Electronic Music

Track Listings

1. Diamorphoses

2. Concrete Ph

3. Orient-Occident

4. Bohor

5. Hibiki-Hana-Ma

6. S.709

Tracks:

So Sorry
I Feel It All
My Moon My Man
The Park
The Water
Sealion
Past In Present
The Limit To Your Love
1234
Brandy Alexander
Intuition
Honey Honey
How My Heart Behaves

Amazon.com

Feist is the solo project of Canada's Leslie Feist, a prolific artist who has also played in one capacity or another with Broken Social Scene, Kings of Convenience and half a dozen other bands. The Reminder, her third release, comes from the same well of quiet, appealing songwriting, and delicate vocalizations that made 2004's Let It Die such a sweet treat. This one is a bit more hushed and ballad heavy, closer to Cat Power than Peaches (with whom Feist has also worked with in the past) but maintains an indie-minded blend of confessional pop, jazzy folk, and lo-fi torch songs. The comparatively upbeat single "My Moon My Man" splits her voice off into unexpected harmonies, just dissonant enough to stick in your head. It's hard to predict where her melodies are going to end up; "Brandy Alexander" starts with a simple snap-pulse, and gradually unfolds into a cathartic chorus of sweeping vocal overlays. Throughout, the record profits from a simple, unfussy aesthetic that keeps the production minimal and the emphasis squarely on Feist's cracking, wistful vibrato. Everything sounds deliberate, but not obsessed over, like an e-mailed wedding invitation. It's a low-pressure vibe, welcoming and content to linger. And linger you will. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews:

Fun Music.......2007-07-17

I heard a few songs from Feist recently and really enjoyed them so when I had the opportunity to purchase the album at such a fantastic price I couldn't resist. It is full of lilting melodies and fun rythmns.

A great blend of styles, but still unique.......2007-07-06

Leslie Feist has really made a contribution to music! Her songs make me think of a blending of Joni Mitchell, Eva Cassidy, Rickie Lee Jones, Shawn Colvin, and Kate Bush. Howzat for a compendium, kids?

And better still, the album (yeah, I'm a neo-oldster) is a good deal.

Overrated.......2007-07-05

Horribly overrated. This is adult contemporary gone mad. Cannot understand why Feist is getting all this love from the critics. Maybe because she is a Canadian. Her songs are ok as dinner background music -- specially if the dinner is good enough to keep you thoroughly occupied. Barely audible, her whiny drivel is irritating at best -- like the buzz of an over-friendly mosquito.

feistier!.......2007-07-05

This is a great album, perhaps better than her first. Leslie Feist has written more of these songs than on the first album and this is no loss. Not only does she still have the great sweet throaty voice, the arrangements have emotional depth. A fantastic sophomore offering. If you haven't heard her, you're missing out on a great new singer-songwriter with a punk inflection from Canada. Pick up either album and groove along.

Great Music.......2007-07-04

I just discovered this artist on the web. I bought the CD because it has a different sound that embodies jazz and pop with a unique voicing. I like it. The first few songs are what sell the CD. "My Moon My Man" is excellent! I only gave it four stars because once you get past the first few songs it does get a little mellow. I like it and will look into buying some of her other music in the future.

Average customer rating:

Defending The Salmon Dance
The Pills Won't Help You Now
Do It Again.
JUST ENOUGH GOOD COLLABORATIONS TO MAKE IT DECENT (3.4 stars)
They conquer the night!!!

We Are the Night
The Chemical Brothers
Manufacturer: Astralwerks
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

The Mix-Up
Icky Thump
Zeitgeist
Do It Again
Our Love to Admire

ASIN: B000OV129I
Release Date: 2007-07-17

Tracks:

No Path To Follow
We Are The Night
All Rights Reversed (The Klaxons)
Saturate
Do It Again (Ali Love)
Das Spiegal
The Salmon Dance (Fatlip)
Burst Generator
A Modern Midnight Conversation
Battle Scars (Willie Mason)
Harpoons
The Pills Won't Help You Now (Midlake)

Amazon.com

One can never accuse the Chemical Brothers of consistency. We Are the Night continues their eclectic electronica approach even though the big-beat groove of the title track remains their digital calling card. Spotted with a minimalist keyboard pattern, vocal non sequiturs, and sampled sound effects, the infectious groove of "We Are the Night" eventually evolves into the monotone-chanted dance chorus of "We are the night skies/We are the bright lies," recalling Brian Eno circa Here Come the Warm Jets. However, for every catchy electro-dance, there's a tune that leaves you scratching your head. What to make of the novelty song "The Salmon Dance" is anybody's guess, though you might find some illumination in a salmon recipe on their Web site. With fractured nursery-rhyme lyrics that are sung like an off-color Sesame Street rap, it will drive you up the wall--or at least toward the skip button. Then there's Midlake singing the trancey ballad "The Pills Won't Help You Now," making the Chemical Brothers sound like a sci-fi version of Coldplay. Retro-analog synthesizers dominate, with the electro-grooves of "Das Spiegel," "Burst Generator," and "Saturate," which builds on a Kraftwerk-forged metal framework coupled with storming sampled drums. The circuits of '70s techno-pop artist the Normal are re-soldered on "Do It Again." With Ali Love singing the title-track chorus, it's built to be a summertime anthem akin to Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)," albeit robotically chilled. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

Defending The Salmon Dance.......2007-07-23

To all the reviewers bashing The Salmon Dance: If you're gonna take techno 100% seriously, don't listen to TCB please. It's probably one of the most solid tracks on this album. My friends and I, after playing the whole record, remembered the salmon dance the most afterwards. It's danceable, it's humorous, and it's fun.

Which is what techno/hip hop is supposed to be in the first place.

That being said, this was a great release from the chemicals. I'd call it a sequel to Surrender more or less (especially the title track).

Best Tracks: Saturate, Do it Again, The Salmon Dance.

The Pills Won't Help You Now.......2007-07-23

This album is not the duo's best effort. They had a lot of keyboards, samples and vocals on this record which would leave you scratching your head. They have too many collaborations on this album which are not that great. "Do It Again" is a great track with Ali Love which had charted in the UK top 20. From "Saturate" through "A Modern Midnight Converstation" are stand outs. Everything else on this record doesn't stand out very well. The iTunes only bonus track, "Seal" is great and should have been on the album. These following B-sides, "Clip Kiss" and "No Need" also are great and should have been the album. The remixes for "Do It Again" are better than the album version. In my honest opinion, this album is alright and it could have been a tad bit better.

Do It Again........2007-07-20

This isn't the completely the Chemical Brothers I know. However, I've never owned an album by them before so what did I know? I knew them from their singles, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I had heard "Do It Again" on the radio and fell in love with it. It's a really good - and especially catchy single. So I bought the Album with pretty high expectations.

