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 | Ringo Starr - Ringo |
 | "Ringo" | 2009-11-20 |
Ringo being Starr's third album and 1973 release is an album that I picked up more form Starr having been in the Beatles. The album is one of the best post album solo albums that I have ever heard. The lyrics are well written. Amazing melodies and one starts to wonder why Ringo Starr did not write more songs whilst he was with the Beatles. Allmusic gave this album 4.5/5 and I agree but up the ante and give the album 5/5. Staffan Olander has written the linernotes and we get a very nice list of whom plays what. Songs that standout on this album are "Oh My My", "I'm the Greatest" and "You and Me (Babe)". 5/5.
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 | Queen - Innuendo |
 | "Innuendo" | 2009-11-14 |
Innuendo being Queens 14th studio and the last album to be composed of all new material. Queen being Queen hear explores a variety of music styles and the album can be said to feature rock, hard rock, heavy metal, psychedelic rock and progressive metal. The album was met with in my own opinion harsh reviews. Allmusic and Rolling Stone gave it 3/5 which I think is too low. Songs that stand out on this release are "Innuendo", "I'm Going Slightly Mad", "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" and "The Show Must Go On". The booklet has all the lyrics and a list of whom plays what on the album. 4/5.
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![Queen - A Night at the Opera [Bonus Tracks]](product_images/186000/186522_thumb.jpg) | Queen - A Night at the Opera [Bonus Tracks] |
| "A Night at the Opera" | 2009-11-13 |
A Night at the Opera being Queens 4th studio album and their 1975 release is best known for having the track "Bohemian Rhapsody". However, other tracks that are great are "Death on Two Legs" and "Love Óf My Life" and "You're My Best Friend". The album is a mix of different musical styles and can be said to contain rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock. The album was met with positive reviews and Allmusic, Mojo and Q. The booklet has all the lyrics and great photos of the band from the time of the record. 5/5.
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![Queen - Sheer Heart Attack [Bonus Track]](product_images/166000/166983_thumb.jpg) | Queen - Sheer Heart Attack [Bonus Track] |
| "Sheer Heart Attack" | 2009-11-13 |
Sheer Heart Attack being Queen's 3rd studio album and 1974 release was hailed by most of the critics. Allmusic, Martin C. Strong and Q gave it very high marks in their reviews. The album contains many musical styles and here is a little bit of rock, hard rock, heavy metal, glam rock, and speed metal. Tracks that stand out on this release are "Killer Queen", "Now I'm Here" and "Stone Cold Crazy". The booklet contains no lyric but has a list of whom plays what on the album. 5/5.
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 | Enigma - The Cross of Changes |
| "The Cross of Changes" | 2009-11-09 |
The Cross of Changes being Enigma's 2nd studio and 1993 release and can be said to be a mix between ambient and new age. Singles released from this album where "Return to Innocence", "Age of Loneliness", "Out From The Deep" and "The Eyes of Truth". The album received positive reviews and both Allmusic and Etertainment Weekly gave it high marks. The album also did very well with the public in general and peaked the charts in the UK and went into the top 10 in several European countries. 4/5.
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 | Enigma - Mcmxc A.D. |
| "MCMXC A.D. "The Limited Edition"" | 2009-11-07 |
MCMXC A.D. "The Limited Edition" being Enigma's debut album and their 1990 release is an album that brings back many memories for me. I remeber seeing the video Sadness on MTV back in my first year of going to Spyken. Here we get classic tracks such as "Sadeness", "Principles of Lust" and "Mea Culpa". The limited edition also includes 4 additional remixes not included on the original release. The artwork is quite nice and was done by H.P. Uertz. None of the lyrics are included. Allmusic gave this album a 4/5 in the review and I concur with this assessment. 4/5.
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 | Bryan Ferry - As Time Goes By |
| "As Time Goes By" | 2009-11-07 |
As Time Goes By being a cover album Ferry that covers classics such as "As Times Goes By", "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Easy Living" to mention a few. Compared to Ferry's These Foolish Things the covers are not quite as strong. Even so Ferry is an accomplish crooner and his vocals are impeccable. All the lyrics are included which is quite unusual. For each track we also get a list of whom plays what. The drawings are amazing and fit the songs very well. 4/5.
