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double-happiness's groups (9)
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Reviews:
Eurythmics - Revenge - 09-Jun-09 08:05 AM
Excellent and now widely overlooked LP, with a wide range of tempo and styles. 'Revenge' has both commercial appeal and rock credibility. Many of the tracks sound good in their own right, but it also flows smoothly as an album. 'Let's Go!' is pure throwaway one-night-stand rock, yet other tracks like 'The Miracle Of Love' and 'Take Your Pain Away' are more tender and thoughtful.
Eurythmics started off as a New Wave / Synth Pop oddity, but with this album came of age and proved they could write memorable songs and take control in the studio.
Talking Heads - Fear Of Music - 20-Mar-09 07:58 AM
Their earlier quirky and intentionally naive punk pop albums '77' and 'More Songs About Buildings And Food' lyrically portrayed urban post-industrial life from a surrealist viewpoint, whilst utilising bare-bones melodies and instrumentation, however 'Fear Of Music' signalled a change of direction for the band and the coming of age of one of popular music's most distinctive and experimental ensembles.
The minimalist cover art is immediately suggestive of a dark and challenging sound, with a solid field of jet black hue embossed with a machined texture. The LP itself begins innocuously enough, with 'I Zimbra', nonsensical lyrics in a made-up language accompanied by jaunty African pop rhythyms. However, it soon progresses into the kind of manic intensity of vocal performance and super-tight, stripped-down, funk / punk instrumentation that became Talking Heads' signature. On 'Mind', clip-clop drum beats and spikey guitar riffs are joined by David Byrne's crazed vocals, and a guitar solo where Jerry Harrison seems to be trying to strangle the instrument. 'Paper' is typical of the Heads' lyrical obscurity and compact punk pop. 'Cities' is possibly the album's most racy number, with a fade into headbanging left-of-centre rock punctuated only by Byrne's deranged ramblings. The intensity and emotional impact ramps up as the album progresses, with an interesting analysis of nostalgia and recollection entitled 'Memories Can't Wait' ending the first side.
The album resumes with a heartfelt and sympathetic song about how just being alive can be painful at times, entitled 'Air'. Slowing down for a moment, the band seem to don the disguise of a wedding band performing a sentimental slow dance song, replete with country-style slide guitar, during 'Heaven', then leap back into action on 'Animals', a twisted and jerky refrain of staccato guitar stabs and aggressive vocal tirade. The last two tracks see the whole performance slide and melt into a kind of musical netherworld, unconscious expression and experimentation in full force, dream-like imagery and wild abstraction convincing the listener that they have truly been on a voyage into the unknown, a journey through the mind's secret recesses, an exploration of the dark side of music.
In just the same way that horror films do, 'Fear Of Music' evokes awe, discomfort, supsense, and timing, and exploits the shock of the unfamilar to maximum effect. Never light, throwaway or trivial, the songs blend tight, funky playing, with imaginative lyrics and deranged vocal perfomances from David Byrne. Some fears are meant to be overcome...
Various - MSX00.1 10th Anniversary Special Edition - 17-Oct-08 01:08 PM
The best mix CD I have ever heard. Highs, lows, twists, turns, retro to modern, soulful and heavy, cheesey then serious, nods to the old school mingled with a futurist intent. The mixing is so seamless it is hard to believe there is a human involved, but the sound is so full of heart there's no doubt this DJ has strong feelings and compassion. Put it on when you've got housework to do. Put it on when you've just broken up with someone. Put it on anytime, it will always sound fresh and real. Timecode. Timeless.
Siouxsie And The Banshees* - Once Upon A Time/The Singles - 15-Oct-08 12:27 AM
There's nothing like a good singles compilation when you're relaxing with a crate of beer or two. This selection is a fine example of the usefulness of these retrospectives, with no fillers, and a smooth flow from track to track. This is probably helped by keeping everything in chronological order, so you can hear the band hone their sound from the sharp, spikey edges of 'Hong Kong Garden,' to more atmospheric and rounded tracks like 'Christine' and 'Israel.' Break out the suds and you'll be dancing around your bedroom in no time.
RUN DMC* - Tougher Than Leather - 14-Oct-08 04:09 PM
Risible and very disappointing offering from Run-DMC, especially coming right after 'Raising Hell' which should rightly be regarded as a classic of modern music... They seem to have wanted to emulate the Beastie Boys, and done most of the LP in a faux-Metal style which sounds so macho and cheesey, you can imagine it being played in a teenager's sweaty-sock bedroom with glamour girl posters on the wall. The low-point of the whole sorry performance is the laughable ditty 'Mary Mary,' which contains the sadly unforgettable refrain: 'Mary, Mary, why you buggin'... Mary, Mary, I need your huggin.' Embarrassing, naff, cringeworthy flop.
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