| Ally Kerr - Off The Radar (2008) Posted: 17 Jan 2009 03:20 AM CST 
Artist: Ally Kerr
Album: Off The Radar
Genre: Indie
Release Date: 2008-apr-15
Quality: VBR (~192 kbps)
Review
Glasgow's Ally Kerr does a nice line in pop songs and "Off the Radar" provides us with the opportunity to enjoy 12 more of his little pop masterpieces.
Opening the album is "Could Have Been a Contender" - all polished pop perfection that brings back memories of the jaunty hits of the Housemartins and their catalogue of intelligent and catchy songs. "I Think I'm Bleeding" has an underlying country flavour to it. Whilst once again presented as a happy little song, there is more than a touch of bitterness in his words. Funnily enough, the rather twee "The Toothbrush Song" would also make a quality country song due to its dry lyrics even if a cowboy would feel the need to accompany such emotions with bourbon rather than sparkling mineral water.
The pace picks up with the title track "Off the Radar" that truly highlights Mr Kerr's pop sensibilities and offsets his laidback vocal delivery with some spirited guitar. Loves lost and won (mostly lost though…) and a sense of reflection on his younger years seem a common theme to the songs in this album and, indeed, regret is once more evident in "Is It Too Late to Work for NASA" even if it is disguised here with wry humour. If Bluesbunny closes his eyes, on "Mystery Star" Ally Kerr seems to transform himself into Edinburgh master popsters Dropkick and there are certainly worse things to be than that. If Bluesbunny had to pick a favourite track, it would probably be "Amorino" evoking, as it does, the melancholic pleasures of heartbreak.
The thing that impresses most about this album is the songs themselves. Well crafted and melodic with sharp and observant lyrics, they are however presented as a whole lot fluffier than they actually are. It must be Ally Kerr's choice to do so but it does seem that he is deliberately avoiding giving any kind of offense. Maybe he never gets angry himself - although his words suggest otherwise -but Bluesbunny feels that he is doing his own songs a disservice here by sprinkling an inch of icing sugar on everything. It is not necessary for everything in life to have a cherry on top for it to be appetising.
Overall, this is a happy, upbeat album that is just a bit too polite and well mannered to try and force itself upon your affections. The production and arrangements are smoother than your average Starbuck's decaf latte but it is perhaps fair comment to say that the omnipresent sugar coating will suit his fans.
website: http://www.allykerr.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/allykerr
Track List
1. Could HAve Been A Contender
2. Be The One
3. I Think I'm Bleeding
4. There's A World
5. The Toothbrush Song
6. Off The Radar
7. Old Friend
8. Is It Too Late To Work For NASA?
9. Mystery Star
10. Amorino
11. The Truth That I Have Earned
12. Footprints
DL Link
http://music.alexdang.com
 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Celine Dion - Complete Best (2008) Posted: 17 Jan 2009 03:15 AM CST |
