Hello,
While not all of these CDs are new, they are new to me. CDs I'll be reviewing over the next few weeks:
1) Royal Thunder's "Crooked Doors": Named one of the top 20 Metal CDs of 2015 by Rolling Stone. This CD rocks, but I wouldn't call it a metal CD. Highlights include "Time Machine", "Wake Up", "One Day" and "Glow". I love that it sounds different than most "metal" albums, but I do wish it would rock a bit harder. It's a good, but not great, CD. Worthy of checking out if you are into this kind of thing. Grade: C
2) INXS' "Live at Wembley Stadium" Highlights are all the songs you'd think would be great. Other highlights are "Wildlife", "I Send A Message", "Bitter Tears" and "The Stairs". Other than Michael Hutchence too frequent use of the F bomb. Just because a person is a rock star, that doesn't mean one should act like a cliche rock star. Come on musicians rise above. You and the amazing music people make can lift us so high- please do so. Anyway this is a very solid live CD. Grade: B
3) Rachel Platten's "Wildfire"- This CD will be released on January 1st, 2016. It features previously released great songs like "Lone Ranger", "Beating Me Up" and "Fight Song". It also features the very good new songs "Stand By You", (You can stand by me any time you want Rachel.) "Hey Hey Hallelujah" and "You Don't Know My Heart". What can I say, I'm very biased as I love the music of Miss Platten. Grade: A-
4) David Bowie's "Blackstar"- This CD was released January 8th, 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday. The entire CD is similar to the lead single, also titled "Blackstar". Sadly this CD is a dud. Happy birthday David, but this CD sucks. Lowlights: that first song on the CD "Blackstar" is an almost 10 minute exercise in futility. The song is so bad that I couldn't even listen to the full thing. Good things about this CD for me is I didn't pay a penny to listen to it, I didn't have to listen to the full version of each song, it only has 7 songs and I never have to listen to it again. Another good thing is it seems Bowie is trying something different. Points for that, but in this case it didn't come close to working at all. Better luck next time David. Grade: D- (Written before his sudden passing, R.I.P. David.)
5) Siouxsie and the Banshees' "The Rapture" Highlights: "O Baby", "Tearing Apart"- which is a great way to start a CD. Other highlights: "Fall From Grace", "Sick Child", "Falling Down", "New Skin" and "FGM". This is a very good CD, although it lags near the end. The seventh and ninth to eleventh songs are some weaker songs on the CD. Then the CD closes out with four great songs. It's good to see Siouxsie and the Banshees are more than just the two songs that I knew them for. Thanks to my Mom for reminding me about them. Grade: B
6) In This Moment's "Rise of the Blood Legion: The Best of (Chapter 1)": I like Maria Brink's voice when she's singing, not as much when she's screeching. An example of her singing is on "Forever", the sixth song on the CD. It's also the first great song on this CD. The first great song on a greatest hits CD should be the first song, not the sixth. I'm surprised how bereft of hits this greatest hits CD has on it. Other highlights "Blood", "Adrenalize" and "Whore". There's too much screeching and not enough great songs on this CD. This is one of the most disappointing greatest hits CD of all-time. It's not they don't have great songs, for some reason they only put a few of them on this CD. Grade: C-
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7) Stone Temple Pilots 6th and final CD, the self-titled "Stone Temple Pilots". This is their 2010 release when the original lineup of Stone Temple Pilots had reunited. Honestly I wasn't expecting a whole lot, but I actually quite like this CD. Highlights include "Between The Lines", "Huckleberry Crumble", "Dare If You Dare", "Hickory Dichotomy" and "Bagman". Grade: B
