Mosaic
Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
An award-winning songwriter who captivates audiences with her full, yet luciously delicate vocal style, India Taylor is based in Austin, Texas. Originally from Louisiana, her music is a bewitching gumbo of sensuality, a sprinkle of humor, and pop charm, with occasional blues and country influences. India, from a family of musicians and composers, decided to go the pop route. Before moving from Louisiana, she received majored in vocal music there and has also studied contemporary voice extensively.
Album Description
Superb lyrics. A "star-studded album" per The Austin Chronicle. Range rivals Mariah Carey's per the Lake Charles American Press. A bewitching gumbo of soulful vocals, poignant words, a sprinkle of humor and alternative pop charm with occasional blues and country influences.
Average customer rating:
- Reggae Folk Pop
- rise against the chillis "bedouin soundclash is actually really good:"
- AN ALBUM TO LISTEN TO AGAIN AND AGAIN
- Funky Kingston
- Just like a mosaic: Simple when you look close but beautiful and complex as a whole
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Sounding a Mosaic
Bedouin Soundclash
Manufacturer: Side One Dummy
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Punk
| Hardcore & Punk
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Ska General
| Ska
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Contemporary Folk
| Folk
| Styles
| Music
General
| Reggae
| International
| Styles
| Music
Rocksteady
| Reggae
| International
| Styles
| Music
Folk Rock
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- The Aggrolites
- Bedouin Sound Clash
- Show Your Bones
- Broken Boy Soldiers
- Root Fire
ASIN: B0008KLV7S
Release Date: 2005-05-10 |
Tracks:
- When The Night Feels My Song
- Shelter
- Living In Jungles
- Money Worries - (featuring Vernon Buckley)
- Gyasi Went Home
- Shadow Of A Man
- Jeb Rand
- Criminal
- Murder On The Midnight Wire
- Music My Rock
- Rude Boy Don't Cry
- Immigrant Workhorse
- Nothing To Say
- Money Worries - (E-Clair remix)
- Rude Boy Abroad - (Lazare remix)
Album Description
Ontario's Bedouin Soundclash has emerged as a young group refusing to be classified, while blurring the lines of reggae and rock. Look for them on the Vans Warped Tour this summer.
Customer Reviews:
Reggae Folk Pop.......2007-01-11
What happens when you combine Folk, Pop and Reggae? You end up with Bedouin Soundclash. All of the songs have catchy hooks and choruses, so there is never really a "dead spot" on the CD.
If you are a fan of the old style Reggae, then this might just be a group for you.
rise against the chillis "bedouin soundclash is actually really good:".......2006-04-23
I think bedouin soundclash is areally good band compared to other bands. Any who doesn't agree sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AN ALBUM TO LISTEN TO AGAIN AND AGAIN.......2006-02-23
This is overall an amazing album. I purchased it a while ago after hearing When A Night Feels My Song on the radio. I was blown away by the consistency of the album. Every song is a hit single.
ALL RATINGS OUT OF 5
WANFMS - 5/5 what do you expect? Can never get tiresome
Shelter - 3/5 probably my least favourite song on the album
living in jungles - 3.5/5 solid song
money worries - 4/5 vernon buckley is a mad man
gyasi went home - 4/5 just go home gyasi
shadow of a man - 3.5/5 great rythym
jeb rand - 4.5/5 great vocals
criminal - 3.5/5 set up song for later
murder on the midnight wire 5/5 - my favourite song on the album
music my rock - 6/5 cancel that this is my favourite song
rude boy don't cry 4/5 - the album is almost over but don't cry
immigrant workforce - 4.5/5 good solid song
nothing to say - ending off strong
the rest of the songs are remixes so i wont review those. This is summer music at its best.
PEACE
Funky Kingston.......2005-09-16
Kingston, Jamaica? No, mon, that'd be Kingston Ontario. As in Canada. As in wind chill, blizzards, and block heaters. And trust me, when Toots Hibbert sang about a "Funky Kingston" there was nobody getting the two towns mixed up. Yet as unlikely as it may seem - especially given the fact that Bedouin Soundclash played among all the trendy screamo bands on this summer's Warped tour - these Canuck kids do the reggae like they stepped straight outta Trenchtown.
