Alternative Rock music reviews

The Police, founded in 1977 by drummer Stewart Copeland, was a rock band like no other. Though much of their early work is clearly punk rock-inspired, the band is most popular due to a style of music which they invented: reggae rock. From the release of their first single in 1977 to their official disbandment in 1986, The Police garnered legions of fans, thanks to their creativity and unique style and sound. Sting led the band with his prominent bass lines, vocals which fluctuated from furious to calm and dreamy, and intelligent lyrics. Andy Summers' atmospheric guitar work was always flawless; as was Stewart Copeland's fast, inventive and often unpredictable drumming. To me, one of the greatest parts of the band is that each member seemed equal. Though Sting is obviously the most famous of the bunch, he seems equal with the other members of the band when you listen to their music. All in all, The Police were most definitely a force to be reckoned with.

MESSAGE IN A BOX: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS collects every studio recording The Police ever made, as well as some live recordings. It consists of 78 tracks spread over four discs. Along with the songs found on the band's albums, MESSAGE IN A BOX also contains rare B-sides as well as compositions from the BRIMSTONE & TREACLE soundtrack. To top it all off, there's a huge booklet filled with all sorts of juicy info about the band, including interviews and a Police timeline. Also, every song in the set has been digitally remastered. It's an offer no Police fan can refuse.

Disc one opens with three songs previously unavailable on CD. Two of these, "Fall Out" and "Nothing Achieving", are from the band's first single; the third is "Dead End Job". These are very different from the group's later work, as they're all punk rock bits, made blatantly clear by Henri Padovani's loud guitar (Padovani played the guitar part for the band's first two songs), Sting's fast singing, and Stewart Copeland's high-speed drumming. Though I enjoy "Nothing Achieving" - primarily for Pavodani's guitar work - I am especially fond of "Fall Out". The tune is catchy, and each of the band members is doing great. I'd go so far as to rank this among the band's best recordings.

From there, we move on to the songs from OUTLANDOS D'AMOUR, the first album of The Police. The quality of the songs is good, but they sound a little tinny, possibly due to the low-quality of the recording tools available to the band at the time. OUTLANDOS D'AMOUR stands apart from the later Police recordings. Half of the album is the sort of reggae-rock which the band would later produce; the other half is made up of punk rock songs. It's an underrated album, in my opinion. Though it's famous for featuring such greats as "So Lonely", "Roxanne", and "Can't Stand Losing You", the album has other impressive songs as well: "Next to You", the opening piece; "Hole in My Life"; and "Truth Hits Everybody". OUTLANDOS D'AMOUR didn't do so well upon its release, due in part to a bad rap from the BBC and a few critics. However, when "Roxanne" was re-released as a single in 1979, the album became a hit.

After the OUTLANDOS songs, we're treated to two less-than-spectacular live recordings of "Landlord" and "Next to You". I've never been very impressed by the live work of The Police. The songs sound too raw and fast-paced to me. After these we get another rarity, "Landlord", which is notable for the awesome guitar part beginning at 0:05 and ending at 0:14. Then we get the first half of REGGATTA DE BLANC.

REGGATTA DE BLANC, the second album of The Police, was the first indication of what the group was really capable of. It's an excellent album which is far better than their debut. It includes some of the band's finest work, such as "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon", as well as some lesser-known songs like "Bring on the Night", "The Bed's Too Big Without You" and "No Time This Time". There's also Stewart Copeland's quirky composition "On Any Other Day". Here we have the one flaw of MESSAGE IN A BOX. Due to the limit in running time for each CD, REGGATTA DE BLANC is split in half. The first half, which begins with "Message in a Bottle" and ends with "Deathwish", closes off the first disc; the second half, beginning with "Walking on the Moon" and ending with "No Time This Time", opens the second disc.

Disc two is possibly the best disc of the set. As soon as REGGATTA DE BLANC ends, we get "Visions of the Night", a B-side with abnormally furious vocals by Sting. This is succeeded by an interesting mono version of "The Bed's Too Big Without You", which may even be superior to the album version. Next is a live recording of "Truth Hits Everybody". Then we have "Friends", another rare song and a particularly bizarre one. It's about a cannibal, eerily voiced by Andy Summers. One you've endured that song, ZENYATTA MONDATTA begins.

