Author: David Medsker (Page 50 of 96)

Rod Stewart: The Definitive Rod Stewart

November 28, 2008 /

He is without question one of the most gifted singers in rock history, but there’s something depressing about The Definitive Rod Stewart; granted, 15 of the songs on this two-CD/one-DVD set were Top 10 hits, yet one can’t help but think that Stewart has spent the majority of his career squandering his talent, hit singles be damned. Fans will point to his versatility, but it’s more like bandwagon jumping, from mellow gold to disco to new wave to the inevitable unplugged session (his mining of the Great American Songbook, thankfully, is not included here). To his credit, Rod could sell ice to the Eskimos, which is why “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” and “Infatuation” were such massive hits. Warner Bros. definitely picked all of the right songs for this set – though we would have included anything else from his catalog, even his cover of Free’s “All Right Now,” if it meant the exclusion of “Love Touch” – and the inclusion of a DVD featuring a bunch of his promotional videos is a nice plus. But the fact that this is Stewart’s definitive work is more damning than cause for celebration. (Warner Bros.)

Rod Stewart MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

Enya: And Winter Came…

November 28, 2008 /

Actual conversation between two Bullz-Eye staffers:

Writer #1: Isn’t Enya’s new album a holiday album?
Writer #2: Aren’t they all holiday albums?

It was only meant as a joke, of course, but there is a kernel of truth there as well. There is nothing on And Winter Came… that sounds any more or less Christmas-y than any of her other albums (save for the album’s closer, a version of “Silent Night” done in Irish), but Enya’s soundscapes do have a certain coldness to them that make them ideal wintertime listening. You’ve heard a few of these songs before in various incarnations – this album’s instrumental title track is a direct descendant to the instrumental title tracks on Watermark and Shepherd Moons – but a couple songs, namely “Trains and Winter Rains” and “My! My! Time Flies,” boast chord progressions and arrangements that suggest Enya’s a closet power pop fan, of all things. Heck, the latter song even has an honest to goodness guitar solo. It’s tempting to put Enya down for making the same album over and over, but it works, damn it. (Reprise)

Click to buy And Winter Came…

Ambient, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, New Age, Pop

Popdose’s Top 100 songs of the past 50 years: less vomit-inducing than Billboard’s list

November 24, 2008 /

It started as a simple “can you believe this?” post and soon morphed into a battle cry. Billboard announced their all-time songs of the Billboard era, and Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” topped the list (the song actually topped Billboard’s singles chart twice), followed by such timeless classics as “Smooth,” “How Do I Live,” “Macarena,” “We Belong Together” and “Un-Break My Heart.”

The Popdose staff, needless to say, was not amused.

And so, we (ESD writers David Medsker, Will Harris, Jeff Giles, Michael Fortes and Mojo Flucke, PhD are all Popdose contributors) set off to create our own list, one that would surely be just as flawed as Billboard’s list – women and non-whites are woefully underrepresented – but would have infinitely better taste. In the end, I think our list is a grand example of our extreme whiteness, but also a damned fine list. I’m still pissed that “The Air That I Breathe” didn’t make the cut, though.

To view Popdose’s Top 100 songs of the past 50 years, click here.

Alternative, Americana, Artists, Blues, Dance, Lists, Metal, Pop, Power Pop, R&B, Rap, Rock, Songs, Soul

Sandra McCracken: Red Balloon

November 14, 2008 /

Derek Webb’s better half has raised her Q factor considerably this year, first with the dazzling Ampersand EP with husband Webb and now Red Balloon, her sixth solo album. Split into two sides – literally, the album contains two CDs, each housing five songs – the album features the kind of wistful acoustic pop that Sheryl Crow might make after listening to a bunch of Sarah McLachlan records, though Crow hasn’t written a song as catchy as “Lock and Key” or “On the Outside” in years. Sometimes the album gets a tad too maudlin, as on “Saturn’s Fields,” but there is no denying that McCracken is a gifted singer and songwriter in an age where anyone with a guitar and a notebook filled with Dear John letters fancies him or herself a gifted songwriter. That she’s not playing these songs on a larger stage is borderline criminal. (Sandra McCracken Music)

Sandra McCracken MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Pop

Various Artists: The Best of Bond…James Bond

November 7, 2008 /

Albums like The Best of Bond…James Bond are tough to critique; on one hand, this album was released with a near-identical track listing back in 2002 (the 2008 version replaces Moby with Chris Cornell and k.d. lang), which means the 2008 issue is just an opportunistic cash grab. On the other hand, the contents of both albums are impeccable. Louis Armstrong, Shirley Bassey (three times), Paul McCartney, Duran Duran, Carly Simon, A-ha (don’t laugh, their theme for “The Living Daylights” is one of the most underrated Bond themes ever), and Tom Jones on one disc? That is 16 different flavors of awesome, right there. Of course, the album doesn’t feature “Another Way to Die,” Jack White and Alicia Keys’ theme for “Quantum of Solace,” but don’t worry; that will surely appear on the 2014 issue of this album. See our problem with this? It’s good stuff – but its existence is awfully cynical, too. (Capitol)

Click to buy The Best of Bond…James Bond

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop

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