Artiste: Mariah Carey Title: The Official Best Of Tracks: 24 Time: 78:17 minSize: 96mo Date: 05/2008
01. Emotions 02. 3:03 Someday 03. 2:44 How Much I love You ft. JD and Usher 04. 3:33 Sweetheart ft. JD 05. 2:41 Dream Lover 06. 3:18 Fantasy (rmx) ft. ODB 07. 4:13 Honey (rmx) ft. The Lox and Mase 08. 3:24 Break Down ft. Bone Thugs Of Harmony 09. 3:03 Heartbreaker ft. Jay-Z 10. 4:11 Make It Last Forever ft. Joe and Nas 11. 3:33 We Belong Together (DJ Clue rmx) ft. Jadakiss and Styles P. 12. 3:38 Shake It Off (rmx) ft. Jay-Z and Young Jeezy 13. 2:21 Its Like That ft. Jermaine Dupri 14. 2:30 Say Something ft. Snoop Dogg 15. 2:55 Dont Forget About (rmx) ft. Bone Thugs and Juelz Santana 16. 2:51 Touch My Body 17. 3:23 Vision of Love 18. 4:07 Hero 19. 3:02 Always Be My Baby 20. 3:49 One Sweet Day ft. Boyz II Men 21. 3:33 Butterfly 22. 2:44 My All 23. 3:06 We Belong 2gether 24. 4:19 Bye, Bye
01 - ONLY A WOMAN'S HEART - Eleanor McEvoy with mary Black 02 - CALEDONIA - Dolorres Keane 03 - VANITIES-Mary Black 04 - BLACKBIRD - Sharon Shannon 05 - WALL OF TEARS - Frances Black 06 - SUMMERFLY - Maura o'Connell 07 - THE ISLAND - Dolores Keane 08 - I HEAR YOU BREATHING IN - Eleanor McEvoy 09 - SONNY - Mary Black 10 - CORIDINIO - Sharon Shannon 11 - LIVING IN THESE TROUBLED TIMES - Maura O' Connell 12 - AFTER THE BALL - Frances Black
01 - Sinead lohan - Sailing by 02 - Frances Black - Talk to Me While I'm Listening 03 - Mary Coughlan - Invisible 04 - Mary Black - Saw You Running 05 - Dolores Keane - Never be The Sun 06 - Sharon Shannon - Bungee Jumpers 07 - Maura O'Connell - Trouble In The Fields 08 - Mary Black - Don't Explain 09 - Sinead O' Conneor - Three Babies 10 - Dolores Keane - solid Ground 11 - Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill - a Mhaithrin Dhileas 12 - Frances Black - Fear Is The Enemy 13 - Mary Coughlan - I Can't Make you Love Me 14 - Sharon Shannon - Sparky 15 - Maura O'Connell - Western Highway 16 - Mary Black - if gave my Heart to you
Out today across the USA, ‘Metamorphosis’ is the seventh solo CD from singing sensation Maysa Leak. Variously produced by Rex Rideout, Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis and the Jason Miles – DJ Logic pairing of Global Noize it offers twelve sumptuous tracks that ooze sophistication and which feature notable contributions from some of the leading contemporary jazz session players around today.
This is particularly well demonstrated by the opening track ‘Simpatico’ where thumping bass from Melvin Davis and the drums of Michael White provide a rhythmic platform from which Leak proffers her soulful tones. It’s a number on which Rex Rideout, both as producer and keyboard player, really excels and much the same can be said of Chris Davis with ‘Take Me Away’ where Maysa seamlessly blends a cool sample of Jean Carn’s ‘Don’t Let It Go To Your Head’ into this emotional smoker. Of course since the early nineties, when she auditioned for the band by phone, Maysa has been famous for being one of the voices of Incognito. The complex yet compelling ‘Happy Feelings’ evokes her best Incognito moments as does ‘Never Really Ever’ for which Rex Rideout again plays a part. Both tracks contrast nicely with the gentle deconstructed splendour of ‘Love So True’ while also in turned down mode is the silkily soulful ‘I Need A Man’.
Earlier this year producer and keyboard player Jason Miles collaborated with DJ Logic on a project they named Global Noize. Here Leak taps into their hip rhythmic and eclectic style with ‘A Conversation With The Universe’ that she co-writes and performs with them. The tune’s world vibe represents a tasty departure from the Maysa norm and when, with ‘Walk Away’, she finds the ideal R & B ballad it’s a cool arrangement from Ledisi that incorporates a stunning brass infused play out line which comes courtesy of Melvin Jones on trumpet.
Dedicated to her mother and co-written by Leak, Rideout and the excellent Michael Ripoll, ‘Grateful’ is illuminated by Ripoll’s wonderful acoustic guitar and when Maysa turns to Najee on flute for ‘My Destiny’ he strikes the perfect chord with which to complement her picture perfect delivery. Najee is joined by Nick Colionne for ‘Higher Love’ where together they weave some exquisitely jazzy patterns that underpin Leak’s zesty Latin tinged vocal and Colionne returns to lead off what proves to be a staggering three minute ten second guitar introduction to the outstanding ‘Lets Figure It Out’. In the expert hands of producer Chris Davis this superb slice of chill out music evolves both into a feisty dance floor filler and the album’s best track.
