International music reviews

"Essence Ordinaire" is a very beautiful example of what (and how much!) contemporary French music can deliver. Bands like Mano Negra and Les Negresses Vertes in the late eighties opened the way for groups like Zebda in the nineties by bringing new blends of sounds to the public that reflect very much French society today. The music is a canvas of rap, reggae, rock, funk, ska and rai, creating a harmonious mix of influences from several geographic areas, and in particular North Africa. Before all, the beats are joyful and dynamic. But there is much more to Zebda than their great "hip shaking" beats and obvious musical talents, and that you can discover in their lyrics. If the music tells in many ways about their mixed culture of French-of-Arabic-descent-living-in-Toulouse, the words tell a lot about what the band stands for: equality, the fight against social and cultural gaps, integration and identity, self-reliance, positivism, political engagement against the infamous "extreme droite francaise", among other things... The band's writer and representative, Magyd Cherfi, has a quiet sense of humor and irony. The lyrics are fun and serious at the same time and, even when the reality that he talks about seems dark and unfair, it is always told with lightness and sharpness. Zebda is a band of well-grounded, intelligent individuals with cold heads and warm hearts, a lot of enthusiasm, strength and perspective. Tout un programme!
I personally don't care for keg-party songs like "Tomber la Chemise", and I would not recommend that one (but it is good in its own style), even if it is the most famous Zebda hit so far. Listen to "Ca va pas etre possible", "Tout semble si..." (my favourite) and "Le Petit Robert", and enjoy!

"Essence Ordinaire" is an excellent example of what (and how much!) contemporary French music can deliver. Bands like Mano Negra and Les Negresses Vertes in the late eighties opened the way for groups like Zebda by bringing new blends of sounds to the public that reflect very much the face of French society today. The music is a canvas of rap, reggae, ska, rai, etc.; creating a harmonious blend of influences from several geographic areas - in particular North Africa - and the beats are joyful and dynamic. There is however much more to Zebda than their great "hip shaking" beats and obvious musical talents. And that "much more" you can discover in their lyrics. If the music tells in many ways about their mixed culture of French-of-Arabic-descent-living-in-Toulouse, the words tell about what the band stands for: equality, the fight against social and cultural gaps, integration and identity, self-reliance, positivism, political engagement against the infamous "extreme droite francaise"... The band's writer and representative, Magyd Cherfi, has a quiet sense of humor and irony. The lyrics are fun and serious at the same time and, even when the reality that he talks about seems dark and unfair, there is always a ray of light coming through, somewhere, in a corner of the picture. Zebda is a band of well-grounded, intelligent individuals with cold heads and warm hearts, a lot of enthusiasm, strength and perspective. Tout un programme!
I personally don't care for keg-party songs like "Tomber la Chemise", and I would not recommend that one (but it is good in its own style), even if it is the most famous Zebda hit so far. Listen to "Ca va pas etre possible", "Tout semble si..." (my favourite) and "Le Petit Robert", and enjoy!

Reminds me of a long hot summer holiday at Camping La Sirene in the South of France. You didn't even have to speak french you caught on by whipping of your shirt along with the locals and swinging it round your head for the duration of "Tombez le Chemise" and acting crazy when the following track was "Follow the Leader / The Roof is on Fire" by the Soca Boys, contrary to popular belief those chic french know a thing or two about partying.......
All 5 stars for this track alone!

