[] Lessons To Be Learned

Yet again, another songtress bringing back soul into their music and if im honest its not do as effectively on this album has it has on others (amy winehouse, duffy) but apart from this, i do like this album and i like the crossover effects of her songs and they work so well.

not my favourite album this year from this kind of artist but definately worth a mention as there is some good songs on the album.

stand out tracks =

sweet about me
sanctuary
awkward game
cigarettes and lies

An easy exit??

Looks like the Queen of Pop decided to get ready for retirement :-( Pitty, but that's what hearing this album makes you feel like. A bit out of date, out of sparkle, out of re-invention :-( Strong message on 4 minutes(ok, we all get it - we screw the planet) If i had to name the best track on the album - it would be 'Far Away' - smooth, catchy and melodic

Its That 2nd Album Thing!

Yep, Enjoyed her first offering, which was/is more refreshing.
Like a few hear I agree, she's grown-up, not good. And she got married, whats she like!
I've only played it twice, 3 might be pushing it, sorry.
Hey, When she gets divorced we might get a good 3rd album, with swearing and stuff!! fingers crossed!

Pendulum - In Silico

First of all, i would like to say that if you dont like drum and bass, then it doesnt matter cos pendulum are no longer drum and bass. This album is AMAZING. I would also like to say to all the dnb fans: OPEN YOUR MIND, THEY ARE QUALITY AT WHAT THEY DO! They used drum and bass as a means of creating their own music, after having made a name for themselves in the genre, and hopefully now more artists will come along with having been influenced by them. Tis album is made to confuse the dnb fan with all sorts of diversity, like Hold Your Colour, but completely different. Here's a 'lowdown' on the tracks:

1. Showdown - 10/10 This is a great funky rock tune, introduced with some swift vocals saying how great pendulum are and that they are no longer drum and bass! They still show some old touches with a bit sounding like Slam, but use guitar solos and it has an emo style ending

2. Different - 9/10 A really good track with good lyrics to go with it. Sounds like Muse and has an obvious touch of the Prodigy. Nice and relaxed after a rocking first track.

3. Propane Nightmares - 10/10 Absolutely phenomenal track, the album's second single. This has everything: a great intro, emo singing with a jaunty tune, smashing drum and bass, heavy rock beats and an emotive synth solo using pendulum's trademark distorted vocals. SICK

4. Visions - 10/10 My personal favourite. Again the distorted vocals work a treat with a banging intro, then a cool melody with nostalgic guitar solos and synths, then after the break a hard-hitting instrumental. So far the album has shown musical talent, creativity and initiative. Pendulum now make songs, not tunes.

5 Midnight Runner - 8/10 At last, a kind of dnb track. Starts off slowly then gets heavy. Uses high pitched synths and mixes them up to a treat. Great tune, showing diversity and keeps some of their roots.

6. The Other Side - 9/10 HAHAHA what a jokes tune. This is to be their next single, and the whole point of this tune is to confuse you. Starts off dark, then has an intro similar to the effect of Slam's, dropping into a sinister beat. Then this commercial, poppy, happy chorus comes from nowhere, but it's PHAT! Then some random speaking vocals, sends shivers down my spine! Dnb fans will hate this, but who cares!

7 Mutiny - 10/10 Pendulum show here exactly what they can do. A heavy rock intro, then into some maaaaaaaad techno beat. Then using lyrics from The Terminal in a Queens of the Stone Age style, showing that they can use the same music in two very different forms. Then a guitar solo, and then they show the Arctic Monkeys how to play a riff. Unbelievable tune

8. 9,000 Miles - 7/10 My least favourite tune, a bit boring but nice and relaxed. This is the only genuine dnb track on the album.


9. Granite - 10/10 The album's first single, what a tune. A cosmic intro into a banging rock tune. Good and catchy with a quality end to it.

10. The Tempest - 9/10 This is a sort of ballad, a thoughtful rock tune. I dont think anyyone expected Pendulum to ever make a tune like this, but i like it. Good vocals and a banging Santana style guitar riff. Ends with some random trancy stuff :S

All in all, this album has torn Pendulum away from DnB and into the commercial scene, widening their fan base and i think will be the biggest influence on music in coming years. Can't wait to see what tey do with the next album. Oh and if you dont buy it you're wasting your ears...

Ditch the lyrics

I agree with the previous 2 reviewers that the music is beautiful, the voices are a nice mix and the rhythmns and pace of the tunes are top quality. The real shame with this album is what appears to be the desire to make every line rhymne with the next irrespective of how weak the link to it may be. I've had to stop listening to it because it reminded me of small children's poetry.

