5 comments about Bring on the Comets.

1. You just have to love it when you come across an album that you play over and over and over and over again - this is one of them. I am stunned by the quality of the production, which does harken back to the 80's - and in a superb, electrifying fashion. I agree wholeheartedly with a comment made previously saying that if this came out back then, it would have dominated, been huge. To me, it comes off like a combination of Big Country + Real Life (if you remember those bands). Rocking, yet with layers of synths aplenty. I have seen them perform live and they were incredible - you should too, if you're lucky enough to be in town when they are. This album is excellent and one of the best of 2007. Play it in a car with a deluxe system to REALLY experience its power.



2. Ahhh the 80's strikes again. A decade of great music, and a style all its own. It was so great and influential that VHS or Beta is still living in it. It's so 80's that if it came out back then, it'd be the biggest album of the decade. Nothing is acoustic, noting natural, just dancing, head-bobbing, and plain ole' fun.
   
   It all gets started really with "Love In My Pocket," a catchy rock/dance song that really defines the style of the album. "Fall Down Lightly" is also in the same manner, and the only thing missing is a good 1234 before the chorus which you can't help but feel the energy, which may cause you to jump and dance along, even though it's rather sad if you read the lyrics. "Can't Believe A Single Word" is a great choice for a single, and also embodies the album with its rock/dance catchiness, which the band seems to do really well with.
   
   Here's a question, why is it that dance songs like to burn stuff down, like with "Burn It All Down?" Are arsonists also dancers/singers. Kidding aside, this sounds a whole lot like that Dead or Alive hit. Songs like "Time Stands Still" don't really hit their mark till the chorus, so for the rest of the song, you're stuck waiting for the song to get good.
   
   "Bring On The Comets" is an interesting departure from the rest of the album, and the song really shines at the end, as the whole song seems like it's building towards something. The highlight is also completely different from the rest of the album, "She Says" is an emotional song that brings it home with it's chorus, keeps you interested with the music, and the whole mood is perfect for the song.
   
   Overall, the songs get stale if the generally go over 4 minutes in length, and some of the songs are just OK, and nothing to write home about. But the songs I mentioned earlier are with the price of admission for this trip back in time, with a musical party that's great anybody that loves the 80's, and people who like dance/pop and even a little power pop.



3. A few fresh songs but many of the other tracks have a little too much 1980's synthesizer sound



4. This is the first time in a long time that I listened to a new CD and then played it again and listened to it a second time immediately. The music still makes you want to move while being complex and interesting enough so that you can sit still and listen to it as well, and the vocals and lyrics definitely work. This is a fantastic CD.



5. I admit, I rarely buy an album based on a single song, however I made an exception for "Bring on the Comets" after getting hooked by "Can't Believe a Single Word." At first I would b-line for the infectious single, but soon found myself listening through the entire album, which is surprisingly good when listened to as it was intended, with a strong tempo the rides throughout the length of the CD. Defiantly worth 10 bucks.

1 comments about Watch It Burn.

1. Cast Iron Hike's "Watch it Burn" is a little bit different than most of the stuff in my cd collection. The vocals are sung in a rock style, instead of shouted or screamed like most bands that play this style. The music consists of hardcore riffs and there is enough variety to keep it pretty interesting. I just really don't like the vocal style for this type of music. It's different anyway, as there aren't many bands that have a similar combination. I'm pretty sure this band has broken up now, but I really feel they could have came out with a great album if they would have added a more aggressive approach to contrast the rock n roll vocals. Still a pretty decent album all around though. They certainly aren't like the many other hardcore and oi bands that have come out of Boston. I'm suprised these guys weren't a little bigger considering they were on Victory Records. If you like these guys check out the band Withstand, who also play hardcore music with sung vocals.

5 comments about THE BESNARD LAKES ARE THE DARK.

