April 27, 2020

Ziggy Marley - Fly Rasta (2014)

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Fly Rasta is the fifth solo studio album by Jamaican reggae artist Ziggy Marley, released on April 15, 2014, on Ziggy's own label, Tuff Gong Worldwide. 
The album marked Ziggy's return after the Grammy-winning album Ziggy Marley in Concert. 

 Coming up on his third decade of making music, Bob Marley's eldest son Ziggy had already climbed the charts with a series of reggae-pop hits before doing some of that mid-career wandering that artists often do, going off on pleasing larks such as children's albums (2009's Family Time) or a return to rootsy reggae (2011's Wild & Free). 
All the while, he watched his younger brothers Damian and Stephen launch the 21st century electro-roots revolution, but rather than join their fray, his superior 2014 effort Fly Rasta finds him acting as the Marley kids' proud elder statesmen. 

 Here, he's able to bundle his past into an album that's a welcome combination of comfortable and vital, kicking off with the very jam band "I Don't Wanna Live on Mars," a playful number that punches and high-kicks before sliding into a funky groove that recalls Ziggy's old crew, the Melody Makers. 
Speaking of, the background vocals of Erica Newell plus Sharon and Cedella Marley mean this album features a Melody Makers reunion to warm the heart of longtime fans, while a guest shot from the legendary dancehall DJ U-Roy on "Fly Rasta" gives the album both a swinging highlight and an anchor dropped way into the deep end of reggae.

  "I Get Up" is a horn-driven blast of pop and positive that sounds like "Tomorrow People" with more wisdom in the words, and while "You're My Yoko" sits on the track list like something to talk about, it's really just frivolous fun, tossed off with lyrics like "You're my beauty queen/You're my fashion scene" as if bed peace and breaking up the Beatles never happened. 
Right-sized, organized in a sensible manner, and an alluring balance of cool and calm, Fly Rasta lives up to its title as it sits on Ziggy's top shelf. 

 Fly Rasta won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in February 2015.

Track listing

  1. "I Don't Wanna Live on Mars"
  2. "Fly Rasta" (featuring U-Roy)
  3. "Lighthouse"
  4. "Sunshine"
  5. "Moving Forward" (featuring Beezy Coleman)
  6. "You"
  7. "So Many Rising"
  8. "I Get Up" (featuring Cedella Marley)
  9. "You're My Yoko"
  10. "Give It Away"


All songs written by David Marley, 2013 Ishti Music (ASCAP) except "Give It Away" written by Jacob Luttrell, Geoffrey Early (APG/SESA/BMI) and David Marley (Ishti Music/ASCAP); and "Lighthouse" written by David Marley (Ishti Music/ASCAP) and Sam Martin (APG/ASCAP) 

Band Members

  • Ziggy Marley - Lead vocals and guitar
  • Cedella Marley, Sharon Marley, Rica Newell, Tracy Hazzard, Ian "Beezy" Coleman, Vincent Brantley, Sean Dancy, Tim Fowlles - Background vocals
  • Cedella Marley - Background vocal arrangements
  • Steve Ferrone, Brian Macleod, James Gadson, Rock Deadrick - Drums
  • Dave Wilder, Abraham Laboriel, Guy Erez, Paul Stennett - Bass
  • Zac Rae, Mike Hyde, George Hughes, Dave Palmer, Brian Lebarton - Keyboards
  • Lyle Workman, Takeshi Akimoto, Ian "Beezy" Coleman - Guitars
  • Rock Deadrick, Randy Gloss - Percussion
  • Taku Hirano - Taiko drums
  • Ronobir Lahiri - Sitar
  • Todd Simon, Geoff Gallegoi, Fabio Santana, Tracy Wannomae - Horns
  • Liam McCormick, Owen Sutter - String arrangements

Production

  • Produced by Ziggy Marley
  • Additional production and mastering by Dave Cooley
  • Mixed by Andrew Scheps
  • Engineered by Isha Erskine
  • Additional engineering by Jared Hirshland
  • Assistant engineer: Alex Williams
  • Executive producer: Orly Marley
  • Production manager: Matt Solodky
  • Production assistant: Michelle Rodriguez

