decade. good collection, so so bonus disc Absolutely the best. 4.8 out of 5 - Oh So Close! Misses the Mark

Absolute Garbage Garbage Manufacturer: Almo Sounds ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alternative Dance | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Garbage: Absolute Garbage Beauty & Crime We Are the Night Are You Listening Planet Earth ASIN: B000R9J3X4 Release Date: 2007-07-24

Tracks:

1. Vow
2. Queer
3. Only Happy When It Rains
4. Stupid Girl
5. Milk
6. #1 Crush
7. Push It
8. I Think I m Paranoid
9. Special
10. When I Grow Up
11. You Look So Fine
12. The World is Not Enough
13. Cherry Lips
14. Shut Your Mouth
15. Why Do You Love Me
16. Bleed Like Me
17. Tell Me Where It Hurts
18. It s All Over But The Crying
19. The World Is Not Enough (Unkle Remix)
20. When I Grow Up (Kagz Kooner Remix)
21. Special (Brothers In Rhythm Remix)
22. Breaking Up The Girl (Timo Mass Remix)
23. Milk (Massive Attack Remix)
24. Cherry Lips (Roger Sanchez Remix)
25. Androgyny (Felix Da Housecat Remix)
26. Queer (Rabbit In The Moon Remix)
27. Paranoid (Crystal Method Mix)
28. Stupid Girl (Todd Terry Remix)
29. You Look So Fine (Fun Lovin' Criminals Remix)
30. Push It (Boom Boom Satellites Remix)
31. Bad Boyfriend (Garbage Remix)

Amazon.com

Taking inspiration from little known British band Curve, the formula behind Garbage was simple enough: Industrial strength beats, grungy guitars and ice queen vocals. But in Scottish fireball Shirley Manson the three middle-aged studio whizzes from Wisconsin not only found a muse but a front woman whose infinite charisma and wicked sense of humor--as evidenced by the title of this greatest hits set--gave even No Doubt a solid run in the hits race. For a few years, the group ruled the charts with shiny metallic pop gems like "Queer," "Stupid Girl," and "Only Happy When It Rains," hampered only by some remedial lyrics and a penchant for cribbing other bands' melodies (see: The Pretenders aping "Special"). There's a discernible dip in quality midway through this collection, when at the turn of the millennium Garbage seemingly lost its fire, but at least the group's token James Bond theme, "The World Is Not Enough," is more Shirley Bassey than Sheena Easton. Fans who are already up do date with the originals will want to pick up this special edition set that features a bonus disc of remixes by some of the biggest players on the '90s electronic music scene, including Massive Attack, The Crystal Method, and Unkle. --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description

Four albums and seven Grammy® nominations later, Garbage has its first best of collection -- Absolute Garbage. Along with the new track Tell Me Where It Hurts, Absolute Garbage features 17 songs of extreme and intense emotion, from Stupid Girl, Queer and #1 Crush to Special, Bleed Like Me and Why Do You Love Me.

The special limited edition 2-CD set adds to the original CD a bonus disc of remixes by some of the world s most renowned DJs, including U.N.K.L.E., Massive Attack, Todd Terry, Crystal Method, Fun Lovin Criminals, and Felix Da Housecat.

Absolute Garbage offers the best of a band that, to quote a lyric from Queer, has been the strangest of the strange, the coolest of the cool.

Customer Reviews:

Some of the best rock music of the last decade........2007-07-31

"Absolute Garbage" is Garbage's greatest hits disc. This special edition adds a CD of remixes.

The first disc is a spectacular, single-disc summary of this extraordinary band. Nobody sounds like Garbage. You know a Garbage song the instant you hear it.

First, there's the amazing Miss Manson. She joins a very small club of female rock singers that rise effortlessly above their peers...we're talking Chrissie Hynde...and then that's pretty much it. She's that good.

