Alternative Rock music reviews

This is what a "real" album sounds like, when a band isn't focused on generating two or three singles and padding the rest with filler.

Aside from being a flawless masterpiece, Behavior is a time-capsule of the first years of the nineties. Spirits were high, then, as the end of the eighties saw the tumbling of the Berlin wall, and the thawing of the Cold War. Sure, AIDS was becoming a global epidemic, but there was a grain of hope. Does anyone feel hope in 2006?

Behavior has many things going for it. After scoring a few hits on their prior albums, PSB were free to experiment. The songwriting is top-notch, with briliant lyrics that never sound trite or gimmicky. Each song is carefully crafted, with just the right sound. And, in my opinion, Neil's singing has never sounded better.

As other reviewers have stated, you can't pick our the highlights, because the whole album is a highlight. You have wistful songs (It's Only the Wind, Jealousy, My October Symphony, Nervously), nostalgic songs (Being Boring), urgent songs (This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave, The End of the World), a sexy ballad (To Face the Truth), burning disco (So Hard), and catchy pop (How Can You Expect to be Taken Seriously?).

Although some of the tracks are filled with dry humor and sentiment, they never become maudlin, i.e. Morrissey at his worst. And the most disco-sounding song is nevertheless poignant and accusatory.

I could go on and on forever, but Behavior speaks volumes about itself. It is the definition of perfection.

This is a truly outstanding album. Of the various Pet Shop Boys albums, all of which I consider excellent, this is by far my favorite. I still listen to this album regularly, fifteen years after I bought it. In some ways I appreciate it even more now than I did when I first bought, if only because songs like "Being Boring" or "October Symphony" have become easier to relate to as I have aged. Moreover, it doesn't date itself at all. You could listen to it and not really pin it down to a particular year or even decade.

The album, perhaps more so than any of the other PSB albums, has a very consistent voice and mood. I don't know if it was intended as a concept album, I doubt it was, but it certainly could have been one. The songs all hang together as if they are pieces from the life of a specific person looking back over their life filled with regret, loneliness, and a sense of loss.

Other PSB albums may have a consistent musical style, but they are more like collections of songs, whereas this hangs together as a unified and cohesive piece of work. It is the only PSB album that I feel obligated to listen to from start to finish, with the tracks in their original order.

This may sound bizarre, but I would compare it to Steely Dan's "Gaucho" in terms of its timelessness, cohesiveness, and sense of place.

When it comes to dance-pop, most people laugh at it hilariously. However, if you come at it with an open-mind, not only is it interesting, but it's even fun and incredibly soothing (Pet Shop Boys' "Very" especially is). Though I would argue that "Very" is the better album, "Behavior" is still a classic dance-pop CD. Every song here is good, and it even contains some dance-pop classics like the first track "Being Boring" (my favorite one here alongside "How Can You Expect To Be Taken So Seriously?" - the way it builds up is fantastic). The beats are, as always, great, and the lyrics are still as interesting and fun as ever. Singer Neil Tennant delivers another excellent performance with the vocals - he has a strange albeit very likable and soothing voice. Basically, if you even remotely like the Pet Shop Boys or dance-pop, "Behavior", and especially "Very", are fantastic albums to get. Highly recommended!

Highlights include:
the entire album!

This is what a "real" album sounds like, when a band isn't focused on generating two or three singles and padding the rest with filler.

Aside from being a flawless masterpiece, Behavior is a time-capsule of the first years of the nineties. Spirits were high, then, as the end of the eighties saw the tumbling of the Berlin wall, and the thawing of the Cold War. Sure, AIDS was becoming a global epidemic, but there was a grain of hope. Does anyone feel hope in 2006?

Behavior has many things going for it. After scoring a few hits on their prior albums, PSB were free to experiment. The songwriting is top-notch, with briliant lyrics that never sound trite or gimmicky. Each song is carefully crafted, with just the right sound. And, in my opinion, Neil's singing has never sounded better.

As other reviewers have stated, you can't pick our the highlights, because the whole album is a highlight. You have wistful songs (It's Only the Wind, Jealousy, My October Symphony, Nervously), nostalgic songs (Being Boring), urgent songs (This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave, The End of the World), a sexy ballad (To Face the Truth), burning disco (So Hard), and catchy pop (How Can You Expect to be Taken Seriously?).