1. Let me state upfront that I was unfamiliar with The Besnard Lakes until I heard them on the excellent internet indie rock station WOXY. After that I dove into the band's music and listened to their musical output so far. 2005's "Volume 1" was ok, but I have been charmed much more by this album. If you are not familiar with the band's sound, it's a concontion of My Morning Jacket meets the Beach Boys meets Godspeed You! Back Emperor, yea, for real.
   
   On "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse" (8 tracks, 45 min.), the band, fronted by the husband and wife team of Olga Goreas and Jace Lasek, expand very nicely on the early beginnings of the band. Check out the opener "Disaster", which goes back and forth between soft and harder-crunching music, intermixed with harmonizing vocals reminiscent of the Beach Boys. But in style it really reminds me more of My Morning Jacket era-Tennessee Fire and At Dawn, even though the music rocks, HARD at times. Other highlights on the album for me are the epic 7+ min. "And You Lied To Me", the Olga-fronted and hard charging "Devistation", and "Because Tonight", another 7+ min. tune. But in truth, there are no weak tracks on this album. The whole album clips along very nicely, and at 45 min. from beginning to end, you find yourself playing it again and again, can you have a better compliment to an album?
   
   The Besnard Lakes came to Cincinnati in early December (opening for Peter, Bjorn & John) and I was absolutly mesmorised how the songs of "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse" resonated in concert, even better than on the album, with a terrific "wall of sound". This is for me one of the surprise albums of the year. Highly recommended!



2. Interesting stuff..... Did you ever here one song from a band & your thoughts are Wow! Their other stuff must be great as well? I bought this because of For Agent 13, which is very, very cool & I see how some can compare this Canadian band to Sigur Ros & the like, but the cd is not very consistant to that particular sound. Disaster is very good as well, but some tracks are all over the place. I also wish that there were a bit more of the Brain Wilson harmonies that I keep hearing about, but you can clearly hear that there was some influence. Thats not to say its bad in any way just kind of different & it gets a little up beat for my taste, but I am into a more somber sound so others may like that tempo change? I always find it most helpful when reviewers compare to other bands so my best description would be......some of the older 4AD stuff, Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, & then some Earlimart, but most of all & I know this may sound crazy, but it also brings to mind Catherine Wheel, but again the sound changes too frequently so its difficult to perfectly describe the style. This the only reason its not a 5 star cd in my opinion, but well worth owning For track 2 alone.



3. this album took me by complete surprise. It was one of those a friend passed on to me in CDR format a few months ago and said one word - 'listen'. I had it on in the background several times, and I just droned out on it. Nothing caught me. But I revisited this album two weeks ago while driving from a friend's house at night, a looongg drive, one that gave me the opportunity to hear areas that might have escaped me before. And yeah, did ever anything so beautiful escape me before.
   There is something dark and foreboding about the album , not alone the dark horse on the cover, but I think the irony of the vocalists belting out tragi-comedic ramblings in the style of Brian Wilson was what grabbed my attention first. The surf quitar twanged and tremelo'd on the first track can distract you from the brilliance of the lyrics, which to someone who is not paying attention can sound like sincere snippets of 60's beatnik folkpolkery. But a little attention can go a long way, and if you hear it out from beginning to end you'll hear the full force of irony at work here. The opening track 'Disaster' is a stunner. From the lead's chiding you for 'waking up in the middle of the afternoon' to him telling you to 'gather up your lifes work and rip it to pieces' before a full on barbershop quartet of a chorus chimes in 'you've got disaster on your mind' -- now this opening is important because it gives you an example of how this album could have gone one way or another. The melody progresses to a climax, and we hear guitars distorting and coming up around the vocalist - and a lesser band would have driven the guitars all the way up and burst out into an explosion of sigur-ros like crescendo. At which point I would have promptly ejected the album and never listened to it again - why? Because I have heard enough bands like Mogwai and Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky build up to inevitable crescendo's using distorted and reverbed guitars designed for maximum emotion impact. But thankfully, and wisely, Besnard Lakes decide to go another route: Just as that opening breaks free and we expect to break with it into some massive wall of sound, instead we are given a sophisticated twang surf retro guitar which hovers over left and right speaker, melodious vocal harmonies floating disembodied in the background, and then the lead vocalist crooning 'baby come on' over and over again, to restrained and violent waves of Sophie Trudeu's violin - acting as though they wish to make a headlining appearance, but instead finding a content and meaningful place in the background.
   
