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Yello 40 Years
Yello
Pop - Released May 7, 2021 | Yello
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Switzerland’s most famous electronic music group is celebrating its 40th birthday with an XXL retrospective release. These four discs pay tribute to a body of work that has wandered every which way over the last four decades, but has always remained faithful to the dancefloor. The core of this best-of compilation is in the first two discs, which contain all the great classic tunes from Dieter Meier and Boris Blank, including the seminal Oh Yeah, which was released in 1985 and went down in history thanks to a series of teen movies and the Simpsons' beer mascot, Duffman. We also find hits like Bostich, a live version of The Race, Vicious Games, I Love You or the funky/psychedelic Tied Up. The third CD, curated by Boris Blank, foregrounds Yello's "mellow" side, and it highlights some lesser-known tracks such as Capri Calling or Otto di Catania. Finally, the last disc features a dozen remixes, with a hypnotic Carl Craig on Electrified II and Hell DJ in cosmic form on Bostich. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz
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Use Your Illusion II
Guns N' Roses
Hard Rock - Released September 1, 1991 | Guns N Roses P&D
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Use Your Illusion II is more serious and ambitious than I, but it's also considerably more pretentious. Featuring no less than four songs that run over six minutes, II is heavy on epics, whether it's the charging funk metal of "Locomotive," the antiwar "Civil War," or the multipart "Estranged." As if an attempt to balance the grandiose epics, the record is loaded with an extraordinary amount of filler. "14 Years" may have a lean, Stonesy rhythm, and Duff McKagan's Johnny Thunders homage, "So Fine," may be entertaining, but there's no forgiving the ridiculous "Get in the Ring," where Axl Rose threatens rock journalists by name because they gave him bad reviews; the misinterpretation of Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"; another version of "Don't Cry"; and the bizarre closer, "My World," which probably captures Rose's instability as effectively as the tortured poetry of his epics. That said, there are numerous strengths to Use Your Illusion II; a couple of songs have a nervy energy, and for all their pretensions, the overblown epics are effective, though strangely enough, they reveal notorious homophobe Rose's aspirations of being a cross between Elton John and Freddie Mercury. But the pompous production and poor pacing make the album tiring for anyone who isn't a dedicated listener.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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STRUGGLER
Genesis Owusu
Alternative & Indie - Released August 18, 2023 | OURNESS
On his debut Smiling With No Teeth, Ghanaian-Australian artist Genesis Owusu struck nerves with a distinctly '90s-born perspective on how to shape a characteristic sound: a style that could technically be traced back to roots in hip-hop. That only served to highlight how easily he could take that route into a post-genre expression where R&B, synthpop, and alt-rock all played on the same frequency. And that was reflected in his multifaceted perspective as a singer-songwriter—given to stretching his range from steely, emphatic raps to vulnerable-not-fragile falsetto in the former half of that equation, and an often-strident yet necessarily frank confronter of social cruelty and oppression in the latter. Struggler maintains Owusu's startlingly adept eclecticism as a musician: the needling synth sequencing on opener "Leaving the Light" is pure Freedom of Choice DEVO with a touch of P-Funk swing. The new-wave funk of "Tied Up" feels like an anthem for a hundred-year empire built on the Minneapolis Sound, and the gauzy semi-industrial grunge-gaze of cuts like "The Roach" and "Old Man" make for more daring takes on the open-ended possibilities of '90s alt than half the bands that got signed post-Nevermind. But those feel less like retro moves than an attempt to use the context of the past to make sense of a future that seems short on promise, and Struggler doesn't just confront it—it perseveres through it, building off an existential anxiety-drive that draws as much on Beckett and Kafka as it does on the immigrant-diaspora persistence of an outsider just trying to live. © Nate Patrin/Qobuz
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Antichrist Superstar
Marilyn Manson
Rock - Released October 8, 1996 | Marilyn Manson - Interscope