The rest of the band are no less tremendous. MAN can they make a lot of glorious noise! So many of these songs have irresistible hooks, earth-shaking sonics, walls of guitars and synths...drums that come from, oh, I dunno, magma? They come from nowhere...from somewhere below...and then explode with a fierce inevitability. Check out the fireworks on "Rains" or "Push It" or even "When I Grow Up."

Layer on that these anthemic choruses and terrific melodies, and you have some of the best rock music of the last decade.

The disc does a good job summarizing their four albums, and as any true fan, I have my quibbles over song selection. But they are just that: quibbles. Of a fan. Of a particularly fussy fan.

The remixes are superfluous. Worse that that, they're just bad. Now don't get me wrong: I love remixes. They can make a good song more interesting, longer for added enjoyment, or they can present an overly familiar song in a fresh manner so you can like it all over again.

Yeah, well, none of that sort of stuff happens here.

For me, the second disc could have been a live disc, or more songs, like "Supervixen" or "Androgyny". Or the DVD of the videos. Which I also bought.

But as it stands, that one disc is pretty darn awesome. You cannot lose with songs like "Only Happy When It Rains" (how wonderful would it have been to have, say, the Hynde/Manson duet version from VH1 here?), "Stupid Girl", "Special", "Cherry Lips", "Bleed Like Me"...

I really hope they're not broken up for good. In this era of disposable pop, there simply isn't enough of this good stuff to go around.

good collection, so so bonus disc.......2007-07-29

the remastered sound and collection of essential songs from the first 2 garbage albums alone make this worthwhile. however, it is skimpy on 'beautifulgarbage' material ("androgyny" anyone?), and drops at least one if not 2 worthy inclusions from 'bleed like me.' the garbage mixes disc would be killer had they not edited almost every mix from its original length. the version of "#1 crush" on disc 1 is from 'romeo + juliet,' which is the nellee hooper remix. the original (from 'subhuman ["vow"]') is still a stray b-side. one day there will almost inevitably be remastered versions of the garbage albums, hopefully with a pertinent bonus disc with the full versions of the remixes from each album as well as matching b-sides, if not a garbage b-side collection unto itself. until then, this is the most up to date mastering of the songs included, shame the songs on disc 2 are edited, it could have been "absolute."

Absolutely the best........2007-07-29

Open the book and you will discover the wonders of Garbage; and then so ends the chapter when Garbage puts away their tools for electronica sounds and beats, and puts up the best they had since the beginning of 1995. We were blessed 11 years ago with sounds of sarcasm mixed in a bowl of angst and the voice topped the cake with melechonic soundscapes. You start off with the very first single off of their self-titled debut - "Vow", and end with the latest tear-jerker with a twist "It's All Over But The Crying". Not to mention the newest edition to Garbage's tracklist - the Chrissie Hynde inspired "Tell Me Where It Hurts". The songs sound remastered - Shirley's voice is clear as a whistle and the music sounds sharper than ever. Not to mention you also get the remix's most people haven't heard of.

All in all - if you are looking for the best of the best from Garbage, this CD is for you. It will make you reminisce the golden times when you were an angsty teen looking for a band or song that you related to. You can remember those times when you felt alone and the only thing you felt and heard at the time was the golden sound of Shirley crooning to you - as the boys (Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, Steve Marker) play the super-sonic sounds to mesh the vocals together.

For the everyday Garbage collecter: This album is for you. For the people who haven't heard of them: This is also the CD for you. Even to those who liked a few songs, this is also the CD to add to your collection. The money spent on this as well as the single and DVD is WELL worth the money. You will not regret the purchase. Garbage may have closed the chapter with this album - but do come back for Chapter 2 when Garbage comes back in 2008; it is ALWAYS worth the wait. As the book closes it's chapter, a new page emerges, and we will be blessed with more music from a band who paved the way for so many. A band who took their time making music for US. For the people who really needed that extra push - Garbage has helped the Alternative movement become glamorous, and we thank them each day for giving us the music that we so desperately love.