| Vitas - Mama (2003) Posted: 17 Jan 2009 03:10 AM CST 
Track List
01. The Star
02. Mama
03. An Autumn Leaf
04. Through The Years
05. Birds have Flown Away
06. Dedication
07. Starry River
08. My God, How I Love!
09. Pigtails (Kosichki)
10. Even Stars Will Look Like Letters (Insomnia)
11. Extraterrestrial Friend
Bonus Tracks:
12. An Autumn Leaf (Remix)
13. Wait For A While
DL Link
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| Jet - Get Born (2003) Posted: 17 Jan 2009 03:05 AM CST 
From Amazon.com
Sometimes having good, original ideas is the worst thing you can do in rock music. To paraphrase Jim Dickinson on the Beastie Boys, rock and roll is theft, and it's not so much about whether or not one steals but why, how much and how well (i.e. from whom). Riff-heavy in all the right ways, this is a very well-produced retro-rock record with handclaps, catchy choruses, and plenty of attitude. They freely cop from AC/DC, the Stones, the Verve, Oasis, Humble Pie, Aerosmith, Black Crowes, and Mooney Suzuki, and they do it very well. The only problems with the album lie in the words, and in the softer material. Most of the lyrics are so banal ("Now you don't need money with a face like that, do ya") they were seemingly written by some newfangled songwriting program set to "1973." And half the album consists of ballads that are just pretty good: the Oasis-y "Look What You've Done," the Pink Floyd -esque "Timothy" and the Small Faces-ish "Move On.". But it's the mid-to-uptempo stompers that this group excels at. --Mike McGonigal
Track List
01 Last Chance
02 Are You Gonna Be My Girl
03 Rollover D.J
04 Look What You've Done
05 Get What You Need
06 Move On
07 Radio Song
08 Get Me Outta Here
09 Cold Hard Bitch
10 Come Around Again
11 Take It or Leave It
12 Lazy Gun
13 Timothy
 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes (2007) Posted: 17 Jan 2009 03:00 AM CST  Review by Anders Kaasen
Just when you thought they didn't make 'em like that anymore, Brighton's Pipettes emerge with this debut album to prove you wrong. With hooks and looks borrowed from the golden era of Phil Spector, the Pipettes, it seems, are on an admirable mission to re-establish the concept of the girl group, and there are, undoubtedly, some true gems on We Are the Pipettes: the 2006 mid-summer single "Pull Shapes" being one. With its stop-start rhythms, sparkling near-disco strings, and a lyric celebrating the bliss of dancing your cares away ("I just wanna move/I don't care what the song's about"), it gives the listener a pretty good picture of what this record is all about. "Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me" and "Dirty Mind" are also very well-executed, upbeat girl group pop songs. But the era of girl groups, of course, was just as notorious for its highly melodramatic ballads. On "A Winter's Sky," the Pipettes come close to perfecting this art as well. It stands out from the majority of the songs by being seemingly irony-free and sincere, rather downtempo, and filled with the sweet vocal harmonies bound to melt even the iciest of hearts. Not all the tracks are equally great, of course. The theme song "We Are the Pipettes" is just plain silly, and not in a good way. Although the album does drop a little in quality towards the end, there's not much filler on We Are the Pipettes; considering that this is a 14-song debut album, that's no small feat. One objection does, however, spring to mind -- why on earth did they not include "School Uniform"? -- arguably one of the most absurdly catchy and fun pop singles of the last few years. With their strictly classicist approach, the Pipettes have managed to bring the girl group concept into a new millennium. Inevitably, though, they have brought something of their own time period and personal outlook to the formula. Firstly, all-male backing musicians the Cassettes make them sound much more like a band than any of the classic girl groups, who were more often than not very studio-bound projects. Secondly, and for the better, their lyrics are in no way inextricably bound to clichéd boy/girl love themes. At times they subtly attempt social commentary, for example on the fine single "Judy," but more often they're humorously reversing the stereotypical boy/girl roles. If not particularly important, We Are the Pipettes is both witty and filled with ear-catching melodies. Recommended listening for any lover of classic, celebratory pop.
Track List
01. We Are The Pipettes
02. Pull Shapes
03. Why Did You Stay?
04. Dirty Mind
05. It Hurts To See You Dance So Well
06. Judy
07. Winters Sky, A
08. Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me
09. Tell Me What You Want
10. Because It's No Love (But It's Still A Feeling)
11. Sex
12. One Night Stand
13. ABC
14. I Love You
DL Link
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| Ilse DeLange - World of Hurt (1998) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 12:36 PM CST 
Track List
01. Flying blind
02. Lonely too
03. Just like the moon
04. What does you heart say
05. I'd by yours
06. World of hurt
07. All the woman you'll ever need
08. If you had the heart
09. Flying solo
10. Old tears
11. I'm not so tough
12. When we don't talk
13. Tapdancing on the highwire
14. You are the dream
DL Link
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| Frank Sinatra - Nothing But The Best (2008) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 12:30 PM CST  From Amazon.com
Released to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Frank Sinatra's passing (May 14, 1998), Nothing But The Best salutes "The Voice" with an essential single-disc compilation of hits. It features 21 legendary songs from "The Chairman Of The Board," plus a previously unissued version of "Body And Soul." The collection is part of an international initiative between the newly created Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE), Warner Home Video, MGM Home Entertainment, Turner Classic Movies, and the United States Postal Service to honor Frank Sinatra, whose music and movies had an everlasting impact on popular culture. For a limited time, Nothing But The Best will contain a collectible, commemorative Sinatra stamp with official USPS first-day issue cancellation.
