Reviews Written By: A3HU0B9XUEVHIMprovided by Amazon.com |
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 | Mariah Carey - Butterfly | |
 | "Interesting Points To Be Made" | 2009-11-15 |
| Okay even I have to ask:why am I reviewing a Mariah Carey album?And most of all whydid I give it four stars? Well not that I think she's the very worst thing in music by ANY MEANS but Mariah Carey is not one of my favorite artists to put it mildly. And it's sure not for any lack of trying. It seems that each time I tried to get into her I only enjoyed PART of something she did but,that it always came out realy flat and dull in the end. At the same time,there was a HUGE chunk of her album The Emancipation of Mimi that I really liked and so far that is THE only Mariah Carey album I reviewed. Now compared with a lot of other artists even Mariah's best albums probably don't really stack up. There are reasons for that I'll explain later in the review but this is not an overall review of Mariah herself;this is about her fifth album from 1997. I remember when this came out,I ignored it then and never gave it a second chance. Same went when I was purchasing CD's at a local discount place today when they said it was a buy 2 get 2 free deal. I was short one and kept passing this without a thought. Some rambuncious kid knocked it down and I noticed it had a cover of the Prince song "The Beautiful Ones".Out of curiousity I said "okay:I'll take a chance but I'm going to like it" to myself and listened to it,as I often do music as I painted. I was a bit surprised considering I heard (and do not own) her Music Box and didn't much care for that one at all. This album,considering the source is not halfway bad. The music is a fairly emotionally potent collection of lightly funk hip-hop/R&B tracks and somewhat big if reasonable ballads. "Honey" is'nt too bad a song at all;it is definately not hard core but the breezy groove with some nice Sade-like overtones (especially in the bass line) is actually genuinely sensual in a way. The title song is really good too and very much in the same league. Strangely enough there's also a reminder to me of why I find Mariah so irritating sometimes. It's not always her production or music-IT'S HER! She's made a career out of herself as one of those "she's a good singer" types,relying strongly on her multi octave range. But she also breathlessly stays in that same higher end of her voice pretty much all the time-only ever dipping into her pretty powerful deeper range on occasion. She probably believes she's making a lot of use of her vocal gifts but not only does it sound very gimmicky but,she actually gets horse from it on a number of tunes here. "My All","Babydoll" and "Outside" represent what the majority of this album consists of:stripped down (for Mariah) urban ballads that only occasionally escape her customary over produced fluttering with something that sounds like she has more confidence. The 90's disco styled "Fly Away" is a good change of pace as it relys more on the full spectrum of her voice and her handling something more uptempo and adult. "The Roof" and "Breakdown" both again go for something closer to funk again. It doesn't work entirely but,since at least producer Sean Combs knew what funk was he was able to squeeze as much as he could from the lightness of Mariah's overall sound. As for "The Beatiful Ones",the reason I went here it's musically more a re-make than a cover as it doesn't abtract at all from the sound of the original. But it's the duet format with Dru Hill,who takes most the leads here that really bring the song out. I don't usually say this but,by virtue of the producer and song choice this is one of those albums I rate higher from everything about it BUT the main artist involved. This might be a fairly weak album for some artists but it's good for Mariah and that isn't saying much. Many of us agree she has trouble living up to her potential and it puts her on so many peoples "least favorite artist" lists. But honestly this would not have been a bad place for Mariah to begin a more musically productive second career. Sadly as she seems to be seeking fame and fortune over integrity this and The Emancipation of Mimi will have to count for now as her two strongest albums and,again that just doesn't say enough for someone who has the ability and drive to reach beyond her comfort zone. | ||
![Billy Joel - 52nd Street [Remaster] [ECD]](product_images/166000/166253_thumb.jpg) | Billy Joel - 52nd Street [Remaster] [ECD] | |
 | "One Of The Billy Albums I Love" | 2009-11-03 |
| Can't say that I love every one of Billy Joel's albums mainly because I've never heard them all. This is something that I remember,along with Heatwave's Central Heating that I remember listening to a lot as a child on 8-track at our summer camp. Hearing it now for the first time as an adult I am amazed how much my opinion of it has broadened and increased,not that I had a bad one in the first place. That comes from again having only heard a few of his albums and knowing him otherwise from his hits. During the late 70's the world of pop music was changing. Jazz and R&B were ascendant and,for those who were not interested in making disco or heartland rock style records those styles and the pop/rock of the day were beginning to bleed together and it turned out to be a wonderful combination. You could see that quality in records that explored that hybrid from Steely Dan's Aja,Gino Vannelli's Brother to Brother and The Doobie Brothers' Livin' on the Fault Line. This album is part of that same flow and,lucky for Billy Joel his sometimes over-reaching musical ambitions and edgy New York attitude really worked to great affect here. Even though the content of The Stranger was uniformily consistant it did have something of the feeling of a hit parade. At the same time the jazzy funk elements that permeate this album were creeping in even there and opened the door. Even the two big singles here "Big Shot" and "My Life" both have strong pop-jazz flavors in the production. "Zanzibar",featuring a jazz rhythm section in the arrangment featuring a solo by Freddie Hubbard allows Billy to stretch this musical concept out as far as he can take it with one of the best chorded hooks of his catalog next to perhaps "Movin' Out". On "Stiletto" and "Rosalinda's Eyes" the fusion flavor take presidents as the theme of girl watching comes up in various turns,twice. "Half A Mile Away" and "Until The Night" are the more pop/rocky of the tunes presented here but pop/rock with a very strong street funk flavor and also extend on the hopefully obvious Elton John influence in Billy's style. The album is rounded out by the swinging title tune and "Honesty",another of Billy's great ballads he seemed to do so well. Considering that jazz and funk on pop/rock albums can easily end up being gimmicky seeming genre exercises the fact that Billy chose to integrate those musical elements into his own sound is a sign that his often overbearing ambition,which often led to much criticism against his music,could take him to really good places. | ||
 | Kind of Blue | |
| "Miles Breaks Through" | 2009-11-02 |
| With this album we're definately dealing with one of those "what more can one say" sort of situations when it comes to reviewing it,mainly because of it's acclaim for listeners outside the jazz sphere. But whatever it ended up being this is Miles and jazz at some of it's very finest. One of the greatest things about it is that it definately leaves creative impressions on you. Considering all the great musicianship that went into the creation of music such as the best known tunes on this album "So What" and "All Blues" alone and THAN actually get captured into the spirit of these song's modalities sounding so free and effortless.....your definately inspired to express yourself in some way. I am a painter who listens to music while I paint. The range I listen to is very diverse but when I am in the middle of a rendering that's particularly interesting I find myself drawn heavily towards listening to jazz and funk because,despite the division lines some people choose to put between them both styles of music over a free wheeling yet technically demanding style of music that is very fluid in tempo and rhythm. This being the beginning of modal jazz,where the harmonies and melodies were less structured that liquid quality that Jimmy Cobb,Paul Chambers and in particular those dramatic chord blocks of Bill Evans really do bring out the artist in you whatever the style of it happens to be. "Freddie Freeloader" is particularly interesting in that the song not only has more of an uptempo flavor of the song but it gives the opportunity for 'Trane and Cannonball to let loose on their saxes. Interestingly enough,even though Miles' whole "tugging at the ears softly" approch to his horn tends to take presidents in both his solos and the compositions themselves you can hear in 'Trane's many solos throughout this recording that his sound is actually beginning to edge into that free spirited and transcendent style of playing that would culminate six years after this on his own A Love Supreme. Both the original and alternate take of "Flamenco Sketches" find Miles (and on the latter his sax players more over) really re-introducing that so important "spanish tinge" into the music. Miles was and would continue to be very deeply interested in Spanish melodies and styles of playing and this would be one of his most significant uses of the form aside from what he'd accomplish with Gil Evans on Sketches of Spain. "Blue In Green" is for sure the most "modal" of the songs as the bluesy tempo seems to stretch out into infinity. So many things were happening in jazz in the late 50's and early 60's. The most sigificant of the classic 33RPM long playing records were coming out at the time and with vigor. And that Miles and his various quartets and quintets were responsible for over a handfull of those records points to the legendary status his music and his general presense continues to have. | ||
 | Jaco Pastorius - Word of Mouth | |
| "Brilliance Thy Name Is Jaco" | 2009-10-27 |
| Honestly I haven't a clue how he managed it but somehow this album......PHEW it just HAS EVERYTING! One of the cheif complaints I've heard about fusion is that the musicians are playing over eachother and don't seem to hear what's going on in the music they make. Somehow on this album,with it's musical conceptualization,it's cast of over 50 different musicans and Jaco's own singular sound this somehow managed to create something unique and more than a little self expressive. Not only that but,against the hugeness of the sound that in many places goes even beyond Weather Report the rhythms,melodies,harmonies and even the very improvisational playing get you right into what your hearing. When one hears this that's all blown away! This music showcases Jaco's abilities as an arranger as well as the most inventive guy to pick up a fretless. And it really does all come together:from Count Basie,Duke,Quincy,Miles,Zawinul-ALL of those influence come into play in what's hear. "Crisis" is a great example of musical personality as the conflicted and troubled nature of Jaco's thoughts not only come out in his axe but in the avante garde noise coming at it from every which way but loose to great this cacophonous jam. Within the space of 11+ minutes "Liberty City" is one of the major high points here as the big band era comes swinging right back as swing and jazz-funk meet at this great place and in terms of arrangements and his bass work Jaco just keeps everything working together from moment to moment. You can almost imagine with it's close horn charts and many variaties of finger snapping rhythms that here is something very similar to what Duke Ellington's music might've evolved into has he lived up to the early 80's. Everything about the piece swings and grooves while the world beat and funk elements that Jaco had always explored found their way into the general flavor of the music. Talk about learning and expanding on an American master! It gets better! Jaco's solo bass arrangement of Bach's "Chromatic Fantasy" is very deep in conception as the European classical orientation of the piece is transformed into deep,no holds barred funkiness and the two fundamentally different styles again merge into just the right place. He does the same thing to a verson of The Beatle's "Blackbird" only he colors every melody of that tune even more by expanding it's harmonic range-something he was naturally excellent at. The title number is similar if somewhat less frenetic than the opener as that chaos merges into more conversational horn solos that really show you what I meant earlier where you really hear the musicians listening to everything that's happening while drawing themselves and the listener right into the sounds they create. The final tune is another extravaganza that is not only this kinetic jazz-funk-world beat workout but actually concludes with this soulful,handclapped powered gospel/funk throwdown complete with female backup and Jaco's own soulful wailing around it. How all of this wonderful mastery of musicianship,arrangement AND musical involvment all got onto one album is still something of a mystery.It might've been a stroke of luck,who knows. Anyhow it may be very full instrumentally,it may be very ambitious at parts but the fact one isn't focused on any possible indulgance in listening to this music is as much a statement as the album itself is. | ||
