Indie Rock music reviews

Her voice is gorgeous, just like a songbird!!!! So sad that she is now singing with the angels, before more of her works could be published.

I heard Fields of Gold on the season finale of Everwood and thought whoever was singing it had a beautiful voice. When I hear a song I like I usually just have to find out who sings it. I did a little research and found that it was Eva Cassidy. I tried to download the song from ITunes but couldn't find it. Soooo, my next stop was Amazon. I searched for Eva Cassidy, found the CD, and bought it. I really like the whole CD. Her music is very soothing to me. My favorite songs are Wade in the Water, Over the Rainbow, and Fields of Gold. I ordered Time After Time and just received it several days ago. I've listened to some of the songs, but not the entire CD just yet. Eva Cassidy has a beautiful voice.

apparently, the good do die young....it's a shame she's gone, because eva was full of emotion, with great lungs and tune to boot.

Smashing Pumpkins... Yeah, you remember them, right? They were that one band with the weird looking bald guy who dominated the airwaves/charts ten years ago. Well, like most of the people here will tell you, Siamese Dreams was their finest album and it was the pinnacle of their career. In my humble opinion, it was the only good thing to come out of the whole "Grunge" trend. But, even that doesn't do this album justice. Despite many people's accusations, the Pumpkins didn't try to capitalize on the success of Nevermind. If anything, they were more influenced by the wall of sound approach of My Bloody Valentine.

Listening to this album is an interesting experience for me. I was seven when it first came out, and even though I didn't hear the full album until around 2001/02, I remember some of these songs being played periodically on the radio. Most people do not realize just how big this band was at one time -- they were once hailed as "the new Nirvana." Of course, the label was misguided and used as a selling point. Nirvana's success was unparalleled, over hyped, and unexpected. Cobain didn't really "change the face of music" like most people like to believe. He just gave a new found recognition for bands that had once been obscure and underground. However, the Pumpkins stand on their own two feet, so do not believe the unsound comparisons to Nirvana. In any case, this is a solid album. It presents a lot of the same old overused rock cliches, but it presents them in a remarkably different way.

I think that when it comes down to 90's mainstream rock this was one of the better releases. Nowadays, most people know that the whole grunge trend was a farce. It was just the same old technique of presenting something that had been around for years as "the new." If anything, Grunge revived rock in order to kill it off in a more cruel fashion. It gave rise to the horrible rap metal, nu metal, and emocore bands that dominate the mainstream nowadays.

I used to listen to a lot of rap music like nas and biggie and underground artists until i heard today on the radio, within a week i had this amazing album in my hands and i have been listening ever since.
Now don't get me wrong i have plenty of good rock albums but this album just blew me away-there is not one bad track on the whole album. It's been 8 months since i purchased this album and i swear it hasn't left my stereo since-buy this album and find out way.......

Easily among the greatest rock albums ever. This is a must have!

When else have have seemingly mismatched driving rock and syrupy sweet vocals ever blended so well together?

Smashing Pumpkins... Yeah, you remember them, right? They were that one band with the weird looking bald guy who dominated the airwaves/charts ten years ago. Well, like most of the people here will tell you, Siamese Dreams was their finest album and it was the pinnacle of their career. In my humble opinion, it was the only good thing to come out of the whole "Grunge" trend. But, even that doesn't do this album justice. Despite many people's accusations, the Pumpkins didn't try to capitalize on the success of Nevermind. If anything, they were more influenced by the wall of sound approach of My Bloody Valentine.

Listening to this album is an interesting experience for me. I was seven when it first came out, and even though I didn't hear the full album until around 2001/02, I remember some of these songs being played periodically on the radio. Most people do not realize just how big this band was at one time -- they were once hailed as "the new Nirvana." Of course, the label was misguided and used as a selling point. Nirvana's success was unparalleled, over hyped, and unexpected. Cobain didn't really "change the face of music" like most people like to believe. He just gave a new found recognition for bands that had once been obscure and underground. However, the Pumpkins stand on their own two feet, so do not believe the unsound comparisons to Nirvana. In any case, this is a solid album. It presents a lot of the same old overused rock cliches, but it presents them in a remarkably different way.