Artwork 

  • Art direction and layout by Neville Garrick
  • Cover artwork and imagery by Souther Salazar
  • Layout by Rory Wilson


Notes  
Released: 15 April 2014
Recorded: September–November 2013 at Village Studios, Los Angeles
Genre: Reggae, rock, funk, soul, pop
Length: 35:50

Label - Tuff Gong Worldwide

April 26, 2020

Dr. John - Locked Down (2012)

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Locked Down is a 2012 album by New Orleans R&B artist Dr. John. It was well received by critics and features the Black Keys guitarist and singer Dan Auerbach as guitarist, background vocalist and producer, and Max Weissenfeldt of the Whitefield Brothers on drums.

Playing himself in Season One of Treme, Dr. John rehearsed a band for a post-Katrina benefit in New York, wondering if its deep New Orleans jams might create some “confusementalism amongst the Lincoln Center set.”
They probably did – but at 71, Dr. John has been balancing cultural ambassadorship with jive-talking nightclub hustle for decades. Born and raised in New Orleans’ Third Ward, he took his game wide, logging time in New York and Los Angeles before settling back home.
He shuffled styles like cards, as anyone familiar with the freaky R&B of 1968’s Gris- Gris or 1971’s The Sun, Moon & Herbs knows. Purism, after all, has little to do with Nawlins’ melting-pot soul.

It’s the voodoo-gumbo jazz funk of those early records that the former Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. revisits on Locked Down, a collaboration with the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, who produces and plays guitar.
Full of muscled, vintage R&B grooves, fevered soloing, psychedelic arrangements and oracular mumbo jumbo, it’s the wildest record Rebennack has made in many years. And it announces Auerbach’s arrival alongside Danger Mouse as an A-list retro-modern studio scientist.

Born of a jam session at last year’s Bonnaroo, a festival named after Dr. John’s 1974 LP Desitively Bonnaroo, Locked Down is a record made by pros steeped in vintage rock and R&B – not just Auerbach and his crew, but Rebennack himself, the son of a record-shop owner who began his career in the 1950s as a teenage sideman and arranger.
Rebennack played guitar until he got a finger blown off trying to protect a bandmate from a pistol-whipping at age 21; he then made the keyboard his primary instrument.
On Locked Down, he smears electric-piano tones all over; the Farfisa solo on “Revolution” is a squealing wonder, the looping riff on “Getaway” a ferocious groove engine.
Meanwhile, Auerbach shares guitar duties with kindred old-schooler and garage-rock vet Brian Olive; the pair supply spinal rhythm on the Stax/Volt-style single “Revolution,” counterpoint dazzle on “Big Shot” and solo fireworks (via Auerbach) on the pimp-rolling title track.

If the album’s components are retro, the pastiche has a 21st-century sensibility. Ghostly backing vocals waft through “Big Shot,” which sounds like a Tom Waits-meets-Gnarls Barkley jam.
The album is flush with dub-reggae effects and the grooves of Nigerian Afrobeat and Ethiopian funk, styles that have become memes for a new generation (see Tune-Yards, TV on the Radio, etc.).
Lyrically, the Doctor brings the confusementalism, diagnosing the present through the past in a more weathered version of his trademark nasal growl: Check “Ice Age,” the album’s stickiest jam, which juggles generations of slang, conjuring conspiracy theories and drug-culture shell games that have changed little over the years.
All told, Locked Down is that rare thing: a retro exercise that looks forward, by an old hustler and a young player who, in the process of making a great record, probably taught each other a thing or two.


Tracklist

1.  "Locked Down" - 4:59
2.  "Revolution" - 3:26
3.  "Big Shot" - 3:49
4.  "Ice Age" - 4:24
5.  "Getaway" - 4:35
6.  "Kingdom of Izzness" - 3:46
7.  "You Lie" - 4:45
8.  "Eleggua" - 2:51
9.  "My Children, My Angels" - 5:09
10.  "God's Sure Good" - 4:58

All tracks are written by Mac Rebennack, Dan Auerbach, Maximilian Weissenfeldt, Leon Michels, Nick Movshon, Richard Windmann and Brian Olive.

