Kakaku：998 saved$9.98
Concord Records
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Good Edition in Good Series) 『There is some uneven and repetitive stuff in here but also some gem classics that warrant a four star rating. Favorite tracks are 2/8/10/11, Ray Barretto is as usual very good, Pete Escovedo brings the house down with his number, Tania Maria is funky, and Ed Calle finds that middle groove and rides it. As with most editions in this series there are renditions of classics "Oye Como Va" and "Watermelon Man". Some throw away stuff: Monty Alexander has never done it for me and Hendrik Muelens number is below par. Pick it up for its good overview of latin jazz classics and the slammin' Pete Escovedo track.』
(A Rainbow of Rhythms alright!) 『I got hold of the CD just recently, started to listen and was hooked right away. From beginning to end the CD is simply Fantastic. The selection of tracks from Tito Puente to Mongo SantaMaría is formidable. I seriously and without the shadow of a doubt recommend this CD to anyone interested in good music and following the pace of good Jazz with Latin Flavor infusions.』
("come join the Latin party of SOUL SAUCE") 『This third installment of the ongoing series - "THE COLORS OF LATIN JAZZ - SOUL SAUCE" by Concord Records highlights the best performances in one of the most colorful of musical genres, the combination of Latin and Jazz. This collection is hot, incessantly groovin', can turn any gathering into an instant Latin jazz party. Many tracks are soulful, with the funky side of Latin jazz, which gives us "Soul Sauce".
Stand outs - "WATERMELON MAN" featuring Poncho Sanchez with special guest Mongo Santamaria - "OYE COMO VA" with the one-and-only Tito Puente and His Latin Ensemble - "GUACHI GUARO (SOUL SAUCE)" a soul-beat experience featuring Cal Tjader - "RUM&COKE (CUBA LIBRE)" non-stop Latin rhythm with Ed Calle.
This is one to have, a great addition to your collection - "THE COLORS OF LATIN JAZZ!" Concord Records, what will you think of next?
Total Time: 56:55 on 11 Tracks/ Concord Records - CCD 5302 2 (2000)』
Kakaku：1598 saved$15.98
Bacchus Archives
Usually ships in 10 to 13 days IPhone 3G used's review ('Fuzz, Flaykes&Shakes, Volume 4: Experiment In Color' (Bacchus Archives) Various Artists) 『Possibly the best various artists CD release from this entire series on the Bacchus Archives label. Seventeen awesome, unearthed and never-heard-of garage band super-rarities that truly deserve to be heard. Tracks that literally had me playing this disc over several times {many, in fact} are the two Rock Shop cuts "Is That Your Halo" and "State Of Your Mind" {this cut reminds me of the Standells}, His Majesty's Coachmen gem "I Don't Want To See You", the uplifting "Something's Wrong" by Veil, Blues Company's "Experimental In Color", the What's New stellar "Up So High" {possibly the the best song of the entire CD} and The Epic's "Homesick". An absolute must-have.』
(Tantalizing tid-bits from the '60s) 『Tony the Tyger scooped up a heaping spoonful of assorted flavors to satisfy even the most raging appetite for '60s garage goodies. The best cuts on the 17 track sampler for my taste are the wild R&B stompers with snarly put-downs: "Is That Your Halo" - The Rock Shop. The jangly lament "I Don't Want To See You" by His Majesty's Coachmen is alright. Trojans of Evol on name alone should intrigue anyone who enjoyed their final scorch-out with compressed distortion on "Through The Night", here's the half as cool B side "Why Girl". Then wait for it... the wild freak-out on bass and organ, "The Man" from an unreleased acetate by The Canterbury Fair. This is the one worth the price of admission. Hard to believe this one slipped through the cracks, it's lot more worthy than their pleasantly psych "Song On A May Morning", as much as I do like that one. "Something's Wrong" by The Veil has a good fast tempo and almost goes flying off the tracks. "That's Why" by Apperson Jackrabbit almost sounds like a swipe of the Jefferson Airplane Takes Off guitar sound, but with L.A. suburbian cool teenage frustration at the wheel. The Whats New shoot the fuzz protest works with "Up So High" - again, another price of admission keeper kut. Joey Welz&the Time Machine "Caught By Love" has a nice spooky feel, though the patent hooks laid down are well within familiar territory. The American Way - "Lady Dressed In Black" is a good psychedelic ballad, then there's a revved up Raiders style rocker -"Help Me, Help You" and an equally good psych weeper "I Cry" - a pair of rarities by Sonny Villegas. The Menaces (led by Dennis) were barely in their teens when they recorded the decent "If You Want Me" with Byrdsy guitar, and the set ends with the band that started the CD, a very psych guitar solo in the Stonesy "State Of Your Mind" by The Rock Shop. Several others I haven't mentioned include the well compiled title track by The Blues Company "Experiment In Color", and a few others. I give this about an 8 on a scale of 1-10. Well worth getting. Put out by Bacchus Archives in 2001.』 『More 60's garage rarities from tough R&B stompers to maudlin melodic janglers. Volume 4 in the series has 16 tracks from 16 artists, including, 'The Rock Shop', 'The Noblemen', 'Her Majesty's Coachmen', 'The Menaces' and The Creatures for example. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.』