And the first part of it doesn't let down. It opens up with a blast. The title song is a repetitive electronic mix, one that I wouldn't be ashamed to dance to, nor listen to. The next song features the Klaxons - a band I have heard of, but never really listened to - and it is once again is a magnificently poppy song, infused with an electric, chanting chorus. The next song, "Saturate" - is more of the same, this time leaving behind the mythical, outworldly chanting, replacing it with high pitched 'bleeps'. It's a more classical electric sound. This pattern of extraterrastial sounds and chanting is repeated throughout the album, creating a mystical feeling - one that is often associated with the night. The Album cover does nothing to dissuade one from assuming that this is the soundtrack of a slightly eerie fairy tale which takes place inside of the mind of the Chemical Brothers.

The one track that stands out - as a track that is completely different from the rest of the album - is the "Salmon Dance". An electric version of what a School House Rock film on salmons would have sounded like. It feels a bit like they were kidding around with this.

Overall I was really satisfied with the album, and I felt it was a great - if a bit surprising - introduction to the Chemical Brothers on record. I'm definitly looking into adding more of their albums to my collection.

JUST ENOUGH GOOD COLLABORATIONS TO MAKE IT DECENT (3.4 stars).......2007-07-20

On their 6th studio album (not counting the singles release), The Chems rope in another roster of interesting guests and with their help, they nudge We Are the Night into a slightly "above average" electronic record. But just slightly. The lead single (Do It Again) which was, in my opinion, very premature to the album's street date, did little to peak interest (here in the states) in We Are the Night. Most critics and fans, including yours truely, found it good but very so-so, and gave it likewise reviews. Upon hearing the rest of the album, it's clear why Do It Again was the lead single... it's simply one of the better songs found on We Are the Night.

The collaborations are king here. The interesting guests they roped in, deliver some of the better tracks on We Are the Night, they also represent some of the worst as well. The best of which has to be the chaotic pounding beat of All Rights Reversed, it features the uber-talented Klaxons and their brand of indie rave-rock. This amazing tune will definitely go down as one of the better things the Chems have ever put out, and this is mostly because of the Klaxons imput. I rank it right there with Setting Sun (featuring Noel Gallagher) and Out of Control (featuring Bernard Summer) expect a single in the near future. Another zinger is the albums closer, a chilled out stunner titled, The Pills Won't Help You Now. It features Tim Smith from Midlake (another great band) and reminds me of other more shoegaze fare (Mercury Rev and Beth Orton collaborations) of past albums. Now once we've moved past the Klaxons and Midlake contributions is were the record gets kinda dicey. The song The Salmon Dance, could be the worst thing they've done. Featuring a terribly childish rap from Fatlip, it's a song better suited for an r-rated kids show than a Chemical Brothers record. The song is so bad you will jumping to press the skip button for sure. If you make past that, then you are left with some very mediocre songs inbetwen the collaborations. Saturate (track 4) ends up being pretty darn good set up for Do It Again, while Das Spiegel sounds like a spacey Orbital copy (Middle of Nowhere era), Harpoons is a boring filler track, and Burst Generator fails to burst into anything that exciting.

In the end, We Are the Night is a very spotty record. An ep containing All Rights Reversed, Saturate, Do It Again, and The Pills... would have made an all around better release. As long as Tom and Ed continue to keep their friends in the studio, we can look forward to some nice joint ventures under the Chemicals moniker in the years to come. We Are the Night has just enough good collaborations make it decent, but its a far cry from the Block Rockin Beats of years past.

They conquer the night!!!.......2007-07-17

English dance/electronica duo Chemical Brothers are back with their best album yet. "We are the night" has already topped the UK album charts, and though more accessible than much of their past work, it is still edgy and avant-garde.

After a brief intro "No path to follow", we get a stomping number with swirling synths, the title track, largely instrumental apart from vocodered voices proclaiming "We are the night" (and a few other things) every so often.

The haunting, pulsing "All rights reversed" features The Klaxons on vocals, and is followed by the excellent throbbing techno instrumental "Saturate", one of my favourites.

Lead off single, the hypnotic drone of "Do it again" featuring Ali Love is already a UK top 20 hit. This song just keeps getting better each time I hear it. "Das Spiegel" is an effects laden instrumental that sounds like a journey through space. "The salmon dance" featuring Fatlip is a funky number with humorous spoken lyrics describing a salmon dance step, alongside a narrative on the salmon's breeding habits.

"Burst generator" is another superb instrumental with raging guitars set to a stomping beat. "A modern midnight conversation" is a lovely groovy largely instrumental piece with a chorus sung in falsetto. "Battle scars" (featuring Willy Mason) wouldn't be amiss on a Gorillaz album.

"Harpoons" is a warbling psychedelic percussion free instrumental, and closing is the album's lone ballad, the dreamy, trippy "The Pills Won't Help You Know" (featuring Midlake) which is simply lovely.

Definitely up there with LCD Soundsystem's "Sound of silver" and Groove Armada's "Soundboy rock" as best dance CD of the year.

Average customer rating:

Holy Smoke!!
Mocean Worker will Move ya...
Once again people..MOWO! delivers a HUGE HELPING of some good times!
Dial M for Motion

Cinco De Mowo!
Mocean Worker
Manufacturer: Mowo!,Inc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Enter the Mowo!
Aural & Hearty
Mixed Emotional Features
We Are the Night
The Mix-Up

ASIN: B000QEILQK
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Tracks:

Shake Ya Boogie
Tickle It
Ole Baby
Que Bom
Reykjavik (featuring Rahsaan Roland Kirk)
Changes (featuring Herb Alpert)
I Got You (featuring Morley)
Sis Boom Bah! (featuring Rahsaan Roland Kirk)
Brown Liquor (featuring Marcus Miller)
Les & Eddie
Son of Sanford
Pretty
Songnumber 3

Album Description

On the fifth album of his career, appropriately titled Cinco De MOWO!, Mocean Worker, (pronounced Motion Worker) has concocted the quintessential feel-good summer album of 2007. The opening number, quite simply, says it best: "Shake Ya Boogie." In what has become the incomparable Mocean Worker sound, Dorn mixes and matches the best of modern beat-making with live musicians like trumpeters Herb Alpert ("Changes") and Steven Bernstein ("Shake Your Boogie"), bassist Marcus Miller ("Brown Liquor"), alto saxophonist Cochemea Gastelum ("Les & Eddie" and "Son of Sanford") and vocalists Morley ("I Got You") and Alana Da Fonseca ("Que Bom"). As on all Mocean Worker records, the legendary jazz icon Rahsaan Roland Kirk joins the party from the great beyond addind wicked flute ("Sis Boom Bah" & "Reykjavik").

Cinco De MOWO! is the follow up to Mocean Worker's 2005 release Enter The MOWO!, which went on to become his biggest album to date. It's where the true vision for the definitive Mocean Worker sound came into focus. While liberally embracing his jazz and funk influences, Mocean Worker crafted songs with undeniable hooks. On Cinco De MOWO!, that vision has evolved even further. More than just funky grooves, tunes like "Shake Ya Boogie," "Tickle It" and "Son of Sanford" find their way deep into the sub-conscious with melodies that reverberate long after the record has ended.