 | Michael Franks - The Camera Never Lies | |
| "The Music Never Lies" | 2009-10-27 |
| One of my good friends once praised me for my interest in what he defined as "adult funk". For the point of not bragging for starters there is a truth to that. Michael Franks is one of these people who has a definate appeal to me because he can bring a collection of contemporary jazz and pop musicians that could almost rival Quincy Jones,if not in terms of Q's breadth and scope in genre of those people and create a style of music that blends together all their important individual elements into his own well established sound. The man has a quiet voice. Another reason for that grown up appeal is the witty,intelligent and droll lyrical approch that he always takes. At the same time there's this sassy jazz quality and implicitness to it all which easily matched his lyrics. Considering his music is based both in jazz and funk it's a reminder of that special quality those two genres share. On this album he collects a series of torrid 80's contempo funk-type songs that are sweet to an extant but,from the lyrics to the heavy rhythms has a heavy sass and a strong nasty groove courtesy of many a solid bass line. "Face To Face" and "I Surrender" get things off to a pretty good start with songs that are heavier on the dance-pop flavor than jazz but,at the same time he claims to personal complication by going as far as mentioning Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool as his "theme song". Which can be said in truth since Frank,like Miles knows how to jam while tugging at your ears a little softer. My theme song on this album is the title tune which has a brezzier,more atmospheric dance-pop/jazz kind of flavor. I relate to it because I use the medium of photography and painting myself to express certain ideas about the world TO the world which,in it's implication is kind of at the core of what this tune is about. "Lip Service" is a deeply funky one with just a tad of that James Brown style rhythm mixed in (only far heavier produced of course) as Frank's delivers some friendly payback to a lover who seems to be able to talk the talk but never walk the walk. "When I Think Of Us" is...well to me an excellent example of how a romantic,grooving tune can work in the 80's. It's not a ballad but this jazzy,smoking midtempo piece with one of the most appealing and sexy vocal arrangements on the whole album. "Now You're In My Dreams" with Patti Austin and "Innuendo" are the softer ends musically of the album and not too bad "after the act" kind of tunes. "Doctor Sax" really lets go on the contempo funk end even adding a bit of the pre New Jack Swing hip-hop flavor into the groove to shake things up a bit. In terms of how I discovered this album there's a little story I shared with you. I was first exposed to this when an odd janitor at the TV station my dad worked at dug a cassette of this album out of the dumpster,disinfected it and presented it to my father. For something that was bein literally thrown in the garbage pile,once I heard this I could'nt get enough and it compelled me to look for the CD for my own collection. So do I recommend this album?You better believe I do. You might THINK you won't like it at first,maybe you wont. But there's always more a mild possibility,if it's good taste and high quality doesn't hit you over the head right away that you might get a little delayed reaction. | ||
 | Michael Jackson - Invincible * | |
 | "Michael Jackson:King Of Paranoid?" | 2009-10-18 |
| Considering all the complex circumstances regarding Mike during the time this album was released it's amazing that this album even came together at all. Obviously still looking to maintain his universal acceptance even as it was seriously dwindling Mike turned not only to hot producer Rodney Jerkins but to his old Dangerous era collaborator Teddy Riley in order to accomodate his new musical needs. Since he always tended to take an enormously long time between albums there were some changing trends in pop and R&B since he'd last released any new music. One of the most important things to consider about this album is....how Jerkins choice of using a very edgy,tensed up variety of hip-hop inspired funk was very aprapot in terms of the awkward and intensely paranoid atmosphere hanging over a good portion of this material. Sometimes the production is pretty busy and sometimes it's just right. But Mike was about more than production and...in terms of his own musical vision here it would only have been wished that his songwriting skills here could match his ambitions. From music to his vocal concepts two or three concepts tend to drag on rather relentlessly throughout a lot of these songs. The result in fact isn't always exactly close to pop. True repetition is at the core of funk and Mike had always used it to just the proper degree in much of what he'd done thus far. Yet here he isn't always able to channel that concept into something that allowed him to grow as a musical entity. The overall impression was that he was simply tired. But it wasn't for any like of trying because songs such as the title song,"Unbreakable" and even the hit "You Rock My World" showcase Mike trying to get his groove on despite his deep personel problems that by this point had nearly overtaken his whole life. Than again that was the core of the problem:Michael Jackson by 2001 was a public entity who was known at that time more for a litany of scandel than as a musical artist. Therefore it's that element which takes over everything-despite his rather appealing later use of a gruffer staccato style of singing and even seemed strained and weakened here,with more pathos than would be expected from him. Actually the two Teddy Riley contributions are actually among the songs where this works artistically. "Heaven Can Wait" is actually a very nice poetic love song in his tradtion of such and the concept comes together relatively well.Though I would not call it 100% true to form either. "200 Watts" on the other hand is an uptempo jam where Mike drops into his bass voice for the first time since the late 70's and in fact it's so deep at this point it's sometimes hard to tell it's him singing. One of the best songs on the album is "Butterflies"-now musically it does have the feeling of a modern day Off the Wall style number with it's chord changes and use of horns but still one cannot think of what Quincy Jones or even Teddy Riley might've done with this production.Doesn't keep it from being one of this albums handfull of standout songs.Much of the rest of the album such as "Privacy","The Lost Children","Cry","Don't Walk Away" and "Threatened" are completely absorbed by Mike's disjointed emotional gushing and more than a fare share of the paranoid ranting which,considering his often ill conseived idolation looses any possible appeal by this point. It's really more of an interesting musical document of one of the most difficult periods in Mike's life and career but in terms of having much pop or strong dancable appeal most of it is more likely to make people wonder and maybe even a bit nervous than to feel like jamming along with Mike. Since this turned out to be the last album he realesed during his lifetime he deserved more than that. | ||
 | Kraftwerk - Autobahn | |
| "Unique,Futuristic And Beautiful" | 2009-10-16 |
| Legend aside Kraftwerk definately created some of the most unique and certainly the most enduring music of the 70's. One of the main reasons for that is,much as Stevie Wonder did in his musical world made music that was creative and often very beautiful music (yes,even for all Kraftwerk's cold exterior sound) with very primative and difficult instrumentation.The title song of course dominates this album and there's a good reason for that.The melodic theme is irresistable for one,not to mention the fact between two stereo channels the quartet allow for a self created series of vast polyphonic style sounds from what are obviously primative synthesizers only capable of playing one note at a time,mostly seeming to illustrate impressions of various automobile sounds.. But even audiophiles will not likely tune emmediatly into the masterful engineering on this album but rather to the haromonic and melodic delights found within. Most of the rest of the music here follows a similar pattern to the title track and "Kometenmelodie 2" really showcases another of Kraftwerk's many appealing musical qualities,again one I can liken to Wonder despite the differences in mood and genre. They could take a musical idea that was,as they say all wax and utilize their pre-MIDI electronics,as illustrated by another reviewer and great new rhythms based on basslines and beats. Since this begins what is really a second stage in Kraftwerk where live instrutmentation tended to be shunned,as opposed to the more live sound of their first three recordings it's surprising to here a pretty flute melody,a piano and what sounds like a Japanese Koto harp on "Morgenspanziergang",which actually repeats one of the melodic ideas from the title song. The great innovative sweep on Kraftwerks music,without which of course all electronica of the last two decades could'nt have existed as such,that began to peak during their Trans-Europe Express period really began here. It's definately a key point in 70's music on many different respects,not to mention how rhythm and blues in the 80's would owe much of what it became to Kraftwerk's rhythmic and melodic use of electronics. | ||
![Yes - Going for the One [Bonus Tracks]](product_images/179000/179264_thumb.jpg) | Yes - Going for the One [Bonus Tracks] | |
| "Yes Going For Something" | 2009-10-06 |
| 1977 was surely one of the most involved years in terms of prog rock. The sound itself was far from unique anymore as any number of bands were making a killing on the charts with the style. After a little while away from the studio after their early/mid 70's heyday Yes re-emmerged with this album that pretty much found them running strong on all cylinders. Everything is intact that made Yes unique,most obviously the keyboard and synthesizer wizardry of Rick Wakeman which is prominant throghout this album.One thing I need to say about this album and some prog rock in general is that while the musical ideas on this album are broad,profound and often otherworldly many of them are joined together into long compositions such "Awaken". Even the title track which has a very heavy blues based guitar riff leading into it seems like two conjoined tunes rather than something fully conseived in and of itself even though it,like the other tunes here are only five or seven minutes or so. It's an excellent symphonic rock album but it,as with much of it's genre is very involved musically and needs to be listened to very closely to fully absorb it. Perhaps the lack of casual musical excellence as opposed to profound musical excellence is one of the reasons I don't review much prog rock because it's always just a little too much to explain. And this is so orgasmic and overwelming that on occasion you might get so lost in the alternating rhythmic and harmonic concepts rather than be able to follow them,as you do with for example most kinds of jazz and such. Still it's one of Yes's good albums for sure and the songwriting is incredible. | ||