8) "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Soundtrack- Although there's new music on this CD, it's mostly a nostalgia trip. Due to that I may be giving it a better grade than it's worthy of. When the opening strains of the "Main Title" starts playing one knows they are in the world of "Star Wars". One of my favorite worlds to be in. I love the sweeping majesty of these songs. The upbeat songs are the best but the slower moments add emotional elements to this familiar, but never old, music. Highlights: "The Scavenger" and "I Can Fly Anything" (although Oscar Isaac has all the charisma of a soda cracker) and "Follow Me". Additional highlights: "The Rathars", "Follow Me", "March of the Resistance", "Torn Apart" and "The Jedi Steps and Finale". Grade: B
9) Run-DMC's "Tougher Than Leather": This isn't as good as "Raising Hell", but it's still a pretty good CD. Highlights include "Papa Crazy", "Run's House", "Mary Mary", "Christmas In Hollis" and "I'm Not Going Out Like That". I thought that Run-D.M.C. hadn't released any good CDs after releasing the greatest rap CD of all-time, "Raising Hell". I'm so glad I was wrong and "Leather" is a perfectly good CD. However it would have been better if they had cut a bit of the filler. Did we really need the "Penthouse Ad" ad, "Miss Elaine" and "Ragtime"? I think not, but overall a good CD. Grade" B-
10) Volbeat's 2014 CD "Beyond Hell/ Above Heaven": Highlights include "Heaven Nor Hell", "Still Counting", "Who They Are", "A New Day", "7 Shots" and "16 Dollars". Thirteen of the fourteen songs on this CD I give the thumbs up. This CD was a bit more mature than the earlier "Guitars Gangsters and Cadillac Blood", but still varying their sound a bit more would be awesome. Overall a very good, probably not great, CD. Grade: B
11) Volbeat's 2008' CD "Guitars Gangsters and Cadillac Blood": Highlights include "Guitars Gangsters and Cadillac Blood", "Back To Prom", "Maybellenne i. Hofteholder", "Mary Ann's Place" and "Still Counting". Just a solid CD all the way through, although I wished all of their songs all didn't sound so much alike. Maybe you guys can mix up your sound on your next CD? Grade: B-
12) Black English's "No": I've watched the first three episodes of "The Royals" the last couple of days. They have a lot of good music on that show. One of my favorite bands I heard on that show is Black English. Highlights include "Leave The Door Wide Open", "What's Your Name", "Leave A Glow" and "The Long Haul". On Google Play I gave 7 songs the thumbs up. But some of the songs are just lame. I was expecting better than this. Grade: C+
13) Kid Karate's "Lights Out" EP: This is the review of their four song ep and the other song they have released, "Louder". Another great band I discovered because of "The Royals" is Kid Karate. Highlights include: "This City", "You Need Violence", "Two Times" and "Louder". So far, so good but only 5 songs doesn't tell one much about their long term potential. I have hopes that they can turn into a decent band, but that's to be seen. For these first 5 songs though, it's a good start. Grade: B+
14) Judith Hill's "Back In Time": Sounds and feels like old school Prince and I mean that in the best way possible. This CD brings the funk. Highlights "Cry, Cry, Cry", "Wild Tonight", "Turn Up", "My People" and "Jammin' In The Basement". (I was going to finish this review until the news of the death of David Bowie broke, then I started writing a goodbye blog to him.) Now I'm finishing this review. Overall this is a very good CD, however it's missing something that would take it to the next level. I can't quite put my finger on what it's missing. But overall no complaints, it's a solid CD. Grade: B
15) Jana Kramer's "thirty one": Highlights include "Circles", "Bullet", "Pop That Bottle", "Don't Touch The Radio", "Boomerang" and "Said No One Ever". Great song after great song. As you can tell I'm a big fan of this CD, especially since I got the MP3 version free via Google Play. Overall an amazing CD, even better than her debut CD. Grade: A
16) Gary Clark Jr.'s "The Story of Sonny Boy Slim" Highlights "Shake", "Stay", "Can't Sleep" and "The Healing". I also love the classic Blues guitar sound on "Grinder". This CD has some great songs, but it also has a lot of dead spots. If the CD was more consistent, it would receive a higher grade. Grade: B-
themusicaddict
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