June 30, 2020

Cashmere - Cashmere (1980)

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Cashmere was een studiogroep met Peter Hollestelle en Jody Pijper.
Eind jaren zeventig ontmoetten Jody Pijper en Peter Hollestelle (broer van Conny Vandenbos) elkaar tijdens sessies in café Barbaars in Voorburg.
Nadat Pijper op de elpee van Hollestelle de achtergrondzang verzorgd had, ontstond een band van allerlei studiomuzikanten, genaamd The Hacheeband.
Daaruit ontstond weer een andere band: Cashmere. De groep scoorde één hit, "Love's what I want" (1979) en maakte nog wat minder succesvolle singles. De drummer van de band, Shell Schellekens (tevens producer van Golden Earring), produceerde een elpee (1980).
In 1979 hadden ze succes met een cover van het door Albert Hammond en Leo Sayer geschreven liedje "Love's what I want".
Op de B-kant hiervan stond het door Pim Roos geschreven "I need love". Hun debuutalbum (Cashmere) werd door Schel Schellekens geproduceerd en in 1980 uitgebracht.

De band viel in 1979 al uit elkaar. Cashmere werd later nog het duo "Peter and Jody".
In 1982 kwam het definitieve einde.


Tracklist

A1.  Love's What I Want - 6:45
A2.  Stop - 4:40
A3.  I Want You - 4:15
A4.  Too Far Gone - 3:30
A5.  Hey Baby - 3:40

B1.  Dance, Dance, Dance - 3:40
B2.  Hey You - 4:00
B3.  Years Go By - 3:00
B4.  Mojo Hannah - 3:35
B5.  I Wanna Touch You - 3:50
B6.  Love Potion № 9 - 3:10

"Love's what I want" is a cover version of Boule Noire's "Aimer d'amour". 


Credits
Notes
Produced by Shell Schellekens, except B5.
All mixed by Shell Schellekens.
Released: 1980  
Genre:  Disco, Pop
Length: 44:05

Label - Fleet Records

Van Halen - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)

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For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1991 on Warner Bros. Records.
It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and maintained the position for three weeks.
The album marked the reconciliation of the band with producer Ted Templeman, who they had not worked with since 1984, when David Lee Roth was still lead singer.

The album's title came from lead singer Sammy Hagar, who wanted to push the issue of censorship with naming Van Halen's album with a vulgarity, stating, "That's when censorship was a big issue. I wanted to name the album just Fuck." Hagar eventually backed away from the outright vulgarity after he was told by his friend, former world lightweight boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, that the word "fuck" was an acronym for the phrase "for unlawful carnal knowledge" (though this is a false etymology).

The smirking title indicates the true nature of For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, Van Halen's third album with Sammy Hagar. Backing away from the diversity of OU812, the band turns in some of the most basic, straightforward rock & roll of its career.
At times, F.U.C.K. recalls the sleek hard rock of Hagar's early-'80s albums, and it's undeniable that his limited vocal power had a great deal to do with the obvious nature of most of this music.
While the band is still tight and professional -- and Eddie Van Halen's guitar work remains impressive -- the songwriting is, by and large, undistinguished, with the anthemic "Right Now" standing out as the most memorable song of the batch, mainly because of its incessant chorus.


Track listing

1. "Poundcake" - 5:21
2. "Judgement Day" - 4:38
3. "Spanked" - 4:53
4. "Runaround" - 4:20
5. "Pleasure Dome" - 6:58
6. "In 'n' Out" - 6:04
7. "Man on a Mission" - 5:03
8. "The Dream Is Over" - 3:59
9. "Right Now" - 5:21
10. "316" - 1:29
11. "Top of the World" - 3:54

All tracks are written by Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar and Alex Van Halen.


Van Halen
Additional musicians
Production

Notes
Released: June 18, 1991
Recorded: March 1990 – April 1991 Studio 5150 Studios, Studio City, CA
Genre: Hard rock
Length: 52:00

Label: Warner Bros. Records

The Chimes - The Chimes (1990)

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The Chimes were a British dance music trio, which consisted of Pauline Henry (born in Jamaica) with Mike Peden and James Locke from Edinburgh, Scotland.
They are best known for their hits "Heaven" and a remake of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", which became a UK Top 10 hit.

Bono from U2 commented that the Chimes' cover of their hit "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was the "only cover version he had heard that he enjoyed and did the original justice", adding "at last someone's come along to sing it properly".

