Category: reviews

audio review : Hearts And Bones ( album ) … Paul Simon

audio review : Hearts And Bones ( album ) ... Paul Simon

I don’t know why Paul Simon decided to put two versions of the same song on this album. There are A and B versions of Think Too Much. The better one should be the only one. For me that’s B; a placid Karimba tune that, for some reason, comes before A. Also troubling is how the album ends. The Late Great Johnny Ace is a nice tribute as far as peer homage goes but not a proper way to close a Paul Simon album.

If there’s a saving grace, it’s the inclusion of the title song; Hearts And Bones; and Train In The Distance. They’re less songs than narrative poems set to music, but they’re two of Simon’s best. René And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War; you’ll appreciate the long title after hearing the song; is also enchanting, but the background singing; the best part; is abandoned before the halfway point.

my rating : 3 of 5

1983

audio review : The Outsiders … REM ( featuring Q-Tip )

The best part is when Q-Tip raps, but it’s not because of Q-Tip. His verse, which reads like a poem, is neither here nor there. What makes that part standout is the soothing tranquility of the background music, which, along with some urging ad-libs from singer Michael Stipe, is just beautiful enough to save the song.

my rating : 4 of 5

2004

audio review : Around The Sun ( album ) ... REM

audio review : Hallelujah ( song ) … REM

A piano plays at 02:34. It’s panned to the right, but it should be mixed, louder than it is, in stereo. That or dead center. It should play repeatedly, perhaps as a continuous loop, so that the guitars, drums and what sounds like orchestral strings revolve around it.

As it is, REM’s Hallelujah, their final song as far as album chronology goes, struggles to lift itself up from the pits of mediocrity. The music carries with it the grandeur of a huge and historic cathedral. The verses are also enchanting. It’s the refrain that suffers.

my rating : 3 of 5

2011

audio review : Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage ( album ) ... REM

audio review : Give In To Me ( song ) … Michael Jackson

“Give in to me,” demands the controller. He’s addressing a woman and there are sexual undertones to his persistence. “I’m on fire,” he exclaims, “Quench my desire.”

This ballad, driven by an echoed snare and raunchy guitars, follows in the footsteps of Dirty Diana, which comes after Beat It, as the sole rocker on a Michael Jackson album.

my rating : 4 of 5

1991

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

audio review : From Death ( album ) … Goon Squad

audio review : From Death ( album ) ... Goon Squad

This Goon Squad, representing Detroit’s 7 Mile road, often rap about partaking in criminal activities. They’re thugs, after all. But, while several people are harmed over the course of the set, their biggest crime seems to be stealing (sampling) other people’s music. Marvin Gaye is the victim on No Place, about a man serving time in prison. It’s deep but doesn’t leave as much of an impact as No Trust, another prison story that deals with unfaithful “hoes” on the outside. It’s the best song. The chorus doesn’t really make sense; first he says he trusts nobody, then he says he only trusts a few people; plus it plays just once and lasts for only four bars, but it’s catchy and the echoed shout ends it on a perfect note.

The most entertaining song is Lick Lickin, about oral sex and dedicated to the “slut” who performs it. It’s sort of a mock ballad in that the guys are playing around instead of being serious while actually singing instead of rapping. The organ sounds pretty nice though and the Squad manages to stumble upon a few real melodies along the way. This particular form of comic relief is quite welcomed. It’s a funny song. What the album would do better without are the Luke-like dance tracks near the end, some of which are verse-free instrumentals. Their inclusion, all during the second half where they are, comes across as random and off-putting, basically killing any chance of this being a decent rap album.

my rating : 2 of 5

1995

audio review : Girl On Fire ( album ) … Alicia Keys

audio review : Girl On Fire ( album ) ... Alicia Keys

If the title is a metaphor to suggest that Alicia Keys is some kind of outstanding musical talent, I disagree. The girl can play the piano, but, when it comes to composing songs, she’s lukewarm at best. Her singing voice is nice enough. I don’t even mind the husky underlining that makes it sound like she either needs to go “ahem” real loud or lay off the Newports. It’s her vocal melodies that lack. Almost every song here suffers from a case of first-degree mediocrity.

my rating : 3 of 5

2012

audio review : Departure ( album ) … Bass 305

audio review : Departure ( album ) ... Bass 305

Bass 305 may be starting to Depart from their musical roots, but it’s not enough to justify such a dramatic album title. The only signature sounds they’ve completely abandoned are the corny hip-hop samples I was hoping they’d rid themselves of long ago and the robotic voices I was hoping they’d never mute.