4.8 out of 5 - Oh So Close!.......2007-07-27

Just had to knock a few nanopoints off for not including other singles and hit tracks such as Androgyny, Run Baby Run, Sex Is Not The Enemy, and ESPECIALLY Breaking Up The Girl. But just a few nanopoints. Fact is, this is one of those "Not A Bad Track On It" CDs, and the quality of the tracks, the fine packaging and great liner notes, and the brilliant "Garbage Mixes" bonus disc are what makes this CD worth OWNING, rather than borrowing, ripping or stealing. Thanks, Garbage! I'll miss you, and hold out hope that we see you again for "Still More Garbage"! EDIT: I've been listening to the Mix CD all day today.... FANTASTIC!! Don't be cheap, drop the extra $2 for this "Special Edition" version, you will not regret it. More than worth it JUST for "Milk" remixed by Massive Attack. So hot.

Misses the Mark.......2007-07-26

I was really looking forward to this CD. I loved the first two Garbage CDs, but wasn't so keen on the last two so I was excited about hearing the mixes on this CD especially because the mixes were of some of my favorite songs. Unfortunately, I have heard better Garbage mixes elsewhere. As much as I hate to say it, this CD is a bit of a let down.

Average customer rating: Disappointment of the year. Awful Still Waiting for some killer Revolver?! Great Album from a Great Band A Solid 4-Star Album

Libertad Velvet Revolver Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Zeitgeist Icky Thump Carry On Era Vulgaris Black Rain ASIN: B000P29B62 Release Date: 2007-07-03

Tracks:

1. Let It Roll
2. She Mine
3. Get Out The Door
4. She Builds Quick Machines
5. The Last Fight
6. Pills, Demons & Etc.
7. American Man
8. Mary Mary
9. Just Sixteen
10. Can't Get It Out Of My Head
11. For A Brother
12. Spay
13. Gravedancer
14. Re-Evolution

Amazon.com

When they exploded out of the gates on their 2004 debut, Contraband, Velvet Revolver were met with as much diffidence as appreciation. After all, supergroups have tended to detonate as often as succeed, and with vocalist Scott Weiland, bassist Duff McKagan, and guitarist Slash all vying to keep the lit match away from the fuse, the odds against this band ever seeing album #2 were even money at best. Surprise! Not only have Velvet Revolver survived three years with unreckless abandon, this album blows the doors off its predecessor. Save a pair of disinfected ballads ("The Last Fight," "Gravedancer"), Libertad is all about hand-grenade chords, drag-racing riffs, and circus-tent choruses. The ageless McKagan and Slash continually gun for the disorderliness of their former band (most notably on the punkish opener "Let It Roll" and its lewd brother "Spay"), while Weiland sounds--knock on wood--positively clean and like a voice of boisterous renewal on tracks like "Mary Mary," "She Builds Quick Machines," and the melt-in-your-mouth cover of ELO's "Can't Get It Out of My Head." Obviously egos have been checked at the studio door, as Velvet Revolver have already exceeded their anticipated existence. And now that existence goes back on the clock, trying to outshine a second album that's head-and-shoulders better than the first. --Scott Holter

Customer Reviews:

Disappointment of the year........2007-07-31

This album just doesn't deliver. I've listened through the entire thing 3 times now, and it is a labor to not hit skip about halfway through any of the tracks. On Contraband, I disliked most of the singles but found several killer tracks that made the album very worthwhile. Tracks like "do it for the kids", "sucker train blues", "big machine", "headspace" and "you got no right" brought together the best elements of the contributing members' former bands and had terrific, driving melodies.
Libertad by contrast has nothing. It's as homogenized as radio rock can possibly be. I've yet to find a single memorable guitar riff - a first for any record slash has signed his name to. The melodies are muddy and flat, and the high treble studio polish kills any emotion that might be buried in there somewhere. By far the biggest disappointment of records released this year.I wish everyone would hurry up and get over their respective grudges and rejoin their previous bands. STP was getting washed up towards the end as well, but still nothing this bland had come from Weiland yet.