This album is a great companion to their fantastic singles greatest hits album. It hasn't got the studio production but it still sounds phenomenonal, the band sounds great and Morten's vocals are often rediculously GOOD!!
Some of the tracks sound mayby better than their studio counterparts, for example lifelines has an extra bit of finish live that's very very cool, and the "swing of things" is another that rocks live(but is equally as great as recorded on the great "scoundrel days" album). A-ha as well as having great studio songs are fantastic live and really are quite inspirational to listen to in full flight.
This is my favourite album, and will be one of the best live albums u'll hear. Don't get me wrong, the band has it's weaknesses thought, just hear the end of the living daylights where the band completely steals the momentum from their until great song.. Guys, you are great musicians but jaming isn't why you r so good! Morten was born to sing and the songs are all very captivating live.

a-ha will play their first U.S. concert since October 1986 on Sept. 12, 2005 at Irving Plaza, New York City. It's been along time coming and you'll get the chance to hear the live album tracks... well, live! This show will surely help re-acquaint the U.S. market to this fantastic band! This live album is well produced and recorded, crowd noise is at a minimum but boosted just at the right moments for full concert effect. Vocally, you're not going to get a better performance than from Morten Harket's voice like an angel. See you at the show!

I am a huge fan of a-ha from way back... I have loved everything that they have ever produced and honestly, this is their best album to date! Not to say that it is their best work of all time... but as far as a complete album with every song being exceptional and as far as the flow from one song to the next goes, it is definitely the best album to date. A-ha's live sound is unbeatable! Morten's voice is so interesting to listen to and I love the emphasis on the guitar rather than the synthesizer. My only complaint about this album is that it does not include some of my very favorite a-ha songs "Dark is the Night", "Angel in the Snow", "Velvet", "Memorial Beach", and "Turn the Lights Down". On the bright side, it has a long list of excellent songs that you have to hear. I LOVE the live version of "Sycamore Leaves" performed by Pal and Magne's song "Dragonfly" is excellent as well (much better than the version on the lifelines album). "Time and Again" is breathtakingly beautiful and "Minor Earth Major Sky" really rocks. I can't even choose a favorite song from the list. I do have to admit that I am not a huge fan of the songs "Cry Wolf" or "Oranges on Appletrees", but even these songs don't sound bad on this album. The Live version of Oranges has a cool section in the middle of it that isn't on the Lifelines album and redeems the song. Also, the version of "Cry Wolf" is the first version I have ever listened to without cringing... The compilation maintains a high-paced energy which is a delight to listen too. With a-ha I am torn between my love for their stunning ballads and their heavier-guitar rock sound.
Also, as an FYI, I read recently that A-ha signed a 3-record deal with UNIVERSAL and have plans to release the albums world-wide and launch the album with a world tour in 2005. If this is true, then we can all experience their spectacular live sound first hand! I hope that the US gets a chance to hear what they've been missing. Even though I LOVE "Take on Me" and "The Sun Always shines on TV", these songs are not why a-ha is my favorite band. With this album, you can get a feel for what this band is capable of. I love the fact that their sound is constantly changing as they experiment with new techniques and styles. I have the 8 released a-ha albums and all solo albums from the three norwegians and am surprised at how different their work is from one another. They are each so very talented and have to much to offer individually... together they are unbeatable! This album is fantastic--get it and you will discover just the tip of what this band is capable of. If you are interested, pick up some of Morten's solo work, which pushes you even further into a whole new musical realm. Initially, I thought that because Pal wrote the majority of a-ha's songs and lyrics, that his solo work would have the most depth. Morten's solo work by far exceeds Pal's band Savoy. Morten is an excellent musician and wrote all the songs for his solo efforts in Vogts Villa and Wild Seed. I do think that he should get rid of his lyricist, Havard Rem. Havard isn't bad, but I think that Morten could find better. But who needs lyrics with such fantastic music? And it would be difficult to find a better singer than Morten!

This album might not have been the same if it weren't because of Editus, these guys rock! (Excelente muchachos!) Ruben and Editus make such a great fusion that it all seems they were meant to produce together. The melody is so exquisite that I just can't get enough of listening to this album. I particularly love 'Sicarios' myself, but every other piece in it is just a masterpiece by itself.

I was not particularly familiar with Salsa music and I had never heard any music by Ruben Blades. A friend purchased a concert ticket for me to see him at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. I was so impressed by the live music I heard, much of which was from this CD, that I went directly to the music shop and purchased this CD the same night. That was 2 years ago, and this remains one of my most favourite CD's. It's absolutely beautiful!!! I have since become a die hard fan and I have all of his CDs in my music collection now.

