Mus News

Music Review: The Jacksons - iDestiny/i

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:06:37 +0000

pLong before he was the center of many various controversies, Michael Jackson led his group of brothers through what essentially served as a foundation for his early solo career. Released less than a year before Michael#39;s 1979 adult break-through, Off the Wall, The Jacksons reached a new level of success with Destiny. Arriving almost in time to celebrate its 30th anniversary, Epic/Legacy has reissued the album on CD featuring sterling remastered audio. /p pAn RIAA-certified platinum album, Destiny holds up today as a fresh and danceable collection of tunes that showcases the natural brilliance of Michael Jackson. Jermaine Jackson had left the group by this point to pursue his solo career. Tito, Jackie, Marlon, and Randy don#39;t contribute as frequently to the vocals as Micheal, but their presence as harmony singers remains strong. Michael contributes the lion#39;s share of lead vocals here, which makes this release a must-have for his fans. It really is refreshing to look back on an era when Jackson#39;s name was synonymous with music rather than tabloid headlines./p pHighlights include the only non-original track, quot;Blame It On the Boogie,quot; which was a significant Ramp;B hit. Interestingly, the songwriting credits for the track include two different Jacksons, neither of which are any relation to the group. The tightest groove (and biggest hit) is quot;Shake Your Body (Down To the Ground).quot; This is an electrifying dance track, easily earning its place on numerous best-of compilations. The title track, a country-tinged soul ballad, is another favorite. The acoustic guitar work provides a nice change of pace from the rest of the album. quot;Push Me Awayquot; is a tender slow jam, beautifully sung by Michael. The ensemble vocals on quot;Bless His Soulquot; are a prime reminder of how potent The Jacksons were./p pThere are two bonus tracks included on this reissue, neither of which is particularly revelatory. Even so, these dance mixes of the two best known tracks, quot;Blame It On the Boogiequot; and quot;Shake Your Body (Down To the Ground),quot; are nice to have for collectors and completists. I wouldn#39;t say that either of them improves upon the original, but they provide nice alternate versions. The remastered sound throughout ensures that this album sounds right at home in 2009, with buoyant bass lines popping from the speakers. New liner notes allow for a closer look at Destiny, an under-appreciated classic of #39;70s Ramp;B. /p br

Concert Review: Soilwork w/ Darkane, Warbringer, Swallow the Sun, Downfire (Poughkeepsie, 2/13/09)

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:03:52 +0000

pIt was the best of times; it was the worst of times; it was the most heavily European-flavored show I think I have ever been to. It was a night that was highly invigorating and helped get my 2009 concert series off with a bang. I was beginning to feel a bit deprived of live music, having not been to a show since mid-December when I saw The Misfits. I have to say that it was great to be back in the club watching live metal and drinking a beer. The crowds, the equipment, the bustle of stage hands and sound guys, it is always an experience./p pI arrived at the Chance shortly pastnbsp; eight PM and got at the end of the slow moving line. Somehow I knew it was going to be a mistake to show up so late. Of course, I was not expecting the line to be moving quite so slowly. It would not have been so bad had the wind not been whipping through the alley leading to the entrance./p pBy the time I got inside, my friends in Downfire were nearly finished with their set. This is the second time in a row that I have either missed all or part of a Downfire set. Hopefully, the same thing won#39;t happen when I go to see them again on 2/28. Still, thenbsp; one song I got to hear most of sounded great. These heavy hard rockers definitely know how to put on a solid show. I also got to see them with their newest member, bassist Jim Norton, an incredible player I have seen play with a number of acts and looks to be a good fit here. I am looking forward to actually seeing them play a whole set in the near future./p pThe next band fails from Finland, Swallow the Sun. Their style has been called a cross between Melodic Death and Doom metal. I am not the most knowledgeable when it comes to genres, but from what I heard, that sounds about right. When the six-piece first took the stage, with five members lined up across the front of the equipment-crowded stage, I cannot say I was immediately wowed by them, but by the end of their half-hour set, I was looking to sign on as a fan. I believe my initial indifference had to do with a muddy sounding mix. It was hard to really distinguish what they were doing. That was rectified rather quickly and as the mix came into focus, so did the band, and the result was something else. Their sound is heavy, atmospheric, and aggressive. They are led by a think wall of sound that lay the bed for their dark music. Particularly impressive was their drummer, Pasi Pasanen, the guy all over the kit and it sounded great./p pSwallow the Sun ended their set and the stage was set up for a little bit of an American flavor. Warbringer was preparing to bring some thrash to the stage, and I was ready for it. This is the main band I was looking forward to seeing this evening and to make it a little special, I ventured from my usual safe distance into the pit area in front of the stage./p br

Kanye West Says ‘Best Hip-Hop Beats Of All Time’ Will Be On Jay-Z’s iThe Blueprint 3/i