Awful.......2007-07-31

What can I say? THIS IS THE EXACT SAME ALBUM AS CONTRABAND! Instead of buying this album, you may as well just buy the FIRST one again! Could this music be anymore STOCK?

Just play any random Velvet Revolver song on a loop, and you'll have heard the first two albums.

Still Waiting for some killer Revolver?! .......2007-07-30

Ever since the stars aligned and this lineup came together. The expectations have been high for something really spectacular to come out. After listening to Libertad a few times I'm still waiting. Libertad follows a more focused direction in it's musically styling's than the debut. Many tunes have more of a punk vibe to them. Which doesn't do much for me. It's disappointing to me that nothing on Libertad really blows you away? Yes, nothing, not one tune! I think as each tune came on I was waiting for Slash to tear it up and it hasn't happened. Some aggressive in your face guitars, something with an edge to it. Something that will rock your socks off as you crank it up to 11! Something that will make you say, "GNR & STP who are they"? Libertad definitely doesn't do that. If "Contraband" left you hopping for something better. This will just leave you disappointed. With Audioslave dismantling and leaving a big "Supergroup" whole to fill. Velvet Revolver just can't put the pieces together to fill it. I'm sure this won't be a popular review here. That's why we all have our own opinions......

Great Album from a Great Band.......2007-07-30

This album is extremely well produced and has a great sound. Their first Album has nothing on this album, Libertad is very capable of satisfying those who have heard most of their previous album, Contraband. The single released before the whole album is not the best on the album. I find myself enjoying the whole album instead of released singles getting all the play time.

Overall, Great Album from a great Band

A Solid 4-Star Album.......2007-07-28

VR's Libertad is a solid hard-rock album from start to finish. I read a comment somewhere that "Libertad" feels like 1991 all over again. I agree... but so what? How can anybody expect anything else from these vets? It's a solid rockin' album, in which VR sounds less like GNR and a little more like STP. Scott's vocals stand out as more melodic than in VR's debut "Contraband", very reminiscent of STP. Slash's solos and riffs are not protagonistic but rather faint. Slash: we miss you. And that's 1 star down from 5 to 4.

Sidenote: Track 14 "Re-Evolution" just doesn't belong in any of VR's repertoire. It's clear they have no clue how to Country and they should stay away from that genre. But don't worry, it's kind of a bonus song that doesn't take out much from this overall very good album.

Average customer rating: Worth of 10 stars Talent by the Bucket! Clever, Cute, CREATIVE!! Absolutely Great!! As usual, Brad Paisely rules

5th Gear Brad Paisley Manufacturer: Arista ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music New Traditionalist | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Country | Styles | Music Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music Similar Items: Big Dog Daddy Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace Let It Go Lost Highway Time Well Wasted ASIN: B000PFUA9G Release Date: 2007-06-19

Tracks:

1. All I Wanted Was A Car
2. Ticks
3. Online
4. Letter To Me
5. I'm Still A Guy
6. Some Mistakes
7. It Did
8. Mr. Policeman
9. If Love Was A Plane
10. Oh Love Featuring Carrie Underwood
11. Better Than This
12. With You, Without You
13. Previously Featuring Kung Pao Buckaroos (Little Jimmy Dickens,
14. Bigger Fish To Fry Featuring Kung Pao Buckaroos (Little Jimmy Dickens,
15. When We All Get To Heaven
16. Throttleneck