The Chimes' sole album is proof that commercial dance-pop can have artistic viability as well as chart potential.
A mixture of hip influences (Soul II Soul's Jazzie B and Nellee Hooper produced two tracks, including the meaty acid house single "1-2-3") and the polish of soul and pop veterans (Pete Wingfield plays piano on most of the album, and other guests range from the Hooters' Eric Bazilian to '70s studio pro Ralph Schuckett), The Chimes is a completely solid and credible album with thankfully little of the overdone slickness or shrieking of pseudo-soul pretenders.
(In fact, it's possible that the low-key dignity of this album is why it wasn't a bigger chart hit, though it received rave reviews both in the U.S. and the trio's native Great Britain.)
Pauline Henry's expressive but controlled voice is powerful without resorting to the tiresome trills and oversinging of so many of her R&B contemporaries, and multi-instrumentalist producers James Locke and Michael Peden combine pop, dance, and soul influences into a seamless, sleekly danceable blend.
The album's biggest hit, a gospel-tinged remake of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," finds new levels of power in that overplayed song, and its inclusion makes perfect thematic and musical sense instead of being the desperate plea for chart attention it might have been in less capable hands.


Track listing
  1. "Love So Tender" - 2:58
  2. "Heaven" - 3:49
  3. "True Love" - 3:53
  4. "1-2-3" - 3:23
  5. "Underestimate" - 4:08
  6. "Love Comes to Mind" - 4:52
  7. "Don't Make Me Wait" - 4:01
  8. "Stronger Together" - 3:51
  9. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - 5:27
  10. "Stay" - 4:41
  11. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (Street Mix) - 6:18
  12. "Heaven" (Physical Mix) - 8:26
  • Tracks 11 and 12 are included on the CD version only

Personnel

Companies, etc.
Credits
Notes
Released: 1990
Genre: Smooth Soul
Length: 74:48

Label - CBS Records

June 27, 2020

Roger Waters - Radio K.A.O.S. (1987)

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Radio K.A.O.S. is the second solo studio album by English rock musician and former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters.
Released on 15 June 1987 in the United Kingdom and June 16 in the United States, it was Waters' first solo album after his formal split from Pink Floyd in 1985.
Like his previous and future studio albums and many works of his during his time with Pink Floyd, the album is a concept album based on a number of key topical subjects of the late 1980s, including monetarism and its effect on citizens, popular culture of the time, and the events and consequences of the Cold War.
It also makes criticisms of Margaret Thatcher's government, much like Pink Floyd's The Final Cut, another album conceived by Waters.
The album follows Billy, a mentally and physically disabled man from Wales, forced to live with his uncle David in Los Angeles after his brother Benny was sent to prison after an act intended to support striking coal miners results in the death of a taxi driver, following his dismissal from his mining job due to "market forces."
The album explores Billy's mind and view on the world through an on-air conversation between him and Jim, a disc jockey at a local fictitious radio station named Radio KAOS.

Roger Waters' second solo album is yet another conceptual narrative, one that tells the tale of a wheelchair-bound boy who tries to halt the threat of nuclear war through his use of the HAM radio. The story line isn't held together as tightly as his first album, and the whole fable seems a little too far fetched, even when taken lightly.
Unlike The Pros and Cons album, the music here overrides the narrative, but not by much, highlighted by the upbeat pop single "Radio Waves." The last tune, entitled "The Tide Is Turning," is the only other focal point of the album, an honest-sounding ballad that relinquishes a glimmer of hope in an otherwise unpromising world.
Waters' anti-war theme is stretched full across the album, but the music itself struggles to capture any attention, bogged down by half-whispers and flat-lined melodies that are only slightly resuscitated from time to time with some trumpet and saxophone.
The novelty of Los Angeles disc jockey Jim Ladd wears off quickly, as he was obviously used to add some lightheartedness to the album's pessimistic undertones. Waters' use of imagery and thematic depth are absent from Radio K.A.O.S., leaving his superficial spiel with barely any sustenance, which in turn hinders the moral of the album so that it fails to reach its fruition.
While both The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking and Amused to Death convey his talented use of concept, imagination, and lyrical mastery, this album seems to be nothing more than a fictional tale with a blatantly apparent message.

The album was recorded at Waters' own personal studio in London called The Billiard Room and mixed at Odyssey Studios in London.
Recording was done with the aid of Roger Waters' Bleeding Heart Band.


Track listing

1. "Radio Waves" - 4:58
2. "Who Needs Information" - 5:55
3. "Me or Him" - 5:23
4. "The Powers That Be" - 4:36
5. "Sunset Strip" - 4:45
6. "Home" - 6:00
7. "Four Minutes" - 4:00
8. "The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)" - 5:43

All tracks are written by Roger Waters.

Personnel

Notes
Released: 15 June 1987
Recorded: October – December 1986 Studio Billiard Room (London)
Genre: Progressive rock
Length: 41:24

Label - EMI Columbia

June 26, 2020

Kajagoogoo - Islands (1984)

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Islands is the second album by the British pop band Kajagoogoo, released on 21 May 1984 on the EMI label.
This was the band's first album without lead vocalist Limahl, who had been fired by the band in mid-1983 and went on to pursue a solo career. Bass player Nick Beggs, already the group's main backing singer, took over lead vocal duties, and also wrote the lyrics.
The album was co-produced by the band themselves, now a four-piece group, along with Colin Thurston, who had also produced their debut, White Feathers.
It is the final album to-date to feature founding drummer Jez Strode. The album also marked the first time Nick Beggs used the Chapman Stick on a recording.

