5 comments about The Doors - Greatest Hits [Elektra].

1. First off this Doors CD is great for any fan wanting to hear there music. It has all there biggest hits, light my fire, love her madly, touch me, the end, etc. But still it is missing some songs like, strange days, five to one, when the musics over, etc. But still the songs on here make it up for that. This CD also has a great live version of roadhouse blues i think from 1970 great version and plus it has Jim Morrison talking at the end to the crowd, cool version. One thing though is that in the beginning of the song the end, theres like this weird noise thing or whatever that lasts for 20 seconds, it can be kind of annoying, comparing it to there first album. All in all though if you want a Doors cd thats cheap and good you should buy this album today.



2. This is an album that contains all of the Doors' hits, including the entire version of "Light my Fire." Another favorite is "Touch Me" and others like "Hello I Love You" and "Love Her Madly." If you like the Doors this is a must for you.



3. I'm not a big fan of The Doors but I love classic rock and this CD fit the bill perfectly. All their biggest hits are here and though the purists may argue that some songs are edited almost half are 6+ minutes long (which is long enough for me). Tracks and times below:
   Hello, I Love You (2:12)
   Light My Fire (7:05)
   People Are Strange (2:09)
   Love Me Two Times (3:14)
   Riders On The Storm (7:09)
   Break On Through (2:26)
   Roadhouse Blues (Live) (6:12)
   Touch Me (3:10)
   L.A. Woman (7:47)
   Love Her Madly (3:17)
   The Ghost Song (4:10)
   The End (from Apocalypse Now) (6:28)
   
   As a bonus, this CD is ENHANCED with a bonus video of the last song with interactive lyrics.



4. This particular GREATEST HITS collection is an ideal album.
   
   The DOORS were one of THE most inconsistent bands in history-- for proof, compare MORRISON CAFE to their debut album, or stack up THE SOFT PARADE against STRANGE DAYS. The former are drivelbound, the latter are generally good quality.
   
   The in-concert "Roadhouse Blues" is excellent, and Morrison's thoughts afterward chillingly prescient. The edited version here of "The End" is really ALL you need of this overhyped dabble into Freudian psychology. As for the rest of this set: solid material-- worth owning. Recommended.
   
   TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 55:50



5. I would have to agree with the previous reviewer John, this CD is fair but neglects alot of great songs that would serve better as a broader representation of some of the Doors best music. Twentieth Century fox, your lost little girl, wishful sinful, there are so many songs that could have been included in a Greatest hits package. However the only way to get a true feel for this band is to listen to each of their albums. I always thought that "The Doors" and "STrange Days" was probably some of their best work. The Doors- "abosolutely Live" and L A Woman would also be essential to really get a feeling for how unique this band was for its time. Years ago I owned the Album "Thirteen" in 8 Track tape which was a better gretaest hits package, but I guess this is a fair place to start. If you are interested in the doors music, you must listen to "STrange Days"

5 comments about Queen - Greatest Hits Vol.1/UK Version.

1. 
   This album is the most popular in Rock, ever! They tried to pull it off the shelves but the cries were too loud. It is also re-mastered.



2. I love this CD as it contains all the best hits of the grpoup especially Bohemian Rhapsody.



3. The original Queen Greatest hits album , first released in 1981 , this was the album that first got me hooked on Queen when I was 12.
   It includes all of Queen's top 20 hits between 1974 and 1980.
   Personal favourites include:
   The classic rock opera masterpiece Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)
   The debonair Killer Queen (1974)
   The rollicking Fat Bottomed Girls (1978)
   The laidback You're My Best Friend (1975)
   The glam rock Seven Seas of Rhye (1974)
   The funky Don't Stop Me Now (1978)
   The hypnotic Somebody To Love (1976)
   and the whimsical Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (1976)
   
   Songs that should have been included are Keep Yourself Alive (1973)
   Doin Allright (1973)
   and
   39 (1975).
   Still the best of Queen's compilation albums.
   If you haven't seriously explored Queen's earlier work this is a good place to start and should get you hooked on all their albums from the 1974 to 1980 period.



4. Queen rocked to stardom in the 1970s, with Freddie Mercury's (1946-91) silky voice leading. They produced many excellent songs, and were popular worldwide, right up until Freddie Mercury's death from AIDS in 1991. Throughout my youth, I loved Queen's sound, and their many wonderful songs - and now I have them again!
   
   This fantastic album contains all of Queen's greatest songs, including Bohemian Rhapsody, Killer Queen, Save Me, and of course We Will Rock You & We Are The Champions. Yes, that's right, this album has the greatest Queen hits, and does not include any song that is less than superb! If you are a fan of Queen then this is definitely an album you must get. Heck, even if you just love great rock `n' roll in general, you will love this CD.
   
   This is a great CD, one that I cherish and would not be without. I give this album my highest recommendations!



5. Darn when cd's first came out what you where looking for was hard to find. And Queen was at the top of my list to get something into my budding cd collection. I finally found this at our local record store as the vinyl was slowly circling its drain due to cd's. And yes the first Queen I saw on the shevles was this import. Darn glad I got it that day even though I considered the price steep due to it being an import it still took the cd industry some years to get all of the choices you have now days I do not need another queen this on did me fine though its play list is different from what they have here tracks 1 - 6 are the same the rest go like this
   7.Don't Stop Me Now
   8.Save Me
   9.Crazy Little Thing Called Love
   10.Somebody To Love
   11.Now I'm Here
   12.Good Old-Fashoned Lover Boy
   13.Play The Game
   14.Flash
   15.Seven Seas Of Rhye
   16.We Will Rock You
   17.We Are The Champions
   What can I say this order works for me. And if you want more Queen than this hey go for it I do not blame you good stuff from a great band that started in the 70's. No one else like them. I still remeber driving down the road to tapes I made from the vinyl I had of them.

3 comments about Live at the Aquarius Theatre: The First Performance.

1. A little pricey, but well worth it for the dedicated Doors' fan. Perhaps, not for everyone; a "must' for dedicatedThe Doors fan. Shipping and handling were prompt and fair. A+.



2. Another top-notch Doors release from Bright Midnight Records, far more valuable than the umpteenth re-release of the studio albums. This one features the complete first show from the Aquarius Theater in LA on July 21, 1969. They've since released the second show as well, with a similar set list and the same soundboard quality (recorded with the same set-up as part of the Elektra Concert Series that year and also part of the Absolutely Live material).
   
   Amazing how quiet it gets between tracks---were 60s crowds still that polite and well-behaved? There were eight total mikes used for recording, and two were devoted to the ambient and audience noise. You can listen closely and hear the audience shout requests and more during some songs. "Touch Me!" "Everybody shut up!" "Ssssshhhh!" The band never played with a set set-list, so they'd discuss what track to do next in between songs, leaving an interesting and tense gap in the show like they were very consciously holding the audience in suspense. One can tell how plagued they must have been hearing the same requests over and over and over from fandom's hit-lovers ("Light My Fire!")
   
   The sound quality is about the same as the second Aquarius Show, also available in a 2CD set from Bright Midnight. Same set-up, same remastering, and best of all, it's complete and uncut, with no overdubs or trickery. The in-between noise, tuning and chatter are all kept and even given their respective tracks--it's the kind of thing obsessists insist on. Just right from the archives, no doctoring.
   
   Highly recommended material, there is plenty of excellent live Doors material now officially available. More casual fans should check the playlists for each of these and decide what they want. The quality is generally excellent, professional soundboard, and the performances (on most of the material) is very strong. The band was only human, after all. Small snippets of these Aquarius shows were floating around on bootleg for years and years, but never in such good quality.



3. I bought both of these live shows on the official BM website they are great. Excellent sound quality I would Highly Recommend!!! Also check out "Live In Detroit"

5 comments about Abandon.

1. After Purpendicular, it was clear that Deep Purple could basically do whatever the hell they wanted to do with Steve Morse on the guitar. Abandon brings back the heavy style that was epitomized on Deep Purple In Rock. The only problem is that most of the songs and riffs just aren't as memorable as classic Purple or other Morse era favorites (Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming, Ted the Mechanic, Rapture of the Deep, Picture of Innocence). Any Fule Kno That is a pretty good opener, but most of the album is like The House of Blue Light and The Battle Rages On: solid and a little underwhelming. Seventh Heaven is good; Fingers to the Bone and Don't Make Me Happy are too. The last three tracks pick it up more. The riff to '69 is catchy and the lyrics (Your ma said you slept real good in your food last night/You couldn't hold it down but you broke up a real good fight) are pretty amusing to me. Evil Louie also has a neat rhythmic riff and again, the words, which I usually don't pay much attention to, are neat. Finally, we have a remake of Bloodsucker from In Rock. I'm not sure why. They could have put this out without it and had 11 songs...but whatever. It's a pretty good take, though Gillan's screeching isn't what it was in 1970.
   
   Maybe it's not the first Morse album you'd give to a Purple newbie, but after awhile, it begins to catch on.



2. If you are a Fan of DP, you will really like this album, it's very Heavy and sounds just like Classic Deep Purple. This was Steve Morse's second Album with DP and it's much more in line with old DP then his first effort.



3. musically the songs are harder than Purpendicular 1996
   Almost Human is a heavy track, heavy drumming beat, good guitar-riff and keyboard solo.
   Seventh Heaven is a heavy track, heavy drumming beat, good guitar-riff and highpicthed voice of Ian Gillan.
   Watching the sky is a slow but heavy track either, heavy drumming beat, hard guitar-rhythm and nice vocal of Ian Gillan.
   69, jack ruby, whatshername, evil louie are absed on traditional Purple sound, heavy keyboard and hard hitting guitar riff.
   
   the highlight is the remake of Bloodsucker (originally was recorded in Deep Purple In Rock 1970).



4. Band Personnell:
   Ian Gillan - Vocals
   Steve Morse - Guitars
   Roger Glover - Bass
   Ian Paice - Drums
   Jon Lord - Organs and Keyboards
   
   This album ain't as good as many expected, "Any Fule Kno That" and the remaking of the classic "Bloodsucker" have to be the best tracks.



5. After being amazed by Rapture of the Deep, I had to get the other three Steve Morse albums. Not having any preconceptions, I have to say I have found myself rather impressed with this album. These days, any album that has at least five songs that I like has to be pretty darn good. There are few modern albums that have all four and five star songs in my opinion. So this album sounds pretty good to me. Since I got it along with Perpendicular and Bananas I can only say that I think I like this one the best, simply because after one week I find this album has the most songs of three that I find myself playing over and over again. Probably my favourite is Seventh Heaven which seems to be the among the heaviest tunes DP has ever put out. Excellent guitar sound. When I was a teenager, guys Jon Lord's age said metal was nothing but racket. What does Lord think as he rocks away with Morse on this song? She Was is an interesting heavy tune that seems just beyond the borders of DP's previous stuff but fits nicely into their repetoire. One of the joys of having Steve Morse in the band is the use of more melodic and acoustic guitar which was rare under the Blackmore banner. The opening to '69 and the folksy sounding parts of Work Your Fingers to the Bone are a real pleasure to listen to. Lyrically, Work Your Fingers... is a wonderful new step for DP. There are a couple of other memorable tracks like Any Fule Kno That and Watching the Sky, the latter again combining hard rock guitar with experimental sounds and a softer touch. The whole album starts to come across as a stage for a variety of guitar sounds that are played excellently. The big surprise was to hear Bludsucker, one of my all-time favourite DP songs. Gillan is hard pressed to deliver the vocal performance he did back in 1970 but he pulls it off nicely, albeit with a few variations to accomodate his 'mature' vocal talents. I was starting to write him off after The House of Blue Light and the live performances on Nobody's Perfect but on this album Gillan proves that a man in his fifties can still scream to a hard rock guitar and do it well.
   
