I mentioned in my
last post that I had enjoyed listening to T. Rex's
Electric Warrior, which I've gathered from
reading stuff online is one of those albums that everyone should hear at least once in their life. So here it is! It's good old-fashioned glam rock and roll, and pretty much started the glam rock thing in the 70s. I really like it, particularly 'Mambo Sun,' 'Jeepster,' and 'The Motivator.' Give it a try!
Electric Warrior (1971) (m4a)
1. Mambo Sun
2. Cosmic Dancer
3. Jeepster
4. Monolith
5. Lean Woman Blues
6. Get It On
7. Planet Queen
8. Girl
9. The Motivator
10. Life's a Gas
11. Rip Off
***************
Spiritualized (fronted by Jason Pierce) just released a new album, titled
Songs In A&E. I'd never heard of them before, but I was intrigued after reading a review in Q magazine. To me, it has a very Richard Ashroft vibe, and that can only be a good thing, methinks! Mellow but memorable, the album is pretty solid. (The 'harmony' tracks aren't really songs - they're interludes.)
Songs In A&E (2008) (m4a)
1. Harmony 1 (Mellotron)
2. Sweet Talk
3. Death Take Your Fiddle
4. I Gotta Fire
5. Soul on Fire
6. Harmony 2 (Piano)
7. Sitting on Fire
8. Yeah Yeah
9. You Lie You Cheat
10. Harmony 3 (Voice)
11. Baby I'm Just a Fool
12. Don't Hold Me Close
13. Harmony 4 (The Old Man...)
14. The Waves Crash In
15. Harmony 5 (Accordion)
16. Borrowed Your Gun
17. Harmony 6 (Glockenspiel)
18. Goodnight Goodnight
***************
I noted in my
Best Music of 2007 post that while I liked Justice's remixes, a whole album of their stuff kinda hurt my ears. Well, that's not the case anymore - now I find their tracks rather exhilarating. Their 2007 album,
� (
Cross), is full of thick, bass-heavy productions that feel like a bit of a celebration... in your head! Fun stuff. 'D.A.N.C.E.' was the big hit from the album, but to be honest I quite like 'DVNO' a lot more.
� (
Cross) (2007) (m4a)
1. Genesis
2. Let There Be Light
3. D.A.N.C.E.
4. Newjack
5. Phantom
6. Phantom Pt. II
7. Valentine
8. Tthhee Ppaarrttyy
9. DVNO
10. Stress
11. Waters of Nazareth
12. One Minute to Midnight
***************
I had never paid attention to Ashlee Simpson before - to me she smacked of annoying teen bratness! - but Mike at
Pop Trash Addicts convinced me with his
great review that I should give her new album a try. Whaddaya know? It's good! Pop/rock/electro production (the producers include the ubiquitous Timbaland) manages to make the younger Simpson sound OK. (Actually, I'm not too bothered by her voice - it's a decent pop voice!)
Bittersweet World (2008) (m4a)
1. Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)
2. Boys
3. Rule Breaker
4. No Time For Tears
5. Little Miss Obsessive
6. Ragdoll
7. Bittersweet World
8. What I�ve Become
9. Hot Stuff
10. Murder
11. Never Dream Alone
12. Invisible (Bonus Track)
***************
Unless you've been under a rock, you'll already know that Coldplay recently released a new album,
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends. I hadn't paid much notice to the band, but their single 'Violet Hill' caught my attention. This is a really lovely album, well worth the hype and quite a few repeat listens!
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends (2008) (m4a)
1. Life in Technicolor
2. Cemeteries of London
3. Lost!
4. 42
5. Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love
6. Yes + Chinese Sleep Chant (hidden song)
7. Viva la Vida
8. Violet Hill
9. Strawberry Swing
10. Death and All His Friends + The Escapist (hidden song)
11. Lost? (Bonus track)
***************
Last but definitely not least, Princessa! She did a few pop albums in the 90s, including
Calling You, produced by Frank Peterson, who is best known as the producer of Sarah Brightman's work. Sarah also provides backing vocals on this album.
Calling You is a nice collection of dance/pop and is a real treat to listen to! My fave tracks are 'Calling You' and 'Summer Of Love,' but all the tracks are pretty spiffy. Fans of Sarah Brightman might be familiar with 'Do You Wanna Be Loved' as a really cool unreleased track found only on the
Fly II La Luna tour edition extra disc (with Sarah's vocals, of course!). The version here is virtually the same, except with Princessa singing the main vocal.