Customer Reviews:

Holy Smoke!!.......2007-07-09

No need to mince words here. BUY THIS CD!! MW creates some of the hippest sounds you'll ever wrap an ear around.

Mocean Worker will Move ya..........2007-07-09

I didn't even know this man existed until 2 days ago, and WOW... whatta sound! If you enjoy jazz, funk, hip-hop, electronica or just like listening to music that moves your mind and body, then MOWO is worth a listen. I'm an avid runner currently nursing an injury, but I promise that several songs from Cico De Mowo! are in my run mix as I type this. This disc is well worth the money. I'm now off to find out if I can see this amazing creator live and in person. Where would the human race be without music? I can't even imagine...

Once again people..MOWO! delivers a HUGE HELPING of some good times!.......2007-07-01

Wow, Im blown away by how hip this album is. Herb Alpert is onboard? Yeah , its crazy hip then. The album much like the last Mocean Worker album (Enter The Mowo!) really is a complete thought top to bottom. Its a party on a disc. You can rock this at any party I bet and then actually play it while you're running the vacuum afterwards and the good times will roll on and on. Key moments on the record include "Shake Ya Boogie" which features Steve Bernstein playing some amazing trumpet. "Tickle It" just a really catchy melody with a funky funky groove. "Que Bom" which features a singer I dont know named Alana Da Fonseca and is so sexy and sung in Portuguese. "Changes" which features Herb Alpert and is one of my favorite tunes on the whole album. You cannot go wrong with this album. This guy "mowo!" or whatever his name is just keeps bringing the goods. This is some of the best music nobody seems to be talking about. I wonder if he is in the witness protection agency or something? Anybody making music like this would be a huge star behind this kind of work! Haha,get this album. This is some killer stuff, probably my summer soundtrack and maybe even the soundtrack for the rest of my year!

Dial M for Motion.......2007-06-29

Mocean Worker's last two albums are straight up fun- the kind of breezy long players that can equally brighten up a late night party or a session of dishwashing. Album number four, Enter the Mowo broke free of DJ Adam Dorn's drum n bass past and signified the arrival of an original sounding marriage of old timey jazz and funk. Consider Cinco De Mowo to be it's fully realized maturation. Yes, samples still play an important part in the album's construction but the DJ is now trully a musician.

"Shake Your Boogie" will not leave your head once it gets in there.

Average customer rating:

Very Cool Album
Great music
I've heard this before.
Better Than His Last One
Sounds like a hit!!

Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Electronic Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Dance | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
The Good, the Bad & the Queen
Favourite Worst Nightmare
The Reminder
Icky Thump

ASIN: B000M3452Y
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Tracks:

Get Innocuous!
Time To Get Away
North American Scum
Someone Great
All My Friends
Us V Them
Watch The Tapes
Sound Of Silver
New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down

Amazon.com

Two years after LCD Soundsystem's eponymous full-length debut sent indie scenesters rushing to the dancefloor, the outfit headed by dance-rock producer James Murphy serves up another stiff cocktail of punk, dance, and funk with Sound of Silver. Analog synths, chugging basslines, chunky guitars, and Murphy's wild falsetto excursions are once again the foundation to which is added the new and strange, such as the heavily chorused voices that suggest backward-masking in the opener "Get Innocuous" and the captivating harmonics keyboardist Nancy Whang bounces off of Murphy's vocals on "Someone Great." If this album has its own version of "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House," it has to be "North American Scum," an infectious stormer that breezily dismisses Europe as a place where "the buildings are old and you might have lots of mimes." Such lines are good evidence that LCD's music would rather ridicule itself than fall into the kind of pretense and nostalgia it constantly lampoons. The album's title track reflects that hankering after one's teenage years is often interrupted when "you remember the feelings of a real live emotional teenager--then you think again," while the power ballad "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" wearily serenades the Big Apple as "still the one pool where I'd happily drown." True, LCD's music is not for everyone, which may have something to do with why their fans love them as they do. If you fall into the latter category, however, Silver is gold. --Brent Kallmer

Customer Reviews:

Very Cool Album.......2007-07-15

James Murphy, the one-man band behind LCD Soundsystem, toiled for most of the 90's in obscure underground rock bands before sliding into his role as a producer/remixer. I have to admit I passed up LCD's debut album a few years back, in spite of considerable buzz. I loved the title of the single "Daft Punk is Playing at My House," but found the actual song to be a repetitive one-joke dance track. I had been hoping for something more creative, similar to, well, Daft Punk's best work. After hearing Sound of Silver, I'm thinking there may be something more to Murphy's sprawling 2-disc first album than I gave him credit for at the time.

Sound of Silver is one of the bounciest, most exciting albums I've heard this year. LCD Soundsystem often gets labeled as dance-punk, but there isn't a lot of punk rock in their sound. It's more accurate to say that Murphy brings an aggressive, punk rock attitude and a certain griminess to his rock-tinged dance music. The album has an impressive variety of sound, from the opening electronics of "Get Innocuous" to the drum-fueled shouting of "Watch the Tapes" to the lounge ballad closer "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down." Lead single "North American Scum" is crazy catchy, with a pulsing electronic bass and jagged guitar line accompanying Murphy's very funny lyrics about the European and American club scenes.

The album does drag in places, mostly due to the fact that it's still dance music at heart. So there are a couple of songs that go over the 7-minute mark without doing anything interesting. "Get Innocuous" suffers from this, as does the title track. "Sound of Silver" actually has pretty funny lyrics, but there's only 4 lines in the song, and they're repeated ad nauseum. On the other hand, "Us vs. Them" nudges into this territory without bogging down, due to its high-energy vocals. "All My Friends" is the longest song on the album, but it's also the best. It has another one of Murphy's irresistible hooks; a great series of piano riffs that propel the song for nearly 8 minutes. "All My Friends" also benefits from Murphy actually singing- he tends to sort of shout his way through most of the songs, but he makes the right call by opening up and using his singing voice here. "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" also is clearly better for Murphy's singing. It's basically a torch song, and the broken-hearted croon he affects makes the song work as he sings about New York City's tourist-friendly 90's whitewash tearing out the heart and soul from the city.

At a lean 9 songs, Sound of Silver doesn't overstay its welcome, and even the longer dance tracks don't slow the proceedings down too much. This album is unique and fun, and musically very clever, and it's one of my favorites of the year so far

Great music.......2007-07-07

This was the first CD I ever heard from LCD Soundsystem and once I did, I was hooked. Excellent music has made me a fan.