   Though some people give this album a poor rating, I am overall very pleased with it.

5 comments about Hotel California (DVD-Audio Surround Sound).

1. I'm not going to compare Hotel California to any other album. This is simply their greatest album. Nearly flawless but, like the subject, not quite perfect.
   
   I love the concept of California being heaven and hell. I bought this album in December 1976, and then left for California right after Christmas. That trip was planned, by the way, not a result of listening to the album. I believed in the concept of California as heaven on earth. Everything about SoCal was so great in 1977. It was the place to be. But of couse it really wasn't. I saw it in awe, with eyes wide open, and missed or overlooked some things. And that's the concept of this album, almost a warning that things aren't all they're cracked up to be.
   
   I can easily see the direct connection to the "California Concept" in most of these songs. Wasted Time, Victim of Love and Try and Love Again, maybe not so direct. There was so much radio airplay on the first three songs of side one but they really delivered the message. Maybe the more casual fans didn't realize what else they were missing. At that time there were plenty of radio stations that played deep album tracks and even the entire album. So there was ample opportunity to hear the other songs, and I think some people missed out on great music by not hearing the rest of the album.
   
   To this day I think that The Last Resort is the best song the Eagles ever released. Glenn Frey supposedly said that this song is Don Henley's best work. I think this song speaks volumes about the virtues and promises of California, and how it was ruined by greed. I mean, to be in Southern California at that time was fantastic beyond words. It was where I wanted to be. It was, to me, paradise. A few years ago, a friend of mine said, "LA isn't what it used to be. Know what I mean?", and I did. I did know what he meant. It's sad, because I guess I just have this fond remembrance of what things were like in LA when Hotel California was a new release.
   
   I've always liked Victim of Love better than Life In The Fast Lane. It's recorded live in the studio. On the record, there's even an inscription in the vinyl around the label that reads, "V.O.L. is five piece live". It's refreshing to hear something so raw when everything else on the album is so polished. But polished is good, too. Wasted Time is so soulful and heartbreaking, and may be my second favorite song of the album. It's lush and polished and it works. Even the brief Wasted Time Reprise (which seemed way out of place the first time I listened) works on this album.
   
   New Kid In Town is also great because it's all about "What have you done for me lately?", which was so LA at the time and even more so now. It's delivered so smoothly that it shows how subtle the change is from being on top of the world one day to being a nobody the next. Of the singles released from the album New Kid In Town has to be the most pop-oriented song. It's really more like their previous singles than Hotel California and Life In The Fast Lane. To this day I like New Kid In Town better than those other 2 songs.
   
   Another reviewer said this was a rather dark themed album for the late 70's. That's probably true because the late 70's were all about doing anything you could get away with just to have the right amount of fun. Hotel California as a whole was saying that a good time wouldn't last forever, we're gonna run out of land and resources and it will be too expensive to enjoy. Maybe it was too dark, but that lifestyle got out of control and further ruined Paradise On Earth.
   
   I still love visiting, especially Southern California. This will sound goofy, but it truly does give me energy that I don't get anywhere else. But, for me, it really isn't the same as it was. That's what Hotel California was saying way back when.



2. Bought DVD audio because of a new Acura. Excellent sound but the concept of DVD-Audio has never caught on.



3. not only is this album great musically but this dvd-a sounds amazing with terific surround. better sound than my LP.
   
   get ready to relax with this one.



4. I was 21 when this came out but was not a big Eagles fan since I was a musical snob and they were a comercial success. When the title track hit the airwaves, I heard a plagerized version of "We Used to Know" by Jethro Tull. It has an almost identical chord progression. But then again, I was a musical snob. Now, in my aged wisdom, I have dropped all the snobbery and have given this "album" a second listen. While it's not in my top 10, it's up there on my list of great albums. I actually always liked "The last resort" for it's message and sonic appeal. I was also a Joe Walsh fan from his James Gang and early solo work (FM radio only!) but never liked his squeaky voice. His brilliat guitar work made up for it. So Walsh on guitar with the other Eagles professionals made for flawless rockin riffs. I also have changed my opinion of "Victim of love". In my snobby days, I scoffed at it's simplicity, being more attracted to complex musical forms, but now.... it has become one of my favorite songs BECAUSE of it's simplicity! (The excellent guitar work helps, too!) Anyway, this old non-fan is now a new fan. I may even go out and get tickets to see the old geezers before they expire!



5. I bought the Hotel California album sometime back and I must say since then this album has been one of the most preferred albums I have.
   The channel separation on the compilation is simply awesome. It seems you are not only listening to music but sitting with the band and listening to the music.
   Technically, the frequency of the the instruments is too perfect. My player has never sounded so good as it sounds with this album..
   Cheers

5 comments about Dirty Work.

1. `Dirty Work' is my least favorite Stones album ever and it's not even close. And I actually like it better then when it first came out! The whole thing just sounds forced which when you read the history of the recording that seems to be the case exactly. Mick Jagger sounds like he couldn't be bothered and his lyrics and vocals just plain suck. Keith and Ronnie soldiered on and in the past that seemed to work but the songs just aren't good enough. One good decision that Mick made was not to tour behind the album which in hindsight was genius. There are good songs and after a couple of plays you can get into them but then you have to brainwash yourself into forgetting the band's immense legacy which of course is impossible. "One Hit" is a good song; probably the best but wouldn't be filler on `Some Girls'. "Harlem Shuffle" is a joke and an embarrassment as a single release. I like "Too Rude" and "Sleep Tonight" both sung by Keith who begins to sing on more than one cut per album which would continue into the present. "Dirty Work" and "Had It with You" aren't terrible but God....again Mick is the problem! Avoid `Dirty Work' unless you are a Stones completist, even `Emotional Rescue' is classic compared to the album that almost broke up the band.