Although some of the tracks are filled with dry humor and sentiment, they never become maudlin, i.e. Morrissey at his worst. And the most disco-sounding song is nevertheless poignant and accusatory.

I could go on and on forever, but Behavior speaks volumes about itself. It is the definition of perfection.

This is a truly outstanding album. Of the various Pet Shop Boys albums, all of which I consider excellent, this is by far my favorite. I still listen to this album regularly, fifteen years after I bought it. In some ways I appreciate it even more now than I did when I first bought, if only because songs like "Being Boring" or "October Symphony" have become easier to relate to as I have aged. Moreover, it doesn't date itself at all. You could listen to it and not really pin it down to a particular year or even decade.

The album, perhaps more so than any of the other PSB albums, has a very consistent voice and mood. I don't know if it was intended as a concept album, I doubt it was, but it certainly could have been one. The songs all hang together as if they are pieces from the life of a specific person looking back over their life filled with regret, loneliness, and a sense of loss.

Other PSB albums may have a consistent musical style, but they are more like collections of songs, whereas this hangs together as a unified and cohesive piece of work. It is the only PSB album that I feel obligated to listen to from start to finish, with the tracks in their original order.

This may sound bizarre, but I would compare it to Steely Dan's "Gaucho" in terms of its timelessness, cohesiveness, and sense of place.

When it comes to dance-pop, most people laugh at it hilariously. However, if you come at it with an open-mind, not only is it interesting, but it's even fun and incredibly soothing (Pet Shop Boys' "Very" especially is). Though I would argue that "Very" is the better album, "Behavior" is still a classic dance-pop CD. Every song here is good, and it even contains some dance-pop classics like the first track "Being Boring" (my favorite one here alongside "How Can You Expect To Be Taken So Seriously?" - the way it builds up is fantastic). The beats are, as always, great, and the lyrics are still as interesting and fun as ever. Singer Neil Tennant delivers another excellent performance with the vocals - he has a strange albeit very likable and soothing voice. Basically, if you even remotely like the Pet Shop Boys or dance-pop, "Behavior", and especially "Very", are fantastic albums to get. Highly recommended!

Highlights include:
the entire album!

I love this cd!!! It's all I ever listen to. I give it five stars, and I WOULD give it 100,000,000,000...

I love Raze for the upbeat totally "today" techno-dance sounds and God centered lyrics. Perfect for exercise, dance and praise. Raze helps keeps me young: spirit, soul and body!

I was a fan of Raze before my sister got this cd. When she did I thought it was really cool! They share their faith about Jesus and how He loves everyone and they make their music sound really cool that would attract Dance and R&B fans. Most of the songs are cool and some songs would make you wanna dance like All Around the World, Can You Here me Now and Shouldn't it Be Me. Some of the other songs like Always and Forever, Brighter Day, Change and Lead Me are really cool groovy songs. Most of the songs would make dance to. Check out this cd!

This cd changed my life. So many different styles are incorporated into this album, and the delivery is perfect. It goes from punk-ish, to rock, to reggae, all with a touch of the ska. The lyrics to some of these songs are...can't put into words. The sound of Matt Embree's voice is out of this world, so much pain, yet so much happiness. All of this may sound kind of stupid, but that is because I can't find any words to describe how unbelievable this cd is. Buy it, or don't, either way it is still a landmark for its genre, err time.

This cd continues to blow me away. Luckily, this was the first cd of the Bandits' I bought...if I bought either of the other 2, I wouldn't have wanted to buy another album of their's. Their first album is full of sub-par 3rd wave ska songs with bad lyrics, and their 3rd album is full of experimental, hard-to-define rock. On the other hand, this cd is almost perfect. They combine a few different types of music: punk, rock, reggae, ska, you name it. Every single track on this cd is solid, and some of the choruses are so catchy it will blow your mind. Listen to the chorus on "Status" and you will hear one of the best, catchiest choruses ever. Another great thing about this cd is the fact that it never really gets old. The singer has a distinct voice, the band has a pretty distinct sound, and you can tell they love to make music. The only flaw to speak of on this cd is the Bandits' strange desire to add another minute or two of feedback or weird sounds to the end of every song. That is irritating, but if you don't mind changing tracks at the end of every great song, then buy this. And it is worth it.

