Kakaku：1298 saved$12.98
Equal Vision Records
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (A great breakout CD!) 『This is an amazing CD by an amazing group. I heard them open for Dashboard Confessional at a concert and ordered the CD. I was very pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend this CD.』
(Good) 『This past weekend, I had the opportunity to see The Color Fred live with Angels&Airwaves. At the show, I wasn't all that impressed. After listening to their album, however, I can say that my previous thoughts about TCF were wrong.
This album isn't amazing. This album isn't bad. It's simply ... well, good. Take it at face value -- don't expect anything, and you won't be disappointed. It's alternative, catchy, and well-written.
What can I say? I'm a fan, now.』
(Wow. A side project that is actually good.) 『What is this? I was expecting some kind of Taking Back Sunday without the lead singer, but instead I got an album that is full of just great rock tracks. The whiny emo of TBS is gone with a mix of mature rock and great songwriting.
There isn't a bad track here. The whole cd is a great listen and each song is obviously done by the same person/group, but they are also decisively different. Every track flows and the package is definitely a good as the sum of it's parts, which is something that cannot be said about a lot of artists.
Some stand out tracks are: Get Out, If I Surrender, Complaintor, Minnesota, I'll Never Know, and Don't Pretend, though the whole album is great. Just don't go in expecting TBS version 2.0 and you will be happy. I was a little shocked when I popped this in, but immediately came to love it. This will be in my rotation for quite some time. Definitely longer than the last TBS release.
Pick this up. You won't regret it. 』
(Exceeded my expectations!) 『The album is just sick. Fred Mascherino is like a general, and the whole damn army on this disc. He does everything and that's why I'm surprised it's so good. My favorite songs are "If I Surrender", which got me believing in music again, "Hate To See You Go" which is just damn good, and "Complaintor" because it paints the picture of him and his relationship with the kids of Taking Back Sunday. Not a bad song on the disc and it's just up-tempo, pure positive energy. It all fits neatly in a revamped digi-pak styled case that is 80% recycled with a 100% biodegradable tray. Don't skimp out and get the digital version, grab the new digi-pak eco friendly styled casing instead!』
(Not TBS) 『What a great LP. So different from the sound of TBS. Fred is playing the kind of music he wants to play, and is doing a great job providing us with a great sound for sore ears. Not a bad song on the CD. It rocks from the beginning including a shot out to his home town of Coatesville with Get Out. Great lead in on If I Surrender, perfect for a ringtone. Still rocking with Hate To See You Go, then slowing down for It Isn't Me, picking up again for Complaintor, The Tragedy and I Didn't See. Minnesota rocks in between two more great ballads Empty House and I'll Never Know. Don't Pretend rounds out the CD on a rock note. Clint Stelfox makes an appearance on It Isn't Me playing the piano brilliantly. Clint played with Fred in Breaking Pangaea. This album could be the album that everyone talks about from Foo Fighter and Linkin Park fans to John Mayer and Plain White T fans.
Get it! 』 『
WithBend To Break, Fred Mascherino--known for his work as lead guitarist and co-vocalist/songwriter for Taking Back Sunday--has turned out one of the most exhilarating and gutsy solo projects in years. Operating under the guise of THE COLOR FRED, the first recording under his nom de rock was artfully executed with the help of legendary producer Lou Giordano (Sugar, Paul Westerberg, Sunny Day Real Estate).
While THE COLOR FRED had been in Mascherino's plans since before he joined Taking Back Sunday, his solo project was put on the backburner with that band s meteoric rise. In the wake of two gold records while in the band--2004'sWhere You Want To Be(Victory) and 2006'sLouder Now(Warner Bros.)--and their subsequent touring commitments, it wasn t until the Spring of 2007 thatBend To Breaktruly took shape.
Bend To Breakis made of 100% recycled materials and has a carbon footprint of zero.
Kakaku：1498 saved$14.98
Asphodel Records
Usually ships in 1 to 2 days IPhone 3G used's review (Ken Nordine's "Colors") 『I was first introduced to this recording in the 60's when Ken sent me a tape preview of this fascinating album. Over the years I lost the tape and missed his magnificent voice describing the very essence of each color so vividly you could "see" them dance inside your mind! Now I can finally relive the experience with this new album!!
Cullen Newman』
("There's the month of June....MAROON.") 『This album truly is weird as heck, but man, I love it anyway.