‘Metamorphosis’ is an impressive collection of all-original material that may well be the album to take Maysa to the next level of appreciation. Check it out.
1. Over The Rainbow - Jane Monheit 2. What A Wonderful World - Eva Cassidy 3. It wouldn't Have Made Any Difference - Alison Krauss 4. So Nice - Stacey Kent & Jim Tomlinson 5. When I Dream - Carol Kidd 6. Perhaps Love - Jheena Lodwick 7. Marisa - Dave's True Story 8. Song For The Journey - Tish Hinojosa 9. Sylvia Hotel - Cheryl Wheeler 10. You Light Up My Life - Salena Jones 11. Ain't No Sunshine - Eva Cassidy 12. The Look Of Love - Jeanette Lindstrom & Steve Dobrogosz 13. To Young To Go Steady - Karrin Allyson 14. Skylark - Monica Mancini 15. Overjoyed - Nnenna Freelon
1. Desperado - Emi Fujita 2. Fields Of Gold - Eva Cassidy 3. Better Be Home Soon - Andrea Zonn 4. I Left My Heart In San Francisco - Jean Frye Sidwell 5. Do That To Me One More Time - Jheena Lodwick 6. Fly Away - Corrinne May 7. The Ole Devil Called Love - Etta Jones 8. Can't Take My Eyes Off You - Sofia Petersson 9. Both Sides Now - Jeanette Lindstrom & Steve Dobrogosz 10. Stay - Alison Krauss 11. Someone To Watch Over Me - Susannah McCorkle 12. My Foolish Heart - Salena Jones 13. In A Sentimental Mood - Jacqui Dankworth 14. When I Fall In Love - Claire Martin 15. Cry Me A River - Tania Maria
Ciara - Go Girl Song Review"Go Girl" is a song performed by American R&B/pop singer Ciara. It was written by Ciara, T-Pain, and songwriting team APlus for Ciara's third studio album Fantasy Ride, which is set for release in December 2008. Produced and featuring vocals by T-Pain, it is the album's lead single officially released on September 30, 2008.
The music video for "Go Girl" was shot on September 19 and September 20, 2008 and was directed by Melina Matsoukas.
In the case of the extraordinary young piano virtuoso William Joseph, that statement applies both literally and figuratively.
This twenty-five year old Phoenix, Arizona native has displayed an innate affinity and enduring love for his instrument virtually from the cradle. Matched with a dedication and discipline that has given polish and precision to his passion, William Joseph has indeed reached deep within to discover and nurture his spectacular gift.
It’s a gift gloriously displayed on Within, William Joseph’s dazzling debut album on 143/Reprise Records. Highlighting eleven tracks that deftly demonstrate his exceptional range and versatility, Within was produced by the legendary artist, songwriter, producer and talent scout David Foster.
It’s a sentiment that is quickly becoming a reality, as William Joseph has brought his extraordinary virtuosity to an ever wider and more appreciative audience. Since completing work on Within, Joseph has been much in-demand for a number of high profile musical events, most notably an opening slot on the recent summer tour of baritone sensation and 143 Records’ label mate, Josh Groban. A series of sold out dates were spotlighted with an acclaimed two-night stand at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles along with appearances throughout the U.S. and Canada.
It’s a promising launch for an artist who, at age eight, had already garnered a full ride music scholarship that would allow him to study classical piano with the likes of the acclaimed Russian instructor Stella Saperstein.
Yet even while immersed in such rarified realms, Joseph’s eclectic musical tastes prompted him to sample a wide array of styles and sensibilities. A natural born performer, he had songwriting ambitions and a love for cinematic scoring that could give full range to his richly textured and subtly nuanced skills. At sixteen, he penned the theme song for the hometown hockey team, The Phoenix Coyotes, and subsequently the moving anthem “Seeds Of Hope,” which helped to draw international attention to the Kosovo refugee crisis.
After taking a break from music in his late teens, Joseph returned to active performing, and within a few years had garnered a loyal local following thanks to the release of two independent albums and an extensive concert itinerary.
It was in 2003 that the young artist’s unique musical ability came to the attention of David Foster, in Phoenix for a charity event honoring Muhammad Ali. “I knew where he was going to be,” recounts Joseph, “so I just showed up and introduced myself. It was in the middle of a rehearsal, with all the musicians on stage and something promoted me to ask him if I could sit down at his piano and play a song.”
The original composition, which would later appear as the title track to his major label debut, stopped Foster in his tracks. “He sat down and played this beautiful piece magnificently and to perfection,” he remembers. “I was so impressed I asked him if he would perform that evening. A standing ovation later and I knew I had to work with him.”
