Music Reviews

[Thrasha]

Just going to give a quick review of some albums I've been listening to the past week or two. Feel free to post a few of your own as well.



Memphis Bleek - 534

I've played this about three times, it seems that Bleek was always treated as the red headed step child in rap for really no reason. By no means is he a "great" MC but he's a lot better than what people give him credit for. This album isn't exactly a coming out of Jay's shadow type of LP but it's definitely got some nice tracks. The third track on the LP is a solo song by Jay Z which kind of sticks out as to why it would be that high in the tracklisting. None the less it's a damn good song, better than some of the stuff he spit on the Black Album. Their isn't a whole lot on the lyrical tip, just a nice album to bump in the car or at home that you don't really need to think about. If you can, burn it from a friend or DL before you buy it, do that. Two tracks that should defintely be heard are Alright which is produced by 9th Wonder. And Oh Baby featuring the Young Gunz, I am anticipating their sophmore effort coming in a little over a week.



Beck - Guero

The musical chameleon is at it again, hasn't lost a step either IMO. After a heartfelt, and primarily accoustic affair with Sea Change, Beck steps back into his genre blending melting pot with ease. This one hasn't left my CD player since I got it and probably won't for a while longer. The first single is E-Pro, and one of the lesser tracks on the album, surprising that would be the first song put out. Two tracks off the album that I highly recommend giving a listen to are "Earthquake Weather" and "Rental Car".



Common - Be

The hype machine for this album has been brewing long before the XXL review for me. But with the added pressure of that review along with my own expectations, I was bracing for a little bit of a let down. But to my surprise and joy, it hasn't let me down one bit. So many hip hop albums these days sound like mixtapes rather than thought out songs woven together to create a cohesive tracklisting, this is one of the few that has no problems in that category. Or really any for that matter, from "Testify" to "They Say" this is a great, great album from start to finish. I'm not going to pick out two cuts from this one because I'd have a hard time choosing. My only complaint would be that their is a little too much on Kanye.



Like I said earlier on, feel free to add your thoughts on music you've been listening to. Old or new, regardless of genre. I'm hoping to keep this thread going for a while.

[X*Cell]

Re: Music Reviews

"On The Grind" - Big Noyd

Very simplistic but enjoyable beats grace this album from Big Noyd which is his 3rd and arguably best. Noyd hasn't made a change from his previous two albums styles, but surprisingly he hasn't hit the mainstream by now. A lot of the songs represent flavor that you would hear in the night clubs, but not really on the radio. If Noyd wants his name amongst the top dawgs, he needs more ties with big name rappers, and not just Mobb Deep.

8.0 / 10

Song To Cop: "All My Peoples"

[Thrasha]

Re: Music Reviews

"On The Grind" - Big Noyd

Very simplistic but enjoyable beats grace this album from Big Noyd which is his 3rd and arguably best. Noyd hasn't made a change from his previous two albums styles, but surprisingly he hasn't hit the mainstream by now. A lot of the songs represent flavor that you would hear in the night clubs, but not really on the radio. If Noyd wants his name amongst the top dawgs, he needs more ties with big name rappers, and not just Mobb Deep.

8.0 / 10

Song To Cop: "All My Peoples"

I've been playing this recently also, pretty good album to bump like 534. Good idea on the number ratings also. I agree with the Mobb Deep point, I can't recall a rapper (Prodigy) who has fallen off as harsh as he has. Jay Z seriously got in his head or something.

[Thrasha]

Re: Music Reviews

Audioslave - Out Of Exile

The debut album was highly anticpated but was a huge let down to alot of people, I personally thought it was a good effort with some truly great tracks. With this sophmore album you can really tell the band felt alot more at ease and just let things flow. The outcome is great, with the standout track being Be Yourself. Chris still brings his amazing voice, backed up by one of the best supporting rockers out now (especially Tom Morello). This will stay at the top of my playlist for a while, one of the highlights of Out of Exile is that the whole way through it's an outstanding listen, with maybe a skip track here or there depending on the mood you are in.

8.5 out of 10

[joer625]

Re: Music Reviews

Audioslave - Out Of Exile

The debut album was highly anticpated but was a huge let down to alot of people, I personally thought it was a good effort with some truly great tracks. With this sophmore album you can really tell the band felt alot more at ease and just let things flow. The outcome is great, with the standout track being Be Yourself. Chris still brings his amazing voice, backed up by one of the best supporting rockers out now (especially Tom Morello). This will stay at the top of my playlist for a while, one of the highlights of Out of Exile is that the whole way through it's an outstanding listen, with maybe a skip track here or there depending on the mood you are in.

