Narrow my search:
From
HI-RES$17.59
CD$15.09
Native Tongue
Poison
Rock - Released February 8, 1993 | Capitol Records
Hi-Res
Ditching most of their party anthems, as well as guitarist C.C. Deville because he allegedly wasn't up to par, Poison adds guitar whiz Richie Kotzen and makes a bid for respect. Leader Bret Michaels has decided to accentuate the populist strains of ballads like "Something to Believe In" throughout Native Tongue. It often falls short -- Kotzen's playing is too proficient for the lite metal hooks that the rest of the band have mastered -- but Poison gets points for trying, and they do come up with some tracks, like the single "Stand," that could stand with some of their previous anthems.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
From
CD$15.09
Secondhand Daylight
Magazine
Rock - Released January 1, 1979 | Virgin Catalogue
Secondhand Daylight, the second Magazine album, sounds like it must have been made in the dead of winter. You can imagine the steam coming out of Howard Devoto's mouth as he projects lines like "I was cold at an equally cold place," "The voyeur will realize this is not a sight for his sore eyes," "It just came to pieces in our hands," and "Today I bumped into you again, I have no idea what you want." You can picture Dave Formula swiping frost off his keys and Barry Adamson blowing on his hands during the intro to "Feed the Enemy," as guitarist John McGeoch and drummer John Doyle zip their parkas. From start to finish, this is a showcase for Formula's chilling but expressive keyboard work. Given more freedom to stretch out and even dominate on occasion, Formula seems to release as many demons as Devoto, whether it is through low-end synthesizer drones or violent piano vamps. Detached tales of relationships damaged beyond repair fill the album, and the band isn't nearly as bouncy as it is on Real Life or The Correct Use of Soap -- it's almost as if they were instructed to play with as little physical motion as possible. The drums in particular sound brittle and on the brink of piercing the ears. Despite the sub-zero climate, the lack of dance numbers, and the shortage of snappy melodies, the album isn't entirely impenetrable. It lacks the immediate impact of Real Life and The Correct Use of Soap, but it deserves just as much recognition for its compellingly sustained petulance. Even if you can't get into it, you have to at least marvel at "Permafrost." The album's finale, it's an elegant five-minute sneer, and as far as late-'70s yearbook scribbles are concerned, "As the day stops dead, at the place where we're lost, I will drug you and f*ck you on the permafrost" is less innocuous than "All we are is dust in the wind."© Andy Kellman /TiVo
From
CD$7.29
Body Talk
Imagination
Soul - Released January 1, 1981 | R&B Division Ltd
Imagination's Body Talk was a magnificent breakout for both the group and the group's producers and co-songwriters, Tony Swain and Steve Jolley (both of whom would team to produce Spandau Ballet and Bananarama). Not only was Body Talk one of the best debut albums of 1981, it continues to stand as one of the best pop-oriented R&B albums of the decade it was released. Even if it suffered a drastic dropoff in quality after the first three songs, it remained an exceptional record; that opening 18-minute stretch is as close to perfection as a record gets. On the first two tracks, Jolley and Swain prove to be masters of the slow and simple, two characteristics that provide an ideal backdrop for the group. While most albums released during the time opened with one or two upbeat numbers to grab the listener's attention, Body Talk begins with two tracks that flow like lava. They're just as hot, too; "Body Talk"'s erotic simmer is based on an insistent, unchanging rhythm that is decorated by occasional piano vamps, keyboard trickles, swelling synth notes, and three soft voices. "So Good So Right" picks up the pace ever so slightly and is even more hypnotizing. As repetitive as it is, it needs its seven minutes to unwind and unleash its spell. The third song, "Burnin' Up" -- a favorite of Warehouse DJ Frankie Knuckles -- was several years ahead of its time and had an immense influence on Chicago house music, most particularly songs like Marshall Jefferson's "Move Your Body." A dance track through and through, its open spaces, loose feel, and fluid piano runs are more fitting for dancefloor tiles than the rumpled bedsheets caused by the opening pair of songs. A dip from here on out can only be expected, but it's hardly a steep decline; both the clubby, echo-filled "Flashback" and the moody "In and out of Love" sustain this lean album's excellence.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
From
CD$11.29
Built on Glass
Chet Faker
Electronic - Released April 1, 2014 | Future Classic