Musicians
  • Dr. John - Composer, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Vocals
  • Dan Auerbach - Composer, Guitar, Mixing, Percussion, Producer, Vocals (Background)
  • Max Weissenfeldt - Composer, Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
  • Leon Michels - Composer, Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals (Background), Woodwind
  • Nick Movshon - Bass (Electric), Bass (Upright), Composer, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
  • Richard Windmann - Bass (Electric), Composer
  • Brian Olive - Composer, Guitar, Percussion, Vocals (Background), Woodwind
  • The McCrary Sisters (Regina, Ann & Alfreda) - background vocals
Technical
  • Produced by Dan Auerbach
  • Recorded and Mixed at Easy Eye Sound, Nashville, TN
  • Engineered by Collin Dupuis
  • Mixed by Dan Auerbach and Collin Dupuis
  • Studio assistance by Danny Tomczak
  • Mastered by Brian Lucey at Magic Garden Mastering
  • Art Direction and Photo Coloring by Michael Carney
  • Dr. John photographs by Joshua Black Wilkins
  • Studio photographs by Alysse Gafkjen
  • Album Notes by Gabe Soria
Notes
Released: April 3, 2012 
Genre: Funk, psychedelic rock, gospel, blues, Afrobeat[1] 
Length: 42:27 

Label - Nonesuch Records

April 14, 2020

Rush - Clockwork Angels (2012)

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Clockwork Angels is the nineteenth and final studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released 12 June 2012 on Anthem Records.
During the band's year-and-a-half break following its Snakes & Arrows Tour, the group decided to write a new studio album. The album was recorded in April 2010 at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tennessee and from October to December 2011 at Revolution Recording in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Two songs that would eventually appear on the album, "Caravan" and "BU2B," were released to radio stations and made available as a digital download on 1 June 2010.
Following the release of the two songs, the band embarked on the Time Machine Tour, with "Caravan" and "BU2B" included in the set list. Clockwork Angels was completed following this tour.
The album's second single, "Headlong Flight," was released 19 April 2012. The album's third single, "The Wreckers," was released 25 July 2012. On 20 February 2013, "The Anarchist" was released as the fourth and final single.
A 10" picture disc version of the song "The Garden" was released as part of the 2013 Record Store Day Black Friday sale, limited to 3,000 copies.
The album debuted at No. 1 in Canada and at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album won the award for Rock Album of the Year at the 2013 Juno Awards.