Standing applause for modestly titled"Little Voice"

There is a jungle of female singer/songwriters out there, but only a few with a talent as Sara Bareilles. With"Little Voice" Sara Bareilles demonstrates that she is much more than one in a crowd of indistingishable artists. She is a poignant lyricist, versatile musician,and confident singer.

I especially like the way she works with rhythms in her songs. Some songs have drums and percussion, but the piano is the key in the rhythm.

On some songs it is easy to identify her musical inspirations, but Sara Bareilles manages to let herself be inspired and take flight on her own.

Sara Bareilles deserves a standing applause for the modestly titled"Little Voice".

Louise

absolute quality.......

from start to finish. album of the year so far for me , by a distance. great strings , great tunes , great lyrics.

marks out of ten for each track...

the age of the understatement 9/10

standing next to me 9/10

calm like you 8/10

seperate and ever deadly 10/10

the chamber 7/10

only the truth 10/10

my mistakes were made for you 9/10

black plant 8/10

i don't like you anymore 8/10

in my room 9/10

meeting place 10/10

the time has come again 9/10

Belter of an album

The first I heard these tunes were when Nickelback supported Bon Jovi on a concert - completely blew me away. I actually thought the energy and songs almost out done the main show. The album is very energetic from the moment go. Some ballads like Photograph, Far Away and Savin' Me are great and slows the the pace a little, but the vocals are powerful and keeps the listener glued.
The album is great and a superb follow-up to their last album. I really can't wait to see them live, I will recommend you do the same, start buy listening to this album. Awsome.

Dark, sexy Americana

When two of the most distinctive and transfixing voices came together, the result was always going to be interesting but the New Orleans genius T Bone Burnett has picked some fabulous and hypnotic songs which work perfectly. From the siren gypsy call of Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us to the raw power and pain of Nothin, to the bluesy Fortune Teller, this album gets under your skin and into your bloodstream. Absolutely bewitching. And if you can get to see Robert and Alison live, do whatever it takes to get tickets - they just glow onstage and the songs pack even more of a punch live.

Excellent - more please

Many of these songs have an excellent use of rhythm, beat and bass to create very catchy pop rock, yet retaining the simplicity of singer/songwriter style folk music. My roots are in 70s/80 rock music and yet I really love this.

Pop Music, Found Alive and Well!

While Alphabeat will never win any awards for their lyrics, they certainly make up for it with catchy hooks and sing-along choruses. Every song imprints itself on your brain and it's impossible not to leave the house without humming their infectious tunes and harmonies. Fantastic 6 is a brilliant start to the album and seems hard to follow but `Fascination' and '10,000 Nights' ensure the high standards continue. The tempo slows slightly with `What's Happening' giving you chance to get your breath back. Like the eighties? Good, because `Rubber Boots' sounds like a forgotten gem that could have been a Nik Kershaw B-Side! The only down side of this ablum is that the songs `Boyfriend' and `Nothing But My Baby' (2 of the best songs on the Danish album) have been re-produced and completely ruined by someone at EMI who felt he had to change something to warrant his pay packet. If you want to be a producer, whoever you are, go and work for some manufactured pop act no one cares about, stay away from Alphabeat, they deserve better!

Still tapping my feet ... this is fun!

Yes, not serious stuff - but why not! This is a great album from a highly accomplished band. Three tracks (at least) will be with us for a long time - She's So Lovely, Elvis Ain't Dead and James Bond. Sure, repetitive but great fun.

Folking great ho down!

If you're already the proud owner of Seth's previous albums then the best way I can describe this is as like Kitty Jay and Lady of the Sea - its fast, loud and foot stomping. There's a couple of slow songs but the pace doesn't stop.
If you're new to Seth then hello. Maybe you like folk music with a bit of a kick or if you're a fan of people like Clannad or The Levellers then this is certainly up your street. The inspiration for the album is the Cornish coast including the Penlee lifeboat tragedy, shipwrecks, old Cornish legends about standing stones and a race to catch whales. All of this may sound a little odd but its the way its delivered - with a striking drum and a frantic fiddle.
I can't praise this album enough - it was played full blast several times on a 4 hour drive if thats a good recommendation! If you get the chance to see any of these songs performed live then you're in for a treat.

A Law Unto Herself

Elusive. Slippery. Beguilingly and Bewitchingly Beautiful.

The ten songs which comprise Ms Wasser's new album will not
give themselves up easily to listeners looking for a quick
melting-moment fix.

There has been remarkable development since 2006's 'Real Life'
(an absolute stunner too if you haven't heard it yet !)

This is uncompromising writing and performance from a woman
not afraid to move against the mainstream.