Boasting a fuller sound and a more focused sense of purpose, Antichrist Superstar is a substantial improvement on Marilyn Manson's debut album, Portrait of an American Family. The band draws equally from schlock metal, progressive metal, new wave, goth rock, and industrial rock, and with the help of producers Trent Reznor and Dave Ogilvie, the group creates a boiling, mockingly satanic mess of guitars, synthesizers, and ridiculously "scary" vocals. Though the sonic details make Antichrist Superstar an intriguing listen, it's not as extreme as it could have been -- in particular, the guitars are surprisingly anemic, sounding like buzzing vacuums instead of unwieldy chainsaws. Even with that considered, Antichrist Superstar is an unexpectedly cohesive album from a silly shock metal band and will stand as Marilyn Manson's definitive statement.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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L.A. Divine
Cold War Kids
Alternative & Indie - Released April 7, 2017 | Capitol Records (US1A)
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Over the years, a growing sense of maturity emerged in Cold War Kids' music, with albums like Hold My Home proving that they're most successful when they're most straightforward. L.A. Divine builds on that album's solidly anthemic sound: "Love Is Mystical" and "Restless" are fine examples of the band at its stomping best. However, Cold War Kids also give L.A. Divine a little more pop sheen, and the combination of Nathan Willett's falsetto and the huge harmonies surrounding him is strangely reminiscent of Fun. on highlights like the power ballad "Part of the Night" and "No Reason to Run," a celebration of monogamy that sounds equally surprised and delighted. Indeed, much of L.A. Divine explores commitment, whether it's to a person or a city (as the title suggests, Cold War Kids' hometown was the album's muse). The band makes settling down -- but not settling -- sound less than boring on songs such as "So Tied Up," "Open Up the Heavens," and "Invincible," which tussle between vulnerability and bravado as they return to Cold War Kids' blazing rock. On the whole, L.A. Divine shows that Cold War Kids continue to expand their range -- and if they're becoming more accessible with each album, it's on their own terms.© Heather Phares /TiVo
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All That Glue
Sleaford Mods
Alternative & Indie - Released May 15, 2020 | Rough Trade
The sound of Sleaford Mods is primarily that of Jason Williamson’s voice and his thick, East Midlands accent. His logorrhoea develops into an array of tics and each word is chanted in a sort of release of pent-up rage. Sounding along the same lines as The Streets, Audio Bullys and The Prodigy (with whom the duo made a track, Ibiza, released in 2015), Sleaford Mods express their very English urban anger through ‘sprechgesang’, a type of slang that’s as white as rap is black. With bitter lyrics about consumer society and the celebrities within it, Sleaford Mods is a duo whose aim is political. A documentary made in 2015, Sleaford Mods: Invisible Britain, followed the duo on tour in cities that are overlooked by the government and the media. Their uncompromising views are reflected in this compilation of 22 tracks, whose cover is a nod to another modern art punk, Marcel Duchamp (and his work, Fountain, 1917). © Yan Ceh/Qobuz
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Hollow Bones
Rival Sons
Rock - Released June 10, 2016 | Earache Records Ltd
The fifth full-length by American hard rock outfit Rival Sons retains the continuity of its relationship with producer Dave Cobb and sleeve artist Storm Thorgerson. There's more texture on this set, and tighter songwriting. Of nine tunes, eight are orignals. The two-part title track is raved-up, riff-laden, blues vamp crunch, while "Thundering Voices" weaves spacy psych with Led Zeppelin thunder. A gritty cover of Humble Pie's iconic "Black Coffee" (written by Ike & Tina Turner), delivers an R&B dimension we've not heard from them before.© Thom Jurek /TiVo
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This Way
Acoustic Alchemy
Jazz - Released January 1, 2007 | Higher Octave