ZENYATTA MONDATTA is possibly the group's greatest album. It's definitely their most balanced. It opens with the classic "Don't Stand So Close to Me", an outstanding song with outstanding lyrics by Sting; it's possibly the band's best song. "Driven to Tears", another excellent song, follows. There's hardly a moments pause between that song and the great "When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Around". "Canary in a Coalmine" is as close to a traditional reggae song as the band ever recorded. The next two songs, the repetitive "Voices in My Head" and "Bombs Away", are not amongst the band's finest work; "De Do Do Do, De Da Da", however, is. Andy Summers' guitar sounds especially beautiful in that song, while it sounds harsh and dry in the indstrumental "Behind My Camel". "Man in a Suitcase" is a short, fun song of which I'm rather fond, partially because of Sting's tongue-in-cheek lyrics. "Shadows in the Rain" is inferior to the re-recording which appeared on Sting's debut solo album. ZENYATTA MONDATTA, and the second disc, end with "The Other Way of Stopping".

Disc three opens with the rare "A Sermon", a nice little song followed by a high-voltage live version of "Driven to Tears". This is followed by the rare "Shambelle", which is my personal favorite of the band's instrumental pieces. Sting's bass meshes especially well with Andy Summers' guitar in that song. After that, GHOST IN THE MACHINE begins. It was here that the band really perfected their reggae rock; it's also the group's political album. Most of the songs here seem rather dark and grim to me, but they're also quite good. Especially notable on this album is the frequent use of saxophones, which really enhances the songs. The great opener "Spirits in the Material World" is followed by one of The Police's all-time greats and classics, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", a sweet little romantic song that just sounds beautiful. This is in sharp contrast to "Invisible Sun", which sounds cold and industrial, but which also ranks among the group's best songs. "Hungry For You (J'Aurais Toujours Faim de Toi)" is sung almost entirely in French, and it's a great song. "Demolition Man" was later remade by Sting and used in the Sylvester Stallone film of the same title. The saxophones are especially prominent on "Too Much Information", which is followed by the catchy "Rehumanize Yourself" and the sax-heavy "One World (Not Three)". "Omegaman", written by Andy Summers, is an excellent song which I consider to be one of the group's best. "Secret Journey" is a cool and mysterious song. The last song of the album, "Darkness", has a nice piano part and has an oddly claustrophobic feel to it.

The four rarities which follow are interesting, but only one is really good. The first is the dull instrumental "Flexible Strategies", made up for by "Low Life". Then we've two songs from the BRIMSTONE & TREACLE soundtrack: "How Stupid Mr. Bates" and the rather disturbing "A Kind of Loving". On that rather poor note, we close the third disc.

The fourth disc is excellent, and possibly the best of the bunch. It contains SYNCHRONICITY, the final album of The Police. It was a major hit upon its release and is widely regarded as a classic. Not without reason - most of the songs are flawless, and Sting's lyrics have never been better or more visually-stimulative. The album opens with the memorable keyboard opening on "Synchronicity I". "Walking in Your Footsteps" is a departure from the usual style of The Police, but "O My God" is classic Police. It's hard to endure Andy Summers' shouting in "Mother", but the lyrics make it worth a try. Stewart Copeland wrote the nice, calm "Miss Gradenko". Everything which follows that is pure gold. "Synchronicity II" is one of the band's best songs, an energetic piece entirely different from "Synchronicity I". This is followed by the band's all-time biggest hit, the almost-legendary "Every Breath You Take". Needless to say, this is one of the group's best. "King of Pain" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" are both among the band's very greatest songs, featuring outstanding lyrics by Sting, particularly on the latter. "Tea in the Sahara", is a beautiful, dreamy song with a perfect vocal by Sting and some of Sting's finest lyrics ever; undoubtedly, this is one of the band's best. SYNCHRONICITY closes with "Murder by Numbers", another tongue-in-cheek composition which stirred up some controversy when it was released. And there ended the final album of The Police. MESSAGE IN A BOX, however, has more to offer.

There's a nice live recording of "Man in a Suitcase". Andy Summers gets the lead vocal part on the mega-rare "Someone to Talk To", which is definitely one of my favorite Police songs and very likely one of the group's best songs. The live recording of "Message in a Bottle" which follows is good, but unremarkable. "I Burn for You", originally featured on the BRIMSTONE & TREACLE soundtrack, is a beautiful, atmospheric song which also deserves a spot with the group's best work. "Once Upon a Daydream" is an interesting, eerie, and quite good rarity, succeeded by a nice live recording of "Tea in the Sahara". Finally, the career of The Police - and the last disc of MESSAGE IN A BOX - concludes with the infamous "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86", a revamp of the group's original hit which was the final song recorded by The Police. I like this song, though it has a more mainstream sound than the other compositions of the group. It goes without saying that it's far inferior to the original.