2. This is one of the weakest Stones' albums. SLEEP TONIGHT & DIRTY WORK are classic Stones songs, but the rest is mediocre at best. ONE HIT (TO THE BODY) and HARLEM SHUFFLE are memorable.



3. This was one of my most eagerly anticipated album releases of my lifetime. Like all 8 studio albums that came out after `78's Some Girls, the critics called it "the best album since Some Girls". Not only that, it was to be "Keith's album" which supposedly infers there would be no off the track failed trendy Pop experiments by Jagger. I also loved the album cover with the classic, too cool posing and showing off their wealth, aloof image of the band.
   
   Then I played the album and it opens with the thunderous monster `One Hit to the Body', the best opening Stones song in 14 years since Exile's `Rocks Off' and what would be the best Stones song of the entire `80s. It also has a (too short) solo by guitar legend Jimmy Page. I was blown away by this track! This was going to be one of the greatest Stones albums ever!
   
   Unfortunately, from there it was all down hill. Don't get me wrong, the rest of the songs are good songs, but not by Stones standards. Not only that, the dreaded filler creeps into the album. This was not one of the great Stones albums and in fact is barely better than the disappointing 1983 album, Undercover, that preceded it. I should have known better. Jagger and Richards were openly feuding and stooping to name calling in the press, there would be no tour, Jagger said Wood was "in no condition to tour", Jagger was going through a mid-life crisis in which he needed to prove to himself that he could be just as big as a solo artist without Richards. As it turns out, Jagger showed up with only 1 song - `Winning Ugly' and was holding out the best songs (Shoot Off Your Mouth, Party Doll, and Primitive Cool) for his next solo record. To his credit, when he was in the studio, Jagger did "sing his bleep off" according to Richards. But his singing was almost too over the top, too angry and forced sounding. Just listen to songs such as `Fight' and `Hold back' and feel the rage. It sounds like Jagger is trying too hard to make up for the guilt he felt for not contributing to the song writing. Harlem Shuffle is great cover but face it, it was already a good song and guys with the talent of the Stones can make it even better in their sleep. Jagger's one song Winning Ugly is good, but then you run into filler in the second half of the album with the pretentious "Back to Zero" and the overrated monotone "Had it with You".
   
   The album reached number 4 in the charts, tied with Undercover for the Stones worst chart showing since Beggar's Banquet topped out at number 5 in '68. The single "Harlem Shuffle" was a top 5 hit and "One Hit" was a top 30 song with a great video that Jagger calls the "fight video" in which the director asked the Glimmer Twins to put some of that anger towards each other into the video. The 4 albums that followed all fared much better. Years latter Jagger would accept blame for the band's failure by saying "The lyrics were just not good enough and the guitar riffs just weren't there". In summary, a good album, albeit weak by Stones standards and with one all time classic song "One Hit to the Body". Overall Grade: B-
   
   Other Stones album ratings
   
   1) Some Girls (1978) A+
   2) Let It Bleed (1969) A+
   3) Sticky Fingers (1971) A+
   4) Exile on Main Street (1972) A+
   5) Voodoo Lounge (1994) A
   6) Beggar's Banquet (1968) A
   7) Black and Blue (1976) A
   8) It's Only Rock `N Roll (1974) A
   9) Bridges to Babylon (1997) A-
   10) Out of Their Heads (1965) A-
   11) Goat's Head Soup (1973) A-
   12) Aftermath (1966) A-
   13) A Bigger Bang B+ (2005)
   14) Between the Buttons (1967) B+
   15) Tattoo You (1981) B+
   16) Now! (1964) B+
   17) Emotional Rescue (1980) B
   18) Steel Wheels (1989) B
   19) Dirty Work (1986) B-
   20) Undercover (1983) B-
   21) England's Newest Hit Makers (1963)B-
   22) December's Children (1965) B-
   23) 12 X 5 (1964) B-
   24) Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967) C



4. One of the best CDS'I own by This Group! They still have what it takes to get people of all ages to rock, get up and move! Their music is timeless!