I've heard this before........2007-07-03

Why is everyone lauding this second effort from LCD Soundsystem so much? It sounds like his first album. I own his first double CD album and this, "Sound Of Silver", just sounds like a rehash of that. It's well produced, fairly nice to listen to, but it just seems as if LCD Soundsystem realizes they have a hook, something that people will buy, so that's what they'll put out. And unfortunately, I was duped into buying it. I wasted money on an album ('Sound Of Silver') that I basically could have heard by listening to his first album. All of the songs on this album sound like songs on his first, and the lyrics on some of the songs are laughable in the least, which I would quote verbatim from the lyric sheet, had I already not gotten rid of this CD, due to its taking up space in my CD rack. 'New York...', is a riot, anyone who produces a track like this cannot expect to be taken seriously. I hope for his next album that he does better, although I'm fairly certain I won't be buying it anyway.

Better Than His Last One.......2007-06-22

If I have one criticism of this album it would be that he wears his influences on his sleeve. However, if you love Talking Heads' "Remain In Light" and Kraftwerk's "The Man Machine", you will probably like this album. The last track is also reminiscent of Grandaddy.

Sounds like a hit!!.......2007-06-17

LCD Soundsystem are a US electronic rock group, with a very British sound, a fact not lost on them as they sing "and for those of you who still think we're from england / we're not, no" on the buzzing, incredibly catchy "North American scum".

The album comprises just 9 songs, averaging 5 minutes each. Each track takes 1 to 2 minutes to build up to the vocal delivery.

Case in point is "Someone great" with loads of layering and electronic effects building up to a Human League-like song with eighties sounding synths.

Similarly, "Get innocuous" takes about 2 minutes to build to a shimmery dance song (with disembodied vocals) which takes no prisoners.

"Time to get away" has lead singer James Murphy singing and yelping over a pulsing guitar drenched house groove. The title track is a sparse but hypnotic effects laden song. "All my friends" is a pulsing U2-esque song.

Closing is the lone ballad; "New York, I love you but you're bringing me down", starting off deceptively like a Coldplay song, building up to a blistering guitar solo, and an unexpected twist at the end. They sound like a totally different band on this one.

It does take a few plays to get into but once it gets into your head, you can't get it out. One of the best dance CDs of the year!

Average customer rating:

What you hope for if you've ever heard "Bring Me to Life"
Indispensable
Light in the Darkness
Amy Lee: The most underrated voice in music today
smart people BUY THIS CD

Fallen
Evanescence
Manufacturer: Wind-Up
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Goth | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Chamber Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Post Grunge | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Alternative Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Classical | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Open Door
Anywhere But Home (w/ bonus DVD)
All the Right Reasons
Meteora
Hybrid Theory

ASIN: B000089RVX
Release Date: 2003-03-04

Tracks:

Going Under
Bring Me To Life
Everybody's Fool
My Immortal
Haunted
Tourniquet
Imaginary
Taking Over Me
Hello
My Last Breath
Whisper

Amazon.com

The Daredevil soundtrack provided a nice boost for this previously unknown quartet from Little Rock, Arkansas. Evanescence's songs "My Immortal" and the imposing "Bring Me to Life" are clear standouts in the film, mainly because they work so well with the dramatic, eerie undertones of the storyline. They reappear here on the band's debut, alongside a selection of similarly brooding tracks that evoke pensive artists like Tori Amos and the Cranberries. Vocalist Amy Lee has the kind of voice that can cause weeks of insomnia, but on songs like "Tourniquet" and "Haunted" she belies the music's sinister mood with evenhanded spirituality, thoughtfully letting some light shine through the tempest. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews:

What you hope for if you've ever heard "Bring Me to Life".......2007-07-16

What you hope for if you've ever heard "Bring Me to Life", it delivers more of same from start to finish. However, clearly one-upped by nearly every track on "The Open Door".

Indispensable.......2007-07-09

This is one of the very best CDs ever made, and one of the ONLY ones I've ever found that I can listen to from beginning to end and never skip past a single song. I think there's maybe four or five others in the world that I can say that about, and I listen to almost all types of music, from Mozart to Enya to Tool to Billie Holiday to Simon and Garfunkel to Staind to... anyway, it's a masterpiece. Some music snobs like to turn up their noses at Evanescence and mock those who listen to them because they're generally thought of as "Teenage Goth", but I have a message for them: GET OVER YOURSELVES!! BY BEING NARROW MINDED YOU ARE ONLY DEPRIVING YOURSELVES OF SOME OF THE BEST, MOST HAUNTING MUSIC YOU COULD ASK FOR!! I listen to this CD ALOT and I never get tired of it. Amy Lee is amazing! TRY IT!!!

Light in the Darkness.......2007-07-03

Fans of bands like Nightwish, The Gathering, Lennon Murphy and Lacuna Coil are either rejoicing or cursing Evanescence. Their brand of atmospheric gothic rock / metal is quite comparable to all bands mentioned above yet they are the ones in the Billboard Top 10 Album chart.

"Bring Me To Life" is a stunning track on its own merit that could stand to lose the male pseudo rap-rock vocal yelling "Wake Me Up". (If you hear the demo version without the male vocal you will understand) I find it amusing that fans of bands like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit are buying this disc just on the basis of this track alone only to realize that the rest of the disc is moody, dark journey into the belly of various beasts. Nevertheless, Amy Lee has a haunting voice that layers beautifully over gothic rock/metal passages much like Tarja, Anneke, Christina, and Tori Amos. "Haunted" is a short, but remarkable track that allows Amy's vocals to breathe chilling words of despair. Just read the cold words to "Imaginary" and you wonder what exact demon tortures the writer's (Ben Moody) soul.

Overall, this disc is way too deep and thought provoking for its target audience. For those of us that have supported this style of music for years, please don't pass judgment against this disc until you have experienced the overall enchantment within its 11 tracks.

Amy Lee: The most underrated voice in music today.......2007-06-27

I remember when "Bring me to life" started playing regularly on a local rock station a few years ago. I thought it was a pretty cool song and liked the vocals of female singer Amy Lee, who seemed to have a wide range and yet still able to have somewhat of an overall mystique to her sound that I still have a hard time describing to this day. At that point a friend of mine loaned me the CD, but upon the first couple of listens I put it back without a second thought.

After selling 14 million copies worldwide and having a strong sophomore release with "The Open Door", I decided to give Evanescence another chance, returning to the debut album "Fallen". Sometimes it takes giving an album a second chance to make a first impression, and this time around I guess I was ready to embrace a band that was deemed as Goth Metal by the masses, but had a female vocalist that was able to help them rise above the all too familiar growl and dirge vocal efforts that usually fall into this category. Strong singles that stand out to me start out with Track 1 in "Going Under", which has a nice, simple guitar piece that has enough grind to stay down in the darker, more brooding sounds of this style of music. Track 6 is a tune called "Tourniquet" and has some eerie tones that help it start out before breaking into a clean, balanced attack of guitars and percussion. The overall structure of this album is great, and although I said there are several singles I like, I will just sum it up by saying there is something great about every song on this album.