MESSAGE IN A BOX: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS is absolutely essential for any fan of The Police. It collects every one of the group's five albums and features a variety of highly intriguing rarities, as well as some interesting live recordings. It makes especially apparent the fact that The Police were not just one of the greatest bands of the 80's - they were very likely one of the greatest bands of all time. No Police fan can go without purchasing this, and I'd highly recommend it to everyone else as well.

Message In a Box is a 4 disc, 78 track anthology of all the Police's recorded studio work and a handful of live songs. Its title is a bit deceiving because it's not in a "box" at all; rather, it is a book or gatefold-style set. Also found in the gatefold is an attached booklet of color photos, a history of the band's career, a complete discography (with photos of all their releases) and, most interestingly, the stories behind the band's "B-Sides and other Obscure Releases," as told by Sting, Stewart and Andy.

The songs are more or less in sequence of release or their order on each respective Police album. Because of the volume of songs, the ordering's not perfect. The Regatta De Blanc album straddles discs one and two. It's a minor complaint - if a complaint at all - and is offset by all the cool added material.

The highlight of the set is really all the "B-sides and other obscure releases". A few of those are better than tracks that found their way onto albums. A true Police fan will want this set just for those songs. If you like the Police enough to buy all their stuff, you're better off buying this set instead of their 5 studio albums separately. It'll save you a few bucks.

The sound quality is good; there are certainly no glaring quality issues. As for the music, it's incredible! The Police are one of the best bands ever and are truly underappreciated. Their blend of reggae, ska, punk, rock and new wave sounds was quite astounding, even during the creative surge in pop music in the late 70's, early 80's.

I have hundreds of CD's but Message in a Box is, without question, in my top 10.

It's got EVERYTHING!! A MUST for every Police fan!
Plus, It's got REALLY nice photo's, a short bio for each band member, as well as an informative, chronological bio on the evolution of the band between the years: 1976- 1986.
A very nice compact set worth buying.

This is a "fun" album - but the lyrics of Shine insult SO MANY people groups.

I can't believe that a group that claims to proclaim the love of Christ would choose to record a song that insults and degrades so many.

I also cannot believe that CCM plays this song.

Here's a great collection of why we love the Newsboys. Fun-filled toe-tapping songs with an awesome message, and a couple of lovely ballads. I keep this disc in the car because it fits any mood, my husband and I both love it and I don't mind my son listening to it, even though at the moment he's an infant and doesn't get the lyrics anyway.

"Mega Mix" is both hilariously fun, a dance-beat remix of almost every song on the list, and a little annoying, since sometimes it seems like the song that never ends. No one does a remix like the Newsboys.

As for "Shine" insulting various "people groups" - it really, really doesn't. Believe me, I know every word, I worked at a CCM station and I got out the lyrics the first time I heard " . . .make a vegetarian barbeque a hamster . . .". First off, these are HUMOROUS examples of how radical the change is when you accept Christ. Second, it does NOT ever say that any of these people (or their choices) are wrong or bad or that you should change them if you are a Christain. It doesn't suggest barbequing hamsters is a good thing. Mostly, it's just silly ideas about people making big changes. The only lyric that some people might have a real issue with is "Makes a schizophrenic turn in his crayons". While I can see how that might be construed as mildly insulting, I am sure it was not intended to be.

I really enjoy listening to music from the Newsboys. Their music has a great beat, and always puts me in a good mood. I would highly reccomend it to anyone who likes to listen to music.

I thought this CD is very inspirational. It goes along very well with the Touched by an Angel DVDs.

This Touched By An Angel (TBAA) soundtrack is ab-soul-utely amazing. Combining the essence of music with the words of God, each song is delightfully pleasant and warming to the ears. It is a magnificent album, and songs from Wynonna Judd and Della Reese will just blow you away. I find the show very touching and comforting, and this music compliments that show. It is a touching cross between Dido and Richard Clayderman, and a must-have for anybody and everybody of all ages.

I personally loved this album and it's helped me through some tough times as a teenager. One of my best friends commited suicide and no lie this c-d really did help me get through some of the things that I was going through it was very uplifting and very spiritual and I needed that at that point in time. The message in all of the songs is very well thought out and not just that but the songs are very catchy and addicting. Especially "Testify to love" which was sung by Wynonna in the 100th episode of Touched by An Angel. I'm still not which one was better this great song or that great episode. If you love the show buy this c-d and if you love this c-d watch the show.