"Tiempos" is like a good book, you just can't put it down or in this case though, take it out of the CD player. This is a CD to be listen to not just to play it. I find the song entitled "Vida" to be an inspiration, with words that when I listen to it, make me want to be more down to earth, a better person toward others.

Mr. Blades is the best artist in the industry and what an idol he is. I have been buying his music since day one and I will keep on buying it since his is the Elite in its class.

that chose to sue the band rather than understand what Pete, Joey, Tom and Mike were going through. The shame of it all is while rock was going into that transitory phase from British Rock and Roll and California Country Rock to Disco, Punk and whatever Springsteen calls his music??? Badfinger in 1974 had recorded an album that not only sounded like "Abbey Road" or even elements of the Beatles' "White Album", but evoke that same magical lyrical imagery so prevalent in the latter Lennon-McCartney era.

Peter Ham, disillusioned and broke, would take his life less than a year after recording this album, but some of his finest songs - maybe not hit tunes like "Day After Day", "No Matter What" or "Baby Blue" - were recorded here. Songs like "Just A Chance", "In the Meantime", and "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch". Tommy Evans contributed the cute and very Lennonsque "King of the Load" with a sweeping guitar solo (Ham? or Molland) that rivals George Harrison's best Beatle solos. Mike Gibbins stepped from behind the drums to sing "You're So Fine" with the three main singer Badfinger boys. The epic, chugging, masterpiece "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch-"Shall I Smoke" with an opening lead vocal by Ham and ending vocal by Joey Molland and with dual lead guitars by Ham and Molland is a breathtaking finish to a wonderous work. A work that sadly enough ended up in the bargain bins - and left the band in desperate debt because a label chose to punish an act over the misdeeds of its mismanagement.

Joey Molland once told me that yep, "Gotta Get Out of Here" was a blunt reference to what the band was experiencing due to lousy management and a label that really didn't care. A band that came directly out of being the Beatles' proteges, being outstanding musicians and composers in their own right and keeping the tradition of the Fab Four did not deserve such a terrible fate. Both Ham and Evans died needless, tragic, early deaths that shouldn't have been, and Molland deserves much more acclaim - at least Badfinger has been acknowledged as a major influence by bands like Cheap Trick, the Records, the Bangles and others.

Well, I'm sure you all have heard the problems this band went through, so I won't even go into that. What you have here in Wish You Were Here is not to be mistaken by Pink Floyd's CD of the same title. Just over 30 minutes, this album broke new ground, a different approach then previous releases. I won't sit here and insult anyone's intelligence by stating this is their greatest work. Personally, its my favorite. From start to finish, no bad tracks, some medley's, some excellent choices of intruments never used before on a Badfinger record. This is by all means, the last record of the Classic Badfinger lineup. The comparisons to Abbey Road are prevelent.....but it stands to this day as a Classic Lost Album that will go down in history as just that.....Lost. No hit songs here, no tradmark sounds, just pure brilliance!!

If I could possibly improve this great release, I would have included "Timeless" somewhere in between the original's release first side and second. Would have been a nice compliment to the Abbey Road theory?!?

This document should not be overlooked by any casual, hardcore or any Beatle fan!

The two albums that Badfinger recorded for Warner Brothers after leaving Apple were among the easiest to find in the days before cd's. They could usually be found languishing in used bins for relatively low prices, and it was this that initially threw me off. Finally, faced with the prospect of little known Badfinger over no Badfinger at all, I went ahead and purchased both albums. Imagine my surprise when I got home and found that both albums were loaded with songs on par with, and at times better than, the songs that the band did while with Apple. The whole album is strong, with leadoff shouldabeenahit "Just A Chance" Pete Ham is in fine voice, and one is left to wonder what could have been. "Know One Knows" and "Dennis" are equally strong, but it's the rather odd cut and paste songs "In The Meantime/Some Other Time" and "Meanwhile Back At The Ranch/Should I Smoke" that show the band's true brilliance. Within months Pete Ham would be dead and with his passing rock and roll lost one of the truly great songwriters as well as a hugely underrated guitarist. This album demands and deserves a listen and it's a risk you won't regret.

