Their sophomore release is a mind blowing masterpiece, layered and rhythmic with strict definitions and timing. These four artists were known individually before forming their power quartet, being ex and current members of Don Caballero, Storm And Stress, Helmet, and Tomahawk.
B,Battles,Dim Mak Records,Experimental Rock,Indie Rock,Math Rock,Pop,Post-Rock/Experimental,Rock,Rock/Pop
B [EP]
Average customer rating:
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Back to Black
Amy Winehouse Manufacturer: Republic ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000N2G3RY Release Date: 2007-03-13 |
Tracks:
- Rehab
- You Know I'm No Good
- Me & Mr. Jones
- Just Friends
- Back To Black
- Love Is A Losing Game
- Tears Dry On Their Own
- Wake Up Alone
- Some Unholy War
- He Can Only Hold Her
- Bonus Track 1
From Amazon.co.uk
Amy Winehouse's second album, Back to Black, is one of the finest soul albums, British or otherwise, to come out for years. Frank, her first album, was a sparse and stripped-down affair; Back to Black, meanwhile, is neither of these things. This time around, she's taken her inspiration from some of the classic 1960's girl groups like the Supremes and the Shangri-Las, a sound particularly suited to her textured vocal delivery, while adding a contemporary songwriting sensibility. With the help of producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, "Rehab" becomes a gospel-tinged stomp, while the title track (and album highlight) is a heartbreaking musical tribute to Phil Spector, with it's echoey bass drum, rhythmic piano, chimes, saxophone and close harmonies. Best of all, though, is the fact that Back to Black bucks the current trend in R&B by being unabashedly grown-up in both style and content. Winehouse's lyrics deal with relationships from a grown-up perspective, and are honest, direct and, often, complicated: on "You Know I'm No Good", she's unapologetic about her unfaithfulness. But she can also be witty, as on "Me & Mrs Jones" when she berates a boyfriend with "You made me miss the Slick Rick gig". Back to Black is a refreshingly mature soul album, the best of its kind for years. --Ted KordAlbum Description
Hailed by Newsweek Magazine as a cross between Billie Holiday and Lauryn Hill, British soul singer Amy Winehouse's U.S. debut, Back To Black hits the US amid a flurry of accolades, radio and TV buzz unprecedented in recent years for a young siren.Her brassy mix of emotive vocals tinged with 60's girl-group stylings, sly funk, and anguished jazz, sparked the New York Daily News to crown Back To Black a "marvelous debut that would do Etta James proud" while New Yorker Magazine called her "a fierce English performer whose voice combines the smoky depths of a jazz chanteuse with the heated passion of a soul singer," and Spin Magazine affirming "there's never been A British star quite like her."
Back To Black smolders with a bristling fusion of old school doo-wop/soul inflected uprisings, (the charismatic singer/songwriter wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album) brewing instant classics such as the Shirley Ellis influenced "Rehab," the Supremes tinged title song "Back To Black," the aching "Wake Up Alone," and the album's closer, "Addicted."
Album Details
Ivor Novello Award Winner, Mercury Music Prize and Triple Brit Nominee Amy Winehouse, Follows the Release of her New Single "rehab" and Recent Sell-out Mini-uk Tour, with the Hugely Anticipated Release on October 30th of her New Album "back to Black". On "back to Black", the Follow-up to her Platinum Debut "frank" which Established her as One of the Most Exciting and Challenging Artists in Pop Music, Amy Confirms, Beyond Any Reasonable Or Unreasonable Doubt, What a Truly Remarkable Talent She Is.Customer Reviews:
If you like winehouse.......2007-07-26
WTF happened to "Addicted"?.......2007-07-26
groovy stuff.......2007-07-26
Amy Amy Amy!!!.......2007-07-25
Truth be told, I think I prefer Winehouse's UK debut Frank even better than this album, if only because it feels more hip with its collection of dexterously cribbed hip-hop beats and effortlessly catchy melodies; if you can find it, it's the stopgap you've been waiting for between those Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill follow-ups that can't arrive too soon. But Back to Black offers a specificity and yet timelessness that its precursor doesn't share; ultimately, the two albums complement one another without trampling on either's individual accomplishment.