"Colors" is a strange little jewel of a relic from the mid-1960s, featuring the deep-voiced Ken Nordine reading groovy poetry over jazzy instrumentals. Each, um...song (if you can call them that?) is about half a minute long and tells a little story about every color imaginable, from Black and White to Azure, Beige, and Muddy. Many of the colors are personified: Olive and Russet are trendy hipsters, Puce suffers from low self-esteem, Crimson is a bit of a psychopath. Other songs, such as "Flesh" and "Gold" are witty social commentary.
One of my favorite things about "Colors" is that the tracks can be used to add something pleasantly surreal and unexpected to mix CDs and iPod playlists.
But this is definitely an album to own, not just download from the Internet--because to truly appreciate the "Colors" experience, you've also got to have the album art, which features a bizarre gameboard and plenty of pop-art illustrations.』
(review? what review?) 『i still have not recieved the cd from amazon,so how can i review it? hey amazon, how about sending me the cd so i can review it.either that, or refund me my money for the purchase.』
(In the beginning, or long before that.) 『Ken Nordine was commisioned by a paint company to write several commercials about colors. He recorded the spoken word ads backed by free form jazz. They commercials got so much acclaim, that he decided to record an album where he redid the spots (without mentioning the name of the paint company this time), adding many more colors. All the pieces are around a minute and a half long. Some of the tracks can be taken as social commentary, but most of them are just Nordine having fun saying whatever a particular color makes him think of. The CD adds ten bonus tracks to the original album, for a total of 34 (Nordine says he recorded 44 in all). This is a fun album, if you like music that is a little "out there".』
(Genius) 『I have only recently been introduced to Ken Nordine and since them moment i listened to "Colors" I've been preaching its glories to all around. There is no satisfactory explanation for Nordine's exploration of psychadelic existential beat. Its simply brilliant.』 『The voice-over man from a thousand commercials, Ken Nordine registers in your subconscious instantly:Wait, I know that guy!Smooth as an ice sculpture and ringing with "the voice of our sponsor," Nordine has personified authority since the 1960s. It's disorienting at first to hear the way Nordine lets go on this record with a Beat-inspired, mellifluous-sounding, Dr. Seuss-like exploration of the meanings of different colors. Many of the pieces are parables on racism and human behavior, but they're also totally silly, and meant to be. Recorded in the late 1960s, the 34 tracks manage to be sort of psychedelically goofy but charming at the same time. "Absolute gray is the grayest gray / That's the same distance from absolute white as it is from absolute black," Nordine almost-sings to a delightful, freeform studio backing of hip jazz. All your mix tapes will be very happy that you've bought this strange record to flavor them with.--Mike McGonigal』
IPhone 3G used's review (Barbra shines with all the colours of the rainbow!) 『Recorded to accompany her TV special of the same name, COLOR ME BARBRA captures Barbra Streisand at the peak of her early musical career. Having been catapulted to fame following sold-out nightclub engagements plus the Broadway and London productions of FUNNY GIRL, Barbra pours all her skills and musical tastes into this impressive record.
Things get off to a cracking start with "Yesterdays" (originally from the musical ROBERTA), a manic opening number with medieval harpsichord prominently scored. More magic is right around the corner with "One Kiss", "The Minute Waltz" and "Gotta Move" (a number she previously covered on her second album, but in a different arrangement). "Non C'est Rien" is a gorgeous romantic ballad that's guaranteed to make you hit the 'repeat' button on your CD player.
"Where or When", a delicious romantic song from Rodgers and Hart's BABES IN ARMS, glows like a rare jewel with Streisand's delicate interpretation. The clever medley incorporating "Animal Crackers in My Soup", "Funny Face", "That Face!", "They Didn't Believe Me", "Were Thine That Special Face?", "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face", "Let's Face the Music and Dance", "Sam, You Made the Pants too Long", "What's New, Pussycat?", "Small World", "I Love You", "I Stayed too Long at the Fair" and "Look at That Face" (phew!) is delivered with lots of showmanship.
Those only familiar with Eartha Kitt's classic recording of "C'est Si Bon" will find a refreshing change within Barbra's sparse cover of it. "Where Am I Going?", the dramatic eleven o'clock ballad from SWEET CHARITY and a clarifying, inspirational "Starting Here, Starting Now" bring the album to a satisfying close.