Chayanne is the most talented artist of all, and he is keep progressing. Here this album start with the tender and sweet "Dejaria Todo". The beautiful song just like the cover photo, you will feel him inviting into his world. There is also the greatest fast dance number of his, "Salome", which I couldn't help but to started dancing to it. The album contains a lot of varieties of his style. Though, every song is truely "Chayanne", I think he knows exactly how he wants to be. His confidence toward his work is creating the great confort to the listners. You can feel him right by your side when you are listning to his music. That's Chayanne.

I bought this cd on a whim, curious as to what Chayanne sounded like after seeing a concert review on vacation. I must say I was surprised. Even though I don't speak Spanish, it doesn't matter with Chayanne. There's something about his voice that is very moving. His songs are so heartfelt I could listen to him all day and not get tired of listening. Every song on this cd is awesome, and I now have all but one of his cds.

This album is amazing! Great movement songs like "mira ven ven" "salome" and "enamorado" but the ballads just blew me away and i became and instant fan for life...the title track along with one of his signature songs "dejaria todo" and "otra vez" are so romantic and he knows how to interpret them perfectly. And of course, "refugio de amor" from Dance With Me, which i believe sounds better in spanish than english, is also included. well-rounded cd.

Tracks 1, 5 & 13 I liked the best for rhythm and beat and voice.
Track 11 had a lot of potential... but it was cut short.

Este CD es un exelente comienzo para estas dos chicas guapas que sin usar minifaldas, atraen la mirada y sin cantar palabritas de amor dulces a los oidos de los hombres solos, se los ganan de todas formas. De hecho le cantan a los hombres cantandoles a la mujer, buscan su propia identidad femenina sin caer en feminismos, no buscan la reinvindicacion de la mujer por ser mujer sino que tiran codazos para abrirse camino por ellas mismas. Tratan temas como los "amores de barra" que no son romanticos y no lo trata de forma anegdotica contando una historia, sino que lo platican tan asi como si nada. La mejor canci�n es en mi opinion "Entra" quiza porque es la mas metalera, pero tambien tiene una letra muy interesante. En fin, ojala que siguan con este nivel de calidad en cuanto a letras que sin ser profundas ni poeticas son muy buenas.

Ella Baila Sola may yet prove to be the best pop group in recent Spanish music (move over Duncan Dhu and Presuntos Implicados), and their first album highlights their brilliant ability to balance stylish guitar pop and soulful ballads, even throwing in some salsa-oriented Latin numbers for the Hispanophile purist. These talented women write their own lyrics, compose their own music and play their own instruments, all the while drawing you into their particular performing style. I highly recommend this first album, which will undoubtedly prove to have a much longer shelf life than their second album, E.B.S. Enjoy the poetic flow of their ballad lyrics, especially "Lo echamos a suertes" and "Por ti". Allow yourself to get swept up in the catchy beat and cool lyrics of their upbeat songs, especially "Amores de barra" and "Muere el silencio". Finally, for a real treat with a sarcastically amusing feminist tone, enjoy "Mujer Florero". I promise you will be singing all of these songs for years to come!

Selena Quintanilla Perez...what a wonderful artist....this concert was so amazing..I attended this concert in 1995...not knowing that this was her final performance.She gave it her all and she was looking beautiful as always.This concert will always be a favorite of mine.She put all the hits into one show.I was blown away by her performance....From the disco medley to Ya Ves to Como La Flor to No Me Queda Mas...She did it all..She had it all....the moves,the voice,the smile...She was so devoted to her fans.There will never be no one like her.Selena was well on her way to becoming a huge star in the English language market.But this concert shows you how big she was on the Latin side.Selena still remains the biggest selling Latin artist ever and most likely will remain that way.So make sure you pick up a copy of this cd today..You will not regret it........SELENA VIVE!!!!!!!!!!

