Alternative Rock Compilations music reviews

If you lived in the U.S. as I did during the twenty years that this compilation boldly ventures to summarize, odds are good that only a few of the 30 songs here will sound familiar - which is exactly why you need this album in your collection!

It's downright dreamy for those of us who treasure memories of actual broad - rather than narrow* - casting. A time when radio stations threw demographic ratings-driven caution to its rightful end (the garbage) and just played good music that usually violated a format-boundary or two in the process of being played. The inclusion of any one of the following artists, and their perfect pop stateside one-hit wonder songs, merits the price of admission to this collection, but you get a dazzling array of them from:
Tasmin Archer, Sandra, the late Dusty Springfield (her second teaming with the Pet Shop Boys), a double shot of Midge Ure(solo and in Ultravox, a great taste-test for those of you who don't already own his 1993 If I Was: The Very Best of Midge Ure and Ultravox), Chesney Hawkes (...), Andru Donalds and Joshua Kadison.
You will have to retrieve your copies of THE BILLBOARD BOOK OF TOP 40 HITS and THE GUINESS BOOK OF BRITISH HIT SINGLES to remind yourself of when these songs charted, but every track is well worth the research.

Very little could be done to improve this collection - perhaps the selection of the album rather than chopped single versions of U.S. #1's by the Cutting Crew and Human League, or the inclusion of even more obscure U.S. one-hit wonders like "Cry" by Godley and Creme or "I Know There's Something Going On" by Frida of Abba. Yet BIG HITS succeeds on a grand scale in venturing where few 80s compilations have gone before by favoring choice one-hit wonders and some entirely new-to-you songs and artists over the remastered retreads (and even they fit well here - tracks by Irena Cara, Kim Carnes and Wilson Phillips among them). Come along for the buzz of the ride. Essential, A+.

* - This author first encountered the term "narrowcasting" in Chart Beat by BILLBOARD columnist Fred Bronson. I understand his term to refer to the frustrating, late 1990s trend of U.S. radio station program directors allowing listener age-bracket data and Arbitron ratings to over-influence their playlist content. True Top 40 stations that played all kinds of music in a given market were replaced by rigid entities dedicated to narrowcasting only the music that fit their "format." A sad trend that BIG HITS: POP totally disregards - amen!

This has got to be one of the most obscure CDs in the music universe...an amazing compilation of new and old LATE night/EARLY morning songs, from film scores, to avante garde, to chillout and back.

This CD is simply awesome background music to life's quiet hours.

Compilations that are this unique, this consistently good (from track 1 thru 36!), and so skillfully researched and mixed are rare indeed.

No one who thinks of themselves as a "fringe" contemporary music fan should miss out on owning this!

If the "A Very Special Christmas" trilogy were to add a forth, this should be it. The execution and selection is supurb. You'll be humming these tunes as you stroll the Malls, the benificiaries will be the receivers of your gifts. "A Christmas To Remember" is, indeed, unforgetable and a gift to all who listen to it.

From the makers of CREAmFields and a world tour of dance and eletronic artists, Cream shuld also be put up on the dance scene all stars list. Not yet as established as the Ministry of Sound Label, cream still has got the magic touch in offering the best that dance music has to offer. Sometimes i suspect that Cream albums are a bit better but oh well thats just me. A lot less commercial than MoS, this cream album starts out witht he Ibiza style funky hard house (UK style of course) with fun dancefloor grooves such as "dont call me baby" to chilled out grooves such as a mix of Moby's "Porcelain". Later on the CD turns a more deeper sound inward to Trance starting with Toca's Miracle through Alice Deejay's new single "will i ever" (dutchforce mix) and the second CD is pure trance madness! (well yes witha nice housey feeling intro of 3 or so songs. overall a great album with jsut he right blend of dancable Hard house and Emotion invoking Trance. Go and get it : )

I'm going to order it when i'm done with this review, but I've heard the whole thing before and I think it's an amazing cd. It's obviously dance music, given the title; so if you're into good dance music you should definitely get this cd. I have been looking for this cd ever since my friend came back from England with it last year, because it's so great. I haven't been able to find it anywhere until now. >>Track3 is my favorite. I hope you found this helpful? It's a really good cd, buy it

Fierce Panda is one of those labels that we only dream about. Simon Williams started it and he was dedicated to discovering new exciting music. It started ten years ago and has released many records. I guess since they released Coldplay and Hundred Reasons first, they are visionaries. I am not sure that they are Creation Records, but they are pretty good. There was some focus of folk music like Bright Eyes and The Bluetones. Placebo and Seafood supplied some heavy rock. Some techno music by Lo-Fidelity Allstars. Some easy listening by Coldplay and Embrace, and also The Clientele. There are some unique bands like Polyphonic Spree and The Music. And then there is Kaito: who can compare to their racket. There was no overall esthetic. Just what was relevant at the time? There is some leanings to moody soft rock with emotion. Some of these songs are not available on any CD because they were released as singles. Let's celebrate.

Collecting the 2002 vinyl-only singles released by the DFA, the brilliant 'Compilation #1' gathers 8 tracks that showcase why DFA Records may very well be one of the most groundbreaking musical entities of the 21st century. Not so much in the sense that what they are doing is treading new waters, but that they have adapted so well in their own way to the musical trends of the new millenium. In this so-called "digital age" of music consumption the artists on the DFA label have strategically released (and continue to) 12" singles --mainly available through underground indie shops-- to build up cred instead of rushing a long-player out the door to get their 15-minutes. This has resulted in unmatched quality-over-quantity output, and it's a refreshing change.

