5 comments about Once More with Feeling: Singles 1996-2004.

1. PLacebo... awesome music,this cd? a must have! good songs, they picked the right ones to go together. If you are a new fan get it, i did that and became a fan for live and went to see them in concert. Placebo rocks! too bad they dont have that many fans here, they have way more in europe.



2. Good mix of old and new - remixes of classic placebo songs - a must for any placebo fan.



3. This album is a joy to listen to and shows how many excellent tracks Placebo have made. The bonus cd maske this album worth buying to the fans who already have all of their albums, and the compilation is worth buying for the casual fan who liked a few tracks but who would never comit to a purcahse.



4. I've liked Placebo for a little while, but I dont have any of their CD's anymore. So I saw this little beauty on the shelf and picked it up. A pretty good mix of their best and a very nice remix disc. A frequent play for all occasions. I especially like the UNKLE track.



5. a definitive offering that provides those of you not familiar with Placebo's brilliance the instant chance to dive into some of the traditional singles while also savoring the more experimental mixes. There is nice variety here and it serves as a primer that should effectively get you hooked!

5 comments about Story of the Clash, Vol. 1.

1. if you want a great compilation of clash music, this is the cd you need.



2. This is The Story of the Clash, Volume 1 (there is no Volume 2). It features 100 minutes of some of the Clash's best songs. Of course, this isn't all the good material they recorded, but everything here is great, so that makes it 5 stars in my book.



3. If you are looking for the best retrospective of The Clash out there, this is it!
   
   Not only are all the tracks remastered but they are arranged in a very cohesive track order to make the whole double cd album sound very smooth as it goes along and not disjointed like many other compilations that just go with chronology.
   
   If you want chronology, just arrange your track selection/shuffle function on your cd player and stop complaining already. Obviously a lot of thought has gone into this track selection and I, for one, think it's a good one.
   
   Get this and "London Calling" and you basically have all the best these guys have done. A very important band in the history of rock music so can you afford not to have this in your collection?



4. Great CD, great tracks, some missing, but good overall. The Clash is the defining band of the 80s and this disc proves it. If you like the Clash, I suggest checking out the Dead Milkmen, Butthole Surfers, and Dead Kennedys, ROCK ON!



5. The above person obviously has no clue about Punk music or the spirit of Punk. The Clash is one of the definative bands of the scene, in the late 70's and 80's. The Sex Pistols were the biggest sell outs, and did not start the movement...they sold it to the world and were manufactured just like the Backstreet Boys to sell clothes for Vivienne Westwood and make money for Malcolm MacClaren. All of the band from that era were influenced by eachother and developed there own styles that evolved over the years. Punk has no formula, It had it's roots and influences way before The Pistols. The Stooges, MC5, New York Dolls...were some of punks biggest influences. The Clashes contempararies..Blondie, The Jam, The Buzzcocks, Joy Division among others all had distinct sounds and pulled in many influences like reggae, and synths as they evolved. I find bands that stick with the same three chord "formula" are dull and unimaginative. And without the Clash were would a band like Bad Religion be?? The Clash actually sang about politics and issues that mattered. Talk about selling out...have you been to a Van's Warped Tour lately. Rancid are a fine band...and am sure they would site The Clash as a big influence. Buy this album, If you would like a well rounded overview of the band. By the Albums they are better.

1 comments about Hail the New Dawn.

1. this was my second skrewdriver cd, it is great. my first was "all skrewed up" this is pretty much completely different sounding than "all skrewed up" but i like it...probably even a little more. since the two sound so different you really can't compare - probably my favorite track is hail the new dawn - i really like the two bonus tracks, but the whole cd is great, so just let it play out on your cd player or in your car.

5 comments about Heaven or Las Vegas.

1. I think this is a mundane version of previously heavenly Cocteau Twins. Much of the dreamlike quality in Treasure (darkly) and Victorialand (airily) is lost, and Blue Bell Knoll is a more emotionally powerful album. While the songs are still good and Liz's voice is still strong, the listener feels that he is simply listening to songs instead of being engulfed in a mystic atmosphere. There may be reasons to love the Twins' matured sound, but I am one of the people who miss their creative young days.



2. The Cocteau Twins are some of the most unique musicians one may ever encounter. Their sound is largely ineffable - something that is not easily defined, elusive, shimmering, yet most lucid. The lyrics are largely unscrutable yet serve almost as a form of a hypnotic chant in the backdrop of sheer ambient engineered soundscapes. To summarize, I really find myself enchanted by their sound and "Heaven or Las Vegas" serves as a great introduction and encapsulate of their overall thoroughput.
   