That work got underway almost immediately with Foster and Joseph working closely together to select a repertoire that would truly represent the range and dynamism of the young pianist.
“Some of the material, like ‘Ave Maria” I’d been playing since I was a kid,” Joseph explains. “Others, like ‘Stella’s Theme’ and ‘Grace’ I co-wrote with David. It was a great honor for me, having grown up loving his music, but what I appreciated most was his willingness to try new things.”
Included in that later category are distinctive renditions of Paul Simon’s “Homeward Bound” and the total reinvention of such varied material as Kansas’ “Dust In The Wind,” Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” and “Butterflies And Hurricanes” by UK rock innovators Muse.
“I had huge expectations going into the studio with David,” enthuses Joseph, “and they were hugely exceeded. I really feel as if we got to the heart of my music; how different styles can be brought together to create something greater than the sum of its parts.”
All of which goes to prove that what’s within a true artist will always find a way to express itself, literally and figuratively.
“I love William’s musicality, his writing and the magic he weaves on the piano. He has a unique gift the whole world should hear.”
William Joseph - Beyond *New Track* (Live in Saskatoon)
Carly Simon first hit the music scene in the early 70’s with her smash hit You’re So Vain, a song that caused many a bar room brawl over who she was singing about, some said it was James Taylor, her soon to be husband and confidant at the time, others claimed it was an ode to Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones?
Many waters have run under the bridge since You’re So Vain, and it was a little trepidation that I put This Kind Of Love on my player. How you sing in your 20’s is somewhat different to how you sing when 62. There is something awful in destroying memories, but, I was not let down by this CD. Indeed her voice has changed, but she has still maintained the essence that we loved in You’re So Vain.Track one, and the title track This Kind Of Love is a blending of old and new, while it has the Carly Simon DNA, it also has signs of a move toward a very different and fusion oriented style. I am not entirely sure that it was what I was expecting. Track two Hold Out Your Heart though is classic and consummate Carly Simon.
This was what I was looking for. I fell in love with it on the first listen. And you can too, I have a streaming audio of the track.Much of the album has a Brazilian feel about it, and according to the sleeve notes Brazilian music has been a huge influence on Carly Simon over the years.Carly Simon joins a long list of well established musicians that are trying non traditional approaches to marketing. Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor have opted to release albums through the Starbucks Coffee House Chain, and that is the route that Carly has decided to take.
Her style of music makes this a perfect fit. Don’t fret if you don’t have a Starbucks on your street corner, This Kind Of Love will also be available in tradtional CD outlets on April 29, you can also order a copy online through Concord Records.
Artist : Carly Simon Album : This Kind of Love Genre : POP Bitrate: VBR Mp3 Tracks: 13
NOTE: album found on FileFactory.com
Download Mp3s From Carly Simon - This Kind of Love
Raheem DeVaughn is a Washington D.C. native who updates his classic R&B stylings with a decidedly modern twist. The son of a jazz cellist, he makes music in the tradition of soul men like Donny Hathaway and Marvin Gaye. We caught up with the singer fresh on the heels of his sophomore release, Love Behind the Melody, and discussed his rise through the D.C. ranks, his musical influences and a time-tested recipe for success.
Raheem DeVaughn may be a newly minted Grammy Award nominee, but he still considers himself an underdog.
DeVaughn, who performed songs from his new album on The Saturday Early Show, considers himself an "R&B hippie, neo-soul rocker," and has been on somewhat of a love kick ever since the release of his debut disc in 2005 called "The Love Experience."
"The Love Experience," a guitar driven album, stirred up an intense following and a fan base from Japan to Jamaica.
"Love Behind the Melody," DeVaughn's sophomore album, stays true to his old school groove, but demonstrates he's grown since his previous recordings.
The Grammy nominated song, "Woman," which pays homage and respect to members of the opposite sex, is the first single off the album, which was produced by Chucky Thompson.
"Raheem is a gem! A rare find, that truly sets him apart from the rest," Alicia Keys was quoted as saying of DeVaughn. "The minute you hear his voice and songs you have the instant feeling that you're among greatness. He embodies the soul and raw honesty of the legendary artists we long for. A true artist is one that can't be duplicated and Raheem DeVaughn drives in a lane all his own."
While growing up in Maryland, DeVaughn was captivated by music. He dove into his mother's impressive record collection to indulge in musical history and had a jazz musician father, Abdul Wadud.
DeVaughn himself joined a doo wop group in college. Compelled to write and produce music on his own, he further immersed himself in the Washington D.C. music scene through open mic nights. Once he gained a following, he needed something "tangible" to sell, DeVaughn explained.