The only questionable move on Comp #1 is the inclusion of LCD Soundsystem's decidedly weaker second A-side, "Give It Up", over the astonishing first B-side "Beat Connection". It was perhaps included to attempt to show as much variation as possible, but even its B-side, "Tired" would have been better suited on here. That aside, everything else is absolutely essential, from the schizophrenic electro-pulses of the Juan Maclean's "By the Time I Get to Venus" to Black Dice's scraping "Cone Toaster". The moaning, melodic "Silent Morning" is a nice counterpart to the Rapture's "House of Jealous Lovers", clearly the most well known track here, and the first big step for the DFA. The fact that it was readily available before its inclusion on 'Compilation #1' doesn't detract from its cowbell-clatter goodness. The generally agreed upon favourite here is clearly LCD Soundsystem's tongue-in-cheek "Losing My Edge", which is as brilliant now as it was four years ago, and nothing more needs to be covered. The real secret weapons on the disc, however, are the Juan Maclean's "You Can't Have It Both Ways" and Black Dice's "Endless Happiness". The former being one of the best underground dance tracks in recent memory, and the latter single-handedly making a case to stop creating albums on laptops and embrace the warm, full-bodied sound of analogue recording. Truthfully, Black Dice is not for everyone, and their work is definitely "love it or hate it". That said, for many DFA proponents, particularly the ones who appreciate Black Dice's sonic vision, "Endless Happiness" is quite likely high on their list of Best Things Ever.

The songs have been discussed and disected, and still three years after the fact, this collection remains a critical piece of the DFA catalogue. If you primarily collect the vinyls this is still a nice way to have the early singles together for a quick runthrough, and if you're strictly into the CDs this is definitely the place to find "Cone Toaster" and the two fantastic Juan Maclean tracks.

The DFA make some of the best dance music known to man. Their production is superb and their artists are ground breaking. This compilation is a nice, shorter companion to Compilation 2. And I guess this is the first time all you suckers without turntables will be able to hear all these presiviously-vinyl-only singles.

This has been my favorite record of 2004. The Rapture's House of Jealous Lovers is an obvious highlight, but there are no weak spots (amazing for a compilation), and Losing My Edge is hilarious, espcially to an aging hipster like me. This is what's happening now, and I can't wait for #2, which is supposed to be due before the end of the year.

Supernova is the Best Band in the world and this is the only place to get Sugar Coated Stucco.The rest is good too.

Yes, I used to listen to faggot frat boy bands like Linkin Park and Trapt, but when I listened to some good old metalcore, this changed my life. Most of the tracks are great. I'm not into Open Hand, and the singing on that Most Precious Blood song throws it off. Bleeding Through's good songs are on this record, and you can't go wrong with classic Poison The Well. Throwdown, Eighteen Visions, Hopesfall and Nora are great as well. However, I wish they put a Most Precious Blood song off "Nothing In Vain", an Eighteen Visions song off "Until The Ink Runs Out" and a Walls of Jericho song off "The Bound Feed The Gagged". Otherwise, this is a great retrospective throughout the Trustkill years.

this is some very good hardcore. if you have a very good stereo system, and a good pair of ears, you can hear what influenced pro-pain, old sepultura(with max), rage against the machine(before zach left), napalm death, and the Christian band hangnail. there isn't a bad apple in the bunch.

In 2002, with the release of "The Future Of Music" by Trustkill Records, we got a taste of the minor-label company and what their music was about. In 2004, we get the full course meal of Trustkill, and how their bands are brutal, melodic, and beautiful in their own ways. "Blood, Sweat, & Ten Years" shows the versatility of Trustkill Records in today's diverse music industry, with many up-and-coming bands that will go on (or are already going on) to bigger and better things.

Owning most of this company's records beforehand, I suppose that I am slightly biased. But Trustkill has chosen the cream of the crop from their current artists and put their best tracks on display. At the same time, this album marks the ten year anniversary for the small record company, and their 50th release.

If you are looking for bands who are fresh faces in the music industry, Trustkill Records is where you should turn. Whether your taste is in metal, hardcore, emo, or all of the above, you are bound to find several bands in Trustkill's arsenal for you. This album provides a worthy compendium of young, aggressive, and talented artists that are striving in an industry where radio and MTV rule.

Do yourself a favor and pick up "Blood, Sweat, & Ten Years" as a way of sticking to the popular media which, for the most part, shuns this kind of talent. You won't be disappointed with the amount of force on this record (nor will you be disappointed with the low price), and it will most certainly enlighten your music tastes in a new century of music.

This is a pretty well put together compliation. The chill out cd kind of lacks, but it's nice that they included the genre. The House cd is definitely the best. Pretty much every track is good, it will have you coming back for more. The Trance cd is enjoyable too, but I've kind of lost my desire to hear a lot of trance these days. Again all the top picks for 2003 are here.

the 1st CD was the best out of all 3 because of all the biggest house music hits of 2003. Best tracks: Eric Prydz-Slammin, M Factor-Come Together, Morjac-Stars, and Shake It. The 2nd cd- trance was awesome. Well mixed. I bought this cd over at Tesco while I lived at england for about $21. I don't know why it cost $50 on this site. Might wanna try www.hmv.co.uk.