Category: reviews

audio review : Reincarnated ( album ) … Snoop Lion

audio review : Reincarnated ( album ) ... Snoop Lion

The worst thing about this album is that Snoop Dogg, known years ago as Snoop Doggy Dogg, changed his name to make it. This new change may be temporary, an alias to reflect his sudden switch from a “gangsta” rapper to a reggae singer, but it’s still silly and unnecessary. “Snoop Dogg” has a nice cool ring to it. “Snoop Lion”, which adds an awkward syllable and sounds like an ebonical way of accusing Snoop of “lying”, sounds comparatively stupid.

The songs are better. Not better than most of his Dogg songs; albums like The Blue Carpet Treatment and Doggystyle trump this one easily; but better than the name. Memorable vocal melodies are hard to find; the Fruit Juice and Smoke The Weed anthems are downright annoying; but the beats are convincingly groovy. Though Snoop often forgets to fake a Jamaican accent, this is, for what it’s worth, real reggae music. It’s just mediocre reggae music.

my rating : 3 of 5

2013

audio review : Tabloid Junkie ( song ) … Michael Jackson

Pay attention to the bridge, where Michael Jackson throws a fit about “everybody” gossiping. He rants to himself, his words loud enough for us to hear but not distinguishable enough to understand, over a pulsating beat with news reports rattling-off in the background. By the end, he’s not even making sense. He’s just caught-up in the music.

It’s an unguarded display of artistry, the type that probably would’ve never seen the light of day before the History album; a song set that follows several months of public hoopla regarding the well-publicized child molestation charges he vehemently denies to this day. It also follows years of scrutiny about him being a “strange” man in general.

Some people still believe he sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber or that he made an offer to buy The Elephant Man’s bones. Both rumors are addressed here. It’s Michael Jackson’s official response to the Tabloid Junkie; anyone so hooked on reading and watching tabloid journalism that it’s gotten to the point where they believe the stories to be true.

my rating : 4 of 5

1995

audio review : History ( album ) ... Michael Jackson

video review : Seven Psychopaths

video review : Seven Psychopaths

Seven Psychopaths isn’t so much a movie about seven psychopaths as it is a movie about a movie about seven psychopaths. That is if merely being a brutal murderer qualifies a person as such. I’d argue that, outside of the pop-based pseudoscience known as psychology, it doesn’t. But that semantic debate is beside the point.

The plot reels you in from the start with two mob-style killers engaging in an interesting dialogue and never really gets boring from there. It never really gets particularly enjoyable neither, let alone as clever as it aims to be. Billy Bickle, a source of comic relief in a movie that would do better without it, is annoying. The dog is adorable.

my rating : 3 of 5

2012

audio review : Of The Heart Of The Soul And Of The Cross [ The Utopian Experience ] ( album ) … PM Dawn

audio review : Of The Heart Of The Soul And Of The Cross [ The Utopian Experience ] ( album ) ... PM Dawn

Prince Be sounds like an estranged member of De La Soul, but he does more than rap. He also recites poetry and sings. It’s that latter skill layed over lush contemporary soul music that makes his songs easier on, if not more pleasant to, the ears.

If people have Heart and Soul, this is, on some aesthetic level, hearty soul music. Be, given his allegiance to The Cross, would probably attribute its tranquil vibes to his Father. The song dedicated to that God is spiritful and enchanting.

A warm Heavenly atmosphere seems to be the goal not just for After I Die but most of these songs. Memory Bliss owes its life to a Spandau ballet and Mirrors invokes the passion of Michael Jackson, but most of this album is refreshingly original.

my rating : 3 of 5

1991

audio review : Blackout [ White Noise ] ( EP ) … Booka Shade

audio review : Blackout [ White Noise ] ( EP ) ... Booka Shade

Chelonis R Jones adds nothing of value to this set. In fact, he takes value away. His vocals, presented upon both versions of the title track as a dub blend of sorts, are annoying and distracting. It just sounds like some random gay guy talking nonsense over thumpy house grooves.

My only other major complaint is that the Karrera song is already included on the Haleshop EP released just a few months ago. Otherwise the music is typical Booka Shade, which typically isn’t a bad thing, especially if you happen to be night-outing on a crowded dance floor.

my rating : 3 of 5

2013

audio review : The Comeback ( album ) … Bass 305

audio review : The Comeback ( album ) ... Bass 305

The title is about as trite as can be. Bass 305 already made a Return twelve years ago. That one, from a four-year album Departure, produced just one follow-up; a 2002 remake of their Digital Bass debut. Both albums were massively disappointing, at least for those of us anticipating music near the aesthetic level of Bass The Future and Virtual Bass. The problem with Bass 305, at one time one of my favorite song artists, is that they lost their way and are apparently too inept or too apathetic to get back on track. Artists lose talent, yes, but I’d bet on the latter, which goes back to the laughably unartistic album title.