Amazon.com

Like his friend Vince Gill, Brad Paisley has achieved the often-difficult feat of reconciling being an entertainer and world-class guitarist. He's proven that on four admirable albums, and 5th Gear follows in that vein. Certainly "Ticks," an airy, radio-friendly ditty, is not the true substance here. That comes with such superior fare as the insightful "All I Wanted Was a Car" and "Online," a sly satire of people's Web facades. While his duet with Carrie Underwood ("Oh Love") is a bit cut and dried, Paisley ably handles "Letter to Me," "It Did," and "Mr. Policeman," a 21st-century outrun-the-law tune. The closing hymn, "When We All Get to Heaven," and ripping instrumental "Throttleneck" are Paisley at his best. It's admirable that he invites his venerable buddies, Little Jimmy Dickens, George Jones, Vince Gill, and Bill Anderson, along with Dolly Parton, to join in, but the obligatory "Kung Pao Buckaroos" skit is wearing a bit thin. Better to feature them musically, the way he includes Dickens, Gill, and Anderson on "Bigger Fish to Fry." In a time where lines between county and pop are blurring far too much, it's comforting to know Paisley still realizes and respects the differences. --Rich Kienzle

Customer Reviews:

Worth of 10 stars.......2007-07-31

Brad Paisley has done it again....he has wowed his audience with another amazing album...

I felt that the song "Letter to Me" was written about me....I mean, I am a high school senior, and over half the things that were mentioned in the song have happened to me in my high school years....

My grandpa and my dad got a big kick out of the song "I'm Still a Guy"....I did too....amazing!

Talent by the Bucket!.......2007-07-31

This extremly talented country music star has a nitch for writing his own music, and singing it well.

Clever, Cute, CREATIVE!!.......2007-07-29

First - not typical trucks, drunken break-ups, sex-filled derogatory-ness!
I LOVED the "sneakiness" displayed in "Ticks" - - ;>)

Brad Paisley! You ROCK! aaaaaaand your Grandfather would be VERY tickled for you, Kim & Huck - - -

I thank God for you & your freshness!
JJ

Absolutely Great!!.......2007-07-29

This is a fantastic CD. My favorite is still Brad's "Mud on the Tires" but this is a close second. Brad Paisley has a great voice, great songs, and amazing guitar solos.

As usual, Brad Paisely rules.......2007-07-29

The cd is great as any other Brad's work so far. Great lyrics, great music... what can I say, For country lovers, this is a must. Regarding amazon service and delivery, as usual also, it was great and super fast. That's why I'm a regular customer.

Average customer rating: back water revival Fantastic Album Relaxing Music Not a traditional bluegrsss album, but worth listening to several times before judging Alison Krauss CD

A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection Alison Krauss Manufacturer: Rounder / UMGD ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music New Traditionalist | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music Traditional | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: The Calling Waking Up Laughing Not Too Late West Call Me Irresponsible ASIN: B000ND91SG Release Date: 2007-04-03

Tracks:

1. You're Just a Country Boy
2. Simple Love
3. Jacob's Dream
4. Away Down the River
5. Sawing on the Strings
6. Down to the River to Pray
7. Baby Mine
8. Molly Bán
9. How's the World Treating You (duet with James Taylor)
10. The Scarlet Tide
11. Whiskey Lullaby (duet with Brad Paisley)
12. You Will Be My Ain True Love
13. I Give You to His Heart
14. Get Me Through December
15. Missing You (duet with John Waite)
16. Lay Down Beside Me (previously unreleased duet with John Waite)

Amazon.com

A Hundred Miles or More carries the subtitle A Collection, and what a curious collection it is--cuts from soundtracks, side projects, and tribute albums, plus guest duets on other artists' albums and five previously unreleased tracks. In other words, this is a collection of Alison Krauss performances that have never appeared on an Alison Krauss album, though it holds together better than such a grab-bag approach might suggest. Highlights such as her duet with Brad Paisley on "Whiskey Lullaby" and her a cappella rendition of "Down to the River to Pray" from O Brother, Where Art Thou? will be familiar to most Krauss fans, though it's doubtful that many share her infatuation with retro rocker John Waite (with whom she revives his "Missing You" and duets on a cover of Don Williams's "Lay Down Beside Me."). Other projects represented range from Disney to the Chieftains to the Louvin Brothers (she duets with James Taylor on their "How's the World Treating You." There's minimal contribution from her Union Station band--making this a solo release by default--and little information to indicate whether the previously unreleased tracks were outtakes from earlier releases or recently recorded for this one. --Don McLeese