With the release of This Way, Acoustic Alchemy's guitarists Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale celebrate a remarkable two decades since Red Dust & Spanish Lace established the British ensemble as an ever-evolving powerhouse of contemporary jazz. Carmichael and Gilderdale's natural chemistry is very apparent on this set of loose and spirited songs, as is the soloing by the complementing musicians on such jazzy tracks as "Egg," which has a very British, blues-drenched, straight-ahead sound. By contrast, "Ernie" has an exotic Latin jazz flavor complete with great solos by Terry Disley, Jeff Kashiwa, and trombonist Dennis Rollins. Rick Braun makes a guest appearance on "Carlos the King," a racy rock, Latin, and blues fusion that also features Gilderdale's electric guitar and Greg Grainger's percussive energy. With as many brilliant players as there are in the ensemble, the concept of two acoustic guitar players is still the emotional heartbeat of the band's sound. Carmichael and Gilderdale's outstanding playing on "Out of Nowhere" and "This Way" is a sure testament to that concept. "Out of Nowhere" features a hypnotic, swaying acoustic melody over a gentle guitar harmony and light percussion line. The slow-burning title track features experimental synth textures similar to those heard on the early Acoustic Alchemy releases of the late '80s that featured the group's founders, Nick Webband Greg Carmichael. However, This Way acquaints both veteran and new listeners with the group's updated legacy of positive and powerful music.© Paula Edelstein /TiVo
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January Came Close
Cardinal Black
Rock - Released October 28, 2022 | Jump in Records
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Use Your Illusion II
Guns N' Roses
Hard Rock - Released September 1, 1991 | Guns N Roses P&D
Use Your Illusion II is more serious and ambitious than I, but it's also considerably more pretentious. Featuring no less than four songs that run over six minutes, II is heavy on epics, whether it's the charging funk metal of "Locomotive," the antiwar "Civil War," or the multipart "Estranged." As if an attempt to balance the grandiose epics, the record is loaded with an extraordinary amount of filler. "14 Years" may have a lean, Stonesy rhythm, and Duff McKagan's Johnny Thunders homage, "So Fine," may be entertaining, but there's no forgiving the ridiculous "Get in the Ring," where Axl Rose threatens rock journalists by name because they gave him bad reviews; the misinterpretation of Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"; another version of "Don't Cry"; and the bizarre closer, "My World," which probably captures Rose's instability as effectively as the tortured poetry of his epics. That said, there are numerous strengths to Use Your Illusion II; a couple of songs have a nervy energy, and for all their pretensions, the overblown epics are effective, though strangely enough, they reveal notorious homophobe Rose's aspirations of being a cross between Elton John and Freddie Mercury. But the pompous production and poor pacing make the album tiring for anyone who isn't a dedicated listener.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Physical
Olivia Newton-John
Pop - Released October 1, 1981 | Primary Wave
"Physical" became such a monster hit -- not just a hit, but a pop-culture phenomenon that was impossible to escape -- that it became difficult to view its accompanying album as anything other than a conduit for the single. The thing was, Physical was a damn good record, in many ways one of Olivia Newton-John's very best. Picking up where Totally Hot and Xanadu left off, Physical skillfully balances catchy yet mellow dance cuts with immaculately crafted adult contemporary pop and ballads. The title track, of course, is the best example of the dance side, but "Landslide," "Make a Move on Me," and "Promise (Dolphin Song)" illustrate that Physical wasn't a one-hit record at all -- if anything, they hold up better than the big hit. There is some filler here -- none of her records were free from that curse -- but it's well-made filler and helps make Physical one of the most enjoyable albums of her career.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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The Night Logan Woke Up (Original Series Soundtrack)
Hans Zimmer
Film Soundtracks - Released March 17, 2023 | Milan
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Live Era '87-'93
Guns N' Roses
Hard Rock - Released January 1, 1999 | Guns N Roses P&D