 | Stevie Wonder - In Square Circle | |
| "Stranger On The Shore Of Music" | 2009-10-04 |
| Being a long time admirerer of Stevie Wonder and his music and having listened to this album many,many,many times yet never bothered to review it. The first thing I want to say is it took Stevie several years to complete this album (he released Original Musiquarium I and The Woman In Red: Selections From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack during the wait) and considering this syndrome had become a very common with Stevie during the mid to late 70's expectations were very mixed. Interestingly enough when this recording dropped in 1985 Stevie had already been performing songs from it on SNL a couple years earlier and,fact is it actually sounded a couple years old. The general production of this album does,in fact sound much more in keeping with 1983,which is appropriate considering most of this music actually hailed from that year. Two significant downside to that were two musical qualities that were more typical of it's release year:the use of a then sound flattening DDD production and a somewhat overuse of synclavier and digital keyboards. In this case it kind of flattens out a lot of the music,and it's most noticable on the funkier songs here such as "Spiritual Walkers",apparently about Jehovah's Witnessess and "I Love You Too Much" which actually,aside from some typically beautiful melodic major/minor chord refrains is pretty clipped and electronic sound anyway. As far as the rhythm is concerned "Part Time Lover" is very much classic Holland/Dozier/Holland Motown arrangement with an old time "cheatin' heart" type blues lyric.That combination had been done in the past and actually it worked pretty well in the 80's even if,again the sound was missing a certain spunk due to the instrumental alterations. "Whereabouts" is actually a very good ballad,not that different from "Overjoyed" in the way it gives Stevie an opportunity to excersise his melodically jazzy songwriting style and trademark feel for chord progressions that made his type of soul/funk so distinctive. The instrumentation on "Stranger On The Shore Of Love" boarders on corny but the song is wonderfully constructed. Done in the instrumental style of using clavinets,live drumming,ARP's along with plenty of echos and reverbs it would've been a sure fire classic. "Never In Your Sun" is a place where the electronic flavor of the album works wonderfully,especially with the percussive use of the drum machines. The same goes for "Go Home",especially with Larry Gitten's echoed trumpet after the refrain and it's one of the earliest songs I knew from this album. "Land Of La La" is actually an attempt at a fairly straight ahead new wave song but,at the same time Stevie's emotionally involved vocal style contrasts very heavily with the often chilly style of 80's new wave/synth pop and even though it doesn't work in every way it could've been a lot worse than it was. "It's Wrong (Aparteid)",outside it's "afro-electric" sound is a potent reminder of Stevie's main activities of the time;performing for USA/Africa related charity events and protesting against aparteid in South Africa. His humanitarianism,also linked to his mistrust of President Reagen (and for proper reasons). So while the follow up album Characters has a stronger sound in many ways than this and doesn't suffer quite as bad from the heavily dated electronics as this one does there is,as with almost every Stevie Wonder album a lot here to admire and respect. | ||
 | Guy - The Future | |
| "Guy In Total Control" | 2009-10-01 |
| Over the six years I've been an Amazon.com member I have been more than a little critical of the genre of New Jack Swing,particularly in the early period of reviewing. Listening to this album reminds me most of all both what was good and what I didn't like about the genre. In many cases of musical genres many soloists and groups over time innovated and added little bits to create a broader pallet,for better or worse. That's in fact part of the very essense of jazz,rock n' roll,funk and hip-hop. Personally in the case of New Jack I must say it does seem that the music worked best in the hands of the originators. The fate of the genre as a public entity reminds me of a comment I heard about cloning in a Star Trek show called Up The Long Ladder :that was that each time you clone,your making a "copy of a copy" and after awhile the DNA looses potentcy and you end up with a bad clone. I see the same in musical terms for new jack;the more the music was overused,and it was TERRIBLY overused in the years between 1989 and 1993 the less depth and power the music had. Strangely enough that seemed to be more true for the uptempo side of the genre than anything: the new jack ballad style actually aged fairly well and is often still the main form of R&B slow jam to this day. But taken together Guy was one of a a few new jack groups who got it right from the start. This was after all the brainchild of Teddy Riley and this was the man who was able to get Michael Jackson involved in the style with his Dangerous album. This album is in the rawest style of new jack:heavy on the rapping,funk samples and strong rhythmic varriations considering all the drum and synthesizer programming involved in it's creation. And while the vocal style of Aaron Hall was the beginning of a trend of highly oversinging male R&B vocalists his vocal style is very strong and earthy and,if he's not pushing for notes too much he actually sounds genuinely soulful now and again. On songs such as "Total Control" and "Gotta Be A Leader",all of whom wrote and created the material they performerd actually made comments on the very thing I was talking about in the music;in the latter there's a pointed rap that said "I was the one who led/you tagged along/copying like a xerox".Well sure there's some period hip-hop posturing in there but he doesn't go out without having already stated "long live the new jack swing". So they're all too well aware of their possitions as the keepers of the castle as it were. Again the ballads here really shine on "Tease Me Tonight" and "Let's Chill"-I feel it's because these are slow jams based in the slower electro funk flavors of the 80's so they can pitch woo and groove all at the same time very well. Realizing The Gap Band were and still are seen as the godfathers of new jack there's a version of "Yearning For Your Love" here in the same rhythmic slow groove style,the only cover song on the album in fact. Of course there are three of the most incredible and funky jams to come from the genre on "Wanna Get With U" (as well as a kicking remix at the end),"Teddy's Jam 2" and "D-O-G Me Out" proving that the success of the groups debut wasn't a one shot. That being said this is the bands second album and even though there was no sophmore slump musically this album might have been all too easily overlooked amidst the glut of others who were "copying like a xerox",right down the the jheri curlish flat tops and baggy primary colored clothes. But of the many many many many people who worked within this genre Guy did it right and did it well. | ||
![The Cars - Panorama [HDCD]](product_images/162000/162534_thumb.jpg) | The Cars - Panorama [HDCD] | |
| "The Cars In The Tunnel" | 2009-08-23 |
| In terms of their singles alone The Cars live up to their name very much in terms of their genre of music being...well what I refer to as "cruise-wave",a kind of 80's rock that sounds well taking driving down the road. This is an album which changed that in many ways. For one,none of the ten songs presented here are based in any pop hooks.Even by Rick Ocasek standards the singing and lyrics are incredibly nervous and sometimes almost mildly unhinged.He almost sounds like David Byrne on this. Even the albums one hit "Touch And Go" doesn't quite fit the normal format for Cars hits. There's also a lot more electronic type soundscapes and heavy synthesizer use on songs like the title track here;this gives Greg Hawkes a lot to do here since a lot of the material is based his side of things. There's also a lot more guitar here as well. Lyricall it's a lot more than the girls 'n a good time clishes of most pop/rock.On tunes like "Misfit Kid" there's a lot of commentary on a generation who felt themselves growing up a bit bland and faceless. Not an entirely uncommon theme of rock in general of the era but The Cars? It all seems a little odd if your more familiar with the bands heavily played run of hits. I am not sure if The Cars ever did become an AOR band;it just didn't seem to go with their general approch. But this album is at the very least the closest they ever got.At least in terms of being a genuine album. Fans of pop singles may not find what their looking for. But if your looking to understand some of their musical values this is not a bad place to start looking for them. | ||
 | Longtime Companion | |
| "A Brilliant Crier Movie" | 2009-08-13 |
| Recently I learned that a friend of mine had become HIV+. So I decided to rent this movie I'd had been looking at for a long time but thought it might be too depressing for casual viewing. But I decided to see it anyway. Purely as a film it's greatly better than I expected,that is in terms of acting and plot construction. I was born in 1980 so some of the earlier years depicted in this film don't come to my memory. The general story is based in New York where a group of gay people,from different backrounds and walks of life who are forced to contend with AIDS,even before it had an official name. The story spans the entire decade of the 80's;from 1981 to 89 and different segments of the movie take place during a different year in the decade. It all starts out when the friends are rather casually discussing an newspaper article about a mysterious "gay cancer". It's really interesting to see the historical context from where these men are all summering at Fire Island and taking the whole situation very casually to something very different. At first it's taken for granted as being a disease effecting heavy drug users or those with a huge amount of sexual partners. That is,until one of these friends fall ill. Over the course of the film these men,one by one become sick and die. Some of them have become romantically involved and their intertwining stories play out all the tensions,dilemas,fear and misinformation that was a huge part of the early years of the AIDS epidemic. From this fact alone you can easily see how sad this film could be. But it's deeper than just the depressing subject of AIDS. Over the course of the film you really begin to like a number of the characters,whose own personel concerns give way to a great sense of sympathy,concern and kindness. And even for them you have to watch them all succomb to AIDS.In the end only two of them and their female friend whose been by their side since the very beginning have survived. The metaphorical scene in the end,which is too important to me for a spoiler is really the part the effected me most emotionally. Personally I found the movie more upsetting at first,since so much of the film strongly emphasizes the feeling of hysteria regarding AIDS before there was a lot of knowledge about the disease. Some of the knowledge in the early days in fact was totally based on hysteria in fact. Another sad fact about this is you really see how AIDS was effecting gay people just at the same time they were beginning to gain acceptance in a society that had long cruelly condemn them. After all,we all remember how both situations intertwined in real life with Rock Hudson. This is actually an excellent slice of life story for those interested in this particular subject matter,whether or gay or not. I would recommend that the sensative and highly bummed out might want to avoid this. But that doesn't take away from how important this movie was and still is even today. | ||