"Sounding A Mosaic" was produced by Darryl Jennifer (of DC hardcore legends the Bad Brains), and he does an ace job of maintaining that sense of lazy space featured in all great reggae. Everything bobs, slinks, and hops with an unhurried, heavy-lidded pace, perfect for power-lounging on a tropical beach (or, given their citizenship, maybe a particularly muggy kitchen). Singer Jay Malinowski's voice resembles Bob Marley, but the band lays down grooves more similar to the reggae-lite of Jimmy Cliff, with a few overtones of dub and an appropriately distant element of Two-Tone ska. For extra cred, they do a version of the Maytones' "Money Worries" that features Vernon Maytone himself on vocals. Not that they needed the help, as the lead-off single "When The Night Feels My Song" is so feel-good melodic that Johnny Nash probably would've eaten his own head just to have it as a followup to "I Can See Clearly Now."
So it's Funky Kingstons now. As in two of them. As in who'da thunk? I guess it was inevitable that there'd be some pleasant trickle-down effect of rampant globalization.
Just like a mosaic: Simple when you look close but beautiful and complex as a whole.......2005-06-22
It's as simple as this: one beautiful voice, one single guitar playing hypnotic reggae clean riffs, one inspired bass line (the album is produced by Bad Brains bass player Darryl Jennifer) and drums that you can't almost notice on some songs that almost seem like some acoustic roots reggae and have much more importance on drum and bass tracks giving a refreshing beat to this album.
BSC doesn't fall in the temptation of adding extra instruments or effects to make their album sound more eclectic, they stick to the ingredients above giving us the impression that they are talented and they don't need any cheap trick to make it more obvious.
They are great song writers: each song as its own story, the lyrics are wise, and as for the music, they manage to change the beat at the perfect moment, bring a catchy chorus so you don't get bored and find yourself listening to the whole CD begging for more.
I personnaly regret that the 2 remix songs don't bring much and somehow betray the global feeling of the album.
In addition to this album I would suggest Root Fire which is as solid as this one, not to be considered as a prequel to Sounding a Mosaic but as another beautiful "mosaïc" which confirms that these guys have their own style. If you don't know him, I would also suggest Patrice early albums :"Ancient Spirit" & "Lions EP"
Average customer rating:
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Beyond the Blue Horizon
George Benson
Manufacturer: Mosaic Contemporary
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Bebop General
| Bebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Hard Bop
| Bebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Smooth Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Soul-Jazz & Boogaloo
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Good King Bad
- The New Boss Guitar
- Bad Benson
- Shape of Things to Come
- In Concert-Carnegie Hall
ASIN: B000OONPJU
Release Date: 2007-05-22 |
Tracks:
- So What
- Gentle Rain [From the Gentle Rain]
- All Clear
- Ode to a Kudu
- Somewhere in the East
- All Clear [Alternate Take][*]
- Ode to a Kudu [Alternate Take][*]
- Somewhere in the East [Alternate Take][*]
Product Description
Superb 24-bit remastered reissue of the classic CTI LP featuring Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette.
Customer Reviews:
The Real George Benson!.......2007-06-14
I've been a George Benson fan for almost three decades now (though not so much in recent years) but for most of that time I was also a pretty ignorant one in that I used to believe his career began with 1976's Breezin'. I know better now of course. Fine an album as that one was (and still is) though, a few albums preceded it that were far superior, especially in terms of his jazz guitar playing. I'm thinking about White Rabbit, (also released in 1971), 1973's Body Talk and 1974's Bad Benson, and even after all this time, these are still some of my favourites.
This one I missed though. Recorded in 1971, I recently learned that it's considered by many to be one of his best. The sticker label on the front of the CD proclaims it as "the legendary musician's most brilliant guitar recording. A breathtakingly burning finger-bursting jazz guitar classic!" and after just one listen I have to say I totally agree. There are no vocals at all on this one, not even Benson's trademark background scatting, which alone marks it out. The guitar playing is mesmerisingly interesting.
There were five tracks on the original album, produced by Creed Taylor and it features other legends like Ron Carter on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums, with Clarence Palmer on organ, and Michael Cameron & Albert Nicholson on percussion. This (probably remastered) reissue has three extra tracks; alternate takes of "All Clear", "Ode To A Kudu" and "Somewhere In The East". These alternate takes are not quite as tight are the original versions and lean towards the smoother jazz Benson was to later become renowned for. No surprise there, I suppose.