IPhone 3G used's review (Great Music) 『This is the second CD I have heard from this band, and in my opinion the best out of both. The band is popular in Germany,it's too bad that I have to travel to Europe or pay through the nose to get their music. My favorite on the CD is their reggae cover of "Midnight Rider". My first sounds of "Fury" was hearing "Dear Prudence" and have been hooked since. I would highly recomend this CD, I liked it so much I bought it.』
(Very Good Music) 『This is one of the best bands that I have never heard in the US. The music on this CD is sort of mellow, not hard edged at all. I particularly liked the way they did the cover of "Midnight Rider", giving it a reggae sound. I first heart the band on a cover of the Beatles " Dear Prudence" and started listening after that. I would recomend this CD to anyone that likes soft edged alternative music. It is a shame that this group and other enjoyable bands from Europe never receive any airplay here in the US.』
IPhone 3G used's review (Heavily overrated) 『Living Color weren't a bad band - well, they weren't exactly a good band either, but their real problem was that no band could support the weight of expectation that was dumped on them. They were supposed to be funky, rocky, metallic, sexy, full of attitude and yet also saying something really intelligent about the condition of being black in America. Nobody could live up to all that, and sure enough, they didn't. Unfortunately, less intelligent white bands (such as Guns&Roses, on their first album) made better music, simply because they didn't have to represent as much ephemeral politico-musical hee-haw as Living Color were being asked to.
It doesn't help that Vernon Reid is not nearly so exciting or even interesting a guitarist as his many supporters seem to think, and that Corey Glover is a one-dimensional and joyless singer with a boring line in lyric-writing. Apart from the edgy and genuinely menacing 'Middle Man' this album sounds like Van Halen with the fun taken out, and when you take the fun out of Van Halen there isn't a lot left.
They made another album which lacks even more lustre. It's a mystery to me why Living Color got so much hype based on so little achievement, while the truly great, majestic, inspirational and hellacious black rock band of the 1980s - Bad Brains - was allowed to languish in indie hell for the whole decade.
』
(What can you say....ROCK&ROLL!!!) 『Living Colour came storming onto the scene playing heavy hitting rock and roll with a dash of funk. Vernon Reid can outright melt the strings off of a guitar. I bet he drove his guitar techs crazy trying to keep his axes in tune during concerts. In short, this is a classic recording of a non-typical band that can belt out powerful music that makes it impossible to sit still.』
(Birthing black consciousness through funk and rock) 『Living Colour may very well be the defining band from my youth. Growing up in vanilla suburbia, this was a band that charted songs that made an impact in my school's music scene. "Glamour Boys" was the single that made it to my high school and the bass player from a band I was in covered it. That led me and others to pick up the album. "Vivid" is one of the most successful fusions of rock with political consciousness in history, and may be the best poltically conscious album by a black or post '70s band. All the musicians are virtuosos, the songwriting is strong, and rock fans see a cathartic band at work.
Looking back, there are a few things that strike me as revealing about *how* Living Colour approached making rock music from a politically black consciousness.
Living Colour embraced sampling. "Cult of Personality"'s use of samples is a creative device that hammers home the message of the song. It begins with a sample of Malcolm X and uses soundbites from Kennedy and FDR. The restricted use of samples is something that hurts Living Colour on their recent comeback work, much like De La Soul was hampered creatively after sampling was greatly restricted.
Secondly, Living Colour was not afraid to include to make some bridges to black america in their work. In a lot of ways, they came towards Public Enemy from the opposite direction. "Funny Vibe" includes a brief cameo from Chuck D and Flavor Flav or Public Enemy. Why did Public Enemy collaborate with Anthrax instead of Living Colour? Ego? Artistic differences? Desire to crossover and broaden markets? Don't know why, but I think it's a tragedy for both groups.