   This opening track- and this problem is prevalent in other songs as well- suffers from lack of imagination in how to carry or end this wonderful sound they have built to. After the first chorus of 'disaster on your mind', the Lakes seem unable or unsure of how to move it forward, so they take the easy way out and crank it up a whole other notch, bringing it into the dreaded 'distorted-shoegaze-indie-chorus-cop-out' territory. Simple composition issues plague what would have otherwise been an easy five star record.
   
   The next tracks, For Agent 13 + And you Lied to Me both also contain the 'distorted shoegaze chorus', but succeed wildly with it in comparison to the first track.
   
   The album then breaks apart for a little bit, with standard indie pop tracks like 'Devastation' 'Ride the Rails' and particularly 'On Bedford and Grand' failing to live up to the standard presented to us on the first three tracks, but there are shining moments, such as 'Because Tonight' which ends with a triumphant Do Make Say Think pastoral conclusion with aid from Sophie's violins brazenly overtaking other musicians in their prominence, before the guitars finally win the war of instruments and carry the song to its sublime end.
   
   I also have a hot spot for Cedric's War - at least the last Beach-boys harmonizing part of the song - the lead up seems too much to function as simply that - a 'lead up', without much care or thought into the composition before the ecstatic area. I resent musicians who put so much weight in their climaxes they refuse to help the audience out by making the surrounding meat just as enticing.
   
   But what can I say, I love this album, despite its flaws. It's simply too wonderful to resist.
   
   Plus these Canadians get super cookie brownie points for sounding more 'Americana' than any American band making similar music right now.



4. Having been inundated with dated music, cliched artists and a dearth of musical creativity, stumbling upon The Besnard Lakes was a true pleasure. As already stated, you're sure to find more than a few references to noise pop/shoegazer music combined with lovely harmonies reminiscent of The Beach Boys, yet this hardly sums up the beauty of this CD. Intricate, moving, honest, simple and imaginative. Truly this is a band deserving fanfare aplenty. This CD won't disappoint you! (Also, I would like to recommend their first CD entitled "The Besnard Lakes - Volume I.)



5. And the only reason why it isn't my favorite is because Rush released one this year. Add that to some great 2007 sounds by the Arcade Fire and others, and Canada has really outdone itself in MMVII.
   
   The Besnard Lakes have come onto the scene with an excellent, excellent piece of work that I had the fortune to just buy on a whim during a visit to a local music store. It was playing on the speaker system, and my ears were piqued by the Floydian textures of the music. I asked what CD was playing and bought it even though I'd never heard of the band or the album in my life. That might have been because I bought it on its actual day of release.
   
   I've heard THE BESNARD LAKES ARE THE DARK HORSE described half a dozen different ways, all of them comparing it to existing bands. Yes, there's a lot of Pink Floyd influence, and The Beach Boys, and there's perhaps some Radiohead in the mix. I've heard Spiritualized as another comparison, but I don't listen to Spiritualized, so I can't comment. Where this indie outfit succeeds is in taking all of these wildly diverse sounds and creating something new with them.
   
   It's not immediately my kind of music. When I brought the CD home and listened to it for the first time, I found myself wondering why I wasted $15 on some spur-of-the-moment purchase...then I found myself playing it again...and again...and again...
   
   My favorite track is the epic "Because Tonight", with its swirling post-rock sounds and building, climactic middle section (I'm a sucker for those, maybe because they remind me of two of my favorite albums, THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON and ABBEY ROAD).
   