Winehouse, like so many great British soul singers, looks back past the Beyonces and even Janet Jacksons for influences, instead choosing the likes of Motown and girl groups like the Shangri-Las as her source of inspiration. The first single, "Rehab," pays subtle tribute to those predecessors both thematically and musically: while Winehouse tells her would-be support group "there's nothing you can't teach me/ that I can't learn from Mr. Hathaway," the Dap-Kings' rhythm section carves out a funky groove straight out of the mid-1960s, sounding immediate and dated all at the same time. Producer Mark Ronson (Lily Allen, Ghostface Killah) ladles vintage soul onto six of the disc's eleven tracks, lending Winehouse's syrupy voice the kind of universal catchiness that spawns a thousand future samples - the first of which, appropriately enough, already appeared on Ghostface's More Fish album in November of last year.
At the same time, Winehouse enjoys solo songwriting credit on almost all of the tracks - except those featuring Ronson's amazing arrangements or an actual sample - suggesting that she isn't a mere interpreter or frontwoman for some coterie of studio svengalis. Her lyrics languish in brilliant, beautiful and often painful details, observing intimacy and awkwardness and exuberance - sometimes all at once: on "You Know I'm No Good," for example, she sings "you say 'when we're married', 'cause you're not bitter," then subtly acknowledges her own carpet-burn confession of infidelity. Hers are not always optimistic love songs, but they're always honest, and she's more direct here than Beyonce could be in a dozen "Ring The Alarm"-style confessionals.
Among the best tracks are the funky, aforementioned "You Know I'm No Good," the track reworked for Ghostface; "Just Friends," about a pair of illicit lovers who want to be buddies - if only their attraction will let them loose; "Back to Black," a mammoth '60s soul epic that sounds like a collaboration between Phil Spector and Ennio Morricone; "Love Is A Losing Game," a Dusty Springfield-style summer song that is beautiful right up until the moment it breaks your heart; and "He Can Only Hold Her," which may rank as one of the most honest songs ever written about a woman who doesn't - or more accurately, can't - return her would-be man's love.
The album closes with a tune that might serve as the female counterpoint to D'Angelo's classic "Brown Sugar" - is she talking about weed, or sex, or love that she can't get enough of? Naturally, the answer is up to the listener; but suffice it to say that "Addicted" is indeed the appropriate way to end Back To Black. Because even if you thought pop was all but robbed of its flavor and stretched to its flabbiest, most played-out incarnation possible, Winehouse's music suggests there's still a lot left to chew on.
amazing!.......2007-07-25
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Planet Earth
Prince Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000RMC7H0 Release Date: 2007-07-24 |
Tracks:
- Planet Earth
- Guitar
- Somewhere Here On Earth
- The One U Wanna C
- Future Baby Mama
- Mr. Goodnight
- All The Midnights In The World
- Chelsea Rodgers
- Lion Of Judah
- Resolution
Amazon.com
Because it would be un-Prince-like to release a new studio album without kicking up a little controversy first, the Artist Formerly Known As a Cool-Looking Symbol gave away copies of Planet Earth with a British news tabloid weeks before its U.S. release. Among the reasons he shouldn't have: nobody who catches wind of the peerless funk-rock-soul he lays out on these 10 tracks--least of all longtime fans--would think twice about shelling out for it. A big chunk of the appeal is that Prince finds his way back to his guitar here. The title track, a politically right-on-time environmental rant, steers him back toward "Purple Rain" territory, as does "Lion of Judah" ("Guitar," oddly, doesn't--it's more of a straight-up, shout-it-out modern rocker). And the flirty numbers are seriously flammable: "Somewhere Here on Earth" seduces with a crackly jazz vibe, while "Mr. Goodnight" gets friendly with a refined slip of rap. Coolest of all are two tracks at cross purposes-- "Chelsea Rodgers" fuses funk with disco until it's so far off the hook it's in a heap on the floor, and "All the Midnights in the World" paints a picture of artistic maturity through piano and lyrics that lean hard on positivity. There's an elegance to it that Prince fans, no strangers to pop music that's truly sublime, won't fail to appreciate. --Tammy La GorceAlbum Description
Simply put, Planet Earth is the album longtime Prince fans have been waiting for. Several cuts on this album revisit some of the classic Prince sound the captured fans all over the world and helped deem him an incomparable music icon. Superstar and legendary musician prince kicked off 2007 with a show stopping Super Bowls Half-time performance. Prince pulled out all the stops during the second most-watched super bowl broadcast ever. With an estimated 93.2 million viewers to entertain, Prince wasted no time showing off his stages powers and irrefutable guitar skills. He masterfully captured the attention and respect of music fans in general, while sending a message to long time Prince fans that he was ready to once again reign supreme.Customer Reviews:
1 good song..that's it.......2007-07-26
Best Prince cd of the 00's.......2007-07-26
Least interresting Prince album ever........2007-07-26
Haters get over it...you'll never hear Purple Rain II.......2007-07-26
Prince is NOT trying to top Purple Rain or Sign of the Times or Diamonds & Pearls or make anything like what he's done in the past. The past is the past, if all y'all haters want to here his old stuff, then pull out your old CDs and listen to it. Don't expect a progressive artist to try to rehash what's been done already, and don't expect him to care that y'all don't like it.
