// Category Archive for: Reviews

Danny Echo, S/T

By Less Lee Moore

Danny Echo has been blessed with a great big rock and roll voice. This was apparent when I saw the band live at NXNE 2008: they played their hearts out and even though there were only a handful of people in the crowd at Lee’s Palace, you’d never know it by their enthusiasm.
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Depeche Mode, Sounds Of The Universe

By Lisa Anderson

The boys of Depeche Mode and I go way back. This relationship has had its ups and downs, but the romance has been rekindled. I was able to reconnect with them last month when they released Sounds Of The Universe, their first new album in four years.
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We’re All Watching The Watchmen

By Danny R. Phillips

Many times when a book is foolishly adapted for the big screen, the story becomes changed, warped, rearranged, and in the process, the fans of the original work leave the theater saying to themselves, “What was that?!?” Luckily, for director Zach Snyder, the film version of the so-called “greatest graphic novel of all time” is not one of those times.
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Otis Redding, Respect Live 1967 DVD

By Danny R. Phillips

Let’s be frank. Soul music of late has well, lost its soul. Sure, there is some talent out there. The NeYos of the world can dance, but would be lost without the new wonder known as AutoTune; Chris Brown has “allegedly” beat his girlfriend Rihanna; Justin Timberlake can sing and dance some but his connection with N’Sync will forever take away his soul card; Amy Winehouse is a great talent that will lose/has lost it all to crack; and R. Kelly spends too much time in handcuffs and at home making movies.
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Morrissey, Years Of Refusal

By Hanna

There is a feeling among Morrissey fans that he is alienating them; there is a general disquiet, like the lights turned on in the theatre. Blog posts focus on how Morrissey’s face of arrogance is really showing behind the mask—well, more than usual, I mean.
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Emerson Lake & Palmer, Live At The Royal Albert Hall DVD

By Michael Row

After 38 years on this planet, I can finally say with assurance that I will never, ever make a good Emerson Lake & Palmer fan. I’m just not cut out for it. This speaks more of my prejudices against uberserious concept albums, neo-classical influences on rock, and bad 70s fashion than it does anything about Keith, Greg, and Carl. But I also believe that, somewhere along the line, ELP has just gotta take some accountability, too. When you no longer have anything to say, please stop. Did ELP really think they stood a chance at hitting the charts after NIRVANA’s Nevermind?
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Oren Lavie, The Opposite Side of the Sea

By Chelsea Spear

In the early days of 2009, the Internet became aware of Oren Lavie. The video for “Her Morning Elegance,” the album’s opening track and first single, was auspiciously posted on YouTube, and was subsequently linked on individual blogs and websites (like the group blog MetaFilter.com) with great enthusiasm. As Lavie’s catchy melody burbled along, a narrative of dreams and unrequited love unfolded in appropriately elegant, yet painstaking stop-motion animation. The album’s sales figures at online retailers increased faster than you can say, “YouTube embed.”
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John Lee Hooker, Anthology 50 Years

By J Howell

What can be said about John Lee Hooker that hasn’t been said at least a thousand times before? If you’re somehow unfamiliar with Hooker’s well-deserved “Blues Legend” status, this two-disc compilation isn’t a bad place to start. Hooker was notoriously prolific, recording multiple versions of songs over the years, sometimes under assumed names (but usually laughably close, such as “John Lee Booker”) to avoid contractual snags. Because of Hooker’s prodigious output on so many labels over so many years, assembling a perfect career summary set—especially on just two discs—would be nearly impossible. That said, Anthology 50 Years does a more than adequate, if not-quite-stellar, job of offering an overview of John Lee Hooker’s idiosyncratic style.
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Shiny Around the Edges, Holy Roller

By J Howell

Denton, Texas’ Shiny Around the Edges, a band described by the Dallas Observer as “somewhere between Low and Swans,” are a little hard to explain.
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The Sweet, Action: The Sweet Anthology

Disc One: By Hanna

Glam Rock fans can be divided into two groups: the ones who think The Sweet were not actually glam because glam is an intelligent genre, and the ones who think The Sweet were the best Glam Rock band because they seemed to be in it for the money only.
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