   Apparently, THE BESNARD LAKES ARE THE DARK HORSE is up for the Polaris Award against such prestigious contenders as Arcade Fire's NEON BIBLE and Feist's THE REMINDER. While I enjoy NEON BIBLE and I've liked the little Feist I've heard, I have to say that in my opinion, this dark horse deserves that award. It's a truly epic masterpiece, and I have the sneaking suspicion that The Besnard Lakes are destined for even greater achievements in future.

5 comments about Black Dots.

1. I love all of Bad Brains stuff, and I'd say that they are one of the most intense group of musicians ever to grace hardcore punk. While later Bad Brains albums went more towards heavy metal and reggae, this album exemplified good hardcore and reggae. Possibly the best Bad Brains album, but it doesn't really sound like a Bad Brains album.



2. Unlike most of the (hardcore) recorded output of this band (up to "Rock For Light" anyway). Though it's GREAT to hear them just play sped up 70's american punk. Very much in the vein of the grittier punk acts of the american East Coast of 1979 (you hear NO THUNDERS, but plenty of DEAD BOYS).



3. I don't know how I missed this one when it was first released! I had just figured it was the newer line-up who brought us "Rise". I must not have looked very close.
   
   This album really rocks... but not in the Bad Brains punk way--more like Stooges... call it pre-punk. Some of the arrangements here almost sound like another band covering Bad Brains. Not that different, but it's really odd for me to hear these tracks having listened to their other stuff for so long. It's sort of like if you only heard "Rock for Light" and then years later heard their first release ("Bad Brains"). But in that case, the difference is subtle... here it's a big jump into the roots that I didn't even know existed.
   
   The recording quality is quite good. Not only because you wouldn't expect much from a 4-track early Bad Brains. It's definitely better than "Bad Brains".
   
   I can't stop listening to this--so many great versions: "Supertouch", "Banned in D.C.", "How Low Can a Punk Get?"... and "Don't Bother Me" is cool because it was reworked later. I will say that H.R. is just a tad reserved. Instead of just off the wall wild screams it's closer to "yeah yeah yeah" in-between the main lyrics... where, in later recordings, he's inserting yells from another world. But that's a pretty minor nit-pick. As an aging punk maybe I'm not hard to impress--but this is the best music purchase I've made in a long while. I had to wait a few weeks before writing this review because I'm often suspect when I really dig a CD on the first listen--but this one hasn't worn off at all.



4. This has got to be one of my favorite of all the records these guys have done... It's all material from their early years, and it has all of the same energy & drive that you would expect from one of the first & most influential punk bands of all time. Don't get me wrong, I love most of the stuff they did in the last few recordings they did as the original members, but all the releases have a different sound; none really better or worse than the others. If you're looking for a more metal/punk sound, I would suggest to listen to 'Quickness' or 'I against I', since this release has a much more raw punk feel to it.



5. This is the Bad Brains as early as you can find it - 1979, recording a live demo at Don Zientara's (who later became the legendary producer/engineer of Minor Threat, Fugazi, and just about everything important to come from DC) fledgling Inner Ear studios. The band members all set up in different rooms, leaving H.R. having to stand outside to prevent track bleeding. You can hear crickets from Don's yard coming through his microphone between tracks. It doesn't get any more real than this.
   
   Before Rastafarianism, dreadlocks, metal, and even reggae (for the most part), this is the Bad Brains SLAMMING through a full set list of TOP NOTCH hardcore punk of a quality that has scarcely been achieved by ANYONE - in fact, one of the few who DID manage to best it were the Bad Brains themselves on their 1982 self-titled album.
   
   There are some classic Brains tracks on here that you may know already, but they're not the same. They're slightly slower (don't take that as "slow") which is sometimes good and sometimes bad in retrospect. If you're used to "Don't Need It" from the first album being the fastest song in the world, you may be a bit disappointed by its more "free" sounding pace here. However, if you're a guitarist, this may be your only hope for finding out what the riff actually IS. (I know it's been a blessing to me.)
   