Appreciate it for what it is, original music with some good lyrics from a guy that has nothing to prove to a bunch of people who can't even play chopsticks on a casio keyboard.
So enough about the haters, Chelsea Rodgers is the jam with Marva Wright taking over the lead vocals; I thought that was Rosie for a second; I was like awww yeah! Future BabyMama, Mr. Goodnight, and the one you wanna C are the standouts for me.
If you listen to the CD without trying to be a damn critic and just enjoy some fresh creativity from the only free artist on planet earth, then you'll enjoy this offering.
crisp, clean, classic Prince.......2007-07-26
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Wicked (2003 Original Broadway Cast)
Stephen Schwartz , Kristin Chenoweth , and Idina Menzel Manufacturer: Decca Broadway ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0000TB01Y Release Date: 2003-12-16 |
Tracks:
- No One Mourns the Wicked - Cristy Candler
- Dear Old Shiz
- The Wizard and I - Idina Menzel
- What Is This Feeling? - Kristin Chenoweth
- Something Bad - William Youmans
- Dancing Through Life - Michelle Federer
- Popular - Kristin Chenoweth
- I'm Not That Girl - Idina Menzel
- One Short Day - Kristin Chenoweth
- A Sentimental Man - Joel Grey
- Defying Gravity - Idina Menzel
- Thank Goodness - Kristin Chenoweth
- Wonderful - Idina Menzel
- I'm Not That Girl (Reprise) - Kristin Chenoweth
- As Long as You're Mine - Norbert Leo Butz
- No Good Deed - Idina Menzel
- March of the Witch Hunters
- For Good - Kristin Chenoweth
- Finale - Kristin Chenoweth
Amazon.com
One of the most common complaints about musicals is that the books are flimsy pretexts from which to hang numbers. Wicked runs into the opposite problem: it has a great plot, but too often the songs just get in the way. Based on Gregory Maguire's novel of the same name, Wicked tells us what happened between Glinda the Good and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, before Dorothy showed up in Oz. And the show is lucky to boast a pair of ace leading women in the main roles. As Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth delivers a sensational star turn, displaying a crystal-pure voice and sharp comic timing; Idina Menzel lends her powerful pipes to the tricky role of Elphaba. Unfortunately, you wish they had better material to work with. Stephen Schwartz's pop score is often dragged down by overly synthetic orchestrations and sentimental lyrics (think Chicken Soup for the Witch). Still, at its best Wicked is a seductive slice of popular entertainment that could well give a younger audience a lasting taste for musical theater. --Elisabeth VincentelliCustomer Reviews:
Mystical.......2007-07-23
Wickedly disappointing.......2007-07-20
Defying Gravity and all expecations..........2007-07-16
The CD comes with the lyrics as well as the other important information for each song (producer, etc). If you haven't already seen Wicked, you may have trouble following what the show is about just from listening to the soundtrack-- you will get a feel for it but reading the Grimmerie (the Wicked book- also sold on Amazon) or seeing Wicked either on or off Broadway will make you fall in love faster with this soundtrack-
The Wicked Witch of the West is misunderstood........2007-07-14
My sisters refuse to read the book they are afraid it will take away from the show. I say they are dead wrong and the book and music reviewed ahead of time will definitely enhance the theater experience. You decide, either way it's a great read, 5 stars for the generation who grew up with the Wizard of OZ classic.
A Wicked musical.......2007-07-13
Over all I enjoyed the CD, being a massive wizard of Oz fan, it was interesting to listen to the story from an altogether different perspective. Enjoyable, memorable and fun- a great purchase, that comes highly recommended.