Clockwork Angels has been a long time coming. Rush foreshadowed it in 2010 by releasing "BU2B," and "Caravan" to radio.
The next single, "Headlong Flight," didn't appear until 2012. Co-produced with Nick Raskulinecz (who also worked on 2007's Snakes & Arrows), Clockwork Angels is a return to the concept album by the band that perfected it on 2112 in 1976.
It centers on a loose narrative about a young man following his dreams. He struggles with inner and outer forces of order and chaos; he encounters an expansive world where colors, images, territories, and characters are embodied by pirates, strange carnivals, rabble-rousing anarchists, and lost cities. His enemy is the Watchmaker, a ruthless authoritarian presence who attempts to rule the universe and all aspects of everyday life with fascistic precision. Neil Peart's lyrics embrace notions of alchemy and steampunk sci-fi in his thematics.
(The album is due to be novelized by Peart and sci-fi author Kevin J. Anderson.) Musically, Rush step up the prog from Snakes & Arrows without losing the blistering riffs or hooks. Alex Lifeson's acoustic guitars have an established place here, but his electric axes roar over them throughout. Geddy Lee's bass is mixed further up-front than it has been in some time -- which makes his mind-blowing chops resound: there are amazing pizzicatos interspersed in driving hard rock fills and edgy, off-kilter funk riffs.
His voice is more nuanced and more emotionally expressive. Peart's drumming is the catalyst: his technical mastery makes his playing sound purely instinctive. CA is full of dynamic surprises, wild rhythmic variations, and expansive textures.
This set sprawls, embracing everything from metal and prog to electric jazz to flamenco touches -- and more. Varied musical shades jostle up against one another, keeping the listener not only engaged, but delightfully surprised. "BU2B" and "Caravan" are slightly different than their single incarnations -- more was added and for the better.
There are nods to the band's past in the blistering intro to "Seven Cities of Gold" and the snarling rampage in "The Anarchist."
Lifeson breathes fire on both. The title track is nearly a concept album by itself. It contains a grand Townshend-esque overture, punishing twists and turns, bluesy acoustic interludes, and a grand finish. "Halo Effect" is destined to be among the band's classic power ballads with a dramatic middle and end.
The album's seven-minute tour de force, "Headlong Flight," careens across musical genres with ceaseless intensity. "Wish Them Well" is an anthemic hard-edged pop song, while closer "The Garden" is an intricate seven-minute ballad with numerous odd angles and labyrinthine sonic corridors.
Ultimately, Clockwork Angels demonstrates why, after 36 years, Rush's fan base continues to grow. Its musical athleticism and calisthenic discipline are equaled only by its relentless creative drive and its will to express it in a distinct musical language.


Tracklist

1.  "Caravan" - 5:39
2.  "BU2B" - 5:10
3.  "Clockwork Angels" - 7:31
4.  "The Anarchist" - 6:52
5.  "Carnies" - 4:53
6.  "Halo Effect" - 3:14
7.  "Seven Cities of Gold" - 6:32
8.  "The Wreckers" - 5:01
9.  "Headlong Flight" - 7:19
10.  "BU2B2" - 1:28
11.  "Wish Them Well" - 5:25
12.  "The Garden" - 6:59

All lyrics are written by Neil Peart; all music is composed by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson.


 Rush
Additional musicians
Production
Notes
Released: 12 June 2012 (North America)
Recorded: April 2010, October–December 2011 Studio Blackbird Studios (Nashville, Tennessee) / Revolution Recording (Toronto, Ontario)
Genre: Progressive metal
Length: 66:04

Label - Anthem / Roadrunner (outside Canada) 

April 09, 2020

Keith Caputo - A Fondness For Hometown Scars (2008)

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“A Fondness For Hometown Scars” is the title of solo album number three for the little Life Of Agony frontman with the big voice.

Keith Caputo has been making music forever and this is his greatest project yet. Though Died Laughing, and Hearts blood on your Dawn are very good Hometown Scars is a cut above anything else.
This album has it all. When you hear the song Crawl (its the first song) you will be sucked into the Cd.
And it stays great throughout the whole thing other then a waste of time instrumental at the end.
He has 2 heavier songs on here which is a great throwback to his Life of Agony Roots and the rest is just beautiful music to put it plain and simple.

The album opens with “Crawling” and that’s exactly what this album does, except not really so on that first track which takes a little too long before it gets underway.
During its finest moments however, it crawls under your skin with haunting melodies and Keith’s soft voice. Tracks like “In December” or “Got Monsters” are easily some of his best work yet.

But Caputo can’t leave the rocking completely behind him and so he bursts out in some good old-fashioned rock n roll with “Troubles Down” and “Devils Pride” proving that he would make an excellent replacement for Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver.
While the track listing may feel a little awkward at times with those two barnburners thrown in there and while not every song is worth remembering, this is still a damn good album from a guy that is not only blessed with a beautiful voice but also with some solid songwriting skills.