I think that when it comes down to 90's mainstream rock this was one of the better releases. Nowadays, most people know that the whole grunge trend was a farce. It was just the same old technique of presenting something that had been around for years as "the new." If anything, Grunge revived rock in order to kill it off in a more cruel fashion. It gave rise to the horrible rap metal, nu metal, and emocore bands that dominate the mainstream nowadays.

I used to listen to a lot of rap music like nas and biggie and underground artists until i heard today on the radio, within a week i had this amazing album in my hands and i have been listening ever since.
Now don't get me wrong i have plenty of good rock albums but this album just blew me away-there is not one bad track on the whole album. It's been 8 months since i purchased this album and i swear it hasn't left my stereo since-buy this album and find out way.......

Easily among the greatest rock albums ever. This is a must have!

When else have have seemingly mismatched driving rock and syrupy sweet vocals ever blended so well together?

Smashing Pumpkins... Yeah, you remember them, right? They were that one band with the weird looking bald guy who dominated the airwaves/charts ten years ago. Well, like most of the people here will tell you, Siamese Dreams was their finest album and it was the pinnacle of their career. In my humble opinion, it was the only good thing to come out of the whole "Grunge" trend. But, even that doesn't do this album justice. Despite many people's accusations, the Pumpkins didn't try to capitalize on the success of Nevermind. If anything, they were more influenced by the wall of sound approach of My Bloody Valentine.

Listening to this album is an interesting experience for me. I was seven when it first came out, and even though I didn't hear the full album until around 2001/02, I remember some of these songs being played periodically on the radio. Most people do not realize just how big this band was at one time -- they were once hailed as "the new Nirvana." Of course, the label was misguided and used as a selling point. Nirvana's success was unparalleled, over hyped, and unexpected. Cobain didn't really "change the face of music" like most people like to believe. He just gave a new found recognition for bands that had once been obscure and underground. However, the Pumpkins stand on their own two feet, so do not believe the unsound comparisons to Nirvana. In any case, this is a solid album. It presents a lot of the same old overused rock cliches, but it presents them in a remarkably different way.

I think that when it comes down to 90's mainstream rock this was one of the better releases. Nowadays, most people know that the whole grunge trend was a farce. It was just the same old technique of presenting something that had been around for years as "the new." If anything, Grunge revived rock in order to kill it off in a more cruel fashion. It gave rise to the horrible rap metal, nu metal, and emocore bands that dominate the mainstream nowadays.

I used to listen to a lot of rap music like nas and biggie and underground artists until i heard today on the radio, within a week i had this amazing album in my hands and i have been listening ever since.
Now don't get me wrong i have plenty of good rock albums but this album just blew me away-there is not one bad track on the whole album. It's been 8 months since i purchased this album and i swear it hasn't left my stereo since-buy this album and find out way.......

Easily among the greatest rock albums ever. This is a must have!

When else have have seemingly mismatched driving rock and syrupy sweet vocals ever blended so well together?

Wow! If you would like a change in pace from hiphop or rock and want to be transported back in time, check out these guys! This group creates a wonderful mix of New Orleans jazz, swing, and modern story lyrics. I only wish we could have some clubs open up in our downtowns with this sound. This group will make you move and you'll be "swinging" before you notice what's happening.

With bands like "Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy" they just don't get better than this. If you want to get in a good mood, lose weight, (I did. I lost 25 pounds with this band)or just feel good, this is the music to buy!!!

I went to the concert and enjoyed the music sooo much that I decided to buy the CD. My family and I absolutely love it. All of the music is so upbeat it just makes you want to dance.

Maybe it's just me but I don't think Blood Sugar Sex Magik lives up to all the hype that surrounds it. That's not to say I don't thoroughly enjoy myself when I hear this, but it's just not what I was led to believe some 7 years ago (when I was beginning to form preferences). All the energy that makes a CD great is there, and there's even some to spare, the great vocals are there, amazing backing band, awe-inducing lyrics, everything is there that makes a memorable CD, well, memorable. I think my deal is just that I'm not the biggest Chili Peppers fan.

So lets just imagine that you, the potential buyer of this CD, have never heard of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There's probably questions you're asking yourself:

Q: Is it really worth it?
A: Yes. Even for me, a person who thinks there's only a handful of good songs on this CD, I would definitely pay the money again.