Love Behind The Melody
Singer/songwriter Raheem DeVaughn first expressed his affinity towards music in pre-school and solidified his love for music during his early teens, when he began to envision his career path. In 2005, he released his debut album The Love Experience, which reached the no. 46 spot on the Billboard charts. With his release, DeVaughn was categorized amongst the likes of Dwele, Van Hunt, D'Angelo, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. Fast forward to 2008 and DeVaughn has built on the limited success he received from his debut album, garnering a nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards. With the popularity pendulum swinging his way, DeVaughn seeks to maintain the momentum with the release of Love Behind The Melody.
During the promotional campaign for his first album, DeVaughn sported a crown and cape at shows, a ploy to stand out as he referred to himself as the "Underground King." Since he's stepped into the limelight recently, DeVaughn dropped that nickname and -- as he states on the laid-back opener "Hello Love" -- now labels himself as a "R&B hippie neo-soul rock star" (a take on the difficulty media types have classifying him). But on Love Behind The Melody he never really fuses these styles, instead he relies strongly on his neo-soul abilities. The D.C. crooner knows how to set the mood with tender, flattering wordplay and addictive melodies, reincarnating that old school soul sound that folks like Marvin Gaye once brought to life.
"Woman" -- DeVaughn's radio smash about the greatness of women -- is produced by Carl "Chucky" Thompson, who is known for producing Bad Boy's early acts like Biggie and Mase. DeVaughn articulates his reverence for strong females with line like, "A grown woman who's confident / Better recognize one where the grown ones sit / And a grown woman knows how to tell you no / A grown woman knows when to let you go / You can have a big ole car and big ole house, but next to God nothing else amounts to her." Although DeVaughn does an awesome job on "Love Drug," it's producer, Scott Storch, surprises most with a light-hearted '90s-era R&B production. The piano man is also responsible for the more simplistic "Energy," a song about chemistry -- on which DeVaughn's high-pitched, mellow singing makes a good team with Big Boi's laid-back, structured rhyming.
The throwback vocalist flirts with the thought of serving his woman up on the swoony "Customer," while the day dreamy "Butterflies" and piano-laden "Try Again" create a more uplifting mood. Although he's at his best as a sensitive, soulful crooner who pensively contemplates love, marriage, fire in the bedroom and flattering the opposite sex, DeVaughn gets his rock star groove on with the party track "Friday (Shut The Club Down)," a riff of the Temptations' classic "My Girl." Since DeVaughn doesn't really step outside his comfort zone throughout the album, the spoken word by Malik Yusef on "Woman I Desire" is a welcomed change.
Raheem DeVaughn drops another timeless grown folks record, filled with -- sometimes overly swoony -- well-constructed songs. He might not get the commercial recognition he deserves, but then again, it's also nice to listen to an album without having the singles played to death on the radio. And while he works part-time on his technology products business as well as having a tour schedule that's overbooked and getting love from his peers such as Alicia Keys, you can be reassured that Raheem doesn't miss out on love.
Raheem Devaughn feat. R. Kelly - Customer (Remix) New 2008
He tells stories. The other thing is, he’s a captivating performer. He’s really serious about what he’s doing, he works really hard, and you throw that whole package together and you’ve got an artist who, in my opinion, could quite easily be selling out 2000 or 3000 seat venues.' Nic Harcourt, host, Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW, Los Angeles
Trading Snakeoil For Wolftickets is Gary Jules’ second album. It gives space to Gary’s ghostly timbre, his delicate guitar playing and his vivid stories about HIS Los Angeles. Not the LA of Hollywood and shine and glitz and emptiness, but the downtown of Koreatown and the mausoleum-like Ambassador Hotel where Robert Kennedy was shot. 'A metropolitan city, more like New York than LA, where people are walking around, going about their business,' he says.
Mad World is a highlight, and the reason Trading Snakeoil For Wolftickets is finally being released in the UK, but the album also contains plenty of poetic, captivating songs that recall Simon & Garfunkel and Cat Stevens, country-influenced tunes (Patchwork G) and old European waltz/country ballads The Princess Of Hollywood Way and Barstool to the extremely pop sensible DTLA. It’s simple stuff, done elegantly and soulfully. It may have taken nearly two years for this album to make it to Europe, but no matter: these songs are in for the long-haul.
As well as appearing on Gary Jules’ second album, Mad World was originally on Donnie Darko - Music From The Original Motion Picture Score.
In December 1996, after paying his dues on the singer-songwriter scene, Gary was signed to A&M Records. He recorded his debut album, Greetings From The Side, in March 1997. After a year of waiting, at the record company’s behest, it was remixed. In August 1998 it was finally released. 'And two weeks later the record company disappeared,' he says with a dry laugh. A&M fell between the cracks of a corporate merger. 'There was nothing I could do. It disappeared so fast that I didn’t have copies of the album, so I couldn’t even go on road and sell it. And I was still signed so I couldn’t go and make a new record elsewhere. I was sold along with thousands of other people, and being near the bottom of the ladder it took a year to review my contract and for me to finally get dropped.' In the end Gary snagged 300 or 400 copies of Greetings From The Side and set about losing himself in whatever distractions came to hand - a very long weekend off the deep end. Then, weary from experience and in need of a new perspective, he went back to college and finished a degree in English literature.