   Some songs are much better in their versions here, though. Prime example---"How Low Can A Punk Get." It's "just-right" fast on here, not the overly thrashing version on "Rock for Light," and sounds a thousand times more menacing and convincing than that version ever could hope to. "Don't Bother Me," which was later re-worked on the "Quickness" LP, is contained here in its original, ULTRA-raw version, and will certainly have your eyes bulged in amazement by the end with the heavy realization that you just heard what might be the greatest punk song ever (that no one has ever heard). Also, the way-ahead-of-its-time sludge breakdown on "S***fit" may sound even HEAVIER here than it does on the self-titled!
   
   It's also cool to hear some of the stuff on here that the Brains later dropped - there are some bluesy, Jimi Hendrix-to-the-bone parts that show up for fractured moments of time; the reggae on here sounds more like lovers' rock than dread or dub; and "Redbone In The City" finds HR doing a hilariously unexpected Johnny Rotten impersonation.
   
   If you're a fan of punk rock or the Bad Brains to any level or degree, you cannot go wrong with this demo. Pick it up and get a mind-numbing history lesson from the best in the game.

No comments about Salute Your Solution.

5 comments about Vitalogy.

1. If you are just discovering pearl jam, this album is not for you at first. It still has some rock tunes like SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE, CORDUROY, LAST EXIT, SATAN'S BED, NOT FOR YOU, BETTER MAN, WHIPPING. There is some experiemental stuff on here, like BUGS, AYE DAVAITA, PRY TO, and FOXYMOP HANDLE ITS ME. One other hit is TREMOR CHRIST, it charted at number 18 on the hot 100 but is now largely forgotten. But I do recomend buying this after you buy their first two records TEN and VS



2. Pearl Jam-Vitalogy ***1/2
   
   Sorry but Vitalogy is far from being Pearl Jam's best album. I just can't for the life of me understand how this has developed the reputation it has. Of the first four albums from the band this is the weakest. Vedder's lyrics are nice here but fail to evoke anything. The band here sounds great but at the same time this album seriously feels like they are trying to be The Replacements. This sounds and feels a lot like The Replacements first album Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash.
   
   'Last Exit' and 'Spin The Black Circle' are two of the best songs on the album, but they are also the two songs on the album that sound the most like The Replacements, which is fine with me as The Replacements are truly one of the greatest bands of all time. 'Not For You' and the erratic 'Tremor Christ' once again find the boys sounding like The 'Mats. But this time toward the end of The Replacements career rather than the start. 'Nothingman' might be the best song on the album, and it remarkably sounds nothing like anyone other than Pearl Jam, which is a good thing. 'Bugs' is nonsense an a serious misstep for Eddie Vedder, and the accordion is over-kill and down right annoying after the first three notes. 'Better Man' is the big single of the album and one of Pearl Jams greatest songs, and one that personally scares the junk out of me. The thought of being in a false relationship with someone who claims to love you but doesn't, that is scary. The rest of the album is hit or miss for me and mostly ends up being miss.
   
   Now it was one thing when The Ramones became a parody of themselves in the 1980's but Pearl Jam didn't even do that, they became a parody of the original flannel wearing Replacements, and so early in their career. Sad. Vitalogy is an album worth owning as the good material is really good, but for the casual PJ fan your better of with Yeild, or their self titled, and Vs.



3. An improvement over VS but still not a very good album. One or two good tunes the rest is just stupid studio retardation with accordians and sound effects.....not Pearl Jam of the TEN era.