More Alison Krauss

Lonely Runs Both Ways

Live

Now That I've Found You: A Collection

Album Description

"A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection" is comprised of 16 tracks, highlighting Alison Krauss's career outside of her traditional releases with longtime band Union Station. The album features Krauss's collaboration with John Waite on the single "Missing You," as well as Krauss's contributions to film soundtracks, including the Oscar-nominated songs "The Scarlet Tide" and "You Will Be My Ain True Love," written for the motion picture "Cold Mountain," and "Down to the River to Pray" from the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Known for her collaborations, Krauss also includes several duets in the collection such as the 2003 hit with Brad Paisley, "Whiskey Lullaby," and her duet with James Taylor for the tribute album "Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers," "How's the World Treating You." The collection debuts five new songs: "You're Just a Country Boy," "Jacob's Dream," "Simple Love," "Lay Down Beside Me," and "Away Down the River," all of which feature Krauss as a producer.

Customer Reviews:

back water revival.......2007-07-31

I love her sweetness and clarity. She revisits gospel and olde tyme toe tappers and make you want to stomp your feet, get up and clap and say "Amen". I don't believe Alison Krauss could produce any thing that you wouldn't like. Sort of like Emmy Lou Harris. Just gifted.

Fantastic Album.......2007-07-23

I really liked the album especially "Missing You" with John Waite. Any fan of Alison will like this album.

Relaxing Music.......2007-07-18

This cd is wonderful. It is great to listen to in the car when you need something soft and relaxing. Alison Krauss has the voice of an angel. I highly recommend this cd.

Not a traditional bluegrsss album, but worth listening to several times before judging.......2007-07-17

Many remakes dot this album. Some very surprising collabrations. AK could have done very standard remakes, but instead reinvented many songs. I prefer Simple Love, which is not a remake, Sawing on Strings, a very traditional bluegrass song. These are two songs she is singing on her current tour with Union Station. She does not sing any of the duet songs on this album on her current tour.

Alison Krauss CD.......2007-07-15

Beautiful voice and great songs, but somewhat melancholy. You have to be in the right mood to listen to it.

Average customer rating: Hooray For Me More 'Being There' less 'Foxtrot' Love those VW ads... Simply just good music an experiment in refinement

Sky Blue Sky Wilco Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Alternative Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Country | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Icky Thump Easy Tiger New Moon The Reminder We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank ASIN: B000NVIGC0 Release Date: 2007-05-15

Tracks:

1. Either Way
2. You Are My Face
3. Impossible Germany
4. Sky Blue Sky
5. Side With the Seeds
6. Shake It Off
7. Please Be Patient With Me
8. Hate It Here
9. Leave Me (Like You Found Me)
10. Walken
11. What Light
12. On And On And On

Amazon.com

After their wild experimental streak of the past decade, Wilco's sixth studio album might feel like a bit of a comedown. Sky Blue Sky is mellow, moody, and uncharacteristically monotone, opening with a pleasant jangle and Jeff Tweedy singing a simple song: "Maybe the sun will shine today, the clouds will blow away." He doesn't even follow it up with a barbed punchline. Could it be that the restless Chicago band has settled back into its gentle Americana roots--or does this sudden mid-career reappraisal represent Wilco's gutsiest move yet? Mostly written in the studio by the full band, it's certainly the group's most cohesive album in ages, presenting a dense song cycle padded with intricate guitar work, brushed rhythms, and '70s soft-rock accents. In places it sounds like Wings ("Hate It Here"), in others Harry Nilsson ("Walken"), and in the middle it goes a bit Grateful Dead ("Shake It Off"). At the same time, there's a distinct sense of hearing a band finally at ease in its own skin. Sky Blue Sky represents the sound of Wilco finally pulling through its petulant adolescence. --Aidin Vaziri

Album Description

"Sky Blue Sky" has hints of early-seventies Southern California folk-rock sweetness in the harmonies. The album is filled with brash guitar solos that take songs like "You Are My Face" and "Shake It Off" in unexpected directions.