 | Longtime Companion | |
| "A Brilliant Crier Movie" | 2009-08-13 |
| Recently I learned that a friend of mine had become HIV+. So I decided to rent this movie I'd had been looking at for a long time but thought it might be too depressing for casual viewing. But I decided to see it anyway. Purely as a film it's greatly better than I expected,that is in terms of acting and plot construction. I was born in 1980 so some of the earlier years depicted in this film don't come to my memory. The general story is based in New York where a group of gay people,from different backrounds and walks of life who are forced to contend with AIDS,even before it had an official name. The story spans the entire decade of the 80's;from 1981 to 89 and different segments of the movie take place during a different year in the decade. It all starts out when the friends are rather casually discussing an newspaper article about a mysterious "gay cancer". It's really interesting to see the historical context from where these men are all summering at Fire Island and taking the whole situation very casually to something very different. At first it's taken for granted as being a disease effecting heavy drug users or those with a huge amount of sexual partners. That is,until one of these friends fall ill. Over the course of the film these men,one by one become sick and die. Some of them have become romantically involved and their intertwining stories play out all the tensions,dilemas,fear and misinformation that was a huge part of the early years of the AIDS epidemic. From this fact alone you can easily see how sad this film could be. But it's deeper than just the depressing subject of AIDS. Over the course of the film you really begin to like a number of the characters,whose own personel concerns give way to a great sense of sympathy,concern and kindness. And even for them you have to watch them all succomb to AIDS.In the end only two of them and their female friend whose been by their side since the very beginning have survived. The metaphorical scene in the end,which is too important to me for a spoiler is really the part the effected me most emotionally. Personally I found the movie more upsetting at first,since so much of the film strongly emphasizes the feeling of hysteria regarding AIDS before there was a lot of knowledge about the disease. Some of the knowledge in the early days in fact was totally based on hysteria in fact. Another sad fact about this is you really see how AIDS was effecting gay people just at the same time they were beginning to gain acceptance in a society that had long cruelly condemn them. After all,we all remember how both situations intertwined in real life with Rock Hudson. This is actually an excellent slice of life story for those interested in this particular subject matter,whether or gay or not. I would recommend that the sensative and highly bummed out might want to avoid this. But that doesn't take away from how important this movie was and still is even today. | ||
 | Longtime Companion | |
| "A Brilliant Crier Movie" | 2009-08-13 |
| Recently I learned that a friend of mine had become HIV+. So I decided to rent this movie I'd had been looking at for a long time but thought it might be too depressing for casual viewing. But I decided to see it anyway. Purely as a film it's greatly better than I expected,that is in terms of acting and plot construction. I was born in 1980 so some of the earlier years depicted in this film don't come to my memory. The general story is based in New York where a group of gay people,from different backrounds and walks of life who are forced to contend with AIDS,even before it had an official name. The story spans the entire decade of the 80's;from 1981 to 89 and different segments of the movie take place during a different year in the decade. It all starts out when the friends are rather casually discussing an newspaper article about a mysterious "gay cancer". It's really interesting to see the historical context from where these men are all summering at Fire Island and taking the whole situation very casually to something very different. At first it's taken for granted as being a disease effecting heavy drug users or those with a huge amount of sexual partners. That is,until one of these friends fall ill. Over the course of the film these men,one by one become sick and die. Some of them have become romantically involved and their intertwining stories play out all the tensions,dilemas,fear and misinformation that was a huge part of the early years of the AIDS epidemic. From this fact alone you can easily see how sad this film could be. But it's deeper than just the depressing subject of AIDS. Over the course of the film you really begin to like a number of the characters,whose own personel concerns give way to a great sense of sympathy,concern and kindness. And even for them you have to watch them all succomb to AIDS.In the end only two of them and their female friend whose been by their side since the very beginning have survived. The metaphorical scene in the end,which is too important to me for a spoiler is really the part the effected me most emotionally. Personally I found the movie more upsetting at first,since so much of the film strongly emphasizes the feeling of hysteria regarding AIDS before there was a lot of knowledge about the disease. Some of the knowledge in the early days in fact was totally based on hysteria in fact. Another sad fact about this is you really see how AIDS was effecting gay people just at the same time they were beginning to gain acceptance in a society that had long cruelly condemn them. After all,we all remember how both situations intertwined in real life with Rock Hudson. This is actually an excellent slice of life story for those interested in this particular subject matter,whether or gay or not. I would recommend that the sensative and highly bummed out might want to avoid this. But that doesn't take away from how important this movie was and still is even today. | ||
 | Janet Jackson - Control | |
| "This Is A Story About Control" | 2009-07-29 |
| The legacy of this classic is often misunderstood by a lot of people. To understand the concepts both musically and lyrically of this album is because Janet's first two albums,from her debut Janet Jackson to her somewhat more powerful second release Dream Street were directed completely by other sources,including his dad. The title of this album is often questioned because Janet actually has very little participation creatively in this project. The "control" she speaks of is being free to choose the people who helped her to stardom and a greater musical place. And her own personal choices could'nt have been better. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were two of the first people to take the then hugely successful Minneapolis sound out of it's home region with the SOS Band,Alexander O'Neal,etc.Also it was pretty clear Janet was very involved in the creative process too.Her new confident persona clearly drove the music to where Jam/Lewis took it and gave the lyrics and music a consistancy and coherence that her first two releases sometimes had trouble maintaining. One thing that really makes this a standout 80's classic is the music. There's more then a lot of catchy tunes here. Janet,Jam & Lewis all put together a whole new type of dance-funk here. What that meant were beats that came from the bottom up,quiet to loud rather than the other way around.These were often puncuated by very punchy uses of synth bass and melodic exchanges. The approch is not only very Minneapolis and commercial but also arty and distinctive. The music is as tough as the lyrics are.From the powerful title song to "The Pleasure Principle" Janet explores various types of assertive behavior,from professional to romantic. And the music keeps your feet moving AND your waist move in and out while she's doing it. Much the same as with her brother Mike's huge breakthrough Thriller even the non hit material on this album sound like hits."You Can Be Mine" and "He Doesn't Even Know I'm Alive" are great examples,exploring heavier pop elements than some of the more....musical material.Another similar case is "(Funny How Time Flies) When Your Having Fun",a ballad tacked onto the end of the album with such a strong,errie minor chorded feel that it's become a popular cover choice for a number of instrumentalists,especially in the jazz world. But the Jam/Lewis production on the song,as on the rest of the album makes it a sure fire standout. This albums goes far beyond the well known "Nasty","When I Think Of You","What Have You Done For Me Lately" and "Let's Wait Awile" and everyone who hears this will be more than happily surprized how well everything,even if it wasn't all over the radio and dancefloor will make a very strong impression. | ||
 | Luther Vandross - Never Let Me Go | |
| "Just When You Think........." | 2009-07-26 |
| Luther pretty much had me from the first moment I heard Never Too Much and I was all too aware that he wasn't exactly a household name even when I heard that.This is one of those CD's I've seen floating around budget CD bins pretty much since it came out. And somehow that reality made it seem as if it were an album to be avoided. Not only that but,as I've stated in many reviews the years 1991-1993 were kind of sketchy years for me in terms of new music because.....well as with now just about everything especially in R&B was starting to sound pretty much the same. Much as the same with Power of Love there are a lot of "adult contemporary" type ballads on this album "Little Miracles","Love Me Again","Can't Be Doin' That Now" and "Too Far Down" are certainly in that vein but either way around it the songwriting is so good and the vocal turns so powerful you don't end up turning them off,as typical as the production may sound."Heaven Knows" is a great song,showcasing the type of smooth groove Luther does so well and a more....tasteful production."Love Is On The Way" and "Hustle" have a strong urban hip-hop/funk flavor that at least doesn't rely on the typical "pop jack swing" everyone else seemed to doing at the time. Marcus Miller of course,who from his work with Miles Davis sure knew his way around proto hip-hop beats and basslines really gave Luther's street flavor on these songs a little extra kick from within the glossy coat of the songs. No drum or drum machine credit exists for "Emotional Eyes" which is one of the more impressive tunes here. The beat has an unexpected kind of roll to it.That extra added flavor to the groove goes very well with the lyric about dealing with both toughness and vulnerability."Lady Lady" is just a fun,bouncy tune with a very 80's feel to it.And not tacky 80's either. As is typical of Luther he closes the album with a romantic medley.This time around it's "How Deep Is Your Love"-a good enough rendition for sure. But it's Luther's own "Never Let Me Go",with a......quite grooving sax solo from the usually softball Kirk Whalum and a great pleading vocal treatment. Because in the years since this album out this particular type of R&B has'nt been taken very seriously over the years as the music in general has gradually grown more and more shallow,a lot of Luther's music from the 90's tends to get a bum deal because of his classic 80's albums.But whether or not this kind of music interests you it's worth checking this one out for a more than pleasant change of pace. | ||
 | George Benson - Livin' Inside Your Love | |
| "Welcome To Benson's World" | 2009-07-24 |