Track List
01. Come Fly With Me
02. The Best Is Yet To Come
03. The Way You Look Tonight
04. Luck Be A Lady
05. Bewitched
06. The Good Life
07. The Girl From Ipanema
08. Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)
09. Summer Wind
10. Strangers In The Night
11. Call Me Irresponsible
12. Somethin' Stupid
13. My Kind of Town
14. It Was A Very Good Year
15. That's Life
16. Moonlight Serenade
17. Nothing But The Best
18. Drinking Again
19. All My Tomorrows
20. My Way
21. Theme From New York, New York
22. Body And Soul – bonus track
DL Link
http://music.alexdang.com
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| Vitas - Philosophy Of Miracle (2001) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 12:10 PM CST 
Track List
01. Dreams
02. The 7th Element
03. Opera #2
04. Prelude
05. Karlsson
06. Opera #1 (Asian Version)
07. The Birthday Of My Death
08. Soul
09. Body
10. An Old Gramophone
11. Circus
12. Opera #1 (Euro Version)
13. The Birthday Of My Death (That Black Ragamix)
Part 1 / Part 2
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| The Kelly Family - Christmas For All Posted: 16 Jan 2009 11:59 AM CST |
| The Marmalade - Greatest Hits (1977) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 11:54 AM CST 
Artists: The Marmalade
Album: Greatest Hits - 1977
Bits: 192 Kbps
Genre: Pop/Rock
Track List
01. Lovin' Things
02. Wait For Me Marianne
03. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
04. Baby Make It Soon
05. Reflections Of My Life
06. Rainbow
07. My Little One
08. Cousin Norman
09. Back On The Road
10. Radancer
11. Heartbreaker
12. Heavens Above
13. I Gave Up
14. Listen To My Heart
15. It's Still Rock'N'Roll To Me
16. Let My Love Open The Door
17. Can't You Feel The Thunder
18. What Are You Gonna Do
19. Good Luck To You
20. Fallin' Apart At The Seams
DL Link
http://music.alexdang.com
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| Matt Dusk - Two Shots (2004) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 11:49 AM CST  Review by Aaron Latham
Although he was well on his way to having a successful musical career, Matt Dusk's star certainly got a boost when he appeared on the Fox television reality series, The Casino. As the hired entertainment for Las Vegas' Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino, Dusk upped his visual exposure ante just in time for the release of his Decca Records debut, Two Shots. On The Casino, Dusk's attitude, swagger, good looks, and voice basically pay homage the legendary Rat Pack, and Two Shots is his attempt to recapture that tarnished musical era and polish it up for a new generation. There is no question that Dusk has the musical background and reverence for the style in which he has chosen to sing. In the opening song, "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad," Dusk channels Sinatra almost to the point of spiritual possession. He does it very well and it gives the listener a chance to hear what it might have sounded like had Sinatra recorded this song. Indeed, Bono and The Edge from U2 wrote the song specifically for Sinatra, but it remained unrecorded by the legend as Sinatra passed away before he could get it committed to disc. Although this quick jog down Frankie Boulevard is a great exercise, it is a little exhausting when turned into a marathon. With each successive song, Dusk holds on to his Rat Pack croon so tightly that he buries his own identity and emotions. On the excellent original "Five," Dusk has the opportunity to simply enhance his own performance with the melancholic spirit of Sinatra's Only the Lonely album, but his connection with the audience wanes as he spends too much time concentrating on the bend and placement of each note instead of letting go and flying by the seat of his emotions. On the other hand, his Rat Pack embracement is utilized to great effect on "The Theme From Loaded Gun," as Dusk's exaggerated vocals enhance this savvy tribute to spy movie theme songs like "Goldfinger." The song is one of several competent originals penned for this disc that attempt to recall a bygone era, and although these new tunes succeed on that level, none of them, with the exception of "Five," leave an indelible impression. Also included are a fairly straightforward version of "Fly Me to the Moon," a lounge-y rendition of the Beatles' "Please Please Me," and a remix version of "Two Shots" that coats the song in colorful electronics. Technically, Two Shots is well written and produced, so it is up to Dusk to take these songs and sell them; and while the talent and the heart are quite apparent, his performances seem distant as he gets caught up in emulating his idols instead of simply learning from them and incorporating that knowledge into his own personality and style. However, this does not mean that Two Shots is not worthy of a listen as it is quality debut that will appeal to anyone who enjoys pop standards. But if he can sift out the ghosts of the past and find his own voice in these songs, he has the chance to create a disc that truly showcases the unique talent of Matt Dusk.
