Belle And Sebastian [2008] The BBC Sessions

[01] The State I Am In
[02] Like Dylan In The Movies
[03] Judy And The Dream Of Horses
[04] The Stars Of Track And Field
[05] I Could Be Dreaming
[06] Seymour Stein
[07] Lazy Jane
[08] Sleep The Clock Around
[09] Slow Graffiti
[10] Wrong Love
[11] Shoot The Sexual Athlete
[12] The Magic Of A Kind Word
[13] Nothing In The Silence
[14] (My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique



amg: Belle and Sebastian cut their first BBC session for the Mark Radcliffe Show in July of 1996 just a few months before their seminal If You're Feeling Sinister album was released. The four songs they recorded were live and intimate versions of three of the record's best tracks: "Like Dylan in the Movies," "Judy and the Dream of Horses," and "Stars of Track and Field." Hearing these songs (as well as "The State I Am In," from Tigermilk) in such a raw and unadorned state (complete with vocal wavers and assorted bum notes) isn't a revelation now, though one can imagine people tuned in to their radios that night were thrown for a loop, but it is pretty great. Of course, the songs are amazing, but just as impressively, Stuart Murdoch's vocals are heartbreakingly sincere and soulful, and the band definitively belie their image as shamblers by sounding tight and together. If they had never written or recorded more than just these four songs, they still would be legendary, but luckily they didn't quit while they were ahead and kept recording and releasing brilliant pop music. They also continued making trips to the BBC studios and The BBC Sessions collects songs recorded there between 1996 and 2001. The track list is made up of mostly album tracks and singles (highlights being an insistent "Sleep the Clock Around," a folky take on "Wrong Love," and a truly beautiful "Slow Graffiti") but the real treat for fans is the inclusion of the group's 2001 session for John Peel, for which they trotted out four songs that hadn't been released previously (or since) on record. Any one of them could have comfortably fit on a single, EP, or album and a couple even qualify as lost treasures: "The Magic of a Kind Word" pits Isobel Campbell's breathy vocals in the quiet verses against rich group harmonies in the insanely sunny choruses, and ends up as one of the band's brightest and lightest tunes that just could have been a hit single, "(My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique" has a wonderfully relaxed groove built on samples and fleshed out with some wonky synth squiggles and lovely harmony vocals by Campbell and Stuart. It was Campbell's last recording made with the band and she really shines. That session alone is worth the price of the disc, and when you add the 1996 session, it becomes damn near essential for Belle and Sebastian fans. [A deluxe edition of the release includes a bonus disc containing a raucous live show from 2001 recorded in Belfast. The fans were rowdy and spend much of the set whooping and hollering, which makes the sound less than pristine, but also gives the listener at home a sense of just how rapturously the band's fans receive their heroes. The band by this point has become a rock & roll machine, able to turn in a convincing version of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town" but also dial it way down for the ballads. An unexpected highlight of the show features a guy named Barry being fished out of the crowd to front a loose but surprisingly together take on the Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man." Most people would be OK to stick with the regular version of The BBC Sessions, but the bonus disc is worth hearing at least once for true fanatics.]
(amg 8/10)

Bon Iver [2008] For Emma, Forever Ago

[01] Flume
[02] Lump Sum
[03] Skinny Love
[04] The Wolves (Act I And II)
[05] Blindsided
[06] Creature Fear
[07] Team
[08] For Emma
[09] Re: Stacks
[10] Flume (Acoustic Version)



amg: Bon Iver is the work of Justin Vernon. He isolated himself in a remote cabin in Wisconsin for almost four months, writing and recording the songs on For Emma, Forever Ago, his haunting debut album. A few parts (horns, drums, and backing vocals) were added in a North Carolina studio, but for the majority of the time it's just Vernon, his utterly disarming voice, and his enchanting songs. The voice is the first thing you notice. Vernon's falsetto soars like a hawk and when he adds harmonies and massed backing vocals, it can truly be breathtaking. "The Wolves (Acts I & II)" truly shows what Vernon can do as he croons, swoops, and cajoles his way through an erratic and enchanting melody like Marvin Gaye after a couple trips to the backyard still. "Skinny Love" shows more of his range as he climbs down from the heights of falsetto and shouts out the angry and heartachey words quite convincingly. Framing his voice are suitably subdued arrangements built around acoustic guitars and filled out with subtle electric guitars, the occasional light drums, and slide guitar. Vernon has a steady grasp of dynamics too; the ebb and flow of "Creature Fear" is powerfully dramatic and when the chorus hits it's hard not to be swept away by the flood of tattered emotion. Almost every song has a moment where the emotion peaks and hearts begin to weaken and bend: the beauty of that voice is what pulls you through every time. For Emma captures the sound of broken and quiet isolation, wraps it in a beautiful package, and delivers it to your door with a beating, bruised heart. It's quite an achievement for a debut and the promise of greatness in the future is high. Oh, and because you have to mention it, Iron & Wine. Also, Little Wings. Most of all, though, Bon Iver.
(amg 8/10)

Band [2007] The Best Of A Musical History

[01] Who Do You Love
[02] He Don't Love You (And He'll Break Your Heart)
[03] Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window (Single Version)
[04] Ain't No More Cain In The Brazos
[05] The Weight
[06] Orange Juice Blues (Blues For Breakfast)
[07] King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
[08] All LA Glory (Single Version)
[09] Stage Fright
[10] I Shall Be Released
[11] 4% Pantomime
[12] Don't Do It
[13] Life Is A Carnival
[14] Slippin' & Slidin' (Live)
[15] Endless Highway
[16] Share Your Love With Me
[17] Forever Young
[18] Twilight (Song Sketch)
[19] Home Cookin'

With [17] Bob Dylan


amg: A Musical History was one of the best box sets of the last ten years: a thorough and revelatory biography of the Band, telling their story from their beginnings as a backing band for Ronnie Hawkins to their disbandment after The Last Waltz. Released in the spring of 2007, about two years after the appearance of the original box, the single-disc excerpt The Best of a Musical History isn't nearly as good as its mammoth five-disc parent, largely because it tries to serve to audiences equally: it tries to please casual fans who just want the hits, while trying to win over serious fans curious about the rarities on the box yet unwilling to acquire the whole set. As such, this 19-track set sprawls all over the place, containing a smattering of Band standards ("The Weight," "Life Is a Carnival," "King Harvest [Has Surely Come]," "Stage Fright," "I Shall Be Released"), fan favorites that aren't quite rare ("Orange Juice Blues," "Don't Do It"), genuine rarities ("He Don't Love You [And He'll Break Your Heart]," by Levon & the Hawks; Bob Dylan's "Can You Please Crawl out Your Window?"), and five unreleased tracks, highlighted by a roaring live version of "Slippin' and Slidin'" and Rick Danko's "Home Cookin'." All of this music is good and the set does indicate the rich breadth of the Band's music. Many of the band's classics are here, but this doesn't contain enough great rarities from the box set to be a true "best-of the box." It merely is what it says it is: a sampler of the box, nothing more.
(amg 6/10)

Blackmore's Night [2006] The Village Lanterne

[01] 25 Years
[02] Village Lanterne
[03] I Guess It Doesn't Matter Anymore
[04] The Messenger (Instrumental)
[05] World Of Stone
[06] Faerie Queen - Faerie Dance
[07] St. Teresa
[08] Village Dance (Instrumental)
[09] Mond Tanz - Child In Time
[10] Streets Of London
[11] Just Call My Name (I'll Be There)
[12] Olde Mill Inn
[13] Windmills
[14] Street Of Dreams
[15] Ones In A Garden
[16] Street of Dreams

Features [16] Joe Lynn Turner



amg: By now, longtime Ritchie Blackmore fans have come to realize that the renaissance-influenced Blackmore's Night is certainly not a mere detour for the former Deep Purple/Rainbow guitarist. This truly seems to be Blackmore's musical calling of the 21st century, as he and singer Candice Night have issued their sixth album in almost as many years with 2006's The Village Lanterne. Blackmore's Night is often looked at as a throwback to a time long ago, but The Village Lanterne will not be mistaken for authentic renaissance music any time soon, as songs such as the album-opening "25 Years" mix together sounds both new and old. And although it's undoubtedly Blackmore and his affiliation with his two aforementioned previous bands that will attract most fans to the project, there's no getting around the fact that Night does posses a fine voice, especially evidenced by the title track. Also included are two remakes of Blackmore chestnuts: Deep Purple's "Child in Time" (which is paired with the uptempo ditty "Mond Tanz") and Rainbow's "Street of Dreams." The Village Lanterne is arguably the most modern-sounding release yet from Blackmore's Night. [This edition contains bonus tracks.]
(amg 7/10)