4. This is an interesting record. Lot of experimentation, in fact more so than on any other Pearl Jam record. Now, there are "modern classic rock" songs that are the group's stock in trade and actually come off sounding quite excellent as far as resting on laurels go ("Last Exit"; "Spin the Black Circle"; "Not For You"; "Corduroy"; "Tremor Christ"), and the massive hit "Betterman", aptly described by the group's producer as a "Blatantly great pop song" - sure, it was annoyingly overplayed in its time, but it's much easier to appreciate now than it was back then, and I think it's my favorite of the group's songs (that ending is so perfect!): the similar sounding "Nothingman" is another strong point. Then there's some useless annoying stuff, like "Whipping" and "Pry, To" (which is short, thank god), as well as idiotic experiments like the polka "Bugs" (What the WTF is the point of that?), the bizarre "Satan's Bed" ("I want to suck Satan's dick" is a real lyric from that song! Now, that's just screwed, I'm sorry), the Latin-funk "Aye Davanita", and the sound collage "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Stupid" (note how I combined the song's two titles! Oh yes...) - sort of like an alt-rock "Revolution 9", and just as bad as that "song", too. The power-ballad "Immortality" is a keeper, though



5. Want singles and hits? You've got em.
   Rockers: "Last Exit", "Spin the Black Circle", "Not For You", "Corduroy", and "Immortality"
   Mid-tempo hits: "Nothingman" and "Better Man".
   And even: "Tremor Christ"
   
   This is an excellent album with everything you have come to expect from Pearl Jam. Really, their first three albums were a dynamic trilogy that will always be their best work. They have continued to make strong music, but have released more experimental stuff in recent years, and have sort of become the new Grateful Dead, in a way.
   
   This is a must-own album for any fans of rock music, hard rock, and the Seattle sound of the 90s.

5 comments about Ill Communication.

1. Out of the five original albums, the golden years, this stands as being their second worst. It's got plenty of cool tracks, but some of the tracks aren't great either. There isn't many horrible songs on this album besides Sabatoge (which sucks), but songs like Do It, The Scoop (?), Ricky's Theme, these songs just aren't up to snuff, and forgettable. I won't waste your time explaining ever single ________ detail or how they changed their sound They definitely, however, added more though, they tried new things and made plenty of cool experiments and new styles. Just trust me on that one. Track listing time (______!).
   
   1.Sure Shot-They don't fail with this one. Great flute sample, and the beat is great and heavy.
   2.Tough Guy-Nice break, but it's nothing too special. Nowhere in the calibur of hardcore punk bands like Minor Threat or Black Flag.
   3.B-Boys Making with the Freak Freak-Totally unconvential and funky rap song. The "stick my _____ in the mashed potatoes" line is gold, and then goes back to the chorus repeating the title of the track. Nice!
   4.Bobo On The Corner-Can you ________ imagine Eric Bobo (percussionist from Cypress Hill) playing on a rainy urban corner?
   5.Root Down-One Phrase: "Oh My God That's the funky _______". That alone is enough.
   6.Sabatoge-Despite it's trying to rock stature, this song is an all around ______ fest. I'm not going to lie, I hate this song.
   7.Get It Together-If Q-Tip (from ATCQ!) trading lines with the Beastie Boys sounds appealing to you, listen to this song. Even if you haven't, listen anyway.
   8.Sabrosa-Jazz-Funk Music for $#%.'
   9.The Update-A crashing drumbeat, snaking bassline, keyboards, and a percussion-lauded beat. And "Children Of the Ark!" sampled!
   10.Futterman's Rule-A cool mish-mash of... ________! Too bad it doesn't have much of a soul, until conjuring up breathtaking scenes in the brain. Great track.
   11.Alright Here This-One of my favorites. Great beat.
   12.Eugene's Lament-Weepy Violins and hip-hop beats.
   13.Flute Loop-Kind of like Sure Shot, only short. BOOO!
   14.Do It-It's funky and sounds good once in a while, but it's just mediocre, standard Beastie Boys track.
   15.Ricky's Theme-Totally boring, souless instrumental.
   16.Heart Attack Man-A better hardcore punk song than Tough Guy, but still not mind blowing.
   17.The Scoop-See #14. It's, however, a bit better.
   18.Shambala-See 10#. Only the style is actually rooted in Chinese music. Yes, it's Buddhism, and sets the tone for...
   19.Bodhisattva Vow-With monk chants floating over a smooth beat, MCA raps about his finding of Buddhism. The Style is kind of meh, since I really don't give a _______ about Buddah. But the Chinese Percussion instruments crashing sample is simply ________ sweet. May be one of the coolest things on A Beastie Boys record. Yeah! *Applause*
   20.Transitions-To end the album, here's a cool instrumental. Just what I need from the last track.
   