Q: Is it everything people say?
A: I don't think so, but a lot of what people say has truth behind it.

I wouldn't chase anyone away from buying this CD, I do think it's an important record that ultimately changed a lot of people's outlook on music. I can't say I'm one of those people because my tastes in music are probably different from theirs, but I can admit that this is a CD that has aged as gracefully as possible. The ballads are just as powerful now as they were when this was released, and the more funky, heavy songs, retain every bit of energy as well.

My favorite songs are Breaking The Girl, Funky Munks, I Could Have Lied, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and Apache Rose Peacock. The Red Hot Chili Peppers eventually did go on to make a ton more memorable songs and CDs, but I doubt, aside from maybe Californiacation, they'll ever top this CD, and that's coming from a middle of the road fan too. So maybe that's saying something, of course, maybe not.

One of their most critically acclaimed albums, it is not difficult to see why BloodSugarSexMagik remains a classic, and pleaser to Chili Pepper fans. Expertise manifested on the guitars and drums, intensified by Anthony's vocals makes for a pleasant listening experience. Blood Sugar also show the bands willingness to be diverse. On the album starter "Power of Equality" Anthony provides a socio political message discouraging hate and bigotry, whereas songs like "Under the Bridge" (a personal anecdote of Kiedis' drug use) are more sentimental. The bands upbeat energy and variance in styles is recognized on tracks like "If You Have to Ask", "Suck My Kiss", "Mellowship Slinky in B Major", and "Give it Away" amongst others. On "If you Have to Ask" Anthony begins somewhat rapping about a wanna be gangst, and on "Suck My Kiss" hes more in your face, loud and direct. On these tracks Anthony raps, sings, and screams his lyrics displaying his versatility. The majority of the album contains an up beat, fast paced, and electrifying feel, yet standout tracks also include the slower, melodic "Breaking the Girl", "I Could Have Lied", and the all time classic hit "Under the Bridge". Overall the album has a funky, sentimental, and energetic feel all in one. Great album, and to quote Mr. Kiedis from "Under the Bridge", "I could not get enough."

I remember 1991 as a year when the compact disc began to gain serious popularity over the cassette tape as the musical medium of choice. More importantly though, 1991 laid the foundation for the next decade of what was to come musically, and was arguably one of the most important and influential years in music in the past 15 years.

Nevermind, Ten, Achtung Baby, Use Your Illusion I & II, Metalica's Black Album, BSSM...

It blows my mind to think that these albums--each monumental in their own respect and the definitive albums in the careers of their makers--were realeased in a single year, let alone in a span of two months (August and September, 1991) But this review isnt about 1991 or what Pearl Jam, Nirvana and the RHCP were doing in late August; it's about the most monstrous effort of all...an album that would transcend generations since its inception and leave a stamp on the lives of many of us now in our 20's and early 30's.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is OUR album. You know who you are. It oozes sex and radiates with an energy that I can only describe as that. Its funk is ridiculous, and its power dictates our bodies when we listen to it...like a puppetmaster. Simply put, there's something that I can only describe as Magikal happening in this album. I can't put my finger on it, but those of you who own this album probably know what I'm getting at. It approaches the full 74 minute capacity of a CD, all along consistently maintaining its flow of energy and never once lets up.

For me, this is hands down THE definitive album of the last 15 years of my life. The other albums I've listed above are brilliant but BSSM covers more ground, is heavier, more powerful, deeper, and has more prescence. It left its mark on me long ago and continues to evolve with me. It's part of my essence.

I'd consider myself to have a diverse and extensive taste in and collection of music, and although I can't tell you exactly why, of all the music I have ever owned, this one cd has gotten the most spins and never tires on me.

BSSM barely managed to stay out of the mainstream and never got overplayed on the radio. Maybe it had soemthing to do with the other activity that year in music. Who knows. The result though is that this album has attained what I would describe as almost a cult-like following in that those of us who have owned it from the start have become part of it and simply "get it". It's a guy's album. Whether 15 and just listening to it for the first time, or 35 and had it since its release, there are a lot of guys out there with an intense passion for this album.

