Cdthèque recommandée

Keep On Your Mean Side- The Kills

Indie rock, post-punk revival.

Pearl







Kick- INXS

A pop-rock, dance-rock kind of rock.

In my own "cdthèque", this one doesn't get any less than 3 stars, and most of the songs receive a good 4 or 5 stars. Its pearls: "Guns in the sky"; "Devil inside"; "Need you tonight"; "Mediate"; "The loved one"; "Never tear us apart"; "Mystify"...

Loaded- The Velvet Underground

Art, experimental rock. Proto-punk.

In this 4th album they seem to have found their thing, mixing their cherished weirdness with a more rock'n'roll sound. Aimed at a more radio audience, it doesn't carry the consistently melodious sadness of their 1st album but then, the tracks are more diverse. Apart from "I found a reason" which sounds too much like the Beatles at their least best and "Train round the bend" and "New age," both pretty weak as stand-alone songs, the album carries itself without much effort yet, with a lot of success.
While "Who loves the sun" is closer to their initial attempt (and to the Beatles at their almost-best) "Cool it down," "Rock & roll," "Sweet Jane," "Head held high" and the terribly beautiful "Oh! Sweet nuthin'" are individual pearls which when gathered produce a diamond.  Pearl   

P.S. Belle and Sebastian really took their style from that "Who loves the sun" sound !  



London Calling- The Clash

Punk rock at its best = lots of reggae, jazz, soul, ska, pop influences.

Pearl

Love- Love

Psyche, folk rock.

Great, great piece of music. Pretty melancholic and,
to a 21st-century ear, it seems to have really captured the atmosphere of the late 60s-early 70s era.
This is the kind of album that's found its sound and will
faithfully stick to it. But, "Can't explain;" "A message to pretty" and "Emotions," as well as "My little red book" (a cover of Burt Bacharach) and the powerful "My flash on you" that both sound like early punk-rock inspirations, play well enough around the same theme to stand firm as original pieces.

The Man In Black: The Definitve Collection- Johnny Cash

An icon of country music to discover.

This compilation is as much about introducing an icon as providing an easy access to the work behind the legend. Country being a genre easy on the ear, like reggae, not everything is good enough to feature on a best of_ 7 songs, in particular, are neither good, nor bad. But, the good is excellent: "It ain't me baby;" "The baron;" "Jackson;" "One piece at a time;" "San Quentin;" "Wanted man;" "Daddy sang bass;" "A boy named Sue"... 
Written for the not-so-honest-to-God hard-working blue-collar man, Johnny Cash's style may seem repetitive, simplistic even. Don't try to look for more; what you get on first hearing is exactly what there is; it's all there is, but it's right and it's enough; it's uplifting, bittersweet, on the verge of pathos sometimes, full of group choruses and easy acoustic guitar chords. You quickly find yourself making silly head movements, singing along a philosophy of life you don't abide by, almost convinced; then, you go buy more Cash albums. It works.

Don Omar Presents: Meet The Orphans- Don Omar (and numerous artists)

Old-school reggaeton with the strength of dancehall, and singers who can sing!

A beneficial collaboration which balances itself out between lighthearted tracks (“Sr. destino” or “Danza kuduro”), heavy reggaeton pieces (“Hasta abajo”, “Hooka”, …), proper musical work (“Orphanization”, “El duro”, “Huerfano de amor”, …), a song that should mark musical history (“Ella Ella”), and ends up with a beautifully-composed ensemble. At its worst, it’s old-school commercial music as it used to be made: catchy, annoyingly persistent, simple even. At its best, it’s the right sense of rhythm, sinuous beats, bewitching melodies, and actual emotions. For the more rock-oriented, if you love big drum effects or orchestra-esque Queen-ish envolées, this album will seduce you. If you don’t, the artists’ range of intonations and performances, the rap itself, should force their way into your head, anyway. It might be possible to dislike Meet The Orphans, to find it irritating, even, but once “Orphanization” starts its Harry-Potter notes, it’s already too late to escape it. Pearl

Midnight Boom- The Kills

Indie rock.

More evenly good than their previous work
with more distinct tracks than in Keep.
But less melody and perhaps too much originality
spread around and reworked to actually be original,
kind of in the spirit of the B-52's.

Millie Jackson- Millie Jackson

Some 70s' r'n'b but, really, pure soul.

An album dedicated to everyday experiences.
Full of small truths, small hopes, and small deceptions.
Some joy. And some pain. That's pure soul. 

Monkey Business- The Black Eyed Peas

Commercial hip hop with Americanised elements of dancehall music.

Lord have merc-yyyyyyyyy. Ok, this is a definite Black Eyed Peas wrap over a definitely more commercial package.
If you take it in the strict dance context, it's beautiful! If you want something closer to the artistic research of Elephunk, then forget it. There's their usual sound creativity but you can feel they're more enjoying their success and drawing on it than trying to take all of this further. And why shouldn't they?! As long as it fulfills its purpose... Hell, it got me dancing and singing gibberish all night long !      Pearl          P.S. Apart from "Disco club"; that is one real annoying song. Whatever happened there?!
Beware: some dirty lyrics!

MTV Unplugged- Maxwell

Modern, urban soul power.

Pearl