Bluetones [2006] Bluetones

[01] Surrendered
[02] Baby, Back Up
[03] Hope And Jump
[04] Head On A Spike
[05] The King Of Outer Space
[06] Thank You, Not Today
[07] My Neighbour's House
[08] Fade In / Fade Out
[09] The Last Song But One
[10] Wasn't I Right About You



amg: At the height of Brit-pop in 1996, few would have pegged the Bluetones as a band that would stick around for a decade, but persevere they have, weathering a fall from fashion around the time of their second album Return to the Last Chance Saloon, and then soldiering on through, building a loyal audience without ever really changing or registering on a pop culture radar. Just because they were out of the spotlight doesn't mean they were making bad music; it just meant that they had become a working band, slowly and steadily working on their craft through albums and tours. That steady work pays off on their fifth album, simply titled The Bluetones. Not that this 2006 record is different from what they've done before — this is very close in spirit and sound to their 1996 debut, Expecting to Fly — but they've stripped away the neo-Madchester flourishes of their early work and the artier dalliances of their turn-of-the-century records, leaving behind a good, straight-ahead guitar pop band. As always, the Bluetones' biggest asset is their sheer likeability — they're a group of normal guys, something they celebrate on the funny, charming "Baby, Back Up" where they admonish a new girlfriend with "I thought you were cool, but you are just weird." And that's the Bluetones' appeal in a nutshell: they are neither weird nor cool, they are what they are — a tuneful, unpretentious guitar pop band, and this album showcases them at their best. There are plenty of hooks and harmonies, jangly guitars and catchy choruses, all capturing the Bluetones' modest gifts at their very best. Even if it's not necessarily a record that's compelling, it's hard not to smile as it plays, and it's hard not to admire the fact that the Bluetones have stuck through the ups and downs in their career to become a thoroughly reliable, completely likeable guitar pop band — particularly because there are far fewer of those in 2006 than there were in 1996.
(amg 8/10)

Broken Social Scene [2005] Broken Social Scene

[01] Our Faces Split The Coast In Half
[02] Ibi Dreams Of Pavement (A Better Day)
[03] 7/4 (Shoreline)
[04] Finish Your Collapse And Stay For Breakfast
[05] Major Label Debut
[06] Fire Eye'd Boy
[07] Windsurfing Nation
[08] Swimmers
[09] Hotel
[10] Handjobs For The Holidays
[11] Superconnected
[12] Bandwitch
[13] Tremoloa Debut
[14] It's All Gonna Break



amg: In Canada, Broken Social Scene is somewhat of a phenomenon. Since wooing fans and critics alike with their 2003 Juno Award-winning album You Forgot It in People, the band's peculiar popularity has made them stars. The community that surrounds the 15-member-plus band is a family-like atmosphere with its many Canadian artists and musicians. When listening to Broken Social Scene, you also get the individual sounds of Feist, Stars, Memphis, Metric, and Apostle of Hustle, among others. It's camaraderie and education combined. The lush dynamic that carries Broken Social Scene's self-titled third effort is definitely built upon that. The 14-song set is as bright and moving as the band's previous efforts, but Broken Social Scene holds more charisma, more depth, and surely more complexities. The mix isn't messy in conventional terms. It's artistically untidy without production boundaries. Album opener "Our Faces Split the Coast in Half," which features the Dears' Murray Lightburn, makes a grand entrance with its polished horn arrangements, tight guitar riffs, and hypnotic harmonies. Additional standouts include indie rock moments such as "7/4 (Shoreline)" and the nervy "Fire Eye'd Boy." Handclaps and crowd chatter dosie-do with a sharp rock aesthetic on "Windsurfing Nation," which was the original title. Here, Toronto rapper K-Os and Feist vocally find their way through this majestic cinematic backdrop for one of its finest songs. From here, Broken Social Scene is a simply a rush of mini epics: "Handjobs for the Holidays," "Superconnected," and album closer "It's All Gonna Break" (this could have been a Nada Surf song) showcase how smart, creative, and brilliant this band truly is. Broken Social Scene are more than a collective; they're an orchestra for both the slacker generation and the literati.
(amg 9/10)

Billy Joel [2005] Piano Man - The Very Best Of Billy Joel

[01] Tell Her About It
[02] Uptown Girl
[03] Don't Ask Me Why
[04] Piano Man
[05] New York State Of Mind
[06] The River Of Dreams
[07] It's Still Rock And Roll To me
[08] We Didn't Start The Fire
[09] Goodnight Saigon
[10] My Life
[11] She's Always A Woman
[12] She's Got A Way
[13] Scandinavian Skies
[14] An Innocent Man
[15] Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
[16] Only The Good Die Young
[17] All About Soul
[18] Honesty
[19] Just The Way You Are



amg: This international collection of highlights from the East Coast native's prolific career takes its choicest bits from Columbia's three hugely successful Greatest Hits compilations. Piano Man: The Very Best of Billy Joel may just skim the surface of Joel's large reservoir of material, but it's hard to argue with the end results. All of the radio hits, minus some of the more obscure ones like "Allentown," "Pressure," and "Matter of Trust" are dutifully represented. From "River of Dreams" and "We Didn't Start the Fire" to "Piano Man" and "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," this skillfully paced compilation, which also includes a ten-track DVD, is about as good a single-disc Billy Joel primer as one is likely to find.
(amg 8/10)

Bush [2004] Best Of 94-99

[01] Everything Zen
[02] Little Things
[03] Comedown
[04] Glycerine
[05] Machinehead
[06] Swallowed
[07] Greedy Fly
[08] Warm Machine
[09] The Chemicals Between Us
[10] Letting The Cables Sleep
[11] Everything Zen (The Lhasa Fever Mix)
[12] Mouth (The Stingray Mix)
[13] Swallowed (Goldietoasted Bothsides Please Mix)



amg: Bush's gravelly sound was a staple of alternative rock radio in the space directly after Nirvana's popular breakthrough. And in a way, the U.K. combo became even more popular — Gavin Rossdale's songs were arena-sized versions of Kurt Cobain's angst, mixed to FM perfection and matched to his good-looking mug on MTV. The critics weren't having it, but Bush still became grunge rock stars. "Little Things," "Everything Zen," and "Machine Head" were appropriately raw, but they were also full of bludgeoning hooks and weedling guitar solos. Like all of Rossdale's songs, they also spun off foggy non sequiturs seemingly cynical enough for the cutoff fatigues set, but that in retrospect are rather stilted. ("Minnie Mouse has grown up a cow/Dave's on sale again...We're so bored you're to blame," from "Zen.") Trauma's The Best of '94 - '99 captures these moments for posterity. The hugely successful ballad "Glycerine" is here with its brittle cellos and strained chorus shrieking, as are the less memorable singles from 1996's Razorblade Suitcase, "Swallowed" and the creepy widescreen version of the Pixies' "Greedy Fly." The set closes with the first three tracks from Bush's flawed remix album Deconstructed. "Everything Zen"'s samey big beat pulse can be dated directly to 1997-1998 and records from Crystal Method and Prodigy — it's easy to hear how Deconstructed pleased neither rock fans nor electronic heads when it was released. Goldie does a better job with "Swallowed," splicing in a gloomy jungle bassline and skittering rhythmic patterns and isolating the lead guitar peels. Like hearing the studio versions of Sixteen Stone's singles ten years on, these late-'90s remixes are their own time warp. [The collection's second disc featured the audio of Bush's performance at Woodstock '99.]
(amg 6/10)

Blackmore's Night [2003] Ghost Of A Rose

[01] Way To Mandalay
[02] 3 Black Crows
[03] Diamonds And Rust
[04] Cartouche
[05] Queen For A Day (Part 1)
[06] Queen For A Day (Part 2)
[07] Ivory Tower
[08] Nur Eine Minute
[09] Ghost Of A Rose
[10] Mr. Peagram's Morris And Sword
[11] Loreley
[12] Where Are We Going From Here
[13] Rainbow Blues
[14] All For One
[15] Dandelion Wine



amg: It appears that Ritchie Blackmore, legendary Brit guitar god, axe king of the glorious Deep Purple and Rainbow, is persisting in his attempt to reinvent himself as some kind of Medieval folkie. The fifth outing by Blackmore's Night is another tepid yet overwrought bag of originals, and a wretched cover of Joan Baez's classic "Diamonds and Rust." The issue here is not whether Mr. Blackmore and vocalist Candice Night have the chops. They clearly do. That they insist on using the recording studio to virtually sterilize all that made the music they hold so dear so vital and dangerous is the real problem. These songs, with their glossed-over edges and Ms. Night's completely rounded vocals, leave all of the dark passions they seek to reveal embedded in the songs themselves, like lovers in a cage, stranded. One listen to the early Steeleye Span recordings, or the Watersons "Frost and Fire,"" reveals in spades just how threadbare and empty of life this record is.
(amg 4/10)