Limahl departed Kajagoogoo at the earliest opportunity, leaving the group to pursue the stardom that was destined to be his.
Of course, fate decided that Limahl would be banished to obscurity after recording the theme for The Never-Ending Story, but his former band joined the ranks of the forgotten much sooner.
Replacing Limahl with vocalist Nick Beggs, the group replicated the lightweight, danceable synth-pop of its debut on their second album, Islands, with one crucial difference -- this time, there are no hooks. And without hooks or Limahl's campy, fey star appeal, Kajagoogoo's music just disappears into thin air.

The album did not sell as well as its predecessor, peaking at no. 35 in the UK Albums Chart. The album's first single, "Big Apple", reached no. 8 in the UK, but subsequent singles were less successful with "The Lion's Mouth" peaking at no. 25, and "Turn Your Back on Me" reaching no. 47.

In the U.S., the band had renamed themselves as Kaja and Islands was released as a mini-LP titled Extra Play. It contained only seven tracks (five from the album and two bonus remixes), and peaked at no.185 on the Billboard 200.

All tracks music written by Steve Askew/Nick Beggs/Stuart Neale/Jez Strode, lyrics by Nick Beggs.


Islands

  1. "The Lion's Mouth" – 3:34
  2. "Big Apple" – 4:09
  3. "The Power to Forgive" – 4:44
  4. "Melting the Ice Away" – 5:15
  5. "Turn Your Back on Me" – 4:00
  6. "Islands" – 4:50
  7. "On a Plane" – 4:13
  8. "Part of Me Is You" – 3:55
  9. "The Loop (Instrumental)" – 4:38

CD Bonus Tracks (2004 Remastered Edition)

  1. "Turn Your Back On Me (Thompson & Barbiero US Mix)" – 3:56
  2. "The Pump Rooms Of Bath (Instrumental)" – 2:31
  3. "The Garden (Instrumental)" – 2:51
  4. "Monochromatic (Live)" - 4:10
  5. "Big Apple (Metro Mix)" – 6:05
  6. "The Lion's Mouth (The Beast Mix)" – 5:37
  7. "Turn Your Back on Me (Extended Dance Mix)" – 5:03

Extra Play (U.S. only release)

  1. "Turn Your Back on Me (Thompson and Barbiero U.S. Mix)" – 3:56
  2. "The Power to Forgive" – 4:46
  3. "Big Apple" – 4:02
  4. "Melting the Ice Away" – 5:18
  5. "The Lion's Mouth" – 3:30
  6. "Turn Your Back on Me (Flipped Disc Mix)" – 6:58
  7. "Big Apple (Metro Mix)" – 6:02

The U.S. album version (not Mini Album) of Extra Play was also released in the U.S. with 9 songs.
Tracklist:
A1 The Lion's Mouth 3:34 A2 Big Apple 4:10 A3 The Power To Forgive 4:46 A4 Melting The Ice Away 5:20 B1 Turn Your Back On Me (Edited By, Mixed By – Steve Thompson Remix, Engineer – Michael Barbiero) 3:58
B2 Islands 4:53 B3 On A Plane 4:14 B4 Part Of Me Is You 3:54 B5 The Loop 4:38

Band

Additional members

Engineers and recording studios

Staff

Notes
Released: 21 May 1984 
Genre: New wave, pop rock
Length: 39:36 (1984 release)
              69:55 (2004 CD-reissue)
              34:32 (Extra Play)

Label - EMI (United Kingdom) / EMI America Records (United States) 

June 22, 2020

Flotsam & Jetsam - No Place For Disgrace (1988)

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Flotsam and Jetsam is an American thrash metal band that was formed in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1981.
Before settling on its current name in 1984, the band had existed under three different names, Paradox, Dredlox and Dogz.
Their current lineup includes vocalist Eric "A.K" Knutson, guitarists Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley, bassist Michael Spencer, and drummer Ken Mary.
Flotsam and Jetsam went through several lineup changes over the years, leaving Knutson as the only constant member.
They are also notable for featuring bassist Jason Newsted, who left the band shortly after the release of their debut album to join Metallica as Cliff Burton's replacement.

No Place for Disgrace is the second album by American thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam, released in 1988.
This marked the band's first album release through a major label, Elektra Records, and was also their first album with the bass guitarist Troy Gregory, who had replaced Jason Newsted when the latter left the band in 1986 to join Metallica.
Despite not playing on the album, three songs on it were co-written by Newsted. No Place for Disgrace also received some notice for its cover of an Elton John song, "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", and upon its release charted on Billboard at 143.