| Still riding on the huge success of his massive success four years earlier with Breezin' George Benson dropped this double album as the decade drew to a close. The general sound of the album makes an ambitious attempt to blend Benson's standard jazz-funk sound with an orchestra arranged and conduced by Claus Ogerman. So the effect was not to have been any different from the previous three albums right?Well in a way........it was. In this case the orchestra is all over these songs at various points.And with ace players such as Greg Phillinganes,Steve Gadd,Ronnie Foster and Earl Klugh onboard you don't really need that much outside arrangement. Crowded over production aside the music on this album itself can only be rated with the five star treatment.These 12 songs showcase either intrumentals or vocal numbers.Some are covers,some are originals and all the songs are long enough to include at least one hefty guitar solo from Benson. Klugh's title song is a pretty nice beginning,kind of a nice smooth groove where the production doesn't get in the way too much.Of the vocal pieces there are nice covers in the same mellow mood such as "Hey Girl","Love Is A Hurtin' Thing" and "Unchained Melody",extending on the loose but obvious romantic concept of the album. There are two Ronnie Foster tunes.One is a smoother funk rendition of "Nassau Day",a melodic instrumental done in a more Stevie Wonderish version on Foster's own Love Satellite album and here it's basically a lighter weight version with Benson's guitar....actually turning in some inventive guitar licks that even go beyond Ronnie's keyboard riffing on the original."Prelude To Fall" features again more orchestration than solos.Two of the most impressive songs are..well the big hit "Love Ballad".Originally a very slow ballad on LTD's album Love to the World this is transformed into a clavinet driven disco jazz number that's.....sure somewhat linked to the time but it really couldn't be in a more wonderful way."Welcome To My World",a Benson original is just a tad slower but no less catchy,again featuring all the qualities Benson does best in a lush melodic setting. He also does an excellent soulful turn on Sam Cookes "A Change Is Gonna Come";George's huge,rich voice and playing really bring new life to what was even by then a classic standard. On the instrumental side "Soulful Strut" has Benson throwing down some excellent guitar work. Some of the lushness of this albums heavily orchestrated sound may sound a bit discoish and maybe even corny to some people.But if you can peel back those layers to how strong and hefty a lot of these grooves are,regardless of tempo and how classic Benson's pop-jazz-funk hybrid was. | ||
![The Isley Brothers - Harvest For The World [Remaster]](product_images/225000/225241_thumb.jpg) | The Isley Brothers - Harvest For The World [Remaster] | |
| "The Isley's Lay It On The Line" | 2009-07-21 |
| Under my "old" Amazon.com name I wrote a review to this but upon hearing the remaster and understanding this album from a new perspective there's a lot more I have to say about it. In many ways of all the 3+3 era Isley albums that they made during the 70's,this is probably the most unique. For many of the truest lovers of soul and funk out there it's hard to deny that as far as funk was concerned 1976 was a big landmark year. Everything in the kitchen sink musically had entered successfully into the mix and it was producing not only huge commercial and critical results,but was influencing every jazz and rock musician who was hearing it. This album could not be anymore of a product of Ricky Vincent's "united funk" era than you could possibly ask for. The main difference between this and other items in the Isley's catalog from this time is that there's more of a gentle overtone to lot of this music,even the funky stuff doesn't throw itself at you and tends to be more penetrating than forceful. The title track really has to merrit a lot of discussion. Musically this song is probably one of the greatest examples of two generations of music they ever did,and that isn't a huge surprise since the group features two generations of brothers. On the one hand it has this strong gospel/soul type melodicism and folksy acoustic guitar of early styles of R&B plus this modern funk groove too. Lyrically it is something I've dubbed "people music",a certain type of communally centered message song that speaks from first hand experience and/or observation about topical issues that effect them and everyone else. In this case you get one of the more heartfelt and genuine pleas for global harmony and humanitarianism that lays easily aside John Lennon's Imagine in terms of being one of the great social anthems of the day.Not that it gets hardly any credit of course but it really is. "People Of Today",with it's heavy TONTO touch and vocorderized "My world is fine" is...well another message song dealing with people's selfishness in general."Who Loves You Better" is the rocker on the album and has a more involved melody than most of Ernie Isley tunes on the albums. The two slow songs on the album "Let Me Down Easy" and "(At Your Best) You Are Love" are strangely enough good enough songs but not among the stronger of the Isley's ballads at this point compositionally;kind of by-the-numbers by most standards. Much more interesting is "So You Wanna Stay Down",with a similar feeling to the title track and some rapid fire vocal turns from Ron."You Still Feel The Need" is a great stop and start funk breakdown;has a similar feeling to some of the style and production on Steely Dan's The Royal Scam only with a far more open end and far less of a feel of musical perfectionism over mood flavor.One of the great features of this is the bonus cut,a live in the studio version of "Summer Breeze" which,unlike the also great studio version on 3 + 3 is extended out to an 8+ minute lengh with an extended,Marvin Gaye-like breakdown in the middle that really allows the mood to be extended along with the song. It's a really good thing that this and Live It Up [EXTRA TRACKS],two Isley albums that were long neglected on CD are in print because they both represent key transitional elements in their developement during the era.Not to mention being key musical experiences of mid 70's funk/rock/soul/pop. | ||
![The Jackson 5 - Third Album/Maybe Tomorrow [Bonus Tracks]](product_images/1373000/1373277_thumb.jpg) | The Jackson 5 - Third Album/Maybe Tomorrow [Bonus Tracks] | |
| "It's Great To Hear This!" | 2009-07-21 |
| Motown's 2000/2001 series of double album Jackson 5 CD's were a blessing to fans such as myself who either owned some of the original CD's or vinyl copies of these albums. I now have almost all of them except the first of the series. This one is very special to me because it contains two J5 albums that are very important to the groups musical development.I've already done a review here for Third Album so I'll focus on the second album featured here.Maybe Tomorrow finds the Jackson brothers spinning out into some new directions.Even though the "bubblegum soul" of The Corperation is still very much in residence there are more than a few surprising changes in the sound here.The title track for one features a decidedly non-kiddie arrangement with Michael handling,even in his younger voice dipping into a breezy falsetto.Even the big hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" finds a moodier,more refined Jackson 5,from the harmonies to Michael's lead.The pepper songs like "(We've Got) Blue Skies","My Little Baby",the funky "It's Great To Be Here" and Jermaine's "I Will Find A Way" feature more intricate chord changes and showcases at least....a more refined bubblegum soul anyway. One reason has a lot to do with the fact that the elder Jackson brothers are either leaving or entering their teens at this point and needless to say that does have an effect on the music. They seem to be moving to a point where they're beginning to think more in terms of their own sound as opposed to that of Motown's musicians,songwriters and producers. It would be seven years until that wish for independence would come to full fruition with the 1978 release of Destiny. Even still if you love the Jackson 5 there's nothing but good music here for you! | ||
 | The Jacksons - Goin' Places | |
| "The Jacksons' Takin' Over!" | 2009-07-14 |
| Pop chart statistics may mislead you otherwise but,in terms of The Jacksons' early years at Epic this has to be their more consistant and enjoyable album.Wheras some of the production on The Jacksons is somewhat by-the-numbers Philly soul and is also recorded rather flat this album is mixed up a lot hotter and,while still deeply ingrained in the Philly sound the grooves,rhythms and sense of funk are much strong emphasized.So this second Epic album is a lot more punchy,aggresive and uptempo than the debut.I didn't realize until recently that "Music's Takin' Over" was really huge in New York during this time that is,according to an interview with Chuck D of Public Enemy my friend in Oakland heard.And I can see how it would be a huge funk monster because the guitar and bass riffs are MEAN and Mikes voice has a lot of strengh on the song.The title song is the only tune here that doesn't really represent anything entirely new for the group and kind of sounds just a little behind the times."Diff'rent Kind Of Lady" is one of two (again) self written songs and is another incredible groove that has this great sense of tension in the rhythm and a tad of vocorder in the end."Even Though Your Gone" and "Find Me A Girl" are more glossy Philly ballads than the kind heard on the debut and actually serve as good selling points for this album.There are a couple more great uptempo tunes in the heavily,percussive bounce of "Jump For Joy"-one of the most genuinely "positive thinking" type songs I've heard and the happily funky orientation of the music really delivers on the promise.There are some excellent celebratory synthesizer squiggles at the conclusion of the song that help to bring it even more to life."Do What You Wanna",another self written tune has a really crisp Philly jump to it and..is yet another positive attitude kind of song.Michael singing "Don't be phony just be for real" may seem slightly awkward now but at least then I could sense he believed it even for himself. The pointed anti war ballad "Man Of War" points to the Jacksons' future utopian vision of unity over conflict. This more than any other Jacksons album from the mid/late 70's really pointed the most to an individual musical and conceptual direction for the brothers.And even though this is still a very much ignored part of their recorded legacy that should at least be taken into consideration. | ||
 | Michael Jackson: HIStory On Film, Volume II | |
| "Brace Yourself!!" | 2009-07-10 |