Even if you haven't seen the COLOR ME BARBRA television special you'll certainly appreciate everything that Barbra climbs and conquers on this album, which displays her versatility as a singer and all-round entertainer. An essential title for Barbra fans. [COLUMBIA-CK9278]』
(It's so good!) 『Released as a soundtrack of sorts to her second t.v. special of the same name, Color Me Barbra is a fabulous group of songs which, unlike some of the songs on My Name is Barbra, all stand on their own, making this album great whether or not you've seen the special, and whether or not you liked it.
01. Yesterdays- A fun fast-paced song to begin the album. Not very memorable, though. B-
02. One Kiss- One of my favorite tracks on the album, this song has a beautiful piano and strings complementing her equally beautiful voice, and shows Barbra at her classy best. A
03. The Minute Waltz- A cute little song, in which Barbra attempts to sing a song in one minute. Sadly, she fails, but it's fun to listen to her try. B+
04. Gotta Move- An interesting reworking of Barbra's song from her second album. This time, it's more about the horns than the drums here, and it's pretty good. B+
05. Non C'est Rien- A lovely song in French, which was ironically sung in English on Barbra's later French album. You can truly be moved by this song, whether you understand French or not. A-
06. Where Or When- One of the few uninteresting songs on this album. As always, it is sung well, but doesn't really move you in any way. C
07. Face Medley- This is a really fun medley. At over eight minutes, it doesn't feel long enough, with some fabulously incorporated songs. A
08. C'est Si Bon (It's So Good)- Admittedly, I prefer the feistier Eartha Kitt version better, but Barbra's slower, more romantic version here is still a good version in its own right. Great for those in a loving mood. A
09. Where Am I Going?- This song doesn't seem to belong on here. It sounds like it's meant for one of her later 70s soft-rock recordings. That being said, it's a good (though not very catchy) show-stopping number B-
10. Starting Here, Starting Now- A perfect song, and anyone who saw her on her last tour can tell you it's even better live. Her voice is silky smooth, and hits all the right emotions perfectly. A
Every Barbra Streisand fan will want this, and even some non-fans may find enjoyment in this release. There is very little to dislike.』
(Color Me Barbra) 『One of my favourite Streisand albums. Great ballads and a fantastic medley full of well known songs. A great album for new fans to discover Barbra.』
(Great 60s title of Streisand!!) 『Color Me Barbra (1966) is one of Barbra's finest albums from the 60s. The song selections are fabulous and sound wonderful. I love the front cover crayon drawing image of her face; it goes so well on a pink background, the title of the album is also in different colors as well. I own this title on LP, tape, and CD. On the LP release, the song titles and such were in white print on the front cover, which made it hard for people to see what songs were on it. For those of you who probably still have this title on LP, you will still have to put the cover up in your face to read the white print (I assume that the 60s copies had light pink for the cover, and the reissue pressings from the 70s had a slightly darker pink on the front cover. With darker pink, the white print won't be difficult to read. I have an original copy from the 60s with the light pink front cover). White print on a light pink background is almost difficult to read; it's a nice color scheme, but almost invisible to see. I love the songs on this title. The opening track, Yesterdays is great to listen to, with its catchy orchestration. One Kiss is fine and quiet. Minute Waltz is fine, with Barbra sounding like she's trying to get this song sung in exactly one minute or less. Gotta Move is great, with its "hurry up" sound. Non C'est Rien, which I assume is a French counterpart of her Free Again song from her French titled "Je m'appelle Barbra" album, is great. Orchestration is the exact same as what is heard on Free Again. The track 7 medley, is great to hear, and is the longest song on this album. C'est Si Bon (It's So Good), is another great one with Barbra singing in French. Where Am I Going? is a great one, as well. The closing track, Starting Here, Starting Now (the closing track) has a nice sound to it. Barbra really does a magnificent job of holding out that last note at the end of this song. She really does a good job of that. No Barbra Streisand music library would be complete without this "colorful" title!! Get it while you can!!』
(Barbra Streisand: Color Me Barbra (1966)) 『In March of 1966, Barbra Streisand had released her seventh album entitled, COLOR ME BARBRA. This album was to coincide with her new hit television series of the same name. This is a great album and the front cover is just priceless, as well as being very colorful for your children.
YESTERDAYS Great song. No, this is not a cover of The Beatles' song.
ONE KISS Great.
