Reviews by abee

Wooaaaah Steinman! and Meatloaf of course! Loved this album for a long time now. Theatrical Rock is right up my street, but loving also the rock n roll and biker rock (just made up a genre!) elements. The album cover is just the icing on the cake for me.

Know of Kraftwerk, heard a few songs in passing but never listened to a full album. This was wonderful, it sounds almost like prog-electronic rock. The synthetic instrumentation does not detract from the passion and warmth of the tracks and the melodies underlying the electronic vocals are divine.

Again, I don’t really like jazz, or instrumental music, again I have been blown away by an absolutely incredible piece of art, incorporating big band themes and Spanish notes This felt very classical based with the instruments taking a life of their own. Its transcendent.

I was looking forward to this and the songs Shout, Head over Heels and Everybody Wants to Rule the World are iconic but the other album tracks while well written and produced didn’t enthral me.

I hate dance music; it is like someone is drilling into my head. At some parts I thought the track was skipping, no that was just the song. I can tell that Setting Sun was the lead single as I thought that was good, reminiscent of Depeche Mode, but the rest was very jarring.

I had certain preconceived ideas coming into this. Considering it includes their four huge hits – Welcome to the Pleasuredome, Relax, Two Tribes, and Power of Love - I thought this would be one amazing fun fuelled extravaganza but there are so many covers, one perhaps, but four? It made me wonder how songwriters that could write such amazing powerful, political songs couldn’t just write. some. more. Perhaps that is the curse of the double album, over reaching leads to overpadding.

I remember having a heated discussion about this band’s pronunciation, its pronounced NOY I’ve been told; but that as far as I ever got with them. I love German music, electronic/thrash metal, its all-good stuff. I expected this to be really hard so was surprised about its melodic ambience. However, ultimately it didn’t emotionally reach me.

Simply Tremendous.

One of my favorite bands and what an album, moving away from tranquil ethereal tunes and towards more confident almost Music Hall sound. Marr’s beautiful folk inspired guitar chords and Morrissey’s brilliant lyrics, as exemplified by I grabbed him by the gilded beams, that’s what tradition means, are in full force here. Their songs are Kitchen Sink vignettes each one telling an evocative story that’s cryptically told but fully understood. That is what makes them so great.

I have never heard of this band before and it didn’t bode well for me that they started with Freddie’s Dead, normally your first song on an album is the strongest so having a cover here worried me. But, wow the rest of the album was as good as the opening track. A mix of rock reggae, funk. Deep lyrics, wonderful voice, lovely melodies. This album was able to invigorate me in the middle of sweltering heat, so good.

I am thinking that I am kinda their target audience, love electronic pop and his voice is incredible. Was hoping for a lot more from this album from the Leeds duo. I have heard many of their hits already, Tainted Love, though a cover is wonderful, Bedsitter is evocative and has as great beat, while Say Hello Wave Goodbye is such a beautiful song (though I prefer the cover by David Gray), but it is the non-hits that not even I can rate highly.

Generally, when I am watching a film and a great song comes on the soundtrack it ends up to be John Cale and I love his covers of Hallelujah and Heartbreak Hotel. I have this one and really like it, seems like a warm Victorian musical travelogue. I have heard that it is his most accessible work and having weathered through albums like Vintage Violence, I can wholeheartedly agree.

Ah, my nemesis, we meet at last, here you are – my least favourite album in my collection that I keep for “sentimental reasons” * – The Who – Live at Leeds – 3 STARS
Playing side one, I will start off by saying that I am not the greatest fan of rock n roll. It feels like the dance music of its time, all that 12-bar blues can be a bit repetitive but done by the right people. i.e. the artists themselves, it can be vibrant. This just feels like poor cover versions to me.
Then comes side two, I used to complain that Magic Bus feels like a 9-hour bartering session between two stoners about the titular “Magic Bus” (which in my head is always a Volkswagen minibus T2 painted purple with a daisy motif). But I have listened to it again and it is fantastic. So extra marks for this and My Generation.
*One of the first albums I ever bought, found unironically in a bargain bin in Woolworths.

Um not sure with this one. Wouldn’t say it grabbed me. I did see a difference between the more funkier songs, which I am not a fan of and the rap rock of BOB which I really liked, even more than Ms Jackson whose RNB beat was a bit obvious.

Love Country (unless its Dixie Chicks), even more do I love Country Rock/Folk. This is classic Country and although I had high hopes, while it was nice to listen to it had no wow factor.

Making Plans for Nigel band? Great. But no this was an 80s offering, while I quite liked this concept album at the beginning, it wore thin and sounded less innovative and more like the weak tea style of 80s pop by the second half.

I had been meaning to buy this for a while, liked Odelay and loved Midnite Vultures, so was excited to generate it. I do like it, lovely melodies and interesting production. This time he has gone with a singer songwriter feel and that is not something I am going to complain about. But here is the but, none of the songs stood out, it all seemed like one song so I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I could have. But again, something made me relisten and I am beginning to really feel it, especially the second half.

I was obsessed with REM as a young person, I still am. Even though I stopped buying their albums after New Adventurers in HiFi, I never really had a problem with their output. This is where it all started for me, with the mumbling, jangly, melodic beauty of their work. I find them hard to define, feeling that college rock best describes them, its lo-fi but don’t let that make you think it is not polished, their work is cleverly executed and this album still haunts me to this day.

I dunno, I have tried. I like Walking on the Moon and Message in a Bottle but the rest is forgettable. Holding out now for Outlandos D’Amour to be the one that turns it round for me.

It’s been a pretty blah week with lots of mediocre albums and few high spots so I clapped when I saw Elvis’s name. Elvis never lets you down, Elvis to the rescue I think, and the album title is like a postcard sent to me by him. From the afterlife. I much prefer Elvis’s Las Vegas songs and here they are in all their glory. After a hiatus from non-soundtrack albums – most of which were not good, Kid Creole and Blue Hawaii being exceptions, he had started to get back to live performances with the NBC special and studio albums. This one includes such classics as Gentle on my Mind and In the Ghetto that he sings with all his Memphis soul, backed by the Memphis Boys and beautiful female harmonies. Truly a joy.