| Who'd ever think I'd end up picking up this DVD,something I've thought of doing for years right after his passing?Hopping on the bandwagon?Nope. Just seemed as right a time as any. I picked this one up because looking at the video selection I could see that this was a very interesting video collection. Unlike a lot of people in this day and age Michael Jackson is less interesting to me as a phenomenon than as a musical entity. And that is what you get here-14 videos and 1 hour,46 minutes of MJ videos. Michael's musical talent had two parts:one audio and one visual and both were equally as penetrating and powerful.This is a double sided DVD.On the first side...well sentimentality aside you get Michael Jackson at the height of his game,doing his famous dance on Motown 25.It's called the backstep (the moonwalk is the same basic move done in a circle) but by whatever name it's the dance that propelled Michael into an entertainer in the league of Sammy Davis and Fred Astaire. Between "Smooth Criminal","Thriller" and "Beat It" you see more of MJ doing his stuff that dazzled me and everyone else in the 80's.You could be cynical now and say "well he ripped off his moves from James Brown or whoever and just made them faster paced" but I don't;not even people who try today can move exactly the way he does.Here he was in a league of his own."Liberian Girl" is very atypical of an MJ video as it takes the form of a comical rehersal featuring some of MJ's celebrity friends-he himself only makes a brief appearance at the end. His 1995 American Music Awards performance point to some of the content on the second side of the DVD. Six of the eight videos featured on it are from his intense 1995 album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I and find a very different Michael Jackson,a man with a broken reputation and in a far more uncertain place.Because each video tells a different kind of story I'll review them seperately: SCREAM Actually one of my favorite of Michaels later videos,this duet with sister Janet features a busy,angry mixture of sci-fi and different forms of emotional metaphores from smashing guitars Pete Townsand style to anime and other things I'm not sure of.It's one of his angriest songs and the video is a great document of internal torment CHILDHOOD Yes the video is overly cutesy and it's clear it was set up to inspire a lot of MJ bleeding heart-ism.But whether he sacrificed his childhood for the benifit of our entertainment or not it's rather strange for him to emphasize the issue of his childhood and other children (floating in the sky on boats Peter Pan style) in this kind of way.It's one of his most personal songs even if the video seems a bit planned. YOU ARE NOT ALONE This video says more about Michaels personal life than it planned. An overly effeminine looking MJ is seen rather withdrawn from his obviously wanton wife Lisa Marie and,an image of him with angel wings aside is a non to sudtle expression of his romantic uncertainties.It's a bit too alienated feeling to be really sexy but it isn't a bad video and great to watch. EARTH SONG A video such as this is something I support for the most part.Michael is clearly saddened genuinely by the terrible plight of environmental damage and war.And the imagry of poached elephants,pollution,starvation and despire WILL make you think about what we don't often see or choose to see.But.....the ending is rather questionable:Michael depicting himself as some biblical type hero who alone has the power to reverse the worlds ills and wrongs. Not to speak ill of the dead but is this his take on benevolance or...a distressing detour into near full blown meglomania? Maybe both,maybe neither.Either way it's an amazing visual experience,if having more questions than answers. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT US Here's a great video!Michael dancing through the streets with a chorus of drummers.Even though he's indulging in some heavy self victimization here (the infamous "jew me/sue me" line is carefully rolled over with pounding drums so as not to be heard) it's great to see Michael dancing again in his videos,even if it's in a more angry state of mind. STRANGER IN MOSCOW Dealing with depression in video was kind of overdone during the 90's (sorry) but this again says more about MJ's state of mind at the time than it probably meant to. Another B&W video here Michael is NOT dancing happily but taking a sad,lonely walk through a dank,rainy city where time itself draws to a hault.Considering his situation from this point until now..........this is the most haunting visualization of his woes of later life. BLOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR Admitedly this was from a time where Michael Jackson's transformation from respected performer/singer/composer into a huge media circus was a bit of a turn off for me. Michael is a rather static figure here at a funky retro 70's dance party and there are similarities to "Smooth Criminal" and "Thriller". But it's kind of repeating past glories and isn't saying anything all that new for him in the video arena. The ending of the video is kind of a long litany of the...well kind of idolotry that REALLY turned me off.Of course it begins the same way with the VERY infamous HIStory teaser that....well it's hard not to see it as either an expression (or parody) of pure meglomania and self obsession.Whatever it was based on,either that or Michael's yearning to to an epic film about his own idolotry is still a mystery. It's beyond over the top and is the only thing here or that Michael had ever done that qualifies as kitch to me. But that luckily doesn't take too much away from the other marvels,old and new to be found on this DVD that serve to remind us of his talents in the medium of music video. | ||
 | Michael Jackson: HIStory On Film, Volume II | |
| "Brace Yourself!!" | 2009-07-10 |
| Who'd ever think I'd end up picking up this DVD,something I've thought of doing for years right after his passing?Hopping on the bandwagon?Nope. Just seemed as right a time as any. I picked this one up because looking at the video selection I could see that this was a very interesting video collection. Unlike a lot of people in this day and age Michael Jackson is less interesting to me as a phenomenon than as a musical entity. And that is what you get here-14 videos and 1 hour,46 minutes of MJ videos. Michael's musical talent had two parts:one audio and one visual and both were equally as penetrating and powerful.This is a double sided DVD.On the first side...well sentimentality aside you get Michael Jackson at the height of his game,doing his famous dance on Motown 25.It's called the backstep (the moonwalk is the same basic move done in a circle) but by whatever name it's the dance that propelled Michael into an entertainer in the league of Sammy Davis and Fred Astaire. Between "Smooth Criminal","Thriller" and "Beat It" you see more of MJ doing his stuff that dazzled me and everyone else in the 80's.You could be cynical now and say "well he ripped off his moves from James Brown or whoever and just made them faster paced" but I don't;not even people who try today can move exactly the way he does.Here he was in a league of his own."Liberian Girl" is very atypical of an MJ video as it takes the form of a comical rehersal featuring some of MJ's celebrity friends-he himself only makes a brief appearance at the end. His 1995 American Music Awards performance point to some of the content on the second side of the DVD. Six of the eight videos featured on it are from his intense 1995 album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I and find a very different Michael Jackson,a man with a broken reputation and in a far more uncertain place.Because each video tells a different kind of story I'll review them seperately: SCREAM Actually one of my favorite of Michaels later videos,this duet with sister Janet features a busy,angry mixture of sci-fi and different forms of emotional metaphores from smashing guitars Pete Townsand style to anime and other things I'm not sure of.It's one of his angriest songs and the video is a great document of internal torment CHILDHOOD Yes the video is overly cutesy and it's clear it was set up to inspire a lot of MJ bleeding heart-ism.But whether he sacrificed his childhood for the benifit of our entertainment or not it's rather strange for him to emphasize the issue of his childhood and other children (floating in the sky on boats Peter Pan style) in this kind of way.It's one of his most personal songs even if the video seems a bit planned. YOU ARE NOT ALONE This video says more about Michaels personal life than it planned. An overly effeminine looking MJ is seen rather withdrawn from his obviously wanton wife Lisa Marie and,an image of him with angel wings aside is a non to sudtle expression of his romantic uncertainties.It's a bit too alienated feeling to be really sexy but it isn't a bad video and great to watch. EARTH SONG A video such as this is something I support for the most part.Michael is clearly saddened genuinely by the terrible plight of environmental damage and war.And the imagry of poached elephants,pollution,starvation and despire WILL make you think about what we don't often see or choose to see.But.....the ending is rather questionable:Michael depicting himself as some biblical type hero who alone has the power to reverse the worlds ills and wrongs. Not to speak ill of the dead but is this his take on benevolance or...a distressing detour into near full blown meglomania? Maybe both,maybe neither.Either way it's an amazing visual experience,if having more questions than answers. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT US Here's a great video!Michael dancing through the streets with a chorus of drummers.Even though he's indulging in some heavy self victimization here (the infamous "jew me/sue me" line is carefully rolled over with pounding drums so as not to be heard) it's great to see Michael dancing again in his videos,even if it's in a more angry state of mind. STRANGER IN MOSCOW Dealing with depression in video was kind of overdone during the 90's (sorry) but this again says more about MJ's state of mind at the time than it probably meant to. Another B&W video here Michael is NOT dancing happily but taking a sad,lonely walk through a dank,rainy city where time itself draws to a hault.Considering his situation from this point until now..........this is the most haunting visualization of his woes of later life. BLOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR Admitedly this was from a time where Michael Jackson's transformation from respected performer/singer/composer into a huge media circus was a bit of a turn off for me. Michael is a rather static figure here at a funky retro 70's dance party and there are similarities to "Smooth Criminal" and "Thriller". But it's kind of repeating past glories and isn't saying anything all that new for him in the video arena. The ending of the video is kind of a long litany of the...well kind of idolotry that REALLY turned me off.Of course it begins the same way with the VERY infamous HIStory teaser that....well it's hard not to see it as either an expression (or parody) of pure meglomania and self obsession.Whatever it was based on,either that or Michael's yearning to to an epic film about his own idolotry is still a mystery. It's beyond over the top and is the only thing here or that Michael had ever done that qualifies as kitch to me. But that luckily doesn't take too much away from the other marvels,old and new to be found on this DVD that serve to remind us of his talents in the medium of music video. | ||
 | Michael Jackson - Bad | |
| "You Just Can't Stop Loving It!!!!" | 2009-07-03 |