Buzzcocks [2003] Buzzcocks

[01] Jerk
[02] Keep On
[03] Wake Up Call
[04] Friends
[05] Driving You Insane
[06] Morning After
[07] Sick City Sometimes
[08] Stars
[09] Certain Move
[10] Lester Sands
[11] Up for the Crack
[12] Useless



amg: On-stage, the reunited Buzzcocks have been a consistently superb live act since Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle began making the rounds again in 1989, but the second edition of the band hasn't had quite the same degree of success in the studio. While Trade Test Transmission and All Set certainly had their moments, neither was up the standards of the group's 1977-1980 glory days, and 1999's Modern was by any standards a severe disappointment. So it's encouraging to report that Buzzcocks, the band's fourth studio set since their reunion, is the strongest album this band has created since returning to active duty. If Shelley and Diggle have moved past teenage angst into the divisive confusion and frequent bitterness of adult life in their lyrics (as well they should have), their songwriting has also developed a hard-edged clarity and flinty intelligence that suits they new material well; and longtime fans will doubtless prefer the two Pete Shelley/Howard DeVoto collaborations here over the brave but muddled electronic experiments of their Buzzkunst album. Musically, this is tough, propulsive music which rocks with a direct and spirited pulse that lacks a dash of the jangle of their pioneering pop-punk singles but boasts a muscular gravity which suits the songs very well indeed. And the production by bassist Tony Barber serves the material well, giving the band a sleek but thick sound which suits both the hooky melodies and the chunky roar of the guitars. If Buzzcocks doesn't reinvent this band, it does give their approach a bit of an overhaul, and the results make for an album which holds onto their strengths while lending a more mature perspective to their work; hard to imagine Green Day or Rancid having anything this interesting up their sleeve 27 years down the line from their first recording.
(amg 8/10)

Boston [2002] Corporate America

[01] I Had A Good Time
[02] Stare Out Your Window
[03] Corporate America
[04] With You
[05] Someone
[06] Turn It Off
[07] Cryin'
[08] Didn't Mean To Fall In Love
[09] You Gave Up On Love
[10] Livin' For You



amg: For all the bad press heaped these days on vintage stadium rock, Boston's Artemis debut resonates with a crisp, fresh energy that's hard to find in the downscale aesthetic of post-punk. As Tom Scholz fans might expect, a metallic sheen gleams across the surface of each track, adding luster to resonant anthems like the politically correct title track as well as more intimate acoustic moments on "With You" and elsewhere. (The same sleek textures coat the album's one live track, a cover of "Livin' for You" that's marred only by the electronic snare drum, which sounds distressingly like the zap of a toy space gun.) Acoustic guitars glisten in fields of dewy reverb, while Scholz's electric leads and fills project a streamlined muscularity. The vocals, delivered by a rotating cast of guests, range from arena stratospherics to whispery folkisms; in the fashion of Phil Spector, Scholz is more concerned with blending them into his timbral landscape than with encouraging interpretive profundities. But that's fine, for Boston has always centered on one man's sonic fantasies, and for better or worse these are undimmed and as assertive as ever, even in the era of Corporate America.
(amg 6/10)

Black Box Recorder [2001] The Worst Of Black Box Recorder

[01] Seasons In The Sun
[02] Watch The Angel Not The Wire
[03] Jackie Sixty
[04] Start As You Mean To Go On
[05] The Facts Of Life Remix
[06] Lord Lucan Is Missing
[07] Wonderful Life
[08] Uptown Top Ranking [Remix]
[09] Brutality
[10] Factory Radio
[11] Soul Boy
[12] Rock 'n' Roll Suicide



amg: Hip hip hooray. Maybe someone up there likes us after all. The Worst of Black Box Recorder is a rare instance where restraint in buying a band's singles has paid off. Compiling all the B-sides from Black Box Recorder's first four singles (two of which were two-parters), a handful of studio extras that were included on the U.S. versions of England Made Me and The Facts of Life — including the stinging "Lord Lucan Is Missing," a take on Rod McKuen's-via-Jacques Brel's "Seasons in the Sun," the Bowie-worthy "Start As You Mean to Go On," and the equally spiky "Brutality" — and also throwing in the band's videos for the A-sides ("The Facts of Life," "Child Psychology," "The Art of Driving," and "England Made Me"), the whole package adds up to an LP that's just as worthy of your hard-earned scratch as the trio's two proper studio albums. Outside of the obvious space/time constraint, it's hard to imagine how most of the songs weren't able to find a way on the original incarnations of England Made Me or The Facts of Life. There isn't a weak moment to be found here, not even on the remixes; both the Chocolate Layers' (Pulp's Steve Mackey and Jarvis Cocker) mix of "The Facts of Life" and BBR's own versioning of "Uptown Top Ranking" don't fail to impress. If that's not enough to rope you in, the disc concludes in perfect fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion with an ultra sultry cover of the Thin White Duke's "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"; if you close your eyes tight enough, you can envision vocalist Sarah Nixey working her magic onstage for the drunken patrons of the Roadhouse, clad in a funny leather hat.
(amg 7/10)

Boz Scaggs [2001] Dig

[01] Payday
[02] Sarah
[03] Miss Riddle
[04] I Just Go
[05] Get On The Natch
[06] Desire
[07] Call That Love
[08] King Of El Paso
[09] You're Not
[10] Vanishing Point
[11] Thanks To You



amg: Boz Scaggs returns to the arena in the thoroughly modern Dig, four years after his much-acclaimed return to traditional R&B on Come on Home. This takes no small bit of courage for an artist like Scaggs, who has reveled in obscurity for most of the '80s and '90s. Come on Home won the man all sorts of critical platitudes for making unfashionable roots music in a highly unlikely time. It showed, of course, in that the record sold barely respectably. Dig is, if anything, a hyper-modern take on R&B. Scaggs and co-producers David Paich (who co-wrote virtually all the material here) and guitarist Danny Kortchmar have embraced modern production, recording, and mixing techniques in the same way Scaggs did on Silk Degrees (whose part two this is definitely not). The result is simply a very fine adult contemporary take on rhythm & blues that showcases Scaggs in the finest voice he's given us in decades, a solid batch of tunes, and very few irritating elements. Scaggs' use of hip-hop methodologies in tracks like "Desire," with Michael Rodriguez's programming, is subtle enough to add atmosphere to an already beautiful song. The tune is a ballad so smooth and streetwise, so late-night in feel and sentiment, the timberline drum program just underlines the spooky guitars and Scaggs' sweet crooning; in fact, his voice here sounds better than it ever has. There are other modernisms that Scaggs employs here that would have been better left on the cutting room floor, such as his insistence on rapping on "Just Go," where he sounds like a Wal-Mart cross between Frank Zappa on "Dina Moe Hum" and Tom Waits from Bone Machine. But there are only a couple of moments like that; his blues roots manifest themselves well on "King of El Paso" and his embrace of Latin-tinged pop suits him well on "Call That Love." While it's a slick record in typical Scaggs fashion, it's a slim cast of characters who pull it all off — mainly Scaggs, Paich, and Kortchmar (who is as fine a guitarist as ever), with guests like Ray Parker, Jr., pedal steel god Steve Lukather, and jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove Jr. lending their hands in various spots. For a guy everybody said was in the hallmark of memory, Boz Scaggs is making remarkably refreshing and compelling music. Dig is mature enough to resonate well with his aging audience, and it's slick and polished enough to catch the ear of pop radio programmers. With precious few rough spots, Dig is a pop triumph by a sleight-of-sound master.
(amg 8/10)