I love all of Eva Cassidy's CDs. She is my favorite music artist. "Songbird" is a great CD too! Buy every single one of her CDs, it's worth it.

This CD is definitely an uplifting arrangement of her musical renditions of some beautiful favorites! "Waly Waly", "I Know You By Heart", and "Blues In The Night" are beautifully sung by this amazing artist! She belts out Blues like you have never heard it before. You can hear not just a voice, but also her emotion all through her music. This is a phenomenal compilation of pop, soul, R&B, jazz, blues, gospel as well as folk music. Even though this talented and remarkable artist and musician is no longer with us, she is still very much alive in our hearts through her music!

I discovered Eva about 3 years ago and every time i listen to her my eyes fill with tears.
The emotion that comes out of me when i listen to her is undiscribeable.
I have 3 of her cds and I bow down to her greatness. I miss her and I didnt even know her.l

The Smiths were known for writing great singles, many of which never appeared on their albums. This is a large part of what makes this compilation so essential. Many of The Smiths best singles can be found on this album and its English counterpart The World Won't Listen, songs like "Ask", "Panic", "William, it Was Really Nothing", "Shoplifters..", "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now", "Half a Person", and "Please Please let Me Get What I Want" can be found here.

I am a fan of hardcore punk rock, and when i say that this is one of my favorite albums of all time, people do not understand. I first heard this album about 3 1/2 years ago and i instantly fell in love with Morissey's amazing voice and song writing abilities. If you are a fan of music in general, please take the time and listen. Even if you are not a fan of contemporary 80's rock. Listen, because this album can open up new doors, I know it did for me.

Anything by The Smiths, one of the best rock bands in history, should get 5 stars (except for maybe Meat is Murder, an indulgent but competent album). Louder Than Bombs is a true rarity - a collection a record label got right. Not only are most of the essential non-album songs included, but the song order could not have been better. Whoever put this CD together should be applauded.

Out of all The Smiths CDs, only four are true original albums (Smiths, Meat is Murder, Queen is Dead, and Strangeways). Two are merely non-album singles and b-side collections (Hatful and World Won't Listen). Louder Than Bombs is a combination of the two collections and in my opinion better than either of them and, since it omits true album songs, is better.

The seven main Smiths CDs are essential to any fan of rock/pop music. Despite, the Smiths CD discography is lacking - there are many different versions of songs that are very good and some have never appeared on CD (Wonderful Woman and Jeane).

I don't understand record companies; another CD with these loose ends would complete The Smiths legacy. They erronously assume people download free songs because of price, when actually it is because for the most part they don't know what they are doing. Louder Than Bombs, however, is an exception.

MXPX is not a band generally liked by people claiming to be "true punk rock" fans, and to be honest, the band is not really punk rock at all. MXPX is decidedly pop punk, in line with bands like Good Charlotte or Blink-182, but MXPX brings a certain level of reality to their music that is mostly evident on their live album, recorded at the 9:30 Club in Baltimore. Baltimore has a huge punk scene, and yet MXPX, with melody, harmonies and happinessm completely blew everyone away with the release of this album. Here we have a band with true skill and the subsequent recording of a live album without any added "studio magic", like Blink-182's "Mark, Tom and Travis Show", that is also a testement to their ability to play their songs without fault and to make a truly great live show. I can't rate individual songs off the album, as I consider it to be almost one long song, and prefer to view it like I would a show, but all these songs are well handled enough for me to confidently give the album 5 stars. It will not disappoint, wether you're a die-hard fan or have only just heard of MXPX.

This is the only mxpx cd I have ever heard and its great. I doubt the other stuff they have made could be this good but if it is its definately worth investigating. this cd has several songs that are less than 2 minutes and one that is less than 30 seconds. At first thought you would think that short songs would be hard to like however they are just as good as the longer ones they made. the best short songs in my opinion are lefetime enlightenment, wantad, andrea, and fist vs tact. the better long songs include tomorrows another day, sometimes you have to ask yourself, time brings change, invitation to understanding, middlename, and punk rawk show. the music on this cd seems to be strongly inspired by various emotions and or feelings one might have doing normal stuff on a day to day basis. since they put 23 songs on the cd and it is a live album of stuff they already made it shuould be a good glimpse of what the band is like overall.

Some people are saying that this is for die hard fans (which I am) but that isn't true. It shows how much energy they have at their shows. So if you are new to MxPx or you are an old fan, this is a great album. Invitation to Understanding is done a lot faster then usual. The KKK Took My Baby Away was done really well as well. But the best part of the CD is Chick Magnet. I love Mike's bass solo and his cool "Ba do da" part near the end rocks. So, in summary, this is great and you should get it as well as "Panic" which is going to be awesome.