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Evolution of Robin Thicke
Robin Thicke Manufacturer: Interscope Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000M8NMV4 Release Date: 2007-02-09 |
Tracks:
- Got 2 Be Down
- Complicated
- Would That Make U Love Me
- Lost Without U
- Ask Myself
- All Night Long
- Everything I Can't Have
- Teach U A Lesson
- I Need Love
- Wanna Love U Girl
- Can U Believe
- Shooter - Lil' Wayne
- Cocaine
- 2 The Sky
- Lonely World
- Angels
Amazon.com
R&B with tempo: Justin Timberlake resurrected it, and it's proving way more influential than that other lost commodity--sexy--he claimed to be bringing back in 2006 on FutureSex/LoveSounds. Timberlake is to Robin Thicke what 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys were to a band like O-Town, in fact: he pretty much made it all possible. But even though it took one blue-eyed soulster with a hot look and an achy falsetto to bang down the door for another, Thicke presents a convincing case here that he had the goods to get us grooving all along: Evolution is a classy disc that tiptoes up to its listeners, first with an elegant duet with Faith Evans ("Got 2 Be Down"), next with a slick lament that wouldn't sound out of place on a Boyz II Men disc ("Complicated"), and then with a sweet plea that commands a finger-snap ("Would That Make U Love Me"). By the time we reach the long, sweeping lullaby that is the final track, "Angels," we've also had a taste of Thicke's swaggering side ("I Need Love," "Cocaine"), his hip-hop loving side ("All Night Long" and "Shooter," both with Lil Wayne), and the side that fantasizes about 1950s Latin ballrooms ("Everything I Can't Have," a hot tamale of a number that commands a visual if ever there was one: it's impossible to hear this song without imagining a raven-haired woman with a red rose between her teeth). Despite the range of moods on display, they're all in service to Thicke's inner R&B smoothie, and they all brush up against the ear with something like affection. Hard as it will be for listeners of a certain age to get past knowing that Thicke is the son of Alan Thicke, the actor who did his part to cheese up 1980s TV with the sitcom Growing Pains, they're going to have to: with his fan base swelling by the second, the evolution of Robin Thicke is going to be a deservedly loud one. --Tammy La GorceAlbum Description
NOTE: This deluxe edition features a ringtone of "Lost Without U," an autographed poster, and cell-phone wallpaper.The Evolution of Robin Thicke is the second solo album from the critically acclaimed, Grammy award winning songwriter and producer of records for such artists as Michael Jackson and Christina Aguilera. The album is a timeless work of art. With a voice of purity, passion and soulfulness, Robin brings to life the stories and emotions of the last two years of his life.
The album is filled with incandescent magic. It is an album that tells the tales of love, loss, temptation, redemption and finding hope when all the odds are against you. "My greatest desire with this album was to write songs that were completely honest and sing them with the emotion I was feeling when I wrote them, so that whoever listens to my music is brought as close to my experiences and life as possible."
Reflective, redemptive, passionate and etched with a soulfulness that is undeniable, The Evolution of Robin Thicke is an imaginative and heart-felt album that you cannot help but be moved by, bob your head to and smile throughout.