Track List
01-Two Shots Of Happy One Shot Of Sad
02-Miracle
03-Windows
04-Cold As Ice
05-Lonely Road
06-The Theme From Loaded Gun
07-Don't Go Looking
08-Fly Me To The Moon
09-Wish You Well
10-Always
11-Please Please Me
12-Beyond The Sea
13-Precious Years
14-Every Mother's Son
15-Five
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| Michael McDonald - The Ultimate Collection (1976-2003) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 11:39 AM CST 
Album: The Ultimate Collection (1976-2003)
Artist : Michael McDonald
Genre : R&B : 320 Kbps. Stereo MP3 - 178 MB
Track List
01. Ain't No Mountain High Enough
02. What A Fool Believes (The Doobie Brothers)
03. I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)
04. Yah Mo B There (with James Ingram)
05. Takin' It To The Streets (The Doobie Brothers)
06. Sweet Freedom
07. Minute By Minute (The Doobie Brothers)
08. On My Own (with Patti LaBelle)
09. You Belong To Me (The Doobie Brothers)
10. Real Love (The Doobie Brothers)
11. I Stand For You
12. It Keeps You Runnin' (The Doobie Brothers)
13. Take It To Heart
14. No Love To Be Found
15. I Gotta TryTrack List
16. No Lookin' Back
17. Blink Of An Eye
18. Open The Door (Urban Remix)
19. Lost In The Parade
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
http://music.alexdang.com
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| Boney M - The Greatest Christmas Songs (1998) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 11:29 AM CST |
| Moya Brennan - An Irish Christmas (2005) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 11:24 AM CST |
| Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton - Once upon a Christmas (1990) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 11:13 AM CST |
| Spice Girls - Solo Spice Hits (2008) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 11:08 AM CST 
Track List
01. Ride It (3:46)
02. I Turn To You (4:11)
03. Let Your Head Go (US Radio Mix) (3:47)
04. Feels So Good (5:06)
05. Take My Breath Away (Tin Tin Out Remix) (3:38)
06. Calling (3:43)
07. Next Best Superstar (Full Playback) (3:10)
08. Not Such An Innocent Girl (3:19)
09. Word Up (3:28)
10. Maybe (3:44)
11. Lift Me Up (Metro Edit) (3:59)
12. When You're Gone (With Melanie C) (3:28)
13. My Love Is For Real (Johnny B Mix) (3:41)
14. Lullaby (India-I Remix) (3:52)
15. Free Me (4:28)
16. It's Raining Men (Almighty Mix Edit) (3:48)
17. Never Be The Same Again (Single Edit) (4:15)
18. A Mind Of It's Own (3:49)
19. All I Need To Know (Bimbo Jones Vocal Remix Radio Edit) (3:25)
DL Link
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| Sinead O'Connor - So Far.. The Best of Sinead O'Connor (1997) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 11:03 AM CST  From Amazon.com
The album starts off like gangbusters, with seven solid tracks in a row. This includes the keening howl and sometimes unsettling intensity of "Troy" and "Mandinka" from "The Lion and the Cobra", the stunning debut album that introduced O'Connor to the world. The mesmerizing "Nothing Compares 2 U" of course makes it on here, as do "I Am Stretched On Your Grave," "The Emperor's New Clothes," and "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance," all from her second album "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," which showed more mature songwriting and vocal style.
"So Far.. The Best of Sinead O'Connor" proves many things, I would love to point out one of them. It proves first and for most that Sinead O'Connor is one of the most underrated female artist to ever walk the earth. Did I say female artist? I meant just plain artist period. The title of this album does give hope for future projects by Sinead. Each track on this CD is of lyrical brilliance, the music is superbly orchestrated and Sinead O'Connor's vocals are stunning. I was waiting for a bad song to air, to my surprise that didn't occur. I feel that Sinead O'Connor deserves much more credit than she has ever been given. Some of the female artist that dominate the charts today cannot hold a candle to her. I won't mention any names, I'm sure you have a pretty good idea as to whom I am referring. GREAT MUSIC!!