   The title track has a mesmerizing bent to it that just pulls me in again and again. I find it hard to pull myself from its eddy. It's a fantastic exercise of what happens when pristine production, vocal arrangements, and textured sonic atmospehrics can do when layered in the right combination.
   
   Other standouts are "Wolf In The Breast", "Iceblink Luck", "Road, River, & Rail", "Cherry Coloured Funk", "Fotzepolitic", among many others. To note, the song titles themselves are at both enigmatic, obscure, and alluring.
   
   It's ambient goodness and an astounding encapsulate of some of the most unique music ever.



3. Every drifting and floating mood of the warm summer nights and freedom of my youth is captured in the music of this album. It's a wall of sound wonder that anyone who lived on the outskirts of pop and drifted in the melancholy of the early 90's will love.



4. another jaw droppingly good album from this amazing band. is this better than "Blue Bell Knoll"? hmmm...possibly. equally as great and wonderful. always a joy to listen to. "I Wear Your Ring" has made it to countless mix tapes for friends. the whole album is a delight.



5. This album is most definitely one of the most beautifully innovative and captivating musical pieces I have ever heard. Elizabeth Fraser's voice is magnificent and the music itself is fresh and mesmerizing. Everything about this album is entirely beautiful and rich. Fotzepolitic is one of my favorites............wonderful wonderful.

5 comments about Amnesiac (2-10" LPs).

1. While Radiohead's 2000 album Kid A was already a shocking experience, nothing could have possible prepared fans for what would proceed the album in only a year, the vastly obscure Amnesiac. Written as a parallels to one another, the two albums fit together like pieces of an obscure and disturbing, yet ultimately ingenious puzzle. Kid A had it's fair share of uplifting moments throughout the paranoia and gloom, but Amnesiac pulled no punches, and searched for an answer in the same vein as Kid A. Both albums share some specific themes, as evidenced by the two separate versions of the song Morning Bell, but both have very different personalities. It seems as if both started in the first place, a single point of birth, and spiraled off spontaneously in opposite directions. Kid A made the climb ad infinitum, and Amnesiac dug into deeper ground and swam into darker water. The album is largely a disturbing search for some kind of resolution to life's angst and internal pain, and the trip it takes to the answer is nothing short of astounding. But let's not kid ourselves, the chances that any album after Kid A would have been an easy listen is zero to none. That's not to say that this album is completely unaccessible. You have heard weirder music, but sometimes it feels like the emotional bomb is being dropped track after track, and the only thing that seems traditional are time signatures which aren't even always present. Upon first listen, the record will mostly likely sound distant and unapproachable, but once the listeners ears decide to take the wheel and drive the music home, a beautiful flower blooms and things start to make sense. Each song is hand crafted in this way, to reap rewards over time, and only time will do this work. Most of the songs, such as Knives Out and Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors meander with no real resolution, perhaps representing some kind of ongoing search. There is some accessible material here, namely I Might Be Wrong, an electronic groove which builds itself fantastically into catchy layers which build and then destroy themselves to a wonderful effect. Many Radiohead fans also cite Pyramid Song as the bands best song. But simple lack of accessibility leads many to believe that the album is at fault despite how much someone can enjoy it in the end. Radiohead know that how much one wants to make a record that can tear down doors won't necessarily make them deliver. While at first it may seem like a collection of songs that simply weren't strong enough for Kid A, Amnesiac actually has more structure than it's predecessor, and is just as enthralling when one finally comes to understand it's ins and outs. While this is easily Radiohead's most difficult, jarring, and wildly experimental album, it is also the most engaging, rewarding, and to some, the best.



2. A lot of people hate this record and its predecessor, "Kid A". I mean, they really HATE them. I know Radiohead fans who threw them out after a week. That's understandable, if rather drastic. In the '90s, Radiohead were dependable for a great alternative rock anthem. They were good at it -- maybe too good. "Pablo Honey" is a good (not great) record and "The Bends" is better still. But when "OK Computer" hit, everyone went crazy. It got saddled with "Best Album of the Decade" tags. It mixed Radiohead's established strengths with considerably better lyrics and just enough experimentation to please those who were bored with the more conventional formulas of the band's previous two albums. No doubt about it, "OK Computer" is a master piece of an album. It's rare that a record can have twelve songs that are all memorable, potential singles even, and still retain as much artistic merit as "OK Computer" did. But with a pedigree like that, who can blame Radiohead for maybe freaking out a little when it came time to do a follow-up?
   