   Sounds great enough right? There's enough on this album to last you a while, as it's almost an hour. I'll let you do the rest, but there's definitely some great music on this album. Greatly reccomended, if that works.
   
   8.0/10



2. These jew boys bring on the fizzle. you know what i'm talkin' bout? I'm mean the hip-hop flippy di flop jizzle on my tizzle, just that tasty white boy funk straight from da bronx. you best check it out. homeskillit.



3. Arguably their greatest album ever.It's has so many different musical styles it's unbelieveble.Many consider Check Your Head a better effort but this is as good as they ever got.This album gets my personal vote for best album of 1994.



4. you have great jazz work,lyrical work,and good hardcore tracks what else could you want?If your new to this then pick this up.



5. I know what you're thinking. "Eggplant giving a hip-hop album not only higher than one star, but FIVE?!?" People, people. This is not just a hip-hop album. "Ill Communication" offers not only GOOD hip-hop, but funk, punk, rock, jazz, fusion, et cetera, in one fresh-sounding album that's always good to listen to. This just might be my favorite Beastie Boys album (and I have all but "To The Five Boroughs").
   
   It may be eleven years old now, but "Ill Communication" may as well have been recorded yesterday. It doesn't sound dated at all. The hip-hop songs, like all of the Beasties' work, is actually damn good and fun (Good rap! Who'da thunk it?), with catchy samples and beats (check out the infectious flutes in "Sure Shot" and "Flute Loop", not to mention that funky bassline in "Root Down"), you also get some nice, mellow instrumental numbers ("Ricky's Theme", "Bobo On The Corner", et cetera), two energetic punk songs ("Tough Guy" and the humorous "Heart Attack Man"), and all kinds of other assorted influence, here in one nice little package... let's not forget the album's biggest hit, the rocker "Sabotage", with its memorable music video.
   
   Buy it if you're sick of the Kayne Wests of the world. No wonder I listened to the old tape I had of this so religiously back in seventh grade.

1 comments about In the Flat Field.

1. This debut album from Bauhaus .is seminal in terms of launching what was then a form of punk unclassified and yet undetermined, but never the less important and beyond all other influences at the time. From art student and what?, a tin can, half realized punk band, what formed between the four members, specifically Murphy and Ash was pure magic. Japan came close to this style, butr not really. They just didin't get how wonderful the dark edges could be as a creative tool. I miss the band but am glad about all my experiences regarding my childhood and Bauhaus.

5 comments about AROUND THE SUN.

1. The album should of been titled "Around the Sun" by Michael Stipe. Peter Buck's guitar chimes through here and there but you can tell his heart just isn't into it. Half of the album sounds "similar" and may induce drowsiness. Also by the end you may want to throw Stipe off of his 'High Speed Train' as his lyrics which used to be sublime are now so upfront that they are annoying.
   
   With that said Around the Sun does have some beautiful melodies buried within. After quickly burning out on Accelerate I decided one evening to re-visit this album. Wow, it's like nectar to the ears. Accelerate is produced in such a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am manner that repeated listenings are somewhat painful. Around the Sun on the other hand washes over you like a chrysanthemum bath of notes. At it's best the melodies are haunting yet soothing.
   
   In the end however the album feels like a mis-fire. It can't make up it's mind if it's angry or just melancholy. In the end it's both. With Around the Sun, R.E.M. has proved again the mastery of their craft. Yet the album is a benign effort that is sadly irrelevant as much as it tries.



