Alternative Rock Compilations music reviews

This album has a variety of voices representing the Chicano community and the movement expressed through music. From its hip hop rhythms to its haunting indigenous sounds, it is a breakthrough for what young people are producing today. The best contribution coming from the group Ollin with its mixture of folk music, rock, alternative, and the mix of indigenous instruments. A must have if you enjoy non-mainstream music.

Mid 1990s Chicano bands from Los Angeles. Liner notes with some historical information. Early recordings of all the bands. After the Zapatista uprisings in Southern Mexico, political energy in LA increased. A bunch of bands got pretty popular, in venues like Al's Bar, the Peace and Justice Center, Regeneracion, and Luna Sol Cafe. This disc is like a snapshot of that era of music.

Some notable bands are missing: Yeska, Quetzal.

Haven't heard this in a while but I remember it being pretty darn good. "Dark as a Dungeon" by Slobberbone is one of the all time coolest country/Rock songs ever recorded. That song alone makes this compilation well worth buying.

this offers some of the best of the rock of rock and the twang of country. Hard beating. Slobberbone is GREAT.

Rhino Records pays a hard hitting rock tribute to LEO FENDER, the innovative 50's mass producer of guitars and amps. Hardly anybody in the music business hasn't utilized A Fender in some capacity. This disc gathers some of todays best(well, you know the names). All exhibit the exhuberance of the Fender immitated but never duplicated products. A feast for the ears on every track. Annotator Dan Epstein, a regular contributor to Guitar World guides you through!

Rhino, the king of pop culture gimmicks, has come up with another winner. "The Players: Powered By Fender" is a collection of 16 hot rock hits ... played by 16 of the hottest names in rock music ... who just happen to play these tunes on --- you got it --- Fender Guitars. There's Eric Clapton, 3 Doors Down, Filter, The Goo Goo Dolls, Aerosmith, Alanis Morissette, Third Eye Blind and Sheryl Crow. This compilation will appeal to those
who like it loud --- no, make that LOUD. Just push play and stand back. Waaaaay back.

Not a massive amount of tracks on this one, but most are well worth a listen.

As with the Riot City Punk Singles Collection vol 1, there are some more familiar names here.

Again, we have the outstanding Leeds bands Abrasive Wheels and The Expelled (now being reformed without the lovely Jo!). The Expelled track is my favourite here because I wrote the lyrics to this and enjoyed my time with the band.

Then there is the classic Exploited track "Computers Don't Blunder" - hah! Ever heard of Windows XP!!

Anyway, maybe not up to the standard of the more comprehensive Riot City album, but it still beats the hell out of Robbie Williams!

Buy!

I ordered this CD without having a clue as to what was on it (with the exception of the track by Kajagoogoo). Luckily, it's pretty good! Here's the 10 tracks found on the CD: "It's My Life" by Talk Talk; "Words" by Missing Persons; "Kids in America" Kim Wilde; "She Blinded Me with Science" Thomas Dolby; "Turning Japanese" by the Vapors; "Don't Cry" by Asia (which I still don't recognize); "Call Me" by Blondie; "Sunglasses At Night" Corey Hart; "Lunatic Fringe" by Red Rider; and "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo. And, the sound quality is actually really good! Not a bad CD for 6 bucks. :)

Whereas so many indie comps fall short, this one delivers. The tracks by The Bevis Frond, The Green Pajamas, and Mary Lou Lord are all amazing gems (& are worth the price of the album alone).

[Update - thanks for adding a track list, Amazon!] Wondering what songs are on this CD? I was, so I went and found out. I haven't actually listened to it yet so my rating is based upon the song selection only. There are a few unfamiliar tunes, but where else can you find "Love Missile F1-11?"

Cars - Numan, Gary
One Way or Another - Blondie
Manic Monday - Bangles
Love Missile F1-11 - Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Blood and Roses - Smithereens
Eighties - Killing Joke
Sex Crime - Eurythmics
Take On Me - a-ha
Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears For Fears
Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies
Mandinka - O'Connor, Sinead
All She Wants Is - Duran Duran
Safety Dance - Men Without Hats
Our House - Madness
Running Up That Hill - Bush, Kate
Pictures Of Matchstick Men - Camper Van Beethoven

I felt that this music was very energizing and great for all those events that need high energy music. I am a big fan of the Europe compilations and recommend that everyone should give it a chance. I think that most of you would really enjoy the music. Two thumbs up!!!!

"Swamp Surfing in Memphis" is a collection of some hard to find local Memphis rock music from the original 1986 release of this comp, mostly a lot of garage rock. Since the CD comprises of four different bands, the sound of this collection offers much variety.

It's odd that in the US & UK, the major players in the Iraq invasion, this album is called "Warchild: Hope", yet in Canada this album is being released with mostly the same tracks as "Peace Songs". What does that say about how peace sells?

At the time of this review, the Amazon.com tracklisting did not include the artist names. Since in many (but not all) cases these are well-known artists, here's the artists involved:

1. Loving The Alien - David Bowie
2. Calico Skies - Paul McCartney
3. The Grave - George Michael (a cover of a Don McLean song from the American Pie album)
4. Vietnam - New Order
5. Peace Train - Yusuf Islam (You know him better as Cat Stevens, and yes, he's re-recorded the classic track he wrote over 30 years ago)
6. Love's in Need of Love Today - Beverley Knight (A cover of the first track from Stevie Wonder's Songs In the Key of Life by England's best soul singer)
7. In The Ghetto - Ronan Keating
8. The Beautiful Occupation - Travis
9. Stand up as People - Lee Ryan
10. Nearer - Moby
11. Love Is The Answer - Bassment Jaxx feat. Yellowman
12. We Got to Have Peace - Charlatans
13. Ooh Child - Beth Orton
14. The Wolf Covers Its Tracks - Billy Bragg
15. Hold On (War Child Mix) - Spiritualised
16. Ms Dynamite feat. George Michael - Faith (This was performed live on the Brits awards to a standing ovation. Ms. D changed the lyrics to make them more political)
17. Border Song - Tom McRae
18. Knocking on Heaven's Door - Avril Lavigne (Yup, Avril does Dylan. Well worth the effort.)