FEATURING GUEST APPEARANCES BY Faith Evans, Pharrell, and Lil' Wayne PRODUCTION BY The Neptunes
Customer Reviews:
Robin Thicke- Greatest CD ever.......2007-07-25
Love it!.......2007-07-20
GREAT MUSIC FROM A GREAT ARTIST.......2007-07-20
Soothing love music.......2007-07-15
Robin Thicke's Evolution CD - Only Liked Half.......2007-07-12
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Good Girl Gone Bad
Rihanna Manufacturer: Island / Def-Jam ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000OZ2CZW Release Date: 2007-06-05 |
Tracks:
- Umbrella feat. JAY-Z
- Push Up On Me
- Don't Stop The Music
- Breakin' Dishes
- Shut Up and Drive
- Hate That I Love You feat. Ne-Yo
- Say It
- Sell Me Candy
- Lemme Get That
- Rehab
- Question Existing
- Good Girl Gone Bad
Amazon.com
There's a cool new development in summer singles: they no longer need to be sunny. In fact, the wetter the better. "Umbrella," the first single off Rihanna's ragingly good third album, may be her strongest ditty yet, and that's saying something considering her run of past summer chartbusters. More stylish than "S.O.S." (from A Girl Like Me) and more interesting than "Pon de Replay" (from Music of the Sun), "Umbrella" barrels forward with big, brawny drums and a hot but haunted-sounding vocal. From there, the upbeat numbers chug forth like chilled pina colada mix into a blender: "Breakin' Dishes" trades skillfully on a recent vogue for man-directed venom, and "Shut Up and Drive" borrows "S.O.S."-style from the '80s New Order song "Blue Monday." Both are irresistible. So, too, are a couple of late tracks. "Rehab" and "Lemme Get That," both produced by Timbaland, prove that being an island girl is no barrier to holding one's own amid a sizzling stew of urban beats. In fact, it's a boon--one that'll register with pop music fans instantly. -Tammy La GorceAlbum Description
Multi-platinum, award-winning SRP/Def Jam recording artist -and CoverGirl spokesperson - Rihanna has taken over the charts with her # 1 smash single "Umbrella" (featuring JAY-Z) and her chart topping album GOOD GIRL GONE BAD. Rihanna's third album release in less than two years, GOOD GIRL GONE BAD is the follow-up to 2006's platinum A Girl Like Me, with the back-to-back #1 hits, "S.O.S." and "Unfaithful"; and her gold debut from 2005, Music Of the Sun, featuring the worldwide smash, "Pon De Replay." GOOD GIRL GONE BAD boasts the production skills of Timabland, C. "Tricky" Stewart, Stargate, and the team of Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken (responsible for "S.O.S." and "Pon De Replay"), as well as songwriting contributions from Justin Timberlake and Ne-Yo, among others.Customer Reviews:
we reviewed this album..........2007-07-26
New Look + New Sound = Alright Music.......2007-07-20
This is why it's HOT!!.......2007-07-16
GO RIHANNA!!!.......2007-07-10
Okay, for what it is.......2007-07-09
Some of the song lyrics struck me as being a little silly, but that didn't bother me too much.
I don't think I'd listen to this album very often, but if I had a lot of guests over for a party, I'd consider playing it if people looked like they may want to dance.
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The Dutchess
Fergie Manufacturer: Interscope Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000H4VV52 Release Date: 2006-09-19 |
Tracks:
- Fergalicious (Featuring Will.I.Am)
- Clumsy
- All That I Got (The Make Up Song) Featuring Will.I.Am
- London Bridge
- Pedestal
- Voodoo Doll
- Glamorous (Featuring Ludacris)
- Here I Come
- Velvet
- Big Girls DonÂ’t Cry
- Mary Jane Shoes (Featuring Rita Marley & The I-ThreeÂ’S)
- Losing My Ground
- Finally
Amazon.com
If you thought Black Eyed Pea-sized bites of Fergie might be all you could handle--that a full plate of Fergie is possibly too much for any discerning musical palate--The Dutchess might change your mind. For here the lumpen lady throws caution to the wind and threads her pop needle with an ambitious ribbon of yet-to-be-conquered genres: reggae and ska on "Mary Jane Shoes," with Rita Marley; vintage soul on "Here I Come"; '80s hip-hop on "Fergalicious"; and sophisticated R&B on the John Legend-assisted "Finally." It's a tremendous and unpredictable expenditure of effort that mostly pays off--echoes of more talented vocalists like Pink, Beyoncé, and Christina Aguilera poke through in places. But while unbridled messing about can pay handsome artistic dividends (here, the guitar-propelled rock-like track "Big Girls Don't Cry" coughs them up), ultimately it's when Fergie's at her Peas-iest that she's most lovable; cases in point are the raunchily irresistible "London Bridge," which earned every week of its chart-topping success, and the will.i.am-assisted "Clumsy," a girl-group-styled bump-a-thon that showcases Fergie's coolest and most distinctive asset--her personality--to winning effect. --Tammy La GorceCustomer Reviews:
we reviewed this album..........2007-07-26
A Sure Fire Hit!!.......2007-07-26
Fergies Troubles .......2007-07-25
-K.F.
good.......2007-07-24
What a surprise..........2007-07-23
When there are 2 versions of a CD (explicit vs. clean) it should be listed somewhere that there are 2. I like the CD. The music is upbeat and Fergie has a terrific voice but unless I'm by myself there is no way I can play this with a carfull of kids.