   So they retreated into the studio and came out in 2000 with "Kid A", embraced by critics as another masterpiece and dividing the fan base straight down the middle. On one side: the people who liked Radiohead as they were, and wanted more standard Brit rock-pop. On the other: the people who recognized the merit of the first two Radiohead records but felt that the experimental flourishes of "OK Computer" were a step in the right direction. Given that "Kid A" eschewed traditional rock structure and instrumentation in favor of dense electronics, atonal horns, and eerie, filtered falsetto vocal work, you can guess which side love dit and which despised it. Personally, I fall into the second camp, those who embraced it. It's my favorite Radiohead record -- not as immediately awesome as "OK Computer", but over time revealing its beauty, intricacy, and poignancy.
   
   Which brings us here, to the much-maligned "Amnesiac". I get the hating on "Kid A", but to be honest, I'm surprised that this record hasn't gotten more love. It's pretty much a compromise for everyone -- still very experimental, but bringing back the elements many missed most on "Kid A": more conventional song structure and, um, you know, guitar. Opener "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" sets this tone well, as Radiohead openers tend to do, composed mainly of electronics but following traditional structure (and featuring an addicitve refrain of "I'm a reasonable man, get off my case"). The strings-n'-piano number "Pyramid Song" is beautiful enough to mesmerize the less adventurous Radiohead lover, but the real fun lies in its weirder side, especially the way the piano swaggers drunkenly around, trying and failing to find a steady beat until the drums come in and help it out. The rest of "Amnesiac" mostly follows these songs' lead. "You and Whose Army?" is a lovely cut that expands from paino ballad to full-band rocker. "I Might Be Wrong" is the closest Radiohead has come to a dance song, and is very accessible, and "Knives Out" is a standard rock number that plays like a direct bid to regain fans lost as a result of "Kid A". All of these songs find middle ground between the divided fan base, applying the electronics found on "Kid A" to more accessible song structures.
   
   But there are other songs that inspire as much division as anything on "Kid A", suggesting that Radiohead, while recognizing that some fans wanted easier-to-digest alt-rock, intended to keep moving forward with their experimentation. "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" is one of these, and although it might seem forbidding to some, it's actually a pretty awesome song, blending elements of techno and industrial music to a great drum-and-bass combo line, and featuring weird but not grating treated vocals reminscent of "OK Computer"'s most experimental track, "Fitter Happier". Closer "Life in a Glasshouse" is a piano ballad tricked out with a very drunken horn section, furthering the forays into jazz begun on "Kid A" songs like "The National Anthem". It's a great song, unexpected but not out of place.
   
   Then there's "Hunting Bears" and "Morning Bell/Amnesiac". I really like this record a lot. It's pretty great in my opinion, up there with "Kid A" and "OK Computer". I like rock music as much as the next guy, and as much as I love "Kid A" is still appreciate the effort Radiohead put into making these songs more accessible. But these two tracks are serious detriments. "Amnesiac" is comprised of tracks from the "Kid A" sessions, but these are the only two moments where you'd know it. It's a solid record but for them. "Hunting Bears" is a reprise of "I Might Be Wrong", except that it's just Jonny Greenwood on the guitar and nothing else. It's given grating production treatment and doesn't do anything "I Might Be Wrong" doesn't do. In fact, it does a lot less and is no fun to listen to. "Kid A" had an interlude called "Treefingers", and I get the impression that this song is trying to do the same thing, but where that track was beautiful and a great segue, this one is annoying, dull, and doesn't connect the songs bookending it. "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" is just a new version of "Morning Bell" from "Kid A" with a short intrumental appended to the outro, but the production is messy and lacks the grace of the earlier version. This cut and "Hunting Bears" cause "Amnesiac", an otherwise excellent batch of Radiohead tunes that show them blending their experimental tendencies and their songwriting skill, to feel a bit like a "Kid A" B-sides collection when it deserves to be heard as a beautiful, complex, and just plain awesome piece of music in its own right.



3. I rarely give ANY product this kind of review - but Amnesiac is one of those rare CD's that can be listened to in entirity. Moody, extremely layered, sad, whistful.
   
   Listen to it once and you will be hooked.



4. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE CD AND THESE GUYS ARE AWESOME LIVE!
   LIKE SPINNING PLATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



5. Rock music does a lot of things extremely well, but one emotion that it seems to have difficulty capturing is despair. I'm not talking about the blues. The blues involves reveling, often in a kind of self-satisfied way, about one's awareness of how badly one's life is going. There's nothing smug or self-satisfied about despair: it is a prelude to the death of hope, the reaching of a point from which one can't "come back." "Amnesiac" captures despair better than just about any rock album I can think of (another great entry in this abject sweeptakes would be Fleetwood Mac's masterpiece "Then Play On").
   
   "Amnesiac" is to most music dealing with misery as opening up a bottle of whiskey in a darkened room with a loaded gun on the table, alone and with the phone disconnected, is to a bragging drunkalogue delivered to a crowded AA meeting. If you don't understand what I'm talking about consider yourself fortunate. If you do, get "Amnesiac." It does perfectly what it sets out to do, with no compromises or gratuitous bows to commercial acceptance or normal rock and roll conventions. It couldn't be the high art that it is if it had been done in any other way.

5 comments about The Music.

1. The Music is an album that shows us that's possible feel good when you're listening to music. It's amazing. Some adds.
   The dance: is a real rock song, a serious rock song.
   Turn out the light: Just beautiful and thrilling at the end.
   The people: Dancing song. You can't keep your feet still.
   Too high: The last two minutes of this song are fantastic. You can't even know how the guys did that.
   Great buy!!!



2. The Music scale some incredible heights on this album.
   
   My favourite tracks are:
   Song 8 "Getaway" - reaches for the stars and finds them,
   Song 7 "The People" - a passionate cry for sanity to rule in the world.
   
   Listen to loud, when you want to rock out!



3. Thanks god that you have make this posible.this is one of the
   best rock bands that are imported from the british side in this
   days.if you whant to hear something diferent and good.go and
   buy this albums and have a great time for some hours.so don;t\
   wait and buy both albums.and if you don't whant to buy just
   hear the song. (Bleed From Within)increrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!song
   just try.



4. I got into The Music through their second album, Welcome To The North (which is incredible), and only then did I get this album. The tunes are not quite as catchy as on WTTN, but they are really awesome. The singer Rob has such an insane voice, and it is really needed at a time when every freakin singer out there tries to sound like Pearl Jam and STP, adding in R's to every word. Such annoying bands with singers like that I can think of are: Creed, The Calling, Nickelback, and really, nearly every band that comes out today tries to put on that fake accent. It's really annoying. Anyways, so in this day and age, to have a singer like Rob come out and belt high notes to the likes of the masterful Geddy Lee of Rush, nothing can compare.
   The songwriting on this album is great. I wouldnt say it's completely progressive, but it's definitely got progressive elements. The guitar work is really special in that the guitarist plays a hybrid of rhythm and lead, much like Alex Lifeson of Rush. I saw The Music live and the guitarist just stands there like a pillar, but his guitar work makes up for it. Plus Rob dances around like crazy so he captures the limelight anyways. The drummer is really sick. He doesnt stick to the standard rock beats. He really tries out new things and bangs away. I don't know much about bass, but the bassist sounds darn good.
   Check out this album, and their second one Welcome To The North. They are both sick! And I'm looking forward to a third one coming out sometime this year!



5. A bit more natural than Welcome to the north and a more constant atmosphere too. Refreshing, a brilliant mix of rock of electric influencing. Although not completely comparable in style, the resulting sound reminds me in some way of Kasabian.

5 comments about Northern Star.

1. I bought this Cd yesterday and I immediatly knew it was going to rock! After hearing the title track,Go!, I knew this Cd was going to be different then the Spice Girls Cds. It is better. My favorite songs are Never Be The Same Again,Ga Ga,and Goin Down.



2. i love MEL C!!! i've been a huge fan of the Spice Girls since they came out with "Wannabe". Eventhough "Wannabe" song is kinda funny song i have ever heard! its like teenbopper song. lol
   
   so when i had Mel C's solo album like Northern Star: i love Gaga, Goin' Down, I Turn To You, Northern Star and least, but not least, "NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN" is the best song ever before Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes passed away. I still missed Left-Eye and she's the best TLC member... so Mel C has been really shocked and upset about what happened to Left-Eye. She said she will never record another song with Left-Eye in the near future. She loves TLC and Left-Eye.
   
   ABout her 2nd album... i've never bought it yet since i can't afford it...
   
   About her 3rd album... i love Rock music.... i've MEET Mel C on last October 10th 2005... she's the best!!! i did actually asked her about Left Eye i was like "what do you remember about Lisa?" and she answers "Oh yeah, she's very inspired person and i am a huge TLC fan. It was a very tragedy when i heard on the news. She's gone and she will never be forgotten. she will be missed by everything."



