What Are You Listening To?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SPARKADIA "the great impression" cd,2011.

another of the Corey picks back in early 2011...heard it several times prior to posting it to get a feel for it one way or another.
Sparkadia is a one man outfit from Sydey,Australia. he started life as a band(The Spark) back in 2004ish,problems developed and by 2007 he became a bit of a loner and released his debut album in 2008, this is his second album(i do not have the first), it reached #8 on the albums charts here,tracks 3,4,8 were released as singles with track 8 being my favourite one here.
anyway,
they call this "alternative" but to me it is "pop", and much in the same vein as Gotye IMO...very sparse,minimalistic sounds for the most part with some haunting lyrics and vocals, yet still remain very catchy at times. like Gotye these songs get stuck in the head and i find myself humming them all day once ive listened to the album.
fourteen tracks on here, but the last two are apparently "bonus tracks"...dont really understand why artists need to do that as this is not a limited edition album, nor is it one of those tour editions, its just the regular album release, so IMO there is no nedd for "bonus tracks", and being bonus material i am not including them here as they are obviously not intended to be a part of the album!
its a tough call to pick between "love les love" and "mary" for the best track here but "mary" has a slightly catchier tune,so it gets the nod from me.

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: talking like im falling down stairs
best track: mary

tracks:

1. the great impression **
01 The Great Impression - Sparkadia - YouTube audio
2. fingerprints **
02 Fingerprints - Sparkadia - YouTube audio
3. talking like im falling down stairs *
4. china **
04 China Sparkadia - YouTube audio
5. love less love (love - love) ***
05 Love Less Love - Sparkadia - YouTube audio
6. ghost **
06 Ghost - Sparkadia - YouTube audio
7. shoot straight *
8. mary ***
Sparkadia's Alex Burnett performs 'Mary' live from the Dare Music Lounge at Up Late - YouTube live
Sparkadia - Mary - YouTube album version-audio
9. hurt me **
09 Hurt Me - Sparkadia - YouTube audio
10.i started something i couldnt finish **
11.the lost ones **
12.fade from view **

bonus tracks:

13.still cant make up my mind **
14.too young **

3s=3
2s=7
1s=2

rating: 2.0

[MarkHenry]

I like to watch the live concert of Lady Gaga. The performance by her is always unique. I am always excited to see her performing live.

[Terorero]

Ive - Sunlight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddYWdN-iQMU)

And some other great dance songs...

[Music Head]

from my library (cd)



A gift from a mate. I was afraid of this. Haven't really been a Mac fan since the mid 80's. Don't get me wrong,
love the man and respect all that he did for music. Just think he burnt out long ago. Hearing this does nothing to
change that view. Barely makes a like mark for me. Some good songs, one great song in House Of Wax, but six that
just don't cut it. This release includes a bonus cd, (bringing the set up to 16 tracks) three songs and a 20-25
minute interview with Sir Paul. That interview happens to be the best thing on the album. He talks about each song,
how it came about and feelings about it. If I had listened to this interview prior to hearing the songs, they may
have graded much better. Just gives you a better feel for what they are about. Would love for all albums to have
something like this. It would make the music much more meaningful. The album was first released on the Starbucks
Hear Music label, which Paul had decided to sign a long term deal with, but they folded. The album was a #5 hit in
England and #3 in the states.

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

Worst Track - In Private

Best Track - House Of Wax

Lightning hits the house of wax
Poets spill out on the street
To set alight the incomplete
Remainders of the future

Hidden in the yard. Hidden in the yard.

