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| I got this 6 song EP quite a while back and due to various reasons I haven?t got the time to write a review until now. However, the band has a cool touch of Midwestern pop with flirts of both Nashville and a singer songwriter touch. The lead vocalist Luke Bullas voice is one of the reasons that I like this ep. He got such a good, warm and solid voice. Another cool thing is that they have a fiddler as one of the key instruments, and that is getting the music another dimension. Imagine yourself cool fiddler solos instead of guitar-solos. That without getting the style too much into country music. Like Kansas did with their fiddler in their progressive music back in the 70?s. Best are the opening track ?Win? and the ending track ?The Beauty And The Mess?. An EP that is nothing for the ?normal? Melodic Net reader but for you guys, who like me, likes another side of the melodic pop and rock scene, an EP I warmly can recommend. |
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Jeremy Camp?s producer Adam Watts is standing on his own two feet with his debut solo album "The noise inside" where he writes,plays,sings and produces everything.
Adams catalog of over 300 compositions have been included on various television & motion picture soundtracks (MTV, TNT, Paramont Pictures, Disney) and saw his nomination for Singer/Songwriter of the Year, Los Angeles Music Awards.
I think you know you can expect a real classy affair of singer/songwriter rock on this album,our Editor in chief Par Winberg will probably go berserk if he can?t get his hands on this album within the next 3 days.
Adam has been quite generous with his debut solo coz this album contains 14 songs and the acoustic touch dominates the album but the electric guitardriven stuff is never far away.
The opening track "Would be a loser" will be a favorite song for many likeminded and the soaring "Beautiful fall" is worth a grammy,he also shows a more groovy side with songs like "Critical condition" and "Meaningless things".
You can tell that he?s done a lot for Jeremy Camp even if Adam Watts hasn?t got the same edge,the same good feeling for melodies is recognizable on "The noise inside".
Whether you worship god or not,good music is always good music and this is good with a big G! |
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After his debut “The noise inside” in 2004, “Sleeping fire” is a more than worthy sophomore release!
Again all songs are written and produced by Adam Watts himself. Also almost every instrument is played by Adam. The result is the best indie-album of last year!
The songs have more edge than on his debut, his singing has matured and the songs are even better than on the debut. I see some similarities with the music of Jeremy Camp, but Adam Watts is even better.
For rockers please listen to “Crawl”, “My prayer”, “Sleeping fire” and “Real for me”. Beautiful ballads are found in “Fly fall fly”, “To believe”, “The end” and “Invisible light”. The rest of the songs is of the same high quality.
This album is for lovers of quality melodic rock and is a must in your collection!
Highly recommendable. |
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| Yes I know, I have added three reviews to day and all three are really good ones. But what can I do when music is this good? Alex Woodard is no exception and he got the good taste to hire Pete Droge as the producer for his new album, and the result is as I said very nice. Beautiful singer songwriter rock with midwest flirts and if I should mention some artists that are playing in the same schoolyard I would say David Gray, Five For Fighting, Pete Droge, Edwin McCain and Dave Matthews. All with an own edge of roots americana as well. Beautiful done with a bunch of good tunes is it for you to explore. Nothing more to add actually. Just surf and listen yourself. |
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"Up With The Sun" is Alex Woodard?s fourth studio record, following hot on the heels of the Pete Droge-produced "Mile High", and it?s his finest effort yet.
It?s the first album the Southern California native has produced by himself and continues on the organic acoustic path of his previous record, with copious amounts of pedal steel, lap steel and mandolin as well as a stack of superb, beautifully crafted songs.
The sweet country melody of jaunty opener ?Open Road? sets the tone impressively and contrasts nicely with the poignant strains of the heartfelt ?Adelaide?. The duo of ?Sweet Peace (When I Think Of You) and ?Yellow Circle Sun? see the San Diego-based songwriter hitting the sort of rocky territory his first two records displayed, while some understated piano and acoustic guitar add surprising depth to the fragility of ?Thought I?d Be There By Now?.
Each successive Alex Woodard usually has at least one moment of breathtaking brilliance, and "Up With The Sun" is no exception, with ?Could Have Been Love? and the beautiful ?Lift? vying for that accolade.
Woodard strengths don?t just lie in the quality of his songwriting, the depth of his voice or his flawless production; the sheer simplicity of his music and approach to the industry are also to be admired. Recent releases by Peter Bradley Adams, Steve Reynolds and Gus Black prove there are a lot of outstanding independent singer-songwriters around right now ? and Woodard is the pick of the bunch. |
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In the beginning of the new millennium,Andrew Paul Woodworth was discovered by the legendary Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and he produced Andrew?s band Elephant Ride that was signed to Sony at that time but having failed with commercial attention the band disbanded and Andrew formed Virgil and released the album "My paradise" in 2003.