Track List
01. Nothing Compares 2 U /Sinead O'Connor 5:10
02. Mandinka /Sinead O'Connor 3:48
03. The Emperor's New Clothes /Sinead O'Connor 5:17
04. Last Day Of Our Acquaintance /Sinead O'Connor 4:40
05. Fire On Babylon /Sinead O'Connor 5:09
06. Troy /Sinead O'Connor 6:33
07. I Am Stretched On Your Grave /Sinead O'Connor 5:35
08. Success Has Made A Failure Of Our Home /Sinead O'Connor 4:29
09. John I Love You /Sinead O'Connor 5:49
10. Empire /Bomb The Bass Featuring Benjamin Zephaniah & Sinead O'Connor 5:50
11. I Want Your (Hands On Me) /Sinead O'Connor 4:39
12. Heroine /The Edge & Sinead O'Connor 4:26
13. Don't Cry For Me Argentina Sinead O'Connor 5:37
14. You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart Sinead O'Connor 6:20
15. Just Like U Said It Would B Sinead O'Connor 4:28
DL Link
http://music.alexdang.com
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| Andrea Bocelli - Incanto (2008) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 10:58 AM CST 
From Amazon.com
Andrea Bocelli's new studio album is a collection of the most famous Italian songs - including Mamma, Funiculi Funicula and Santa Lucia. They are the songs which have enchanted Andrea since childhood. Released to coincide with his 50th birthday, the album is a personal tribute to his musical heritage. Popularized through concert, radio and record and the film industry by the great tenors of the 19th and 20th centuries, this selection of songs is a celebration of the Italian tenor tradition. Thanks to the legendary voices of Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Franco Corelli, Mario Lanza and Luciano Pavarotti, these songs have become a huge global export and fueled the romance of generations to come. Incanto is also a homage to Love. It includes a group of songs which have told love stories in music for the past 170 years. The repertoire is a tribute to the many faces and places of love: love for a mother (Mamma); love for a woman (O surdato 'nammurato , Era di maggio , Un amore cosi grande , Non ti scordar di me ); love for a place (the pier in Santa Lucia, Mount Vesuvio in Funiculi Funicula ); love for a city (Napoli, Granada) and love for a country (Italy). Love for Italy, and a particular affection for Naples are prevalent themes throughout Incanto. Andrea has chosen one contemporary Neapolitan song - the "tarantella" Pulcinella, which highlights his fond connection to Naples and the city's unique position in the past, present and future of Italian song. The deluxe edition sets Andrea's songs in the romantic context of 1950s Naples. The archive materials provide a nostalgic snapshot of 1950s glamour, when Naples was the honey-pot for the rich and famous. The footage captures the spirit of romance and optimism during the days of Andrea's childhood - a sense of optimism prevalent in post war Italy around the time of Andrea's birth is captured by the visual themes of the album. The incomparable natural beauty of southern Italy is celebrated, as well as the magical aura of the 1950s and La dolce vita, which has enchanted generation upon generation since. The DVD also includes an interview with Andrea shot in different locations in Naples.
Track List
01. Un Amore Cosi Grande
02. O Surdato Nnammurato
03. Mamma
04. Voglio Vivere Cosi
05. Santa Lucia
06. Funiculi Funicula
07. Because
08. Vieni Sul Mar
09. Granada
10. Era De Maggio
11. Marechiare
12. E Vui Durmiti Ancora
13. Non Ti Scordar Di Me
14. Pulcinella
15. Torna a Surriento )
Part 1 / Part 2
(DL Link will be removed by Sunday)
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| Rhydian Roberts - Rhydian (2008) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 10:53 AM CST |
| Notice !!!! Posted: 16 Jan 2009 10:48 AM CST As you know, many blogs have deleted by Blogger due to Copyright Agreement. I received take down emails from blogger so i decided if you want to download the mp3s from NOW plz email me (with title: name of atist and album) or leave your email in commentbox below the post.Some albums may have DL Link in the post but they will taken down after 1 week !!!
Sorry for the convinience but i must do that !!!
What did you think? comment now !!!! 
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| G4 - G4 and Friends (2005) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 10:43 AM CST |
| VA - Leaving Las Vegas Soundtrack (1999) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 10:38 AM CST 
Audio CD (18 Jun 1999)
