http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/ York Press /leisure/cdreviews/ en-gb Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:31:23 +0100 Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:31:23 +0100 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/rssterms/ M6 nvincent@newsquest.co.uk (Nigel Vincent) webmaster@digitalmedia.newsquest.co.uk (Tim Joy) http://www.thepress.co.uk/resources/images/178952/?type=rsslogo http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/ http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4473963.Britney_Spears__For_The_Record_DVD__Freemantle____/?ref=rss PUBLICLY, Britney Spears has screamed that she is unhappy with her life, by shaving her tresses, and in song on Piece of Me. So why on earth would Ms Spears agree to the making and transmission of For The Record – a warts-and-all documentary? Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:51:30 +0100 08c5a187af047eb6ebe4b843d3fa55a5 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4473966.The_Mars_Volta__Octahedron__Mercury_Records____/?ref=rss BEING dubbed the saviours of prog-rock is a poisoned chalice if ever there was one, but that’s the accolade which has come the way of The Mars Volta. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:52:30 +0100 6c3f1d4df923c488963377e242934408 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4473971.Moby__Wait_For_Me__Mite_____/?ref=rss MOBY heads back to basics for his ninth album, reportedly putting it together in his bedroom with his mates. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:53:35 +0100 7620b2b40b2a6f681a361ba7a7fa4865 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4473977.Roberto_Fonseca__Akokan___Enja______/?ref=rss THE fantastic Cuban pianist follows up his acclaimed debut, Zamazu, with another album of note – or, perhaps, notes, as he possesses a furious playing ability and can certainly pack them in. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:54:44 +0100 3761050c70532d9dddbc10e2031d0a89 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4473981.La_Roux__La_Roux__Polydor_______Gossip___Music_For_Men__Columbia_____/?ref=rss BETH Ditto, Gossip’s lead singer, and Eleanor “Elly” Jackson (La Roux) are at the eye of the biggest fashion tornado since Spice Girls mania. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:55:30 +0100 f429b467d98de7ddd7c0d6113e68ca03 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4473961.Ray_Davies_and_the_Crouch_End_Festival_Chorus__The_Kinks_Choral_Collection__Decca_____/?ref=rss THE prospect of an album of Kinks hits sung by a festival chorus suggests an enthralling musical experience – or something that might fall flat on its face. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:50:32 +0100 abf746f3b0961b76fc5e50ba9416f39a http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4461059.Patrick_Wolf__The_Bachelor__Chrysalis______/?ref=rss THIS reviewing lark always has the capacity to surprise and Patrick Wolf’s fourth recording does that in bundles. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:21:14 +0100 d658aff26ec1b4d1db935dab03b3beee http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4461063.Black_Eyed_Peas__The_E_N_D___Interscope_____/?ref=rss The Black Eyed Peas (BEP, to their fans) are for some the hottest pop band in the world today. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:21:47 +0100 3a09bfbb3520f53dea26ff9d33882363 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4461037.God_Help_The_Girl__Rough_Trade________Malcolm_Middleton__Waxing_Gibbous__Full_Time_Hobby_____/?ref=rss GOD Help The Girl is “a story set to music”. The story is unclear, so the real story is that Belle & Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch has found a way to express himself through other, predominantly female voices. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:17:08 +0100 a4d9eca5ca03b6b91d02c8cc2b7c47ee http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4461041.George_Harrison__Let_It_Roll__Songs_By_George_Harrison__Capitol_EMI______/?ref=rss Although John Lennon and Paul McCartney didn’t like to admit it, George Harrison’s superb songs often defined a Beatles album. Something on Abbey Road and While My Guitar Gently Weeps on The White Album were arguably their finest tracks, while Revolver and Sgt Pepper would have been severely diminished without Taxman and Within You, Without You respectively. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:17:48 +0100 923a7addb23cd58c4b7fbf1271bfc200 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4461045.Bruce_Springsteen___The_E_Street_Band__Greatest_Hits__Sony________for_the_music__docked_____for_cashing_in_/?ref=rss WHEN it comes to opportunism, Bruce Springsteen’s record company could teach Gordon Gekko a few things. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:18:35 +0100 e2210e73d84ced388f93f0edee5523a8 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4461050.The_Panics__Cruel_Guards___Publica_Records_____/?ref=rss ANTIPODEAN POP has long been popular over here, often tuneful, accessible and down-to-earth. The Panics are the latest in the line of pretenders. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:19:26 +0100 6b8eb61bac74bb3a4d4a7bbf65b855cb http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4461058.The_Proclaimers__Notes___Rhymes__Universal_UMC______/?ref=rss CRAIG and Charlie Reid – you tend to either love or loathe the singing twins from Leith. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:20:37 +0100 508f34cee0a6f77b7d08ec974e655d69 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4447843.The_Airborne_Toxic_Event__The_Airborne_Toxic_Event__Mercury_Records___/?ref=rss AFTER a kicking in the US music press, The Airborne Toxic Event fought their corner with an eloquent and courageous open letter of defence. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:25:23 +0100 a0d6274d05485d2edfa30571a497e509 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4447848.Morton_Valence__Bob_And_Veronica_Ride_Again__Autonomy_____/?ref=rss WIDELY tipped as the next big thing, Morton Valence has been bubbling under since the turn of the decade. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:26:05 +0100 62237fb71e33b1c8e7f011f52882154b http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4447850.Gomez__A_New_Tide__Eat_Sleep_Records______/?ref=rss ALL the distinctive Gomez elements are present on their sixth studio album. Eleven years after this band marked their arrival with Bring It On, sounding like young lads who had overdosed on their fathers’ record collections, this British band with the American sound has moved in and out of notice. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:26:43 +0100 a9b79586db1246df27b4c9341be534ac http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4447853.Eels__Hombre_Lobo__12_Songs_Of_Desire__Vagrant_Polydor______Jason_Lytle__Yours_Truly__The_Commuter__Anti_____/?ref=rss THIS is the story of two beards: one grown to a length so prodigious that it elicited 12 new E numbers on the theme of desire; the other shed, like his former band members, by Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:28:13 +0100 3fdcea10e949162d35ec499f03d8a43f http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4447859.Best_of____Break_Up_The_Concrete__The_Pretenders__Warner______/?ref=rss SOME might view this as a cynical ploy – mix a brilliant compilation with the first new release in seven years from The Pretenders. It perhaps signals a fear the new material might not stand up alone. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:29:10 +0100 33c042e3b07ae613312c7413865b7226 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4447864.Little_Boots__Hands___Atlantic____/?ref=rss VICTORIA Hesketh is a recent graduate from the University of Leeds. Having adopted the name Little Boots, which to us non-conversant in Latin is the literal translation of Caligula. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:29:54 +0100 131195daff9ae64a8aac4fb3baa08ebb http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4436129.Elvis_Costello__Secret__Profane___Sugarcane__Universal_Hear_Music______/?ref=rss IT’S BEEN a long up-and-down trip for Elvis Costello so far and one thing you can’t accuse him of on his undulating, this-and-that career, is a lack of enthusiasm. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:42:35 +0100 6b55595264663de68b19258a42ba7d7d http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4436126.Kasabian__West_Ryder_Pauper_Lunatic_Asylum__Columbia_______/?ref=rss SPENDING time on the road with Oasis has rubbed off on Kasabian. Parts of the Leicester band’s oddly titled third record are so Gallagher-esque they could have been written by Noel himself. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:41:26 +0100 11bee084de662506f24398cee5340b5e http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4436089.Simple_Minds__Graffiti_Soul__Universal____/?ref=rss TO pilfer parlance from fitba’, this is an album of three-thirds. The veteran, but never grizzled, Scottish rockers return from a creative hiatus with a disc provoking the good, the crass and the pug ugly. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:25:20 +0100 617761ed63999d16121ceaf05da94822 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4436091.Sonic_Youth__The_Eternal__Matador_____/?ref=rss WHEN most bands their age are winding down slow, Sonic Youth’s creative resurgence continues. Now 30 years in, The Eternal is consistently varied and should be listened to as a whole. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:26:18 +0100 665ed840bfc77ddacea0a95f7d493eae http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4436093.Franz_Ferdinand__Blood___Domino_Records_____/?ref=rss THIS could have been an utter disaster, not that a laid-back bunch like Alex Kapranos and friends would worry about that. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:27:32 +0100 ab77543cbcb9f141bef218f3882e2918 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4436095.Maximo_Park__Quicken_The_Heart___Warp______/?ref=rss “LET’S Get Clinical” wails Maximo Park frontman Paul Smith during the arguable highlight of the north east five-piece’s third record. And clinical is the word to best describe it. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:28:37 +0100 52a25cf9a4636cc8be0453071b9729a7 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4436117.Katie_Melua__Live_At_The_O2_Arena__Dramatico____or_______see_below_/?ref=rss I have come to the conclusion that only nice people like Katie Melua. So many lovely, well balanced, level headed and caring people seem to like Katie, whereas mean spirited, jaded old grouches... well, they are just plain evil towards Georgia’s finest. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:39:07 +0100 d60aaf04fd660c86b27a66d0770b6d2d http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4423035.Eg__Adventure_Man____Parlophone______/?ref=rss EG WHITE has already been a minor pop star, twice. Dare we remember Brother Beyond and as part of decidedly underground Eg and Alice? Whatever, as a songwriter White is a legend. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:11:17 +0100 04d8583f22f0e8459b37be9fbb07843f http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4423042.Yusuf__Roadsinger___Island______/?ref=rss THERE are so many comebacks in the pop world the industry might well be sponsored by the manufacturers of boomerangs. But here’s a return that’s worthy of a hall of hallelujahs from any revivalist meeting. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:12:26 +0100 d6656e5970d46a4133f831d22037a190 http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4423047.British_Sea_Power__Man_Of_Arran__Rough_Trade______/?ref=rss British Sea Power continue to confound and delight in equal measure. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:13:26 +0100 4a3d73845e0c71cf2933775f64bb2a5f http://www.thepress.co.uk/leisure/cdreviews/4423048.Paolo_Nutini__Sunny_Side_Up___Atlantic_____/?ref=rss PAOLO Nutini may only be 22, but he has the vocal chords of a much older man who gargles whisky for breakfast. The effect is pleasing, if at odds with the homely cheerfulness of the music. Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:14:06 +0100 be1914ba2dd0a9177c5cb2cedea4fc3d