Thunder drowns the trumpets blast
Poets scatter through the night
But they can only dream of flight
Away from their confusion

Hidden in the yard. Underneath the wall
Buried deep below a thousand layers lay
the answer to it all

Lightning hits the house of wax
Woman scream and run around
To dance upon the battleground
Like wild demented horses

Hidden in the yard. Underneath the wall
Buried deep below a thousand layers lay
the answer to it all

1) Dance Tonight *
live - PAUL McCARTNEY - DANCE TONIGHT - YouTube
2) Ever Present Past **
video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCMAV5BEKxk
3) See Your Sunshine **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Drxpd9gPMI
4) Only Mama Knows **
live - Paul McCartney - ICA iTunes Festival 5th July 2007 Pt.1 - YouTube
5) You Tell Me **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paTW-usiMXg
6) Mr. Bellamy **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7PsCKJ5V0o
7) Gratitude *
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRKhqdb8EoE
8) Vintage Clothes *
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSCK7iCUSvA
9) That Was Me **
live - That Was Me - Paul McCartney - Live Olympia - DVD Quality - YouTube
10) Feet In The Clouds **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tde0ib4Vi0s
11) House Of Wax ***
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K8JomSSJwQ
12) The End Of The End **
audio - Paul McCartney - The End Of The End - Lyrics - YouTube
13) Nod Your Head *
video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjSMG0ULTu0
14) In Private *
audio - Paul McCartney- In Private - YouTube
15) Why So Blue **
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAqaSdf-0no
16) 222 *
audio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sDyS_jf-fI

3's - 1
2's - 9
1's - 6

Grade - 1.7

so many albums, so little time

[Music Head]

^^
just found the CRAZY man's review of this
expected his to come out higher than mine, a 2.0
3 *** tracks, and my only *** he gives a *
what do them damn aussies know anyway

[SteveO]

Love the review, MH ! This album had a lot of tracks that were reminiscent of Paul's song writing as a Beatle - Mr. Bellamy, Dance Tonight,Only Mama Knows,Vintage Clothes, That Was Me...a very strong album however it probably didn't sell well ?

^^
just found the CRAZY man's review of this
expected his to come out higher than mine, a 2.0
3 *** tracks, and my only *** he gives a *
what do them damn aussies know anyway

[CRAZY-HORSE]

sorry you werent too keen on it MH, really thought you might have liked this one a bit better than you did...

since then House Of Wax has grown on me a bit,would probably bet a ** now, pretty sure i gave the lead single Dance Tonight *,if i didnt, it gets it now!

i find that Macca usually onle has a couple of great tracks on each album,a couple of duds and some good ones nowadays....think i wrote that on the Flowers In The Dirt review i did the other week.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

CHAKRADIVA "the new economy" cd,2001.

i know what youre all going to say..."never heard of these guys", well, nor did anyone else after this 2001 release to coincide with their supporting act role on Kylie Minogue's Australian 2001 tour.
actually, this aint that bad IMO, its stood up ok over the last decade....
these guys are a duo act who call themselves "boy 1" and "boy 2" and who cover their faces in "hoodies" as to suppress their identities...very immature, but hey, it obviously floated their boats for a few months!..these guys play all the synths and real instruments,do all the vocals,production etc, and on stage they do all that break dancing crap ala 1980s retro style. very cringeworthy i know, but they werent that bad in fact.
music ranges between straight synth pop(pet shop boys style), through to some dance grooves.
look,
they had their 15 minutes,probably made a bit of money with Kylie then went back into obscurity again, as i cannot find evidence of any follow up release, which is a shame as this aint that bad for dance/synth pop....some of it is quite catchy especially the first two tracks, which are my favourites, but still both only get "like" scores...nothing great on here, just a consistantly ok album...
i didnt expect many track on youtube from this one due to the fact that it didnt sell well at all...and i was right, only one link available and its to one of the songs i dont like, but it gives an idea about what these guys were doing at the time...

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: trouble and desire
best tracks: strong and divine

tracks:

1. strong **
2. divine **
3. i dream **
4. trouble and desire *
5. glitter king **
6. drive *
"Drive" By Tim Hall & Ian Shadwell aka "Chakradiva" - YouTube video
7. party's over **
8. trojan horse **
9. full of love **
10. OM **

3s=0
2s=8
1s=2

rating: 1.8

[Music Head]

from my library (vinyl)