Gillian Welch has a beautiful voice and sings bluegrass country music well. Our whole family has enjoyed it.

This is truly a "splendid" CD, I had not heard of Gillian Welch until Amazon reccomended it several times. I finally listened to the sample tracts and really liked her voice. This is a great addition to anyones music collection,especially if you are a folk song lover.
This is one of those cd's where you really will like all the songs, money well spent.
My favorites were Barroom Girls and Only One and Only.
Give yourself a treat and let this one be your first Gillian Welch CD...it won't be your last.

the music is fantastic, lasting quality, authentic folk music in our modern time, although some of it sounds "old" style. the opening track orphan girl is worth the album for me

Gillian Welch has a beautiful voice and sings bluegrass country music well. Our whole family has enjoyed it.

This is truly a "splendid" CD, I had not heard of Gillian Welch until Amazon reccomended it several times. I finally listened to the sample tracts and really liked her voice. This is a great addition to anyones music collection,especially if you are a folk song lover.
This is one of those cd's where you really will like all the songs, money well spent.
My favorites were Barroom Girls and Only One and Only.
Give yourself a treat and let this one be your first Gillian Welch CD...it won't be your last.

the music is fantastic, lasting quality, authentic folk music in our modern time, although some of it sounds "old" style. the opening track orphan girl is worth the album for me

I just love this CD (and the series!) This is my second CD, I practically wore out the first one...I bought the second one so I would have one at work and one for home/car. My 4 year old says the first song is her favorite and she knows the words!

All songs in this CD is Rock Ballad, Alternative so , that bring you back to scene with Liz & Max or Michael, Isabela...
Everything appears in your memory !
If you love this series you must get it !

This soundtrack touches on a lot of the emotion of the series. There were so many more songs that could have been a part of this great soundtrack like My Oh My, Crash Into Me, Yellow Light, Human, She Cries Your Name, Amy Hit The Atmosphere, Let Me In or many other great songs in the original series. But you can get a list of all the songs that appeared in the show when it first aired at www.roswell-the promise.com. Also the screensaver that comes with this CD is a nice bonus if you are a fan of the show.

very few albms get the attention this one does and with so few people having actually heard it. if you are new to GbV, start here. all of robert pollard's four P's are present: pop, punk, prog and psych. i have no idea why, but i still here gabriel-era genesis in these songs. what an album! this, to me, is one of the finest pieces of art ever created. shakespeare, picasso, beethoven. i'm serious!

here's the deal. a great artist sees things, hears things, a little differently. i hear these perfect songs recorded on a radio shack tape deck and wonder...what if...how would these crazy-good songs sound if recorded in a real studio and my mind constructs the rest. it informs the music and vice versa. it forces the listener to work things out and destroys the barriers between artist and consumer. hey! i could do that! and so many tried and the music world was refreshed with new voices and new ideas. this is important stuff. and yet we hear songs about robots and UFO's and god knows what else.

believe the hype. this is indeed one of the great triumphs in the history of music. the tape hiss, the four track dropping guitar parts (on purpose?), the overall horrible sounding thing that is bee thousand. my all-time favorite.

Like shards of broken glass that are arranged into a stained-glass window, this is the record where all the pieces first come together for the musical collective known as Guided By Voices. "Bee Thousand" is their first album to enjoy mass distribution, which is to say that, unlike previous albums, more than 1,000 copies were manufactured. To be straight about it, it's also their first album that is capable of withstanding scrutiny by the commercial marketplace. Main songwriter Robert Pollard remains as inscrutable as ever, and the songs recorded herein remain decidedly low-fi in recording methods, but each of the twenty songs on "Bee Thousand" are not only fathomable as music, but have a hook. They also last just long enough for them to sink in, with no song lasting much more than three minutes, and yet all of them are thoroughly unpredictable in structure and content.
This is by no means a perfect album. The low-fi approach that Guided By Voices choose by design virtually guarantees that each performance can be analyzed for sloppy instrumentation, bum notes, ridiculous lyrics....but that is what provides much of the appeal. If you can't buy into that concept, then you'll never be able to appreciate these guys. On the other hand, if you're a fan of spontaneous invention and unbridled creativity - recording methods be damned - then you owe it to yourself to experience "Bee Thousand".A-- Tom Ryan

A brilliant melding together of great songwriting and neo-sixties garage rock. This is a timeless classic which is truly in a class of it's own. Buy this album!