Tracklist

1.  Crawling (A Fondness For Hometown Scars) - 4:10
2.  In December (Beyond Our Grasp) - 4:46
3.  Troubles Down (Attic Crawlspace) - 3:32
4.  In This Life (Wake Up And Smell The Bodies) - 4:11
5.  Nothing To Lose (X-Ray Illusion) - 4:16
6.  Sad Eyed Lady (The Pressure And Need For Release) - 6:26
7.  Silver Candy (Shivering Leafless & Hollowed-Out) - 4:29
8.  Got Monsters (I No Longer Exist) - 5:26
9.  Son Of A Gun (Jail Face) - 4:32
10. Devils Pride (Forever In Transition) - 3:31
11.  Bleed For Something Beautiful (Turquoise Bloodline) - 2:41
12.  Society's Deep Sleep (Meat Stink) - 1:51


Companies, etc.
Credits

Notes
Release Date: April 14, 2008
Recording Location: Full Kilt Studio, Los Angeles, CA / Satellite Park Studio, Malibu, CA
Duration: 49:45
Genre: Alternative Rock

Label - Suburban Records

April 08, 2020

After Forever - After Forever (2007)

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After Forever is the eponymous fifth and final studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever.

Like most eponymous albums arriving late in a band's career, After Forever's fifth long-player was named thus because it was intended to function as some kind of statement; a virtual catalog of the Dutch band's multiple personality disorder as it was made musical, prog-symphonic-goth-metal flesh.
Too bad it also proved to be the group's swan song.
But before getting into all that, let us expand on the fact that almost all of the album's tracks were focused on achieving the most seamless combination possible between those disparate sound influences that had been tugging at the band's songwriting over the years; simultaneously ignoring the excessively cerebral concepts perpetrated by 2004's Invisible Circles, and the part-commercial, part-experimental endeavors captured on 2005's Remagine.
This philosophy hardly resulted in any sort of bland middle ground, however, but rather elevated stand-out cuts like opener "Dischord," the anthemic "Energize Me," and the sweeping power ballad "Cry with a Smile" up among the best songs of the band's career, period.
That being said, After Forever couldn't resist pushing the progressive envelope during a minority set of more elaborate offerings, including the suitably dramatic, orchestra-heavy "De-Energized" (featuring Floor Jansen doing her best Kate Bush imitation), and the simply colossal, 11-minute "Dreamflight," which melded the usual metallic qualities with bristling synthesizer runs and multiple symphonic passages that would probably pass muster at the old classical music conservatory.
The latter also made one realize however, that, except for a few appearances on the likes of "Evoke" and "Withering Time," singer Floor Jansen's operatic vocal style was conspicuous by its near absence here, often accompanied by Sander Gommans' bowel-loosening death growls, for contrast.
Instead, it was Jansen's tougher, leaner, and certainly more exhilarating rock voice that dominated, suggesting After Forever's willful rejection of the Nightwish comparisons that plagued them from day one.
Yet, in the end, perhaps it was the realization that their heavier tendencies and overly ambitious compositional templates would forever stop them short of attaining the commercial success enjoyed by the self-same Nightwish, that ultimately convinced After Forever to throw in the towel after this release.
Should they stick with this decision, they can at least move ahead into their individual endeavors with the knowledge that their efforts were not in vain, but rather represented some of the most accomplished female-fronted heavy metal created over the course of the 2000s.


Tracklist
  1. "Discord" – 4:36
  2. "Evoke" – 4:23
  3. "Transitory" – 3:28
  4. "Energize Me" – 3:09
  5. "Equally Destructive" – 3:31
  6. "Withering Time" – 4:31
  7. "De-Energized" – 5:09
  8. "Cry with a Smile" – 4:25
  9. "Envision" – 3:56
  10. "Who I Am" – 4:35
  11. "Dreamflight" – 11:08
  12. "Empty Memories" – 4:55
           Bonus tracks
  1. "Lonely" – 3:24
  2. "Sweet Enclosure" – 5:03
All music by Sander Gommans, Joost van den Broek and After Forever, except "Energize Me" and "Envision" by Gommans, van den Broek, Gordon Groothedde and After Forever. All lyrics by Floor Jansen.