If you own this album and havent thought about it or listened to it recently, this is a friendly reminder to get it going again. If you don't own this album...well...that's too bad, but I guess its never too late to pick it up and experience the hype for yourself.

Cheers.

A friend of mine told me about this album many years ago. My friend was also suffering from major bouts of depression and taking a lot of anti-depressents. He told me how the song "From The Morning" helped him when he heard the lyrics " I can't think of words. I feel no emotion about anything. I don't want to laugh or cry. I'm numb-dead inside". He discovered he wasn't alone in feeling nothing because of the medication. This album works in so many ways. It's one you can listen to at any time and it fits. The first time I heard the whole thing was while driving on the interstate in my car late at night. Perfect. Drake could have been right up there with the premiere singer songwriters of his day had he lived to record more music. Bottom line, I love this CD!

does anyone need say more about nick drake? no. but i will anyway: this is a really, really great album, best listened to after dark, best listened to... well, just best listened to period. so get it. listen to it. life can be good with songs like these in it.

The thought of Nick Drake being so depressed that his life would end at the tender young age of 26 is itself, to me, a sobering and depressing fact about how hard life can be. While Nick Drake may not have been able to cope with life, it is also clear to me that his was a gentle and sensitive poet's soul. Listening to this - his most stark recording - you come directly in contact with Nick Drake's very soul, and this soul lives on. The record is thus haunting, and beautiful.

I'm no religious fanatic, but I cannot help but think that the sheer depth of the music of Nick Drake, and of Pink Moon in particular, hints at a realm of the spiritual. There is simply something in this - Drake's quiet guitar strumming, his mournful singing, the overall simplicity of the arrangements - that is not unlike the moment of contemplation that one sometimes experiences while sitting in a holy place, be it a church, or a chapel, or even a small natural pond surrounded by nature, and which is thus transcendent.

In fact, as Ian McDonald's sympathetic Mojo article "Exiled From Heaven" argues, "Nick Drake wasn't a literal disciple of Blake or Buddha. There are no direct Blake references in his lyrics, nor is he likely to have treated Buddhism as more than a confirmation of concepts he'd arrived at through his own experience. Nevertheless Blake's mystical vision and the tenets of Buddhism illuminate a great deal of his work. Drake's outlook seems to have boiled down to the linked recognitions that life is a predicament and that the world is ultimately an irreducible mystery to us. Why it exists, why we exist in it, why there is anything at all, we haven't the slightest idea. From this sense of predicament and mystery flows all his work and also his message to us. More than that, the same influences shaped the growth and decline of his life." The article adds, about Drake's vocals, that it is "a low, close, sustained sound, rich in chest vibration yet entirely without glamorous vibrato. It's the sound of incantation: slow, deep, OM-like. His phrasing is riverine, flowing across metre and through bar-lines as though detached from normal time. It's as if he's seeking to impress upon us the sense of another way of being."

Looking at, and considering such elements of this music, it is obvious that there is more here than a quick consideration might recognize. It is perhaps these various elements which makes this music so rich, and which, for me at least, causes it to become ever more satisfying with each subsequent listen. I just know that I'll be listening to Nick Drake for the rest of my life. I can't say that with confidence about too many musicians.

I was introduced to The Cure in 2004, when I heard "Pictures of You" in an HP commercial, and liked the song. If I get a Cure CD, I might get this or "Galore." I think this is their signature album!

Honestly, I'm having difficulty thinking of what to say about Disintegration. What hasn't already been said about this album? It really is one of the greatest albums of musical history, and easily the best album by The Cure. However, I will admit that I am not a Cure fan in regards to the volume of their works. The only albums I enjoy are Disintegration, Bloodflowers, and Wish, in that order, which I guess you could say are their most accessible albums. The rest of the albums are a great big meh for me, and I just don't find them interesting or very listenable. As for Disnitegration, it is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. The songs are all perfectly written and produced, with no subtle sound being out of place, and no track over-wrought with excessive production. The vocals are brilliant, the lyrics are haunting, and the music is varied and majestic. Between dark rockers like Lullaby and poppy love songs like Pictures of You, Disintegration covers the gamut of fantastic music, and no song is mediocre on this album. If you can't listen to the album from start to finish, there might be something wrong with you. If you don't own it, buy it. If you don't like it, get some taste.