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Legally Blonde (2007 Original Broadway Cast)
Manufacturer: Ghostlight ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000R7I3NW Release Date: 2007-07-17 |
Tracks:
- Omigod You Guys
- Serious
- What You Want
- The Harvard Variations
- Blood In the Water
- Positive
- Ireland
- Ireland
- Serious
- Chip On My Shoulder
- So Much Better
- Whipped Into Shape
- Take It Like a Man
- Bend And Snap
- There! Right There!
- Legally Blonde
- Legally Blonde
- Medley: Find My Way/Finale
Amazon.com
Like Wicked, this show is a girl-friendly extravaganza; the main difference--and it's a big one--is that the score of Legally Blonde is better. Based on the hit Reese Witherspoon movie, the zippy, frothy show tells the story of SoCal, pink-loving sorority girl Elle Woods, who enrolls at Harvard Law and goes on to prove that appearances can be deceiving. The opening number, "Omigod You Guys," gives an idea of what the Broadway-pop score by Laurence O'Keefe (Bat Boy--The Musical) and Nell Benjamin is up to, embracing its over-the-top cheer with goofily infectious energy. Sure, a couple of numbers feel a bit derivative (the show with the witches has "Popular," this one has "Positive"), and the Celtic detour ("Ireland") is rather puzzling, but overall the songs are firing on all cylinders. Just check out the use of a marching band on "What You Want" for instance. Laura Bell Bundy (Amber von Tussle in Hairspray) is a charming Elle, and she delivers numbers such as "So Much Better" with the requisite elan. But this is not a one-woman show, and Bundy is surrounded by a crack team, including the endearing Christian Borle as Elle's love interest Emmett, power-piped Orfeh as hairdresser Paulette and up-and-comer Leslie Kritzer as Delta Nu's Serena. --Elisabeth VincentelliCustomer Reviews:
Light entertainment.......2007-07-25
Empty, Forgettable Bubblegum Pop Score With Bland Lyrics.......2007-07-25
Legally Blonde-So Much Fun.......2007-07-23
A great surprise..........2007-07-20
Exceeds Expectations.......2007-07-20
I did not expect to love this musical as much as I do, but now, I am sharing it with everyone I know.
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We'll Never Turn Back
Mavis Staples Manufacturer: Anti ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000MR8SZU Release Date: 2007-04-24 |
Tracks:
- Down In Mississippi
- Eyes On The Prize
- We Shall Not Be Moved
- In The Mississippi River
- On My Way
- This Little Light
- 99 And 1/2
- My Own Eyes
- Turn Me Around
- We'Ll Never Turn Back
- I'Ll Be Rested
- Jesus Is On The Main Line
Amazon.com
As musical activists in the 1960s civil rights movement, the Staple Singers were powerful voices for equality and change. And more than 40 years after Pops's daughter Mavis spent a night in a West Memphis, Arkansas, jail at the behest of a racist cop, she still remembers the terror of the experience, as well as the counsel of Dr. Martin Luther King. That episode is at the centerpiece of "My Own Eyes," one of the most moving offerings on this collection of songs of racial struggle in the '50s and '60s, produced by guitarist Ry Cooder and featuring backing from the original Freedom Singers and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Throughout, the album proves both emotionally chilling and spiritually uplifting. On J.B. Lenoir's "Down in Mississippi" and Marshall Jones's "In the Mississippi River," for example, Cooder makes fine use of pounding percussion and snaky electric guitar to capture the danger and fear inherent in the Deep South at the time, while the title song and "Jesus Is on the Main Line" draw on gospel and the traditional framework of church hymns to promise positive solutions. Staples, who adlibs on several cuts, connecting the injustice of yesterday to the continuing marginalization of blacks in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, remains a remarkable performer, employing a throaty sensuality that rises from a deep well of tremulous emotion. If her album is musically uneven at times, her artistry and strength continue to shine as undimmed beacons. --Alanna NashMore from Mavis and the Staple Singers
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Album Description
From the liner notes, by John Lewis:When I listen to this music, it takes me back. It takes me back to the red clay hills of Georgia, to the Black Belt of Alabama, and the Delta of Mississippi. It takes me back to the moans and groans and pains of an oppressed people yearning for freedom. It takes me back to the time when hundreds and thousands of us decided we were "sick and tired of being sick and tired," as Fannie Lou Hamer said. It takes me back to the days when ordinary people inspired by a dream decided to quench our hunger and thirst for justice in the fountains of mercy and love.