8.5 out of 10

waht woudl u give their first cd though?

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Music Reviews

"Be Yourself" is the stand out track? I've heard both of their singles, Be Yourself and Your Time Has Come, and I think Your Time Has Come is a better track.

[X*Cell]

Re: Music Reviews

"The New Experience" - Kice (of Course)

The cover of this cd can sure fool you... rather than the album being about cars, leading to songs purely about money, sex, and the set of wheels you rock, its more a compilation of how Kice prayed everyday to get heard, and now he has his first album. He is a modest rapper, thanking God, his momma, his posse around him, to help him make it far in the rap industry. Since its his first album and he is wrapped around with Smack Records, which is fairly new itself, none of the songs are high-tech productions, but the beats are great for reflecting and reminiscing. Along with his smooth simplistic backdrops, he is a pretty hypnotizing lyricist. If you like to be able to sing along to tracks, it won't be hard to remember these songs, because of Kice's clarity and strong influence inside his individual rhymes. He has a little bit of Notorious B.I.G. in his voice, which is always a plus. Unfortunately, you will only be drawn into 3 or 4 songs on the track, and the rest won't be included in the loop.

6.5 / 10

Song to Cop: "Everything"

[CM1847]

Re: Music Reviews

"Stand Up" - Dave Matthews Band

Not very ingaging on the first few listens, but it definitely grows after a few listens. They are still a live band and these songs will only be starting points for their live shows, but these are still a little dissappointing. A handful of decent songs "Stolen Away", "Old Dirt Hill", "Everybody Wake Up." But the songs are way too short, they don't let the other musicians shine enough on the album. It was produced by a rap producer and it shows(nothing against rap at all, but WTF is DMB doing hiring a rap producer?), the drums are more like rap beats than anything and the other instruments have been pushed to the background. They will make amazing songs out of these live, but it isn't a great listen on the album.

5.5 out of 10

"Make Believe" - Weezer

Weezer's best since Pinkerton. Still has a few throwaway/forgettable songs but for the most part is very solid. "This Is Such A Pity" is the only new step for them, it's a decent song, not one of my favorites though. "Perfect Situation", "Peace", "Haunt You Every Day" and "Freak Out" are all great. Seems to really pull from all of their previous work, not GREAT but a lot better than I expected.

7 out of 10

"Lullabies To Paralyze" - Queens of the Stone Age

Great, great album. From start to finish there isn't a skip-worthy track here. More consistent than their last album(and doesn't have those really annoying radio clips between songs!). A lot of good pop hooks in the songs but also a lot of out-there type stuff like they did on "Rated R." My album of the year so far, I have gotten a few albums since this one, but I keep putting this one back in my CD player. Catchy, rocking, good music.

9 out of 10

And I agree with the first post about Beck's new one, a really solid album. Right behind QotSA for my favorite so far this year. 8 out of 10

[OHguy00]

Re: Music Reviews

"Be Yourself" is the stand out track? I've heard both of their singles, Be Yourself and Your Time Has Come, and I think Your Time Has Come is a better track.

I would hope "Be Yourself" isn't the stand out track. It's good, but far from great. Is "Out of Exile" worth picking up? I was thinking about heading over to Best Buy tomorrow after finals.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Music Reviews

I would hope "Be Yourself" isn't the stand out track. It's good, but far from great. Is "Out of Exile" worth picking up? I was thinking about heading over to Best Buy tomorrow after finals.

It hasn't been released yet; comes out tomorrow. I'm picking it up tomorrow around 1:30 at Circuit City. I'm going to see if they have any "free posters" left once I get there.

Anyway, "Your Time Has Come" is the only other song I've heard, but its 100x better than "Be Yourself."