What really is a selling point for me, however, is the lead singer Amy Lee. Amy's voice is poetic in deliverance of the songs and has a great overall emotional connection with the music, while at the same time her range allows her to add a lot of diversity to each and every song throughout the album. Overall you have a powerful set of music that rocks when it has to, and has some piano melody to add to the mix (Track 6 and 9 in particular) that I feel sets it apart from a lot of the genre's and classifications that people have been trying to put it in. If you are not much into newer "Nu-Metal" or what have you, but enjoy some of the progressive metal sounds and intricate approaches of such musicians, you just might find Evanescence to your liking. As stated before, it took me a few years to "come back" and discover them, but the wait was worth it and I look forward to any new releases this band has to offer.

smart people BUY THIS CD.......2007-06-24

This CD is the best i have ever Heard. now if you like screaming bands you might not like them [FYI a girl is singing] but they are great.

lets start with Going under great rock i would give it a 9/10
every one knows this song Bring me to life AWSOME all around 10/10
the everybodys fool was a good try good message to i would give it a 7.5/10
the 4th one was also very nice not for rock fans but nice 8.5/10
haunted was my Lest liked did not do what Amy does best 5.10
The 6th one Very very nice not the best but not the best 8/10
the 7th one nice strings very nice to 8.5/10
the 8th one rock on 9/10
hello tryed to be like the 4th one BUT failed badly 6.5/10
we are allmost done My last breath they did it again Very nice 9/10
last one whisper 9/10
and it wont tell you but theres 1 more its number 4 again but with guitars again BUY THIS CD

Average customer rating:

Music that makes you smarter
Is there really a better rock album?
one of the top five albums of all time
the finest music available
Practically Flawless

OK Computer
Radiohead
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Britpop | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Electronic Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Alternative Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

International | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Bends
Kid A
Hail To The Thief
Amnesiac
Pablo Honey

ASIN: B000002UJQ
Release Date: 1997-07-01

Tracks:

Airbag
Paranoid Android
Subterranean Homesick Alien
Exit Music (For A Film)
Let Down
Karma Police
Fitter Happier
Electioneering
Climbing Up The Walls
No Surprises
Lucky
Tourist, The

Amazon.com

Radiohead's third album got compared to Pink Floyd a lot when it came out, and its slow drama and conceptual sweep certainly put it in that category. OK Computer, though, is a complicated and difficult record: an album about the way machines dehumanize people that's almost entirely un-electronic; an album by a British "new wave of new wave" band that rejects speed and hooks in favor of languorous texture and morose details; a sad and humanist record whose central moment is Thom Yorke crooning "We hope that you choke." Sluggish, understated, and hard to get a grip on, OK Computer takes a few listens to appreciate, but its entirety means more than any one song. --Douglas Wolk

Amazon.com

Radiohead Photos

More from Radiohead

Hail To The Thief
The Bends
Kid A

Pablo Honey
Amnesiac
I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings

Customer Reviews:

Music that makes you smarter.......2007-07-20

This had the same effect on me as the Beatles had on an earlier generation; it opened my head to what music could be. It took me to the limits of my intelligence, maybe even raised my IQ a few points. If you had an infinite number of me's with an infinite number of typewriters, we could never come up with it. It reminds me of all the ways I'm a moron. They're saying, `You don't need to be a genius, we got it covered.

Is there really a better rock album?.......2007-07-01

Ten years out, I think we have sufficient historical perspective to fairly evaluate this album.

Honestly, it seems to me there are things about "OK Computer" that one might do differently given the chance to change it. That being said, when has rock music risen higher than this? When has anyone made an album that inspires, frightens, and intrigues more than this record? I am interested to hear suggestions, but at the end of the day I think this is probably THE pinnacle for popular music during my lifetime (1970 to the present). Accordingly, I give it 5/5 stars, and consider it more favorably than anything else I am aware of. I am at a loss to understand how anyone else could fairly rate it any lower than 5/5.

one of the top five albums of all time.......2007-06-19

Radiohead's Ok Computer is by far one of the most shining achievements in music our ears have ever tasted. It is to music, what Speilberg is to cinema. Exit Music For a Film is melodic acid to my ears.

Right on the wall of perfection next to the Beatles White Album.

One of the best albums ever created. End of story. I believe most will concur!

the finest music available.......2007-06-05

I saw Radiohead at Bonnaroo in 2006 and the three songs that made everyone (80,000+ people) burst into tears were "Paranoid Android", "Exit Music (for a film)", and "No Surprises"; all from "OK Computer". I think this is the finest album ever produced. Yes, THE best ever. (Yes, I've heard The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, etc.) They all come close, (some very close) but this album is as close to perfect as there has ever been. Please ignore the reviews giving this album one star, for they are from pedestrian trash who have no right to express their opinion.

The top five albums ever produced are:
5. Innervisions - Stevie Wonder
4. Abbey Road - The Beatles
3. The Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
2. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
1. OK Computer - Radiohead

Just you wait and see. Most masterpieces take a long time to be recognized as genius. They are simply over many people's heads.

Practically Flawless.......2007-06-02

I will start by saying that OK Computer is worth the money for the song "Let Down" alone. In my opinion, this song is Radiohead's finest and I consider it one of the best songs recorded in the past 20 years. Its complex layers of instrumentals and vocals build upon each other flawlessly to create the melancholy effect the Radiohead doubtlessly intended to create. It is one of those rare songs that I never get sick of hearing.

That said, the rest of OK Computer is almost equally flawless in its complexity and moodiness. Paranoid Android, Subterranean Homesick Alient, Exit Music, Airbag, and Lucky are all highlights for me, and this is definitely one album where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts--although the parts are great. The album is very much a journey (corny, I know), and definitely makes a statement. OK Computer represents one of those rare instances where an artist accomplishes, and in fact exceeds, what it set out to do.

If you don't own this album, buy it. If you don't own any Radiohead albums, buy this and The Bends. You won't be sorry.

Average customer rating:

Rich, Passionate, and Fun
Terrific, joyful and uplifting
Unique
Great music!
Not copy protected any more!