Rx Bandits are a unique blend of many influences, most heavily ska. However I would not call RXB ska since they have various influences including raggae and latin. This cd is more heavily leaned toward ska than anything else. This is also the more poppy of the RXB cd's. It also displays the amount of talent and versatility, that only RXB has. Check out "Analog Boy" and "Infection."

I had just met in person the man I had been e-mailing for months. We had been swapping musical recommendations, along with the trivia and minutia that we both seemed to have an endless appetite for; he handed me a glass of wine, and went to his media center with a CD in his hand and said "This is my litmus test for anyone who claims to be someone of really broad musical tastes", and proceeded to put "Ruby Vroom" into the player. As "Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago" began, I could feel my eyes opening wider and wider, and I was smiling so big, it actually hurt my cheeks. I was taking an auditory ride equal to Alice's adventures in Wonderland, where everything had its very own perverse logic, thinking was circular, not linear, and the Mad Hatter had a new name--Mike Doughty. By the time I was boarding the "Bus to Beelzebub", I was completely hooked. I married the man with the CD, and we've shared many more glasses of wine, and many more CD's, and we've listened to Soul Coughing so often that my 17 year old son, whose personal tastes run more to Diatribe and Limp Bizkit, has memorized the words to "Bus to Beelzebub" and "Uh,Zoom Zip". We have the rest of Soul Coughing's discography, but this one, their first, is the definitive sound and psyche of these erudite innovators at their most scathingly observant.

Doing a quick glance over the various reviews of this album, i have noticed only one reviewer who even attempted to throughly criticize the hell out of this album. And a good job he did...for himself. But clearly, whoever recomended that he listen to Soul Coughing was glossly mistaken. Being the creepy stalker that i am, i read his other reviews to find that his primary musical interests center around 70s pop music, and while he may enjoy Cake, this is diffrent.

Diffrent to say the least. Soul Coughing is one of few bands that cannot be accurately compared to anything else at all. Sure, you can pick out the influences, but the complete sound is unique. It's a little like morphine, with free-form poetry and some drum and bass. Or like some of Garbages older stuff, but less electro and a male vocalist. Truely, though, Soul Coughing is not a band you ought to recommend to anyone based one their appreciation of another band.

"Ruby Vroom" is in my opinion, one of the greatest albums to be made in the 90s. I'm sure that comment won't go over well with the Nirvana crowd, but it's true. From the flawless, almost techno-quality drums of Yuval Gabay, to the haunting and precise upright bass of Sebastian, to, best of all, the vocals of Mike Doughty. Doughty does not sing songs about specific stuff, like falling in love or how politics are in the toilet. He sings about things that, granted, do not make complete sense, but rather, convey a mood.

And "Ruby Vroom" is all kinds of moody. The combination of unusual vocals and the use of an upright bass gives the entire album a brooding and dark tone. The wall to wall "hits" include "Casiotone Nation" (a song who's lyrics change every time it is performed) "Bus To Beelzebub" (which opens with a sample from a 'Looney Toons' song) "True Dreams Of Wichita" "Mr. Bitterness", and best of all "Screenwriters Blues", a track i personally think could continue the length on an entire LP and not get stale.

My humble opinion, but by the looks of it, I'm in good company.

Like lots of folks, I first heard Soul Coughing on Songs in the Key of X, which had "Unmarked Helicopters" on it. I sort of forgot about them until they came up on a favorite website of mine and I decided to check them out. Simply put, this album is brilliant. Laid back, funky as all get out, quirky and original, Ruby Vroom is one heck of an introduction to Soul Coughing. The lyrics range from nifty to brilliant, mostly brilliant, and manage to be edgy and playful and (on a few tracks) just nonsensical enough to be interpreted several ways. My favorite songs are "Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago", "Screenwriter's Blues", "Casiotone Nation", "Uh, Zoom Zip", "Down To This", and the quirky but brilliantly played "Mr. Bitterness" (it's sort of like drum n' bass, but played with real instruments), which is a huge changeup and continues to grab my attention. I have been listening to this album nonstop for a week, and it has definitely folded itself into my music collection nicely. Highly recommended.

So I wasn't instantly enamoured by these powerful ladies. Their music is passionate, but a good deal hackneyed - the lyrics are repetative and aren't winning any originality awards, the rythm and feel of this album isn't horrible but surely it isn't the apex of auditorial experiences. Not horrible, not great - mediocrity.