In March 2001 Gary visited Michael Andrews in their hometown of San Diego. They did basic recordings of four of Gary’s new songs: Broke Window, DTLA, Pills and Patchwork G. Gary went back to LA, fired-up and back in the saddle. Over the course of the summer Gary and Michael worked on the record on and off, hammering out seven more songs that would make it on to Trading Snakeoil For Wolftickets. Gary worked on two more tracks for the album - Lucky and Umbilical Town - on his own in Los Angeles while Michael was busy with his own music. Gary then took the tracks to his friend Zeke’s house in Los Angeles and mixed them on his home stereo.
Sometimes I hear a song that seems so perfectly fitting for me in every way– in particular ways both permanent and transient– that I’m almost convinced that there is a divine spirit and it invoked the creation of something just for me. Gary Jules‘ “Falling Awake” is one of those songs (you can listen to the whole album at CD Baby). There are very clear echoes of Elliott Smith, particularly in this song. Jule’s vocal style also reminds me quite a bit of Peter Stuart…
Mixed by Bryan Cook. Other players: Michael Andrews: Bass, drums, backing vocals. Malcolm Cross: Drums, percussion, electric piano. Ben Peeler: Lapsteel guitar. Davey Chegwidden: Percussion.
Track List
1. Falling Awake 2. The Devil Keeps Grinning 3. Gone Daddy 4. Serpent - in - Claw 5. Little Greenie 6. There's A Hole in the Sky 7. Whiskey For Everybody 8. Wichita 9. Andalucia 10. Dustcloud and the Honeybees 11. Road Song Blues 12. One Little Light
[Download] Here http://gary-jules-mad-world-alternate-version--mp3-download.kohit.net/_/195149 Gary Jules - Falling Awake MV
A few months after the release of her debut album, in 2002, this magazine reported that Vanessa Carlton went off birth control, telling a source, “The last thing I need is more estrogen. I am already too sensitive, as are my songs.” Rap-label man Irv Gotti co-produced it (along with song gurus Linda Perry and Stephan Jenkins), but her third disc isn’t a reinvention—it’s pure, effervescent Nessa. Packaged in big, bright doses of piano-pop, her expressions of puppy love are as irresistible as puppies themselves.
Every reviewer approaches a given artist’s work with some degree of bias. So, I’ll admit upfront I am biased in favor of singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton and was predisposed to liking her newest CD, Heroes & Thieves.
How predisposed was I? Well, when her previous CD, Harmonium, came out in 2002, I became so obsessed with the single “White Houses” I played it non-stop for days. No, wait, make that weeks. OK, OK, I obsessed over this song for months. I converted the MP3 into a wave file and did some of my own edits. I spent so much time thinking about the song’s story (teenage girl loses her virginity and looks back in regret) that I used to dream the song. Why was the song’s male character wearing a red shirt? Was that a foreshadowing of the blood Carlton references on the bridge? And why did this song remind me of the obscure 1980 tune “Straight Lines” by the UK band New Music? Was it something in the melody? Or did it tap into a similar lyrical theme about displacement in society? And why was a guy in his 30s (me) this moved by a song about a circumstance (and gender) from which I’m very removed?
Eventually, I was hospitalized and they gave me little yellow pills to obliterate the “White Houses” in my head. OK, I’m kidding about that part. But I really did get committed—committed to the concept of Vanessa Carlton as a brilliant singer-songwriter who, I believe, was unfairly marginalized as a teen-pop singer because her first hit, “A Thousand Miles”, connected with the post-Britney crowd. They may have, like, so outgrown Carlton in no time, but Carlton, then 22, was just starting to grow as a musician.
Heroes & Thieves is filled with more melodies from the classically-trained pianist who is now 27. There was concern amongst fans (who call themselves “‘Nessaholics") that this release would be an embarrassingly commercial bid for big-time success, since Carlton had signed to Irv Gotti’s hip hop-oriented The Inc label after parting with her previous label, A&M, when “Harmonium” didn’t sell as well as expected. Carlton, though, stayed true to her muse. She didn’t dump the lyrical approach and start singing about being “Promiscuous” or some such thing. In fact, she’s more like herself now than she ever was before (to loosely paraphrase an old saying).
The 11-song effort is pure ‘Nessa, down to the tinkling piano hooks, the confessional lyrics and the high-pitched vocals. As that might suggest, Carlton is one of the many disciples of the style Tori Amos pioneered (via Kate Bush and Laura Nyro). While Carlton doesn’t have Amos’ flair for innovation and rule-breaking, her more conventional style has its rewards because her songs are just so damned melodic, you can’t stop humming them.