Though they had recently lost lyricist and principal songwriter Jason Newsted to Metallica, Arizona thrashers Flotsam & Jetsam neatly avoided the sophomore slump with 1988's No Place for Disgrace. The album basically repeats the formula of their debut but benefits from a cleaner yet still-in-your face production job.
And while Newsted collects a few co-writing credits, guitarist Michael Gilbert takes over, guiding the band through the excellent title track, the morbid "Dreams of Death," and a chaotic version of Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting." "Escape from Within" is one of the album's two standouts, slowly building from its melodic intro into full-on thrashing intensity, gliding toward an apparent finale, then exploding again.
The second standout has to be the brutal "I Live You Die," which gallops along on its massive bassline, twin guitar harmonies, and abrupt start-stop dynamics.


Track listing
  1. "No Place for Disgrace" - 6:13 (Michael Gilbert, Jason Newsted, Kelly Smith, Eric AK Knutson, Ed Carlson)
  2. "Dreams of Death" - 5:39 (Gilbert, Smith, Knutson, Carlson, Michael Spencer)
  3. "N.E. Terror" - 5:57 (Gilbert, Newsted, Eric Braverman, Smith, Knutson, Carlson)
  4. "Escape from Within" - 6:47 (Gilbert, Braverman, Smith, Knutson, Carlson, Spencer)
  5. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" - 3:52  (Elton John, Bernie Taupin)
  6. "Hard on You" - 4:50  (Gilbert, Smith, Knutson, Carlson, Spencer)
  7. "I Live You Die" - 5:49  (Gilbert, Newsted, Smith, Knutson, Carlson)
  8. "Misguided Fortune" - 5:41  (Gilbert, Smith, Troy Gregory, Knutson, Carlson)
  9. "P.A.A.B." - 5:32   (Gilbert, Braverman, Smith, Knutson, Carlson)
  10. "The Jones" - 4:07  (Instrumental)  (Gilbert, Smith, Knutson, Carlson)

Credits

Notes  
Released:  May 20, 1988 
Recorded:  December 1987 - February 1988 
Genre:  Thrash metal, speed metal
Length:  54:29 

Label - Elektra Records 

June 21, 2020

Rush - Vapor Trails (2002)

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Vapor Trails is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush.
It was released on May 14, 2002, on Anthem Records, and was their first studio release since Test for Echo (1996), the longest gap between two Rush albums.
After the Test For Echo tour finished in July 1997, the group entered an extended hiatus following personal tragedies suffered by drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.
The band reunited in January 2001 to rehearse material for a new album, recording for which lasted until November.
For the first time since Caress of Steel (1975), the group did not incorporate a keyboard into their music.

Most longtime Rush fans realize that a new album from the Canadian trio in the early 21st century is quite an accomplishment.
After drummer Neil Peart's much-publicized tragic turn of events in his private life not long after Rush's 1996 release Test for Echo (the death of both his teenaged daughter and wife less than a year apart), the group's future was understandably cast into doubt. Slowly but surely, however, the band regained their footing and issued their 17th studio album in 2002, Vapor Trails.
You would think that a veteran band entering their fourth decade together would perhaps mellow out a bit, but this doesn't prove to be case, as evidenced by the leadoff track "One Little Victory," while the majority of the album follows the same direct and hard-hitting sound as their past couple of releases (fans of the group's more synth-based and sterile mid-'80s style will have to look elsewhere). Peart, who remains the group's main lyricist, opts to conquer such challenging subject matter as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on "Peaceable Kingdom," while bits of the lyric to "Ghost Rider" ("Pack up all those phantoms/Shoulder that invisible load") lead the listener to believe that perhaps the drummer is sharing his personal healing process with the fans.
Other standouts include the melodic "Sweet Miracle," the explosive "Out of the Cradle," the mid-paced title track, and "Earthshine," the latter of which showcases how fine Lee's voice has matured (especially when compared to his high-piercing shriek on Rush's early albums).
All in all, Vapor Trails does an amiable job of signaling the welcome return of Rush.


Track listing

1.  "One Little Victory" - 5:08
2.  "Ceiling Unlimited" - 5:28
3.  "Ghost Rider" - 5:41
4.  "Peaceable Kingdom" - 5:23
5.  "The Stars Look Down" - 4:28
6.  "How It Is" - 4:05
7.  "Vapor Trail" - 4:57
8 . "Secret Touch" - 6:34
9.  "Earthshine" - 5:38
10.  "Sweet Miracle" - 3:40
11.  "Nocturne" - 4:49
12.  "Freeze" (Part IV of "Fear") - 6:21
13.  "Out of the Cradle" - 5:03

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


Rush
Production
  • Rush – production, recording
  • Paul Northfield – production, recording
  • Chris Stringer – recording assistance
  • David Leonard – mixing
  • David Bottrill - mixing: 2013 version
  • Joel Kazmi – mixing assistance
  • Howie Weinberg – mastering
  • Roger Lian – additional mastering and sequencing
  • Andy VanDette - mastering: 2013 version
  • Lorne "Gump" Wheaton – equipment care
  • Hugh Syme – art direction, paintings, and portraits