I listen to a whole wide variety of music, neglecting the country and rap side of things. This is my first review ever written anywhere, but these girls need to be known. I can't define their music, someone said "folk punk", but it's boundless. Their music isn't held down by genres. Not only are their voices and songs unique and amazing, their stage presence and lyrics are serene. There's no description really that can cover them or their CD's, so just go to www.teganandsara.com listen to a free song, and then come back and buy it.
Adam

Tegan and Sara without a doubt avoid the sophomore slump(as this is technically their *2nd* album) with these incredibly raw, passionate, original set of songs. I can't stress RAW or PASSIONATE enough...as those are the first words that come to mind whenever I listen to it, even now some 5 years since I first got it. I've purchased everything they've put out since, but this will always be the reigning favorite.

Barely even legal adults at the time of making this album- & yet they evoke such an array of emotions that after listening you can't help but feel your jaw drop a little. I love this CD for all the unique wordplay and intensity with which it's sung. Their voices are so fierce and they've got a lot of interesting things to say.

You'll want to show this to anyone you know who appreciates strong, original, and generally just GREAT music.

Seriously, not a bad track on this cd....each song is so unique in itself, you can't help but listen over and over and love them.

My Favorites: "The First", "Not With You", "Hype", "All You Got"

Buy it, you'll be happy you did.

Well, I guess I have to admit, I have NEVER heard a BAD Edwin CD. I just haven't. I LOVE good music; I have no patience for even mediocre music. This CD is one of Edwin's finest! ---

Austin Sessions is for ME... and for all of the people who truly enjoy his live shows. It is a true example of what you get LIVE. So, if you haven't had the chance to see a LIVE acoustic Edwin McCain concert, get Austin Sessions, turn the lights down loooooowwwwww, and just soak it in. You WON'T be sorry! ---

To go a step further, if you want to see how multi-talented Edwin McCain is, get Far From Over, too! I think what I love best about FFO is the fact that you can get EVERY STYLE of music there that Edwin performs. Jazz, Hard Rock, Soft Rock, Ballads, Folk, WHATEVER! BTW, anyone who has been touched in ANY way by adoption... given up a child for adoption, adopted a child or even been adopted... you need this CD. Edwin was adopted at birth by an amazingly wonderful and loving family. He does not know who his birth mother is. Listen to the song, "Letter to My Mother." It will just slay you. He is writing to his adopted Mom about how much he loves HER... and yet saying there is another woman out there that he loves... thanking her for giving him LIFE. AMAZING STORY, but an even more amazing song. Also, if you are a Christian, you will LOVE "Jesus, He Loves Me." It is a sort-of combination of Jesus Loves me and the Footprints poem. You can tell by listening that this is something coming from the depths of his spirit. He wrote and performed this song on the soundtrack, "Jesus: Music From & Inspired by the Epic Mini Series." This CD is also available on Amazon.com. Compare this song with the others, and tell me which one most openly tells about Jesus and His effect on a person's life. ---

Edwin is one-of-a-kind; a singer/songwriter like no other. Far From Over is one of the best EMB has ever given us. Just check out the sound clips above. Also go to the listing for the "Scream & Whisper" CD and listen to those clips. Couldn't Love You More is HANDS DOWN the most beautiful love song Edwin has ever written or performed. It surpasses "I'll Be," {{{I LOVE THAT SONG!!!}}} AND "I Could Not Ask For More." BTW, when Dr. Phil ran an online survey, announced on his TV show, asking for everyone's favorite WEDDING SONG, "I'll Be" not only won... [Dr. Phil had Edwin, Larry and Craig on the show to perform it.] it had more votes than ALL of the other songs COMBINED. Does that tell you something about the kind of music Edwin gives us? What an awesome talent! Scream & Whisper gives you a lot of insight into more than just his life over the past 30+ years... It also tells us what Edwin's personal life has been like the past couple of years... coming out of his recent past of drinking and usage of drugs, you can see the resulting clarity of him being clean; it shows in his songwriting AND his beautiful voice! ---

Now are you ready? The good news is there is a NEW CD on the way: "LOST IN AMERICA" is CD #8 for Edwin and his band. Anyone who attends his live concerts... hundreds of shows every year... has already heard him sing some of these songs. This CD is going to be even more amazing than the last. Scheduled release is April 11, so hopefully Amazon will be like Edwin.com and allow pre-orders so you can get one ASAP. This new CD will be Edwin's first since signing with Vanguard Records. It should be the beginning of many more great things to come! ---