Lastly, many people forget how Living Colour could have been a killer funk band if they had wanted to. This is more explicit on tracks like "Elvis is Dead" on the next album, "Time's Up", but it's present on "Vivid" with tracks like "Funny Vibe" and "What's your Favorite Colour?"
Living Colour was an outstanding band that set the table for me to really examine my history and develop a far more culturally grounded agenda as a musician and an intellectual. I owe them big time for the way they went about their music. I hope more people will discover their music through their currently active reunion work.
5+ stars
--SD』
(Saw them play last night - still amazing) 『I literally wore out this cassette and have nearly worn out the CD. Every musician in this band is phenomenal and their particular mix of soul and hard rock was really a breakthrough when they came out and hasn't been done as well by anyone else. These guys had bottles thrown at them when opening for the Stones in arenas and not because they were playing too loud - who says mainstream music can't be radical?
They shredded El Corazon in Seattle last night - what a great show. So glad they are back :)』
(Some great songs) 『I fast forward thru this album between 'Cult of Personality' and 'Open Letter (To a Landlord)'. I do not care for most of the songs on this album, sorry, but the superior songs on this album are among the best of the 80's. 'Open Letter' is special, I play it when I play the music I really love, and I don't play music much.』 『Living Colour's exceptional debut is strong all the way through; there simply isn't any weak material on this album. Generally classified as hard rock,Vividalso contains touches of funk and even jazz, which keeps things interesting. Living Colour were also one of the few bands to succeed in writing socio-politically conscious songs that never sound preachy; they take on politicians ("Cult of Personality"), slumlords ("Open Letter (To a Landlord)"), modern life ("Desperate People" and "Glamour Boys"), and the gap between rich and poor in America ("Which Way to America?"). Outstanding music, skilled lyric-writing, and Corey Glover's strong singing make these songs entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time, something most bands never manage to do. --Genevieve Williams』
Kakaku：1497 saved$14.97
Red Panda
Usually ships in 10 to 12 days IPhone 3G used's review (Intelligent, low-fi, addicting.) 『Jennifer's going to be big. She has an album due out on Matador in the near future, so if you want to brag that you caught onto her first, get this record. Filled with smart, heartfelt lyrics illuminated by O'Connor's slightly husky voice, the mood varies from the upbeat on songs like 'Hole In the Road' to the beautiful, haunting strains of 'The Color and the Light'. Overall, a near-perfect collection of low-fi indie rock; just gorgeous.』
(THIS CD IS RETARDED) 『Everyone who listens to this cd must have ALOT of time on their hands. The singer and the music are tasteless! All of the people who listen to this cd need to get a life or atleast go watch viva la bam or sumthing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If i could i would give it zero stars!!!!!!!!!!! I have more fun watchin grass grow than listening to this cd !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!』
(Jennifer O'Connor) 『The title track is better than any single song Azure Ray have ever made. The album flows really well, as O'Connor's smoky voice suthes the listener into a dreamy fog. (how poetic)』
(Do yourself a favor and buy this CD) 『I've seen Jennifer play a few times acoustically, and own her last self-titled release, which is also acoustic. So I was totally unprepared for the full band sound on "The Color and the Light". While she's been drawing comparisons to early Liz Phair in the press, I hear much more (and it probably helps that I don't own any Liz Phair releases to limit those comparisons).
The music on "The Color and the Light," whether it is the guitar twang of "Beg or Borrow Days" the hushed, acoustic guitar of "Saved" or the layered, electric guitar on "Yer Copout" (which reminds me of Mazzy Star), serves as an excellent accompaniment to her lyrics. There is a variety of musical styles here, from the heavier fuzz-rock guitar on "Million Dollar Smile" to the softly acoustic "The Thought of You," but the lyrical thread that runs through the CD draws everything together. Many of those lyrics deal with motivation and stagnation; the desire to want so much more and how we often serve as our own best enemy.
Probably "Yer Copout" and "Why Don't You Do" (in which I hear early Suzanne Vega) are my favorite songs on the CD, although I really don't hear any lesser tracks on this release.