From the opening notes of Plainsong to the final bits of Untitled, Disintegration grabs the listener and envelopes them in its own dark atmosphere. Everyone has heard of Pictures of You and Love Song, But the true gem is the incredible Same Deep Water as You. Each note is clear and distinct, without distraction and overlapping sounds. Every instrument is precise and vibrant. In Lullaby, Robert Smith practically exhales every word as beautiful strings play in the background. This is an album that brings the listener into its world and shares its wonderful story.

When Mike & The Mechanics ushered in the `Madchester' scene with The Living Years it was only a matter of time before these jokers attempted to jump on the bandwagon. If you want to be adored you should write some decent songs lads!
Verdict: don't waste your money.

If this band had a better singer with better lyrics then i would give it 5 stars. Everything thing else about it is good. The problem with the singer is that he mumbles to much and his lyrics are dull and repetive especially on i want to be adored. Another problem with this cd it is way to long i usually end up skipping the last two songs.

This is a classic album that is as good as a Smiths album, and way better than any Beatles albums...

I used to be obsessed when it came to downloading WWE entrance theme music back in the late 90's (before WWE sent out warnings to wrestling websites threatening to sue them if they didn't remove those music files immediately). There's no denying that the WWE used to have a fair share of amazing theme songs used exclusively for the wrestlers back in the mid 90's; songs that were memorable, distinct, and suitable for the character that walked out from behind the curtains and stood before a large, cheering audience before heading to the ring for a match.

Unfortunately, as the years went by, WWE gradually began to throw all those distinctive musical ideas away, and instead gave their wrestlers nothing but generic heavy metal guitar riffs or generic hip-hop beats, which are quite popular in the WWE today (in the year 2006). All this added up to many of the wrestlers having the same predictable and uninteresting theme songs by the time 2002 rolled around. It's been almost five years now and the WWE doesn't seem ready to go back to the days of musical variety any time soon.

This collection of songs, released around the time of Wrestlemania 15 in the late 90's, caught the WWE at a time when they began to show signs of losing that musical creativity but still holding on and coming through with some interesting theme songs (but barely). Some of those themes made it on to this Volume 3 collection.

A few years after this albums release the WWE REALLY began to slip when it came to musical diversity (they also started slipping in other areas such as in the popularity and creativity department, thanks to a weak creative team that kept going back to the well and using the same storylines over and over until viewers finally got sick of seeing the same wrestlers on TV all the time and the same predictable backstage segments, which of course led to much lower ratings and lower attendance on a permanent weekly basis that's still a problem to this day- but that's another story).

Now, the collection of music on this Volume 3 CD isn't perfect by any means, and it's not music that's meant to be taken seriously- in other words, don't even think about comparing the music on this disc to that of classical or jazz or anything. Even comparing most of this album to rock and roll would be laughable since none of the music here is really THAT interesting. It's merely fun, catchy music meant to make you feel good, and allow you to look back and think about the world of wrestling in the late 90's, and probably bring back other, non-wrestling related memories as well. What were YOU doing in 1999?

Let's talk about the songs. Dude Love's music is some disco-like tune that really reminds me of the middle section of Razor Ramon's old mid 90's entrance theme. In fact, Stone Cold's theme featured on this disc is very much like the MAIN melody to Razor's old theme. Sure, the SOUND of Stone Cold's music is more like hard rock, but the notes are the same. Maybe it's not a coincidence. Maybe the people in the WWE who created many of the wrestling theme songs at the time were trying desperately to come up with new melodies, but they couldn't do it so they just took out a couple sections of Razor's old theme and split it into two separate melodies and gave it to Stone Cold and Dude Love figuring no one would notice. I did! Hey, the WWE likes to repeat ideas all the time and pretend it's something new and fresh in an attempt to fool the viewers, so it's very well possible they did it again with the entrance themes.

I had a friend who somehow managed to convince my entire 12th grade classmates to use Stone Cold's theme for the graduation song. I think in that respect the music worked, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. But to be honest, I'm not crazy about the song. Sure, it fits the "take no crap from anyone" character of Stone Cold, but the notes I'm hearing really aren't very interesting to me. Typical commercial hard rock/heavy metal, that's what it is.

