The quartet from Vancouver Hedley is back with
its fourth album after the huge success of the previous one,
The Show Must Go, carried out by
the dynamic "Cha-Ching". Although the band had some pop punk
tendencies in the past, it always sounded a little more pop than
punk. In addition, ballads often prominently dominate on their
albums. But it’s with Storms that Jacob Hoggard (an
ex-candidate of Canadian Idol) and his band is really turning pop.
The album opens with a series of ballads that, even if they are
effective, lead us too much in the territory of the Backstreet
Boys. We have to wait until the fourth track, "We Are
Unbreakable", to hear a pop rock song a bit more rhythmic. But it is
with the next one "Young", that the group continues the momentum
started with "Cha-Ching", thanks to a memorable chorus and
accompanied by vigorous clapping. "Bullet for your Dreams" and "Hot
Mess" are the other entertaining tracks where the band is at its
best and making us want to see them on stage, where Hoggard is the
most comfortable. On Storms, Hedley is not shy to get
synthesizers out of the closet and they present very licked
arrangements. While the album is a little too clean and you are
missing the trash side completely disconnected of Hoggard, Storms
will likely allow the band to finally conquer the rest of the world.
Boundless energy and desire to have fun, that's
what characterizes the Australian band Dangerous! Newly signed to
the Epitaph label in 2011, the group was finally able to present its
first album, Teenage Rampage. The quartet offers a garage
punk / rock 'n' roll sound with some particularly strong influences
of metal when they let their aggressive side out. In fact, the
members of Dangerous! are in their music as they are in life, 4
young people who love to get drunk and destroy their hotel rooms.
The compositions are simple and only one of the 12 tracks crosses
the 3-minute bar, the last one, "D! or Die". It is therefore a
perfect music to let out all the craziness. The production of
Ulrich Wild (Deftones, Pantera) is rather raw and
keeps the dirty side of the music of Dangerous! which may be similar
at times to The Hives. Note also that the album was mixed by
Marc McClusky who has worked with Weezer among others. This
first recording by Dangerous! is certainly not revolutionizing rock
'n' roll, but it presents anyway a good entertainment, extremely
dynamic.
Despite a short career of two albums, British
female singer Amy Winehouse has quickly become one of the best soul
singers of her generation. Unfortunately, she could not overcome her
many demons and passed away early last July at the fateful age of
27. Before her death, she had already recorded several songs in
anticipation of an upcoming album. Here we find these "hidden
treasures", while Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson have
ensured the virtual production of this record. The 12-track album of
which 9 covers is rather surprising for its consistency, despite the
poor quality of many of the songs offered. The production is first
class, while Amy sings as well as on her previous recordings. She
managed to convincingly capture the parts she sings and present them
in her own way. The three original songs that can be found here
("Between the Cheats", "Half Time" and "Best Friends, Right?") are
not up to par and there is little chance they would have found a
place on this album if Amy could have give her opinion. Otherwise,
her performance is impressive on "Our Day Will Come", "Will You
Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and "The Girl from Ipanema". You can hear
Tony Bennett on "Body and Soul", but it won’t go down in
history. Despite some glaring weaknesses, we have to face the fact
that it is a strong posthumous album that will leave us good
memories of Amy Winehouse.
Mary J. Blige - My Life II…
The Journey Continues (Act 1)
New Yorker Mary Jane Blige has already a career of 20
years and she now presents her 10th studio album. Oddly, the title seems
to refer to her 1994 album,
My Life, as being the follower
to it. But it is difficult to see how this album full of collaborations
could be the continuation of the troubled and very personal album
presented at that time. In fact, My Life II seems to be much more
a logical continuation of her previous one,
Stronger with Each Tear, and
has nothing to do with Mary J. Blige in the mid-1990s. She still has her
contemporary R&B with rap accents on different occasions. To do this,
she can count on the presence of a whole bunch of collaborators: Nas,
Busta Rhymes, Drake, Beyoncé, Diddy and
Lil Wayne, among others. After an unnecessary introduction, the
first half of the CD is rather dynamic with good beats and melodies
culminating with the "Next Level" of Busta Rhymes. She also covers
aggressively the success of Rufus & Chaka Khan " Ain’t Nobody".
Unfortunately, the second half of the record loses its energy and a big
number of ballads are presented one after the other. The interest is
greatly diminishing and when the album ends, we seem to stay on our
appetite. The good times and solid production are not sufficient to make
us forget the boring songs.