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:37:54 +0000

p p Another Jay-Z song leaked online last month #8212; that's OK, just make some more. Kanye West says he's just a handful of records away from finishing Jay's The Blueprint 3, again. /ppI finished his album and he released four songs that were potentially gonna be on the album, West said last week on Sway and King Tech's Wake Up Show. So I gotta go back and do four. I just did one beat the other day in Hawaii #8212; probably one of the best hip-hop beats of all time, if I do say so myself. I just gotta do three more beats and we're done, 'cause he's got classics. He's got songs that are better than any of the things you've heard leaked. /ppTwo records that Kanye says should make B3's final cut are Everyday a Star is Born and Forever Young. /ppYou know what it was #8212; every year I do two albums' worth of really dope beats, he explained. This year, Common did his album with Pharrell, and I did 808s amp; Heartbreak and Blueprint 3. So just imagine the caliber of beats on the last two Common albums I did #8212; Jay-Z has those types of beats. Those caliber of beats. A beat like 'The People,' that's the highest caliber of beat. /ppIn 2009, at least one album's worth of beats looks like it will be set aside for a Kanye LP. /ppI'm just gonna do what I'm gonna do and people are gonna love it because I do really fresh sh--, he laughed. When I do it, I feel like I'm gonna rap, I'm gonna go back-and-forth on it. I feel like I'm gonna sing here and there. Because I used Auto-Tune so much, it put me in the mode of doing melodies. I got a new song coming out with Beyonc#233; called 'Ego.' I don't know why she wanted me on it. I didn't use Auto-Tune, but I hit certain lines because I used it so much it's like almost having training wheels. So it's incorporating new styles. /ppKanye doesn't have a release date for his LP, and there's no firm date for The Blueprint 3, either. /p /p br

Music DVD Review: The Lee Boys - iThe Lee Boys Live At Bonnaroo/i

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:46:54 +0000

pNormally when you think of steel guitar, especially pedal steel guitar, the last thing in the world that's going to come to mind is African American gospel music. A country gospel tune like Will The Circle Be Unbroken sure, but you don't ever expect to hear one playing in one of those earth shaking, hip swinging gospel choirs that inspired today's funk, soul, and blues musicians. Yet if you were a congregation member of The House Of God, Keith Dominion churches, steel guitar in shape or another is exactly what you'd have been hearing since the 1930's./p pSacred steel music was born out of the popularity of the Hawaiian Steel guitar in the early part of the twentieth century. Two brothers, Troman and Willie Eason were responsible for bringing the steel guitar to the House of God services in the 1930's. While Troman had learned how to play in the Hawaiian style, Willie had not had any formal training and simply played the music he was familiar with on this guitar. From such humble beginnings a genre was born./p pThe Lee Boys are a family group consisting of three brothers; Alvin (guitar), Derrick, and Keith (vocals) and three nephews; Roosevelt Collier (pedal steel guitar), Alvin Cordy Jr. (7 string bass), and Earl Walker (drums). They each grew up making music in a House of God congregation in Perrine Fl. where the brother's father was pastor and steel player. Having been playing together, or individually, in the church since they were seven they've not only developed into proficient musicians but have also learned the key elements for staging a successful show. You don't need to look any further than their new DVD release Live At Bonnaroo for evidence of just how impressive they are.br/ img src=http://musnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/52621.jpg /br/ Sunday mornings at folk festivals were reserved for gospel groups from all over, and I guess Bonnaroo is keeping up that tradition as this recording is of a Sunday morning performance The Lee Boys gave at last year's festival. Now I can't think of a tougher time, or a harder audience to play for, than the Sunday morning of a festival. Half the crowd is either recovering from the night before, if they've even gone to bed yet, and the other half are just wandering onto the site and getting their bearings. A band has to be pretty special and be able to deliver a red hot performance in order to first grab, and then hold, this type of audience's attention for the length of the concert./p br

International News: MIA to play Grammys on her due date

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:30:03 +0000

Proving her undying commitment to her art вЂ“ or perhaps not wanting to turn down the biggest publicity opportunity of her career? вЂ“ M.I.A. has confirmed sheвЂ™ll perform at the American music industryвЂ™s night of nights this weekend, the Grammy Awards, on Sunday February 8th. What makes that so special? M.I.A. is literally due to give birth to her first child on the very same day.

M.I.A. is up for Record Of The Year, with her track Paper Planes having climbed the Billboard charts in 2008 thanks to its inclusion on the soundtrack for Seth RogenвЂ™s stoner flick Pineapple Express. ItвЂ™s an interesting turn of events for the ever-fashionable MC, considering only a few years back she was denied entry to the US because of her fatherвЂ™s questionable history as a вЂ?terroristвЂ™ (he was a member of revolutionary Sri Lankan group the Tamil Tigers).