Bob Geldof [2001] Sex, Age & Death

[01] One For Me
[02] 6,000,000$ Loser
[03] Pale White Girls
[04] The New Routine
[05] Mudslide
[06] Mind In Pocket
[07] My Birthday Suit
[08] Scream In Vain
[09] Inside Your Head
[10] 10:15



amg: There's no evidence here that political beatification has mellowed Bob Geldof. If anything, his message has grown more apocalyptic, even as his music broadens to a degree unprecedented in his own catalog. The title gives a pretty clear picture of what this is all about. Whether viciously dismembering some withered media icon on "One for Me" or desiccating a relationship addiction that borders on necrophilia in "Pale White Girls," Geldof maintains the highest pop standards of lyrical expression and musical setting. A punk energy, broken down at times to techno/tribal components or filtered through shimmering electronica, permeates each performance. The rhythm track to "Scream in Vain" deserves special mention, with its segues from a pumping house-style synth bass drum through various atmospheric moments and, for a moment, some Clash-like fist pumping. Geldof refers to other works — a Dylan paraphrase, a sampled fragment from "Get Off of My Cloud" — not to distract from any weaknesses in his vision, but to fit into its strengths. All this finesse serves a righteous, primal anger. Dramatic contrasts in dynamics, and a vocal that veers from beatnik poetry to a searing shout that somehow recalls both Prince and John Lennon, convey a bleak picture in "Mudslide," built on a metaphor of bugs being burned in an electric trap. This song, like everything else on this album, is about rage and resistance against those who succumb too easily to life's suffocations. Perhaps the essence of the album lies in the almost incoherent fury of "Inside Your Head," in which he throws subtlety against the wall and screams, "What the f**k's going on inside your head?" With its blunt scatology set against what sounds like a roomful of oblivious chowhounds in a café, Geldof goes eyeball to eyeball with his real enemy: all among us who nestle ourselves into the bosom of mendacity. Sex, Age & Death bashes at the door and demands attention; only fear keeps us from letting it in.
(amg 8/10)

Ben Harper [2001] Live From Mars

[01] Glory & Consequence
[02] Excuse Me Mr.
[03] Alone
[04] Sexual Healing
[05] Woman In You
[06] Ground On Down
[07] Steal My Kisses
[08] Burn One Down
[09] Mama's Got A Girlfriend
[10] Welcome To The Cruel World
[11] Forgiven
[12] Faded - Whole Lotta Love
[13] Waiting On An Angel
[14] Roses From My Friends
[15] Power Of The Gospel
[16] Pleasure And Pain
[17] Please Bleed
[18] The Drugs Don't Work
[19] In The Lord's Arms
[20] Not Fire, Not Ice
[21] Beloved One
[22] #3
[23] Walk Away
[24] Another Lonely Day
[25] Like A King - I'll Rise



amg: Ben Harper is a road dog. He and his band, the Innocent Criminals, travel around the world playing nearly 200 shows a year; therefore, it was only a matter of time before this guitar virtuoso made a live album. Live From Mars, an enigmatic two-disc set of 25 songs, celebrates the rise of Harper, his incredible live presence between 1998 and 2000, and the appreciation between him and his audience. His fragile acoustics have been thrown into a massive guitar storm on disc one, a thunderous combination of his signature folky blues-funk rock & roll. He's soulful and approachable on "Excuse Me Mr." and "Burn One Down," but he reaches for something tangible on Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing." The vibe is calm and cool while Harper's vocals scale between a sweet falsetto and a rugged twang. "Faded" exudes Harper's electric twitching, and its perfection swaggers into a riveting cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" for a near ten-minute car crash of pure rollicking. He switches from his electric to an acoustic for disc two, making his informality even more enticing. "Waiting on an Angel" is delicate, similar to the likes of Jeff Buckley, but it's the beauty of the Verve's "The Drugs Don't Work" that truly captures the standard of excellence that Harper depicts as a performer. Acoustically, he's honored and such praise is deserved. He's practically flawless. He's a modest artist, and such humility is found among his songs. He's achieved respectability with his fans that only so many artists are able to attain. Live From Mars is a proper release and certainly an inviting look into Harper and the showmanship he projects while spending time on the road.
(amg 6/10)

Bush [2001] Golden State

[01] Solutions
[02] Headful Of Ghosts
[03] The People That We Love
[04] Superman
[05] Fugitive
[06] Hurricane
[07] Inflatable
[08] Reasons
[09] Land Of The Living
[10] My Engine Is With You
[11] Out Of This World
[12] Float



amg: Like many bands of their era, Bush was sucked into the idea that rock bands are only relevant if they incorporate electronica ideas — a move that sank their third album, The Science of Things, and effectively derailed their career at a crucial time when post-grunge bands were falling by the wayside in an alarming fashion. This caused Bush to stumble, not just artistically but commercially, and they faded from the mainstream spotlight for a few years before mounting a comeback in the fall of 2001 with Golden State. The simple cover art, looking for all the world like advance art, signals that this a return to basics, which it is — this is a return to the sound of Sixteen Stone, complete with big, grandiose production propelled by ballsy grunge riffs and real hooks in the guitars and vocals. They never sound as somber or as self-conscious as they did on the Steve Albini-produced Razorblade Suitcase, nor do they sound as out of their element as they did on Science — they sound comfortable and powerful, rocking hard, turning out songs that are not only catchy, but that hold together and cohere over the course of an album. Though there aren't singles as grabbing as the songs that propelled Sixteen Stone to multi-platinum status, this is as consistent an album as any Bush has ever made, keeping a steady pace throughout its 12 songs and delivering on almost every track. It doesn't sound hip or current in 2001 by any means — it sounds charmingly retro, as a matter of fact, sorta stuck in 1994 — but it's better than most records in its vein, and that counts for something even if it doesn't burn up the charts like its predecessors.
(amg 6/10)

Black Box Recorder [2000] The Facts Of Life

[01] The Art Of Driving
[02] Weekend
[03] The English Motorway System
[04] May Queen
[05] Sex Life
[06] French Rock 'n' Roll
[07] The Facts Of Life
[08] Straight Life
[09] Gift Horse
[10] The Deverell Twins
[11] Goodnight Kiss



amg: Make no mistake: Black Box Recorder are malevolent scoundrels. Their debut album — England Made Me — was a distressing, vacant eye staring over the unspoken horror of everyday England, so one wondered where they could go from there. With The Facts Of Life, they moved that voyeuristic, cynical stare away from suicide and car crashes and focused it on small-town dating and disenchanted sex lives. Strangely enough, the horror feels the same. Songs like the utterly menacing hook of "The Art of Driving" will chill even the most neutral of listeners while the John Barry-influenced "Weekend" strolls along with such desolate grace that it's just subtly elegant. Vocalist Sarah Nixey sings with impassioned distance that serves up the disparagement nicely. Lines such as, "Don't even look at me 'till we're alone," "Careful not to touch, we've drunk enough/Just another weekend falling," or "Read the message on the bottle/Go and drink yourself to death" probably won't become national anthems anytime soon. All the better for it, then. As in BBR's debut, the same barren instrumentation and distanced vocals are still here, but this time around there seems to be a pop sensibility that evokes far more seditious strengths than ever before. This produces a delightfully sinister contradiction. "Straight Life," for instance, has Nixey chiming, "It's a beautiful morning," and only BBR could make such a statement sound truly sardonic. The closing "Goodnight Kiss" is also brimming with beauty, yet — at heart — still a song with pained regret. All this doesn't even begin to get near the marvel that is the title track either. "The Facts of Life" is found nestled in the album's core and it still glares at you like a Stanley Kubrick-directed All Saints production. Simple, gorgeous, chart-friendly, and just plain evil. It is undoubtedly one of the most subversive singles ever written. Indeed, clocking in at just under 40 minutes, The Facts Of Life is a precise, meticulous, deeply disturbing experience. The album is proof that there's still life in pop music. Subversion has rarely sounded this startling.
(amg 9/10)

