Albums recommandés

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.

Albums recommandés

Elephunk- The Black Eyed Peas

A hip-hoppish r'n'b.

Catchy rhythms and creativity meet perfectly, here. From "Hands up" to "Third eye" flows a series of original and varied styles that keep on surprising you without ever falling into an over-experimentation whose only point would be to difference itself from the rest, nor the other commercial extreme of only trying what is sure to work.
Pearl

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!

Proto-punk

Albums recommandés

The Velvet Underground & Nico- The Velvet Underground (feat. Nico)

Art & experimental rock, proto-punk.

Reed's sweet vocals murmur texts that meant to experiment with music the way The Velvet meant to experiment with life. Add to that Nico's rough singing capacities and Warhol's claws, the end result is often disturbing and meant to be so. The album is a pearl that would have shone brighter had its originality sounded a little more natural. "Sunday morning," "Venus in furs," "Run run run," are fine pieces but it's "I'm waiting for the man," "Femme fatale," "Heroin," "There she goes again" and "I'll be your mirror" that make the album a Pearl

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 !  

Albums recommandés

Exodus (the definitive remasters edition)- Bob Marley & The Wailers

Reggae.

Some of their best are on this: "Jamming," "Exodus," "Three little birds," "One love," "So much things to say" and "Punky reggae party."
"Turn your lights down low," "Natural mystic," "Waiting in vain" and the "Heathen" vary between good enough and almost great with "Guiltiness" being the only weak link in the chain.   Pearl

Rap

Cdthèque recommandée

Watch The Throne (deluxe edition)- Jay-Z & Kanye West

Rap.

But a Wonderful, Dramatic, Extreme, Over-produced, Symphonic, Orchestral, Opera-esque, Surprising, Baroque, Unusual, Magnificent, Superb, Genius, kind of rap.
Really worth getting the deluxe edition with H.A.M. and "Illest motherfucker alive."
Pearl of pearls, one of my favourite songs ever: "Why I love you."

Pearl

Albums recommandés

Watch The Throne (deluxe edition)- Jay-Z & Kanye West

Rap.

But a Wonderful, Dramatic, Extreme, Over-produced, Symphonic, Orchestral, Opera-esque, Surprising, Baroque, Unusual, Magnificent, Superb, Genius, kind of rap.
Really worth getting the deluxe edition with H.A.M. and "Illest motherfucker alive."
Pearl of pearls, one of my favourite songs ever: "Why I love you."

Pearl

Hip hop

 

Albums recommandés

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below- OutKast

Hip hop.

This review is for Speakerboxxx only. To me, that's the best of the two albums. While truly original in its associations of vocals and beats, its originality never becomes its weakness.
Big Boi clearly knew where to use generous contributions to heighten good old hip hop and where to curb that originality to let the ear actually appreciate the music.
Musically, the result is an interesting work. As a whole it works because Big Boi is there to ensure an often researched lyrical work and stylish vocal interventions that recall the hollers of funk and the melodious togetherness of old r'n'b. At the very least, it'll get you to shake your head in rhythm.
"The rooster," "Unhappy," "The way you move"  and "Last call" are the most noticeable tracks, with "The rooster" standing out as a pure lyrical effort. As for "Bowtie", it's got to be one of the best hip-hop songs ever! Only weakness: the interludes, typical annoyances of hip-hop and rap albums.

Albums recommandés

Rise- Gabrielle

Neo soul.

Pearl

Cdthèque recommandée

 The Id- Macy Gray

Slightly crazy, lyrical neo soul. Hence the title.

As an album, I personally prefer this one to her
first work; there's more originality to it and it would
have been a pearl had it been shorter of 2 or 3 tracks
which add nothing to it.

Intoxication-Shaggy

Dancehall, reggae, strong African beats influence.

Ah...réminiscence des fêtes africaines!

To a great extent a rich collaborative effort, Intoxication won’t leave you wanting! The whole album works within one genre; it’s almost impossible to describe the songs separately, they flow together like a proper thorough piece of music. Yet, each tune retains its autonomy, its place in the album. Every single song is a kind of stimulation. It’s mood-uplifting. It’s energizing. It’s driving you forward. As if the dance beats had a direct effect on your physiology... "Church heathen", "Body a shake" & "Holla at you" are true musical masterpieces that got me regretting I didn’t take an interest in anything dancehall earlier! I would have spent many a more interesting night-out.
There’s a kind of easygoing, cheerful, enthusiastic atmosphere to this album, as if it was only another weekly reunion of old friends, but you can feel that a lot of dedication went into it. Combine all of this with a self-indulgent humour and you get one word: maturity. Pearl

Albums recommandés

Elements Of Love: Ballads- Earth, Wind & Fire

70s-80s r'n'b soul.

Who says Earth, Wind & Fire says a musical experiment of 30 instruments delivering a perfectly synchronised melody! But in this compilation, most ballads contain enough soulful inspiration to balance that extreme professionalism.
While every song is musically perfect, a few of them are not imaginative enough to stand among the best. Thank God, the other tracks are enough to make this album a true jewel: "Open our eyes," "Keep your head," "Love's holiday" and "After the love" are mwouah! but "Can't hide love," "I'll write a song," "Side by side" and obviously, the superbly wonderful "Reason" in a live version to die for, are unmissable classics.   Pearl

Top Aerosmith

·         Dream on

·         Love in An Elevator

·         Falling in Love

·         I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing

·         Walk This Way

·         All Your Love

·         Riff and Roll

·         F.I.N.E.

·         Beyond Beautiful (Live)

·         One Way Street

·         Mama Kin

·         Write Me

·         Movin’ out (and its alternate version)

·         Last Child

·         Rag Doll

·         Dude (Looks Like A Lady)

·         Janie’s Got A Gun

·         What It Takes

·         The Other Side

·         Pink (The South Beach Mix)

·         Just Push Play (Radio Remix)

·         Come Together (cover of The Beatles)

·         Don’t Get Mad, Get Even

·         Round and Round

·         I Live in Connecticut (Rehearsal)

·         Three Mile Smile

·         Let It Slide

·         Rattlesnake Shake (Live)

·         Train Kept A Rollin’ (Live)