Customer Reviews:

Hooray For Me.......2007-07-29

I like Ghost and YHF fine, but I selfishly wished they would strip back their production to reveal the simple beauty of their songwriting, lyrics, and vocals. This is my album, and I love it. It's not the most terribly original thing, but it is very very pretty. Turns out someone in the band is even a good guitar player; I listened to the solo on the first cut several times, I find it tasteful and wonderful. Anyhoo, don't know if this album is better than the last two, it just happened to be more to my personal taste. Lucky me, I guess.

More 'Being There' less 'Foxtrot'.......2007-07-27

If you love Wilco, like I do, you will love this album. It is their most accessible album in over a decade. Summerteeth and Foxtrot rank as my favorites, but Ghost is my least favorite, and I'm glad this is a departure from that. Think A.M. and Being There, with a little more wisdom and professionalism.

I've grown to love this album.

Love those VW ads..........2007-07-25

Wilco is unquestionably one of the best bands of our time, and this is certainly worth a listen.

This is very different from Ghost / YHF in that the songs are much more direct, with less elaborate mixes / elusive lyrics than their prior two masterpieces. Sort of hearkens to Being There, but with less of an alt-country sound.

One of the best of 2007 - but not quite as good as at least this fan was expecting (check out Cassadega for the best to date this year).

Simply just good music.......2007-07-21

I know it's hip to scrutinize a band's intentions, personal backgrounds, blah blah blah, but whatever happened to just listening to the music? Yes, Wilco has been experimental, using dissonance and space to create compelling noise. This time, they wrote songs that could actually be played on the radio (the nerve!) and listened to while mowing the lawn (how dare Wilco make a fun record!). I am a Wilco fan from the beginning. First record, OK. Second, became a great American band. Third, tried too hard. Fourth, became pretentious to their success. Fifth, remained pretentious to their detriment. Sixth, made a very thoughtful, cool record. Remember when Radiohead made "The Bends" and we could all sing along? Then Thom Yourke decided he should change the world and use an Atari 2600 to write "songs"? Let's hope Tweedy realizes that his fans like to hear the great songs only Wilco can write.

an experiment in refinement.......2007-07-21

Wilco's incessant experimentation and growth between albums are instantly intriguing. Despite the fact that their work is often changing genres, it is always exciting. However, as is always the case, if you fell in love with Wilco because of the 'style' of one album or another, you might be disappointed here. The moody and sublime landmark 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,' with its amazing juxtapositions of griding guitars and harmonic acoustics, has evolved into 'Sky Blue Sky,' a more even keel work indicative of introspective, peaceful summer days. The earlier instrumental experimentation has, on 'Sky Blue Sky,' evolved into somewhat superficial and cliche solos.
This album is reflective in a way that no other Wilco album has been- it is somehow singular and introverted, as though Jeff Tweedy were singing only to himself.
Wilco's evolution is inevitable and admirable. It's the subtleties that I miss on this album- the storytelling, the raw experimentation.

This is, if nothing else, what Wilco sounds like all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Average customer rating: Worth It! I'm In Heaven When She Sings Enjoyable Americana Music Gets better with age great album

West Lucinda Williams Manufacturer: Lost Highway ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Alternative Folk | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Not Too Late Van Morrison At The Movies: Soundtrack Hits The Calling Freedom's Road A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection ASIN: B000LXHGFI Release Date: 2007-02-13

Tracks:

1. Are You Alright?
2. Mama You Sweet
3. Learning How To Live
4. Fancy Funeral
5. Unsuffer Me
6. Everything Has Changed
7. Come On
8. Where Is My Love?
9. Rescue
10. What If
11. Wrap My Head Around That
12. Words
13. West