Band members
  • Floor Jansen – vocals, soprano in the choir
  • Sander Gommans – guitars, grunts
  • Bas Maas – guitars
  • Luuk van Gerven – bass guitar
  • Joost van den Broek – keyboards, orchestral and choral arrangements, engineer
  • André Borgman – drums
Additional musicians
Production
  • Gordon Groothedde – producer, engineer, mixing

Notes
Released: 2007
Recorded: September–November 2006 Studio:
Rooftop Studios, Holten and Studio Eternia, Reuver, Netherlands
Barrandov Studio and Smecky Recording, Prague, Czech Republic
Genre: Symphonic metal, progressive metal
Length: 66:25

Label - Nuclear Blast 

Ne-Yo - In My Own Words (2006)

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In My Own Words is the debut album of American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo.
It was released by Def Jam Recordings on February 28, 2006.
Conceived following his songwriting breakthrough with "Let Me Love You" for fellow R&B singer Mario in 2004, Ne-Yo worked with musicians Ron "Neff-U" Feemster, Brandon Howard, Shea Taylor, and Curtis "Sauce" Wilson, as well as Norwegian production duo Stargate on most of the album, some of which would become regular contributors on subsequent projects.
The singer co-wrote the lyrics for each song on In My Own Words which features guest appearances by rappers Peedi Peedi and Ghostface Killah.

Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics and earned a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Contemporary R&B Album category.
It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with 301,000 copies sold, and reached the top ten of the Canadian Albums Chart. It was subsequently certified platinum by Recording Industry.
Four singles were released from the album, including "Stay", "When You're Mad", "Sexy Love", and the number-one hit "So Sick". In further support, Ne-Yo went on tour in August 2006 with singer Chris Brown and Dem Franchize Boyz.

Shaffer Smith has been writing material for mainstream acts since the tail end of the '90s, when he was barely old enough to drive. In 2004, after he adopted the name Ne-Yo -- a sensible move since his birth name is more like that of a sitcom actor or anchorman than an R&B loverman -- his industry stock shot way up for co-writing Mario's "Let Me Love You," an inescapable number one hit.
The pointedly titled In My Own Words is the second album he has made as a solo artist, but it's the first to be released, and its presentation clearly intends to get the point across that he's a writer, with images of lyric sheets strewn across the accompanying booklet, and the photo props of choice are pencils and pads, not practically naked models and probably rented sports cars.

In My Own Words is a concise album with only one guest verse (from Peedi Peedi), unless you count the unlisted bonus remix (featuring Ghostface).
It's very focused and surprisingly taut, especially for a debut that involves several producers. "So Sick," a hit single released in advance of the album, carries a vulnerability not unlike "Let Me Love You" -- it's certainly additional proof that Ne-Yo does heartache best of all -- but it's even more successful at staying on the right side of the line that separates heartfelt anguish from insufferable whining.
Its modern approach, interlocked with touches of '70s and '80s R&B sensibilities, is also in effect for the entirety of the album.
Beyond a couple lightweight tracks, the album only falters when scenarios from different relationships clash: in "Get Down Like That," Ne-Yo is a righteous boyfriend who turns down the advances of a tempting ex, while in "That Just Ain't Right," he confesses to an ex (who has been an ex for three years) that he calls out her name while in bed with his current lover.
The problems, however, really aren't all that detrimental. Ne-Yo is a real talent as a songwriter, and as a vocalist he is unmistakably more concerned with serving the song than his ego.
He's not the flashiest vocalist, but he's able to put across contrasting emotions with slight adjustments, and he balances toughness with tenderness exceptionally well -- all of which are uncommon traits in the early 2000s.
This album could turn out to be the most impressive R&B debut of 2006, as well as one of several milestones in a lengthy career.