I've always loved Benson's guitar improvisations but some of the stuff he does here - on the Bonfa/Duble tune "The Gentle Rain" and the exotic, worldly "Somewhere In The East" especially - is just crazy. The percussion on the tune is almost worth the price of the CD all on its own. "All Clear" has been one of my favourite tracks by Benson for the longest time ever since a friend put it in a compilation tape for me back in the old days. It's only recently I decided to find the album the song came from. I may have left it rather late but better late than never, no?
If you ever wanted to have an idea of how George Benson might have turned out if he hadn't tried to be a jazz guitarist AND a pop singer at the same time, this CD is definitely worth checking out. Personally, I love every minute of it.
Average customer rating:
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Intimate Patti Austin
Patti Austin
Manufacturer: Mosaic Contemporary
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Contemporary R&B
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
General
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
General
| Soul
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
Quiet Storm
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
General
| Adult Contemporary
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Avant Gershwin
- for Ella
- Street of Dreams
- Love Is Gonna Getcha
- Surrender
ASIN: B000OONPJK
Release Date: 2007-05-22 |
Tracks:
- Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)
- Island
- Baby, Come to Me - Patti Austin, James Ingram
- If I Believed
- Summer Is the Coldest Time of Year
- Cry Me a River
- Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
- Any Other Fool - Patti Austin, Sadao Watanabe
- In My Life
- Through the Test of Time
- If This Is the Last Time
- Love's Been Kind to Me Lately
Average customer rating:
- Brilliant
- Best album I've heard in a long time.
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Mosaic
Woven Hand
Manufacturer: Sounds Familyre
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Experimental Rock
| Rock
| Alternative Styles
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Alt-Country & Americana
| Country
| Styles
| Music
Folk Rock
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Experimental Music
| Miscellaneous
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Live
- Folklore
- Sackcloth 'n' Ashes
- Olden
- Low Estate
ASIN: B000HEZC0C
Release Date: 2006-09-19 |
Tracks:
- Breathing Bull
- Winter Shaker
- Swedish Purse
- Twig
- Whistling Girl
- Elktooth
- Bible And Bird
- Dirty Blue
- Slota Prow - Full Armor
- Truly Golden
- Deerskin Doll
- Little Raven/Shun
Album Description
An enchanting and layered world of musical meditations. David Eugene Edwards' music is brooding and dark, yet somehow maintains a tight grip on hope. Dreamy instrumentals, jarring anthems, haunting melodies, hypnotic percussion. Whether the biblical references inspire heartfelt devotion or confused indifference, it's the power of the words and the passionate authority with which they're sung that bring Edwards' songs to another level.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant.......2006-11-13
This album is absolutely gorgeous, and some of the best music I've heard in a long time. I also think this is Mr. Edwards' finest album yet. It's not different in style from his past works, just better. For me it's the first complete Woven Hand album, the first one without a single dull track. I've been a fan since 16 Horsepower, and I'm constantly impressed that he continues to deliver great music album after album, but he's outdone himself this time. I highly recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed the music of 16 HP or Woven Hand.
Best album I've heard in a long time........2006-09-20
I have been running music stores for 11 years, so you know that I am very picky. This guy is brilliant. He has incorporated world music with melodic vocals that are just haunting. the images that he portrays in his songs with his obvious religious background in superb. There is nobody out there like this. if you like folk music, dark sounding gospel or just plain world music, this is for you. he uses many different instruments and as stated, his vocals are indescribably good.
Average customer rating:
- Benson's Last Purely Funky Jazz Release
- The Good King is Bad...
- Not typical CTI-era Benson...
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Good King Bad
George Benson
Manufacturer: Mosaic Contemporary
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Smooth Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Jazz Funk
| Funk
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Beyond the Blue Horizon
- In Concert-Carnegie Hall
- The New Boss Guitar
- Stay with Me
- Heart to Heart
ASIN: B000N3ST0C
Release Date: 2007-06-05 |
Tracks:
- Theme from Good King Bad
- One Rock Don't Make No Boulder
- Em
- Cast Your Fate to the Wind
- Siberian Workout
- Shell of a Man
- Hold on I'm Coming
Customer Reviews:
Benson's Last Purely Funky Jazz Release.......2007-07-03
I admit to being a Johnny-come-lately when it comes to the music of George Benson. I hadn't even heard of him until Breezin' burst on the scene. Though I did not care much for his vocals at the time, his guitar wizardry mesmerized me. So when I soon found out he'd been around for awhile, I started exploring his back catalogue and was stunned upon discovering Good King Bad.
