Coldplay — A Rush of Blood
To The Head
(Virgin)****
Coldplay’s debut
album Parachutes was impressive, but the band’s brand new album A
Rush of Blood To The Head is stunning. The album is more
conversational than their last, and marks a small step towards
experimentation. At a time when so many bands are intent on cramming
as many genres as possible into each song, it’s a relief to hear
music that revels in the joys of a simple, modest and graceful melody.
Currently storming the charts a la Yellow, In My Place
is a surprisingly simple track, carried by Jon Buckland’s chiming
guitar and Chris Martin’s heartfelt vocals. Green Edge shifts
gear a bit, with its acoustic and folksy shuffle. The tribal stomp of Politik
takes you to an altogether different level with the experimental mode
set to max. The dark yet brilliant title track shows martin’s growth
as a lyricist: "He said I’m gonna buy a gun and start a war/
If you can tell me something worth fighting for." This is
Brit-rock at its best. A must buy.
David Bowie —
Heathen
(Sony Music) *
It has been nearly
three decades since Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars released
their eponymous debut album. Teaming up with his sidekick 1970s’
producer of choice Tony Visconti doesn’t prove to be of much help
here though. Visconti and David never shy away from electronic
instrumentations — woven into David’s sound subtly, never drawing
attention to drum loops and layers of electronica. For that matter,
collaboration by guest artistes Pete Townshend and Dave Grohl don’t
standout either. The album at times sounds like a desperate move by
Bowie. Thanks to a few positive moments here that come in the form of I
Would Be Your Slave that matches spare percussion and taut string
textures for a haunting and hip ambient-lounge anthem.
Michael Bolton —
Only A Woman Like You
(HMV) **
Bolton’s signed a
new label, but he sticks to what he’s best at on this new album of
love songs and ballads. Bolton, 49, isn’t going after the
teenyboppers here.
He sticks to the fare that made him a fixture on
adult-contemporary charts in the late 1980s and early ’90s.
The
title tack is an ingratiating ballad produced by hitmakers Mutt Lange,
Max Martin, Shania Twain and Rami.
Other selections artfully combine
adult-contemporary clichés with the most banal aspects of modern pop.
Some more tracks worth listening to are This Is The Way, I
Wanna Hear You Say and Love With My Eyes Closed.
Weezer — Maladroit
(Universal) **
Maladroit showcases
the band’s inherent charm. At the album’s heart are some of the
most obliquely painful songs ever to have spilled from Cuomo’s mind
into paper.
Whether it is the tight drumming on the album’s first
single Dope Nose, the surprising guitar-work on the sharp-edged
Take Control, or the band’s return to form, Maladroit offers
some of the best songs since the band’s 1994 debut.
The jaunty strut
of Keep Fishin’ single-handedly outdoes the whole of the
album with its playful demeanour and left-field chorus. Slob is
a bona fide future Weezer classic. It’s a lesson many in the
modern-pop-rock scene could learn a lot from.
Album of the month
Elvis Presley —
30 No.1 Hits
(Crescendo)
Although Bill Haley
was the first artist to reach No.1 position in America and England
with a rock ’n’ roll record and although many rock historians
would claim Chuck Berry as the most influential artiste of that time,
nothing on earth could quite match the impact created by the
phenomenon called Elvis Presley. The Presley explosion continued apace
on both sides of the Atlantic during 1957, and thanks to RCA, the hits
kept coming during his Army years from 1958 till 1960. This collection
offers an ideal opportunity to take a look at his musical legacy. 30
No.1 Hits brilliantly kicks off with Presley’s voice, raw, whooping
‘well, since my baby left me’. The compilation opens to the music
of Jailhouse Rock and sets the atmosphere with the Jukebox,
a continuously rotating selection of clips from the album. Number
Ones is a stark reminder of Elvis’s charisma and just how earth
shattering his funeral music must have felt. Sure, all the songs here
snagged the top spot on the charts, but the mix eliminates some of the
King’s best works, like Little Sister, Mistery Train
and Viva Las Vegas.
In terms of content, the album picks
up where the label’s previous Elvis Number Ones left off.
Going back, for the first time, to the original recordings, engineers
have performed remarkable feats of upgrading on everything from the
1950s’ mono classics to the multi-track rave-ups of the ’70s. The
reworked Love Me Tender captures every breath and guitar string
of Presley, bringing out an extraordinary experience. All Shook Up
is as fresh and irresistible as ever. The radically remixed A
Little Less Conversation gives the collection a new vivacity.
Elvis Presley undoubtedly remains one of the most influential artistes
in music and for the gusto and potency Elvis brought to rock, we are
forever indebted to him. John Lennon had once put it, "Before
Elvis, there was nothing."
— Saurabh &
Gaurav
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