CM1847 sent me this review from AMG. Sounds like a good album.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:1ojqeaw74xk7

[X*Cell]

Re: Music Reviews

"The New Experience" - Kice (of Course)

The cover of this cd can sure fool you... rather than the album being about cars, leading to songs purely about money, sex, and the set of wheels you rock, its more a compilation of how Kice prayed everyday to get heard, and now he has his first album. He is a modest rapper, thanking God, his momma, his posse around him, to help him make it far in the rap industry. Since its his first album and he is wrapped around with Smack Records, which is fairly new itself, none of the songs are high-tech productions, but the beats are great for reflecting and reminiscing. Along with his smooth simplistic backdrops, he is a pretty hypnotizing lyricist. If you like to be able to sing along to tracks, it won't be hard to remember these songs, because of Kice's clarity and strong influence inside his individual rhymes. He has a little bit of Notorious B.I.G. in his voice, which is always a plus. Unfortunately, you will only be drawn into 3 or 4 songs on the track, and the rest won't be included in the loop.

6.5 / 10

Song to Cop: "Everything"

Complete Scoring (Out of 10)... I made my own scoring system on the Computer:

Lyrics: 8.6
Beats: 7.7
Hooks: 4.9

OVERALL: 5.9 (Not an Average)

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Music Reviews

Audioslave: Out of Exile
This album is everything their debut should've been. The first album lacked a united sound, where it felt more of a mixture of Chris Cornell lending his voice and lyrics to RATM instrumentals. Out of Exile, however, puts Audioslave under a single banner and the results are truly fantastic. Cornell's vocals are back up to par with Sweet Euphoria and his Soundgarden days. Cornell's range is widened for the sophmore album, and the increase is greatly appreciated. Did I mention the band actually sounds like ONE band on Out of Exile yet? Wilk's, Morello's, and Commerford's instrumentals reflect the raw emotion of Cornell's lyrics and vocals almost perfectly. There are rare occassions when vocals and instrumental do not mix together very well, but they are kept to a minimum and bearable. On their self-titled debut album, I felt Audioslave was lacking with Morello's guitar compositions. With Out of Exile, however, Morello's guitar playing picks back up from Battle of Los Angeles. Morello plays with more difficulty and his originality is back in action. Some may find parts of his guitar lines cumbersome and bring down the value of song, however, I disagree completely. Morello lacked complex guitar lines in the debut album and he finally gets back into stride. The strong points from their debut album are still there; Wilk on drums and Tim on bass. There are two or three "Deja Vu" moments which liken to Soundgarden's Down On The Upside album, however, the band still stays together in these songs, never straying from eachother. Out of Exile will be marked as the album Audioslave found their identity, and I hope this identity is out for many years to come.

Songs to keep on repeat: Dandelion, Heaven's Dead, Doesn't Remind Me

8 out of 10







Gorillaz: Demon Days
Another sophmore album and another great listen. I'm not a big fan of Hip Hop & Rap, however, Demon Days will be in my rotation for a long time to come. I realize some listeners complained about the lack of raps on the Gorillaz debut album, however, Demon Days starts off just the same. After the Intro, tracks 2-4 have no apparent rapping in them whatsoever. These tracks come off as soft-rock with a rap beat, but I enjoyed these tracks, as they are nice songs with some catchy beats. Speaking of beats, I loved them as well; not your typical mainstream beats, at least not what I've heard from mainstream rap anyway. The tempo of Demon Days starts to pick up on Track 5, "Dirty Harry." "Dirty Harry" has a small rap sequence in the song, but not as long as the rest of the songs on the CD. Like the previous tracks, the beat is very catchy and keeps the song moving along nicely. "Dirty Harry" leads directly into "Feel Good Inc" (laughing at beginning of Feel Good Inc). "Feel Good Inc" is one of the best songs from the album, and was the obvious choice for the Gorillaz's first single from their second album. The remaining nine tracks keep with theme of original beats, however the theme of the actual songs vary. There are some thought provoking lyrics/raps, irony, and then just straight up rap songs. Overall Demon Days is a solid album with great, original, rockish/guitar-rap beats. The increase of rapping sequences on the album will be appreciated by many. It may be hard not to judge the Gorillaz by their cover; after all, how many animated bands are there? I can only think of one, the Gorillaz. The originality of the band translates into an original, enjoyable album that will be played A LOT in my stereo.

Tracks to keep on repeat: November Has Come, All Alone, Fire Coming Out of A Monkey's Head, O Green World

9.0 out of 10

[devilsjaw]

Re: Music Reviews

"Be Yourself" is the stand out track? I've heard both of their singles, Be Yourself and Your Time Has Come, and I think Your Time Has Come is a better track.