GKB is so good, it is an album I still own on vinyl, cassette, and now on CD. I even once owned it on 8-track. There are very few recordings I own in so many formats so that should testify to how vital I think this is.
Since I rarely listen to my albums anymore, I have been watching this site for years for Good King Bad to be reissued on CD. As soon as I discovered it had been, I ordered it immediately and received it within days. Imagine my joy as I put it on and cranked it up!
The best songs here are definitely the Dave Matthews compositions. Theme From Good King Bad is great, One Rock Don't Make No Boulder is better, but Benson really scores a knockout with Siberian Workout. Not only is George Benson spectacular on this tune, its relentless driving rhythm has even a non-dancer like myself wanting to get up and get down. In addition to the Matthews cuts, I also highly enjoy Em.
Where Good King Bad differs from some of Benson's earlier instrumental albums is in the way he plays. While his virtuosity shines thoughout, Benson's play is far more controlled and deliberate than in the pre-GKB past.
Those reading this review may wonder why I give the CD only four stars after praising it so highly. Well, its because of the addition of the vocal Hold On I'm Coming which was not on the original album and which is very much out of place here. Mosaic Records would have done listeners a much bigger favor adding some CTI out-takes or alternate versions of the other songs rather than sticking us with a vocal which is evocative of Benson's rather lame mid-80s and 90s soul crooner output. Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, the original recording is admittedly short but the last song would have been better off omitted. This song is probably the source of the first reviewer's somewhat negative evaluation of the quality of the album.
Good King Bad is George Benson's last purely funky jazz release before he started to slouch toward the pop/smooth jazz mix that made him famous in the wider world. If you are one of those who love George Benson best when he uses his guitar to sing, then forget about the last song and get this CD anyway. You won't regret it.
The Good King is Bad..........2007-06-26
We all have our tastes, but if you have trouble with Benson's effort on this set, then ours obviously run counter. George is in fine form and plays with the confidence that comes from not having to show off to impress anyone. The respect he shows to Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, 'Brother' Jack McDuff and Tal Farlow are obvious to me, but hey I'm from the Miles Davis school of less (well-placed) is more. His time, ability to swing and touch are all quite tasty...anyone that can't get into 'Good King Bad' has truly missed the boat.
I've been looking for this one since 1977 and almost fell over when I saw that it was being released on cd. Finally...while he doesn't dominate the set with his flawless technique, there's no doubt who the Alpha is, the Good King is indeed Bad...
Not typical CTI-era Benson..........2007-06-19
While the vast majority of George Benson's CTI-era releases are at least worthy - if not outright burnin' - "Good King Bad" isn't one of his better efforts for the label.
While I don't have so much of a problem with attempts at pop crossover, I was disappointed in Benson's playing, which sounds bored, stilted and surprisingly conservative considering his playing on other CTI barnburners, including "Bad Benson," "Beyond the Blue Horizon" and even "Body Talk," which also is obviously aimed at more of a pop audience but is a much better record.
Benson's pop crossover was most successful on "Breezin,'" where he managed to show his considerable jazz guitar chops, get his "pop" vocals on the record and sell a gazillion copies for the effort. It was a record that left both pop and jazz audiences satisfied.
While I've been approving of Mosaic Contemporary's choices so far for its releases of the more "modern" stuff, particularly its reissuing of Benson's "Beyond the Blue Horizon" and Freddie Hubbard's outstanding "Super Blue," I can't quite figure out why Mosaic - a label with unusually pristine judgement - chose to reissue "Good King Bad." It's a pretty mediocre effort for a Mosaic release, and a failure at Benson trying to please two audiences at once. It's neither a good jazz or pop effort.
While I didn't believe the record deserves a two-star review, it doesn't quite reach a three star, either. I would call it a two and one-half.