The Undertaker's theme is really not that great either because it's just your typical gothic heavy metal tune with an orchestrated sound. There's an expression here: you can cover up poop with ketchup but in the end, it's still poop. In this case, you can cover up the weak notes with orchestration in an attempt to make it seem bigger and better, but you can't ignore what it REALLY is, and that's cliched goth rock. About as predictable as you can imagine. To be fair, the orchestration does give the tune more of a cold and empty feeling which of course is perfect for someone going by the name "the Undertaker", and when you consider the Undertaker has one of the coolest and longest entrances in WWE history (it takes him three minutes to walk down the ramp and enter the ring!) the tune shouldn't be criticized that much. But if you forget about all that and just listen to the notes, it's not that great. So if you met someone who doesn't watch wrestling and doesn't like this song, it shouldn't come as a surprise.

I guess X-Pac's entrance theme is just your ordinary rap song, but I'm no expert in rap so I can't judge it, really. The Oddities theme is basically the same thing, but even more annoying (I wasn't a fan of their wrestling gimmick, either). Edge's song is the kind of music that you probably thought was cool in the late 90's, but today it's just severely dated-sounding, sluggish crap. I have to give the people who put together this collection SOME credit; Kane has good music. It's just a shame the main guitar melody repeats a million times. Sable's tune indicates the disastrous direction the WWE would soon take with their entrance music. The song is lame, and pretty much just a pile of slow-moving hip-hop beats (with whips and cat sounds included!) That's basically all the song is. It also drags for two minutes too long. Gosh, these songs aren't even that long and in some cases they repeat the same melodies and beats WAY too often.

So let me stop whining and mention the songs I think are really decent (calling them "good" would be a stretch, though!) The Rock, Gangrel, and the D-Generation X theme are all decent tunes that are perfectly nice to play MAYBE once a year. Val Venis's music features respectable jazz jamming throughout the song, but again, please don't compare this stuff to REAL jazz. Jazz experts would laugh.

Giving this album a 2 rating is just about right. I am SO happy my teenage years are over with. If I STILL thought music like this was really good -in the year 2006- I'd have to shoot myself in the head. Albums like this really show how far back 1999 was. I'm still a wrestling fan and probably will be for life, but I can't bring myself to support the direction the WWE decided to take with their entrance music. You need variety.

Volume 3 is lack lustre, the only theme songs worth listening to is Edge, Kane, Ken Shamrock and Stone Cold's theme songs. The rest are a miss. Volume 4 and 5 were much better. This CD is only for WWE fans. I doubt that non wrestling fans would like this CD at all.

In short, this CD could of been compiled better.

I actually don't have my own CD, I borrowed it from my friend. This is definitely the best CD yet. I gave it 5 stars. The songs:

The Undertaker: This was a really sweet metal song. Sweet guitar solos and reccurring bell tolls. Perfectly suits the Taker. Best on the disc. *****
Edge: A cool theme. It's kinda slow at the beginning with a cool beat, but it speeds up through the song maintaining that cool beat. A good dance song. ***
X-Pac: A cool remix of the original DX theme. ***1/2
Dude Love: Play this one for your gramps or your dad...this is basically just a flat-out 70's disco song. Pretty lame. *
Kane: This is a cool song. Creepy organ music at the start blends greatly with the electric guitar. ****
The Rock: "The Rock says, the Rock, the Rock Says, Know Your Role" That's all it says. Simply put, it wasn't too good. **
Gangrel: This was a very cool theme. I loved it. This song is something you could blare out your windows on Halloween to scare the little kids. Cool guitar, too. ****1/2
Ken Shamrock: Pretty good. It sounds like the theme from an old western movie. Good, though. ***
Oddities: This one is funny. It's got a cool beat and hilarious lyrics, and the Insane Clown posse is singing it, so it can't get better. ****
D-Generation X: This is a basic original version of X-Pac's theme. It is very catchy and enjoyable. ****
Sable: MEOW! z...z...z... *
New Age Outlaws: It gets kind of boring, but is still good. ***
Val Venis: No drum beats, stupid lyrics. *
Stone Cold Steve Austin: This one RULES! Sweet guitar music blares as glass breaks in the background. ****1/2