Back then, some people thought legalized segregation in America would never come to an end. But those of us in the Civil Rights Movement were inspired by a higher calling. And even if it cost us our very lives, "we weren't gone to let nobody turn us `round". We believed that the action of peace, the way of non-violence, and the power of love could overcome our oppression and remind our oppressors of their own humanity. Through the power of this faith our nation witnessed a non-violent revolution of values, a revolution of ideas that changed America forever.
The music you are listening to right now was the soul of that revolution. It was this music that gave us hope when it seemed like all hope was gone. It was the heartbeat of this music and its steady, reassuring message that bound us together as one solid force. So when we were beaten, arrested and jailed; when we stood together on picket lines or marched through the streets of the Deep South; when we faced the guns drawn, the billy clubs and the bullwhips raised; when we were teargassed, trampled by horses, or scattered by fire hoses, it was these songs that lifted us and pushed us to a higher place.
It is my hope that when you hear Mavis Staples, when you hear the Freedom Singers, and the other artists on this CD, that you too will be inspired. I hope this music will help you find the courage to stand up, speak up, and speak out and answer the call of your own conscience. It is my hope that this music will help you see what ordinary people with extraordinary vision can do when they decide they will never turn back.
Rep. John Lewis
Customer Reviews:
We'll never turn back.......2007-07-05
Mavis Staples rules.......2007-06-28
quafable but not transcendent.......2007-06-27
Yes and no.......2007-06-27
Passion and soul.......2007-06-26
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Jersey Boys (2005 Original Broadway Cast)
Ronald Melrose , Ken Dow , Anik Oulianine , Stephanie Cummins , Deborah Hurwitz , Kevin Dow , Joe Payne , Larry Saltzman , Dave Spier , Bill Hayes , Randall Andos , Bob Milikan , Debra Shufelt , Maxine Roach , Belinda Whitney , Cenovia Cummins , Eric de Gioia , Louise Owen , Robin Zeh , Sarah Schwartz , Shinwon Kim , Christian Hoff , Daniel Reichard , Donnie Kehr , Erica Piccininni , J. Robert Spencer , Jennifer Naimo , John Lloyd Young , Sara Schmidt , Tituss Burgess , Steve Orich , and Bob Gaudio Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000BFH2QY Release Date: 2005-11-01 |
Tracks:
- Ces Soirees la'
- Early Years Medley
- Cry For Me
- Backups Medley
- Sherry
- Big Girls Don't Cry
- Walk Like A Man
- December, 1963
- My Boyfriend's Back
- My Eyes Adored You
- Dawn (Go Away)
- Big Man In Town
- Dialog: A Little Trouble
- Beggin'
- Dialog: See How You Handle It
- Medley Listen Listen
- c'mon marianne
- Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You
- Working My Way Back To You
- Fallen Angel
Amazon.com
Although it squarely falls in the "jukebox musical" category, Jersey Boys doesn¹t try to integrate its songs in an artificial plotline. The show tells the story of the early-1960s group the Four Seasons, and the musical numbers tend to be introduced in context, as when songwriter Bob Gaudio comes up with a tune, or the quartet performs a show. This allows Jersey Boys to flow better than some of ill-fated peers, and the actors can shine without having to bend backward to accommodate an inane book. The show's most (only) daring move is to start with a hip-hop-tinged French-language version of "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)," an actual hit in France in 2000. After that it's all VH1-biopic territory, but it's done with so much flair, taste and energy that the ride's a fun one. The Four Seasons had enough hits ("Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Rag Doll," etc.) to easily fill an evening at the theater, so it's left to the cast to do right by them. And it does, particularly John Lloyd Young as the band¹s star lead, Frankie Valli. Young hits all the falsetto notes and brings real freshness to the part. His "Can¹t Take My Eyes Off You," a second-act peak, is signed, sealed and delivered with a star's acumen. --Elisabeth VincentelliAlbum Description