Also, if you haven't already, go to iTunes and download "Hold Out a Hand," by Edwin McCain & Maia Sharp. Maia also performs, "Scream & Whisper," with Edwin on the S&W CD. They are together again on "Hold Out a Hand." All profits going to the victims of the hurricanes. It is a moving song... one of those typical Edwin songs that makes you look at your own heart and life by being painfully honest about his own. ---

While you are looking for more and more Edwin, send an email to angelpaz at earthlink.net and ask for information on obtaining a sampler CD of Dois Gemeos. That is a new CD by Larry Chaney {lead guitar for Edwin's band} and Craig Shields {sax and keys for EMB}. The new CD will be available in the Spring of 2006... but email about how to get the 5-song sampler. It is a Jazz/Bossa Nova style CD and even has a track with Pete Riley playing and Edwin on the vocal track. The final FULL CD will have contributions of each of the EMB guys on it.

Enjoy Austin Sessions... you won't be sorry you bought it! AND WATCH FOR THE NEW CD, "LOST IN AMERICA" THAT WILL BE RELEASED ON APRIL 11, 2006!

Edwin Mccain shows he truly is talented beyond the studio and "fluff" today's musicians use to promote themselves. All of his music is good but this CD is exceptional. Why? Simply stated, it's acoustic and he is real. Someone commented about their disappointment that "the songs didn't sound like they do on the radio." Poppycock! They sound closer than any other "star" out there today. Edwin is down to earth and honest. His work shows it and his DVD's let you see it. I can only say, More, More, More! Please more!

I'm one of those music fans that enjoys alot of different music....I simply appreciate talent, especially with all of the manufactured music and entertainment that goes on. I'm a HUGE fan of Edwin McCain, and in the course of listening to all of his music, and going to his shows, I've also realized how amazingly talented his band is. I simply love the Austin Sessions CD, perhaps because I am already a fan, but the sound, his voice, the songs.....I just can't say enough. I highly recommend Edwin McCains music, and the Austin Sessions is the cherry!

When this album came out in the US in 1985, it seemed really interesting to me. The mood...Andrew Eldritch keeps the accelerator going up and down, always feels like the band has a terrific pent-up energy that is never released. Perfect innovation in a time when rock music was going either to simple basics or to wretched excess. This is dark without drone. It was appealing to a college student who didn't want any more sappy love music or "Slow Ride." I cannot highlight one song over another; the theme is consistent.

Years later, I heard Fields of the Nephilim for the first time. Yes, in the earlier stuff there's some striking imitation. If you listen to "Laura," which includes pre-FALAA tunes from the Neph, then pick up "Dawnrazor," the Sisters absorption becomes obvious.

This is not to disparage Fields of the Nephilim. In my view, the Sisters of Mercy dissolved into nothing more than Eldritch's playtoy due to incessant lineup changes. The Neph hung on a little longer and took that gothic-inspired theme much farther, before exhausting it and piddling off into obscurity. "Nephilim" and "Elizium" are more enduring works, not matching Eldritch's lyrical poetry but surpassing the Sisters in musical creativity and studio polish. Today, these recordings are a lot more enjoyable to listen to than anything the Sisters put up. I don't believe the Neph would have amounted to anything, though, without a serious shove from "First and Last and Always."

Over the years, I have gotten a great deal of pleasure out of all of these albums and have mourned the groups' inability to extend a momentary flourish into a more expansive genre. The great thing here is the power the Sisters and the Neph generated without guitar distortion--loud and clear.

I bought FALAA after I had bought Floodland, and I was suprised when the former was so noticeably different from the latter. This is, in my opinion, the Sisters of Mercy at the top of their form; the album is an absolute treat.

The most striking thing about FALAA is its masterful consistency- this is a testament to what an album should sound like in execution. The songs stand apart well enough to be memorable as individual pieces but are cohesive enough to make the whole satisfying and coherent.