Notes
Released: May 14, 2002
Recorded: January–November 2001 Studio Reaction Studios, Toronto
Genre: Hard rock
Length: 67:15

Notes
Released: May 14, 2002
Recorded: January–November 2001 Studio Reaction Studios, Toronto
Genre: Hard rock
Length: 67:15

Label - Anthem / Atlantic (outside Canada)

June 18, 2020

Journey - Revelation (2CD) (2008)

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Revelation is the thirteenth studio album by American rock band Journey, and their first with lead singer Arnel Pineda.
It features 11 new songs ("Faith in the Heartland" was previously recorded with Steve Augeri), 11 re-recorded greatest hits (all featuring Pineda) and a DVD (North American version only) featuring the current lineup's March 8, 2008 concert in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Three singles penned by Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain were released to radio: the distinctively Journey-sounding "Never Walk Away," "Where Did I Lose Your Love," and the power ballad "After All These Years."

If you haven’t been keeping track of this kind of stuff, let me begin by saying that the new Journey release “Revelation” finds the band stronger than ever with their new and fourth singer. Yes, I did say fourth, as Steve Perry left for good after the brief touring for “Trial By Fire” and was replaced by Steve Augeri. He would record two albums with the band before blowing out his voice and finding himself replaced by former Yngwie Malmsteen front man Jeff Scott Soto, who after the cited “musical differences” was replaced by newcomer Arnel Pineda. Are you still with me? Good, let’s continue along then. According to press, Arnel was found on YouTube.com singing Journey covers with his band and the voice he demonstrated having made the bands hierarchy decide that he was the perfect person for the role. The new album would be a colossal effort that was sure to impress even the most doubting of fans who wonder how the group can continue in good conscious without Perry or even Augeri. To those people I have to say when you get an earful of how Arnel sings you will be impressed enough to give the guy a chance. With “Revelation” the band has chosen to not only give you a full album of new music, but also an additional CD of re-recorded, or “re-visited” classic numbers as done by the bands roster of 2008 and a full length concert DVD that covers both worlds. Given the scope of the release I have broken it down into a few sections to make more sense of it.

CD1: “The New Album”:
I have read a lot of bulletin boards and sites that are all incensed about the band moving on without Steve Perry and to them I say “get over it” as the singer made his decision years ago and a band cannot be expected to sit waiting idly for any one member to decide what the fate of the whole band is to be. I admit that this sounds rather tough but it should be noted that I was a huge Perry fan. Moving on I had to admit that I found issue with the way Steve Augeri was dismissed and I never got to enjoy them with Soto which I would have liked the chance to do yet it was not time to review the past but instead see just how this new guy Arnel would work within the structure of one of the world’s greatest bands. To be brutally honest I can say to everyone who is wondering about it themselves that he is absolutely fantastic. His pitch, his range, and the overall inflections of his voice on the bands newest material make songs like “Never Walk Away” and “Faith In The Heartland” instantly affects you and become your newest favorites from the group. Musically this is a big sounding release and one that can be considered a true successor to the blockbuster “Frontiers” if one needed to draw a comparison. I had no problems with “Raised On Radio” but to some that was only a so-so album. Schon never ceases to amaze me with his abilities on the guitar and while I had at one time pined for Steve Smith on the drums I am sure glad that Deen Castronovo is on board because he not only rocks as a drummer but is a powerful vocalist in his own right. The album is strong in its song-writing all around and probably would have done well as a single disc release based on the aforementioned tracks and other winners like “Where Did I Lose Your Love” and “Wildest Dream”. There is am ample supply of quality rockers here as well as the touching ballad that the band perfected with their classics “Faithfully” and “Open Arms” so long ago. “After All These Years” is the track that continues the bands success in delivering such a moving number. As soon as the first CD completed, I ran it through once again and then loaded it onto my Zune Player so I could listen to it all the more while running errands or travelling to work. They could have ended it here but instead opted for the revisiting of their hits.

 CD2: “Classics Re-Recorded”:
 Only The Young, Don’t Stop Believin’, Wheel In The Sky, Faithfully, Any Way You Want It, Who’s Crying Now, Separate Ways (World’s Apart), Lights, Open Arms, Be Good To Yourself, Stone In Love.
*** Depending on your mindset or the overall level of curiosity about Arnel and how he sings might have you playing the second CD before the first to see. However, if you are one who truly started at the beginning you would have most likely listened to what I am calling “Chapter 1” of the new release first and while impressed with the music and vocals on it, probably found yourself saying “yeah this new guy is good but how will he handle the older classics that I love so much”. If this was your question then I can once again say that he would handle these numbers like the most seasoned professional and not only mesh perfectly with melodies you have known for ages, but also do the songs justice with numerous levels of true respect for their legendary status. The second CD is one that might be hard for the hesitant ones to take since the perception given by a band who re-records their songs is that they are moving on from what you know and loved but I think in this case they wanted to give you an idea of what to expect from them in concert. I liked how they chose to give you a full CD of this material as opposed to just a handful of tracks. Arnel clearly hits all the right notes as he delivers “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Separate Ways” with apparent ease and even goes way back into the bands catalog for “Lights’ and “Wheel In The Sky” (two personal favorites of my own). They would have really sold me faster had they included “Lovin, Touchin’, Squeezin’” or “Still They Ride” but in truth they couldn’t re-record every single number they had to please everyone. Despite that small reservation I was really, really impressed and will let you know that I was one of those fans who chose to play this CD first as opposed to their new songs. The re-do’s are not much different from the originals in the musical sense and all of them find Schon, Cain, Vallory and Castronovo playing at their best.