Seeing as how his come-up number was a trip-hop cover of "No Diggity" and his name is a Kurt Vile-like play on jazz great Chet Baker, Australian electronica producer Nick Murphy aka Chet Faker arrives with two overly clever strikes against him, at least on the surface. Tricky thing is, those who dig into that Blackstreet cover finds themselves enveloped in a warm, soulful slinker of the highest order, but the even better news is that Built on Glass is a rich debut, falling between the two hypotheticals of a James Blake record inspired by joy or a Beck album that should be filed under the category of "earnest." The lyrics offer a lazy fascination with subjects like love, loss, and afternoons off, while swaying tempos support sounds like bubbling house music, jazzy, Joe Pass-like guitar passages, and Faker's warm vocals, which are as if Eddie Vedder were born a slow soul man. The great "Talk Is Cheap" is broken beat house with a wonderful Boz Scaggs feel, while "Cigarettes & Loneliness" is a compositional triumph with interwoven guitars and Faker's lovelorn singing holding the listener's hand as a whirling dervish develops on a rainy Sunday. The volume is only pumped up to a Derrick May or Carl Craig level as highlight "1998" bubbles with that Detroit techno feel, and yet sticking with subdued suits the artist at this point. Built on Glass isn't so much limited as it is a wonderful mood piece, so think calm and cool with purpose, and then get hip to the restrained and resonating sound of Faker.© David Jeffries /TiVo
From
CD$7.29
Body Talk
Imagination
Soul - Released January 1, 1981 | R&B Division Ltd
Imagination's Body Talk was a magnificent breakout for both the group and the group's producers and co-songwriters, Tony Swain and Steve Jolley (both of whom would team to produce Spandau Ballet and Bananarama). Not only was Body Talk one of the best debut albums of 1981, it continues to stand as one of the best pop-oriented R&B albums of the decade it was released. Even if it suffered a drastic dropoff in quality after the first three songs, it remained an exceptional record; that opening 18-minute stretch is as close to perfection as a record gets. On the first two tracks, Jolley and Swain prove to be masters of the slow and simple, two characteristics that provide an ideal backdrop for the group. While most albums released during the time opened with one or two upbeat numbers to grab the listener's attention, Body Talk begins with two tracks that flow like lava. They're just as hot, too; "Body Talk"'s erotic simmer is based on an insistent, unchanging rhythm that is decorated by occasional piano vamps, keyboard trickles, swelling synth notes, and three soft voices. "So Good So Right" picks up the pace ever so slightly and is even more hypnotizing. As repetitive as it is, it needs its seven minutes to unwind and unleash its spell. The third song, "Burnin' Up" -- a favorite of Warehouse DJ Frankie Knuckles -- was several years ahead of its time and had an immense influence on Chicago house music, most particularly songs like Marshall Jefferson's "Move Your Body." A dance track through and through, its open spaces, loose feel, and fluid piano runs are more fitting for dancefloor tiles than the rumpled bedsheets caused by the opening pair of songs. A dip from here on out can only be expected, but it's hardly a steep decline; both the clubby, echo-filled "Flashback" and the moody "In and out of Love" sustain this lean album's excellence.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
From
HI-RES$17.59
CD$15.09
Take Back The Night
Starbenders
Rock - Released September 22, 2023 | Sumerian Records
Hi-Res
From
HI-RES$36.09
CD$31.29
Elvis At Stax
Elvis Presley
Rock - Released August 5, 2013 | RCA - Legacy
Hi-Res
From
CD$16.59
Body Talk
Robyn
Dance - Released November 22, 2010 | Interscope
Robyn's prolific 2010 culminated with Body Talk, the full-length album that featured songs from the Body Talk, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 EPs, plus enough new songs to make up a third EP. Releasing that much new music within six months was a feat in and of itself, but the fact that each part of Body Talk was so consistent made the whole project even more impressive. And, by revealing bits and pieces of what went into the final album -- as well as parts that didn’t -- Robyn offered her fans a window into her process, allowing glimpses of the moods and approaches that go into making an album and letting listeners get to know these songs in different contexts. Of course, Body Talk's appeal isn’t just experimental: by picking the best of the project’s songs, it feels like a greatest-hits collection and brand-new album rolled into one. Familiarity suits these songs well, whether it's the tight, bright "Fembot," the aching "Dancing on My Own," or "Hang with Me," which swoons with arpeggios that sound like falling recklessly in love, even though that's just what Robyn warns against. Hearing the songs from the EPs on Body Talk makes Body Talk, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 feel like deluxe singles from the album, as well as its building blocks. However, different versions of these tracks, like the more anthemic take on "In My Eyes," ensure that the album doesn’t feel cobbled together. Some songs