Billy Joel [2000] 2000 Years - The Millennium Concert

[01] Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
[02] Big Shot
[03] Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
[04] Summer Highland Falls
[05] Ballad Of Billy The Kid
[06] Don't Ask Me Why
[07] New York State Of Mind
[08] I've Loved These Days
[09] My Life
[10] Allentown
[11] Prelude - Angry Young Man
[12] Only The Good Die Young
[13] I Go To Extremes
[14] Goodnight Saigon
[15] We Didn't Start The Fire
[16] Big Man On Mulberry Street
[17] 2000 Years
[18] Auld Lang Syne
[19] River Of Dreams
[20] Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
[21] Dance To The Music
[22] Honky Tonk Women
[23] It's Still Rock And Roll To Me
[24] You May Be Right
[25] This Night
[26] This Is The Time



amg: Among the major artists celebrating the end of the 20th century with a New Year's Eve blowout was Billy Joel, who set up shop at Madison Square Garden and played a marathon show lasting nearly three hours. It was quite a feat for a man who claimed that he had retired from pop music, but the last New Year's Eve gig of the 20th century offers an artist a chance to sum up either the past century or their career. Joel decided to do both, throwing in a few classic rock covers at the end of a show that offered a whirlwind spin through his lengthy back catalog. Several songs from the concert are absent on 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert, the audio record of the event, but that's because it's impossible to squeeze three hours onto two discs. That means such staples as "Piano Man" are absent, but they're not particularly missed, since such early classics as "Summer Highland Falls," "The Ballad of Billy the Kid," and "I've Loved These Days" take their place. These moments are what make the record worthwhile for serious Joel fans, since that's where he sounds relaxed and emotionally vested. The rest of the album is pure spectacle, as it builds to a midnight crescendo of "Auld Lang Syne," which gives way to oldies covers and hits. There are certain lapses in pacing that slow the momentum, and Joel's voice does stretch mighty thin at some points. These are the sort of things that are easy to ignore in concert, when the experience is all-important, but on record, it does diminish the overall effect, even for hardcore Joel fans. It's often enjoyable, but the end result is a bit underwhelming, which means that 2000 Years is more like a souvenir of a passed moment than it was intended to be.
(amg 5/10)

Ben Harper [1999] Burn To Shine

[01] Alone
[02] The Woman In You
[03] Less
[04] Two Hands Of A Prayer
[05] Please Bleed
[06] Suzie Blue
[07] Steal My Kisses
[08] Burn To Shine
[09] Show Me A Little Shame
[10] Forgiven
[11] Beloved One
[12] In The Lord's Arms



amg: Burn to Shine presents proof positive that you can always distill the essence of rock & roll down to a solitary man alone with his guitar and conscience. It sounds inventive yet firmly rooted in the blues-rock singer/songwriter/guitarist tradition of Taj Mahal and of Neil Young and Cat Stevens at their most confessional. Harper's guitar with falsetto vocal in "The Woman in You" even suggests a Curtis Mayfield tune in the hands of Prince. "Steal My Kisses" is one of those uncluttered, radio-friendly rock shuffles that simply makes you bob your head and feel better. Even Harper's detours — like the wobbling New Orleans shuffle with the Real Time Jazz Band, "Suzie Blue," and charred Black Sabbath metal in "Less" — prove worth exploring. Other cameos include guitarists David Lindley and former Bob Marley sideman Tyrone Downey. Burn to Shine is a minor masterpiece that may prove to be not so minor.
(amg 8/10)

Bush [1999] The Science Of Things

[01] Warm Machine
[02] Jesus Online
[03] The Chemicals Between Us
[04] English Fire
[05] Spacetravel
[06] 40 Miles From The Sun
[07] Prizefighter
[08] The Disease Of The Dancing Cats
[09] Altered States
[10] Dead Meat
[11] Letting The Cables Sleep
[12] Mindchanger



amg: For their third album, The Science of Things, Bush returned to Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, the Madness producers who helmed Sixteen Stone, but along the way, they fell out with the duo. Rossdale claimed the two were only credited on the album for legal reasons, and that the real work was done by the band with engineer Tom Elmhirst, which is probably true, since it's slicker than Razorblade Suitcase but doesn't glisten like Stone. Science is carefully crafted and sequenced, flowing nicely from hard rockers to power ballads, but little of it catches hold. It plays better than the disjointed Razorblade Suitcase due to studiocraft, since the measured, detailed production fleshes out songs held together by a bare minimum of hooks and melodies. Without hooks, Bush's earnestness is unavoidable. Rossdale's emotive, gut-wrenching vocals and the band's hard, heavy delivery are all this record has to offer and the mystery is why the music has such little impact, either as emotional catharsis (which it was intended to be, if the tenor of the performances and Rossdale's interviews are to be believed) or as catchy commercial hard rock (which is what the best moments of their first two records were). In an effort to develop their own voice and to be taken seriously, Bush have left behind their natural strengths — a knack for melodic hooks and riffs. They're undoubtedly sincere and have delivered a professional record, but once The Science of Things is finished it fades away, since it has neither the emotional nor musical substance to make a lasting impact.
(amg 6/10)

Blackmore's Night [1998] Shadow Of The Moon

[01] Shadow Of The Moon
[02] The Clock Ticks On
[03] Be Mine Tonight
[04] Play Minstrel Play
[05] Ocean Gypsy
[06] Minstrel Hall
[07] Magical World
[08] Writing On The Wall
[09] Renaissance Faire
[10] Memmingen
[11] No Second Chance
[12] Mond Tanz
[13] Spirit Of The Sea
[14] Greensleeves
[15] Wish You Were Here



amg: Shadow of the Moon is the first album by Ritchie Blackmore's beloved Blackmore's Night project. The former Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist and his fiancée, vocalist Candice Night, created a Renaissance-inspired work with elements of folk, new age, and occasional bits of electric guitar. Blackmore even plays bass, mandolin, drum (yes, singular), and tambourine. Night's voice isn't powerful, but it's bright and sweet, making it perfect for this style of music. Other musicians include co-producer Pat Regan on keyboards and the Minstrel Hall Consort; Gerald Flashman on recorder, trumpet, and French horn; Tom Brown on cello; and Lady Green on violin and viola. Most songs are original compositions but some are based on traditional melodies. "Shadow of the Moon" is a marvelous opener; it's catchy, haunting, and propulsive. Blackmore shreds on acoustic guitar and lets the electric guitar slip into the background for faint power chords. Regal, majestic horns lend an elegance to "The Clock Ticks On," which addresses the passage of time and a yearning to live in the past. "Play Minstrel Play" features Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, one of Blackmore's favorite musicians. The song moves along pleasantly until about halfway through when it explodes into a frantic, handclaps-led pace with Anderson's wild flute solo. The warmth of "Ocean Gypsy" makes it the song most easily classified as new age here; Blackmore plays a gentle but swift acoustic guitar melody under Night's softly yearning vocals. "Writing on the Wall" is quite fast and has a danceable beat, and there's even a blowout jam at the end. Blackmore's electric guitar work is the most prominent on "No Second Chance" and "Wish You Were Here." The instrumental "Possum's Last Dance" is a U.S.-only bonus track.
(amg 6/10)

Black Box Recorder [1998] England Made Me

[01] Girl Singing In The Wreckage
[02] England Made Me
[03] New Baby Boom
[04] It's Only The End Of The World
[05] Ideal Home
[06] Child Psychology
[07] I. C. One Female
[08] Up Town Topranking
[09] Swinging
[10] Kidnapping An Heiress
[11] Hated Sunday
[12] Wonderful Life
[13] Seasons In The Sun
[14] Factory Radio
[15] Lord Lucan Is Missing



amg: With the gentle acoustic-electric guitar mix, metronomic drum beats, and Sarah Nixey's lovely breathy vocals, England Made Me does not seem on the surface to be a sardonic comment on anything, but rather an exquisite, even upbeat, bit of pop. The more one digs, however, the more one unburies. Black Box Recorder are harshly critical of life in England, the bland, dull mundaneness of daily living as well as the stale political world, and their debut album touches on issues ranging from teenage sex and single mothers to repressive family life and wife swapping. Such topics are seemingly impossible to weave into listenable pop music, but the songs that multi-instrumentalists Luke Haines and John Moore write are cleanly stylized in a way that conceals the raw-nerved lives their characters exist in but are also reflective of the internalization of such relentless barrenness. External appearances often belie the reality, the gnawing discomfort in the gut. Whereas you would expect a song called "Girl Singing in the Wreckage" to be malevolent, it is instead sweetly affecting, but also world-weary and reflective, making it sound less cynical than innocently aware of the inconsistency in which it exists. Black Box Recorder seemingly approach their subjects without judgment; the band, though, does not shy away from cynicism. Many of the songs on England Made Me are, at least lyrically, severe, naked reminders of a bloodless existence. The title song is a funereal lament, and songs such as "It's Only the End of the World" and "Hated Sunday" are sad-sack gloomy tunes that are capable of inspiring open weeping in two ways — with their base bleakness and with the beautifully brittle music. Even when Black Box Recorder do inject a bit of pop cheerfulness into the music, it is seemingly done ironically. Each song sounds sparse because it is infused with a spatial quality that suggests beneath it all there is only emptiness, and nothing good comes from emptiness. In "Child Psychology," Nixey repeats the couplet "Life is unfair/Kill yourself or get over it" like a mantra. One gets the feeling that the way Black Box Recorder get over it is through their music, which can make England Made Me a suffocating listen if experienced in more than short spurts.
(amg 7/10)