Recounting the rich history and reliving the timeless sounds of the phenomenal Frankie Vallie & The 4 Seasons, the new Broadway musical Jersey Boys answers the musical-and philosophical question, "How did four would-be wise guys from Newark, NJ, become one of the greatest chart-topping successes in pop music history?" Jersey Boys celebrates legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito, and Nick Massi who, as the 4 seasons, wrote their own songs, invented their own identity, and sold 175 million records worldwide-all before they were 30.Customer Reviews:
Jersey Boys-original broadway cast recording.......2007-07-26
Jersey Boys (2005 Original Broadway Cast).......2007-07-19
Jersey Boys.......2007-07-08
Like being there.......2007-07-05
A step back in musical time.......2007-07-05
Average customer rating:
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Spring Awakening (2006 Original Broadway Cast)
Duncan Sheik , Steven Sater , Skylar Astin , Lilli Cooper , John Gallagher Jr. , Gideon Glick , Jonathan Groff , Brian Johnson , Lea Michele , and Lauren Pritchard Manufacturer: Decca Broadway ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000J3FBFC Release Date: 2006-12-12 |
Tracks:
- Mamma Who Bore Me
- Mamma Who Bore Me (Reprise)
- All That's Known
- The B*tch of Living
- My Junk
- Touch Me
- The Word of Your Body
- The Dark I Know Well
- And Then There Were None
- The Mirror-Blue Night
- I Believe
- Don't Do Sadness
- Blue Wind
- The Guilty Ones
- Left Behind
- Totally F*ucked
- The Word of Your Body (Reprise)
- Whispering
- Those You've Known
- The Song of Purple Summer
Amazon.com
Who would have thought that Duncan Sheik would succeed where Paul Simon and Randy Newman failed, successfully transitioning from the pop-rock world to the Broadway stage? With Spring Awakening, Sheik and book writer/lyricist Steven Slater (who had already worked on Sheik's 2001 album Phantom Moon) have created a thoroughly exciting show that incorporates a contemporary art-indie idiom (including a small rock band instead of an orchestra) into a dramatic musical-theater context. The unlikely setting is that of a Frank Wedekind adaptation, but as it turns out, teenage angst is perennial, whether it's in contemporary America or in a 1891 German boarding school. Songs such as "The Bitch of Living" ("with nothing going on, asking just what went wrong"), "The Word of Your Body," "I Don't Do Sadness," and "Totally Fucked" ("You're fucked if you speak your mind and you know you will") resonate with the rage, frustration, confusion, excitement, joy, anger, and of course budding lust of those hormone-driven years. The show is greatly enhanced by its youthful cast members (they're all pretty close in age to their characters), who sing their hearts out. --Elisabeth VincentelliAlbum Description
Decca Broadway presents the cast recording for the acclaimed new Broadway production, SPRING AWAKENING. Written by pop music composer Duncan Sheik and playwright/lyricist Steven Sater, the musical explores emotional earthquakes in the lives of teenagers.SPRING AWAKENING is based on Frank Wedekind's controversial 1891 drama, which was scandalous in its day for addressing sex violence and suicide. The story, dialogue and costumes suggest the 19th Century, and are perfectly wedded to a beautiful alternative pop music score by Grammy® nominated singer/songwriter Duncan Sheik. The creative team also includes Tony® Award Winning director Michael Mayer (Thoroughly Modern Millie) and legendary choreographer Bill T. Jones.
Customer Reviews:
What's all the hype?????.......2007-07-23
Spring Awakennings? I don't think so!!!.......2007-07-23
In my opinion buy something else with your money such as 'The Pirate Queen' which has no longer showing.
One of the best musical soundtracks ever!.......2007-07-22
Buy it on itunes.......2007-07-21
-jen
Tantalizing taste .......2007-07-20
Rap Music:
- Back Door Men
- Best of David Soul [Import]
- Best of Reparata and the Delrons
- Breakfast in America
- Breaking Hearts [Import]
- Breaking Hearts [Original recording remastered] [Import]
- Brilliant From Birth [Import]
- Collaboration
- Colossal Head
- Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
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Quiet as It's Kept [Import] [Limited Edition]
Music: Stiff Jazz/Ford Transit Ep [Import]
The Aviator (Score) [Soundtrack]
Street Legends: Episode 1 [Explicit Lyrics]
The Columbia Studio Recordings 1964-1970 [Box set] [Limited Edition]
Schubert: Songs Transcribed by Liszt, Vol. 3
Sing It to the Marines [Import] [Original recording remastered]
Straight Down the Line [Import]