Disc 1
1. "Never Walk Away"  (Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Jeremey Hunsicker) - 4:19
2. "Like a Sunshower"  (Schon, Cain) - 4:29
3. "Change for the Better"  (Schon, Cain) - 5:52
4. "Wildest Dream"  (Schon,  Cain) - 5:02
5. "Faith in the Heartland" (original version from Generations, 2005)  (Schon, Cain, Steve Augeri) - 6:18
6. "After All These Years"  (Schon, Cain) - 4:10
7. "Where Did I Lose Your Love"  (Schon, Cain) - 5:02
8. "What I Needed"  (Schon, Cain, Arnel Pineda) - 5:28
9. "What It Takes to Win"  (Cain, Schon) - 5:23
10. "Turn Down the World Tonight"  (Cain, Schon) - 4:56
11. "The Journey (Revelation)" (Instrumental)  (Schon) - 5:25
12. "Let It Take You Back" (bonus track on the European and Mexican releases)  (Cain, Schon) - 4:59
13. "The Place in Your Heart" (bonus track on the Japanese release; original version from Generations, 2005)  (Schon, Cain) - 4:45

Disc 2 (Re-recordings featuring Arnel Pineda)
1. "Only the Young" (original version from Vision Quest soundtrack, 1985)  (Cain, Schon, Steve Perry) - 4:14
2. "Don't Stop Believin'" (original version from Escape, 1981)  (Cain, Schon, Perry) - 4:55
3. "Wheel in the Sky" (original version from Infinity, 1978)  (Schon, Diane Valory, Robert Fleischman) - 5:01
4. "Faithfully" (original version from Frontiers, 1983)  (Cain) - 4:47
5. "Any Way You Want It" (original version from Departure, 1980)  (Schon, Perry) - 3:25
6. "Who's Crying Now" (original version from Escape, 1981)  (Cain, Perry) - 5:16
7. "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (original version from Frontiers, 1983)  (Cain, Perry) - 5:27
8. "Lights" (original version from Infinity, 1978)  (Schon, Perry) - 3:16
9. "Open Arms" (original version from Escape, 1981)  (Cain, Perry) - 3:22
10. "Be Good to Yourself" (original version from Raised on Radio, 1986)  (Schon, Cain, Perry) - 4:29
11. "Stone in Love" (original version from Escape, 1981)  (Schon, Cain, Perry) - 4:27

Journey
Production
  • Kevin Shirley – producer, mixing
  • John Neff – engineer
  • Justin Pintar – mixing assistant
  • George Marino – mastering

 Notes   
Released:  June 3, 2008 
Recorded:  2008 Studio The Plant in Sausalito, California 
Genre:  Hard rock, arena rock 
Length:  (Disc 1): 66:08
              (Disc 2): 48:39 

Label - Nomota LLC (US) / Frontiers (Europe) / Universal (rest of Asia)

June 16, 2020

Sia - We Are Born (2010)

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Sia Kate Isobelle Furler (/ˈsiːə/ SEE-ə; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer, songwriter, voice actress and music video director.
She started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s in Adelaide. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she released her debut studio album titled OnlySee in Australia.
She moved to London, England, and provided vocals for the British duo Zero 7.
In 2000, Sia released her second studio album, Healing Is Difficult, and her third studio album, Colour the Small One, in 2004, but all of these struggled to connect with a mainstream audience.

We Are Born is the fifth studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Sia. It was released on 18 June 2010. The album is more upbeat than her previous work, which she partly attributes to her relationship with JD Samson as well as her childhood influences Cyndi Lauper and Madonna.
The album was produced by Greg Kurstin, and features The Strokes' guitarist Nick Valensi.