Original Release Date: October 27, 1995
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Soundtrack
Label: Polydor Group
Track List
01. Intro Dialogue
02. Angel Eyes - Sting
03. Are You Desirable?
04. Ben & Bill (Dialogue)
05. Leaving Las Vegas
06. Sera's Dark Side
07. Mara
08. Burlesque
09. On The Street
10. Bossa Vega
11. Ben Pawns His Rolex / Sera Talks To Her Shrink (Dialogue)
12. My One And Only Love - Sting
13. Sera Invites Ben To Stay (Dialogue)
14. Come Rain Or Come Shine - Don Henley
15. Ben And Sera - Theme
16. Ridiculous - Nicolas Cage
17. Biker Bar
18. Ben's Hell
19. It's A Lonesome Old Town - Sting
20. Blues For Ben
21. Get Out
22. Reunited
23. Sera Talks To The Cab Driver (Dialogue)
24. She Really Loved Him
25. I Won't Be Going South (For A While) - The Palladinos
Part 1 / Part 2
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| Vince Gill - These Days (2006) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 10:32 AM CST  Review by Thom Jurek
As 2006 nears its end, no one can argue that the world of country music isn't, at this moment, the most adventurous in the mainstream pop music industry and that Nash Vegas is taking more chances on its acts as the rest of the biz relies more on narrowing things into smaller and smaller niches that can easily be hyped and digested. Sure, as always, artist's images and many recordings are calculated to score big as in any pop industry. The difference is in approach. The country-listening audience/demographic has widened considerably; therefore, there is a need -- as well as an opportunity -- for experimentation to see what sticks. This is the most exciting the music's been since Willie and Waylon hit the charts in the '70s, or perhaps to be a bit more fair, when Garth Brooks turned them upside down in the early '90s. Country music's fan base is growing because it still relies largely on radio, and video channels like CMT and GAC, both of which are very supportive of directors and artists taking artistic chances in the way they choose to dramatize, animate, and portray songs -- check the work of the brilliant director Trey Fanjoy just for starters. Country's latest audience grew up on rock & roll, MTV (when it still played videos), soul, blues, funk, early rap, and in some cases even punk. And while the marketing approach is still singles-driven, country music artists and producers, as well as the labels that house them, are still concerned with the "album" either as a whole, or as a completely crafted collection of varying singles (in this case meaning "good songs"). What's more, these folks still buy CDs (titles are readily available at the local in mega-marts and department stores) and don't rely on the internet as much as pop and rock fans do for information. Given the long run of the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way at number one on the country and Billboard charts, one can't simply dismiss the music as being the religious right's stronghold or pop culture front for "traditional family values" anymore, either, though admittedly there's plenty of that around. In the 21st century it's country music and hip hop -- not rock -- that have been taking on the topics of race, class, basic human dignity and diversity, more than any other popular (chart measured) American musics.
This current mindset in both the Nash Vegas offices and in the fan base is what makes Vince Gill's These Days, a 43-song, four-disc set, possible. Gill had been planning on making a standard single-disc record in 2006. He wanted it to be musically diverse. Given his long career as songwriter, picker, producer, singer, recording and performing artist, he had a right to expect his label MCA Nashville to go along with his choices. What he didn't count on was recording 31 songs with various groups of musicians and not knowing what to do with them. He approached Luke Lewis, the label's president, with an idea he got from the Beatles multi-release-per-year tactic (the same one everybody used in the '60s), which was to issue three albums approximately three months apart in a single calendar year. Lewis, visionary that he is, went one better. He encouraged Gill to go back into the studio and cut enough quality material for a fourth disc and release them all as a box set. Unlike most boxes on the shelf, this one retails for a fairly modest $29.98 -- less than eight dollars a disc -- an attractive package in time for the holidays.
However, adventurous Nashville music industry or not, it all eventually comes down to the quality of the music after all, right? Yes. These four discs are thematically arranged: there's an acoustic bluegrass-flavored record called "Little Brother" (disc four), a rock record called "Workin' on a Big Chill" (disc one), a trad country & western album called "Some Things Never Get Old" (disc three), and a modern soul and jazz-inflected disc of ballads and more gentle pieces called "The Reason Why" (disc two). What's more, though Gill wrote or co-wrote everything here, he called in numerous guests to help him out. These include Gretchen Wilson, his wife Amy Grant, daugher Jenny Gill, Bonnie Raitt, Rodney Crowell, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, pedal steel guitar boss Buddy Emmons, Phil Everly, Rebecca Lynn Howard, the Del McCoury Band, Patty Loveless, Emmylou Harris, John Anderson, Katrina Elam, Lee Ann Womack, LeAnn Rimes, Guy Clark, Trisha Yearwood, Bekka Bramlett, and Michael McDonald. The end result is a magical mystery tour through Gill's own wildly varying aesthetic interests and his uncanny ability to pull off his diverse ideas on tape. These Days is not only a showcase of Gill's multidimensional musical persona, but a virtual treatise on the expansive, open-minded, under the umbrella viewpoint that has taken over Nashville in the current era.