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 | Spiritualized - Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space |
| "Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" | 2009-10-09 |
Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space being Spiritualized 3rd studio album and their 1997 release can be said to be a mix of post rock, Britt rock and space rock. The album was hailed by the critics when it was released and The Guardian, Allmusic and NME all gave it high marks. The booklet is very neat and resembles a prescription for a medicine. The lyrics are not included in the booklet but we get a list of whom plays what. Not easy listening but a very cerebral experience and it sounds a bit like Bowie and late Beatles. 4/5.
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 | Spiritualized - Amazing Grace |
 | "Amazing Grace" | 2009-10-09 |
Amazing Grace being the 5th studio album and 2003 release was met with mixed reviews and with Allmusic giving it 3.5/5 and Rolling Stone give it 2/5. Compared to their earlier released and especially their 1997 release this is not nearly as good. The sound is more towards the generic rock sound with bland lyrics. No lyrics have been included in the booklet but a list of whom plays what. The photographs are quite nice. 2/5.
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 | Queen - Jazz |
| "Jazz" | 2009-10-03 |
Jazz being Queen's 1978 and their 7th studio album and received mixed reviews when it was released. Allmusic gave it positive review whilst both Rolling Stone and Robert Christgau gave it negative reviews. I agree with Allmusic and think that this is a dandy of a record. Mercury sounds amazing and the arrangements are as good as ever. Songs that stand out on this release are "Bicycle Race", "Jealousy" and "Mustapha". 4/5.
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 | Queen - Jazz |
| "Jazz" | 2009-10-03 |
Jazz being Queen's 1978 and their 7th studio album and received mixed reviews when it was released. Allmusic gave it positive review whilst both Rolling Stone and Robert Christgau gave it negative reviews. I agree with Allmusic and think that this is a dandy of a record. Mercury sounds amazing and the arrangements are as good as ever. Songs that stand out on this release are "Bicycle Race", "Jealousy" and "Mustapha". 4/5.
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 | Queen - Jazz |
| "Jazz" | 2009-10-03 |
Jazz being Queen's 1978 and their 7th studio album and received mixed reviews when it was released. Allmusic gave it positive review whilst both Rolling Stone and Robert Christgau gave it negative reviews. I agree with Allmusic and think that this is a dandy of a record. Mercury sounds amazing and the arrangements are as good as ever. Songs that stand out on this release are "Bicycle Race", "Jealousy" and "Mustapha". 4/5.
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 | Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven |
| "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven" | 2009-09-28 |
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven being GYBE's second studio album and 2000 release reminds me of many experimental bans that I have heard before,i.e., Laibach, Yes, Kraftwerk, Einsturzende Neubauten, Pink Floyd and Grateful Dead. The use of samples also reminds me of Skinny Puppy. The booklet is very strange. With basically no information inside and a strange letter written by the band. Allmusic (4/5) and Pitchfork Media (9/10) both gave it high marks and I agree with this assessment. The album is not easy listening and is very challenging but also extremely rewarding and definitely cutting edge without sounding pretentious. 4/5.
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 | Bruce Hornsby & The Range - The Way It Is |
| "The Way It Is" | 2009-09-25 |
The Way It Is being Bruce Hornsby's solo debut and his 1986 release reminds me of the music that I heard growing up in the 80's. The sound is very similair to such artists such as Elton John, Chicago and Don Henley with similair sounding lyrics. The album was a massive success and reached #3 on the Billboard 200 and garnered great reviews from Allmusic. Great tracks on this release are "Every Little Kiss" and "The Way It Is". The booklet has all the lyrics and has a list of whom plays what on the album. 4/5.