If Some People Have Real Problems, upon its 2008 release, felt like Sia's "pop move," its warmly personable brew of mellow coffee shop soul offering a more approachable contrast to the sober soundtrack-fodder chill-out with which she -- and in particular, her increasingly ubiquitous, jazzily innocuous voice -- had become near-synonymous, what can we make of We Are Born?
With this, her fourth proper album, recorded for yet another new label (pop/hip-hop titan Jive), the Australian singer has made a massive pop leap: a sunshiny, highly caffeinated set of frothy dance tracks and feel-good lite-funk.
And it's a great look. It's hard not to smile in agreement when she sings, in the tremendously hooky chorus to the irresistible, disco-fied first single (a revamped Lauren Flax collaboration): "You've changed... for the better!"
As Sia tells it, it's less that she's changed than that she's finally made the album she'd been itching to make for years, the catalysts including her increased distance from the evidently dictatorial market forces of downtempo and her recent romantic linkage with DJ JD Sampson (Le Tigre, MEN). Unexpected though the shift may seem, it still feels like an entirely comfortable one, a liberating opportunity to revel in the natural exuberance she's always held in check. It's a treat, then, but hardly a surprise, to hear how well Sia works her ever-expressive pipes in full-on club-diva mode, as on the aforementioned single and the equally delightful "The Fight."
She displays impressive vocal versatility throughout, cooing and crowing like vintage Gwen Stefani on the awesomely ska-punky "Bring Night"; drawing on her reserve stock of quavering Winehouse-isms for the blue-eyed R&B of "Be Good to Me"; getting throaty on the decidedly emo piano ballad "I'm in Here," which recalls any number of tortured '90s alt-rock songstresses (ditto her extravagant take on Madonna's "Oh Father.") Much as her vocal flexibility lets Sia navigate a considerable array of pop styles with nary a hitch, her solid songwriting chops find her fully satisfying the conventions of each form she tackles, albeit rarely transcending them.
Meanwhile Greg Kurstin, by now a past master of breezy, contemporary, grown-up girl pop production, supplies a likable balance of gloss and glitter, with plenty of fun, playful touches (toy pianos, synthesized orchestra bells, kids voices.)
While We Are Born occasionally lapses into the anodyne, overly tasteful pop-folk balladeering of Sia's past, overall it's a charmingly cheery, light-hearted romp looking nowhere but sweetly, sanguinely forward.


Tracklist

1. "The Fight" - 3:39
2. "Clap Your Hands" - 3:58
3. "Stop Trying" - 2:40
4. "You've Changed" - 3:11
5. "Be Good to Me" - 3:57
6. "Bring Night" - 2:57
7. "Hurting Me Now" - 3:26
8. "Never Gonna Leave Me" - 3:34
9. "Cloud" - 3:43
10. "I'm in Here" - 3:41
11. "The Co-Dependent" - 2:55
12. "Big Girl Little Girl" - 4:18
13. "Oh Father" - 4:29
14. "I'm in Here" (Piano/Vocal Version) - 3:47

Amazon MP3 bonus track
15. "Hold Me Down" - 4:22


 Personnel

June 14, 2020

Front 242 - 06.21.03.11 Up Evil (1993)

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The first of two releases for Front 242 in 1993, 06:21:03:11 Up Evil (aka F*ck Up Evil) found the foursome rebounding from the somewhat sterile Tyranny (For You) with a varied, vicious assault.
Incorporating guitar noise more readily than ever before, but most often chopped up and heavily treated for the band's own particular purposes, 06:21:03:11 Up Evil contains some of the band's most virulent, explosive songs.
All titles are one-word long, simple, and straightforward, with names like "Flag," "Mutilate," and "Crapage." There's almost a straight-up rock feel to a number of tracks as well, as the drumming on "Waste" and the quite anthemic "Melt" shows.
It's hardly Front 242's grunge move, though -- Jean-Luc de Meyer and the generally little-heard Richard 23 may have a more openly emotional rasp and rage in their voices, especially de Meyer, but the relentless beat of industrial/electronic body music lives on.
Leadoff single "Religion" continues the group's winning vein on that front, feedback roars and a huge beat setting an edgy pace before a body slam of a chorus kicks in, de Meyer raging over the top, "Let me burn you down!" The winning secret of the album is that a fair number of songs also demonstrate a careful subtlety, as with the sly mood-setting of "Skin," with its chopped-up electro/hip-hop beats providing the propulsion behind desperate whispers and ominous synth buzzes.
The immediately following "Motion" provides an even more upfront blend of styles, with a quiet start and gentle singing suddenly shifting into a pounding call-to-arms percussion attack, all while de Meyer chants, "progress, progress!" again and again.
Other successes in this vein include the strange prettiness of "Stratoscape," featuring a low, purring bassline and crisp beats offset against soft keyboard sparkles and chimes, and "Fuel," which includes minimal ambient buzz, more upfront dance/beat chaos, and varying combinations of the two.


Tracklist

1.  "Crapage" - 4:57
2. "Waste" - 4:12
3. "Skin" - 3:34
4. "Motion" - 3:50
5. "Religion" - 4:05
6. "Stratoscape" - 4:34
7.  "Hymn" - 3:26
8. "Fuel" - 4:46
9.  "Melt" - 3:30
10. "Flag" - 5:08
11.  "Mutilate" - 4:10
12. "(S)Crapage" - 6:11
13.  "Religion" (Pussy Whipped Mix) - 6:06

All tracks are written by Front 242.
 