Both songs are great, but I agree. Your Time Has Come makes me wanna drive 120mph down the highway. Great song...

[Hooe]

Re: Music Reviews

<b>Limp Bizkit: The Unquestionable Truth, Pt. 1</b>

Yes, they are still around, and still producing music.

I know that you can probably count the number of Limp Bizkit fans left on one hand (two if you are lucky), and before I get slammed for liking this CD, let me just put this out in the air: this is NOT your father's Limp Bizkit. Well, not quite.

With the re-entry of guitarist Wes Borland into the mix, the hard guitar flavor that was present in <i>Three Dollar Bill, Y'all</i> and <i>Significant Other</i> is back with a vengeance. To put it simply, the guitars and instruments are very solid throughout, sometimes even great. The band has seemingly abandoned some of the hip-hop inspiration that was present on its previous albums, though the lyrics are still conveyed through rapping.

Speaking of lyrics, this is where Limp Bizkit has struggled in the past couple of tries with the apparent ineptness of frontman Fred Durst to write anything meaningful or that didn't sound whiny and come off with a very shallow "I'm pissed at such-and-such so I'm a scream about it" attitude. On some tracks, his lack of breadth as a writer is still there: on "The Key", Durst uses about every obvious lock and key metaphor there is to man to put together a song. Other times, for example in "The Truth", the writing is at least decent and perhaps even good. As a side, "The Truth" is probably the most polished, complete song on the album.

Some will have issues with the different sound of the lyrics though, as they now could pass as, being generous, a poor-man's Rage Against The Machine; not everyone will like this new sound for the band, and I'm assuming more will be offended by Durst sometimes attempting to mimic Scott de la Rocha's lyrical style, which in my opinion he does adequately, but I can't speak for everyone.

One final issue I have with this album is that it is overly short; seven tracks in all, averaging around 4.5 minutes a track if you take out "The Key", a 1.5 minute worthless track.

Overall, <i>The Unquestionable Truth, Pt. 1</i> isn't for everyone, but it's not crap, as previous Limp Bizkit stuff has admittedly been (although I personally thought that their previous disk, <i>Results May Vary</i>, was underated, I'm in a very small minority there). A change in style will turn off some old fans, if there are any left, and the new style kinda opens their music to new fans if they can get past Durst's improving-but-still-not-quite-good lyrics on the mic. There is at least some optimism for a completely solid Part II.

Overall: 6/10 (somewhat good, but has some issues)

My personal favorite tracks: "The Truth", "The Story"

[Herbsinator]

Re: Music Reviews

Gorillaz: Demon Days
Another sophmore album and another great listen. I'm not a big fan of Hip Hop & Rap, however, Demon Days will be in my rotation for a long time to come. I realize some listeners complained about the lack of raps on the Gorillaz debut album, however, Demon Days starts off just the same. After the Intro, tracks 2-4 have no apparent rapping in them whatsoever. These tracks come off as soft-rock with a rap beat, but I enjoyed these tracks, as they are nice songs with some catchy beats. Speaking of beats, I loved them as well; not your typical mainstream beats, at least not what I've heard from mainstream rap anyway. The tempo of Demon Days starts to pick up on Track 5, "Dirty Harry." "Dirty Harry" has a small rap sequence in the song, but not as long as the rest of the songs on the CD. Like the previous tracks, the beat is very catchy and keeps the song moving along nicely. "Dirty Harry" leads directly into "Feel Good Inc" (laughing at beginning of Feel Good Inc). "Feel Good Inc" is one of the best songs from the album, and was the obvious choice for the Gorillaz's first single from their second album. The remaining nine tracks keep with theme of original beats, however the theme of the actual songs vary. There are some thought provoking lyrics/raps, irony, and then just straight up rap songs. Overall Demon Days is a solid album with great, original, rockish/guitar-rap beats. The increase of rapping sequences on the album will be appreciated by many. It may be hard not to judge the Gorillaz by their cover; after all, how many animated bands are there? I can only think of one, the Gorillaz. The originality of the band translates into an original, enjoyable album that will be played A LOT in my stereo.

Tracks to keep on repeat: November Has Come, All Alone, Fire Coming Out of A Monkey's Head, O Green World

9.0 out of 10

I totally agree. One of the best total albums I've heard in my life.