Singer-songwriter from California Chris Isaak started his career more
than 25 years ago. But it’s in 1989 that he obtained his greatest hit
with "Wicked Game" and the beautiful music video that accompanied it. In
2011, he decided to have fun and pay tribute to the legendary rock 'n'
roll label Sun Records. Obviously, it is a natural choice for the one
who has never hidden to have been greatly influenced by Roy Orbison
and Elvis Presley. By the
way, several classics from Elvis are well represented here, even "Can’t
Help Falling in Love" which was not recorded by Elvis during his years
at Sun Records. I must say that, without imitating, Isaak is perhaps the
singer whose vocal style is the closest to that of the "king" (you'll
get a good overview of it in "It's Now or Never"). Other covers are
unavoidable, like the excellent opening track, Johnny Cash’s
"Ring of Fire", the electrifying "Great Balls of Fire" of Jerry Lee
Lewis, and "Dixie Fried" of Carl Perkins. Isaak also recorded
one of his own songs, "Live It Up". A
deluxe version of the album contains a second disc with 11
additional tracks for a total of 25. On this second CD, you can hear
among others Roy Orbison’s "Oh, Pretty Woman". On Beyond the Sun,
Chris Isaak managed to reproduce authentically the music of an era with
today's recording methods. A very good album!
The young pop singer Joe Jonas has had fame as a
teenager as the leader of the Jonas Brothers. He makes his solo
debut with Fastlife and offers us contemporary pop rhythms with
R&B and electro. You can quickly compare him to Justin Timberlake
since he presents a custom music for radio and clubs. He also hired
producer Danja who has worked with Timbaland on
FutureSex/LoveSounds by Timberlake. Although the compositions may
seem simple, Jonas manages to inject the right amount of personality and
emotion to his own compositions. Supported by a solid production, the
interpretations of Jonas have the desired effect, both in the danceable
tracks and the more emotional songs. The first single, "Just in Love,"
has nothing to envy the greatest artists in the genre and has everything
you need in efficiency to make Timberlake jealous. The album ends with
another version of the song including Lil Wayne and his lyrics a
little rawer, but, the original remains superior. It's a very good album
that gives us Joe Jonas, more adult than what he did with his brothers.
So he entered through the front door in the adult world...
Even if it's hard to believe looking at her, Mexican
female singer Paulina Rubio has already a career of 20 years, lining up
the albums at a steady pace. For this tenth album, she recruited
RedOne (Lady Gaga) for the production of 3 tracks with a high
energy level, "Me Gustas Tanto", "All Around the World" and "Heat of the
Night", the last two being the only English songs of the CD. While most
of it remains Latin, the many techno and euro pop explorations give a
more international pop direction to the album as well as offering some
potential blockbusters. Otherwise, Paulina is still definitely at her
best when she offers what she does best, Latin music with dance rhythms.
Alexandra Stan is a young Romanian singer who
conquered the world in 2011 with her inescapable radio hit "Mr. Saxobeat".
She presents here her first album containing 8 original songs, including
of course "Mr. Saxobeat" but also her first single, "Lollipop (Param Pam
Pam)" and "Get Back (ASAP)". To these 8 tracks are added 5 remixes of
her 3 hits, so we can say that it is actually an EP in a version a
little more muscular. Saxobeats presents pop dance music that
will delight the DJs and any club fans on the dance floors.
Kate
Bush presents her first album of original material since the double
album
Aerial issued in 2005. More
importantly, it is only her second album since
The Red Shoesreleased in 1993
and which was not well received by the critics. A true perfectionist in
the studio, Kate likes to take her time to give us an album to live up
to expectations. And she seems to hit the bull's eye with this new
record to accompany your cold winter nights. It offers only 7 tracks
stretching over 65 minutes. There are several long spatial pieces
requiring absolutely a great effort to listen. You really have to be
permeated by the atmosphere, and when it happens, you can finally
realize how Kate presents an album of great quality. Otherwise, she will
likely send many people to sleep, since there is very little content
more entertaining or tending a little more towards pop on this album.
The songs are centered around the theme of winter and the accompaniment
is limited to a piano and very discreet drums. Some minimal arrangements
add a little more scale to the whole, but the sound remains essentially
quiet, smooth. Kate presents a duet with Elton John on "Snowed in
at Wheeler Street" and it is certainly one of the highlights of the CD.
For the rest of the album, either you love or you will find it difficult
to get to the end without dozing. But in any case, Kate Bush succeeds in
giving us a solid record from an artistic point of view.
The indie rock band The Kooks was formed in Brighton,
England in 2005. After a second album acclaimed by the critics in 2008,
Konk, the quartet is back with its third attempt. The word
attempt is particularly appropriate as the group steps out of its
comfort zone on Junk of the Heart. "Taking Pictures of You" is
experimenting with ambient pop, while "Time Above the Earth" is a full
orchestral piece. The new wave melodies and reggae rhythms of "Runaway"
are not without reminding us of The Police, while "Eskimo Kiss"
reminds us of the harmonies of The Kinks. All these comparisons
may seem very interesting at first, but unfortunately you may not be
surprised for the right reasons. All this mixture of classic pop is
inconsistent and is most of all surrounded by several mediocre
compositions. Few songs will be able to truly keep your interest. The
idea of turning
pop does not seem to be a bad idea on paper, but the result is far from
convincing. The Kooks have just fallen for the first time...