THE MINUTE WALTZ Great.
GOTTA MOVE From the album THE SECOND BARBRA STREISAND ALBUM (1963). Great song.
NON C'EST RIEN Not bad.
WHERE OR WHEN Great.
Medley: ANIMAL CRACKERS IN MY SOUP/FUNNY FACE/THAT FACE/THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME/WERE THNE THAT SPECIAL FACE/I'VE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO HER FACE/LET'S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE/SAM, YOU MADE THE PANTS TOO LONG/WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT?/SMALL WORLD/I LOVE YOU/I STAYED TOO LONG AT THE FAIR/LOOK AT THAT FACE "I Stayed Too Long At The Fair" from the album THE BARBRA STREISAND ALBUM (1963). Great medley, although, it contains one too many songs, but still a great medley.
C'EST SI BON (IT'S SO GOOD) Not bad.
WHERE AM I GOING? Great.
STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW Great song.
This is an album that everybody should have enjoyed. It is very enjoyable and I cannot help but choose this album as being amongst my favorite Barbra Streisand albums. Please, buy a copy of COLOR ME BARBRA now, and make sure to Color Her Barbra.』
Kakaku：99 saved$0.99
Equal Vision Records
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review ("Because we do need it") 『this album is as beautiful and breathtaking as Alaska...i've never been there, but i imagine it's amazing...
...beautiful music from a beautiful band for a beautiful world.
p.s. i get to see these guys play live tomorrow』
(they'll never make the same album twice) 『this is one of my new favorite bands right now. i found out about them a bit after their first cd came out and i fell in love with that entire album. when the second one came out i didnt enjoy at first, but eventually at times enjoyed it more than the first. and i knew that with this album the band would take on yet another new sound, but while still keeping it portugal. i was very excited to hear this, and was definitly not dissapointed. when i first heard it i wasn't to sure about it. but after a 2 or 3 listens i was all for it. cant wait until they're next release. and like the person before me, if you enjoy this band and haven't seen them live yet. than you are missing out greatly. go see these guys live in action for the full effect.』
(Epic) 『At first I wasn't quite sure what to make of this new album by Portugal. The Man. I fell in love with their first album (Waiter: You Vultures!) immediately. It took me a little longer to receive their next CD (Church Mouth). This CD though is really starting to grow on me. It is not nearly as loud as their previous CDs but it is definitely as heavy. I think that its one of those CDs that reflects and pays its respects to the 60's and 70's pop and rock and roll as well as putting in their own in to the album. I won't even go in to the detail of how amazing they are live. This band never ceases to amaze me.』 『Under the mainstream radar, Alaska's favorite sons, Portugal. The Man is a band that has been steadily building a devoted fan base and amassing kudos from an array of media outlets like Filter ("Portugal. The Man hasn't merely evolved from the avant-garde, neo-soul that shaped their earliest works, they've transcended it."), AbsolutePunk ("Portugal. The Man is one of the most unique and original groups of current time."), and ("...it's the songs that truly set this band apart.") Alternative Press.
Portugal. The Man's newest album features fifteen fiercely transcendent vignettes. The band calls the collectionCensored Colors- side one is a half-dozen single tracks, while side two consists of a long suite of compositions, segued together into one seamless presentation. The music materialized in January 2008 quickly, born from the band's ravenous creative appetite, many months of dedicated touring and their rare commitment to challenging songcraft, all set against a canvas of Seattle winter skies. They did it without outside financial backing and label support; content instead to rely upon their faith in each other, their music and the steady guidance of friends/multi-instrumentalists/producers Phil Peterson and Kirk Huffman (two-thirds of the genre-defying Seattle trio Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground).
Describing the product of that faith is no impossibility. But, like quantifying an emotion, merely articulating Censored Colors' countless aesthetic graces is not the optimal way to take its measure. "We've always wanted to make a really heavy record mellow," reveals vocalist/guitarist/songwriter John Baldwin Gourley. "And I think this time we did it."』
Kakaku：199 saved$1.99
Warner Bros / Wea
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Baby Maya) 『I agree with the previous reviewer. Los Lobos would have been nice on the Soundtrack. However, does anyone out there know the title and artist of the song that is playing in the movie when the Hispanic gang is partying and is the victim of a drive by. If so please repsond. I have been trying to find this song for years.』
(Where's" One Time One Night " by Los Lobos?) 『This was without a doubt the best song featured in the movie so why wasn't it on this soundtrack? There were Hispanic gang members in this movie so one song by the great band Los Lobos would have hardly been inappropriate.