If you are a fan of Benson's finger-busting guitar chops you will be disappointed with "Good King Bad." I would definitely go for "Beyond the Blue Horizon" or even "George Benson In Concert at Carnegie Hall," also recently reissued by Mosaic and a pleasing effort for fans of Benson's astonishing guitar prowess.
jazzbojesus has spoken.
Average customer rating:
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Ultimate Alex Bugnon
Alex Bugnon
Manufacturer: Mosaic Contemporary
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Smooth Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Orchestral Pop
| Easy Listening
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Ultimate Earl Klugh
- Stay with Me
- White Sand
- Born 2 Groove
- Greatest Hits
ASIN: B000N3ST0M
Release Date: 2007-04-03 |
Tracks:
- Around 12:15 A.M.
- Piano In The Dark
- Love Season
- Dance Of The Ghosts
- 107 Degrees In The Shade
- The Lone Crusader
- This Time Around
- Okra
- Onward, Upward
- Walking In Rhythm
- Soul Purpose
- Missing You Like Crazy
Average customer rating:
- MOSAIC is definitely worth listening to...
- I know it because I lived it.
- Bought for 'Everybody have fun tonight', kept for the rest
- Aptly named
- Two good songs, two pretty good. That's all.
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Mosaic
Wang Chung
Manufacturer: Geffen Gold Line Sp.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
New Wave
| New Wave & Post-Punk
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Dance Pop
| Dance & DJ
| Styles
| Music
CDs Under $7
| Alternative General
| Alternative Rock
| Today's Deals in Music
| Formats
| Music
All Bargain Titles
| Alternative General
| Alternative Rock
| Today's Deals in Music
| Formats
| Music
CDs Under $7
| New Wave
| Alternative Rock
| Today's Deals in Music
| Formats
| Music
CDs Under $7
| Dance General
| Dance & DJ
| Today's Deals in Music
| Formats
| Music
All Bargain Titles
| Dance General
| Dance & DJ
| Today's Deals in Music
| Formats
| Music
Similar Items:
- Points on the Curve
- The Warmer Side of Cool
- To Live & Die In L.A.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
- Huang Chung
- Everybody Wang Chung Tonight: Wang Chung's Greatest Hits
ASIN: B000000OYB
Release Date: 1996-03-19 |
Tracks:
- Everybody Have Fun Tonight
- Hypnotize Me
- The Flat Horizon
- Betrayal
- Let's Go
- Eyes Of The Girl
- A Fool And His Money
- The World In Which We Live
Customer Reviews:
MOSAIC is definitely worth listening to..........2007-01-21
I was very fond of "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" and "Let's Go!" before getting the Mosaic CD. I also heard of "Hypnotize Me", but everything else was a blur to me. Eventually, I got the CD, and realized the magic Wang Chung produced over 20 years ago. "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" is, and will always be, their greatest hit on the Top 100. That wacky anthem of "Everybody Have Fun Tonight... Everybody Wang Chung Tonight" will live on as an unofficial song opener for party... even if they don't know what a Wang Chung is. "Hypnotize Me" is a pretty decent song, especially for people who are madly in love. "The Flat Horizon" is an artsy song, to say the least. Listen, and you'll know what I mean. I personally think both "Betrayal" and "A Fool and His Money" brought the album's notoriety down, but that's just me. "Let's Go!" is a sleeper that managed to break into the Top 10, somehow. But, don't get me wrong, I like it. Aside from EHFT, this has to be the best song on the album. "Eyes of the Girl" is mesmerizing, and has a catchy beat, too "The eyes of the girl are following me... now it's all over, they're raining on me". Last, but not least, "The World In Which We Live" still stands true to it's word, even in the 21st century. Albeit the F and S words through me off at first, the overall lyrics are good, and the only bad thing is that the song is 7 minutes long, and it gets VERY repetitive at the end. All in all, I like this album. I gave it 4 stars, only because tracks 4 & 7 killed "Mosiac". Everything else is dynamite...
-WFM II
I know it because I lived it........2006-08-17
Let me indulge readers in an alternative perspective of Wang Chung. The other reviews here seem to rubberband between worshipfulness and thrashing. How about a more reasonable, more objective view? I remember seeing the video for "Dance Hall Days" from their 1984 album "Points On The Curve" as my first exposure to Wang Chung. I was unaware at the time that they already had a previous album.