Selena is my favorite performer of ALL-TIME for good reason: She rocks! I'm Asian-American but her music still speaks to me, and I learned Spanish because of her. My Hispanic friends let me know who Selena was before her death, but I really got hooked, line and sinker, after I heard about her tragic death on March 31, 1995. Selena also first inspired me to sing, and since I've flourished musically, and I hope to dedicate my first album to her someday! SELENA LIVE: THE LAST CONCERT is a superb and thrilling tribute to one of the world's most promising stars. She was that good...she was IT! Singing LIVE she shines like Venus in the sky; where most lose (especially during LIVE performances when most of the singing is done poorly or is lipsync-d) Selena succeeds tremendously! I miss her immensely - no other performer, ever, can top this charismatic beauty! Really! Vive Selena Quintanilla-Perez!

The reason my review is called ''I cant belive it!!!''' is because I thought that Selena's spanish songs wouldn't be good. What I mean is I don't know a word of spanish and any song that I don't understand I kinda know I wont like the songs but Selena's songs WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The songs have a good beat everything!!!!! That's why I'm this album 5 stars. And today I wanted ''Selena - Greatest hits'' but I changed my mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO getting this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No one comes close when it comes to writing love songs like Lionel. He's so gifted. The best song (one of the best - there are so many), is Still. It's so beautiful, you could almost cry. What a talent.

What could you say about Lionel Richie when he started his career with The Commodores and later solo. All fourteen songs were written by him which were all chart toppers of its time. Let alone his music crossed genres over to country from pop / R&B tunes. Only those in relationships that's worth fighting for will find this LP of all love songs pleasurable. This has feelings and depths with the arrangements and vocal range of Lionel.

How could you give this anything less than a 5? I'm a 23 year old college student who listens to all types of music, but this is a classic that transcends age. Every track on this CD is awesome and relaxing, that is rare now days. You can just put the CD in and hit play, lay back an enjoy a one of a kind album. Do your self a favor and buy this, you'll love it.

That's basically what this album is. In my opinion, it is also the best album of any genre I've ever owned/heard. During the 90's, no 'rock-en-espa�ol' band came close to successfully achieving the sound quality of the 'gringo' alternative bands of the day they were trying to copy & blend with their latino roots. Draco did with this album and it tops my all-time favorites list, above such classics as Alice in Chains' 'Dirt', Pearl Jam's 'Vs.' & Kyuss' 'Welcome to Sky Valley'. I make mention of Kyuss because I think any stoner-metal fan would love this album (pick it up!). Other 'rock-en-espa�ol' albums worthy of mention:

* Heroes del Silencio - Avalancha
* Cafe Tacuba - Re
* Aterciopelados - El Dorado

If you want to hear a master of poetry in music,Draco is by far the best. This cd contains some of Vagabundo and his latest songs from Mad Love in Spanish by far one of the best. I have no complaints. If you want to hear some dark gothic mystical music to sit back and expand the mind this is it. I'd give 500 hundred stars but its not allowed. As a matter of fact all of his cd's are worth it. Check them out. Darkgothicdreamer signing out.

Indudablemente "Vagabundo" de Robi Draco Rosa es una de las piezas mas grandes del rock hispano de todos los tiempos. Ocurre algo muy peculiar con este album, a medida que va pasando el tiempo se va convirtiendo cada vez mas en uno de esos objetos de culto, una joya que uno conserva y otorga cada vez un valor personal. Vagubundo lidea con los momentos mas dificiles de ese mismo Robi que mas adelante seria ganador de Grammys, compositor de exitos. Pero que aparentemente para ese entonces estaba tocando los limites de lo oscuro, de lo etereo, que habia ingresado en un mundo indescriptible que solo se transmite para que los seres con una misma complejidad logren decifrar este oceano de palabras conjuntas.
En vagabundo todas las canciones un esta directamente vinculadas la una con la otra, todas las palabras y los sentimentos, el uno con el otro. Si esta en la busqueda de joyas musicales y poeticas este probablemente le ayude a llenar el vacio.