Just wondering.』
(An actual review) 『Ok, having read the prior reviews, I'm taking time to write a quick-and-dirty yet actual review.
First, the ironic thing about this soundtrack is that the movie was supposed to be about the LA gang wars between various sets (painted in the broad-strokes of Hollywood as Crips vs. Bloods). In other words, the film is based in the west coast. Yet all but 2 of the tracks are done by east coast artists.
Why? Well, Warner, the studio owner, also owned a little label called Cold Chillin and chose to make use of their catalogue for a majority of the music rather than pay for a slate of original songs, which gives you an idea of how this movie was approached from day one. Suffice to say that there were several west coast artists who could've helped make this soundtrack both relevant to the film and long-lasting in value.
Okay, so the title track is done by Ice T, a west coast vet even at this point but unknown to most of the US (and by the way, on Sire Records, distributed by Warner). The track is amazing, capturing the mood of a driving with it's ominous synth chords. Ice T's lyrics are gritty and follows his usual formula of paint a picture, usually nihilistic (in this case, cold-blooded gang banger), and then weave in a social message (gangbanging won't stop till these kids are given better options for their life). Thematically this song is exactly the same as "New Jack Hustler" his theme song for another film, "New Jack City". For fun, compare both to "High Rollers".
From here, the soundtrack either a) goes downhill if you're at all familiar with hiphop or b) has great gems for you are somehow unfamiliar with the music these other artists.
The next cut is an indulgence of a Sean Penn project, Decadent Dub Team, and it sounds as ridiculous as you'd expect. Skip it like I'm skipping reviewing it.
Of the remaining tracks, you get several previously released songs from Juice Crew artists off the Cold Chillin label and a remix of a Rakim seminal cut (Paid in Full).
You also get a throw-away Salt-N-Pepa song that's actually pretty good but isn't better than "Long Live the Kane" from which the loop is lifted. None of these songs is particularly relevant to the movie and all have an east coast sound to them.
A song of real value on this soundtrack is Drums of Steel by a group called 7A3, the most notable member being DJ Muggs, who went on to become the DJ of a pioneering west coast group called Cypress Hill. The song, "It's a Mad, Mad World" is a social message song that's unremarkable lyrically, and no more relevant than most of the other songs. However, it's a great track musically, with Muggs using very creative samples, eschewing a chorus in favor of the emcee speaking over police and news broadcast samples. To really appreciate what Muggs did with this record, compare it to Biz Markie's Picking Boogers, which uses the same loop (notice a pattern?).
Finally, for those nostalgic for 80s post-funk R&B can check out Rick James' cut "Everywhere I Go" which has actually gotten better with age. It has a cheesy synth bassline that screams 80s. Rick's vocals aren't very compelling but are at least relevant to the film, and Rick delivers them strongly.
』
(Colors Never Die) 『If you like this soundtrack you should buy the book DO OR DIE. This book is the paper (and real life) version of the movie. As for the soundtrack It gives the flavor of street life, intermixed with a wishy-washy dont't gangbang vibe. But for true Ballers Ice-T and Big Daddy Kane don't dissapoint.』
(Old school, but timeless) 『Well, I don't agree with the "muthafucca" guy who wrote a review. I think he is what came out of the glory of gangsta rap Ice-T was trying to warn people about in his song. For the rest of the people considering this soundtrack, it's a must have for your collection.』
IPhone 3G used's review (Classic Cyndi Collection) 『I've been a big fan of Cyndi Lauper since her first hit in the 1980s. I guess you could say that I grew-up on her. I like the CD album because it has many (but not all) of her classic hits, as well as, a few new covers. The album will take you back in time. Always so delightfully enjoyable as Cyndi Lauper can be.』
(i luv it) 『not as much as She's So Unusual, but it's still fun to listen to!』
(True Colors) 『I got this CD for my son who always like Cyndi Lauper and with this CD I also got him concert tickets to see the True Colors Tour. So he was quite pleased.』
(Awesome) 『I've been looking for the songs on this cd for a very long time. When I ordered the cd, I never looked at what songs it had on it, I just got it cause I like Cyndi Lauper and the song True Colors. But it had more than just that song, it had even more great songs that I didn't know that Cyndi even sang. The cd is a classic and must have for anyone that loved music from the '80's and is a Cyndi Lauper fan.』
(A Good Follow up) 『After you heard the greatness of "She's So Unusual" you were tempted to check out its follow up, right? Well as most people were I was also and sampled some songs liked what I heard got the album. Overall the songs are a lot more mature and show a grown up Cyndi Lauper. Don't expect the wacky Cyndi from "SSU" it has a different approch. Here is a track by track run down;
1. Change of Heart 10/10
This track is a great opener for the album it really gets you up and makes you dance. This is Cyndi's finest moment on the album as far as I'm concerned. It's With a drum and guitar that just won't quit. This song makes the album worth it by its self. It was the second single.