Tracklist

1.  Stay (Featuring – Peedi Peedi) - 3:52
2.  Let Me Get This Right - 3:47
3.  So Sick - 3:28
4.  When You're Mad - 3:42
5.  It Just Ain't Right - 3:47
6.  Mirror - 3:48
7.  Sign Me Up - 3:27
8.  I Ain't Gotta Tell You - 3:17
9.  Get Down Like That - 4:05
10.  Sexy Love - 3:40
11.  Let Go - 3:48
12.  Time - 3:49
13. Get Down Like That (Remix) - 4:57

      Japan bonus tracks
14.  Girlfriend - 4:00
15.  Lonely - 4:41


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes 
Released: February 28, 2006
Recorded: 2005 Studio:
                 Westlake Studios (Los Angeles)
                 Sony Music Studios (New York City)
                Compound Studios (Los Angeles)
                Manhattan Beach Recording Studios (New York City)
Genre:  R&B
Length:  58:16

Label - Def Jam / Compound

April 01, 2020

New Order - Waiting For The Siren's Call (2005)

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Waiting for the Sirens' Call is the eighth studio album by English rock band New Order.
The album was released on 28 March 2005 in the United Kingdom and 25 April 2005 in the United States, and was preceded by the single "Krafty" in February.

Two additional singles from the album were released: "Jetstream", which features vocals by Ana Matronic from Scissor Sisters, and the title track of the album.
The album was released at a time when the band were experiencing unprecedented recognition in the media.

When New Order returned in 2001 with their first new record in eight years, the album they created (Get Ready) was given a great deal of leeway by fans (if not critics). Was it original? Not very.
Although the band never recycled a riff, many of the songs recalled not just the band's salad days, but often specific performances from '80s touchstones Brotherhood or Low-life. What saved Get Ready from irrelevance was a brace of great songs, a new look at the band as capable rockers, and what's more, that uncanny ability to produce timeless, ever-fresh recordings.
Almost as surprising as that comeback record was its follow-up, Waiting for the Sirens' Call, which arrived in 2005.

If New Order's ambition was only to reinforce themselves in their fans' imaginations as members of a working band (à la their contemporaries Echo & the Bunnymen or even Duran Duran, for that matter), then the album is a success.
Unfortunately, however, the adjectives that need to be attached to this record -- workmanlike, customary, unembarrassing -- aren't going to make music fans flood the record stores seeking copies. Bernard Sumner showed the effects of a writing drought, returning to old musical themes he'd visited (and revisited) before, and writing lyrics that make their 1993 single "Regret" a career classic in comparison.

Titling a dramatic rocker "Dracula's Castle" may be perfectly acceptable, but then making explicit mention of that metaphor within a set of clumsy lyrics ("You came in the night and took my heart/To Dracula's castle, in the dark") is taking the easy way out, to say the least.
The first single, "Krafty," makes the band's ties to Kraftwerk obvious, but while the German motorische experts manufactured cleverly simplistic productions, they never reached the rudimentary levels of this single. (And they surely knew better than making it sound like they meant it, as Sumner does, with the awful rhyme "But the world is a wonderful place/With mountains, lakes, and the human race.")

Even the mainstream dance tracks, "Jetstream" and "Guilt Is a Useless Emotion," evince a cold heartlessness that the band never strayed into during the '80s.
If New Order continue making albums every several years instead of every decade, critics will quickly begin to strain for new ways to describe Peter Hook's plangent bass work or Sumner's half-bemused, half-baffled songwriting and vocal delivery. Still, that's nothing compared to what New Order might be reduced to recycling.


Tracklist

1. "Who's Joe?" - 5:41
2. "Hey Now What You Doing" - 5:16
3. "Waiting for the Sirens' Call" - 5:42
4. "Krafty" - 4:33
5. "I Told You So" - 6:00
6. "Morning Night and Day" - 5:12
7. "Dracula's Castle" - 5:40
8. "Jetstream" - 5:23
9. "Guilt Is a Useless Emotion" - 5:39
10. "Turn" - 4:35
11. "Working Overtime" - 3:26

       US edition bonus track
12. "Guilt Is a Useless Emotion" (Mac Quayle Vocal Mix) - 6:29

All tracks are written by New Order, except "Jetstream" written by New Order, S. Price and A. Lynch


 Personnel

Musician credits for New Order are not listed in the liner notes of the album's personnel. Below are the instruments that the group typically plays.

Production

The original liner notes list the album's personnel as follows: