Foxes have been picked up by Sony Music Entertainment. There
is a full album that will be released in the UK next summer. I will have to find
a source to get a copy of this album because she has put out such great music
so far. I will also have to hunt for a physical release of the first single
from that album called Echo. I haven’t seen any released info about this single
other than it is supposed to be released on the 11th of this month,
November.
Because of the storm that happened on the east coast some of
my favorite record companies are falling behind on releases. Devildance Records
is finally going to get the vinyl edition of the new Let Me Run album, Mad/Sad,
out but it has yet been delayed because of the storm. I can only assume that
the Whirr/Anne split double 7” from Run For Cover Records is delayed for this
same reason at the moment. I wish all those who have been affected by this
storm the best and that they all get back on their feet quickly.
Something else that I didn’t expect was that last weeks
review of the Graveface charity release came with MP3 versions of the records.
I got the links in an email just a couple days ago. I was pleasantly surprised
and did not expect this at all.
I have realized, a week later, that I did not put up a
graphic or a purchase link for the Bob James album that I reviewed last week.
If you are interested it has been corrected.
On with the show...
This is the first in a set of five 7” records that My
Chemical Romance (MCR) are releasing as part of an unreleased album that they
had been sitting on for a while. Originally they were not going to release this
album at all. They instead released Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous
Killjoys. They originally did not think that this album was good enough to
release. The lead singer has been listening to the songs that are forth coming
for a while now and made a decision to have the songs released in this special
format, a 7” box set. These two tracks on this 7” are the first two to be
released from the box set. The record itself is orange. I don’t have it yet so
I couldn’t say if it was solid or translucent yet.
The first song from this released is called Boy Division. It
is a fist pumping hard rock song that is classic MCR. It has flair of their
second album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. That was my introduction to the
band this sits right for me in so many ways. I use to skateboard when I was in
my twenties and this was the sort of motivating music that I would listen to in
order to get me pumped up to attempt to do tricks that my anxiety would not let
me attempt. It is one of those songs that makes you want to get up and do
something physical. It is a really good lead off track for an album.
The second track is called Tomorrow’s Money. This track has
the same type of driving beat as the first song but this one goes through some
creative changes musically that differentiates it from the A side track. One of
these things is a staccato break down that happens at the beginning of each of
the choruses. The other is the bridge that has a upward moving chord
progression just before the choruses. I also like the complete break down in
the middle of the song with a slow build to a very cool guitar solo that then
goes into the chorus again. All in all it is just as good of a song as the A
side of this record.
I would recommend these two tracks to anyone who likes
current hard rock.
This is Elton Johns’ Seventh album. It was released in 1973.
I picked this record up over the summer. What I really want is the greatest
hits CD but when you come across a rare gem like this how can you say no to
just a couple dollars for a double album if good condition. Most fans regard this
album at the top of his career as a musician. Personaly I would agree. Bernie
Taupin, Elton Johns’ lyric writer, wrote this album in two and a half weeks,
while John wrote the music in three days while staying at the Pink Flamingo
Hotel in Kingston,
Jamaca. The album was then recorded by the band at the Château d'Hérouville in France. There
were so many songs that were good enough that the album became a double album.
There were multiple singles released from the album. The
first single from the album is called Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting.
This is truly a sweet rocking song. It is something that I would have never
expected from Eldon John but it works so well. It is right next to the hard
rocking, I want to be physical and do something kind of a song.
From Wikipedia: The song was one of the few John-Taupin
songs that Elton said wasn't a "typical piano number." According to
John's recollection in Elizabeth Rosenthal's His Song: The Musical Journey
of Elton John, it may have been written on the piano at first, but the song
ended up being recorded somewhat in reverse to the normal way he records, with
the band putting their tracks down, and Elton overdubbing his piano afterward.
(John's typical process at the time, and to a large extent before and since,
was to either record the piano first or play along with the band.
"Saturday Night ... " represented a departure from that process.)
Elton called the song "hard to record."
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is another great single released from
this album. It was inspired by the 70s soft rock sound that was pushing its way
through at the time. It was obviously inspired by The Wizard Of Oz as well.
This movie was the first movie that writer Taupin had ever seen and is what the
song is about to him. There is something special about this song to me but it
is just that I have heard it so many times and I grew up during the time of
soft rock in the 70s. I guess this song is comforting to me because of that.
The third single is called Candle In The Wind. It was written
to honor Marilyn Monroe who had passed away eleven years prior. The lyrics of
the song are a sympathetic portrayal of the life of Marilyn Monroe. (The song's
opening line "Goodbye Norma Jean" refers to Monroe's real name.) Taupin was inspired to
write the song after hearing the phrase "candle in the wind" used in
tribute to Janis Joplin. During a concert on 7 April 1990, at Farm Aid IV, John
dedicated the song to Ryan White, who had been suffering from AIDS. White died
from AIDS complications the next day. This song has always been a very
emotional song for me. It doesn’t matter if it is the original or the remixed
version that was put out in the 90s. Because of the different dedications that
have been done with this song it has so much meaning in so many different ways.
