First Listen: Susan Boyle’s “Someone To Watch Over Me” CD Review

It’s been two years since Susan Boyle’s rise to fame, and in that time she has broken record sales, appeared on many TV shows and gained a legion of fans, myself included. So it breaks my little heart to have to give this third album “Someone To Watch Over Me” a less than favorable review.

If Susan was the happy person she has shown the world to be, you wouldn’t know it with this release. The opening track is “You Have To Be There” a song where Susan begs her God to be near her. She is lacking faith? The song is the only song on the album that is actually joyful sounding even though it is very dark.

Up next for the misery is the lackluster and even sleepy “Unchained Melody”. You would think this would be a great song for Susan, and she does hit a few notes to show her range, but the tempo and lack of any other musical elements makes this song a skip. That brings us to the goth of Depeche Mode’s hit “Enjoy The Silence”. This is decent, and contemporary; will you be singing it in your car doubtful. “Both Sides Now” and “Lilac Wine” are both slow and sleepy. That will bring us to “Mad World”

Yet another song of darkness and gloom. Susan seems to be a little breathy in this one yet it seems to suit the song perfectly.

Two more forgettable songs “Autumn Leaves” and “This Will Be The Year” lead us to the only song on the album that actually challenges Susan’s voice “Return” opens her up and at the end she has her Soprano voice well into the heights that made her famous in the first place. “Someone To Watch Over Me” closes out the album at a weak one minute and some seconds.

So if you like your songs dark, minimal (most songs are just piano and strings) and you like you albums to only have 10 songs. Then this one is for you.

Susan Boyle has now spent three albums with producer Steve Mac. The first outing was great, the second was just fair. This one however…Three strikes and your out.

Suggestion, maybe Susan could get together with David Foster. That would be a welcome album for sure!

Grade: C

Susan Boyle “Enjoy The Silence”

First Listen: Aqua “Megalomania” CD Review

It’s been over 14 years since Danish pop group broke onto the scene with “Barbie Girl”. What’s harder to believe is that it’s been 11 years since the groups 2000 release “Aquarius”. In July 2001 the band split and fans thought that was going to be the end of Aqua.

In 2009 the band resurfaced with a greatest hits package and two new singles. Rumors swirled and to the delight of millions of fans Aqua has reunited to bring us possibly the best offering yet. “Megalomania” is the bands third CD, and was released on October 3rd. You can purchase the import on October 18th. There is no word yet if Universal Records will release the CD state side, which is a shame. So let’s get into this gem of a pop album.

Perhaps the first thing that will catch your ear is that this is an adult recording. The Aqua sound is still here, but sounds much more polished. Lene’s voice sounds absolutely brilliant as does Rene’s.

The CD opens with the somber “Playmate to Jesus”. This is a lush and gorgeous song “Love spreads Love” as Rene chants. The album kicks into high euro dance with “Dirty Little Pop Song”. Rene sings “I Wanna Buy What You Sell, So Let’s Cut To The Chase, You’re a Mad Fucker Baby And Your Pimp Is The Bass.” as you can tell we told you this was a grown up version of Aqua!

The next track “Kill Myself” is a perfect teen angst love song. That brings us to the biggest anthem and controversial song in this set “Like A Robot” basically it’s Lene telling her man not to “Fuck her like a robot” The lyrics are tongue and cheek and possibly the best Aqua tune to date! “Viva Las Vegas” is a pleasant uplifting diddy that you can’t stop tapping your foot too. “Party Patrol” sounds like something Lady Gaga could have recorded, it has all the synth feel of Poker Face as is so delightful to listen too! “Come N Get It” slows things down a bit, with a nice bump and grind. “Sucker For A Superstar” is the rock/pop song on the CD.

“Be My Saviour Tonight” reminds us of 2009′s hit “My Mamma Said” Sweet vocals on sweet synths make this a stand out track, this leads us to the first single from the CD “How R U Doin”. This was the track that told us this CD was going to be DANCE, and Dance hard! The last track is “If The World Didn’t Suck (We’d Fall Off)” This is a slower tune and rounds out the CD well.

It’s nice to have Aqua back, and doing what they do best. Put a smile on your face. This is not thought provoking music but it will make you happy. Yes life in plastic is fantastic!