Credits

 Production
  • Daniel Bressanutti – Producer
  • Patrick Codenys – Producer
  • Jean-Luc de Meyer – Vocals
  • Craig Leon – Director, Engineer
  • Rob Sutton – Engineer
  • J. G. Thirlwell – Producer, Remixing
  • Andy Wallace – Mixing
  • Cassell Webb – Director, Vocals (background), Engineer

 Companies, etc.

Notes 
Release Date: May 25, 1993
Genre: Electro-industrial
Duration: 58:29

Label - Red Rhino Europe / Epic 

June 13, 2020

Lindsey Buckingham & Christine McVie - Buckingham McVie (2017)

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Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie (also referred to as simply Buckingham McVie) is a studio album by Fleetwood Mac vocalists Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, released on June 9, 2017.
Four of the five "classic members" of Fleetwood Mac are featured on the album; vocalist Stevie Nicks is the sole member absent.

Christine McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac in 2013 after a 16-year absence. In the aftermath, the classic Rumours quintet -- McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood -- were readying the ground to record for the first time since 1987.
Nicks, however, despite public affirmations that she was on board, bailed to pursue her solo work, creating the kind of melodrama that has made Fleetwood Mac one of pop's most dysfunctional outfits. Buckingham and McVie had already written songs for the band project -- together and separately -- and decided to complete the record anyway with the rhythm section. Four-fifths of Fleetwood Mac albums have appeared before to very mixed results.
While this set falls prey to that a bit given Nicks' absence, the end result remains quite positive and, with more time, this version of the band could continue with great success.
The set commences with three absolute knockouts.
Buckingham's opener "Sleeping Around the Corner" first appeared as a bonus track on his Seeds We Sow, but this rework is better; it's steeped in the melodic signature he's so effectively employed with Fleetwood Mac as traces of early rock harmonies are wed to slightly wonky rhythm and keyboard charts, joined to a killer new bridge and refrain. It's followed by "Feel About You," one of the pair's three co-writes.
Framed by a marimba and John McVie's bassline, its Caribbean flavor is offset by a doo wop-esque lyric line behind Christine's breezy vocal -- that still offers more than a hint of ache in its grain. Buckingham's "In My World" combines Tusk's production flare with the breathy call-and-response vocal moans from Tango in the Night's "Big Love." The glorious sun-kissed pop of McVie's "Red Sun" is gorgeously crafted.
It contains a stacked vocal hook that makes us forget about Nicks altogether. Buckingham's "Love Is Here to Stay" sounds more like something off one of his solo albums, but it's a gorgeous song and the interplay of voices in the backdrop embraces the whole band.
The jointly composed "Too Far Gone" is a funky, love-it-or-hate-it track. Its big funky riff stands at odds with McVie's vocal. But more than this, it contains Buckingham's maddening trademark production excess that employs big tribal drum breakdowns that disrupt everything. Likewise, McVie's "Game of Pretend" is a syrupy and uncharacteristically clumsy ballad that drags on far longer than it should and feels like filler.
Her closer, "Carnival Begins," is far more successful. It's mercurial, dreamy, and actually recalls the Bob Welch-era Fleetwood Mac that delivered "Mystified." Buckingham's screaming guitar break at the end, however, reconciles it to the band's current sonic sphere. While Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie isn't perfect -- and it was smart not to bill this effort as a Fleetwood Mac record -- it's far better than expected, and indeed, they should have made it happen long ago. While you can never tell what might happen with this crew, one can only hope that this pair teams up again soon.


Tracklist

 1. "Sleeping Around the Corner" (lead vocals: Buckingham) - 3:48
2. "Feel About You" (lead vocals: McVie) - 3:28
3. "In My World" (lead vocals: Buckingham) - 4:25
4. "Red Sun" (lead vocals: McVie) - 3:15
5. "Love Is Here to Stay" (lead vocals: Buckingham) - 4:25
6. "Too Far Gone" (lead vocals: McVie) - 3:21
7. "Lay Down for Free" (lead vocals: Buckingham) - 3:56
8. "Game of Pretend" (lead vocals: McVie) McVie - 4:34
9. "On with the Show" (lead vocals: Buckingham) - 3:47
10. "Carnival Begin" (lead vocals: McVie) McVie - 4:40


Personnel
  • Lindsey Buckingham – guitars, keyboards, bass guitar, piano, percussion, drums, synthesizer strings, programming, vocals
  • Christine McVie – keyboards, organ, piano, Fender Rhodes, vocals
Additional personnel
Production

Notes
Released:  June 9, 2017
Recorded:  2014–2017 Studio The Village Recorder
Genre:  Rock, pop rock
Length:  39:36

Label - Atlantic / East West