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 | Ofra Haza - Ofra Haza 1997 |
| "Ofra Haza 1997" | 2009-09-24 |
Ofra Haza 1997 being the final full-length album before Ms Haza's untimely passing 2000. Frank Peterson that had helped Sara Brightman reach mainstream success and one can only imagine if this had come to fruition if she had not died at such a young age. Ms Haza had an amazing voice and her vocal skills were some of the best in the business. All the lyrics are included in the booklet and we get a list of whom plays what on the album. The album has many very nice photographs of Ms Haza. I disagree with Allmusic that only gives it 3/5 and in my opinion this is more a 4/5 release. 4/5.
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![The Grateful Dead - American Beauty [Bonus Tracks]](product_images/227000/227660_thumb.jpg) | The Grateful Dead - American Beauty [Bonus Tracks] |
| "American Beauty" | 2009-09-24 |
American Beauty being Grateful Dead's 5th studio album and their 1970 album is verily an amazing record with great lyrics to go. Allmusic and Robert Chritgau both gave it high marks (5/5 and A-) and I agree with this assessment. The booklet is unfortunately very sparse and contains no lyrics but one does get a list of what instruments they play on the album. We also get liner notes that talk about history of the Grateful Dead up to that point. 5/5.
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 | Ian Hunter - Welcome to the Club |
| "Welcome to the Club" | 2009-09-24 |
Welcome to the Club is a great album released by Ian Hunter and one verily gets the feeling that one is one of the audience and that is what a great album can accomplish. I did not know to much about Ian Hunter prior to listening to this album and the linernotes inside the booklet are very helpfull to understand why he decided to have them part of the concert and which album or single the track originally came from. Besides this the booklet is very sparse with only two photographs. Chrysalis Records went a bit cheap here and the booklet could have been quite thicker. 4/5.
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 | The Grateful Dead - American Beauty |
| "American Beauty" | 2009-09-24 |
American Beauty being Grateful Dead's 5th studio album and their 1970 album is verily an amazing record with great lyrics to go. Allmusic and Robert Chritgau both gave it high marks (5/5 and A-) and I agree with this assessment. The booklet is unfortunately very sparse and contains no lyrics but one does get a list of what instruments they play on the album. We also get liner notes that talk about history of the Grateful Dead up to that point. 5/5.
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 | Don Henley - Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits |
| "Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits" | 2009-09-20 |
Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits being Henley's greatest hits compilation release 1995 and contains hits from 1982 to 1995. The album contains classic Henley tracks such as "The Boys of Summer", "Dirty Laundry", "The End of the Innocence" and "The Heart of The Matter". The booklet is strange of used carsales man and I do not know what the point of this is. Only one track has the lyrics included but we do get linernotes written by Henley. We do get a list of the muisicians on each track but not what they play on each track. 4/5.
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 | The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow |
| "Hatful of Hollow" | 2009-09-19 |
Hatful of Hollow being a compilation album that spanns the years 1983-1984. I agree with another reviewer that this is landmark release as the quality of the tracks is astounding. Here we have my all time favourite Smiths track "How Soon Is Now" along with other great tracks such as "This Charming Man", "Hand in Glove" and "William it was really nothing". The booklet is very nice with all the lyrics included and many very nice photographs. 5/5.
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 | Nelly Furtado - Folklore |
 | "Folklore" | 2009-09-18 |
Folklore being Furtado's 2nd album suffers from her taking herself a little bit too seriously and the lyrics are suffering because of this. The melodies are amazing but the lyrics seem heavy handed at times as if she is adding a level of seriousness that at times feels forced. The reviews were generally negative when this album came out and Allmusic, Rolling Stone, Spinn and Blender all gave the album 2/5 or 3/5. I think 2/5 is a bit low but 3/5 is more then generous since the lyrics really drag down this album. The booklet is a mixed bag with Ms Furtado dressed is some truly atrocious outfits and the font for the lyrics is too small. All the lyrics are included and we get a list of whom plays what on each track. 3/5.