In 2004,he was nominated as the best male vocalist at the L.A music awards and Virgil took home the "Independent rock album of the year" award.
Now,Andrew has recorded his first solo album "I hate music" which is a varied affair of different styles but mainly focuses on singer/songwriter rock.
He flirts with Irish folkmusic and The Corrs on the track "Waiting all night",he also pays a visit in Eagles-land with the laid back "Hotel motel" and rocks like Suede on the distorted title track "I hate music".
The cover of Beastie Boys hit "Fight for your right" is a bit odd but rather misplaced since Andrew is such a good songwriter and lyricist himself,the uptempo and happy Dexy Midnight Runners sounding "Sunrise" feels a bit awkward next to the poetic and amazingly good piano ballad "Starting to turn" which is the best track of the album.
If I didn?t know better,I would believe Ben Folds had written this beautiful song.
Varied it is but quite good! |
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It takes a lot to catch my attention when it comes to cover albums. Here´s ANN WILSON, the HEART vocalist who has blown us all away with her strong voice on numerous albums. I was sceptical, but from the moment I pressed PLAY it was easy to see: this is a very nice CD. She playes her own versions of songs like "Goodbye blue sky" (PINK FLOYD), "A hard rain´s a gonna fall" (BOB DYLAN), "Isolation" (JOHN LENNON) and "War of man" (NEIL YOUNG). The latter is one of the best ones on this fine CD, not only since it is a duet between Ann and the magnificent ALYSON KRAUSS. Their harmony vocals alone make it worth paying for this CD... phew!
Ann is also helped out by many other cool singers on the album, such as Elton John, Gretchen Wilson, Wynonna, Shawn Colvion and of course HEART fellow and sister Nancy Wilson. They´re all singing together with Ann, contributing at their best.
It´s actually not 100% covers here, since the final song is "Little problems, little lies" (by Ann Wilson and producer Ben Mink). It´s a very nice track with a semi-acoustic feel to it (as has most of the album´s songs, by the way) with quite a reminiscence of 90´s JONI MITCHELL. I just thought I´d tip off this cool CD for those
of you in need of something beautiful and soft. As I write this, it´s like 4 degrees above zero
and raining in Stockholm and this kind of music fits it perfectly. |
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| A recent discovery I did on the net - and geeh. am I happy for that! This is a fantastic discovery!! Brenda have one of the nicest voices I have heard in a long time and the production on Fly Me Back is awesome pop with an acoustic edge. Musically I would like to say a fresh version of Shawn Colvin, or a little poppier Jann Arden. Her voice is quite close to Susanna Hoffs. Fantastic is one word. Get the CD three other words... Its very strange that she is not signed by a major label. Or on the other hand - who needs them when the quality is this good on her very own. The live album which shows us all the talent - is also very nice, but if you just have money for one cd - get the studioalbum. Third out "Breathe" have a monsterhit potential. If Susanna Hoffs did a cover on it, or a majorlabel signed her up and released it. |
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| A recent discovery I did on the net - and geeh. am I happy for that! This is a fantastic discovery!! Brenda have one of the nicest voices I have heard in a long time and the production on Fly Me Back is awesome pop with an acoustic edge. Musically I would like to say a fresh version of Shawn Colvin, or a little poppier Jann Arden. Her voice is quite close to Susanna Hoffs. Fantastic is one word. Get the CD three other words... Its very strange that she is not signed by a major label. Or on the other hand - who needs them when the quality is this good on her very own. The live album which shows us all the talent - is also very nice, but if you just have money for one cd - get the studioalbum. Third out "Breathe" have a monsterhit potential. If Susanna Hoffs did a cover on it, or a majorlabel signed her up and released it. |
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| I came across Brenda a few years ago and I immediately felt in love with her voice. Beautiful, sweet and naked. But she also has a cool attitude. The last album was quite a low-keyed straight-ahead singer songwriter pop-album that I enjoyed a lot. On her new album she have developed the sound and her expression a little bit more. And geeh... is this good or what!! I´m thrilled. This is such a beautiful album, with a more modern production this time. But they have also kept the close nerve and acoustic edge, so her "angel-voice" gets real close in the soundpicture. Every single second and word feels necessary and if you love female singer songwriters, Brendas new album is sure a bankvalve-safe buy. This girl eats a lot of her competitors for breakfast and if the music-god is fair, this album will put Brenda in the same room as Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin, Jann Arden and the rest of the stars. Listen to second out "Sacred". That is the only proof you need. After that you wanna own this album. And then I haven´t mentioned "Out Of The Blue" (a goosebump machine) and the opening track "Faucet". And a bunch of others. Brenda rules. |