Calling You (1996) (m4a)
1. Calling You
2. Anyone But You
3. Try To Say I'm Sorry
4. Like A Nun
5. Summer Of Love
6. Seven Days A Week
7. Baila Al Ritmo
8. I Do What You Want Me To Do
9. The Night
10. He's On The Phone
11. Do You Wanna Be Loved
12. Again & Again
13. Rompete
14. Vivo
15. Me Duelen Tus Mentiras
16. Desnudare
17. Duerme Junto A Mi
18. Carol De Amor
Enjoy! Cheery bye, Scarlett
Chiptune / Drum and Bass
2. Lay Your Love On Me 2:59
I picked this Goldfrapp single up a few weeks ago and thought it was just a regular CDM but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a promo when I took a closer look! It's probably silly, but I get excited about promo CDs. :)
I'm still loving 'Love Is Noise,' The Verve's new single. Here is the Promo CDS with the radio edit and album version!
1. Ghost![Blue Tears - Blue Tears [1990]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPIiomylG5IQz8YSeWvfRhnayrIEKCquEBwFfwVMQWhH2eHc5TOd-aHL9nystjHfrEhURdfvB9PQx8BdYr86KixJnpBDk677gjT6gHZACB2pfJEQUR0p-O-Zv39YA8RDJ_lwNJLpBZNev/s1600-h/14487-0-300-0-300.jpg)
The Verve's video for new single 'Love Is Noise' is on their MySpace (or, just click here). It's cinematic but, unfortunately, a bit dull... I think the feel of the song called for something a bit bigger, more epic, if that makes sense! Still, it's a quality video, just kinda forgettable. :(
Richard Ashcroft is back with The Verve, but I'm hoping that he'll also continue releasing solo stuff. The Verve are great but it was Richard's music that led me to them in the first place. Some say that 'Bittersweet Symphony' is the crowning glory of Richard's career, but I say that most of his solo work is pretty darn spiffy, too.
A tender ballad comes next in the form of 'Words Just Get In The Way.' The chorus in this song is so beautiful and true - words do sometimes just get in the way! 'Keys To The World' is probably the coolest song on the album. It has a female vocal sample - it sounds like something out of a house track! - and fantastic low strings pushing things along. Dark, moody, and wonderful.
Keys To The World (2006) (m4a CD rip)
![Vice - Made for Pleasure [1988]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitR86C3BxLdtp0GhWuq-lbjwdoJxNfJZKuLV3mqoOYPNiXPxp80DrsSGIlE9wcxiE57d40uayccJR8eQ5HfXXAshsqwKiUhjYo7V8ipmbZoFuDIajeYPtCIxGmaaP7QiGTe9byhYRChcWk/s1600-h/VICE_MFP.JPG)
2. Galbi
1. Mambo Sun
3. Death Take Your Fiddle
1. Genesis
1. Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)
1. Life in Technicolor
1. Calling You![Tora Tora - Wild America [1992]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6-u0hTKRpiZM00lQ_7xDmSJxP8nYhuqEppNVahnfmnSzTihOJoIeN_0M8ELaXO8EaEmLx4oMcfituOYupYdQYxeNJMdB3lSJlYDL8Nyuf3VCmqoWzHgbuNvCjmKa4BeBc9P49qZdMn3Y/s1600-h/toratorawa.jpg)
![Smashed Gladys - Social Intercourse [1988]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZv3f2qkOCuUkWug0wK5tGoOwJslHwe14r-dUdmJN4Akdi_Qw1VjkAHjOXCvaJrQazGh6idGoxfnxOphtKQCY1HfLsP7NwWOukIH5h0Q3o0SwIAy7p4MLnkohsdmxexhDmMfBXF45lDBA8/s1600-h/socialintercourse.jpg)
So I was browsing blogs last night, and I came across this artist called Pop Levi. I sampled a few of his songs and it turns out that I think I have made my 'find' of the summer. There must have been some strange phenomena at work or something in my finding out about him - what piqued my interest was that his brand of glam rock is described as being similar to T. Rex, and I had literally just listened to and loved Electric Warrior for the first time this past week.
'You Don't Gotta Run' is a gentle, slow song with warm synths in the background and nice vocals from Pop. 'Oh God (What Can I Do?)' is a cool old-fashioned rocker, with buzzing guitars and a fuzzy main vocal. The next track has a very Prince-like vibe, but mixed with electro. So it's pretty darn nifty! Bubbling bass and beats push the song along, but it's really Pop Levi's vocals that make it work as well as it does. Synth bass and an electro beat, plus some hits that sound a bit reggae-ish, underpin the lovely 'Love You Straight.'
1. Wannamama
