The Beach Boys and Asia - Episode 93

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Listen to more samples and get "XXX (Deluxe DVD/CD edition)" here

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Episode 85 Band of Skulls and The Smiths

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listen to more samples and get Sweet Sour here (right now just 8.99)

Raveonettes

Artist: The Raveonettes
Album: Raven in the Grave
Worth buying: Yes
You will be interested in this album if you are a fan of: Dark 80’s music, and music from the films of David Lynch.

Tell me more: Last year The Raveonettes “In and Out of Control” Made my top 10 list of the year. The album was mostly a dichotomy of fun pop music with very dark lyrics. And there was something both surprising and appealing about it.

This year the band has released “Raven in the Grave”. Gone is the fun pop sound of the last album. The music is dark and the lyrics are dark…..but it’s a different kind of dark. The lyrics to In and Out of Control dealt with a real world kind of darkness. The lyrics to Raven in the Grave have another worldly darkness to them.

The music is dark too but in an 80’s kind of way.

In fact, many of the songs on this album feel like they came from the soundtrack to an unknown David Lynch film during the Twin Peaks era (yeah, I know, Twin Peaks premiered in 1990, but we didn’t all stop wearing bell bottoms and start dancing to disco in 1970).

If you are a fan of dark 80’s music or the music of Angelo Badalamenti, I think you will enjoy this album. I did……but (and this is the weird part) I don’t enjoy this album in my car.

I do a lot of listening in the car. Maybe it’s just the way the album was mixed, but this album became unenjoyable in my car. Listening to it at home though it was fine…..I can’t explain this, and I have never encountered this with an album before….Wierd eh?

TJR  2011

What about the packaging? The album comes in a digipak with a nicely designed lyrics book

Get Raven the Grave Here

 

Episode 57 - Hayes Carl Power Station & Colin Hay

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l2pqt_V7qA&fs=1&hl=en_US]

listen to more samples and get Kamag Yo Yo by Hayes Carl Here

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It's on Vinyl too!

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Find he Power Station's Living in Fear Both New and Used here

Music Worth Buying - 11/16/08 - Motley Crue

Artist: Motley Crue

Album: Saints of Los Angeles

Worth Buying: Most of the songs are (more on this in a moment).

You will be interested in this album is you are a fan of: Metal, Hard Rock, Pop Metal, Motley Crue

Tell Me More: Motley Crue was one of those bands that lost it's way for a number of years. But now they have made an album that actually sounds like they are hungry. This is probably one of the best albums they have done since Too Fast For Love and Shout At the Devil. I wouldn't say that it's right up with those two, but it's damn close.

The album opens with a little spoken word piece that sounds a bit too much like the opening of Shout At the Devil. for that reason I skip this track on repeated listenings.  For the first 5 songs the album just kicks ass.  Whats more the first 5 songs are almost like a mini little concept album, with the band chonicling their early years of struggle. I kept thinking that this was their eqivalent to Elton John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy album. In the album's opener Face Down in the Dirt, the band sings about the rebelliousness of youth with so much conviction, that I really felt myself getting in touch again with my inner 18 year old again.

yeah, all i ever heard as a kid was I'm born to lose
all i ever wanted was a shot at breakin the rules

i wanna make a lot of money
but i don't wanna go to school
i don't wanna get a real job
i don't wanna be you

I'd rather be dead, yeah I'd rather be dead
I'd rather be face down in the dirt with a bullet in my head

The remaining songs deal with the decedent heavy metal lifestyle that was prevalent back in the 80's. These remaining tracks are good, but for me none of them where on the same level of intensity and passion as the albums first five songs. Of these remaining songs, I deleted two off my play list. Track 10 Chicks = Trouble and the closing track Going Out Swinging.  For me the album became immediately stronger once I did. But with only two tracks that I didn't enjoy this is a pretty strong album. This is aggressive Hard Rock with strong chorus's, but not Pop or Pop metal. One other thing that I want to bring up is Singer Vince Neil's diction. There are no lyrics included but I was able to understand the lyrics with no problem. I went back and listened to Shout at the Devil to make a comparison and found that clearly the man has done something to improve his enunciation's.

What about the packaging?  Standard Jewell case. It comes with a sleeve cover, but the sleeve cover offers no additional artwork.  The insert is a fold out poster.

What if I am not ready to buy the whole album? Check out the opening track Face Down In The Dirt

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CD Format