It is usually to someone who has passed away though so it brings memories of
old friends or famous people that have passed away. It is very hard for me not
to tear up when this song comes on.
The fourth single that was released from this album was
Bennie And The Jets. The song tells of "Bennie and the Jets", a
fictional band of which the song's narrator is a fan. In interviews, Taupin has
said that the song's lyrics are a satire on the music industry of the 1970s. It
is about the greed and glitz of the early '70s music scene.
From Wikipedia: After recording the song in the studio, John
and the band worried that it was too plain and unoriginal. In the Eagle Vision
documentary on the making of "Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road," John himself recalled,
"I fought tooth and nail against 'Bennie' coming out as a single."
According to guitarist Davey Johnstone, "'Bennie and the Jets' was one of
the oddest songs we ever recorded. We just sat back and said, 'This is really
odd.'" While mixing the album, Dudgeon came up with the idea of creating a
"live from Playhouse Theatre" sound for the track. He added reverb
effects, applause and other audience sounds from John's previous concerts and a
loop from the Jimi Hendrix live album Isle of Wight,
plus whistles, giving it the "live concert recording" feel that has
since become a sort of trademark.
Harmony was supposed to be the fifth single released from
this album but because it was getting close to the released of the next album
the song was never released as a single. It was released as the B side to Benny
And The Jets so it did get some air play from radio stations still.
This is the thirteenth album from Genesis. It was released
in 1986. This is an album that I had never thought of purchasing but I always
thought that the singles from it were fantastic. I have never really been a
Genesis fan either but liked most of their singles still, especially those that
had an associated video, me being a part of the 80s video generation.
There were five singles released from this album. The first
of which is the title track, Invisible Touch. This is the most successful
single in the band's lengthy history. The Song came about during a jam for the
second part of the song Domino, Rutherford
playing a riff while Collins improvised the line "She seems to have an
invisible touch".
The second single is called Throwing It All Away. The song
is a soft rock ballad. It is structured around a guitar riff by Mike Rutherford,
who also wrote the lyrics. I have never really been a fan of ballad rock songs.
There are a few exceptions but this is not one of them. It is a good song but
it just doesn’t do anything for me. The video wasn’t even that great, it was just
footage of the band on the Invisible Touch tour.
The third single released from this album is called Land Of Confusion. This song was very good but
the video was what was really important with its politically charged stance. The
song's video featured puppets from the 1980s UK sketch show Spitting Image.
After Phil Collins saw a caricatured version of himself on the show, he
commissioned the show's creators, Peter Fluck and Roger Law, to create puppets
of the entire band, as well as all the characters in the video. The video is
paramount to the 80s MTV generation.
The next single released is called In Too Deep. This is
another slow song from the group. I was not a fan of the song but the chorus is
very catchy. Even though I hated the song the chorus was so easy to memorize
because it was catchy. The video for this one was simple. It was the group on a
set with multiple platforms and a grand piano. Tony Banks plays the piano even
though the song features an electric piano sound. The other members of the band
mime the other instruments that are played in the song. There is nothing
special about this song to me.
The last single released from this album is called Tonight,Tonight, Tonight. The song is one that I remember very well. I think that it
may have been because of the synth sound that was used over the top of the song.
I have always had a thing for synth sounds whether they be standard piano
sounds or bizarre electronic sounds. The vocals for the chorus are very catchy
on this song as well making it easier to listen to than most of the slower
songs on this album.
This is one of Genesis’ better albums and I recommend it
with all my heart.
This is the sound track to the movie Xanadu. It was released
in 1980. The album features songs from both Olivia Newton-John and the group Electric
Light Orchestra (ELO). The original LP version has Olivia Newton-John songs for
the movie on the A side and the ELO songs on the B side. Although the movie was
a big flop the sound track had some of the greatest singles on it.
The first single released from the album was Magic from
Olivia Newton-John. The song has a special place in my heart with the synth
keys and her smooth vocals. That combined with the talk of magic, which has
always interested me even though I know that magic doesn’t exist in this world.
It is still nice to dream of such things making life easier and harder at the
same time.
The second single released is the title track for the
album/movie, Xanadu. It is a collaboration between Olivia and ELO. It is the
song that was on the end credits of the movie. It is essentially a disco track
with a great beat. It is not my favorite song from the album but it is up there
with the best from the album.
The next single from the album is called I’m Alive From ELO.
There is a super cool spacy intro on the beginning of the song that has nothing
to do with it. When the song kicks in it smoothes out like crazy and becomes something
warm and 70s like. The song is used in the movie as the muse, Olivia’s character,
comes out of the painting that she was in.
The last single released from this soundtrack is called AllOver The World. It is another disco infused song that features vocals from Olivia,
Gene Kelly and Michael Beck. It is another great song that The New Radicals took
ideas from with their hit single, You Get What You Give. This is another great
single from this soundtrack.
This soundtrack is really amazing and is something that I
think should be heard by everyone at least once to make your own decision.
That is all I have for now...
That is all I have for now...
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