This is one of those indie gems that I hope more people hear. Jennifer has a real talent to my ears, and more people deserve to be exposed to her music. I have probably played this CD almost every day since I got it; and keep hearing more on it. I am really looking forward to her touring this summer.』
(cmj review) 『Now that Liz is lost in the Matrix, Brooklyn's Jennifer O'Connor (originally from Connecticut) picks up the ball and buck-n-runs with it. Right from the get-go, The Color And The Light explodes with some of the most compelling mid-fi indie since Exile; O'Connor shares Phair's deep register, droll delivery and the endearingly limited vocal range that enhances expressiveness rather than hinders it. While these parallels serve as a savvy calling card, O'Connor quickly outpaces them. She's a more proficient guitarist and (should we go there?) whip-smart songwriter, as evidenced on sparse tracks like the haunting "Saved." She's flexible enough to spike the mix with an occasional twanger, and descriptive enough to breathe lyrical life into boy/girl battles without resorting to sexual bluntness. On the album's second half, O'Connor relies on sheets of melodic feedback for a gauzy dream-pop effect, vowing on the sparkling "Beg Or Borrow Days," "I'm gonna drink black coffee all night long/Until I write the perfect song." Based on the trajectory of The Color And The Light, she may not even need as much as a venti. - Glen Sarvady』
Kakaku：1998 saved$19.98
Dink Records
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (A Let Down) 『I was VERY disappointed with this collection. Sometimes producers should try to "improve" on a good thing. Changing the format changes the desirablity of the product.』
(BILLBOARD) 『The ultimate hook of "Stage 3 True Colors" is its earnest belief in a united community among men and women in our community. The use of songs like "Family" from "Dreamgirls" and "I Will Never Leave You," a nearly lost treasure from "Side Show," leaves the listeners hopeful that the ploarization and separation that exists between us can dissolve and be replaced by warmth regarding our commonalities and respect for our differences. - LARRY FLICK』
(Clearly, it misses the boat) 『This entry in the Stages series from DINK records is very disappointing. The orchestrations are no longer the simple, spare melodies of Stage 1, but full-blown pop pap that drowns the vocalists. The focus has been diffused by the incorporation of female vocalists (still singing same-gender love songs, as the woman singing Paul McCartney's "Michelle") - but don't these folks realize that their fan base is gay men? There are extraordinarily few lesbians in the theatre scene. Furthermore, the theatrical basis of Stage 1 and 2 is lost as various pop songs are included, and less than half the album comes from the Broadway oeuvre.
I'd pass on this album, unless you're a serious collector... and I hope and pray DINK realizes their mistake, if they should decide to issue a Stage 4.』
(Don't Do It!) 『Why did they bother calling this Stage 3! Much of the selection is not even theatre related! I truly enjoyed earlier recordings in this series, but I think this one is a HUGE mistake. The previous CDs were innovative and exciting - men singing to men - from traditional theatre songs meant for women. These are pop standards we never really cared about and a few theatre songs poorly mixed with men and women. Unlike the previous recordings, many of these do not even seem uniquely gay themed. Buy Stage 1 or Stage 2 (the second one is the best), but don't buy this one!』
(If you like Stage 1&2 don't bother with 3.) 『Nothing like Satge 1 or 2. What appeals to me about the first two is the majority of the songs were written for women and performed by men. Stage 3 is more of an adult contempory album. It could be placed with those you buy on the budget rack at your local Fred Meyer.』
Kakaku：1798 saved$17.98
EMI Europe Generic
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Deeply hidden chords that someone else must strike...) 『A collaborative effort with virtuoso violinist Dr. Nigel Kennedy, this album finds Mr. Duffy's romantic songcraft polished to an epic sheen. The violin stylings add a Steve Reich-like edge to the songs, broadening the sonic impact of Mr. Duffy's pop observations. Big, melodic, electric, and lyrical, the title track is one of his best tunes ever. This is a fantastic album to get lost in. The interplay between impeccable pop and the edgy, modern string arrangements give this album an edge and a depth that, while immediately appealing, also reward close attention and repeat listenings. If you like atmospheric, melodic songwriting, you will find much to savor on this disc.』
(Innovative, Sublime... Might be one of the best ablums ever!) 『To say this album is creative, unique, and innovative is an understatement. In this amazing collaboration between Duffy - arguably one of the greatest modern songsters - and Kennedy - a world-renowned virtuoso violinist - you will find an amazing blending of the two talents that is surprisingly successful. However, all of this aside, this album is one of the greatest modern pop accomplishments. It is sublime, powerful, and moving music with a rich darkness to which many aspire, but few achieve without pretense. Here it is found in purity. This is the motherlode for those who crave the honest, unpretentious, pure, and the powerful.』 『Reissue of Stephen Duffy's 1993 collaboration with Nigel Kennedy. Added to the original album are demos of 'It Sparkles'&'Hotel End Hotel', and the video for 'Natalie'. 2004.』
大満足！北国のホタテ・いくら・ボタンエビがぎっしり！