5. "Dirty Work" has become a rather maligned item in the Rolling Stones' great, long career. Interestingly it received mostly positive reviews when it was released - weeks after the Stones collected a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys - in 1986 (cf Robert Christgau in "Creem", NME's Charles Shaar Murray, "Rolling Stone", Robert Palmer, John Rockwell in the "New York Times", etc). The Stones had reached # 1 with every studio album after "Let It Bleed" until the bleak "Undercover" stalled at # 4, but "Dirty Work" sold pretty well considering the Stones hadn't played live since 1982, again reaching # 4 during a six-month run on the "Billboard" Top LP chart. This album also contains a # 5 national hit ('Harlem Suffle', their biggest since 'Start Me Up' reached # 2 five years earlier) as well as a respectable followup ('One Hit' reached # 28). Yet one can discern pretty easily how it has fallen from grace in the past twenty years. The Stones have rarely played much of it live - both singles were performed during the 1989 - 90 tour, though only 'Harlem Shuffle' (which would have been right at home on "Out Of Our Heads" more than twenty years earlier) was kept in the set after the tour's first few weeks, and even that one has not been performed, as far as I can determine, since 1990. (Keith Richards did include a dub-inflected version of 'Too Rude' on his first solo tour). Despite the fact that it was a bigger hit than, say, 'Wild Horses' (# 28), 'Waiting On A Friend' (# 13), and 'Mother's Little Helper' (# 8), to name three classics, 'Harlem Shuffle' is rarely played on the radio anymore.
   After a quarter century together the Stones were deep in the midst of yet another near fatal series of crises in 1986. 'Sixth Stone' Ian Stewart, who'd cofounded the band with Brian Jones early in 1962 and played piano, booked studios, and been a stabilizing force ever since, died of a heart attact at 47, in December 1985. Charlie Watts had, in his mid-forties, become seriously addicted to heroin and amphetimines and appears - perhaps for the only time in his career - disheveled, eyes averted from the camera, on the front cover photograph that adorns DW. Ron Wood had been struggling with his own debilitating addiction to freebase cocaine. Mick Jagger, encouraged by CBS president Walter Yetnikoff, had released his solo debut in 1985, and that was but one issue that contributed to strained period in his relationship with Richards (note that in the aforementioned cover portrait Keith appears to be kneeing Mick in the groin). Bill Wyman, having taken up with 13 year old Mandy Smith a couple years earlier, certainly felt alienated from Richards and the substance abuse and sense of gloom enveloping the band, and in typically passive aggressive fashion, responded by appearing on only three or four of the album's tracks. Another sign of the state of the Jagger/Richards relationship is that there are only three songs credited to the pair. Four others give Ron Wood songwriting credit, and it's clear Richards and Wood worked closely on developing material before Mick came in and sharpened the thematic focus. Yet, somehow the Stones turned out a flawed but raw and uncompromising work, both an eviscerating reflection of the state of the culture in the mid '80s (remember, this was the era of Reagan and Thatcher) and a no-holds-barred look at the fractious state of the Stones. If "Undercover" had been an almost nihilistic, gory, and brutal record both sonically and lyrically, only occasionally leavened by humor, sex had still been the catalyst for its harsh, violent songs of mumbness and dislocation. On the more sharply focused "Dirty Work" women and sex (forget romance) are very much in the background, and the lyrics are more direct in their anger, specific in their portrayal of human relationships as conflict and power, even war. Jagger drops the irony, distance, and feline assumption of personae that made his vocals so rich through the most of the Stones' previous recordings, and instead assumes a 'sincere' posture, meaning here he's as direct as he'd ever be, and throughout this ascerbic, fleet and cohesive album shouts, blusters, accuses, and implicates both listener and self, abusers of power in romance, friendship, business, or politics. This is one of the Stones' most furious collections of songs. Yet thematically there is none of the struggle with ennui of "Goats Head Soup" or "Exile", and the violence of 'Winning Ugly', 'One Hit', 'or 'Fight' isn't meant to cut through the world-weary numbness of "Undercover". The light - the fire - that illuminates "Dirty Work" results from Jaggers' desperate need to communicate, to connect, stare down, and make sense of the Stones' and his world circa 1986. Musically much of the heat is generated by Richards, Ron Wood, and Charlie Watts, and they more than match Jagger's intensity. The grime and grunge of 'When The Whip Comes Down' is sped up like Chuck Berry's aeromobile on the furious 'Dirty Work' title track, where you hear the guitars soar and Jagger implicate '80s greed while never sounding self-righteous since he's always implicating himself as well. 'Hold Back' is an excercise in hard rock funk (guitars courtesy Wood, Richards, and Bobby Womack, bass by Ivan Neville) with smart and unusually direct lyrics that invoke historical perspective and warn against inaction (compare the desperation and drive here to the watered down pablum 'Let's Work' from Jagger's second solo album, an utterly banal thematic variation). And on 'Back To Zero' with its throbbing basslines and sputtering guitars, the Stones evoke the apocalyptic anxieties of the Reagan era as Mick's narrator - countering Neil Young on Johnny Rotten - insists "I prefer to rot / I don't want to pop".
   "Dirty Work" is not without flaws. Producer Steve Lillywhite, who would not work on another Stones album, sometimes adds unnecessary keyboard gloss to tough tracks, and the album's claustrophobic mood is darkened by an airless mix. But the Stones still manage to soar most of the time. Closing on an autumnal note with Keith's 'Sleep' (Sam & Dave could have taken this one to heaven) and a mournful coda, a snippet of Ian Stewart playing 'Key To The Highway' unaccompanied, "Dirty Work" is no more dated than, say, "Sign 'o the Times" or "Tim". And there's a lot more real feeling here than on the more calculated "Steel Wheels". Don't dismiss this one; it's unrepentant Stones thru & thru...

5 comments about Led Zeppelin Remasters.

1. LED ZEPPELIN-REMASTERS: If the Led Zep box set is too much of a good thing for you (or too tough on your purse strings), then this two CD abbreviated set (plus an interview disc) is the next best thing. Chronologically skimming the cream from all their classic albums, disc one is pretty much one of THE definitive histories of heavy metal, from the bombastic first track COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN to the last, that eight minute all-time FM radio juggernaut that need not be mentioned by name here. In between, you get the psychedelic blooze of DAZED AND CONFUSED, the stereo headphone demonstrater WHOLE LOTTA LOVE, the gargantuan crunch of IMMIGRANT SONG, and most of LED ZEPPELIN IV. The second, weaker disc represents the less interesting last half of their career, tho' the cuts from HOUSES OF THE HOLY and PHYSICAL GRAFFITTI are on a par with anything from Zep 1-4 (the reggae-accentuated D'YER MAK'ER, KASHMIR's hypnotic pulse). The wimpy ALL MY LOVE especially sounds like a final gasp, and it was, actually. There will never again be another partnership as musically volcanic as that of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and at long last, Led Zeppelin gets a greatest hits treatment worthy of its legacy. RATING: FOUR STICKS



2. I am not a die-hard Led Zeppelin fan. But I have come to have enormous respect for the quartet of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. I have come to realize that the efforts of a great work ethic have produced some of the stuff that legends are made of - and Led Zep takes the cake. As a 30 something music fan, I decided this would be one of my first entry points into the Led Zeppelin music library. 'Remasters' seemed like the perfect entry point - most of Zeppelin's great songs remastered on 2 CDs - plus a third 'Interviews' CD to get insight into the band. This box set is very good. It doesn't deliver that knockout punch or homerun, but it is very good.