The tracks, of which descriptions like Supa Bass DJ Mix and DJ Hip-Hop Drop serve as actual titles, only make matters worse. There are savers. The Fort Lauderdale song is quirky and fun. I can imagine it playing on a tour bus as it arrives in the city. The Brave, with its soothing synth notes, comes close to revisiting the duo’s glory days. As generic as this Comeback sounds; plenty of bass but hardly any good music to accommodate; there is melody there. It’s one of too many political songs featuring the voice of Ronald Reagan, but it stimulates. A random JL Audio plug sloppily tacked to the beginning of the album just annoys.

my rating : 2 of 5

2011

Skittles [ Darkside ]

Skittles [ Darkside ]

This is getting ridiculous; all the random assortments of Skittles introduced over the years. Darksides are just as unnecessary but also as delicious as most. There is a Dark Berry, Forbidden Fruit and Blood Orange; the three best flavors; along with Pomegranate and a Midnight lime that seems to taste less tangier, thus better, than Original lime.

my rating : 4 of 5

audio review : Speechless ( song ) … Michael Jackson

This is Michael Jackson at his most mawkish, which isn’t necessarily something to frown upon. The problem is that there aren’t any soothing melodies to counter the nausea. “Your love is magical,” this teenage love poem insists, “I’ll go anywhere and do anything just to touch your face.” If a person were to say that to me with a straight face, I’d question their sanity.

The King proves he still has one of the best singing voices in Pop music; he begins and ends with an a cappella; and I like the way he ad-libs “You are always in my heart” like he did at the end of You Are Not Alone, but the ballad’s only true saving grace is the gorgeous orchestration happening in the background. It would do much better as a sap-free instrumental.

my rating : 3 of 5

2001

audio review : Invincible ( album ) ... Michael Jackson

audio review : The 20-20 Experience [ 1 of 2 ] ( album ) … Justin Timberlake

audio review : The 20-20 Experience [ 1 of 2 ] ( album ) ... Justin Timberlake

Timbaland needs to shut up. The decision to use him and co-producer J-Roc was a wise one; their grooves are sleek and often superb; but he rarely, if ever, has anything poignant to add vocally. His signature ad-libs serve as not much more than a minor distraction made major because it happens too often. This is a Justin Timberlake album, after all, and though Timberlake is no master poet himself, he does have a pleasant singing voice and a knack for vocal melody. For comparison’s sake, since it would take an artist at least near Michael Jackson’s level to take the King Of Pop crown, you can call Justin Timberlake a modern-day Andy Gibb. Like Gibb, as creatively limited as it is, most of his songs have to do with girls and romance. In the case of this album, they all do.

Besides stealing Barry White’s music and emulating Prince’s falsetto, the set begins and ends with a random metaphor. The Love he has for his “baby” is a drug addiction. Their romantic getaway is a Blue Ocean Floor. Even Let The Groove Get In, a party anthem that simply encourages people to dance, is focused on “little mama”. It’s also built around an annoying party chant that’s abandoned for a much better 1970s-style floater about three-fourths in. Most of these songs make grand transformations at some point. That Girl, the skit-like intro of which throws things off a bit, isn’t much to look at and I don’t see anything special in Mirrors, but much of this 20-20 Experience, the title of which allows for such corny visual puns, is dazzling enough.

my rating : 3 of 5

2013

audio review : The 20-20 Experience [ 2 of 2 ] ( album ) … Justin Timberlake

audio review : Done By The Forces Of Nature ( album ) … Jungle Brothers

audio review : Done By The Forces Of Nature ( album ) ... Jungle Brothers

“I’ll walk a mile for a funky beat,” Mike G says on the title song, but I think these brothers would rather swing from the trees. It’s those funky beats in either case; mostly modern hip-hop but sometimes 1970s-style disco, acid jazz and African tribal; that make this album a standout. Listen to the groove of the starter song for example; a space jam entitled Beyond This World; and try not to dance to it.

If there’s a misstep, it’s that the production, beatwise and vocally, is so experimental and sporadic that sometimes the Brothers stop rapping and stumble across short breakdowns that would’ve been better-off looped to lace the entire song around. The a cappella jingles of Beads On A Strings, the piano scratch ending of Comin Through and the spirited peak of Good Newz Comin are all prime examples.

That’s a minor complaint though. The J Beez; a rap group that seem to have more collective talent than A Tribe Called Quest and maybe even De La Soul; provide ample entertainment for your listening pleasure. Whether or not you agree with their Afrocentric philosophies and History lessons, they’re a likable bunch with fun (girl-chasing) personalities and plenty of good music to shake your Nature to.

my rating : 4 of 5

1989