2. im always surprised by the mixed reviews for this album. i think r.e.m. lost its fan base because they started doing krautrock on Up and Stipe came out which pissed off their mostly yuppie/ex-frat hetero fan base they picked up with Out of Time, but its not because the music started to suck. There are moments on this album that equal that of any r.e.m. album which is saying a lot. "The Outsiders" is a brilliant song, along with "Electron Blue", "Boy in the Well" and "Worst Joke Ever" - the entire album is stunning in that almost every song sounds like it was effortlessly written and recorded plus the melodies are really imaginative and catchy. I think some of these critics are spoiled by the high quality of r.e.m.'s work and if they're not emotionally overwhelmed after listening to a new record they get disappointed - but how many records can you say that about?



3. Because nothing interesting was going on. Unfortunately, our imaginations failed us, so we recorded that boredom. I dunno who was pulling REM's strings this time, but from the out-of-focus cover photo, it seems they couldn't care less who actually made the record, and just assumed the label would sell it well. Obviously, that's not case, as this is (I think) REM's worst selling record ever. Why?
   
   Because, quite frankly, it sucks. `It's the End of the World as We Know It' was the song that originally turned me on to Rock, back in the early 90s. Fast pace, weird lyrics, madcap feel. None of that is present here. Even the *coff* highlight, Electron Blue, sounds like a rehash of Electrolite. I nearly cried when I heard this album, it's really that bad. Fortunately, Accelerate is FAR better, so hopefully they'll continue that upwards trend.



4. There are 2 amazing songs ("Leaving New York" and the title track) on this album. "Electron Blue," "I Wanted To Be Wrong" and "Ascent of Man" are also extremely good. The remaining tracks are all also solid and could fit easily as a change of pace tune onto even the best REM albums. Why only two stars then? "Around the Sun" is a collection of change of pace songs. Throw them together, and you have a beautiful, long snooze fest.



5. Not much to say about this one. The band itself thinks it's crappy! Nuf said. So much better available from REM. I'm a fan from their earliest days, but also like their early to even mid 90's stuff, so I am a fan...but this should never have been released (given the fact that they were not happy with it, knew it was bad).

5 comments about Greatest Hits.

1. I stumbled upon this the other day and of course grabbed it up. This is a great collection and well worth having, especially for existing fans of the band.
   
   I gave it 4 stars because 1) it could have had another half dozen songs on it, 2) some of their best were left off and some that were included weren't their best, and 3) some of the songs are not the original recorded versions and this should have been disclosed up front.
   
   That said, I think it's GREAT that they have included alternate recorded versions on this disk! They are closer to well recorded demos than fully polished studio cuts, but that's a cool thing in my book. They are well done but fairly bare bones - the real band without a lot of studio fakery & polishing. VERY cool. I'm more interested in THAT, then just another best of with the same versions I already own.
   
   And the new track is cool as well!!!
   
   WORTH BUYING!



2. I didn't want to buy this, but I knew I would. I have every other album and Mike's solo work as well. I never miss a chance to them in concert whenever they are within 100 miles (and sometimes farther).
   
   I also have this theory that once a band releases a "Greatest Hits" collection they are essentially done making anymore good music. I'm hoping that Social D is the exception.
   
   The classics are here and they sound okay, but once you compare them with the original versions (so easy to do when it's all in your iTunes) you'll find that these re-recorded versions lack the depth and feeling of the originals.



3. If you have not heard much Social D. Buy this album. Well worth it.



4. Social Distortion is a fantastic group of musicians that have fused punk and country to make their own, original sound. This compilation contains several of their greatest hits, including "Reach for the Sky", a piece so transcendent I plan on having it played at my funeral.
   
   The only complaints I have are twofold: One, that several great songs of theirs were left off the album. Where are "Broke Down in Bakersfield" and "Nickles and Dimes", two songs that deserved to be included?
   
   The second is that the cover art on the album is just wierd, consisting of a masked man with a gun. What does that have to do with their music? Who chose that image?
   
   This is a worthy effort that will please Social D fans, but it could have been better.



5. Of course all of the oldies are still great, but the new single on this album is great. Still sounds like pure S.D.