Speak for Yourself
Imogen Heap
Manufacturer: RCA Victor
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Details
I Megaphone
Goodnight and Go
Love in the Time of Science
Let It Die

ASIN: B000B7BZM4
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Tracks:

Headlock
Goodnight and Go
Have You Got It In You?
Loose Ends
Hide and Seek
Clear The Area
Daylight Robbery
The Walk
Just For Now
I Am In Love With You
Closing In
The Moment I Said It

Amazon.com

If the voice sounds familiar, that may be because a couple of tracks have been featured on The O.C., while Frou Frou's "Let Go" appeared in Garden State. (Frou Frou is a collaboration between Heap and producer Guy Sigsworth.) Her sophomore release, after a UK-only debut, is a fine showcase for the singer/songwriter's swooping vocals. Her style, which incorporates layers of multi-tracking, lies somewhere between Sinead O'Connor's banshee howl and Jem's more delicate musings. There's more of a groove to her ouvre, however. At times, she almost sounds like Norway's Annie--by way of Kate Bush. The overall effect is plush and luxurious, if occasionally generic (a more stripped-down approach would really allow that instrument to shine). The one song that doesn't quite fit the electro-pop pattern is the vocoder-saturated "Hide and Seek," in which Heap enters Laurie Anderson territory (specifically 1982's "O Superman"). It's a risk that pays off, although its placement midway through the recording threatens to throw the balance off. (It would have made more sense at the end.) Aside from writing and singing, the multi-talented musician also recorded and produced Speak for Yourself. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews:

Rich, Passionate, and Fun.......2007-07-09

After listening to "Frou Frou's" "Details" (produced by Guy Sigsworth), I was interested in hearing more Imogen Heap. So I bought "Speak for Yourself" and I loved it. It continues to inspire whenever I listen:

...marvelously expressive and sensual audio experience painted largely with two pallettes of nearly infinite range - electronic instrumentation, and Imogen's incredible voice.

Let me try to describe that voice:

-Her inhales and exhales are an important part of the performance and adds to the sensuality.
-Wonderful layering of harmonic and accent tracks.
-The rhythms are perfectly timed.
-Passionate, erotic, angelic.

And the lyrics are worthy of the sounds.

I always wonder about the people behind the music, including the impact of the producer. Listening to "Speak" (produced by Imogen) seemed to imply that Guy Sigsworth's contribution to "Details" may not have been as sig-nificant (I love puns), or perhaps it was very sig-nificant, and what she learned from him she incorporated into "Speak."

However, I have also since listened to Imogen's "I Megaphone," which is entirely more free spirited and undisciplined, and I did not enjoy it as much. This gave me the impression that Guy Sigsworth's contribution to "Details" and perhaps by inspiration, to "Speak," might have been much bigger than I imagined. Who knows.

I do know this - Imogen Heap is a huge talent, worthy of your time and money, regardless of the production style she's using to express herself.

Terrific, joyful and uplifting.......2007-07-01

I had not heard of this young talent until a friend of mine sent me a You Tube link to a live performance of one her songs. I went to the link and heard her do "Just for now" before a live audience (there are several; the one I heard was "live at Studio 11 103.1FM" . I am a trained musician with a fine ear for what I consider to be greatness. Within 30 seconds of this tune I was simply lifted up into some higher vibration within my self and I just was overwhelmed with tingles of joy. It is rare that I come across someone who makes such effective and deliberate use of her God given gifts. It is such with Imogen Heap. After a tough childhood, she emerged herself in musical education with a special emphasis on technology. This is a young lady with a gift both vocal and on several levels of music. I have yet to pay much attention to her lyrics but I will eventually sit down and get my reading glasses on to see what she has to say. It's that voice and what she knows what to do with it that just grabbed me. Listening to "just for now" even as I write this reminds me of the joyous sounds of African singers such as Miriam Makemba and others. I am reminded of the spontaneous and effusive solo piano work of Keith Jarrett.

Heap is a talent to be reckoned with and I can only expect more wonderful sounds to come. The album I am reviewing here is full of delights on almost every single track. I have listened to it at least 4 times now and it continues to grow in my estimation with each play. What a tremendous joy it is to listen to so much light and harmony. Richly rewarding.

Unique.......2007-06-27

I found Imogean Heap to be wildy unique in contrast to the bland music generated on our radios each day.

Great music!.......2007-06-27

This CD is truly remarkable! Imogen Heap may perhaps be one of the most creative and experimental newer mainstreamish artists out there! Her pieces are unique and each song keeps the listener captivated and listening. My personal favorite on the CD is Hide and Seek, which is a nonmetric piece with a lot of flow and musicality. Her lyrics are slightly melancholy and nostalgic and her voice is truly unique in the sense that I have heard no one like her yet. She seems to sing from her soul and holds herself as some sort of enigma. I really loved this album because it is so different from anything I've heard which makes it satisfying as well. It will really diversify your CD collection. However, if you are a very traditionalist type of music appreciator, I wouldn't necessarily recommend her. She pushes the musical envelope and dares the listener to step out of their comfort zone. She is trying something new and unconventional and I believe she is succeeding at it. For those of you willing to experiment with new artists or looking for a breath of fresh air, here it is. I highly recommend the purchase of this album.

Not copy protected any more!.......2007-06-24

My CD received is absolutely not copy protected. I believe Sony has made a change with regards to this.

Great CD, one of the best I've ever bought.Imogen Heap is very talented.

Average customer rating:

absolute geniuses
Don't buy it if you actually want to listen to it
Air is God.
Sit back and enjoy... (not for anyone in a hurry)
Record Label Ruins Product

Pocket Symphony
Air
Manufacturer: Astralwerks
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Ambient Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Sound of Silver
The Good, the Bad & the Queen
Volta
The Reminder
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

ASIN: B000KGGEUE
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Tracks:

Space Maker
Once Upon A Time
Hell Of A Party
Napalm Love
Mayfair Song
Left Bank
Photograph
Mer du Japon
Lost Message
Somewhere Between Waking And Sleeping
Redhead Girl
Night Sight

Amazon.com

Some bands like to thwart expectations, and Air is one of them. "Spacemaker," the opening of Pocket Symphony, sounds like a cousin to their instrumental retro-lounge "La Femme D'Argent" from 1998's Moon Safari, right down to the electric bass break in the middle. But this isn't a return to their breakthrough sound. "Spacemaker" really does pave the way for an almost classically somnolent outing from the French duo. Air once proclaimed, "In any classical song you can take five seconds of it and make a loop and you make a great pop song with it." I think they took that to heart on an album that echoes Debussy, Bach, and Reich, but which also contains a Beatlesque eclecticism redolent of Revolver. But instead of the Beatles' Indian flourishes, Air look to Japan, using a plucked koto on a couple of tracks, but also a zen garden sense of sonic placement. Although Jarvis Cocker from Pulp and Neil Hannon of Divine Comedy sing on a couple of tunes--adding some emotional gravitas--Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel do most of the vocalizing in their preternatural Munchkins-on-Quaaludes lisp. Air are known for their chilled melancholy, but the mood of Pocket Symphony is introspectively somber. Only "Mer du Japon" rises to a groove, while the rest recline in a luxurious torpor. That mood works especially well on instrumentals like the minimalist cycles of "Night Sight" and the Enoesque "Lost Message," with its circular piano line and ice-sheathed string synthesizers. Pocket Symphony won't yield any pop hits, but it could be the soundtrack to endless rainy afternoons. --John Diliberto

Album Description

From the creators of the classic albums "Moon Safari" and "Talkie Walkie", Air deliver a career masterpiece, their most seductive and accomplished work to date.