Always had a fondness for the lads, pre you know when. Even those songs have grown on me 30 years on. Nothing
measures up to the early years though for me. This album, along with Volume 1, are cuts from the boys before they
had their first hit with Spicks and Specks. The harmonies were already in place. None of these tracks were hits but
many are as good as tracks from those first few albums. All but two are Barry Gibb originals. One of those other
two, Every Day I Have To Cry, I recall hearing on the airwaves at some point. yet don't remember the writer who
recorded it, Arthur Alexander, or another artist who released it earlier, Steve Alaimo. Alaimo's version came out
in 1962, but Alexanders, in 1975 charted the highest at a whopping #45. The Gibb boys must have liked that '62
version as theirs was recorded mid 60's, as were all these tracks. The best was yet to come. Check out those live
clips on tracks 9 and 12. Now that's funny stuff.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

Worst Track - To Be Or Not To Be

Best Track - Cherry Red

Where are you
Cherry red , sweeter than the honeycomb
Sweeter still when we're alone
Cherry red, my cherry red

Turquoise green , greener than the deeper sea
Greener still when she's with me
Cherry red , my cherry red

I wonder why (wonder why)
The stars that night shine big and bright for me
I wonder why (wonder why)
She's true to me the way that she will always be

Cherry red , sweeter than the honeycomb
Sweeter still when we're alone
Cherry red , my cherry red

I wonder why (wonder why)
The stars that night shine big and bright for me
I wonder why (wonder why)
She's true to me the way that she will always be

Cherry red , sweeter than the honeycomb
Sweeter still when we're alone
Cherry red, my cherry red

1) I Was A Lover, A Leader Of Men **
audio - The Bee Gees "I Was A Lover, A Leader Of Men" 1965 - YouTube
2) Follow The Wind ***
audio - The Bee Gees "Follow the Wind" 1965 - YouTube
3) Claustrophobia ***
audio - The Bee Gees "Claustrophobia" 1965 - YouTube
4) Theme From The Travels Of Jamie McPheeters **
audio - Bee Gees - Theme From Jamie McPheeters - YouTube
5) Every Day I Have To Cry **
audio - Bee Gees - Every Day I Have To Cry - YouTube
6) Take Hold Of That Star ***
audio - The Bee Gees "Take Hold Of That Star" 1965 - YouTube
7) Could It Be ***
8) To Be Or Not To Be **
audio - Bee Gees - To Be Or Not To Be - YouTube
9) The Three Kisses Of Love ***
live - Bee Gees - Three Kisses Of Love (1963) - YouTube
10) Cherry Red ***
audio - Bee Gees - Cherry Red - YouTube
11) All Of My Life **
audio - Bee Gees - All Of My Life - YouTube
12) Don't Say Goodbye **
live - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiOg7gY5GQA

3's - 6
2's - 6
1's - 0

Grade - 2.5

so many albums, so little time

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROXY MUSIC "avalon" cd/vinyl, 1982.

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

i guess this album goes here in "pop" as that it what it is, as opposed to their artsy sounds of the 1970s...!
got this one in vinyl when it came it...purely on the strength of their previous single "jealous guy" which i loved....and recEntly upgraded to the cd version...
man, these synth sounds sound so crystal clear on cd and luckily it doesnt lack the warmth of the vinyl version neither.
look,
im not a big fan of these guys, have a best of set, some of which is brilliant,the rest i find unlistenable drivel...maybe its too 'artsy fartsy' for my tastes, i dunno, but millions obviously disagree because Ferry is still touring the world to rave reviews and huge crowds...so who am i to criticise!, but the same goes for this one also, either love or loathe the tracks..
but all up this is a pretty good album, a couple of tracks i dont like but several which are to die for IMO.
some nice seductive sounds on here along with Ferry's smooth 'crooner-like' vocals and easy listening sounds to compliment it all beautifully...
allmusic pro's give this one full marks(5/5).

worst track: tara
best track: to turn you on

tracks:

1. more than this ***
2. the space between *
3. avalon ***
4. india *
5. while my heart is still beating ***
6. the main thing **
7. take a chance with me ***
8. to turn you on ***
9. true to life *
10.tara *

3s=5
2s=1
1s=4

rating: 2.1