3. Although this is her first album(solo), it was the last one I've heard. I've had it in my closet for a long time but the only tracks I listened to were 'I turn to you' and 'Never be the same again'. When I heard some tracks from her third album, I decided to listen to some more. It impressed me. I also checked her second album out and it was very differend but still good. I decided to give 'Northern Star' a chance, and I am glad I did.
   
   The opener, Go, is a real 'Melanie C' song. Although the opening of the song might make it seem like a rock-track; don't be fooled because it is not. It turns catchier whole the time. The second track, Northern Star, is the first single. Again the opening of the song is decieving, because it seems like a ballad. Although it is a little like a ballad, it's chorus is more then just a slow ballad. It's not one of my favorits. Goin' down gives the album a twist. This is really a rock track and Melanie's voice does well. It was also chosen as second single and although the album has a lot of stronger/catchier tracks, this is the albums highlight to me. I turn to you definatly is one of those stronger and catchier tracks, which also has that 'Melanie C' feeling which I can't describe. It's been on the radio loads of times and I am sure you know it, even if you don't know it's name. 'If that were me' gives a nice touch to the album, and the track is OK. Lyrics are nice. Don't listen to it too much though; you will get bored of it. 'Never be the same again' is probably the best track on the album. It featered 'Left Eye' some sort of female rapper. Normally I don't like it when other people 'rap along' but in this song, I can honestly say it does not annoy me one bit. 'Why' is a filler to me, but it's not that bad. Give it a try. 'Suddenly Monday' really is a stand-out track to me and not because it's catchy, has powerfull lyrics, but just because it gives a special touch to the album that cannot be missed. It really gives an 70/80 feeling. One of the tracks that makes this album worth 4 stars. 'Ga Ga' is just like 'why', another filler. Altough I do think it's better than 'Why'. 'Be the one' gives me a happy feeling and I just like the song. It could have had more instruments, etc. But anyway it does fine without all that too. 'Closer' is almost like a copy of Northern Star, and almost as good. 'Feel the sun' is a perfect way to end the album. The chorus is stunning and I want to listen to it over and over.



4. she has made a good albums and this one wasnt that better
   than emmas albums or victorias.shes my favorite spice but after
   the 90s is started to like all of them really.she was nice and
   brave i dont know as shes doing now tho without the spice girls
   beacuase when shed perform with them shed bring the word spice
   into spice girls. there is alot of rock music in this album
   too! it would make a reat spice girls collection or melanie c
   fan collection so buy it!



5. Well, I admit this is the only one cd of Mel C I own, coz through years I've lost my "passion" for the Spice Girls and their single members. Anyway I loved this album from the first time I heard it, although there are some songs I regularly skip. My fav ones are Northern Star (maybe also Mel thinks so as she named her album just like my fav track, Goin' Down, Feel he Sun and Never Be The Same Again, but I listen glady about all the songs. I don't like very much I Turn To You (I dunno why she chose this track as single)and Suddently Monday. This last is a bit silly but I understand Mel wanted to put different kinds of genres!! I don't think this is an album only for the Spice lovers, I would recommend it to anyone (apart from people fond of heavy metal music), it contains rock songs, some pop and other slower...if u have the possibility to find this album, buy it! :0)

2 comments about 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Madness.

1. Any fan of Madness who opted to buy their individual albums remastered knows how frustrating it was that either the band or label decided to leave off key singles as bonus tracks. Just to irritate us further they included them as videos within the enhanced portion of the rematers but not the songs themselves. The Specials remastered albums were handled the same way.
   
   This compilation in and of itself is not very comprehensive but is eseential for buyers of the individual remasters in order to have the songs that were not included, such as House of Fun, The Sun And The Rain and Wings of a Dove (A Celebratory Song). If you haven't purchased any of their studio albums remastered yet then I recommend that you pick up The Lot and be done with it. But if you're in the same boat I'm in this is the cheapest way to get the missing songs in a remastered form.
   
   If pressed I'm sure the band or some fan boy would say the usual, "the albums were meant to be released this way...", yadda, yadda, yadda, but the bottom line is that it was lame the way they handled it. Thanks for the videos, but sheesh, what's the point if the songs aren't included as bonus tracks!?! The bottom line is that its just another way to force fans to buy another album that they shouldn't need in the first place.
   
   I hope this helps others avoid the same fate I'm in.