Brian May [1998] Another World

[01] Space
[02] Business
[03] China Belle
[04] Why Don't We Try Again
[05] On My Way Up
[06] Cyborg
[07] The Guv'nor
[08] Wilderness
[09] Slow Down
[10] One Rainy Wish
[11] All The Way From Memphis
[12] Another World



amg: "Business," the second song on Brian May's third solo album, finds the guitarist recording the type of ferocious hard rock that he became known for with Queen in the early '70s. With a great pop hook and churning heavy guitars, it's arguably the best thing he's done as a solo artist. The rest of the album doesn't quite live up to its opening, but it shows May has grown more confident in his singing and in playing balls-to-the-wall hard rock than on 1992's Back to the Light. Songs like "China Belle" and "The Guv'nor" contain enough '70s-styled bombastic rock to satisfy May's many fans, while "On My Way Up," with its catchy groove and gospel-like backup singers, is irresistible in its optimism. Unfortunately, May does get lost at times. His ballads tend to come off as bland compared to the ones he wrote while in Queen, while the over-the-top metal exercise, "Cyborg," with its processed vocals, doesn't work at all. May is much better sticking to what he knows best, catchy but eccentric hard rock. The album draws near a close with three covers, and while two of them, including Jimi Hendrix's "One Rainy Wish," do come off as clunky, May's spirited live version of Mott the Hoople's "All the Way From Memphis" is absolutely riveting.
(amg 5/10)

BB King [1997] Deuces Wild

[01] If You Love Me
[02] The Thrill Is Gone
[03] Rock Me Baby
[04] Please Send Me Someone To Love
[05] Baby I Love You
[06] Ain't Nobody Home
[07] There Must Be A Better World Somewhere
[08] Confessin' The Blues
[09] Paying The Cost To Be The Boss
[10] Dangerous Mood
[11] Keep It Coming
[12] Cryin' Won't Help You
[13] Night Life

With [01] Van Morrison [02] Tracy Chapman [03] Eric Clapton [04] Mick Hucknall [05] Bonnie Raitt [06] D'Angelo [07] Dr. John [08] Marty Stuart [09] Rolling Stones [10] Joe Cocker [11] Heavy D [12] David Gilmour and Paul Carrack [13] Willie Nelson



amg: This is B.B.'s celebrity duet album, and a straight-ahead blues album this is not. But longtime fans who are aware of King's genre-stretching capabilities will find much to savor here. Kicking off with B.B. playing some beautiful fills and solo work behind Van Morrison on "If You Love Me," the superstars start lining up to jam with the King, with Tracy Chapman ("The Thrill Is Gone"), Eric Clapton (a funkified "Rock Me Baby"), the Rolling Stones ("Paying the Cost to Be the Boss," with a fine harp solo from Mick Jagger), Willie Nelson (his "Nightlife," long a standard in B.B.'s set list), Bonnie Raitt ("Baby I Love You"), and Marty Stuart ("Confessin' the Blues") all turning in fine efforts. The only clinker aboard here is an ill-advised attempt to make a rap record with Heavy D, the execrable "Keep It Coming."
(amg 5/10)

Boston [1997] Greatest Hits

[01] Tell Me
[02] Higher Power
[03] More Than A Feeling
[04] Peace Of Mind
[05] Don't Look Back
[06] Cool The Engines
[07] Livin' For You
[08] Feelin' Satisfied
[09] Party
[10] Foreplay - Long Time
[11] Amanda
[12] Rock & Roll Band
[13] Smokin'
[14] A Man I'll Never Be
[15] The Star Spangled Banner - 4th Of July Reprise
[16] Higher Power (Kalodner Edit)



amg: Since Tom Scholz is such a slow worker, there were only four Boston albums between the group's 1976 debut and this Greatest Hits collection in 1997. That may mean that there isn't much music to compile, as the reliance on their biggest-selling album, Boston, suggests, but that doesn't matter for most casual fans, since Greatest Hits gathers all of their best songs, from "More Than a Feeling" to "Amanda," on one compact disc. For the collector, the record isn't quite as appealing, even if it contains three new songs as bait. These three songs simply don't deliver the melodic punch or guitar crunch that distinguishes the group's best work. It's nice to hear original vocalist Brad Delp on "Higher Power," but "Tell Me" is slight, and an instrumental version of "The Star Spangled Banner" is nearly an insult. So, for the devoted, Greatest Hits is a mixed bag, but for less dedicated listeners, it may be all the Boston they need.
(8/10)

Blues Traveler [1997] Straight On Till Morning

[01] Carolina Blues
[02] Felicia
[03] Justify The Thrill
[04] Canadian Rose
[05] Business As Usual
[06] Yours
[07] Psycho Joe
[08] Great Big World
[09] Battle Of Someone
[10] Most Precarious
[11] The Gunfighter
[12] Last Night I Dreamed
[13] Make My Way



amg: The commercial success of Four was a mixed blessing for Blues Traveler. It did give them a wider audience, but it also put them in the delicate position of pleasing their new, hook-happy fans while retaining their hardcore, jam-oriented cult following. They skillfully manage to do just that on Straight on Till Morning, the bluesy, ambitious follow-up to Four. On the whole, Straight on Till Morning is a tougher album than any of its predecessors, boasting a gritty sound and several full-on jams. But the key to the album is its length and its sprawling collection of songs, which find Blues Traveler trying anything from country-rock to jangling pop/rock. They manage to be simultaneously succinct and eclectic, and they occasionally throw in a good pop hook or two. Blues Traveler are still too loose to be a true pop/rock band, and John Popper would still benefit from a sense of meter, but Straight on Till Morning is the first studio record that captures the essence of the band.
(amg 7/10)

Ben Harper [1997] The Will To Live

[01] Faded
[02] Homeless Child
[03] Number Three
[04] Roses From My Friends
[05] Jah Work
[06] I Want To Be Ready
[07] The Will To Live
[08] Ashes
[09] Widow Of A Living Man
[10] Glory & Consequence
[11] Mama's Trippin'
[12] I Shall Not Walk Alone



amg: On his third album, Will to Live, Ben Harper strengthens his populist folk with a grittier groove, which even borders on funk, that makes his music more immediate. Harper still has a tendency to preach, yet his melodies are catchier than before, and he has a better sense of rhythm, helping his bluesy songs catch hold.
(amg 7/10)

Belle And Sebastian [1996] If You're Feeling Sinister

[01] The Stars Of Track And Field
[02] Seeing Other People
[03] Me And The Major
[04] Like Dylan In The Movies
[05] The Fox In The Snow
[06] Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
[07] If You're Feeling Sinister
[08] Mayfly
[09] The Boy Done Wrong Again
[10] Judy And The Dream Of Horses



amg: Belle & Sebastian's second record, If You're Feeling Sinister, is, for all intents and purposes, really their first, since their debut in 1996 was not heard outside of privileged inner circles. And If You're Feeling Sinister really did have quite a bit of an impact upon its release in 1996, largely because during the first half of the '90s the whimsy and preciousness that had been an integral part of alternative music was suppressed by grunge. Whimsy and preciousness are an integral part of If You're Feeling Sinister, along with clever wit and gentle, intricate arrangements — a wonderful blend of the Smiths and Simon & Garfunkel, to be reductive. Even if it's firmly within the college, bed-sit tradition, and is unabashedly retrogressive, that gives Sinister a special, timeless character that's enhanced by Stuart Murdoch's wonderful, lively songwriting. Blessed with an impish sense of humor, a sly turn of phrase, and an alluringly fey voice, he gives this record a real sense of backbone, in that its humor is far more biting than the music appears and the music is far more substantial that it initially seems. Sinister plays like a great forgotten album, couched in '80s indie, '90s attitude, and '60s folk-pop. It's beautifully out of time, and even if other Belle & Sebastian albums sound like it, this is where they achieved a sense of grace.
(amg 10/10)

Bush [1996] Razorblade Suitcase

[01] Personal Holloway
[02] Greedy Fly
[03] Swallowed
[04] Insect Kin
[05] Cold Contagious
[06] A Tendency To Start Fires
[07] Mouth
[08] Straight No Chaser
[09] History
[10] Synapse
[11] Communicator
[12] Bonedriven
[13] Distant Voices



amg: Bush were criticized from most quarters of the music press for sounding too much like Nirvana on their debut album, Sixteen Stone, so in order to shed all of the comparisons, well, they hired producer Steve Albini (Nirvana, Pixies, PJ Harvey) and proceeded to record their own version of Nirvana's dark, difficult In Utero. Actually, Razorblade Suitcase, Bush's second album, cribs heavily from two of Albini's best productions, In Utero and Pixies' Surfer Rosa — they even hired Vaughan Oliver, the designer behind Surfer Rosa, to do the artwork. Of course, relying so much on their idols only brings out Bush's weakness. Granted, Albini has helped make the band sound tougher, simply by stripping away the layers of effects and concentrating on a hard, driving rhythm and stop-start dynamics. The problem is that Gavin Rossdale has not come up with any hooks, which means that while Razorblade Suitcase is more pleasing and visceral on the surface, it offers no hooks to make it memorable, unlike the hit singles from Sixteen Stone.
(amg 5/10)

Bryan Adams [1995] Live! Live! Live!