   First the packaging - It seems that nowadays everything that is above 2 CDs that is considered a "Boxed Set". There really have become 2 categories of Boxed Sets. The first is a "Classic Boxed Set". This comes in a covered box about the size of an LP and contains CDs (sometimes in jewel cases, sometimes just on the bottom of the box) and a book about the same size. The second type is more like a 5.5" x 10" hardcover book which I term "Hardcover Box Set'. The CDs basically are stored in the hardcover binding and the book is in the middle. I much prefer what I call the Classic Boxed Set to the Hardcover format. The 'Led Zeppelin Remasters' set is a subset of Hardcover format. The disappointing thing - no book in the middle. Just two little booklets in the upper left corner. I know Led Zeppelin has more comprehensive boxed sets (The Complete Set and the 4 CD set), but I still would have liked to see a little more here.

   The music is on 2 CDs and basically is divided into Early Zeppelin and Late Zeppelin. The first CD encompasses songs through the 'Led Zeppelin IV' album while the 2nd CD takes us to the end with songs from 'In Through the Out Door'. I think the Zeppelin fan will be satisfied here. I am more of a fan of the later stuff. I was very disappointed to find that 'Fool in the Rain' was not included on this set. However if you want to hear remastered versions of 'Stairway to Heaven', 'Kashmir', and 'Trampled Underfoot' - you won't be disappointed. On a side note, I think those are the three best Zep songs.

   The third CD is divided into 3 sections over 43 tracks. The first section is a profile of the band which is 28 minutes long, but much of that is taken up by replaying songs such as Kashmir. I think it would have been nicer to go deeper with the band profile. The 2nd section is Station Liners and if you are a die-hard fan, this is perfect. I wish more boxed sets had preserved this type of stuff. The third section is individual Q&A with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones. Much like the first section, it doesn't go as deep as I would have liked to hear. The potential is there, it just doesn't deliver the depth.

   All and all, I'm still happy I got this and it left me for wanting more.




3. Is this the album in which "Stairway to Heaven" is an instrumental? Played with an electric guitar for about 5 1/2 minutes.



4. I saw Zeppelin back in 1970. By the mid 70's "Stairway to Heaven" was a staple of midnight rock radio, and already acquiring the varnish of an FM "classic." But by then I had already lost touch with their album output. Now, thirty years later I've got my hands on this remastered set. Given that I used to listen to them on an 8 track player in my car, this is a revelation. I had to wait a long time to hear Zep on a decent stereo system, but better late than never.
   
   That Zeppelin was a blues based band was always overshadowed by their popular acclaim as a "heavy metal" band. This set sets the record straight. They kicked [...] as a rockin' blues band. Period.



5. I put 4 stars because I feel that they just shouldve put this out as a double disc set and ditch the "interviews" disc. And [get rid of] the "Early Days" and "Latter Days" and there you have it. the perfect "Greatest Hits" compilation of Zeppelin. Good selections too. My only complaint is they should've replaced "Dyer Maker" (which just sounds like pop to me) with "Over The Hills & Far Away".

5 comments about Absolutely Live.

1. The Doors' live performances are, of course, legendary. I have found that this is more for Morrison's antics - inciting riots, indecently exposing himself, etc, then the music. But the music itself is pretty good, displaying the Doors as a loose blues band - much like on LP's such as Morrison Hotel and L.A. Woman. If nothing else, fans should have this for the amount of otherwise hard-to-get material, including the worthwhile blues "Close to You" and the moody psychedelia of "Universal Mind", which quotes "My Favorite Things". There is also an electrifying performance of "Break on Through" - along with an even more intense "Five to One" and the lengthy finale "Soul Kitchen", it's the only real hit they play. Don't be fooled by the "No. 2" subtitle (which I believe was applied because "Dead Cats, Dead Rats" uses the organ part) and the fact that it's about twice as long as the studio version, it's still "Break on Through". As for the blues songs, they rule: a funky "Who Do You Love?", a menacing "Back Door Man". But the real reason to get this is for the infamous "Celebration of the Lizard", that sidelong beat poetry reading-meets-jam pitched for Waiting for the Sun that Jim couldn't pull off in the studio because of his alcohol problems. I think it's one of their finest achievements myself: Jim's dark, disturbing lyrics are his best of the kind since "The End", and the group adds several layers of mysterious intrigue to it with Manzarek's moody organ and Densmore's tribal drumming matching Jim's dramatic intonations. Plus the dynamic shifts add a lot of power. Of course, if you hate the Doors, this will fuel the fire. The big downside is an interminable "When the Music's Over" that goes from a lengthy, kinetic groove on the studio version (one of their best, by the way) to total bombast that's just an excuse for Jim to scream his head off; there are other fillers such as a brief "Whiskey Bar", but they're no big deal. If you ask me, any Doors fan should have this one. It's pretty high up there.



2. There isn't really much I can honestly add to the comments here and the many reviews that exist of this album. What I can say though is that it is a true testimony of the quality and depth of the Doors' music on many levels, even the most unimaginable.
   
   
   
   As an 8 year old in 1978, I liked the usual commmercial music you heard on the radio in those days in the US: Bee Gees, Village People, Stevie Wonder, etc.. Then one day my older cousin left this tape at my house and I found it. I put it my portable cassette recorder (the rectangular, mono ones with the extractable handle) and my life changed. I had no idea what Jim symbolized in popular culture, what he was talking about, nothing. All I knew was that it somehow spoke to me in a way I would only find out when I was old enough to grasp what the Doors message was. So I obviously would recommend this album to anyone and everyone. By the way, I think the performance is way above average considerinfìg that Jim was often too wasted to sing, and the sound is great, almost studio-like.