The CD opener (and debut single) “Nolita Fairytale” layers an off-kilter melody over an insistent beat. Its title may be all but inscrutable to everyone but New Yorkers since it refers to a little-known section of Manhattan (where Carlton now lives). And the lyrics are so personal they read like lines from a diary: “I lose my way searching for stage lights; but Stevie knows and I thank her so”. The “Stevie” in question is Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks who helped sequence the CD and sings on the ballad “The One”, which is a wistful look back at a long lost college flame (lots of Carlton songs are wistful looks back; it’s part of her charm).
The best number here is arguably “Spring Street”, a tale of a daughter breaking away from her mother and starting a new life. The semi-autobiographical lyrics offer lots of philosophical food for thought, but it’s the chorus that really says something. It goes: “Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah.” I mean that seriously; the wordless chorus really does galvanize the emotion of the tune with its sing-along catchiness. “The One” was co-written with hitmaking producer Linda Perry (Pink, Christina Aguliera), as was “This Time”, a power ballad that has insomniac Carlton lying in bed regretting a failed love affair.
That affair is most likely the one Carlton had with Third Eye Blind front man Stephan Jenkins who co-wrote several songs and also serves as producer. The two musicians ended their relationship midway through the project, and that colored the tone of much of Heroes & Thieves, Carlton has said. Thus, in a love song like “Hands on Me”, it’s hard to listen and not wonder “Hm. Was Jenkins the guy she met at the video exchange? Or is that some new guy? And wouldn’t someone with her level of fame want to get Netflix”? But the beauty of this music is that it’s not just a bunch of tunes ground out to serve as the basis for lyrical conceits. Carlton’s songs ring with the authority of classic pop, and in that sense she’s probably more of a throwback to Carole King than Amos (although Carlton was born almost a decade after King’s “Tapestry” was released).
Heroes & Thieves isn’t a perfect album and sometimes gets too idiosyncratic and precious for its own good. It’s already spawned its share of detractors, specifically reviewers who question whether Carlton has the vocal goods to pull off some of the more complicated numbers. I think her imperfect singing keeps her sounding human and give her props for not messing with a pitch correction program. And if you feel the same, well, maybe you too should start thinking you might have a problem with ‘Nessa addiction. See you at the next ‘Nessaholics meeting.
Kate Nash is the girl who used Lily Allen to prop up her own MySpace success only to criticize comparisons of the two London singers as "lazy journalism." But why compare when you can contrast: If Lily Allen is the plainspoken wiseass chick all the guys love to hang around, Kate Nash is the plainspoken piano geek who simultaneously loves Lily Allen and is also a little bit jealous of her social prowess. Nash is coy and neurotic-- instead of tossing a deadbeat boyfriend and laughing at his tears, she can't help but wallow in a crumbling relationship. And, leading up to this LP, her rotating quartet of mostly humble, quiet MySpace tracks offered canny scenes of young love-- tiny romantic comedies that could affect even the snobbiest art-house connoisseur. Too bad, then, that Made of Bricks is a rushed, glossed-over misfire that almost trips over itself to hide the reasons why Nash became such a web phenom in the first place.
Instead of allowing Nash to simply clean-up the homey demos early fans knew and loved, many songs are completely made over in seemingly random styles that emphasize hot shit producer Paul Epworth's studio expertise more than Nash's natural warmth. "Birds", originally an acoustic guitar stunner about an inarticulate, bird-obsessed dude and his perplexed girlfriend, is remade as a faux-country farce that seeps away the song's naïve appeal with a novelty cowboy hat and a wink. "We Get On" is transformed from a crushingly self-conscious diary entry backed only by Nash's careful piano plinks into a goofy, roller-rink trifle that undermines the songwriter's nuanced heartbreak. Then there's the album's shameless filler; instead of allowing Nash the time to craft enough real-life pop songs to fill out an LP, the internet opportunists behind Made of Bricks try to cover-up obvious non-starters like "Play", "Dickhead", and "Shit Song" with knob-twirling nonsense and gratuitous instrumentation. Considering reckless moves like these, this debut full-length can be viewed as cautionary case of too many friends too soon.
After one listen to her UK hit "Foundations", it becomes obvious Kate Nash has a gift for communicating confusing romance with a keen eye for detail and scene-stealing turns of phrase. The single-- along with just-a-girl power-pop blast "Mouthwash" and sex-not-love big-beat bouncer "Pumpkin Soup"-- is one of the few Made of Bricks tracks that finds Nash's acutely enunciated words complimented with just the right amount of swirling sonic accoutrements. "My fingertips are holding onto the cracks in our foundation/ I know that I should let go but I can't," she sings. Made of Bricks too often tries to smooth over the emotional cracks, breaks and fissures that happen to be Kate Nash's distinguishing hallmark. Without them, she may as well be any other London newcomer in a bright dress and matching trainers.
Every cloud, so they say, has a silver lining. About 18 months ago, Kate Nash was a teenager from Harrow, moping round her house after being rejected by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She fell down a flight of stairs, broke her foot and was confined to bed for a number of weeks.