In 1985, I was aware of "To Live And Die In L.A." and saw the video for the title track (and later the film by William Friedkin--The Exorcist, The French Connection).
In October 1986, "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" was inescapable, and to a 13 year old kid like myself the video was unique and the song was infectious. "Let's Go" was the second single/video, and I was sold. I saw Jack and Nick at an in store signing at Sound Warehouse in Aurora, Colorado in March 1987. The third single, "Hypnotize Me" was also good, and was used in the film "Innerspace" with Dennis Quaid and Martin Short.
All eight songs on Mosaic are well produced and arranged. If you didn't like the New Wave sound of the 1980s, then you probably won't like "Mosaic". I thoroughly enjoy the punk/New Wave sound, so 20 years later, I still enjoy "Mosaic". "A Fool And His Money" I think of as being the weakest track. Otherwise, "The Flat Horizon, "The World In Which We Live", "Betrayal" and "The Eyes Of The Girl" are all solid numbers. Unfortunately, "Mosaic" would prove to be the pinnacle of Wang Chung's career.
In 1989, I was quick to buy their next album "The Warmer Side Of Cool", which may surpass "Mosaic" artistically. However, by 1989, many popular artists of the 1980s were being snubbed by radio and MTV/VH1, and so Wang Chung disappeared from view.
I have "Strictly, Inc." with Jack Hues and Tony Banks (of Genesis) from 1995 which received no recognition. Then their Greatest Hits was released in 1997 with a new track "Space Junk" which I felt showed great promise, but there was to be no new album.
In June 2005, after I thought they'd vanished into the annals of pop music history, Jack and Nick showed the world once more that they are trained experts at their craft when they performed on the television show "Hit Me Baby One More Time" covering Nelly's "Hot In Herre" with the precision of a surgeon. There was talk of a new Wang Chung album (which I'd snap up in a minute), but alas, a year has come and gone and no new album.
And so those of us who appreciate Jack and Nick's vision have to deal with derision from anti-80's music snobs who are in no position to judge music they weren't old enough to experience the first time around or who were old enough, but preferred hair bands or the fledgling, underproduced rap music of the day.
I give "Mosaic" four stars because I never felt Wang Chung were allowed to reach their true potential, but what they did leave behind is pure melodic New Wave/romanticism that no one seems capable of duplicating 20 years later. It was another time and another place 20 years ago, and while there is a new Neo-New Wave music crowd burgeoning, I haven't heard anything remotely similar to what Wang Chung were able to devise.
Bought for 'Everybody have fun tonight', kept for the rest.......2005-07-06
As quite often happens with me, I bought MOSAIC for a single song - "Everybody Have Fun Tonight", the only one I recall ever hearing before buying the album and the most famous of the lot - and ended up liking a couple of the other songs even better than the original raison d'etre of the album. Out of the eight songs, I'm very fond of four, which is a pretty good hit rate by my standards.
Jack Hues (the lead vocalist on "Everybody Have Fun Tonight") is lead vocalist throughout, and most of the songs have approximately the same mix of vocals, give or take throwaway lines.
"Everybody Have Fun Tonight" Original 1986 recording (ouch, that it's been that long), hasn't been given any new ill-advised "musically superior" arrangement.
"Hypnotize Me" Forgettable. "Just shine the light in my eyes/And hypnotize me love."
"The Flat Horizon" I'm fond of this one, though I have to say I had to read the lyrics before I had a good grasp of all that was being said. "Oh this line is the flat horizon/and you are the shape on the left/Oh this line is the flat horizon/And this is the sun in the sky/Oh this line is the flat horizon/and makes the great divide/between heaven and angels/and earth and man."
"Betrayal" Minor key as sax dominates the accompaniment, very sad while being a good song.
"Let's Go" - One of my three favourite songs on here; surprising that it isn't played more often on weekday mornings. Very cheerful and upbeat. "I wish you'd drop what you're doing/And get on the case/We could blow this existence/Right out into space..."
"Eyes of the Girl" - Fast 4/4 tempo, dominated by snare and guitar."Tears fall from the eyes of the girl/and the girl is watching me."
"A Fool and His Money" - "Just like a fool and his money/Just like a fool, I let it slip away". Slower tempo, but with guitar rather than keyboards dominating the instrumental accompaniment, and with a different mix of supporting vocalists. "Betrayal" is much more effective at conveying heartbreak; Jack Hues doesn't sound like he really cares about the subject of the song here.