Marketa Irglova is a Czech musician who has been
discovered at the age of 13 years old by Glen Hansard of The
Frames. They would later record an album together under the name
The Swell Season, a
self-titled album released in 2006. They then captured the attention
of the world by participating in the film Once which won an
Oscar, a film by John Carney, a former bassist for The Frames. In
addition to recording another album with The Swell Season in 2009,
Strict Joy, Marketa sings in Iron
and Wine. With Anar, it is therefore her solo debut. The
singer-songwriter presents 12 songs dominated by piano and voice. The
whole remains in the adult contemporary ballad genre, which can create
an interesting atmosphere, but can also be downright annoying after a
while. The arrangements are minimalist and the album will remain
introspective until the end. While it is nice to discover Marketa
Irglova without hearing Hansard by her side, he seems to be missed
dramatically, at least from a musical point of view. The album lacks in
scope and personality. The talent is there, but it seems that a boost
from collaborators on the compositions could better serve and perhaps
get her out of her shell.
The
daughter of violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, Clara Ponty grew up in a
musical environment between Paris and Los Angeles. New age pianist, she
presented four albums before that were largely instrumental. For this
fifth record, she offers 11 original pieces with 9 songs, including a
song in French, "Ses racines sur la route". Musically, Clara moves in a
direction a little more pop with a jazz and soul trend. Produced by
Stuart Bruce (Roy Orbison, Stevie Wonder, Barry
White, Bob Marley), Into the Light is a classy and
seductive album on which we discover a talented songwriter. She is also
surrounded by prestigious guests like Vincent Segal, Nigel
Kennedy, Stéphane Guillaume and her father. This new album by
Clara Ponty, without revolutionizing anything, is aiming an audience of
amateurs of smooth adult pop and it may seduce many of them.
The rock scene in Los Angeles was completely focused
on the looks in the 1980s, so that some rock 'n' roll bands have been
marginalized from the rest of the industry. This is the case for The
Hangmen who have yet emerged in 1986, a time when hard rock ruled the
charts. Their attitude a little more punk and their refusal to enter
into the makeup and puffy hair wave has automatically ejected them from
the manna that was the scene of Los Angeles at that time. So they played
all those years in small bars often playing for their friends and a
handful of hardcore fans. They still produced some very good songs over
the years and we can find the top 15 of those songs on this ultimate
collection. Among the 15 tracks, let’s note three songs from the album
In the City issued in 2007 which was
produced by Mike Ness of Social Distortion. Note also the
presence of Eddie Spaghetti (Supersuckers) on "Coal Mine".
As a bonus, there are three demos from 1985-86 that were never released
before. These three new pieces were produced by singer-songwriter and
guitarist Bryan Small in collaboration with Keith Morris
from Circle Jerks. Here is the perfect album to discover this
very good rock 'n' roll group, which unfortunately stayed too long in
the shadows.
After
Gish has captured attention on the
Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan and his band introduced us in
1993 with what would become the best album of their career, Siamese
Dream. With hits like "Today", the ballad "Disarm", "Cherub Rock"
and "Rocket", they were able to really make a name for themselves in the
industry and make this album become one of the most important of the
1990s (see the top 20 of the 1990s). Yet the album has not been recorded
without difficulty while the personal problems of the four members
created great tension between them. Corgan ended up recording all the
instruments himself except for the drums. He even admitted later that if
the album did not work, he probably would have ended the Smashing
Pumpkins after that record. Produced by Corgan and Butch Vig (Nirvana,
Sonic Youth), the album offers a wall of guitars with distortion
and solos of progressive rock very far from the grunge of
Nirvana which was more influenced by
punk. Virgin Records had the great idea to reissue this record now very
difficult to find in a remastered version, 18 years after its original
release. The only problem with this reissue is that it contains no new
content in its standard version, no addition to the 13 original pieces.
But, was it really necessary to add something since those 62 minutes are
very strong from beginning to end, without weaknesses. The booklet on
the other hand is very detailed with lots of explanations about the
album and a presentation for each song. For those who want more
material, a
deluxe version is also available. In addition to the standard
remastered CD, we find a second CD of rarities and unreleased versions
and a DVD of a concert captured in 1993, postcards, a booklet of 24
pages, and more. Please note that their first album released in 1991,
Gish, was also remastered and
reissued. The 45-minute album that introduced the group contains the
classics "I Am One", "Siva" and "Rhinoceros". It is also available in a
deluxe 3-disc version. Please finally note that the Smashing
Pumpkins joined recently and we should ear a new album by them in March,
Oceania.