2. Maybe He'll Know 8/10
While I wasn't to fond of this track at first listen it definatly grew on me. This is a remake of the track Cyndi did w/ Blue Angel. It has kind of a 50's pop sound. It became a fifth single in Holland only.
3. Boy Blue 9/10
A nice underrated gem of Cyndi's from the album it is mid-tempo and has a warm breezy sound to it. It became the fourth single from the album and Cyndi's first flop single at least in the U.S. peaking at #71.
4. True Colors 7/10
Hard to believe that the title track of the album, a soft and slow song was written by the same writers that wrote Madonna's "Like a Virgin" two years before. Although the song isn't my fav on the album I do have a soft spot for it. It became a #1 hit and the first single off the album.
5. Calm Inside the Storm 9/10
What a cool light-hearted song. It is a fun up-beat track that you can't resist. The chorus is killer and makes the song.
6. What's Going On? 8/10
A remake of the classic Marvin Gaye song, although a lot of people dislike Cyndi's remake and some call it mediocre I do happen to like it quite a bit. Cyndi holds her own and makes it her own. This was the third single from the album.
7. Iko Iko 6/10
This two minute ditty is a African cultured track that you can sing at the campfire. It isn't a stand out but it's alright...
8. The Faraway Nearby 7.5/10
It starts out kind of silly but gets better as it goes on is not half bad.
9. 911 9/10
I really like this one it makes you get in a happy mood and has you singing along. But kind of seems like it's trying too hard to be wild like the She's So Unusual days of Cyndi. Also Pee-Wee Herman has a cameo voice as a 911 operator in the last 10 seconds.
10. One Track Mind 5/10
Definatly a obvious filler track. The title, the idea and the amazing instrumental backround has all the potential in the world but the underwelming vocals and the amazing backround that almost grows repedative ruins the song quite a bit. A weak ending to a good album.
OVERALL AVERAGE SCORE: B-
It went on to become Double-Platinum while not following the monster success to She's So Unusual it is worth being in your collection. It holds its own and is definatly worth a listen and for some a second listen as it has some growers.』
Kakaku：99 saved$0.99
Warner Bros / Wea
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (SUPERIOR-SOUNDING JAPAN 2008 REMASTER NOW AVAILABLE) 『 In 2008, WEA Japan released the entire WB Tower Of Power catalog in remastered form. All of the albums benefit from new mastering, and are worthwhile acquisitions for fans. Even this live album sounds better than the US CD, which is just an old, LP-EQ'd master transfered to CD, as are all of the TOP WB albums.
I found all of the remastered material to be superior to the Rhino 2CD "What Is Hip?" 1999 compilation set, except, surprisingly, for the material from the 3rd album, which sounds better on the Rhino.
Amazon does a haphazard job of stocking these remasters, so you may have to seek them from Japan-based retailers. Also, Amazon's prices are at least a third higher than buying direct from Japan, although shipping costs will cut into that percentage.
Here are the links for the `08 remasters:
East Bay Grease Bump City Tower Of Power Back To Oakland Urban Renewal In The Slot Live And In Living Color
Again, it's sad that American consumers have to obtain better sounding CD's from another country. WEA, and now WMG, have long maintained a corporate policy of not upgrading their catalog under the "they're-gonna-buy-it-anyway-so-why-waste-profits" philosophy, no matter that rival Sony has made a lucative business model out of remastering nearly the entire Columbia records catalog. Although this internal policy was mandated by the WEA regimes of the past, Edgar Bronfman, the current WMG chief, has maintained the status quo.