To cheer herself up, she started to write some songs while bedridden. Fast forward to summer 2007, and Nash has had a number 2 hit with her first 'official' single and her album has been brought forward by five weeks due to overwhelming public demand. Now that's serendipity.
So why has Kate Nash struck such a chord with the record-buying public? The more lazy journalists have compared her to Lily Allen - presumably on the basis that she's young, female, sings in a London accent and gained a lot of fans on MySpace - but there's a hell of a lot more to her sound than that. Yes, she writes clever little pop songs about crap boyfriends now and again, but names such as Regina Spektor and even poets such as John Cooper Clarke are as likely to crop up when listening to Made Of Bricks. There may be subjects on the album ranging from crumbling relationships to unrequited love, but you'll also find songs about a child genius who sews her own mouth shut and a girl with a skeleton for a best friend.
It's all shot through with such warmth, wit and vulnerability that you can't help but be charmed on the very first listen. Forthcoming single Mouthwash documents the minutae of everyday life ("I use mouthwash, sometimes I floss") before a lovely catchy chorus of "I'm singing uh-oh on a Friday night, and I hope everything's going to be alright" kicks in. And once it kicks in, you'll have trouble removing it from your brain for a number of weeks.
If there's one thing that Made Of Bricks proves, it's that the advance word about Nash's songwriting talents was right on the money. Birds perfectly describes a conversation between two inarticulate young lovers, while the beautifully yearning The Nicest Thing will strike a chord with everyone who's ever been in love with someone unobtainable. Merry Happy is the other side of the coin, a bouncy, joyous number celebrating the end of a relationship while extolling the joys of "dancing in discos, eating cheese on toast".
The lovely tale of 'girl meets boy, boy ignores girl' of We Get On is also a wonderful highlight, if only for Nash's hilarious delivery of the line "so my friends said what-ever, you'll find someone better", while also reprising Franz Ferdinand's notorious 'party/arty' couplet, and managing to make the line "Saturday night, I watch Channel 5, I particularly like CSI" sound heartbreakingly poignant.
Yet it's the more seemingly obscure songs on here that bear up best to repeated listening. Skeleton Song is just incredible, with clattering percussion and Nash's trademark piano skating all over the place, while Nash sings about a beloved friend who just happens to be a skeleton. It really shouldn't work, but you'll find yourself combing the lyrics over and over again. It's also probably Nash's most musically ambitious number here.
Those long-term fans who downloaded demo versions will find plenty to debate on here too - Dickhead has changed from a stark piano tune to a smokey jazz ballad with Björk - style sonic oddities scattered all around, while the show-stopping Mariella benefits from a beefed-up sound and some gorgeous harmonised backing vocals. The cryptic lyrics ("sometimes, I wish I was like Mariella, she got some pritt stick and glued her lips together.So she never had to speak") just add to the genius of it all.
Only Pumpkin Soup will possibly give some ammunition to the 'poor man's Lily' brigade, but it's fresh, funky and danceable and gives a great deal of variety to the album.
Some fans may raise a quizzical eyebrow over some of Nash's finest songs that are missing, such as Stitching Leggings, but that's all the more reason to keep an eye out for B-side releases over the next few months - there are at least four or five songs here on here that could easily be Top 5 hits between now and Christmas.
So, from bed-bound broken foot casualty to creator of the finest debut album of the year in just over a year. That's one pretty huge silver lining.
Despite Lil Wayne's status as one of the game's most ubiquitous voices, he isn't exactly inventing anything here with the candy-as-sexual-innuendo analogy.
"Lollipop"
For an artist who subtly thrives in the shadow of another well-known rapper, it should come as no surprise that the idea for Lil Wayne's new single is anything but. Think of "Lollipop" as a sonic rendezvous between Britney's "Piece of Me" and Snoop's "Sensual Seduction," with Roger Troutman as the liaison.
Wayne often disguises his deficiencies as a lyricist by relying on funny accents and weird phrases. But on "Lollipop" he doesn't rap at all. Why rap when there's a host of other options. Instead, we get 5 minutes of a yawn-inducing performance from the self-named "best rapper alive." His singing, filtered through an autotuner and a vocoder a la Snoop's "Sensual Seduction," is layered over a dense smörgåsbord of spacey synths and slow-rolling drums. Call it the T-Pain effect. And don't get me started on the lyrics which offer nothing worth revisiting. "She lick me like a lollipop"? Really? Didn't 50 Cent already exploit that candy-as-sexual-metaphor concept on "Candy Shop"?
While preparing for this review, I briefly entertained the silly thought that Wayne set out to prove a point with "Lollipop." He's Lil Wayne, after all, and he's reached that stratum of rapdom where rules don't apply to protagonists. He can say whatever he wants, release songs however he wants, and get extolled by that wide cross-section of hip-hop fans that will inevitably line up for some Weezy idiosyncrasies, no matter how craptacular. What's next? A song where he farts over a drum-track for three minutes?