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| It was about time that Brenda Weiler returns with a new album, cause it’s been four years since the last one “Cold Weather”. I haven’t heard Brenda this good before, and then I can tell you that I have always enjoyed her naked, honest and spread voice a lot. Here, on her new album it is just her and a guitar and it is so beautiful. The answer why it has been four years between the albums is that the album is written about, and dedicated to her sister to who took her life in 2005. The lyrics are of course therefore very strong and intimate. The album “End The Rain” is a little book about a girl who lost her sister and that without saying that the album is only sad. It’s not. I would prefer to say it’s a beautiful dedication to someone you’ve loved and still does. |
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| Yihhhhiihhiiihaaa - Brett our mainman is back! Yes!!! Here is his second soloalbum (Im not counting the Railbirds album of course) and this album is a GREAT mix between his stunning debut album from 5 years ago and the great Railbirds album. Its a superb mix between Midwest acts like Del Amitri and Danny Wilde and straight ahead aor guys like John Waite and yeah you know whatelse. Its a great album he delivers once again. Filled with great pearls like "not About To Give In", "It Looks Like A Lot Like Rain" and "No One Left To Blame". Geeh I love this guys splendid mix between the styles and itrs more than a must this one. there where a couple of guys who didnt enjoy the Railbirds album cause it was to dirtdigging a non AOR:ish - heres the perfect compromise. Brett for president. Sure - there is a little lack of tempo in the middle of the album, but its not a big thing. "Danny Wilde" - rock doesnt get better than this in the year of 2000 so buy yourself a CD right away! |
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| The man that gave us "Waiting For Love"(Alias), "Lecia" and "Quicksand"(both from his debut soloalbum Nevertheless) and many more classic AOR songs are here with a new soloalbum. Brett´s first soloalbum "Nevertheless" was a f...ing marvellous album and had a Top 40 single in Europe with Lecia. He is now back with his fourth soloalbum and it´s a mixture of his previous albums "Lift Off" and "The Railbirds". Yes, this is very acoustic but Brett has a talent to find nice melodies and so is also the case with "Spirit Junky". But to hear 15 songs in the same tempo and style gets boring pretty fast and that´s the biggest problem with this album. The opening track "Give Me Back Tomorrow" starts nice and reminds of his debut album, this is one of the rockier tracks on the album with a great chorus. If he had couple more up-tempo tracks on the album then I know I would have enjoyed this album a lot more. Brett has done all instruments by himself and the result is good and his voice is just a pleasure to listen to. The production is just OK. The ballad "Sorry Just Ain´t Enough" is nice with lovley melodies and Brett´s emotional voice is the right companion. What is it with all these girls Brett sings about? Listen to "Calalia" with a great chorus. Spirit Junky is not a bad album but it lacks variation in the songs and a couple of more up-tempo songs would not have hurt. But if you thought his "Lift Off" and "Railbirds" albums were great then I know that this CD will please you as well. Brett Walker has taken the same road as Mark Spiro and delivers acoustic pop/rock albums that has couple of standout tracks. |
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| Geeh? Am I weak for these singer songwriters in the neighbourhoods of Midwest Rock. Brian plays a very cool kinda music somewhere between Neal Casal, Gin Blossoms, Del Amitri, Ryan Adams and The Jayhawks. And he?s doin it real good. And the songwriting is also real damn fine. Sure, nothing new under the sun, but in this style of music, it?s enough if the guy sings good (Brian is a real good singer) and write good songs (as I said, the level is VERY high here) and that the production have a cool and solid production (this album sure has?) And well ? that?s about it. First out ?Shame? gets the album a great starts, and it continues with the Gin Blossom smelling ?She Was Honest? and third out you have the Jayhawks kinda ?Wrestle The Ground? with beautiful picking banjos and a cool mandola. And in hat way it continues. In Brian Webb you will sure have a new friend if you adore the names I mentioned earlier in the review. And then I haven?t mentioned the 6.52 long ?Talk To You? with clever lyrics and a naked production? Lovely piece of work. Check him up at once folks? |
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| I raved about Brians latest studioalbum "Broken Folk" from 2002 when I reviewed it last year and this is not a proper follow up. Nope. Its a live album that proof that this man knows what he is doing. A live album with some covers from Patty Griffin and Leonard Cohen and then just his own material. Do you need this album if you have the "Broken Folk" CD then? Well - If you enjoyed that album very much I would say yes - cause here the songs take other roads and are kinda different to the studioversions and that is the whole point with livealbums. And there are some new songs I havent heard before which I enjoy as well. But if you havent got "Broken Folk" and like midwest rock with a singer songwriter flirt, I suggest you buy that album instead. |
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Did you know that?
Neal Schon from Journey originally played guitar for Santana when he was only 15 years old.
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latest reviews
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