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 | The Grateful Dead - Live/Dead |
| "Live/Dead" | 2009-09-18 |
Live/Dead is the first official live album from the Grateful Dead and we get extended versions of all the tracks. Some of them are extremely long, i.e., Dark Star on this album is over 23 minutes long but still it is an amazing experience since this showcases the bands amazing ability to improvise. The booklet contains many fine photographs and we also get well-written linernotes by Lenny Kaye. In addition to this we get a list of whom plays what. The critics all liked this live recording (Allmusic, Christgau, and Rolling Stone). 4/5.
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 | Diamanda Galas - The Singer |
| "The Singer" | 2009-09-17 |
The Singer being Galás 1992 release is her singing own versions of classical blues and gospel songs. Galás has very unique vocals and one always here that it is here singing. The cover is an alright photograph of Calás looking pensive but the hair is not so nice. Only two of the tracks have lyrics but we get a list of whom plays what on the album. 4/5.
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 | Underworld - Beaucoup Fish |
| "Beacoup Fish" | 2009-09-17 |
Beacoup Fish being Underworld's 5th studio album and 1999 was very anticipated after their landmark recording seconf toughest in the infants and is a great album if not as good and I agree with Allmusic when they give this album 4/5. 4 singles were realeased from the album, i.e., "Push Upstairs", "Jumbo", "Bruce Lee" and "Moaner". The booklet is quite sparse and contains no lyrics and no photographs. 4/5.
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 | The Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead |
| "Workingman's dead" | 2009-09-17 |
Workingman's dead being the 4th studio album from the Greatfull Dead and contains two tracks that have crossed into mainstream, i.e., "Uncle John's Band" and "Casey Jones". No lyrics are included in the booklet and the photograph is quite grainy. We get short liner notes written by Warner Bros Records. The album has received great reviews from Allmusic and Robert Christgau. 4/5.
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 | R.E.M. - R.E.M. Singles Collected |
| "R.E.M. Singles Collected" | 2009-09-17 |
R.E.M. Singles Collected being a compilation album of R.E.M with both A-sides and B-sides of singles between 1983-1987 and contains early hits such as "Radio Free Europe", "So. Central Rain", "The One I love" and many many more. The booklet contains liner notes about all the tracks and many of the singles cover are featured on the album cover. 5/5.
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 | Avalanches - Since I Left You |
| "Since I Left You" | 2009-09-17 |
Since I Left You being the Avalanches debut album and their 2000 release was yet another album that I picked up by chance at my local library and I agree with the critics (Allmusic, Pitchfork Media, Drowned in Sound) that this is a quite good album. The album consists of samples from records, films and Tv shows. Avalanches became the first group that was allowed to sample Madonna's work. The album did quite well in the UK were it peaked at #8. 4/5.
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 | Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps |
| "Rust Never Sleeps" | 2009-08-03 |
Rust Never Sleeps being Young's 14th studio and 1979 release starts out with a bang with the amazing track "My My, Hey Hey" which contains the classic line "It's better to burn out than it is to fade away". Other great tracks are Powderfinger and the second rendition of "My My, Hey Hey". The reviews where all very positive and Allmusic, Robert Christgau and Rolling Stones all gave the album 5 or very positive reviews and I concur with them. The booklet contains all the lyrics and we also get well written liner notes. 5/5.
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 | Neil Young - Hawks & Doves |
| "Hawks & Doves" | 2009-08-03 |
Hawks & Doves being Young's 1980 release and is a straight forward country and western album that was met with mixed reviews. I agree with Allmusic which gave this album 3/5. The songs are by no means bad but it is does not a track that is memorable. The booklet is confusing as the lyrics are hard to read and I am not sure what the cover of the star is supposed to represent. 3/5.
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 | Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Greendale (Bonus DVD) |
| "Greendale" | 2009-08-03 |
Greendale being Young's 2003 release and is a concept album that can be comapared with The Wall by Pink Floyd and Autobahn by Kraftwerk and tells the story of a family in a fictitious town in California called Greendale. The album met good reviews and Allmusic gave it 3.5 stars and Rolling Stones gave it 4 so I also give 4 since a strong 3 feels a bit cheap. No lyrics are included but we get well-written liner notes for each track and some interesting sketches of the family. 4/5.
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