3. if your a beginner fan on the doors then this album isnt really for you it dosent include a lot of the common songs. but if your a longtime fan than this albums for you great live stuff here though jim morrison sounds a little stoned on some of this like on the song, 'Wake Up', or on Back door man other than that its a great album sound quality is the best for live stuff, also i'd like to say that on the song, 'Soul Kitchen', the band must of been pretty stoned cause it sounds all weird the organ and everything it dosent sound right anyway go out and buy this if your the guy who needs all the doors and yes this is......ABSOUTLEY LIVE!!!!



4. The one and only official live-album released in between "Morrison Hotel" and "L.A. Woman" albums, this shows the Doors at it very best. They were not a middle of the roadband who played each night a greatest hits show but varied their setlist as often as possible and did not only play wellknown songs of their albums, on the contrary. Looking on the songlist on this album it shows more songs outside their studioalbums. To begin with a dynamite McDaniel classic "Who Do You Love" with the same sometimes weird lyrics as James Morrison used to write, to a medley which has "Loves Hides", a short but interesting track, not available on any or the regular albums. The same goes for the beautiful "Universal Mind", reminiscent of the "Waiting for the Sun" album, and the even stunning "Build Me a Woman", which is more from "The Doors" album but nevertheless doesn't appear on any of them. Further comes "The Celebration of the Lizard" in its long form as it is used to be but neither on any album released (that is until the 2003 compilation "Legacy" and the 2006 box "Perception"), from which the lyrics are printed inside the "Waitin for the Sun" album because of the song "Not to touch the Earth" which is a part of the mentioned longtrack, overall an outstanding performance (comparible to that on "The Doors Box" set, the "Live in New York" disc) and - oh surprise - the Ray Manzarek sung Willy Dixon classic "Close to You" (on the "In Concert" package switched to the second disc), somewhat comparible to the L.A.Woman outtake "(If You Need Meat) Don't Go Further", also by Dixon and sung by Manzarek. And last but not least "Dead Cats, Dead Rats", which preludes a heavy metal version of "Break on Through (To the other side)" with stunning guitar work by Robbie Krieger. Closer "Soul Kitchen" is also fabulous. The midsection is dominated by a long version of "When the Music is over", the audience was clearly having trouble with something or someone and the singer shows his annoyance and treathens to stop the show or play only one repeating note by Manzarek, with which the audience give in and the song evolves to a real eruption. Many acts have released timeless live recordings, this is definite one of them. Superb, it really gives you an idea how a Doors performance could have been and gives you the feeling that you were there. Highly recommended!



5. Do not buy this CD "Absolutely Live" by the Doors. Pay the extra few dollars more & get the double CD, "In Concert" instead. The reason, the "In Concert" double disk has the live albums "Absolutely Live," "Alive She Cried" & "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" all in one package with one exception: an unreleased live version of 'The End' (the main reason to get that double disk just for that song alone!). Get it & it'll be money worth spent.

5 comments about The Beatles 1.

1. Well, this album definetely left an imprint on me the after listening to it the first time. I am only fourteen, so, like another reviewer said, I am a new age Beatles fan. But there's nothing wrong with that, right? Right. These four men ultimetely changed music forever. Paul, George, John, and Ringo have changed the face of the planet as we know it.
   
   
   My personal favorite tracks are 1-19, but the other eight are also just as great! I personally like "Ticket To Ride" the best, at the moment. Whenever I hear that opening guitar, it always puts a smile on my face! Heck, whenever I hear a Beatles song, I always have to sing along. They were SO GREAT!!! Buy this album. You won't be sorry!!
   
   Zachary Hunt



2. Way below average band, that makes corny music. Arn't they all dead now anyway?? Or close to it??? Most of their fans are gone too. So who cares about their music anyway.



3. I know I am in the minority...but the Beatles' success was a product of their era; overrated! They would never make it today! A couple good songs that are only good because they remind me of a good movie or commercial. Don't bother if you were curious like I was.



4. Prompt delivery and very secure wrapping. Great condition. Could not have asked for a better service for the money.



5. Appart from a couple 4-star cuts, this record is just amazing. It has all The Beatles' singles that went up to #1, in US and UK charts, arranged chronologically.
   
   You may like it more or less, but you can't deny all the songs here defined the whole sound of contemporary pop/rock music, even till today, no matter how hard the critics are.
   
   It may still lack a few other excellent songs from the band deserving to be on a greatest hits collection, but you may still try to get them sepparately by looking for the career albums.
   
   These are just #1s. Not more. No less.

5 comments about Morrison Hotel.

1. The Doors organist Ray Manzerak has said that Morrison Hotel (1970) was his favorite of all of The Doors' albums. Why? "Rock n' Roll!", he said. It's the closest they ever came to a pure rock or blues-rock album. Sure, they had done blues (Back Door Man) before and were always a rock band, but their main focus had always been on theatrics and darkly sensual rock poetics. On Morrison Hotel, Robbie Krieger's electric guitar leads the way while the tinkling avant-garde English organ passages of the past give way to a bluesy Hammond B-3 organ sound. The Lizard King isn't much interested in poetry or theatrics now, he's ready to party and rock n' roll!
   
   Roadhouse Blues opens the album, and right from the start you know you're in for a rocking good time. The song rocks harder than anything The Doors would ever do, and the wildly manic Morrison rips it up good.
   
   Well I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer
   The future's uncertain and the end is always near.
   Let it roll, baby, roll
   Let it roll...
   All night long
   
   Waiting For The Sun, the unreleased title track from their third album is a classic. A mixture of spacy poetic longing and commanding electric rock, Morrison is melodious and vivid.
   