| Crass as this may seem MJ's recent passing has lead me to review some of his albums on here.I actually thought I had early in my years on Amazon but this is as good a time as any to start.This album was critical for Michael in a lot of different ways. First off obviously it had to follow up Thriller,a really good album made that due to it's record breaking sales was made to seem inhumanely perfect. In short,the standards for this album were'nt set very high-not even by the artist himself so it seems. He was convinced afront that if he didn't change,he wouldn't be able to outdo his earlier feat. So he set about with Quincy Jones on making what basically amounted to music that was generally tougher minded.It has all the basic elements of the previous album but everything is a lot more dramatic and diliberate.Does it work in the end?You bet!! The heavy funk of the title track alone,with an excellent solo by jazz organist Jimmy Smith of course grabbed the most attention right off. Being how his commerciality is a huge part of Michaels artistry he really puts a huge amount of energy into what ended up being the hits here."The Way You Make Me Feel",with it's edgy sexual shuffle is the prime example of that,with some unusually swaggering singing from MJ. The other hits were "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"...more or less a latinish pop ballad that Michael and Siedah Garrett sang the pants off of.It has recently been pointed out to me that there's an unexpected mix of funk and.....operatic classical chordal patterns to the edgy "Smooth Criminal",another of the tougher hits from this collection."Man In The Mirror"....is a song I've always loved and respected.As I've grown older I have to admit it's been one of the more imitated styles of message songs and that can make it sound slightly corny musically by todays standards.But whatever you think about the arrangment the yearning,consciencious song more than makes up for what energy it may lack in the musical department for some."Another Part Of Me" is one of the better uptempo songs on here,even if it was a minor hit only for him (who know MJ in the 80's would ever have a MINOR hit) and wasn't actually recorded spesifically for this album but rather for the Disney World based 3-D film 'Captain Eo',starring Michael and which few people who never visited Disney World have ever seen say for that MTV airing of it in 1995 or so.It's on some of the non hit material that you really hear the toughness in sound Mike was going for."Speed Demon" sadly tends to serve as this albums whipping boy.It's aggresive funk-rock approch is not as hit worthy as most of his music in terms of how the pop world approches this kind of music but it was definately something that seemed to be written based on his dancing style than for the purposes of getting on the radio."Liberian Girl" was never officially a hit but was such a great,sexy groove that it became very popular and even got it's own music video as well.It's definately a highlite of this album,for me anyway."Just Good Friends" is the "forgotton" song here,a duet with Stevie Wonder that.......well lets just say little screams "late 80's urban contemporary/R&B/funk dance crossover song" louder than this. But again the toughness of Quincy's production and Bruce Swediens excellent Acousonic recording process keeps it from being what I once heard referred to as "tinky tinky dance",someones description of a very dated and poppy style of 80's electro funk-disco."Dirty Diana" is a good tune and an okay hit.I admit it's not my favorite on the album;Michael drove a rock kind of tune home more directly with "Beat It" from the previous album but this was okay in a big arena kind of way;the addition of audience noise was a good effect.On the CD of this album you also get "Leave Me Alone",a tense dancey-funk tune that introduced itself as one of his first direct rantings about his own negative press. Overall this album puts Michael in a possition where being commercial and an artist of some not musically and otherwise began to become a complication rather than a clear career choice. But no matter how you look at it the album was good enough and successful enough to end up becomming a success even at this point.And how many obvious pop albums of recent years can you say that about? | ||
 | Elton John - 21 at 33 | |
| "Elton Not Doing Too Bad In 1980" | 2009-07-02 |
| New decade,new music and a new Elton. Disco had come and gone and so had Elton's greatest peak of commercial prosparity.But as with people like Stevie Wonder who had a huge artistic and commercial reneissance during the early to mid 70's Elton realized that the elements that made his prime years needed to be reharnessed in order to move ahead musically in all areas. So Elton teamed back up with Bernie Taupin for a handful of songs here.Even so neither of them could deny that something about their sound and approch too,as both times and musical values had changed and so had the pop listeners ears. This was a big era for "soft rock",usually associated with 70's artists of all sorts trying hard to get on the radio with very poppified,sometimes low energy songs. Considering his way with ballads Elton was a sort of sudtle pioneer for the genre but never what I'd call a contributing part of it. So the difference in sound would have to involve a more modern production and instrumental sound.And here it all worked without destroying Elton's own uniqueness."Chasing The Clown" is a very bouncy pop/rocker to get the ball rolling.Of course "Little Jeannie" was the big hit and of course was kind of asking for radio airplay but did excellent at just that.Despite it's weighty title "Sartorial Eloquence" is basically another one of those great building kind of Elton ballads which you get to a far quieter degree on "Dear God" and even Gary Osborne's crack at a Taupin-like country flavored number in "Take Me Back" and "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" though,even there the poppiness is hard to deny.As for Taupin's own contributions "Two Rooms At The End Of The World" is one of the most impressive uptempo tunes on the album.It has this driving rock 'n soul flavor with horns and all that would not have put it out of place on a Hall & Oates album from the period,say...Voices.Despite his in your face physical flamboyance the previous decade had taken it's toll on Elton and the less then sudtle theme to another catchy pop/rocker in "White Lady White Powder",another single from this album makes little mistake as to some previous cocaine use. Another of my own favorite tunes here is "Give Me The Love".It's a surprisingly "blue eyed soul/jazz/pop" kind of midtempo tune which is not outside the relm of a Tommy LiPuma/David Foster kind of production. It was the second time a strong modern soul flavor made itself known on this and was a memorable way to end the album. Elton and Bernie,now together were laying the groundwork for a huge 80's comeback that Elton would maintain for a decade to come at least.So for a transitional album known often more for it's annonymous art deco album cover than for the music inside this is a very rousing album with a lot of well thought out pop music surprises and finds Elton in general in a possition closer to being at the top of his game again/ | ||
 | The Jackson 5 - Third Album | |
| "Ready Or Not Here Come The J5!!!" | 2009-07-02 |
| When this album came out the Jackson brothers were in the best possible place in all arenas.Their record breaking 4 hit singles in a row concluded here with "I'll Be There",one of those deserved classics that no matter how much oldies radio saturation it gets still amazes with it's secularized gospel power and sincerity.It's one of the vocal highpoints of Michael's early career and a sure fire highlite of this album. Very atypical with Motown this album was given an excellent where even the cover material,in fewer numbers here then on other albums sparks with youthful individuality and visions.You've got to thank "The Corperations" with Gordy,Deke Richards and the always excellent Mizell brothers for much of that,not to mention the brothers were looking to express more of themselves in the music.And despite not be allowed to contribute songs their ideas obviously caught someones attention at Motown because "Goin Back To Indiana" really brings the grit out in everyone involved.Not to mention Jermaine's singing had a more gravelly delivery earlier in the J5's career but 12 year old Mike throws down this tune with the same grit.If the lyric is correct Tito himself is even allowed to play guitar on the song and,if it is or isn't him the solo is still blistering.Of the covers "Ready Or Not (Here I Come)" is given a great slow burning funky soul flavor worthy of the intention of it's original writer Thom Bell.I love the way the backround vocals are low in the mix and very ghostly.As Sly did with "Que Sera Sera" three years later Jermaine put's a totally new spin on "Bridge Over Troubled Waters".The reflective,wailing delivery is about as far away from the sound of a kiddie pop family group as you can get. It is an early J5 song that probably has more thoroughly adult appeal than anything.Jermaine also gets a turn at "Oh How Happy",not too far from the original and with a mildly more Motown twist. A great funky soul cover of Smokey's "The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage" is also a much appreciated highlite. This album also showcases two incredible album tracks,forever dispelling any notion the Jackson's were a mere inconsistant singles act. "Can I See You In The Morning",with the tension building wah-wah's,angry percussion bridge and Mike's....desperately direct singing here make for an unsung psychedelic Motown masterpiece-I am surprised the song isn't covered more than it is,if it has ever been at all.Wille Hutch 'The Mack' himself throws down some SERIOUS southern fried funk in "How Funky Is Your Chicken";Michael's JB like yelps,Jermaine's swagger and Jackie's high pitched falsetto sweetness all make for a tune with some very raw appeal. "Mama's Pearl" is another hit from this album,again a mildly funkier variation of the J5's earlier uptempo style and is actually one of their best tunes. "Reach In" and "Darling Dear" are the typically breezy early 70's Motown type tunes but between the harmonies and Mike's pleading voice puts them both a little ahead of the cut. Now that everyone has had all these decades to look at these albums beyond the context of early 70's family group pop fare there was always something in the J5's sound,even at this early phase that had it's own kind of flavor to it. And if this doesn't make that very clear it's likely nothing will. | ||
![Lionel Richie - Lionel Richie [Remaster] [5/6]](product_images/222000/222536_thumb.jpg) | Lionel Richie - Lionel Richie [Remaster] [5/6] | |
| "Truly Lionel" | 2009-06-28 |
| Why am I giving five stars to an albums where I am not 100% crazy about every song?The simple reason is that,in terms of everything Lionel Richie is musically this debut album is one of his most overall richest experiences. Conceptually Lionel's style of blending contemporary funk/R&B styles with slow,sentimental "countrypoliton" types of ballads really feels at it's most down to earth and organic here. It would have been nice if Lionel had included more uptempo songs here but that is more of a preference on my part.But for those who feel the same way it is true:the funk type tunes that are here are some of the very best he ever made."Serves You Right" and "Tell Me" are great jams,more in keeping with a a kind of "naked sophisti-funk" type of groove then the more polished urban styled jams on Lionel's final album with the Commodores In the Pocket.The other song of this type here is "You Are"-it isn't exactly what I'd call funk but definately a great peppy,uptempo R&B love song.It was really not a bad early solo hit for Lionel and frankly a musical style worth persuing further.Of course the majority of this album is weighed toward the ballad end of things,the style Lionel chose to make his musical calling but.......well to be honest not his greatest strengh.Romantically and sentimentally satisfying fare such as "Wandering Spirit","Truly" and the brief final two cuts "You Mean More To Me" and "Just Put Some Love In Your Heart" are musically excellent for such slow paced songs.However unlike with fellow Motowners Smokey Robinson,Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye,Lionel seemed to have difficulty inflecting his slow songs with any real sense of emotional expression:vocally these types of songs tend to come off as...well overly sentimental in his hand.He basically sounds like a black version of Kenny Rogers on these types of tunes and therefore it's no doubt their musical connection and that Kenny appears on this album.Of course the bonus tracks really showcase another side of his talent.The demo of "Endless Love" shows the nucleus of a song that,while overproduced to the extreme in it's final form really gives you an inside peak into Lionel's technique as a composer with this demo having a more bare,folksy flavor. The instrumental version of "You Are" is not only great to dance to but solid proof of Lionel's 70's-born concept that the catchiness of a great dance tune didn't just come from the singing:it was the horns,the keyboards and most importantly the rhythm. If you a Commodores fan just getting into Lionel Richie's solo music and want an easy starting point,in this case it might be best to start at the beginning here. The next album Can't Slow Down was of course hugely more successful commerically (not that this was any slouch in that respect either) but musically that album is a whole other beast entirely,for better or worse. This definately finds Lionel with one foot in his past and the other in things to come musically and in any case is more then worth hearing. | ||