Ashlee Simpson has set an April 22 release date for her third Geffen album, "Bittersweet World," which, as previously reported, features production from Timbaland and the Neptunes' Chad Hugo.
The first official single, "Little Miss Obsessive," boasts guest vocals from the Plain White T's Tom Higginson. The track has yet to land on any Billboard charts.
Released digitally in December, album track "Out of My Head (Ay Ya Ya)," also failed to chart but has sold 117,000 digital downloads in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Simpson indulges her '80s fetish throughout the project. The sassy "Boys" imagines the Cardigans' "Lovefool" atop a Chic rhythm, and there's a "Beat It" vibe on the chugging "Rag Doll." "I almost wish I lived my 20s in the '80s," says Simpson, who was born in 1984. "A lot of the record is a bit cheeky. Sometimes I'm writing about something serious, but it was fun for me to kind of goof around as well."
Simpson put in a fair share of 14-hour days in the studio; often she'd leave at night and return the next morning to find that Hugo had crafted a song based on conversations from the previous day. "Everybody really had their hands in this album," she tells Billboard.
In recent weeks, Simpson has been busy with radio promo stops, in-store appearances at Wal-Mart and midnight club shows. Upcoming appearances include Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards on March 29, "Today" on April 18 and "Dancing With the Stars" on April 22. A summer tour is in the planning stages.
Review By Buzznet
So we've all heard the hype over Miss Simpson's third studio album. Originally rumored to be titled "Color Outside the Lines" the new title, "Bittersweet World," reportedly came from something her boyfriend Pete Wentz yelled during sex. While the public has already heard a sampling of tracks ("Murder," the first single "Outta My Head (Ay ya ya)" and the next single "Little Miss Obsessive"), they have yet to experience the true power of this album.
Perhaps it's a bit weird for Miss Simpson to have partnered with so many different artists on BW, but they all lend themselves well. Not only does "Murder" feature a rap by Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy and "Little Miss Obsessive" features vocals by Tom Higgenson of the Plain White Tees, but there is also a host of, dare I say it, Wentz-ian guest stars. Between a guest vocal appearence by Panic at the Disco lead singer Brendon Urie on the track "Pass the Hash Pipe (Dinner with my Family)," and an alarming guitar solo on "How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Doing the Guy You Want)" provided by Ryland Blackinton of Cobra Starship, it seems that Wentz has managed to make a mark on his girlfriend's music career. Production by the likes of Timbaland and Patrick "tiny little sex god" Stump make the album pop like a bottle of champagne. Cheap champagne. Okay, medicocre priced champagne that you get blitzed on at your older sister's college graduation, but hey, it's not like you ASKED to be there! Even better is a moment in "Boys" where Ashlee participates in a freestyle rap off with Adam T. Siska (credited as "Sisky Biz") from The Academy Is...
Perhaps the biggest shock was Wentz's voice appearing on the album. During a break in "Follow You Wherever you Go" Wentz's signature scream interjects, spewing apparently complimentary things about Simpson, such as "if there's flowers in your halo I want honey forever" and "sometimes I stare at the sun until the dots in my eyes remind me of you." Though Pete Wentz had reportedly announced he was NOT appearing on Ashlee's new album, it appears the doucheking himself has misled his fans again. Way to go, Pete.
Overall, I give this album four out of five stars because Papa Joe didn't bribe me enough to give it five.
ARTIST : Frightened Rabbit TITLE : The Midnight Organ Fight LABEL : Fat Cat GENRE : Indie BITRATE : 194 kbps avg SOURCE : CD (LP) PLAYTIME : 00:47:54 SIZE : 71.1MB STORE DATE : 2008-04
Glaswegian indie rock foursome Frightened Rabbit has slowly revealed more and more of itself (in approximate proportion to the almost humorous multiplication of its membership) since unceremoniously shuffling into the consciousness of the American indiescenti in 2006. While the five-year-old bands principals remain cagey about using their last name (for the record: Hutchison, Hutchison, Kennedy a new third guitarist is named Andy Monaghan, according to Wikipedia), the gradual revelation is audibly manifested in the steady scrubbing away of noise and clamor of Frightened Rabbits recordings. This cleansing culminates with the release of the trios spectacular sophomore full-length, The Midnight Organ Fight. The set was recorded by Peter Katis (Interpol in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mobius Band), and, indeed, his production renders the tracks nearly crystalline.
Track List ---------- 1. The Modern Leper 3:48 2. I Feel Better 2:50 3. Good Arms VS Bad Arms 5:06 4. Fast Blood 3:48 5. Old Old Fashioned 3:42 6. The Twist 3:30 7. Bright Pink Bookmark 1:13 8. My Backwards Walk 3:44 9. Head Rolls Off 3:29 10. Keep Yourself Warm 5:33 11. Extrasupervery 1:17 12. Poke 4:36 13. Floating In The Forth 4:14 14. Whod You Kill Now 1:04