Being this the first solo album from the vocal lead of one of the greatest rock Latin American bands, there's not much to do but to listen to it with the expectations that a fan of Soda Stereo should have. What is there to say about it? Praise only.

By listening to this album and analyzing each of the ten tracks included, one of the first things to notice is that the sound has nothing to do with Soda Stereo, which basically means that contrary to what many fans believe, Gustavo Cerati was not the essence of the band but another member.

The lyrics are quite Gustavo's style, if there is something to praise and dignify from this album is the level of experimentation of the music. `Amor amarillo' opens abruptly the album and demonstrates that we are about to listen a new proposal from this magnificent musician. `Lisa' is one of the best moments of this album, the instrumentation and the guitar are provide a weird sensation very ad hoc to the lyrics. `Yo te llevo para que me lleves' (the companion video for this song is equally funny), `Pulsar', `Cabeza de medusa', `Av Alcorta' all have a very experimental sound and are difficult to define musically speaking, which again brings the point of how advanced was Gustavo for his time when this album was recorded in 1993; by listening to this disc you can clearly see certain influences for the following Soda Stereo albums. `Bajan' original from Luis Alberto Spinetta has a very decent homage on the album. `Rombos' is another great song and the music is just unbelievable.

I guess there is nothing else to add. This album presented Gustavo as a great musician and as a visionary, when music suffered from the lack of creativity and commercialism Gustavo came up with this brilliant work, and he continues doing so nowadays. 10 great songs make this record a must for music lovers, especially if you enjoy rock in Spanish, the mixture of rhythms and sounds Cerati created for this album can be listened today and no aging will be perceived, all songs remain as enjoyable as in the beginning.

Con este album, donde Gustavo Cerati (ex-voz y lider de la extinta banda argentina Soda Stero) conto con la participacion de Zeta Bosio (bajista de la banda) y Tweety Gonzalez (tecladista legendario, colaborador de numerosos artistas del rock en espa�ol) entre otros, dejo en claro que era un visionario, alguien adelantado a su generacion varios a�os. La mejor muestra de ello resulta el tema "Pulsar", el cual bien podria haber sido grabado en el 2003, pero resulto concebido y grabado diez a�os antes por este genio musical.

Como comentan otros colegas acerca del album, no es un buen indicador del material que Soda Stereo grabo antes y despues del mismo, aunque tiene la particularidad de haber sido grabado (al igual que "Colores Santos", junto a Daniel Meleros) mientras Cerati aun liderizaba la desaparecida (y muy echada de menos) super-banda. Mas bien es un buen indicador del tipo de orientacion que tomaria la musica que Cerati grabaria en a�os posteriores como solista. Ciertamente no su mejor trabajo, pero si una excelente muestra de su talento y capacidad creativa.

This CD comes to show the musical reason of the separation of Soda Estereo here you will be able to see the pure musical style and genius of Gustavo Cerati, You will be able to observe the long overdue extreme amputation of the commercial sound of Reggae which was the style of the other members of the group and had undermine the excellences of Soda Estereo for so long.
In this CD you will be able to appreciate one of the greatest composer and most privileged voices that Latin America has to offer, Even do is something very hard to admit for many Gustavo Cerati music and vocal style had been the blue print were most of the modern Latin Pop Rock groups like Mana, Atercipelados and Juanes had found (clone) their style. However none of these artist have got even close to match is musical or vocal genius. So in essence if you want to heard the best Latin American Popular Rock has to offer get your self a copy of this CD.