   At first flash of eden
   We race down to the sea
   Standing there on freedom's shore
   Waiting for the sun
   
   You Make Me Real acknowledges identity validation from a lover.
   
   You make me real
   You make me feel what lovers feel
   You make me throw away mistaken misery
   You make me feel love, make me free
   
   The strong and funky rocking Peace Frog was taken from two separate Jim Morrison poem fragments. The first was originally called "Abortion Stories".
   
   There's blood on the street, it's up to my ankles
   There's blood on the streets, it's up to my knee
   
   The second poem in the song is spoken by Morrison, and was originally titled "Ghost Song".
   
   Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding
   Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind
   
   Blue Sunday is a tender love song that's a nice change of pace for the album. Ship Of Fools and Land Ho work in tandem to bring metaphoric images of the sea together with good rock n' roll. I like the slow, bluesy and sensual The Spy, too. Queen Of The Highway and Indian Summer are both rather forgettable, then the album closes with the blues flavored rock of Maggie McGill.
   
   Morrison Hotel was a return to form for The Doors after their somewhat disappointing attempt at a rockestrated epic, The Soft Parade. It doesn't get much better for Doors' fans than some of this stuff, but like every Doors' album, there are some weak spots. So get this one for Roadhouse Blues, Waiting For The Sun, Peace Frog, Ship Of Fools, Land Ho!, The Spy and Maggie McGill.



2. After the critical brickbats that greeted "The Soft Parade" (1969), Jim Morrison and company made a smashing return to form with their most cohesive album. "Morrison Hotel" (1970) has no misfires. "Roadhouse Blues," "You Make Me Real" and "Peace Frog" are among the hard-rock highlights - punctuated by effective ballads such as "Blue Sunday" and "Indian Summer." The Doors would take their blues-oriented sound even further on "L.A. Woman" (1971), but "Morrison Hotel" evokes the perfect bar-band atmosphere.



3. This is my favorite of the Doors' catalog. It is stripped bare of the pretention Jimbo was infamous for, the psychedelic crud, and the poppy banality of their previous releases. Their debut, while one of the best debuts of any rock group, still maintained one of my least favorite songs in their canon, the oft-hailed but unendingly dull and pompous "The End." I'm sure the cursors are furiously searching for the "no" button at the bottom of this review, but I find that "opus" to be sophomoric and indicative of the worst Morrison brought out from his notebook meanderings. Thankfully, Morrison Hotel has none of that. Jim keeps the non-sequitors and "Hey! Listen to me! I studied philosophy!" references in control and writes more straight-forward and purposefully than before. Perhaps he realized that his utopian vision of changing the world had dissipated like the smoke from so many joints in the audience he dared to manipulate and who, in the end, ignored his attempts at social experimentation and instead cried out for "Light My Fire." Whatever the reason, it's to our advantage that Morrison Hotel finds Jimbo focusing on simply being a member of a very good band. To that end, the vastly underrated guitar work of Robbie Krieger is the musical focus of this work, from the galloping intro of Roadhouse Blues to the trebly riff which closes out Maggie McGill, this album is a Krieger showcase. He demonstrates his unique finger-picking style, slide chops, and genre virtuosity throughout this powerful album. The FM staples "Peace Frog" and the aforementioned "Roadhouse Blues" are masterworks for both the guitarist and the band.
   In fact, one of the best things about Morrison Hotel is that it is the best recording of the Doors as a band, per se, opposed to a combo backing an erratic poet. Even the inside photo, one of the coolest ever of these guys, is a balanced shot of the foursome, instead of the more common ones with Jim front and center and the other three taking up space in the background. Morrison Hotel is a rocking, bluesy, and bare-bones piece of American rock and roll that stands as the most concise and cohesive highlight in the brief history of this influential band.



4. After the rather dismal "The Soft Parade," an album that took The Doors in a shamefully disappointing string-and-brass instrument direction, they hurled back in 1970 with "Morrison Hotel," their strongest, most rocking album since their self-titled debut. Jumpstarted with the mid-tempo Roadside Blues, the album moves between subtle mood pieces, and melodic rock outs, all constructed with Jim Morrison's fine lyrical sentiment, and exceptional grasp on hooks, creating some of the most intimate music of its day. Songs like the political, Peace Frog, and the playful Land Ho!, The Spy, and Maggie M'Gill work some elegant mojo into audience's emotions and beliefs; they are also not just some of The Doors best songs, but also some of the best songs of their genre of all time. "Morrison Hotel" is also fortified with the escalating skill of Bobby Krieger, John Densmore, and Ray Manzarek's' masterful rhythm, and instrumental knowledge of blues and rock components; creating a flourishing backdrop to Morrison's words, thus adding additional sentiment to the lyrical themes. Though there is some slight underwhelming moments here, like in Blue Sunday, and (in this critics opinion) Indian Summer, two songs that feature Morrison's great signing, but do not have much to them, both lyrically, and instrumentally, otherwise. Yet, despite some small imperfections, "Morrison Hotel" is still a masterwork by a band of grand artistic envision, skill, and talent.
   
   **** ½ (Out of 5)



5. Okay, the Doors roared right out of the gates with the classic debut. They then hit a rut with the awfuul Strange Days; mediocre Waiting for the Sun; and The Soft Parade, which we will never speak of again. This is an improvement, and the closest they came to matching their debut. Strong cuts include Roadhouse Blues; Waiting for the Sun; the funky Peace Frog; and the underrated trilogy Ship of Fools; Land Ho and Maggie Mc'gill (bad lyrics aside, it rocks). The bad? You Make Me Real; stale blueses The Spy and Queen of the Highway; and the formulaic ballad Indian Summer. But along with the debut, this is really the only Doors studio album you need. If you own Legacy: the Absolute Best, that is...