Grade: A+

Check out the second single “Playmate to Jesus” Below

First Listen: Erasure: “Tomorrow’s World” CD Review

It’s hard to believe that Vince Clarke and Andy Bell have been Erasure now for a quarter of a century. In that 25 years Erasure has released some of the most prolific pop songs in the 80′s they released “O’h Lamour”, “Who Needs Love Like That”, “A Little Respect”, “Chains of Love”, and “Sometimes”. In the 90′s they released such gems as “Blue Savannah”, “Chorus”, “Love To Hate You”, and “In My Arms”. When the year 2000 came, Erasure fans thought that it was all over when the band released “Loveboat” although the album released two singles “Freedom” and “Moon & The Sky” neither failed to chart well. In 2003 they released “Other People’s Songs” an interesting concept, but again failed to chart or sell well. “Nightbird” released in 2005 was the Erasure most fans could identify with, and as a result the set spawned the international hit “Breathe”. 2007′s “Light at the End of the World” had one hit as well with “I Could Fall in Love with You”.

Now 4 years later, the duo’s 14th release “Tomorrow’s World” is at last here. Being a long time Erasure fan, I can say that at first listen nothing really jumped out at me, however after a couple more listens, the Cd really starts to grow on you. The curious first single “When I Start To (Break It All down)” Would not have been my first choice as a single, the song is great and showcases a familiar Andy Bell voice, and classic Vince Clarke keyboards, however it doesn’t give you the right vibe of the CD.

This “Tomorrow’s World” CD is full of beat and bass. “I Lose Myself” has little “The Circus” keyboard riff’s in it, and could have easily been the first single. The official second single from “Tomorrow’s World” is the airy “Fill Us With Fire”

The only major complaint is that this CD is SHORT. If you don’t get the deluxe version, it only has 9 new songs. Come on now guys, 4 years for 9 songs? The run off songs must not have been that great, if the record company didn’t want to release them…oh well lots of B’sides right?

Erasure fans, give the CD a chance, after 3 or 4 CD’s you will realize that this is Erasure’s best CD in a long while. Check out the teaser video for “Tomorrow’s World” below.

Overall Grade: B+

TOMORROW’S WORLD VIDEO

First Listen “Matthew Morrison” Self Titled CD Review

Matthew Morrison’s Self Titled CD Review.

Gleek’s will be rejoicing this day, May 10th 2011. The Matthew Morrison self titled cd has been officially released and we got the skinny on it for you.

Without the help of the hit series “Glee” I’m not sure Matthew would connect to many. The CD is kinda all over the map and the superstar duet’s don’t help it’s cause. From the single “Summer Rain” to “It’s Over” by the end of this CD I was thinking wow, all that vocal talent and the CD just sits there.

I have to confess I have always loved the show “Glee”, but can’t really find myself getting into this CD. It will no doubt fail with teenagers, unless they like music that sounds a lot dated. Think mid 90′s if you will. I was really hoping to like this CD but Matthew Morrison, has no definitive design on it.

The CD starts off with two pop hit’s “Summer Rain” and “Still Got Tonight” the later to be featured in the Glee Season 2 Finale. What strikes me as odd for this CD release is it lacks any punch. Matthew’s voice sounds great but the song choices are a bit strange.

After the two pop hits comes the first power duet with Sting. “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot” is a retake on a Sting song, and IMO should have been left a lone. “My Name” is next up and sounds like something left over from the 70′s.

“Hey” is about as good as it’s gonna get for me. This is a great breezy summer song. The kind of song that is memorable.

Next is the duet with Gwyneth Paltrow “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” quite possibly one of the most recorded song in history, and it’s nice but nothing remarkable.

“Don’t Stop Dancin” is next and is the most questionable song on the disc. This song to me doesn’t even fit on here. Catchy but easily forgotten. This maybe the only song that teenagers will relate to. The next song “It Don’t Matter to the Sun” is about the worst track on the CD. Slow, boring, and uninspired come to mind.

The last duet on Matthew Morrison’s CD is the strange mash-up of “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters / Rocket Man”. Elton John sounds as dated as the rest of this CD. Which leaves us with the best track on the CD “It’s Over”. A Lush stripped down song that actually let Morrison’s voice shine through.

Knowing that this is just a debut CD for Morrison, one can hope that if he releases a second CD he will give us the crooning he originally wanted to do. Overall Grade for this is a C-. What would of helped this rating is if he had a duet or two with Kristin Chenoweth.

Download the Cd from I-tunes yourself:

Matthew Morrison

Go Back 30 Years, Duran Duran’s “All You Need Is Now” Review

Duran Duran “All You Need Is Now” CD Review

While for must of us Duran Duran fans, it’s hard to believe that 30 years have come and gone, but it has! The band has a new offering and all we can say is…the words Totally and Rad come to mind. I was just a teenager when I got my hands on the self titled Duran album. So this new CD really takes you back, let’s go over each of the tracks and compare.