[01] She's Only Happy When She's Dancin'
[02] It's Only Love
[03] Cuts Like A Knife
[04] Kids Wanna Rock
[05] Hearts On Fire
[06] Take Me Back
[07] The Best Was Yet To Come
[08] Heaven
[09] Heat Of The Night
[10] Run To You
[11] One Night Love Affair
[12] Long Gone
[13] Summer Of '69
[14] Somebody
[15] Walking After Midnight
[16] I Fought The Law
[17] Into The Fire



amg: Bryan Adams's Live! Live! Live! is a straightforward live album, featuring his greatest hits replicated in concert. Adams' support band is professional and he is in fine voice, but the record doesn't offer any new interpretations of the hits, nor does it have much energy. Consequently, it isn't necessary for anyone but the most dedicated fans.
(amg 4/10)

Ben Harper [1995] Fight For Your Mind

[01] Oppression
[02] Ground On Down
[03] Another Lonely Boy
[04] Please Me Like You Want To
[05] Glod to Me
[06] Burn One Down
[07] Excuse Me Mr.
[08] People Lead
[09] Fight For Your Mind
[10] Give A Man A Home
[11] By My Side
[12] Power Of The Gospel
[13] God Fearing Man
[14] One Road To Freedom



amg: Fight for Your Mind fully embraces Ben Harper's influences (Dylan, Marley, Havens, and Hendrix) into a complete sound while simultaneously broadening his thematic and musical palette. Oliver Charles' tactile drumming and Leon Mobley's percussion work give a sparkle to Harper's music that was absent on his debut. Songs like "Gold to Me" and "Excuse Me Mr." show Harper growing as a poet, approaching ideas via more subtle avenues. The single "Ground on Down" and epic jam "God Fearing Man" capture some of the explosive energy of his live performances. The latter makes allusions to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and that's exactly what Harper does — allows his trademark Weissenborn guitar to scream out to his audience. The only misstep on this album is his sophomoric weed anthem "Burn One Down," but one might argue that a little tarnish adds character.
(amg 8/10)

Big Audio Dynamite [1995] Planet BAD - Greatest Hits

[01] The Bottom Line
[02] E=MC2
[03] Medicine Show
[04] C'mon Every Beatbox
[05] V. Thirteen
[06] Sightsee M.C.!
[07] Just Play Music!
[08] Other 99
[09] Contact
[10] Free
[11] Rush
[12] The Globe
[13] Looking For A Song
[14] Harrow Road
[15] I Turned Out A Punk



amg: Culling together tracks chosen from a decade's (and seven albums') worth of material, Planet BAD serves as a focused, well-chosen compilation of Mick Jones' post-Clash outfit. Although neither as critically or commercially successful as the Clash, Big Audio Dynamite's blend of rock and dance music, with a generous dose of samples, was a fixture on college radio in the mid- to late '80s with tracks like "E=MC2," "The Bottom Line," and "C'mon Every Beatbox" (all included here). The band even managed to make a foray onto the U.S. Top 40 charts in 1992 with the infectious "Rush." With his place already secure in rock annals, Jones' work with BAD was much more lighthearted, but it cannily anticipated the influence electronics and technology would have on music. Despite the dated feel of some of Planet BAD, it's also undeniable that the band was a more interesting venture than it was sometimes given credit.
(amg 9/10)

Billy Squier [1995] 16 Strokes - Best Of

[01] The Stroke
[02] In The Dark
[03] My Kinda Lover
[04] Emotions In Motion
[05] Everybody Wants You
[06] She's A Runner
[07] Rock Me Tonight
[08] All Night Long
[09] Eye On You
[10] Love Is The Hero
[12] Don't Let Me Go
[13] She Goes Down
[14] Tied Up
[15] Facts Of Life
[16] (L. O. V. E.) Four Letter Word



amg: All of Billy Squier's best material is dished out on 16 Strokes, from the simplistic contagiousness of "The Stroke" to the Van Halen-like fervency of "Tied Up." His rock & roll flamboyancy, a mix of hard but not heavy guitar riffs wrapped around spirited just-for-fun three-minute outpourings, was best established through his singles and not the entirety of his albums. Squier's wild, sexually inundated feistiness is best represented here on a compilation, where the sleekness of "Everybody Wants You" is found in the same place as the naughty "She Goes Down." Both "In the Dark" and "My Kinda Lover" from 1981's Don't Say No pop up here, as does his smoothest of songs, "Emotions in Motion" from the album of the same name. His later songs from the early '90s don't include the catchy grandeur or congenial rock hollowness of his first three albums, but their appearance on 16 Strokes is the best place to hear them. Efforts like the bombastic "Don't Say You Love Me" or the transparent sincerity of "Facts of Life" still harbor Squier's greasy vocal approach, but work better here as the conclusion to a singles anthology than as the end of an album's worth of this song type. The keyboard-drenched "Rock Me Tonite" is another highlight here, as is the breakneck pace of "All Night Long," the two best outcrops from 1984's Signs of Life album. This collection may not be as indulgent as his two-disc best-of, but it's more than enough for anyone who's interested.
(amg 8/10)

Brian May [1994] Live At Brixton Academy

[01] Back To The Light
[02] Driven By You
[03] Tie Your Mother Down
[04] Love Token
[05] Headlong
[06] Love Of My Life
[07] 39 - Let Your Heart Rule Your Head
[08] Too Much Love Will Kill You
[09] Since You've Been Gone
[10] Now I'm Here
[11] Guitar Extravagance



amg: Live at the Brixton Academy finds former Queen guitarist Brian May playing almost the entirety of his previous solo album, Back to the Light, and an assortment of material from various eras of Queen. The material culled from Back to the Light sounds much more alive in concert than on record, freed up as it is from the album's heavy production. Even "Last Horizon," which sounded quite sappy on the album version, works well here, especially coming after the intense "Resurrection." However, even a live setting can't help the clunker "Too Much Love Will Kill You." The Queen tracks are a mixed bag. May just doesn't have the voice to tackle the harder-edged "Headlong" and "Tie Your Mother Down." These tracks and a quite lifeless "We Will Rock You" sorely miss Freddie Mercury's commanding vocals. However, the medley of the old Queen track "'39" with May's "Let Your Heart Rule Your Head" works quite well, in part because May sung the original version. For old Queen fans, it's also hard not to get emotional on the old sing-along "Love of My Life," played here as a tribute to Mercury While the cover of Hank Ballard's "Since You've Been Gone" doesn't come off as impressive with May's weak voice, the rousing version of Queen's "Hammer to Fall" ends the album on a fine note.
(amg 6/10)

Boston [1994] Walk On

[01] I Need Your Love
[02] Surrender To Me
[03] Livin' For You
[04] Walkin' At Night
[05] Walk On
[06] Get Organ-ized
[07] Walk On (Some More)
[08] What's Your Name
[09] Magdalene
[10] We Can Make It



amg: Boston's long-awaited fourth album, Walk On, which this time took Tom Scholz a full seven years to complete, failed to capture the attention of most AOR fans and became the group's first record to not spawn a hit single. Perhaps the reason was AOR and classic rock stations began losing their audiences in 1992; more likely, it was because Scholz's legendary perfectionism didn't yield the same results it did in the past. Although the production is certainly state of the art and is overflowing with detail, there aren't any memorable songs or hooks to justify such extravagance. On the surface, the record sounds fine, but there is no substance beneath the layers of gloss.
(amg 4/10)