Even the audiologist returns on Tones; one of the album’s two best songs and previously released on Volume Two of the Bass Explosion series. There are also samples from Nasa space missions, though the one used as the album’s Introduction; an astronaut simply counting down and blasting off; reeks of laziness.

Laziness seems to play a major part of this album. The mastering is flawed; some songs sound louder than others; and some tracks, namely Industrial Computer and the Cyber Bass Woofer Test; the latter of which should’ve actually served as the background to a proper Introduction; sound like filler.

Mark Watson; Magic Mark from the Bass Explosion series; plays the saxophone on a few jazz songs, including an Electro (filler) version of Ocean Dance, but they sound disappointingly out of place on a Bass 305 album. Cyber Travel, which launches the album via the aforementioned Apollo blast, sounds about right.

305.1, on which the audiologist from Tones gives a lecture about loudspeakers, is a standout. The angelic chorus conjures Does Life Exist. It would be the album’s best song if not for the way it rhapsodizes itself two thirds in. China Doll and Dominican Moondance, despite their traveling titles, go nowhere.

my rating : 3 of 5

1995

audio review : Virtual Bass ( album ) … Bass 305

audio review : Virtual Bass ( album ) ... Bass 305

“If you cannot relate to 305, you will not survive the future,” an automated voice warns on the Intro, which sets the tone for an album that is essentially a musical space trip. Close your eyes, drift off to Digital Dreams and lose yourself in an intergalactic joyride.

Pit stops include Does Life Exist; the best Bass 305 song yet; Space Travel and the oddly-titled Look Aggressively Towards The Future. The only real failure, in fact, is Mix Master; a stereo-panned tribute to a hip-hop subgenre the 305 boys really need to let go of.

my rating : 4 of 5

1994

audio review : Bass [ The Future ] ( album ) … Bass 305

audio review : Bass [ The Future ] ( album ) ... Bass 305

At this point, it’s about more than just making your woofers go boom. Bass is at the forefront, to the point of being obsessively interlaced into the very essence of these songs, but musically it’s more of an underline. That means Bass 305 is taking you Into The Future of music; electronic music in general; a world where computer-savvy audiophiles, be them bassheads or not, reign supreme.

Maybe 305 should; no pun intended; drop the Bass and market themselves as just an electronic music duo from Miami. The best parts of their music actually have little to do with the bass. It’s other elements of the music; higher frequency synths, orchestration chords and such; that sound most pleasing to the ears. Man Likes The Sound Of Bass, yes, but those other parts are even better.

Most of the track titles have the word Bass in them, so they’re just as repetitive and unimaginative as the ones on Digital Bass, but this album is better than that one. The duo should stop using so many outside vocal samples though. Most of them are corny and cliché. One major exception is that audiologist guy who seems to know everything there is to know about sound. He’s awesome.

my rating : 4 of 5

1993

audio review : Digital Bass ( album ) … Bass 305

audio review : Digital Bass ( album ) ... Bass 305

The title song; trance music for space cars; is the best song. Most of the others serve as filler. The gist of the album centers around a celebration of computer-generated Bass music with stock vocal samples mixed in for measure. Techno seems to be the genre of choice; the first of many similarly titled, and subtitled, songs is Techno Bass; but there are also hints of hip-hop.

my rating : 3 of 5

1992

audio review : You’re The One ( album ) … Paul Simon

audio review : You're The One ( album ) ... Paul Simon

Paul Simon is a brilliant storyteller. He could sing the story of your life in a few bars. It’s a talent he has a true knack for. Melody is another, but that talent doesn’t really reveal itself on this album, which, following what is probably his best; Songs From The Capeman; is probably his worst.

Not that You’re The One; what an awful title; is abominable. Only the Pigs Sheep Wolves allegory and the tuneless Quiet fall below average. It’s just that most of the songs are average. Darling Lorraine is poignant and sweet. Old is quirky and fun. The rest struggle in the way of vocal melody.

my rating : 3 of 5

2000

audio review : Haleshop ( EP ) … Booka Shade

audio review : Haleshop ( EP ) ... Booka Shade

If I’m the DJ, all three of these songs can go on my playlist. Club dancers should find it easy to lose themselves in their pulsating grooves. The first one is the best and Booka Shade seems to know that. The others, stripped down to mostly rhythmic loops and weird sound effects, serve as virtual bonus tracks. What I think they’d do better without are the incoherent, albeit concise, vocal samples.

my rating : 3 of 5

2013