"Workin' on a Big Chill" lives up to its name as a rock record as reflected in the tunes, the beats, and the instrumentation. The title track alone, with Gill's own considerable bluesed-out guitar-slinging skills burning down the house, punches a hole in expectations; the track also includes a Wurlitzer, a B-3 and Bramlett's killer backing vocals. "Love's Standin'" was written with co-producer John Hobbs (Justin Niebank and Gill, of course, also inhabit these chairs), and the wonderfully iconoclastic songwriter and producer Joe Henry (it could have been a smash for Fleetwood Mac), and showcases the sheer white soul backing chorus of Bramlett (who was a member of the latter day Fleetwood Mac), Gene Miller, and Gill. Wilson guests on "Cowboy Up," is more an upscale blues tune than a country song and proves Wilson can sing anything she wants and belongs where she is -- at the top. While there isn't a weak moment on this set, some of the other standouts include the popping "Sweet Thing," with a full-on horn section, the Jerry Lee Lewis-inspired "Nothin for a Broken Heart," with Crowell, and the utterly sexy and soulful country rocker "The Rhythm of the Pourin' Rain," with Bramlett. The only complaint here is that there isn't more of this material: four CDs of rock & roll tracks would have been welcome, and if rock radio were worth a damn Gill would easily crossover with a couple of these songs.
With its subdued tone, and generally slicker productions that include strings, some muted synthesizers, jazzy arrangements, and pop music stylistic tropes, one might think that "The Reason Why: The Groovy Record" would be the least desirable here. Not so. From the opening cut, "What You Don't Say," with Rimes and a full-on string section with ringing pedal steel, Gill proves he is an American pop songwriter par excellence. If all the music on the charts was done this well, with this much passion and soul and pomp, radio would never have lost its appeal. This is the album in the set that reveals the depth of Gill's craft as a songwriter. The early rock & roll waltz trappings and vibes, as well as distorted piano on the title cut with Krauss, is a gorgeous love song with some of Gill's finest vocals on tape. Period. "Rock of Your Love" could have been featured on any of Raitt's latter recordings, and that's a compliment. The slow, dirty guitar line and Raitt's R&B slow burning voice carry it home. Where Gill uses guest vocalists -- female vocalists have always provided a wise counterpoint to his own husky tenor -- the tunes work so well most could be singles. Check "What You Give Away," with Crow, and "The Memory of You," with Yearwood. They're solid; full of honest emotion and pop brilliance. The beautiful love song and gospel tune, "Tell Me One Time About Jesus," with Grant, and "Time To Carry On," with Jenny Gill, are excellent album tracks and give depth, dimension and warmth to this set and are indispensable to it. The duet with Krall is the greatest chance Gill could take. He works in her idiom -- and, of course, she plays that wonderful piano of hers -- and pulls it off with grace and aplomb in the same way Tom Waits pulled off his duets with Crystal Gayle on the soundtrack for One from the Heart.
"Some Things Never Get Old" is subtitled "The Country & Western Record." This is an important distinction because what Gill has assembled here is nothing short of a honky tonk set. Though Gill's voice is a little smooth and high, it hardly matters because he's got the two things that count most on an old-school C&W set: the songs and the band. With Emmons on pedal steel (he's one of the great sonic and stylistic innovators on the instrument) guitarist Billy Joe Walker, Jr., fiddle boss Stuart Duncan, and a slew of backing vocalists who include Dawn Sears, Liana Manis, Jon Randall, Andrea Zonn, and Wes Hightower, as well as his core band, he's in the pocket. The music here collects styles from hardcore honky tonk, countrypolitan, late-night loving and torch songs done as only country singers can, and of course, hillbilly anthems. Some of the top-notch tracks here include "Out of My Mind," with Patty Loveless, the title cut, "Sweet Little Corrina" with Everly (which harks back to those classic Warner Brothers Everly sides), "If I Can Make Mississippi" with Womack, the rowdy good ole boy outlaw anthem, "Take This Country Back," a duet with the truly incomparable John Anderson.