Ben Harper [1994] Welcome To The Cruel World

[01] The Three Of Us
[02] Whipping Boy
[03] Breakin' Down
[04] Don't Take That Attitude To Your Grave
[05] Waiting On An Angel
[06] Mama's Got A Girlfriend Now
[07] Forever
[08] Like A King
[09] Pleasure And Pain
[10] Walk Away
[11] How Many Miles Must We March
[12] Welcome To The Cruel World
[13] I'll Rise



amg: The full range of Ben Harper's influences would not come to bear until later albums, but his debut, Welcome to the Cruel World, lays a strong foundation. "Like a King" and "Take That Attitude to Your Grave" burn with a political conviction rarely heard during the 1990s. "Forever" has a tenderness which demonstrates Harper's emotional range. Lackluster hippie jams that cultivated his early following may have served a purpose but feel fluffy by comparison when compared to the meatier tracks. Ben closes the album with a song that frequently closes his concerts, "I'll Rise." This song, built around Maya Angelou's 1979 poem "And Still I Rise," reminds one of art's ability to pierce through society, self, and the soul.
(amg 6/10)

Bush [1994] Sixteen Stone

[01] Everything Zen
[02] Swim
[03] Bomb
[04] Little Things
[05] Comedown
[06] Body
[07] Machinehead
[08] Testosterone
[09] Monkey
[10] Glycerine
[11] Alien
[12] X-Girlfriend



amg: Bush's grunge-by-the-numbers is certainly well-produced. Under the guidance of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley — the kings of early-'80s British pop — Bush turn in an album that follows all the rules and sounds of American hard rock, specifically Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Their songwriting isn't terribly original, nor is it particularly catchy. What makes "Everything Zen" and "Little Things" memorable is the exact reproduction of all of Nirvana's trademarks, only with a more professional execution. In other words, all the guitars keep rhythm perfectly and Gavin Rossdale doesn't shred his throat when he sings, he projects from his diaphragm. As far as pop craftmanship goes, it's actually quite impressive.
(amg 8/10)

Brian May [1993] Back To The Light

[01] The Dark
[02] Back To The Light
[03] Love Token
[04] Resurrection
[05] Too Much Love Will Kill You
[06] Driven By You
[07] Nothin' But Blue
[08] I'm Scared
[09] Last Horizon
[10] Let Your Heart Rule Your Head
[11] Just One Life
[12] Rollin' Over

With [04] Cozy Powell



amg: Queen guitarist Brian May's first complete attempt at a solo album, Back to the Light, focuses on the hard rock sound that Queen often abandoned in the 1980s. While obviously sounding similar to some of the work by his former band, May's path is far more hard-edged and emotionally punched than the majority of Queen's work. His vocals are sometimes weak for a singer, but they also add a certain tenderness that most hard rock frontmen seem to lack. The album succeeds best on its heaviest tracks such as the cover of "Rollin' Over" or "Resurrection," which features pounding drums courtesy of Cozy Powell and thundering guitar riffs with Queen-like multi-tracked vocals. References to Queen can also be heard in the eccentric humor of such numbers as "Love Token," which includes a back-and-forth dialogue in the middle of the song. Likewise, the low-key country song, "Let Your Heart Rule Your Head," is reminiscent of "'39" off Queen's A Night at the Opera. The ballads are not as strong or as interesting and are not helped by well-meaning but overly sentimental lyrics and light rock arrangements. Unfortunately, the instrumental, "Last Horizon," ends up sounding like Muzak. "Driven By You," the album's biggest hit, was originally written for a Ford commercial, and it shows. That said, it is great to hear May finally get a chance to rock out and while the over-the-top and eccentric stylings of the album might put off some, it is those same traits that will also attract many to this work. [Note: The CD version of the album contains a remix of "Driven By You."]
(amg 6/10)

Bryan Adams [1993] So Far So Good

[01] Summer Of '69
[02] Straight From The Heart
[03] It's Only Love
[04] Can't Stop This Thing We Started
[05] Do I Have To Say The Words
[06] This Time
[07] Run To You
[08] Heaven
[09] Cuts Like A Knife
[10] (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
[11] Somebody
[12] Kids Wanna Rock
[13] Heat Of The Night
[14] Please Forgive Me



amg: Throughout the 1980s and early '90s, few contemporary rock artists were able to come up with as many lighthearted, guilty pleasures as Bryan Adams. This is especially evident through So Far So Good, which neglects all album fillers and compiles many of his most noteworthy songs, from such rockers as "Summer of '69," "Run to You," and "Cuts Like a Knife" to the equally popular power ballads "Heaven" and "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You." Also included is the all-new "Please Forgive Me," one of his best power ballads yet. It's not quite a perfect compilation, however; in particular, his Top 20 hits "She's Only Happy When She's Dancin" and "Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven" are overlooked. These are only minor flaws, though. There is no better introduction to Bryan Adams to date than So Far So Good.
(amg 9/10)

Bob Geldof [1993] The Happy Club

[01] Room 19
[02] Attitude Chicken
[03] The Soft Soil
[04] A Hole to Fill
[05] The Song Of The Emergent Nationalist
[06] My Hippy Angel
[07] The Happy Club
[08] Like Down On Me
[09] Too Late God
[10] Roads Of Germany (After BD)
[11] A Sex Thing
[12] The House At The Top Of The World



amg: Irish singer Bob Geldof's third solo set, The Happy Club, finds him again being produced by Rupert Hine, although he and Pete Briquette lend a hand. Geldof eschews the guest star-laden turns of his prior albums and settles with a set band line-up, with World Party's Karl Wallinger the only name guest. While not quite the triumph of his previous outing, The Happy Club is still an engaging release through and through. Drawing on his love for Motown, the album is an often upbeat, ebullient affair starting with the lead track "Room 19," complete with "sha la las, " hand claps, and comical lyrics about cryogenics. Other standouts include the gentle, lovely "The Soft Soil," the singalong slice of neo-psychedelic pop "My Hippy Angel," and the catchy title track. Thought-provoking lyrics wrapped in some great melodies, The Happy Club is mature, adult pop/rock that doesn't forget to have a good time.
(amg 8/10)

Blondie [1991] The Complete Picture - The Very Best Of Deborah Harry and Blondie

[01] Heart Of Glass
[02] I Want That Man
[03] Call Me
[04] Sunday Girl
[05] French Kissin' In The USA
[06] Denis
[07] Rapture
[08] Brite Side
[09] (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear
[10] Well, Did You Evah!
[11] The Tide Is High
[12] In Love With Love
[13] Hanging On The Telephone
[14] Island Of Lost Souls
[15] Picture This
[16] Dreaming
[17] Sweet And Low
[18] Union City Blue
[19] Atomic
[20] Rip Her To Shreds



amg: This import CD is one of the best Blondie and Debbie Harry compilations for original music, unless one is looking for remixes and rarities. The 20-track disc covers the years 1977-1990, and includes "Heart of Glass," "Call Me," "French Kissin' in the U.S.A.," "Rapture," "Atomic," "The Tide Is High," and others. Very solid song selection (and track order). First released in 1993, the current version has superior sound quality. Casual fans will most likely choose Best of Blondie [Chrysalis], as it only has the best of Blondie. But some of Debbie Harry's songs will please the casual fan, so Complete Picture may be a better alternative than the more expensive Platinum Collection for the adventurous shopper.
(amg 8/10)

Big Audio Dynamite [1991] The Globe

[01] Rush
[02] Can't Wait - Live
[03] I Don't Know
[04] The Globe
[05] Innocent Child
[06] Green Grass
[07] Kool-Aid
[08] In My Dreams
[09] When The Time Comes
[10] The Tea Party



amg: The Globe marked the beginning of the second chapter in Mick Jones' Big Audio Dynamite venture and their biggest commercial success in the U.S. With Jones the only member remaining onboard, The Globe is the sound of a reinvigorated BAD, with the engaging "Rush" becoming a surprise Top 40 hit. There are plenty more worthy tracks, including the buoyant "Can't Wait/Live," the title song (which also charted), and the poignant "Innocent Child," which makes good use of a sample from Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight." The songwriting is some of Jones' strongest in some time, and The Globe was possibly the strongest effort of Big Audio Dynamite (in any incarnation) and certainly their best work since their debut.
(amg 8/10)