What Are You Listening To?

[SteveO]

Ghost Town is definitely one of the better singles this year!

ADAM LAMBERT "the original high" cd, 2015

career stats:
studio albums..................3
singles............................11

this album......................#3 US...#4 AU...#3 CAN...#8 UK
singles:
"ghost town"..................#64 US..#2 AU..#55 CAN..#71UK

third album from this American Idol contestant...
he came runner-up in 2009....
his first album sold around a million copies worldwide, his second a couple of hundred thousand
and this, his third, is somewhere around the hundred thousand mark....
lots of commercial, radio friendly pop on here as you'd probably expect from an Idol contestant,
but I couldn't resist getting it for the brilliant "ghost town" single....
after a few listens now, theres nothing on here I don't like and surprisingly enough three I love...
and I could never stand Adam, well, until I heard Ghost Town...
not a bad album as far as straight out pop goes and Ghost Town has no peers on this one, its still
way better than anything else overall

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: after hours
best track: ghost town

[video=youtube;Ix8ocFEMa1o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix8ocFEMa1o[/video]

tracks:

1...ghost town ***
2...the original high **
3...another lonely night **
4...underground **
5...there I said it ***
6...rumors **
7...evil in the night **
8...lucy ***
9...thing I didn't say **
10.the light **
11.heavy fire **
12.after hours **
13.shame **
14.these boys **

3s=3
2s=11
1s=0

rating: 2.1

[zcarenow]

love this extended rare mix...
[video=youtube;5k293MR--EE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k293MR--EE[/video]

[Music Head]

another one I'm not sure how I came to own
contemporary Christian artist who had some crossover success
20 albums to his credit, this is his 6th
a peak of #86 on the Billboard chart here

a duet with Amy Grant here

[video=youtube;eOl4hf-38yY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOl4hf-38yY[/video]

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SANDIE SHAW "long live love" cd, 1997

career stats:
studio albums...............7
ep's............................11
singles........................40

"the barefoot princess of pop" is what she was known as back in the 1960s because
she used to perform barefooted....
had a string of hits throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s, mostly in the UK and Australia....
made a comeback in the 1980s covering such songs as Cilla's "anyone who had a heart" etc, and even a couple of Smiths songs
that The Smiths played on, both are featured on this disc, as is the Cilla cover...
theres even a cover of The Stones "walking the dog"...seriously, I hated that song when the Stones did it, thought, and still do that it was their
worst single ever(get off my cloud, comes a close second IMO)
also the re-recording on "puppet on a string" entitled "puppet(no strings)" which was a rewrite because over time she disliked the original because
of its 'ownership to a man' lyrics...
im actually disappointed with this one slightly, had they have stuck to the hits of the 60s-70s this would have come out really well in the rating,
but with the horrible 80s material this was lucky to make a passing grade for me...
sure, the songs are pretty bad but her voice was still good, but vocals do not make a bad song good IMO...

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: walking the dog
best track: puppet on a string

[video=youtube;jfeiCaRJgMY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfeiCaRJgMY[/video]

tracks:

1...always something there to remind me ***
2...as long as youre happy baby **
3...don't you know **
4...girl don't come **
5...i'd be better off without you **
6...gotta see my baby everyday ***
7...stop feeling sorry for yourself **
8...i'll stop at nothing *
9...long live love ***
10.ive heard about him **
11.message understood **
12.dont you count on it **
13.tomorrow **
14.nothing comes easy **
15.puppet on a string ***
16.samba di una nota sola **
17.monsieur DuPont ***
18.right to cry **
and this is where is starts getting messy for Sandie!
19.walking the dog *
20.maple village *
21.anyone who had a heart *
22.cool about you *
23.jean (with The Smiths) *
24.hand in glove (with The Smiths) *
25.nothing less than brilliant *
26.puppet(no strings) *

3s=5
2s=12
1s=9

rating: 1.7

without those 1980s tracks this would have scored 2.2

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ADELE "25" cd, 2015

career stats:
studio albums...........3
singles....................15

this album................set to debut in around 100 countries this week!
singles:
"hello(its me)"..........#1 UK...#1 AU...#1 US...#1 CAN...and in eighty other countries!

OK,MY VERDICT IS IN!
ive listened to this almost repeatedly since Saturday and my thoughts on it are not good!
too much of nothing happening...
the music sounds flat and bland...
Adele's voice is almost shot to pieces, the surgery on her voicebox three years ago hasn't worked IMO(but im no surgeon or specialist!)...
songs in general just go nowhere fast, its just about all on one flat level...
there aint no "rolling in the deep", "set fire to rain", "chasing pavements" or "make you feel my love" on this one...
Im just totally underwhelmed by this album...
whether its as bad as I think it is, or whether ive been looking foreward to this one so much after "21" I don't know,
but I am so disappointed by the songs in general(lyrically its pretty good though)!...
straightforeward piano ballads with no change throughout so im sorry to say....

I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: remedy
best track: river lea

sorry, no link available for my favourite track and im not posting
the other tracks because theyre no worth it, and you can find the link for
the single on the forum if you choose!

tracks:

1...hello *
2...send my love to your new lover **
3...I miss you *
4...when we were young **
5...remedy *
6...water under the bridge *
7...river lea ***
8...love in the dark *
9...million years ago *
10.all I ask *
11.sweetest devotion *

3s=1
2s=2
1s=8

rating: 1.3

[CRAZY-HORSE]

there is a bright side to the Adele album being so bad IMO and that is....
at least the Paul Weller "saturns pattern" album will not take out the honour of being my 'worst album of 2015'..LMAO!

[zcarenow]

[video=youtube;DIDYpFGDBDI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIDYpFGDBDI[/video]

[CRAZY-HORSE]

MARK RONSON "uptown special" cd, 2015

career stats:
studio albums............4
singles.....................13

this album................#1 UK...#1 AU...#1 US
singles:
"uptown funk"...........#1 UK...31 AU...#1 US
"i cant lose"..........#103 UK
"feel high"...............no chart action

Mark Ronson....
DJ, record producer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist...
worked with a whos-who of music from Amy Winehouse,Macca,Jack White,Adele,Robbie Williams,Christine Aguilera,Snoop Dogg, etc etc....
and this album is no exception with the likes of Bruno Mars, Stevie Wonder, Kevin Parker(tame impala) and a few others also...
this album has a distinct old style R+B feel, ala the hit single "uptown funk" which has a very James Brown thing happening IMO...
theres even an old 1980s styl hip-hop track(feel right) which features a guy ive never heard of in Mystikal???...
all up, not a bad album, but to be fair, I didn't know what to really expect with this one, anyway,
I now own the superb "uptown funk" which features the modern day James Brown/Jackie Wilson....

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: uptowns first finale
best track: uptown funk

[video=youtube;OPf0YbXqDm0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPf0YbXqDm0[/video]

tracks:

1...uptowns first finale *
2...summer breaking **
3...feel right **
4...uptown funk ***
5...I cant lose **
6...daffodils *
7...crack in the pearl **
8...in case of fire **
9...leaving los feliz **
10.heavy and rolling *
11.crack in the pearl pt:II*

3s=1
2s=6
1s=4

rating: 1.8

[producer]

[video=youtube;be-9qtD91_c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be-9qtD91_c[/video]

[zcarenow]

[video=youtube;X_I4wtNPv5w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_I4wtNPv5w[/video]