So, Tower Of Power now joins fellow WEA artists Jackson Browne, Ry Cooder, The Doobie Brothers, Tower Of Power, Neil Young, Van Dyke Parks, Little Feat, Van Morrison, America, Annie Haslam, Everything But The Girl, Roberta Flack, Todd Rundgren, Cold Blood and Paul Butterfield, just to name a few, whose catalogs either partially or wholly exist in better audio in Japan than here in the U.S.
It's a pathetic and frustrating situation.』
(ANOTHER WARNING ON MP3 DOWNLOAD!!!) 『I also purchased the mp3 download and it is NOT THE ORIGINAL VERSIONS OF 2 SONGS!! Sparkling in the Sand and Knock Yourself Out are from the "East Bay Grease" CD. They are NOT EVEN LIVE VERSIONS, no less from Live and in Living Color. These certainly ought to be pulled from the site for purchase, or fix the horrid error.』
(BE WARNED MP3 VERSION IS NOT SAME!!!) 『The track "Knock Yourself Out", a classic by the way, is 23:08 in the CD version... I downloaded the MP3 version from Amazon downloads and the "Knock Yourself Out" track is a different version, not as good, and only 7:12 in length...I dunno why, but BE WARNED!』
(It doesn't get much better than this...) 『Raised on rock, I played guitar in a metal band for a while. After hearing this, I was amazed. There is something missing in today's music, and that's the ability to groove. These guys have it mastered. Highly suggested for any real music lover. Great stuff.』
(My favorite CD) 『This CD is AWESOME! Tower of power is the best live band. I've seen them live, and they are awesome. Lenny Pickett's 10 minute solo is amazing! I think this is Tower of Power's best CD.』
Kakaku：99 saved$0.99
Victory Records
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (not really any good IMO) 『I was first exposed to this garbage by the final track called "White Walls"- an Iron Maiden ripoff guitar riff to open the song leading into some of the most annoying, disturbing, and crappiest vocals I have ever heard in my life. Music can't possibly get more annoying than this. I'm almost kicking myself for bashing Porcupine Tree, because compared to this, Porcupine Tree is pure genius. The first five minutes of this track are absolutely horrible.
Between the Buried and Me has a lead singer who sounds like he should star in a low budget horror movie (who should obviously play the monster because his voice sounds just LIKE a monster). He has the WORST voice I have honestly ever heard in my life. He's just a talentless, unbearable, obnoxious screamer who takes that style WAY too far so it's *so* annoying you just can't stand it. *Nowhere* in the same league as someone like Ian Gillan from Deep Purple or Ronnie James Dio from Rainbow/solo career. This is just... noise. Terrible terrible noise.
Well, at least the band tries switching to a mellow approach after the five minute mark. Oh, and in case someone tries convincing me there's some actual talent involved among all this noisy screaming because of some slight rhythm changes, all I can say is yeeeeeeeeeah right.
The mellow part is definitely easier to absorb, though not very memorable, at *least* it's listenable. The atmosphere changes too, changes *drastically* compared to the horrible stuff we were just listening to a minute earlier. Nothing very interesting going on here- just the lead singer whispering something while the guitar calmly goes back and forth between two or three notes.
After all that is over with, now the song has a chorus that's just as unmemorable as all that typical alternative rock we hear on todays metal radio stations. Oh NO! Those terrible vocals that dominated the first half of the song have returned. Let's pray the rest of the song isn't like THIS. Thankfully, it's not. A heavy metal solo comes in, and it's decent, and the piano that closes the album is a nice surprise. So the final few minutes kind of make up for the disaster that dominates the first 70% of the song.
I won't give the album one star because at LEAST some of the guitar riffs are decent, and at least the drumming is pretty good for the most part. Something seriously needs to change with that lead singers voice if there's ANY chance of me getting into this kind of "music". You can't have the worst voice in history, sing like a scary monster with no melody in sight, and expect to be on the same level of musicianship as Metallica.
"Prequel to the Sequel" has some good guitar riffage in the beginning, and... yeah. Those vocals come along and completely destroy any chance the song had to actually *go* somewhere interesting. A very weird idea to throw in an Italian theme near the end of the song. I'll give the band credit for that; at least it was surprising and daring. Of course it didn't take long for it to go away, as those horrible screamer vocals make a sickening return. Oh geez...