 | Thinner | |
| "Thinner?Was It All Worth It In Some Way?" | 2009-06-24 |
| Speaking from personal experience from being an extra (one who actually appeared prominantly) in King's TV production The Langoliers I had a first hand look into what goes into a Stephen King production in general.I was to have appeared in this film as an extra as well but circumstances simply didn't allow for it. Wheras I watched The Langoliers on TV and actually enjoyed it I just recently saw this movie.I'd always been curious about it and heard a lot of conflicting reviews of the film which didn't give the proper impression. So I finally saw it. Frankly.......it was a disappointing film.I've seen horror films before and most of them have some resolution in the end. While this one is unique in that it involves a very terrestrial curse rather then something supernatural. The problem is I was never really certain which of the central characters to route for.Billy Halleck,a lawyer presented in the beginning as having somewhat "questionable ethics" (itself a stereotype of the profession) may have been cursed by a gypsy for "killing" his daughter,being mildly distracted by his wife having given him "oral pleasure" in their car but at the same time some of the methods he uses to undo the curse,including an encounter with a mobster played by Joe Montenga,who was involved in a court case with Halleck as lawyer earlier in the film, become very selfish and sadistic.Not to mention that Robert John Burke portray's Billy Halleck as pompous and glutonous to an unbelievable degree. At certain points in the film it doesn't seem like his is really a life worth saving. Although the concept of bigotry against gypsies is covered to a certain point they are not portrayed as sympathetic characters either,but as nomad rougues looking for a fight. Not only that but another reviewer here is VERY correct:in terms of how Billy Hallecks misadventure takes him his wife,whose only crime seems to be trying to help him with his sudden weight loss it leads to a syndrome of misunderstanding,resentment and finally murder. There is an undercurrent of sexism behind it-a strong one. Kind of a letdown in a horror film where the storyline isn't supposed to take too much focus off the genre. But to avoid sounding too needlessly critical......this is just an okay movie as Stephen King movies go.And since he lives almost nextdoor to me,being from Bangor Maine myself I have some awareness of the New England culture and Stephen King certainly has done better examples of the New Englad horror "genre I guess then this.So only if your really curious is this worth looking into just to see it for yourself. | ||
 | Thinner | |
| "Thinner?Was It All Worth It In Some Way?" | 2009-06-24 |
| Speaking from personal experience from being an extra (one who actually appeared prominantly) in King's TV production The Langoliers I had a first hand look into what goes into a Stephen King production in general.I was to have appeared in this film as an extra as well but circumstances simply didn't allow for it. Wheras I watched The Langoliers on TV and actually enjoyed it I just recently saw this movie.I'd always been curious about it and heard a lot of conflicting reviews of the film which didn't give the proper impression. So I finally saw it. Frankly.......it was a disappointing film.I've seen horror films before and most of them have some resolution in the end. While this one is unique in that it involves a very terrestrial curse rather then something supernatural. The problem is I was never really certain which of the central characters to route for.Billy Halleck,a lawyer presented in the beginning as having somewhat "questionable ethics" (itself a stereotype of the profession) may have been cursed by a gypsy for "killing" his daughter,being mildly distracted by his wife having given him "oral pleasure" in their car but at the same time some of the methods he uses to undo the curse,including an encounter with a mobster played by Joe Montenga,who was involved in a court case with Halleck as lawyer earlier in the film, become very selfish and sadistic.Not to mention that Robert John Burke portray's Billy Halleck as pompous and glutonous to an unbelievable degree. At certain points in the film it doesn't seem like his is really a life worth saving. Although the concept of bigotry against gypsies is covered to a certain point they are not portrayed as sympathetic characters either,but as nomad rougues looking for a fight. Not only that but another reviewer here is VERY correct:in terms of how Billy Hallecks misadventure takes him his wife,whose only crime seems to be trying to help him with his sudden weight loss it leads to a syndrome of misunderstanding,resentment and finally murder. There is an undercurrent of sexism behind it-a strong one. Kind of a letdown in a horror film where the storyline isn't supposed to take too much focus off the genre. But to avoid sounding too needlessly critical......this is just an okay movie as Stephen King movies go.And since he lives almost nextdoor to me,being from Bangor Maine myself I have some awareness of the New England culture and Stephen King certainly has done better examples of the New Englad horror "genre I guess then this.So only if your really curious is this worth looking into just to see it for yourself. | ||
 | Elton John - Single Man | |
| "A Man At A Crossroads" | 2009-06-20 |
| Elton John had enough sheer star power during the late 70's to ride out the storms of punk rock,disco,new-wave and whatever else was coming onto the music scene at the time. At this particular point Elton decided the best thing to do was.....pretty much stick with his classic sound.The main differences here is that his main lyricist Bernie Taupin is no longer onboard with him.Gary Osborne was chosen instead and,since everyone naturally assumed Elton would be nothing without Taupin......a lot of people plain didn't want to listen. But any of those people missed out because Elton was digging deeper into his own sound to see what kind of new and different contexts it could work in. Another thing was Elton was recording on his own label Rocket for the second time and perhaps that threw some people off a bit. Of course there are always those great ballads like "Shine On Through","Georgia" and "It Ain't Gonna Be Easy" but even the second section of that one becomes a mini epic not unlike something from his classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road era only six years earlier. Interestingly enough this album is primarily devoted to uptempo tunes such as "Return To Paradise","Part Time Love-both pretty hefty hits in that day actually as well as "I Don't Care" and "Madness".All of these tunes help you realize how Elton's Broadway-styled rock productions sometimes had this strong influence on the cinematic disco style yet to come. Though none of these are quoate on quoate disco tunes the syncopation and strings sure would be a dead giveaway if they were intended as such."Big Dipper" actually is one of the more New Orleans styled R&B tunes Elton's done and "Shooting Star"..well it too has a soul flavor more on the slow end of things."Song For Guy"...well Elton hadn't done many instrumentals for some time but this one,lightly electronic and with a mildly downbeat tone to it is one of the moodier things he's ever done.The bonus cuts are,by and large more ballads although you get "Ego",a single featuring Taupin's lyrics and a really upbeat tempo:as with everything else here that's uptempo it's firmly in the Don't Go Breaking My Heart period sound for Elton."Flinstone Boy" recalls earlier Elton hits with it's strong groove.Overall one might end up scanning through this album and asking "where's the hit here"?I suppose that is what someone might've expected from an artist like Elton John during this time:to be a non-stop hitmaking machine.Well there are hits,even if they don't show up in heavy rotation on oldies radio as much as his earlier stuff has.But nevermind that for the moment:Elton is like many in the music world an artist and it was his distinct sound and style that made his greatest commercial successess what they were.So for a unsung glimpse into the very musical values that has always made Elton John what he is this is one of the best examples I can think of. | ||
 | Olympus EVOLT E500 8MP Digital SLR with 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 & 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko Lenses | |
| "Classic 35mm SLR Design In A Digital Camera" | 2009-06-17 |
| Without a doubt this was a hefty camera to deal with in terms of price.I was looking to replace my first digital camera which was an Aiptek DV4500 4MP MPEG4 Pocket Digital Camcorder,more of a swiss army knife digital camera/camcorder/voice recorder thingy-more of a toy then a functional device.Finally one day,it just fell apart basically.So in some haste I replaced it with....this.I found myself with a large money surplus and decided that if I were to invest a lot of money in a new digital camera,I wanted one that had similar functions to the Pentax K1000,[USED] P30T, 05520, 35mm Cameras and Ricoh KR-5 manual 35mm SLR's I'd been using along with comperable if not better image quality. When I first took this camera out of the box I found it more then a little intimidating.The instruction manual is the size of a small novel (presented in three languages) and frankly....three years after purchasing the camera I still haven't learned every single little thing about it. Digital SLR's are a very very different animal from what I'd been used to. After you insert your flash memory card your off to the races and all you have to do is....figure out all the complex technicalities of SLR photography. Of course with a few days practice you will get incredible photographs with this,especially if you had a lot of knowledge beforehand about photography as I did.At present there are 12 megapixel cameras out there but,even now the resolution on this 8 megapixel model is absolutely stunning. It's definately a professional camera and has all kinds of sophisticated features.One of my favorites on this is the motor drive.It's a bit tough to use this setting with the built in flash but in proper conditions it is an excellent feature for any kind of action photography.This camera also has a number of amazing lighting and and picture options.You can choose from a number of ISO speeds but,of course keep in mind that as with 35MM the higher an ISO speed you choose,the coarser and grainer the finished product is likely to appear,especially when printed on huge paper. But this camera does offer all the great features of a semi-automatic 35 mm SLR and two excellent lenses.One word of note:you'll probably require a longer range flash attachment for the 80-200 telephoto zoom lens included but in terms of outdoor work it really does bring in far images closer and clearer,with not too bad f-stops too.Other great lighting features are a handful of flash options,even for outdoor "fill" flash use and even on the automatic setting the use of exposure compensation to lighten or darken your general image. There is a manual setting which allows you full control but even I admit I rarely use it:the manual shutter/F-stop settings are controlled with tiny buttons that are hard to sync up and,while a built in light meter is included for this situation it's somewhat more time consuming.So recommended setting on this camera for the impatient subject?From my experience that would be the auto close up (or portrait) setting with the motor drive swiched on,with the use of flash indoors or natural light outside for the best effect.So with a little practice with it's complex modes and a little time this camera will delivery the best pictures you can probably imagine. | ||
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