First off a lot of people are saying the producer Mark Ronson challenged the band to make a sequel to the album “Rio” and while I may piss a few fans off, this isn’t exactly “Rio”. Many of the songs have that time periods sounds, but that’s about it. So here we go…

The lead off track “All You Need Is Now” starts off with a really deep bass, that at first listen, i was like Ugh, this is going to suck. After I limped through the song and went through the whole CD, I found myself coming back to it and after about 3 listens or so, have actually come to enjoy the song. The chorus is very catchy and with Simon’s dead on vocals you can’t help but like it.

“Blame The Machines” – At first listen I thought this was Depeche Mode, then Simon’s vocal comes in. The lyrics are really cheesy on this one, but it’s a fun throwback to the 80′s New Wave. You can tell that Nick Rhodes has had a big influence on this song. In fact he has had a big influence on the whole CD. This song will satisfy the Duranies.

“Being Followed” – Reminds us of “Girls On Film” I actually think the guitar riffs Andy is using are pretty close.

“Leave A Light On” – This sounds like a track that came from the wedding album. It’s light and airy, but really boring.

“Safe” – This is the best track on the CD by far. Funk and a fun rap by Miss Annamatronix from Scissor Sisters. I can’t say enough about this track. It sounds exactly like the first two Duran Duran albums.

“Girl Panic” – This is another great track, think “Planet Earth”.

“A Diamond In the Mind” – This is a filler track with strings, that doesn’t belong. I could see if this was a vinyl album, then this track would make sense as the ending to side one.That would mean side two would start with…

“The Man Who Stole A Leopard” – Is that a simple from “The Chauffeur”? It certainly sounds like it. This is a breezy cool song, and one of the bands best. A triumphant return to pop!

Next up is “Other People’s Lives” and “Mediterranea” – These two songs are really bad, I could live without them.

“Too Bad You’re So Beautiful” – This is the CD’s most uptempo track in the classic sound, but again think “Planet Earth”. One song on this CD to sound like that would have been fine, but towards the end? Meh…

The CD should have ended here, but three more songs follow. “Runaway Runaway” – Boring… “Return To Now” – another snooze, and “Before The Rain” – think “Save A Prayer” or “The Chauffeur” and it’s not a great way to end it.

Duran Duran have produced better, worse and even in between. While I think most people will appreciate this CD. “All You Need Is Now” will get lost in the shuffle, much like “Red Carpet Massacre” did a few years ago. So if you like Duran Duran get this CD you will like it, but be prepared the sound has been done before…

Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You CD Review

Lily Allen: It’s Not Me, It’s You…

Cover of Lily Allen's CD "It's Not Me, It's You"

Lily Allen churns out some wicked tongue and cheek lyrics on her sophomore album “It’s Not Me, It’s You”.

Although this review is somewhat late, the CD was released on Feb. 10th, earlier this year, I didn’t know much about this artist and am very glad I did some research.

I’ve been spinning the first hit single “The Fear” and have been watching my dance floor with keen interest. It was one of the patrons in the club that asked me for a different Lily Allen song, and I had to politely tell him I didn’t have what he asked for. The song he requested was “Fuck You“, which is now officially the second single to be released. “Not Fair” appears to be the third single as it is charting on the UK top 75 chart.

Let me start off by saying how blown away I was when I heard this CD. The music is fresh, innovative and most importantly POP. Kicking off this set is the elctro groove track “Everyone’s At It“, how could you not like a song that talks “about people puttin shit up their noses.” Absolutely brilliant.

Next up is the infectious “The Fear”, already cracking my top 5 on my dance

Lily Allen's First Single "The Fear"

chart, this song is sure to stay with you when it’s quite and you start humming the melody and not even realize it. The third track and single “Not Fair” is a bouncy little number that reminds me of songs from Johnny Cash. Tracks “I Could Say“, “Back To The Start“, and “Never Gonna Happen” are all good songs in their own right, but I find myself skipping to the big gem on this set, and that is “Fuck You“.

The second single is explicit sure, but it’s honest. Lyrics like “so you say, it’s not okay to be gay, well I think your just evil.” sends a positive message that rings true in todays culture. Topped off with a bouncy piano riff the sounds like the beginning of The Carpenter’s “Close To You”. I’m hoping they will release a dance remix of this very soon. The video for this song is just as clever. “Who’d Of Known” is a nice chiller song, with some cool organ synth and harpsichords planted in the background.

Sharp Witted Singer/Songwriter Lily Allen

The rest of the CD is not strong enough in my personal opinion. However I got the CD with the 2 bonus tracks and another gem similar to “Fuck You” is the very electronic “Fag Hag”. This song should get a formal release as it’s too good to just be a bonus track. Lyrics “I could be your fag hag, and you can be my gay”. Just made me have to hit the rewind button.

This CD will not disappoint, whether your working out at the Gym, or going on that long drive make sure you bring this one with you.

~Nitrogen-E

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