2. This CD is not a complete collection of Hits. Prefer the "Complete Madness". This is a great compilation.

No comments about Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

5 comments about Whiplash.

1. How anyone who claims to appreciate music can dismiss this album is beyond me. Whiplash is one of those classic albums that one listens to from beginning to end (on repeat). I bought this when it first was released more than a decade ago and it's still in my regular rotation of music, both at home and in the car. As another reviewer points out, it's amazing for driving (also for working out), with a steady churning percussion that balances the whole thing, and then colored with driving guitars and some of the band's most hopeful lyrics. "Gotta keep faith that your path will change/Gotta keep faith that your love will change, tomorrow" and "You hold the chalice/You hold the plate/Bring them together and see what you've made." Every song is filled with yearning, rage, reclaiming power and setting wrongs right. I love this album.



2. james were never a revolutionary band .ok brian eno produced this album.so what? he produced laid too which is a 5 star album...
   
   they followed this with the equally dull Millionaires
   
   avoid both,especially this
   
   buy Laid and Seven instead



3. I saw James in a small club during the Wah-Wah experimentation stage which was recorded at the same time as Whiplash, not more than a year after they opened for Neil Young's accoustical tour. Both shows were excellent (despite one of Neil's "fan's" complaints about Tim Booth's lack of vocal quality; LOL!), while at the same time completely different.
   
   Whiplash does a wonderful job in melding these two experiences. The relatively 'tame' Laid music shows up (Tomorrow, Homeboy, Avalanche) with some of the electronic Wah Wah explosion I heard in the small club (GreenPeace, Go to the Bank, parts of Play Dead) and we get some additional Eno looping trance stylistics (Watering Hole, Blue Pastures). The end result is a whiplash of musical styles and vocal offerings that are alternatively heavy and light, hopeful and resigned, passive and angry.... quite an emotional rollercoaster.
   
   Add to these the exceptional lyrics throughout --highlighted by the aching social commentary of "Lost a Friend" -- and you get a rare complete listening experience.



4. Unlike some other listeners I did not accidently purchase this album, nor was I disappointed. Creative bands continually explore their sound, unlike some bands (ie. Bush). "Whiplash" is different than their CD's "Laid" (which was mellow) or "Millionares" (which is heavy on the synth side), this release boasts powerful guitars, classic James lyrics and a different direction. Overall this reminds me of their Gold Mother disc, which was fun and unpredictable. Their sound is unique to other releases and more resembles the extra songs from their "Best of" CD like Runaground & Destiny Calling. There is more James than Brian Eno on this disc unlike "Laid" or "Pleased to meet you" which were heavily influenced by Eno. If you like the more upbeat James you've heard check this release out. A great selection for the car by the way, especially when driving at high speeds...



5. Everyone has his own taste in music, and for that reason it's a very sebjective matter. First of all, I love James. That said, I consider this their best album because it moves me the most.

   Of course, if you aren't familiar with James, I recommend The Best Of, which includes three tracks from this disc: Tomorrow, Waltzing Along, and She's a Star. One thing I've noticed about James, though, is that the songs on their albums that appear on The Best Of have a very distinct quality. And in some ways they give only a slight indication of what each album is like. On Whiplash, the other songs are wonderful and wonderfully different from those three.

   Lost a Friend is by far my favorite track with it's harpsichord sounds in some parts and great guitar rifts in the others. And moving lyrics that take notice of our absorption in our televisions and the violence we see there from other parts of the world and our own militaries.

   This album also seems experimental in booming bass rhythms and a dance-like quality (dance club). But that description is poor and don't let it suggest that the lyrics have suffered because of it. The new sound adds just another facet to James (one that you hear more of on Millionaires) that you don't hear on The Best Of, and perhaps wouldn't dream of hearing if you've only heard, say, Laid.

   Whiplash, except perhaps for the most recent Pleased to Meet You, is James' strongest social critique. While the subject matter can be sad (or saddening)-- like a pleading mother earth (Greenpeace) or a harsh attack on what seems like a materialistic American culture that loses itself in the TV and the mall (Go to the Bank)-- this disc has elements of hope, unfortunately mixed with despair. It opens with a song urging its listeners, no matter how awful things may be, to keep holding on 'til tomorrow, but the album ends with the line "Blue Pastures fade away."

   This is a good album. Some apparently disagree with me, but I consider this essential James. It's proved, to me, even more essential than The Best Of, but, of course, I'd still recommend that as the place to start for those who haven't heard of James.