And the songs themselves are all fantastic. In a true display of the original band's talent and skill, they manage to make dreary, brooding lyrical subjects into beautiful pop songs. "Marian [Version]" is a hauntingly immaculate number that can be described as "just plain pretty". It also has one of Eldritch's best vocal performances- he drops his voice to a soft, melodic baritone and croons (or as close to crooning as he's gotten) out the lyrics. In the gorgeously minimal "Nine While Nine" he laments over a love gone sour to a piano tune. "Some Kind Of Stranger" is among the most haunting of the bunch, as Eldritch gradually digresses into a desperate wail as the song moves along. Fast and catchy dance tunes like "Walk Away", "Rock and a Hard Place" and "Logic" inject movement and energy when needed.

The album's title track, and one of my favorites, shows just how excellent a guitarist the musically-underrated Wayne Hussey is. The whole album does. His guitar work is one of the key ingredients into making this such a fantastic listen. His focus isn't on the mindless execution of three chords, but on structure and melody.

This is an example of soild, well-structured pop brilliance. There's not a single track that necessitates skipping over- they're all damn good. This is a true album, not just a collection of bare-bones studio drudgery punctuated by singles. It works best as a whole, and that's how it should be listend to. Dreary? A tad. Brooding? Sure. Overly dramatic? Of course. But that's why this album is a true gem- the fact that it can be all those things and still be beautiful, original and satisfying. An absolute must.

Folks, I have a tendancy to change my favorite artist/album, very often. I know I recently stated ELO's 'Discovery' as my all-time favorite, but after listening to this album a few times today, I have been forced to change my mind. I may change again, and trust me it gets annoying - but I will never stop loving this album. The guitars are low, haunting, and chiming echos that linger in your thoughts for the longest time. Eldrich is a pure musical genious. His dark, haunting, and extremley low vocals have influenced every Goth band this side of the equator. Amazing vocals. This music sounds like something you would hear at a graveyard. It's not rock, It's not metal, It's...Goth. It is hard to describe. IT Is beautifully crafted, dark, romantic, classical influenced goth music. And It's excellent. Everything. 'Black Planet', 'Walk Away', 'No Time To Cry' and 'Marian' are all dark and brooding, dismal and dreary. They my disturb as during the music you will begin to think of death. But this music is excellent. A must own, pure brilliance - A Classic.

I LOVE HER MUSIC....I JUST BOUGHT THIS DISC. YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO GASOLINE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I FEEL THIS IN MY HEART! I LOVE THIS SONG....NEED TO CHECK IT OUT!

For those of us that do not live in Canada, we have to say Jann Who?
I bought this album after it was suggested by Amazon.
Thank you!
For those of us who enjoy the having pretty girls sing to us this is a dream come true of a 11 year old album. I recently read an essay by one of my favorite writers, bemoaning the lack of Carol King, Carly Simon, kind of singer song writers in popular music today. I guess that only applies to everyone except Canada, as Jann Arden, Amanda Marshal etc, are making exactly the kind of music he (and I), miss on the radio today.
"Living Under June" is a top flight kind of album spanning from pop, ("Insensitive") to broody (I would Die For You), to bluesy Jazz, (It Looks Like Rain). Although her newer CD's are also very good, if you are new to Jann Arden, "Living Under June" is the Album to start with. You won't regret it.

This is one of the Best CD's I have ever heard! I had to burn the original to keep it in perfect condition so I wouldn't wear it out... It has some of the best songs, one of my three favorites is from my favorite movie "Bed of Roses" the song "Insensitive"! No matter how many times I have listened to this CD, I really love it and have to sing along. I also really loved "Could I be your Girl?" and "Unloved". There is not one bad song on the whole CD. If you liked "Insensitive" you'll love the rest of the songs as well.

Excellent CD! Has the perfect mix of upbeat and relaxing songs. Idina needs to put some more records out there!

i first found out about idina when i bought the wicked soundtrack but it wasnt long before i became a fan of her as a singer and an actress. she has an incredible voice...beyond belief. this album is an example of not only how amazing her voice is (which is a given) but how great her song writing skills are. her lyrics are heartfelt and give you a peek into her heart and mind. my favorite is "still i cant be still" (its my anthem to put it simply) but i also love "minuet" (the video is ADORABLE with taye) and "heart on my sleeve". "straw into gold" is really good...i love the beat. personally, i can relate to a lot of her songs which i can't do with other artists. basically, the entire album is great. i definitely reccomend it!

Idina Menzel's first album is fantastic. Her indie/alternative/pop sound is unique and fun, and her lirics are clever AND meaningful, which is not a combination you find too often these days. Idina has a one in a million kind of voice and this album shows off her range. Buy it!