This leaves, finally, "Little Brother, The Acoustic Record." True; some fans of country -- especially modern country, may have a harder time with this disc because it is both a bluegrass record full of banjos, dobros, mandolins, white Southern gospel, and mountain music -- and simply recorded country ballads. Fans of Gill's shouldn't be surprised; his membership in the Grand Ole Opry, his deep reverence for this tradition, and his ability to write, play, and sing in it like an old master, -- and his previous recordings featuring these qualities -- qualify him to indulge that Muse. But Gill's approach, as old-school in thinking as it may be, uses both the music's early reliance on blues and folk styles of the British Isles as a way of expressing the mountain tradition and also the modern scholarship and musical innovations informing it. He is accompanied by the Del McCoury Band on a couple of selections here -- "Cold Gray Light of Gone," "A River Like You," with Jenny Gill, "Ace Up Your Pretty Sleeve," co-written with the great and criminally under-noticed Mark Germino, and "Give Me the Highway" -- but his own takes on country are actually quite creative in his interpretation on the form. But the chiller here is "Girl" with Rebecca Lynn Howard. Here, the deep, high lonesome sound is informed by all of the early folk musics that came before it, and Gill gives them all free reign as this tune wafts from the Appalachian mountain country to Celtic, Irish, and Scottish meadows and coastlines. And although the set's final cut, "Almost Home," with Guy Clark, has no commercial potential, it's a fitting way to close an album; it's a storyteller's tune, one where Clark speaks in that age-old wizened rogue manner of his, and helps to create a myth of near-epic proportion.
What it all adds up to is that this is Gill's masterwork. It's an exhaustive, profound, fun and fulfilling set that not only gives fans something to delight in, but goes wide and if given half a chance could and would attract many new ones. It is one of the major recordings not only of 2006, but of the decade so far -- in any genre. This is the treatment a seasoned artist like Gill deserves, and along with the benefit and support of being able to indulge in such a project, it lives up to the responsibility of delivering the goods in abundance. This is yet another example that the new media-savvy form of country music introduced by Brooks in the '90s has yielded something far more interesting and exciting than some folks are willing to accept, and yet still others are able to believe.
These Days (Disc 1) Workin' On A Big Chill (The Rockin' Record)
These Days (Disc 2) The Reason Why (The Groovy Record)
These Days (Disc 3) Some Things Never Get Old (The Country & Western Record)
These Days (Disc 4) Little Brother (The Acoustic Record)
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| Brian McKnight - I'll Be Home for Christmas (2008) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 10:27 AM CST
From Amazon.com Christmas cheer runneth over with McKnight's first true holiday collection featuring all of your favorite Christmas classics and three new McKnight holiday originals - presented in that smokey R&B mold that McKnight does so well; McKnight's famed vocal prowess will definitely make this the most wonderful time of the year! As an extra special bonus, Josh Groban, Rascal Flatts and Babyface also make guest appearances on the album! McKnight's visibility will be growing around the holiday season and into 2009. Already a household as a result of his hits, a stint in Chicago on Broadway, and his own radio show (KTWV the Wave /LA, McKnight is also the host of his very own video countdown Soul Sessions with Brian McKnight on BET . Track List 1. The Christmas Song 2. Silver Bells 3. Let It Snow (featuring Brian McKnight Jr. and Nikolas McKnight) 4. Christmas You and Me (featuring Vince Gill) 5. I'll Be Home For Christmas 6. Silent Night (featuring Noel Schajris) 7. The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year 8. Adeste Fideles 9. Who Would Have Thought 10. Angels We Have Heard On High (featuring Josh Groban) 11. Christmas Medley 12. Bless This House (featuring Take 6) DL Link 
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| Hayley Westenra - River Of Dreams - The Very Best Of Hayley Westenra (2008) Posted: 16 Jan 2009 10:22 AM CST 
Track List
01. Pokarekare Ana - Hayley Westenra, Francois Rive, Robbie McIntosh, The Metro Voices, Te Tau Choir, Jenny O'Grady, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ian Dean
02. River of Dreams (adapted from "Winter")
03. Dell'Amore Non Si Sa - Hayley Westenra, Andrea Bocelli
04. Shenandoah
05. The Water Is Wide
06. Songbird
07. Both Sides Now
08. Ave Maria
09. Benedictus
10. Amazing Grace
11. Danny Boy
12. Summer Rain
13. Never Say Goodbye (Adapted from "Pavane")
14. O mio babbino caro
15. May It Be/Fellowship of The Ring
16. Ave Maria
17. Now Is The Hour (Po Atarau/Haere Ra)
DL Link
Password: www.alexdang.com
(DL Link will be removed by Sunday)
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