I'm not even mentioning the rest of the album. I'll just mention "Sun of Nothing" has a vocal melody near the end that rips off Radiohead and their classic "Creep". Hey, I'll take THAT over all the silly noise that dominates the rest of the song.
If THIS is considered intelligent heavy metal... we've really fallen since the late 80's, haven't we? The days when Megadeth, Metallica, and Queensryche were considered the smartest heavy metal bands at the time.
We've all been exposed to heavy metal lead singers who deliberately scream/talk/sing in a VERY obnoxious way thousands of times, so there's nothing original about that. What makes this guy even WORSE compared to other similar singers is how he thinks he's actually doing something innovative with his style, like it's some kind of revolutionary step forward in the world of heavy metal. That makes the music not only bad, but *laughably* bad. Are we supposed to take this stuff seriously? Is it art now? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!
The band is trying to make intelligent music with that obnoxious vocal style constantly changing into other "melodies" as the music moves forward, and the result is that the band sounds silly and horrible and quite hilarious because the entire album is nothing but noise with a complete lack of memorable vocals. If you're wondering why I keep mentioning the vocals, it's because they're EVERYWHERE, and you can't avoid listening to them.
This is NOT good progressive heavy metal when the guitar riffs are average at best, and the lead singer is disgustingly and annoyingly awful and thinks he's making complex music. This is only worth owning to laugh at.
After listening to this stuff 6 times, I give up. It's not getting any better. In fact it's getting worse. It's too unmemorable and annoying to even give it a 7th attempt. Just skip this album.』
(BTBAM - Colors) 『I have always been a so-so fan of Between the Buried and Me. Their previous efforts always had songs that stuck out, but a lot of the material just seemed to be exercises in metalcore insanity. And that's fine, it's great to see experimentation, but none of the albums (Not even the critically acclaimed Alaska) ever struck me as, well, great.
Not so for Colors. I've been listening to this album for quite a while (almost a year) and it may just be my favorite album of the last 10 years... and possibly my favorite heavy/experimental album of all time. Let me tell you why.
Colors is, as has probably been mentioned, a 65 minute long song broken up into parts. It's a continuous, fluid entity that runs the gamut in ways other bands may have done in the past (or even been more eclectic and diverse than Colors), but no other multi-genre album I've ever heard is this constantly interesting or engaging. The opening piano segment of the Foam Born tracks recalls an OK Computer/The Bends era Radiohead, sweet haunting vocal melodies and sparse instrumentation exploding into a shoegaze riff and into a hypnotic solo. And that's the first 2 minutes of the album.
Colors, while not as heavy as it's predecessors, is still definitely solid. There will be many a time you will headbang, but in this album the heaviness is used as a contrast to the other parts. The middle-eastern solo in "Informal Gluttony" is breathtaking, preceded by a Tool-esque tribal tom and bass section. The massive metallic crunch of "Sun of Nothing" segues about halfway through into a delicate acoustic melody, an almost Pink Floydian section with a gentle vocal line, "I'm floating towards the sun...". "Ants of the Sky" brings things back up with a killer groove, eventually giving way to an almost Stevie Ray Vaughan solo, immediately followed by a Pantera breakdown complete with a pipe organ, and the end of the song is a true hillbilly breakdown.
This is barely an overview of this album, and I haven't even gotten to the best part: The combination of "Viridian" and "White Walls".
"Viridian" is a minimalist track, sparse cymbal work from the drums and a simple guitar arpeggio melody set the framework for what is essentially a 2 minute bass solo. It's quite gorgeous, and it's true intention is to bring in the grand finale of the album, the incredible "White Walls".
"White Walls" is a sprawling 14 minute epic, and the best stand-alone song on the album. It could very well be the best song Between the Buried and Me have ever written. Better than "Mordecaui" and "Selkies". Better than the rest of this album. The deafening first half of the song contains more grooves than a vinyl record, a massive off-time breakdown about 5 minutes in that's sure to have you wanting to bang your head if you could just figure out the damn rhythm, and a return to the epic opening groove. The song then bends downwards into another Radiohead melody, quiet acoustics and deliberately phrased lyrics. This is the part that contains the most powerful moment of the album, as the quiet middle section goes to a foreboding part, the lyrics are spoken syllable by syllable as the snare cracks in the background and the synths start to fuse up. The bass comes in, the drums kick in, and an incredible scream brings everything back, including a riff from guitarist Paul Waggoner that will live in infamy.