The double-disc Live: Era '87-'93 was designed to do two things -- satiate die-hard fans longing for old-school GNR, while clearing decks for a new studio album. It sounds good in theory, yet it suffers in its execution, since it relies on tapes "recorded across the universe between 1987 and 1993." That's not what GNR fans want -- they want the band in its nervy late-'80s prime, when it seemed like they could self-destruct at any second. Live: Era '87-'93 offers the polar opposite with slick, professional tracks that sound pieced together from various performances. Axl's vocals are not only distant -- as though they were sung in a booth, separate from the band -- but also amazingly mannered, sounding for all the world as if they were redone in the studio. Meanwhile, the band's performances are either brushed up or heavily edited, so it's impossible to tell if any of this was recorded during Appetite-era shows. Certainly, much of this derives from the Illusions tour: there are backing vocals, horns, and just what every fan wants -- lots and lots of Dizzy Reed. And if that isn't indicative of Axl's mindset, there is the priceless moment on "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," when he shrieks "Gimme some reggae!" and the band collapses in a sunsplash groove. So, this is heavy on Axl pretensions and short on pure, brutal rock & roll. At its best, it may come closer to vintage GNR than the Illusions did, but the missing ingredients are all too apparent, and in this context, their absence is all the more painful.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Flag
Yello
Pop - Released October 31, 1988 | Polydor
Flag was a watershed album for the group. On one hand, it is a refinement of all the ideas the band had been following through the '80s, on the other, in the wake of their high-profile success with "Oh Yeah," Yello had reached the point where ideas turned into self-parody -- the cover art of Deiter Meier and Boris Blank pulled together into a human knot is horrifically appropriate. Nothing is a surprise here, apart from how "The Race" is a Xerox of their own 1981 song "Bostich." Tracks like "Of Course I'm Lying" are empty exercises in suave, like late-period Roxy Music without the pedigree. Billy Mackenzie returns to provide backup vocals on the more romantic tunes. This isn't to say that the album is a dull listen -- "Tied Up," repeated here three times on a nine-track album, is a fascinating collage of Afro-Cuban rhythms, rain storm effects, drums nicked from a Broadway revue, monkey chatter, basso-profundo lyrics, and screams. Similar thick, eclectic production dogs each track like cologne on a lounge lizard -- too much of a good thing. Yello saw the decade out with Flag -- they haven't found their way back since.© Ted Mills /TiVo
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Essential
Yello
Pop - Released January 1, 1992 | Polydor
Essential is a fine 16-track compilation that features all of Yello's best-known Eurodance hits including, of course, their signature song, "Oh Yeah" as well as earlier material like "Bostich," "Pinball Cha Cha," "Tied Up" and "Vicious Games."© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Five Man London Jam
Tesla (Band)
Rock - Released March 27, 2020 | Hip-O
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Submarine Bells
The Chills
Pop - Released February 13, 1990 | Rhino - Slash
On a major label for the first time, Phillipps crafted a lovely record indeed, a mere thirty-six minutes and not a second wasted. Lead-off track and single "Heavenly Pop Hit" remains the most famous track and deservedly so -- over a rapturous keyboard/rhythm combination, Phillipps sings just that, an inspiring lyric with a soaring chorus, aided by additional backing vocals from guest Donna Savage. From there it's one high point after another, never losing the sense of elegance and drive that characterizes the band's work. Phillipps' at-once strong and amiably regular-guy vocals and astonishingly intelligent but never overly obtuse lyrics are both wonders, while Andrew Todd's excellent keyboard work provides both energy and lovely shading. Add to that a fine rhythm section in bassist Justin Harwood and drummer James Stephenson, and it's no wonder this version of the Chills succeeds as it does. One fantastic example of their work together is "Singing In My Sleep," with Phillipps giving heavy tremolo treatment to his guitar as everyone else creates something that's not too far from Neu!'s motorik throb, in a gentler pop vein. More such Krautrock-inspired chug has plenty of echoes on Bells, following in the same vein as "I Love My Leather Jacket" -- check out the brisk delivery on "The Oncoming Day" or the skipping intensity of "Dead Web." Otherwise, there're hints of the gentle folky/medieval touches they enjoy on "I SOAR" and "Don't Be--Memory" and more straightforward rocking out on the sharp "Familiarity Breeds Contempt," where Phillipps' New Zealand burr comes through with intensity. The title track, with serene orchestration filling out the grand arrangement, is a note-perfect way to conclude such a fantastic release.© Ned Raggett /TiVo
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Sometime Not Now
Cubicolor
Electronic - Released October 28, 2022 | Anjunadeep
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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.