Saturday, November 5, 2005

MUSIC ZONE
Bon Jovi — Have A Nice Day
Saurabh & Gaurav
(Universal)

True troubadours of arena rock and pop-metal, Bon Jovi have come out with Have A Nice Day, which has the band mining a harder rock sound and producing bigger, more sweeping choruses than ever before. Title track, Have A Nice Day, rocks hard in the same fashion as It’s My Life did a couple of years ago. Gradually as the album progresses, we get a more mature and mellow Bon Jovi. Story Of My Life starts out with a harmonious piano passage before a thick and raw rhythm of the guitar sets in, supported by heavy drums and tight bass lines.

The refrain is uncomplicated and works pretty well. Wildflower could be equally at home in a Ryan Adams or Tom Petty album, whilst Last Cigarette is upbeat, fresh and drives along. Subsequent up-tempo tracks like I Want To Be Loved and Novocaine bear almost the same life-affirming meaning as Have A Nice Day. One of the best aspects about Bon Jovi is their ability to release albums that somehow remain true to the original vision and still has a very distinct character. The album sounds refreshing, extremely melodic and has been gifted with some fantastic lyrics.

Best track: Welcome To Wherever You Are

Worst track: Who Says You Can’t Go Home

Rating: ***

Jay - Z & Linkin Park — Collision Course (Sony BMG)

Described as a "mash-up" between genres, Collision Course proves to be a pretty remarkable effort. While some were sceptical of the artists’ choice to combine such distinct flavours of music, Linkin Park’s urban beats seem to gel well with Jay Z’s rhymes. For the most part this actually works pretty well. Dirt Off Your Shoulder/ Lying From You is a well-arranged track with Jay-Z’s smooth, effortless delivery gelling smoothly with the track’s heavy guitar moments. By far the best example of this can be found in`A0Numb / Encore. Already anticipated to be one of the year’s biggest hits, this song places Jay-Z’s cohesive lyrics from Encore against the urban backdrop of`A0Linkin Park’s song Numb.


Best track: Numb / Encore

Worst track: Jigga What / Faint

Rating: **

t.A.T.u — Dangerous and Moving
(Universal)

The Russian duo t.A.T.u may have had one of the best marketing campaigns in recent years. But, thanks to producer Trevor Horn, they also had one of the best singles of 2003 in All The Things She Said. Nonetheless, it’s a surprise to see them back with Dangerous And Moving, particularly since Richard Carpenter is Horn’s replacement. t.A.T.u. takes us on an incredible journey here and Lena and Julia’s long overdue sophomore release has truly earned the right to be called a comeback album. Songs in Dangerous and Moving include contributions from special guests such as Sting, Richard Carpenter (The Carpenters), Michael Urbano (Cracker, Todd Rundgren), Dominic Miller (Sting), Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Lopez (Flipsyde) and Trevor Horn (Seal). Friend or Foe has been enlivened with bass from Sting, while the oddly titled Gomenasai features a curiously sweet strings arrangement from Richard Carpenter.

Craving (I Only Want What I Can’t Have) has a depressing theme with mature lyrics, while Sacrifice sees them giving everything up for forbidden love. t.A.T.u. shows remarkable skill in turning the taunts of their detractors into a selling point.

Best track: Friend or Foe

Worst track: Perfect Enemy

Rating: **