Any Otis Redding fan – big or small – already has most if not all of the songs collected on this best of album. Regardless, it’s a decent glimpse into Redding’s brief but brilliant career, highlighting songs like “Respect,†“I’ve Been Loving You Too Long†and “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember,†along with a great cover of the Stones’ “Satisfactionâ€.
“Ocean Boulevard†needs nothing more than a guitar to fully set the mood of the rest of the track. When Summer’s Gone immediately lurches forth with a blend of styles that uses bits of hard rock, emo, metal, and even hardcore to create something hard-edged while still possessing of a heart. Where the overall track is one that could easily make it onto rock rotation radio, I feel that some…
When CBS first rolled out Eleventh Hour, their latest Jerry Bruckheimer-produced TV series last year, critics were quick to compare it to X Files. You had the mysterious, often freakish occurrences, the attractive, yet uptight female FBI agent pared with an equally attractive male partner plus plenty of ominous music. Though an easy comparison, it was a little off base.
Tornado Outbreak has players tapped to create through destruction; in that sense, the title seems to take a little from Katamari Damacy more than anything. The story line present in the title has players step into the shoes of Zephyr, an understudy to the wind god Nimbus, who gains abilities and finds items through creating mass destruction. In order to take down the massive objects and skyscrapers that dot the…
Ni Hao, Kai-Lan is, for those who have not watched the show, a Nickelodeon effort that It finally seems as if some children’s companies are getting the fact that parents do not want to go out and spend $20 for the equivalent of two episodes. This DVD contains four episodes – the titular one, Lulu Day, Roller Rintoo, and Wait, Hoho, Wait. To top that, there are a few bonus…
The St. James represents our first foray into Chambourcin, and we could not have gotten a more solid introduction to the varietal. From when we first brought it out of its shipping crate, the presentation of the ’08 Chambourcin is classy, with labeling that calls forth the seventies and early eighties while maintaining a current sort of flair. This red wine can be enjoyed on a number of levels, be…
It’s a bit surprising Different Light, the 2007 sophomore release from Sherwood didn’t help make the California band a household name. With their Pet Sounds-era harmonies and a sound the evoked everyone from the Beatles to ELO, the album was pretty damn close pop rock perfection. Their latest, Qu is almost as good. It’s a bit cliché to talk about a maturing sound in record reviews, but it’s true with…
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 is the latest in the Kingdom Hearts series and focuses in on Roxas, giving players the opportunity to take on different RPG elements through both single and multi-player modes. The panel system is the most interesting element here, in that players are given the ability to customize different item sets, magic, and weaponry. Adding more to the customization that one can have, the multiplayer mode allows the…
Where most of our experiences with Absolut have been with traditional types of flavors (Save for last year’s Absolut Los Angeles) Absolut Boston is truly something to come from left field. One need only look at the blend of different elements that comproise the vodka, which take elderflower (imbibers might be familar with elderflower as the basis of St. Germain) and link it together with black tea. When individuals get…
There’s no denying that New York and Los Angeles get all the good press. When punk music finally made its way to the U.S. in the late 70’s, both coasts were claiming the title as punk rock capitals – with New York citing The Ramones and Los Angeles touting X. Though hundreds of miles away from both cities, Chicago – ever the modest mid westerner – was quietly hosting it’s…
If any 90’s band warranted the anthology treatment it’s Morphine. It took a decade, but Rhino has given the Boston-based “low rock†band the treatment and the result is a wildly impressive look at band’s output. The refreshingly original band – name one other alt rock band from that era that sounded so good with a saxophone – ended suddenly in 1999 when singer Mark Sandman died of a heart…
On his second release, Belly of the Lion, Texas native David Wingo – under the moniker Ola Podrida – delivers not quite a dozen beautifully written, sweeping tracks that evoke the desolate landscape captured on the album’s cover. Known best as a music composer behind movies like George Washington and All the Real Girls, it’s not surprising that Belly of the Lion sounds a bit like a movie score. Bringing…
Anyone who writes off Nip/Tuck as “too much†or “unbelievable†clearly stopped watching the wildly entertaining series long ago. Once those tepid viewers were scared off, the rest of us were free to enjoy the basic cable soap in peace in all its outrageousness. The beautiful thing about Nip/Tuck – about to start its sixth season – is the manner in which it manages to top it’s already way over…
Chicago folk rocker Michael McDermott has been compared to everyone from Springsteen to Dylan over past 18 years that he’s been bumming around small clubs across the country.
It took 19 years and seven albums, but The Casualties – one of the few bastions of classic, aggressive punk rock – have released their most accessible and arguably best record to date. The 14 tracks that make up We Are All We Have are still as confrontational as the band’s earlier work and will still satisfy most of the diehards, but everything from the guitars to the vocals seem…
“Cain Station†starts out with some nice multi-part harmonies that seem to take use of Pennywise, Against Me, and even This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb, ensuring that listeners will sing along after a listen or two. “Drink Myself Into Oblivion†straddles the line between country, punk, and bar-rock. Fans of acts as wide as Mojo Nixon, Rehab, and even Hank the IIIrd will find something to caterwaul on about…
“Save The Yuppie Breeding Grounds†is the first track off of “Manifest Densityâ€, and it shows that Moraine expects more out of their listeners than most bands. Where the average CD will gradually pick up steam as the tracks roll on, “Manifest Density†immediately showcases intricate arrangements and complex emotions that will require a listener’s full attention. Moraine’s overall approach during this track is hard to decipher, but one can…
David Cross is getting a little tired of carrying around the hipster cross. Worshipped for co-creating/starring in Mr. Show and his brilliant work with Arrested Development, Cross also happens to be one of the funniest controversial stand ups working today (controversial meaning he does more than jokes about airline peanuts).
Written as a love letter to his Brooklyn neighborhood, The Gowanus Yacht Club was a bit of an experiment for Porter Block. For his fourth record, the pop rocker sought the help of 11 diverse song writers to collaborate on the record.
There is no reason that The Big Bang Theory should be as funny as it is. It has all the markings of a traditional, run-of-the-mill sitcom: wacky characters, the hot neighbor, the laugh track. It also doesn’t help that the series was created by Chuck Lore, who forced the groan-inducing Two and a Half Men on the world.