Category: Artists (Page 70 of 262)

Daniel Merriweather: Love & War

February 23, 2010 /


RIYL: Mark Ronson, Al Green, Elton John

It is said that late is better than never, but in an industry where timing is everything, the decision to push Love & War, the solo debut of Australian soul singer Daniel Merriweather – it is actually his second album; his first one remains unreleased – to 2010 is a curious one. If memory serves, the first word to come out about the album dropped in late 2007, presumably to take advantage of the buzz surrounding Merriweather’s performance of the Smiths’ “Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” on Mark Ronson’s album Version, released earlier that year. So what gives?

Our best guess: too many ballads. Love & War sounds exactly like you would expect a Mark Ronson-produced Daniel Merriweather album to sound. The arrangements are vintage soul and cutting-edge recording techniques at the same time, and Merriweather, who sounds like a soulful version of UB40’s Ali Campbell, emotes the ever-loving daylights out of these songs. The results are consistently pleasant and occasionally stunning, notably the horn-drenched “Change,” the Al Green-ish “Getting Out,” and the “California Dreamin'”-cribbing “Could You.” Give Merriweather credit for aiming high – the opening track “For Your Money” sports half a dozen key changes – but a few more shifts in tempo would have worked wonders. (J Records 2010)

Daniel Merriweather MySpace page
Click to buy Love & War from Amazon

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Pop, Soul

BT: These Hopeful Machines

February 19, 2010 /


RIYL: Chicane, Paul Oakenfold, machine gun edits

BT’s 2003 album Emotional Technology is still arguably the most overproduced album in music history, which is saying something given the huge advancements in overproduction in the last few years. Indeed, it appears that Mr. Transeau himself knows that he went too far on Emotional Technology, because his next album, 2006’s This Binary Universe, consisted largely of ambient orchestral music, with not a single vocal to be found. Now seven years removed from his last pop album, BT finally gets back on the horse and, BT being BT, he goes whole hog, though in a slightly different way. Where Emotional Technology contained bushels of those trademark stutter edits, These Hopeful Machines contains boatloads of music. Two albums’ worth, in fact, with nary a track under five minutes…and six songs over ten minutes. Uh oh.

BT_02

Ah, we kid. These Hopeful Machines, despite its preposterous length – wisely, it’s being sold for the price of a single disc – is a triumphant return to form from a songwriting perspective. It may take 20 minutes to play them, but “Suddenly” and “The Emergency” are two of the best tunes BT’s written in ages, the latter of which sounds like a lost track from Chicane’s (awesome) Behind the Sun album. More importantly, BT has improved dramatically as a singer; the a cappella harmonies in “The Emergency” are stunning. He’s at the point where he doesn’t need guest singers to dress up his albums, though he brings a few in anyway, notably ex-Catherine Wheel singer Rob Dickinson. And we would be remiss if we didn’t mention “Rose of Jericho,” which blends Paul Oakenfold’s “Save the Last Trance for Me” with, of all things, Hot Butter’s instrumental “Popcorn.”

The album is still way, way too long – each song could stand to be at least a minute shorter – but closing Disc 2 with an ambient cover of the Psychedelic Furs’ “The Ghost in You” eases the listener fatigue a bit. The potential for a crossover hit is clearly here; if BT would submit to having an executive producer keep him focused, there would be little stopping him. (Nettwerk 2010)

BT MySpace page
Click to buy These Hopeful Machines from Amazon

Ambient, Artists, CD Reviews, Dance, Electronica, Pop

Will Harris remembers Doug Fieger

February 16, 2010 /

Doug Fieger

To many, Doug Fieger will always be just a member of The Knack, the band that quickly rose to prominence in the late 70s with its massive hit, “My Sharona.” But to those that followed The Knack throughout its career, they did so because of Fieger’s charms as a gifted pop songwriter and vocalist. His talent was anything but fleeting, as his bulky songbook can attest. Whether it was the band’s debut album, Get The Knack, or overlooked efforts such as Serious Fun, Fieger’s craft rarely wavered. Considering Fieger’s contributions to Was (Not Was)’s Born to Laugh at Tomadoes, work as producer with Rubber City Rebels and Mystery Pop, and reputation as a true student of rock ‘n’ roll, it’s obvious that Fieger adored music until the very end. Simply put, Fieger was always trying something new — even if we didn’t know about it.

In his recent column, Will Harris details his experience with Fieger’s music, from his first impressions of “My Sharona” through Fieger’s last released recording. Also featured are fond memories of Fieger left by other members of the music industry including Nick Kozonis, David Bash, and Barry Holdship. Give it a read.

Artists

Iggy and the Stooges to unload ‘Raw Power’ box set

February 12, 2010 /

Iggy and the Stooges

To the delight of many, Iggy and the Stooges were finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year. Of course, the album that garnered the band its adoration over time was Raw Power, originally released in 1973. It’s one of those albums that deserves to be done up with nice packaging and coveted rarities. Like Iggy and the Stooges’ Hall induction, a decent reissue for their best album is long overdue, but at least Sony is going all out to make sure the buyer gets their bang for their buck.

From Pitchfork.com:

On April 13, Columbia/Legacy will release Raw Power: Legacy Edition. Two weeks later, on April 27, they’ll follow it up with the even more deluxe Deluxe Edition.

The Legacy Edition will include a remastered version of the original album, featuring David Bowie’s original mix, on its first disc. The second disc, titled Georgia Peaches, includes a complete recording of a heavily bootlegged Atlanta live show from 1973– with two previously unreleased bonus tracks to boot: the studio outtake “Doojiman” and a studio rehearsal performance of “Head On”. It’ll also include a 24-page booklet with essays about the band and introductions from surviving members.

All that stuff will also show up in the Deluxe Edition. Both discs will share space with a third disc, Rarities, Outtakes, & Alternates From the Raw Power Era, which will include eight tracks from different sources (five of them previously unreleased). The fourth disc is a 30-minute documentary DVD called The Making of Raw Power.

And yeah, there’s more. You’ll also get a reproduction of a rare Japanese picture sleeve 7″ single of “Raw Power” and “Search and Destroy”, five 5×7 photo prints, and a 7″ softcover booklet with an essay by Henry Rollins and testimonials from prominent folks like Lou Reed, Joan Jett, Tom Morello, and others. Before the April 27 release date, the box will be available exclusively through the Stooges’ website. Stooges nerds, start saving your money.

I feel like I need to wait 30 years before buying an album — when it arrives with all the frills. It will take just take patience and incredible thriftiness.

Artists, Boxed Sets, News

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