Amazon.com

Though the arrangements stray from Lucinda Williams's motherlode blend of blues, country, and folk, West may well be her best album. It is easily her most musically adventurous, and often her most lyrically inspired. Williams's singing has never sounded better, from the aching tenderness of "Where Is My Love?" to the ravaged catharsis of "Unsuffer Me." New York producer Hal Willner, who has worked with artists such as Marianne Faithful and Lou Reed, enlists the support of eclectic progressives like guitarist Bill Frisell, keyboardist Bob Burger, and violinist Jenny Scheinman, along with harmonies from the Jayhawks' Gary Louris, to weave a subtly rich sonic tapestry. Much of the material was inspired by the death of Williams's beloved mother ("Mama You Sweet," "Fancy Funeral") and the bitter breakup of a relationship (the jagged-edged emasculation of "Come On," the repetitive incantation of "Wrap My Head Around That"), though "Are You Alright?," "Learning How to Live," and "Everything Has Changed" could reflect the aftermath of both. Other highlights include "Rescue," with a languid subtlety and ambient pulse reminiscent of Beth Orton, and the dreamy, wistful title track. Where Williams's music has long cut close to the bone, the best of West slices right through it. --Don McLeese

Lucinda Wiliams Photos

More Lucinda Williams

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

World Without Tears

Essence

Customer Reviews:

Worth It!.......2007-07-30

As with all Lucinda Williams...this CD really grows on you the more you listen to it. I really like it.

I'm In Heaven When She Sings.......2007-07-30

Lucinda Williams has done some amazing work over a long career and she just keeps getting better and better. To my ears West just about the best thing she has ever done. She doesn't rock out a lot which suits me fine, because you really get to appreciate her skill with words and hear that voice...aaahhhh what a voice!

Enjoyable Americana Music.......2007-07-24

I first heard cuts from this album, on the "Imus In The Morning" show, earlier this year. He has such a great ear for music, and I liked what I heard on his show. The album is very earthy, and soulful. Lucinda Williams is a powerful singer/songwriter, and "West" is the perfect showcase for her talent. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys soulful, Americana music.

Gets better with age.......2007-07-22

Simply put Lucinda just paints a sound and words that rings true. She as far the wide buyind audience is unknown, very underrated as trash female artits do their stuff.

great album.......2007-07-21

i really like this album. have a few LW songs in a few of mu alt country compilation cd's and have heard an album or two that other people owned. Happy to have one of my own. i think I picked a good one. Theres one or two songs on the album that are wierd to me and slightly grating, but overall i think that this is some of her best music.

Latin Music:

1. Amor En Llamas [Import]
2. Anasol
3. Arquitectura Efimera [Limited Edition] [Import]
4. Asi Canta Mexico, Vol. 3: Musica de Chiapas Oaxaca Y Guerrero
5. At the University of Puerto Rico [Live]
6. Back to the Mambo: Tribute to Machito
7. Carta a Mi Hijo
8. Cartas De Amor
9. Castigame [CD-single] [Import]
10. Chile Y Su Folklore V.2 [Import]

Latin Music

latin music

Latin Music

Da Hard Stop

Hiroko Shiraishi singt Richard Strauss Lieder

Janácek: String Quartets 1-2

Music: Purcell: Twelve Sonatas Of Three Parts / London Baroq

Iem [Import]

King of Crunk & Bme Recordings Present: Lil Scrappy & Trillville Chopped & Screwed [Explicit Lyrics]

Higher Ground

Island in the Sun [CD-single]

Kigatsukeba Anata [Limited Edition] [Import]

Honegger: Symphony No. 3 ("Liturgique"), etc.

Good News for People Who Love Bad News [DualDisc]

Infernal [Import]

I Try, Pt. 2 [CD-single] [Import]

Vivaldi: The Masterworks (Box Set)

Chicago