It’s been 28 long years since David Lee Roth recorded an album with Van Halen, and most fans had given up hope they’d ever see the rock titans reunite. They got together briefly in the mid 90s to record a couple tracks for a greatest hits compilation, before that reunion combusted under the most acrimonious [...]
Archive for the ‘Album Reviews’ Category
Album review: Rolling Stones, Some Girls (deluxe edition)
Posted: November 26, 2011 in Album Reviews, Odds and SodsMost Rolling Stones enthusiasts would agree about the band’s golden period – the four-album classic stretch from 1968 to 1972 where the band produced Beggars’ Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street. I can’t argue with that assessment, as I’ve always viewed Mick Taylor to be the band’s greatest lead guitarist [...]
The latest album from Atlanta heavy metal outfit Mastodon is a masterwork, simply speaking. These guys are so talented, and they seem to get better with every offering. Their new album is unlike the rest of their catalogue in that they eschew mega-epic tunes for more concise but still heavy-hitting fare. The album kicks off [...]
SuperHeavy is a supergroup containing five artists from distinctly different backgrounds and age groups. A project conceived by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and his producer buddy and former Eurythmic Dave Stewart, the group brings together a variety of sounds that wouldn’t necessarily always mesh. Reggae toaster and Bob Marley’s youngest son Damian Marley, neo-soul [...]
The much anticipated fourth installment of Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter series took a long time to make. Some of the delay had to do with Weezy’s legal troubles, as he spent a year in jail on a gun charge. Another reason for the delay was the constant tweaking of the material, subbing songs in and [...]
Ever since a young Kanye West supplied Jay-Z with some great beats on his classic 2001 album The Blueprint, the pair have been friends. They’ve each appeared on each other’s albums, while Kanye has continued to provide killer beats for Jay-Z while absolutely taking off in his own right as a solo artist. Now both [...]
Incubus, If Not Now, When: The seventh album from alt-rock veterans Incubus is unlike any other in its catalogue. For the most part, the guitars are turned down, revealing the band’s softer side on the album’s title track and single “Promises, Promises.” There’s the left-field experimentalism of “In the Company of Wolves,” the album’s longest [...]
I grew up listening to the Cars. Their lifespan as a band (1978-1987) coincided with my formative years, the years I really got into music. Their feel-good tunes were always on the radio, songs such as “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “Good Times Roll,” “Let’s Go,” “You Might Think” and “Drive.” The band had a gift [...]
It’s been seven long years since the Beastie Boys last graced us with their presence (no, I’m not counting that all-instrumental album they did in 2007), which isn’t all that surprising since the Beasties always take a long time between releases. They had a good excuse this time, though. They were ready to unleash Hot [...]
There’s a definite 90s alt-rock feel to Foo Fighter’s seventh album, Wasting Light. Butch Vig, producer of Nirvana’s classic Nevermind, joins forces with Dave Grohl again to man the boards for the latest release. Pat Smear, a late-era member of Nirvana and an early member of Foo Fighters, returns to the band for the first [...]