"The World in Which We Live" - The longest song on the album at over 7 minutes (the others average about 4 minutes 45 seconds), arguably the most obscure (the unexpurgated lyrics aren't a help there), and yet the song that gives the album its name. While the tempo seems much faster than that of the other songs due to the driving percussion, it's actually about the same beat as "Let's Go" with a lot more energy. "The world in which we live/the world in which we all are depends/whoever would forgive/the way we treat the world in which we live/Chorus: The world is a mosaic upon a golden floor/Moving silently, darkly through space/and our lives are the fragments and all that's gone before..."
Aptly named.......2005-05-20
Wang Chung never was that great a success, even within 80's dancepop, but they had some memorable hits. This is a great representative sample of what they were capable of, including the incredibly catchy Everybody Have Fun Tonight (one of the best song titles ever). Only the mediocre A Fool And His Money and Betrayal hold it back.
Two good songs, two pretty good. That's all........2005-02-06
"Everybody Have Fun" and "Let's Go" are terrific pop songs, catchy and with a beat. I must've heard them (involuntarily) hundreds of times on my health club sound system over the years. They are quite good. "Hypnotize Me" and "Eyes of the Girl" are pretty good, too. The rest are dull and boring, and the last one, "World in Which We Live" is pretty awful.
I bought this record on vinyl when it came out, and rarely had the patience to sift through the tracks by lifting and dropping the needle. Now, with all my music on my computer, I can pick and choose, and I've put the above four tracks onto my hard disc. But for those of you looking to shell out money for a good new CD, it probably isn't worth it. The four good songs are probably on some best-of collection, a better choice.
Average customer rating:
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Patti Austin
Patti Austin
Manufacturer: Mosaic Contemporary
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
General
| Soul
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Beauty & Crime
ASIN: B000PAAI6G
Release Date: 2007-08-14 |
Tracks:
- It's Gonna Be Special
- Rhythm of the Street
- All Behind Us Now
- Hot! In the Flames of Love
- Change Your Attitude
- Shoot the Moon
- I've Got My Heart Set on You
- Fine Fine Fella (Got to Have You)
- Starstruck
- Any Way You Can
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In Concert-Carnegie Hall
George Benson
Manufacturer: Mosaic Contemporary
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Smooth Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Live Albums
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Contemporary R&B
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
General
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
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- Good King Bad
- Beyond the Blue Horizon
- For Sentimental Reasons
- Monterey International Pop Festival
- The Trio of Doom Live
ASIN: B000OONPK4
Release Date: 2007-05-22 |
Tracks:
- Introduction
- Take Five
- Summertime
- Gone
- Sky Dive
- Octane
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Nightsongs
Earl Klugh
Manufacturer: Mosaic Contemporary
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Smooth Jazz
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Orchestral Pop
| Easy Listening
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Heart to Heart
- Babysoul
ASIN: B000OPOC9G
Release Date: 2007-05-08 |
Tracks:
- Ain't Misbehavin'
- Theme From "The Pawnbroker"
- The Look of Love
- Nature Boy
- Stay Gold (Theme From "The Outsiders"
- Night Song
- See See Rider
- A Certain Smile
- The Shadow of Your Smile
- Theme From "Picnic"
Music:
- Moving [CD-single] [Import]
- Never Grow Old
- New Sound of the Venezuelan Gozadrea [CD-single]
- Nirvana: The Interview [Import]
- No Distance Left to Run Pt. 2
- No Exit (Tour Souvenir) [CD-single]
- Now We're in the Sun [Enhanced]
- Peace [Import]
- Pulp It Up
- Robbin the Hood [Import]
Music
music
Music
Perpetual State Of Aggression
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, Romeo and Juliet Overture, Marche de Slave and Francesca Da Rimini
Rafael Kubelik & Rudolf Serkin Play Beethoven
Time, Love & Money
The Best of Disorder
The Threepenny Opera [Cast Recording]
The Great Dinosaur Mystery and Dinosaur Rock
Requiem, the Mole's Tale [Live]
The Everly Brothers Sing
Speed Demon
Synchronicity [SACD]
Synergy
Solid Ground of the [Import]
Lovesick Blues
To the Pain