Archive for November, 2006

CAN’T LET GO - LANDON PIGG

Sporting the name of an angry metal band, Landon Pigg is a 23-year-old singer-songwriter who looks like Ashton Kutcher’s younger brother and draws inspiration from Rufus Wainwright and Brandi Carle. Unafraid of cliches, “Can’t Let Go” from his debut, “LP,” is a soaring widescreen ballad that openheartedly mourns the loss of love that never was […]

November 18th, 2006 - Posted in Single Reviews

DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL - FRANKIE J

Frankie J offers yet another tender medley in “Daddy’s Little Girl,” the second single from his latest album “Priceless.” The piano ballad finds the feathery-voiced singer exploring the thoughts and fears of a child going through her parents’ divorce: “Daddy, daddy, don’t leave/I’ll do anything to keep you,” J sings amid ambient background noises of […]

November 18th, 2006 - Posted in Single Reviews

I LUV IT - YOUNG JEEZY

With his husky vocals and brash rhymes, Young Jeezy played a big role in the “drug rap” movement that continues to hypnotize hip-hop. The Atlanta rapper sticks with that formula on “I Luv It,” the lead single from upcoming sophomore album “The Inspiration: Thug Motivation 102.” Similar to T.I.’s “What You Know,” the song’s grand […]

November 18th, 2006 - Posted in Single Reviews

PLAY WITH FIRE - HILARY DUFF

Hilary Duff has got a brand-new bag. “Play With Fire” is less of the cliched little-girl-playing-tough-pop/rocker than it is a truly intriguing exploration into darker, more experimental melodic structures that could attract a whole new crowd of late-night dance-floor minions to the Duff camp. The original version is just fine, but the tweaked-out radio edit […]

November 18th, 2006 - Posted in Single Reviews

Nick Cave unveils side-project

Nick Cave has announced the full details of his Grinderman project.
Cave is joined by Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos in this new group, which has completed its debut LP.
The self-titled album was recorded and mixed in London earlier this year and is now scheduled to be released in March.
Grinderman today unveiled the first […]

November 18th, 2006 - Posted in Music News

Genesis Reborn

In the beginning, there was Genesis.
The most successful incarnation of the famed British prog-rock band is getting back together after a 15-year layoff and embarking on a summer 2007 European trek, with an eventual stopover in America.
Singer
Phil Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks and guitarist Mike Rutherford are reuniting for the Turn It On Again tour, which […]

November 18th, 2006 - Posted in Music News

Reggaeton compilations vie for holiday dollars

High-profile reggaeton compilations featuring many of the same acts are vying to distinguish themselves this holiday season — and carry sales into 2007.
Since its September 26 release, Luny Tunes and Tainy’s “Mas Flow: Los Benjamins,” has sold 80,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. But hot on each other’s heels this month are “Wisin y Yandel […]

November 18th, 2006 - Posted in Music News

AWAKE - JOSH GROBAN

Reprise certainly had its work cut out for it five years ago when it aimed to break a young pop-classical singer named Josh Groban. Sixteen million copies of two albums later, it would be simple enough for the 25-year-old to rest easy with more of the same. But on “Awake,” Groban bounds forward via […]

November 14th, 2006 - Posted in Album Reviews

LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST -NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE


November 14th, 2006 - Posted in Album Reviews

9 - DAMIEN RICE

Damien Rice’s 2004 debut, “O,” had its darling moments of innocence and whimsy, but “9″ keeps both feet on the ground. Addressing jealousy, sex, loneliness, cheating, exhaustion and unfulfillment, Rice’s fragile voice whimpers and moans through heart-on-sleevies like “9 Crimes” and “The Animals Were Gone.” Just like on the first album, the pretty string […]

November 14th, 2006 - Posted in Album Reviews

ME, MYSELF AND I - FAT JOE

Having split with Atlantic in favor of a distribution deal with EMI’s Imperial Records, Fat Joe offers quintessential Don Cartegena rhymes on “Me, Myself and I,” particularly during “Breathe and Stop,” where he claims he could “play it like Kanye and let my chest hair show, but that just ain’t Joe.” His spat with […]

November 14th, 2006 - Posted in Album Reviews

CROSSROADS: CRUCE DE CAMINOS - INTOCABLE

Crossover is an apt description of Intocable’s music, which often veers from regional Mexican into pop. However, this album is not totally revolutionary for the band, which has been pushing the envelope of the norteno sound for some time while keeping close to its basic root. Both extremes are heard on the single “Por Ella.” […]

November 14th, 2006 - Posted in Album Reviews

THE GREAT BURRITO EXTORTION CASE - BOWLING FOR SOUP

Doling out another dose of quirky pop/rock a la prior radio hits like “1985″ and “Ohio (Come Back to Texas),” the new Bowling for Soup album should elicit smiles and snickers all around. First single “High School Never Ends” is a hilarious social commentary with biting wit, a bit of truth and an absolutely […]

November 14th, 2006 - Posted in Album Reviews

Return of the Cat, 30 years after embracing Islam

Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens before he became a Muslim in the 1970s, released his first commercial album for nearly three decades today, but reviewers seemed unimpressed.
An Other Cup went on sale in Britain along with a single, Heaven/Where True Love Goes, while the album was to be released in the […]

November 14th, 2006 - Posted in Music News