sound even better here than they did on the EPs: "Love Kills" and "None of Dem'"s playful dancehall function more clearly as bridges to other tracks than they did before. Body Talk's new songs also make good on the EPs' gradual shift from fierce independence to togetherness, particularly on "Call Your Girlfriend," a thoughtful twist on a love triangle that finds Robyn enjoying new love while being concerned for someone hurt by it, and "Stars 4-Ever," which gives a fizzy, Euro-dance tinged happy ending to the Body Talk project. After the EPs' conciseness, the album feels downright roomy, and maybe slightly too long; obviously, Robyn had a lot of songs to work with. Overall, though, Body Talk is more focused than Robyn, and just as bold in the intimacy it creates with listeners.© Heather Phares /TiVo
From
CD$9.09
10 Song Demo
Rosanne Cash
Country - Released January 1, 1996 | Capitol Records
Despite its title, 10 Song Demo isn't really a demo tape, but it is what the title suggests -- a stripped-down, direct collection of songs (for the record, there are 11 songs, not ten). Conceptually, it is a brilliant way to signal that Rosanne Cash has severed ties with Nashville, as well as begun her contract with Capitol Records. However, the album doesn't completely work. Essentially, 10 Song Demo is an official statement from Cash that she is no longer strictly a country singer, but an all-around singer/songwriter. Of course, she has always bent the rules of country music, so this isn't a big departure as far as songwriting goes. Musically, however, the spare, simple arrangements lack all of the country and pop production flourishes that marked her last two albums. Though it initially sounds fine, there isn't much variation to the music, and her melodies are frequently uncompelling. That can't be said of her lyrics -- they are as cutting, emotional, and affecting as they have been, and they are the main reason for listening to 10 Song Demo.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
From
HI-RES$18.09
CD$15.69
Good Times
Elvis Presley
Rock - Released March 20, 1974 | Legacy Recordings
Hi-Res
From
CD$11.29
11th Street, Sekondi
Gyedu Blay Ambolley
World - Released November 22, 2019 | Agogo Records
From
CD$10.59
Lord Finesse Presents - Motown State Of Mind
LORD FINESSE
R&B - Released June 26, 2020 | UNI - MOTOWN
From
HI-RES$18.09
CD$15.69
All I Need
Foxes
Pop - Released February 5, 2016 | Sign Of The Times Records
Hi-Res
From
CD$23.49
The Essential George Benson
George Benson
Jazz - Released March 28, 2006 | Columbia - Legacy
The Essential George Benson covers 28 years and spans two discs, so it lives up to its claim of having the widest scope of all the Benson compilations that surfaced before it. While it's impressive that Columbia/Legacy didn't merely mine Columbia and CTI dates, and licensed material from Warner Bros. and Prestige as well (the brief Verve period is unrepresented), you could also say that the label also spread itself thin, with several crucial moments in Benson's career unable to fit. If Columbia/Legacy were honest, they'd position this as more of a sampler with a few curve balls. No matter what era you prefer, you're going to come up short, and it's not as if most people who are curious about Benson are going to be open-minded enough to appreciate both "Clockwise" and the vastly different "Give Me the Night." Some of the surprise selections, which almost outnumber the obvious ones, include an alternate take of "Ode to a Kudu," "Hip Skip" (from Tony Williams' late-'70s Joy of Flying), "Rock Candy" (from Brother Jack McDuff Live!), and "Paraphernalia" (a bizarre pick for any form of anthology, from Miles Davis' Miles in the Sky). Even casual fans won't have to think too hard about essential cuts that aren't here -- "Durham's Turn," "Nature Boy," "The World Is a Ghetto," "Love X Love," and on and on, but the majority of what's here cannot be challenged. This is a way to begin -- not wrap up -- your fascination with Benson. It is representative of the breadth of his career from 1963 through 1980, but it could have just as easily been done a dozen other ways. The sound is vibrant, and Benson's track-by-track commentary adds a nice touch.© Andy Kellman /TiVo
From
HI-RES$17.59
CD$15.09
Trouble The Water
Show Me the Body
Alternative & Indie - Released October 28, 2022 | Loma Vista Recordings
Hi-Res
"SHOW ME THE BODY are a band for dark and uncertain times, reflecting the world around them with life-or-death urgency, but also not without hope of transcending dire circumstances..."© TiVo
From
CD$19.76
Night Dubbing II (feat. Errol Kennedy)
Imagination
Dance - Released November 3, 2014 | ISM Records
Suppose you have a more precise idea of what you want. If you are searching for the album "Bad" by Michael Jackson, type michael jackson bad. The album in question will be displayed at the top, as it is the most relevant.
By default, search results are sorted in order of relevance. The drop-down menu to the right of "Sort by" allows you to display the results in the desired order.