The fluid, almost jazzy structure, of these compositions
reeks somehow of a stifling New York City Night.
Compressed and achingly searching for intangible resolutions.

'Honor Wishes' is a brave and austere opening track.
Voice. Piano. Bass. Drums.
Ms Wasser's voice roaming yearningly through and around
the icy keyboard's chordal progressions.

'Holiday' brings us into warmer, more, exotic territory altogether.
The lilting rhythm and melody lulling us into a false sense
of security as we are drawn into the tangled, splintered cacophony
of it's remarkable closing bars.

'To Be Loved' an optimistic and upbeat, yet wistful, reflection
on the possibility of love.

'To Be Lonely', the bruised and bleeding heart of the album.
Raw. Exposed. The intimacy of this shared moment almost unbareable.

'Magpies' delivers one of the most musically satisfying and complex
brass and vocal arrangements imaginable. Another real highpoint.

'Start Of My Heart'. A slow and gorgeously evocative melody and
more words about love to stretch your heartstrings.

'Hard White Wall' is a ducking and diving accoustic guitar led
number filled with complex waves and layers of electric guitar,
synthesiser, drums and vocal harmonies. Stunning.

'Furious' chugs along nicely with the Wurlitzer holding down
a quasi-latin rhythm. Ms Wasser beligerent in the best possible way.

'To Survive' is another pared-down gem of a song.
A lullaby and lament of breathtaking beauty.
The string arrangement a masterclass of affecting economy.

Closing track 'To America' is an ambiguous and ambivalent ending.
The brass and woodwind arrangement and significant contribution from
a junior, masculine Wainwright brings the album to a rapturous close.

Mr Goggin's production and supporting musicianship is inspired thoughout.

A Magificent Achievement.

Highly Recommended.

(I'm tempted to say"Move over Martha" but of course we must keep
room in our hearts for them both.)

Not impressed

I loved their first album, but this just doesn't do much for me at all.

"Many Shades of Black" is great, but the rest of it just bores me. For me this was the most dissapointing album released in the last few years.

Burn it

what the heck, i gave it 5 stars, because if buying this album opens a door to a new experience..let it be cool...

anyway why is everyone so pent up?

I know, perhaps it's because of the following angst...

If you are a Rhaidheeoo head head like me, its not worth buying this greatest hist malarkey..why??, because i have all the stuff 'in its right place'on the copies i have (i even have a back up OK Compie spare, in a lead box, buried in my garden, in case of end of world scenario.(not sure how id play it though if world did go phutt)

Ah...the review.... I borrowed a copy from a mate who was R-curious. I played it, and found it fun to sing along to, but a little annoying, since I have the next track in my long term memory, and found it almost as if some little miscevious god had randomised my lovely collection to cheeckily annoy me, or was it Easy Money Indsutries to blame...

so..verdict....i don't need it, cos i may have a OK-day or Amnesiac day, so on, and that's what I will play on that day.....

of the folks that want an in into the band, its a genereous welcome mat (but as I found ,that once trod on, the door opens to a fantasical immersion of music)

Anyway, I keep telling people who ask me , start with the Bends (back to pablo) then on to Rainbo, you wont go wrong

As for the geatest hits, save your pennies for OK computer, because listening to this greatest hits thing is like looking at a beautiful panoramic view ,through the eyes of a flea.

For the half star crew..save that for oldplay, as they will be known in a few years time, I am led to believe

Tadah

I really thought this would be disappointing

How wrong I was. Whilst the debut Wait For Me was a pretty decent guitar record, it was certainly not perfect. Many bands that have a little success are unable to build on that, and after hearing the band boast that they've already finished material for a third album I was sceptical about the quality of number 2.

That said, I actually think they've slightly surpassed themselves. Sure, the CD won't be in your player for months to come, but it will be constantly be playing for the next few weeks - more-so if the weather stays fine. Good job lads.

Dont buy this album!!!

The band has not authorised the release of this album, it's greedy EMI!!
If you are a fan of the band , dont buy it!!!!!!

A grower but...

I've been a fan of Journey for 25 years and yes, the new album is pretty good but the production quality varies a fair amount. The ballads sound best but the drum sound is poor on some of the rockers especially"Never Walk Away". Many indie rock releases have sounded better than this..

Classic from the best musician alive today

After waiting a long while I finally bought this album. It's incredible. As others have said, the music has a 50's and 60's feel but the lyrics and style are bang up-to-date. Amy's voice is incredible. I can't think of a single musician, singer or band better than her today. The album will be remembered as an all time classic. I also just got her previous album (which Amy recently said she didn't like). The style on the previous album is different but it's still brilliant! My favourite tracks on the Back to Black album are 'You Know I'm No Good' and 'Addicted'.