Features guest vocals by Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy).

Includes the single "Once Upon A Time".

Customer Reviews:

absolute geniuses.......2007-07-16

these guys are what they are... air.... if you like any thing they put out, youll love it. nice chillout

Don't buy it if you actually want to listen to it.......2007-07-13

The copy protections are stifling. The computer can't recognize the cd so that makes it harder to put it on my treo. I gave 1 star for the 1 song worth listening to. I WILL NOT buy another Pocket Symphony CD.

Air is God........2007-06-19

...or, at least, Air is Music. Since their endlessly beautiful Moon Safari, Air (along with Zero 7) is the group that produces CDs one can purchase without needing a preview; you can also count on their absolute genius. I bought this CD blindly. And as I suspected, it paid for itself with frissions up the spine from its mere perfection and unrelentling beauty. Even if you don't like the majority of the tracks (although this should only happen if you hate music), than one could buy this CD for Mer du Japon: Best. Song. Ever. Air epitomises their talent in this one track. Can you say "obsessed"? I can't stop listening to it. I must admit it does have some run-away tracks I'm not a fan of, but on the whole they don't hinder the CD's overall genius. Pure, absolute genius. The CD is rife with genius. No doubt.

Sit back and enjoy... (not for anyone in a hurry).......2007-06-05

Ever since Air's instant-classic debut album, 1998's "Moon Safari", the French duo has sought to try and follow up to and meet that high standard. Their output since then has divided the fan base. I, for one, absolutely love the often-maligned 2001's "10,000 Hz Legend" album, but was disappointed with 2004's "Talkie Walkie" album. Now comes the new album.

"Pocket Symphony" (12 tracks, 48 min.) is as atmospheric as Air will get while not making a movie soundtrack. The instrumental opener "Space Maker" sets the stage. First single (in the UK--can you imagine Air getting a single released in the US?) "Once Upon a Time" is a beautiful dreamscape. Jarvis Cocker is the vocalist on "One Hell of a Party", which reminds me almost of cabaret-style music. Another instrumental "Mayfair Song" flowes into "Left Bank", bringing the duo back home. "Mer du Japon" ironically enough does not feature some of the Japanese sounds found on several other tracks here (such as the beautiful "Somewhere between Waking and Sleeping" and "Redhead Girl"), and in fact I find this song to be somehwat out of whack with the rest of the album. The instrumental closer "Night Shift" is the perfect ending to this album.

Is this album as good as "Moon Safari"? No, but Air may never be that good again, who knows. That said, "Pocket Symphony" is a fine album, which I have been enjoying ever since its release a few months ago. I happen to catch Air at Coachella in late April, and due to technical difficulties they only put on a brief set, which was very disappointing. I'd love to see them again in concert in better circumstances.

Record Label Ruins Product.......2007-05-25

I bought this CD took it home and put it in my computer to dump it to my iPod and was surprised to find out my PC didn't even see the disk. I tried it on other computers in the house and it wouldn't see it at all. I immediately returned the disk and got a refund. The copy protections on this disk make it impossible to use the music the way I want to in my own home. I believe this is the record label messing with an artist's work. I love Air, but I hate this miserable attempt to control my access to the music.

Average customer rating:

Outstanding ambient with melody
true to the title.
Decadent Ambient Perfection
So long, farewell...

Goodbye
Ulrich Schnauss
Manufacturer: Domino
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronic Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

We Are the Night
Our Love to Admire
Idealism
Pocket Symphony
From Here We Go Sublime

ASIN: B000RGSOOG
Release Date: 2007-07-10

Tracks:

Never Be The Same
Shine
Stars
Einfeld
In Between The Years
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Song About Hope, A
Medusa
Goodbye
For Good

Amazon.com

Goodbye is not a farewell from German electronic artist Ulrich Schnauss, but it does mark the last in a trilogy that includes Far Away Trains Passing By and A Strangely Isolated Place. Both are landmark albums of melodically ecstatic electronica, and Goodbye flows from their digital loins. Tracks like "Never Be the Same" and "In Between the Years" share the same surging rhythms, heroic electronic melodies, and jangly shoe-gazer guitars heard on the earlier discs. A slight tweak on Goodbye is the shift toward more overt vocal tracks as opposed to the textural, chanting choruses Schnauss has always employed. Rob McVey, the singer from Longview, intones the epic strains of "Shine," while "Stars" places singer Judith Beck deep in echoes, singing like a delay-drenched, surf-music dervish. In fact, "delayed," "drenched," and "dervish" pretty much sum up Goodbye. Schnauss piles on effects and layers in a psychedelic melee that would leave Ozric Tentacles and Pink Floyd standing transfixed by his stroboscopic strategies. Unlike on his previous CDs, Schnauss doesn't let you get comfortable. Reverb-smeared vocals, feedback-oscillated synthesizers, and raging guitars of destruction crush through on tracks like "Medusa." But there are also moments of sublime beauty and the kind of haunting melodies that have made Schnauss a favorite for chill-out soundtracks of the imagination. Ice crystals glisten on the branches of "Einfeld" and the deliriously euphoric "Goodbye" simply lifts you higher, in a spiritual way. It may be goodbye to this era of Ulrich Schnauss, but it promises many happy returns. --John Diliberto

Album Description

Ulrich's third album marks his first new release in four years. "An altogether lusher, more slouched, musical approach. The results have strong echoes of My Bloody Valentine or a turbo-charged Brian Eno..." - Music Week (May 2007). "A triumph of simplicity over pretension, of melody and harmony over pops and clicks and of the humane over the elusive" - Impose.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding ambient with melody.......2007-07-19

Melodic, extremely listenable ambient music. It has elements of trance and downtempo, but is definitely ambient. Slight female vocals like some of the more ambient Bent. Some of the beats remind me of Chicane, but make no mistake, this is original and unique music.

true to the title........2007-07-16

still brilliant, but there is a level of sadness in this disk not evident in FATPB or ASIP. the latter two used heavy percussion to "brighten" the music considerably. that is largely absent here, and the result is more mellow, and melancholy.

Decadent Ambient Perfection.......2007-07-10

Delicate and sublime with a stirring of ecstasy dancing over a driving powerful intoxication is what you will find if you listen to Goodbye first. It is the perfect place to start this journey into soul shivering musical escape. The song surges and sways bursting from the limits of sound into an unbelievably ecstatic moment in time. This goes beyond inspiration to new levels of creativity where modern technology and ancient longings collide. At times it is crystalline perfection and at others the warm sounds completely surround you enveloping you in a dreamy haze.

If you listen to the album from start to finish you will first encounter silky washes of sound with ethereal vocals. "Stars" is almost chilling with dramatic elements that seem to seek to overwhelm with psychedelic swirls and epic sonic power. Vocals cascade over driving beats like a waterfall and then a plane suddenly lands. The dreamy "Einfeld" has a renewed clarity but still retains the warm washes of sound ebbing and flowing from the first tracks. "In Between the Years" is like a snowstorm and a warm fire with distant echoes of haunting chill. It invites you closer and then sends you spinning off into starscapes.

"Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" wakes up this album with a spontaneous fusion of lush layering and nostalgia. You can sink deeply into the memories of this track and yet it has the excitement of new discovery. This song and the mesmerizing "Goodbye" both give me shivers. "A Song about Hope" is much more mellow and has a captivating rhythm that keeps your full attention as the song soars in luminous orchestral beauty. "Medusa" is much darker introspective piece with static urban elements and echoes. "For Good" has the sounds of lonely acoustic guitar and distant brooding longing.

As a relaxing chill out album this offers a sinking into the feeling of escape while it plays with the ideas of fragility and power. Warm washes of sound mingle with ethereal vocals throughout and capture many moods and places that are exciting and serene all at once.

If you love this album you may also enjoy music by Feist, Evening Ocean, Hooverphonic, Between Interval, Zero 7 and The Album Leaf.

~The Rebecca Review

So long, farewell..........2007-07-10

Ulrich Schnauss has always specialized on sweeping, ghostly wintry electronica, the sort of thing that gives you tundra dreams.

Technically, you can only do that so many times before people start getting tired of it. But in "Goodbye," he explores some new sounds -- Britpop meldings, ambient sweeps, and some truly epic explorations into a strange new electronic world.

It opens with gently ringing synth, which practically smothers the gentle beats and a murmuring voice that never quite forms words. Call it angel electronica. The second song is something of a stumble -- Schnauss collaborates with Long-View, in a song that sounds like a merry-go-round of stoned vocals.

But then with "Stars," he erupts into a a tightly wound melody that slowly builds to a messily epic crescendo. From there, Schnauss mingles new work with old: sleepily ambient electronica, haunting fuzz experimentals, angular creepy electropop, and more soaring epics like "Song About Hope."

It ends with a sort of mellow acoustic guitar that slowly melts into a soft synth tune... and what sounds like a musician cleaning up and leaving the studio. It's a suitable ending to what sounds like a transition album, as if Schnauss is feeling out what he can do other than sleepy electronica.

And somehow, without giving it a jumbled feel, he succeeds -- you can hear some drum machines and piano buried down there, and there's a flicker of ringing guitar in places, giving the nebulous melodies some solidarity and helping build them up.

But the overriding presence is synth. Synth, synth, synth. And here's Schnauss's real skill: he molds them into soaring epics, windblown stretches, fuzzy twists, and -- in "Medusa" -- elaborately twisted dark explorations of just how far you can push a complex melody.

Ulrich Schnauss explores some new territory in his third full-length album, the hopefully unportentous "Goodbye." But we just said hello!

Average customer rating:

old tiesto
Tiësto is Tiësto
Music to Write Code By
Simply Great
Dissapointing coming from Tiesto.

Elements of Life
DJ Tiësto
Manufacturer: Ultra Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trance | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

A State of Trance 2007
10 Years
Ibiza '06
In Search of Sunrise, Vol. 5 Los Angeles
State of Trance 2006

ASIN: B000N8UY3W
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Tracks:

Ten Seconds Before Sunrise
Everything (featuring JES)
Do You Feel Me (featuring Julie Thompson)
Carpe Noctum
Driving To Heaven
Sweet Things (featuring Charlotte Martin)
Bright Morningstar
Break My Fall (featuring BT)
In The Dark (featuring Christian Burns)
Dance4Life (featuring Maxi Jazz)
Elements Of Life Bonustrack : He's A Pirate (Tiësto Remix)

Amazon.com

Tiësto sticks to his guns on a new album of original compositions that follows 2004's Just Be. Elements of Life strikes a satisfying balance between inventive vocal tracks and signature trance stormers: "Ten Seconds Before Sunrise," "Driving to Heaven," and "Bright Morning Star" all glow with the Dutchman's epic sound, one that is simultaneously haunting and uplifting. On the vocal side, the soaring energy of "Break My Fall," which features BT on vocals, will not disappoint fans of the duo's prior work on "Just Be" and other collaborations. To be sure, there are a number of less convincing pieces as well: "Dance4Life" with Faithless's Maxi Jazz falls flat, and the lyrics of "Can You Feel Me" prove that the genre's reputation for banal wordsmithing is not entirely undeserved. For the most part, however, these weaker moments are outweighed by the stronger tracks. Principal among these is undoubtedly "Sweet Things"--in which Charlotte Martin's vocal high-wire act is complemented by some exceptional programming--a track that is sure to receive a great many spins by DJs around the globe and yet further proof that when it comes to bringing alive the female voice for the dancefloor, Tiësto remains without equal. All in all, it's a safe bet that many of Tiësto's Elements will be making their way into DJ crates and MP3 players alike. --Brent Kallmer

Album Description

TiÃ«sto is undeniably one of the greatest DJ talents of this era. Internationally recognized as the world's premier DJ and producer, TiÃ«sto continually takes electronic music to the next level - pushing boundaries with his addictive and creative trance creations. With his prior album releases enjoying outstanding success in the States, the time has come for his next installment: ELEMENTS OF LIFE. This record includes brilliant collaborations from the likes of BT, Maxi Jazz (Faithless) and other incredible female vocalists; a stunning collection of uplifting trance ensues. Supporting this release with performances at Coachella, WMC and an extensive national tour through Summer 07, Elements of Life will be THE electronic album of 2007.

Customer Reviews:

old tiesto.......2007-07-18

I am kinda disappointed in this cd I like the old tiesto way better than this stuff. Hopefully his next cd rocks.

Tiësto is Tiësto.......2007-07-11

After Just Be, I didn't have too high expectations of this album, even though I did like Just Be. This album doesn't have slow tracks, the vocal performances are just great. All songs fit his style and a couple of them may remind you his first hits.

Music to Write Code By.......2007-07-05

Another good addition to a long playlist of trance electronica I listen to while writing code. Thanks, D.J. Tiesto!

Simply Great.......2007-07-05

One of the best Tiesto CD's I've had the pleasure of owning. It has been playing on repeat for a week now and I haven't gotten tired of it. "Sweet Things" is one of my favs on it. The teme from Pirates of the Caribean is awesome too.

Dissapointing coming from Tiesto........2007-07-04

I expected better of Tiesto, but his decline continues with Elements of Life. Some of the tracks (like Sweet Things) were just bad. Terrible vocals, poor sounding in general. Let PVD and AVB take over; they deserve to. They continue to produce quality stuff. Tiesto has just finally began to choke on his ego, and it will be the eventual complete demise of him. Tiesto is more concerned about spreading his name, and doesn't spend enough time in the studio. He has basically forgotten about the music that has famed him. AVB does a weekly radio show and keeps on top of everything Trance. Tiesto keeps on top of himself, and nothing more.

Track Listings: