Rating Scale:
$$$$$- worth every penny
$$$$- a solid investment
$$$ - if you can spare the change
$$ - only if you can burn money
$ - keep that pocketbook shut
Artist: C-BANK
Album: Greatest Hits
Label: Next Plateau
Rating: $$$
This collection of greatest hits showcases the varied talent that
has been part of C-Bank for nearly twenty years. The signature use of the
synthesizer is the one constant on all the cuts, as background to the talents
of Eleanore Mills, Jenny Burton, Geminis and Whisper. This is a good CD to put on
for those dancing moments at home or at the club. Some may find the sound a
bit dated and overly saccharine, with too much "let's make sounds" play from
the synthesizer, but the vocals are solid, and the tunes all have a good beat.
Artist: Selected Artists
Album: On A Starry Night
Label: Windham Hill
Rating: $$$$
This specialty album is a collection of lullabies from around the
world done by various well known vocalists and musicians. Most of you
probably won't recognize more than one or two of the lullabies such as
"Brahm's Lullaby" and "Rock-a-Bye-Baby," but you will recognize the sweet and
soothing sounds that define a lullaby. This is a wonderful CD to put on in
the calm of night, to caress the mind, or ease the fears of a young child.
Artist: Noise Level Nine
Album: Beta 3.0
Label: Self Produced (Email noiseind@speedind)
Rating: $$$$
This self-produced "heavy metal" 7" CD shows excellent promise
with solid instrumental work. At it's best, it has a Metallica flavor, with a
certain robotic quality that seems to tie in with the apparent use of
computer altered vocals. The third cut, "Down," is especially compelling, with
its vocal and musical imagery. Hopefully some label will see the potential of
this group and sign them to do a full scale CD.
Artist: Yanni
Album: In The Mirror
Label:Private Music/Windham Hill
Rating: $$$$
If you are already a Yanni fan, this collection doesn't have much new
to offer except for a special radio edit of "Aria" from the "Live At The
Acropolis" special, and a fold out picture of the artist. But those who have
recently discovered him may find this compilation a nice addition to their
collection, since it includes a variety of excellent pieces from five of
his early albums. Included are such favorites as "One Man's Dream," "Once
Upon A Time" and "Face In the Photograph."
Artist: Elliott Smith
Album: either/or
Label: Kill Rock Stars
Rating: $$$
"either/or" is the second full length release from Elliott Smith, along with several singles, and his first, "Roman Candle." What this album amounts to is 90's style folk/pop. Using only an acoustic guitar and a microphone, he manages to mesmerise audiences with his pretty music, storytelling talents, and short songs. A few of the better tracks on this album are "Alameda, Pictures of Me, Punch and Judy, Cupid's Trick and Say Yes." I had the opportunity to hear Elliott Smith play live, and I have to admit he's better live than on CD - which is a switch! If you're into quiet story songs, more folk than pop, you might want to check this one out.
Artist: Pete Krebbs
Album: Western Electric
Label: Cavity Search
Rating: $$$$
Pete Krebbs is also a folk/pop singer, but with a little more pep. The first song on this
album, "J.F.K." will wake you up right away. "One Last Time" is a pretty good story song, and "Elevation" is a soft minor-key about things to be done. "Demon For Today" is a rather interesting tune in melody and lyrics, while "Horsepower Daydreams" is a fast paced number about speed - in both senses of the word. "Madison" is another peppy number, and there are two instrumentals included, "Luminous" and "Tom Waits and the Attack of the Crab Monster. I also heard Pete Krebbs play live, and again live is better than on the stereo - guess it works that way with one artist and an acoustic guitar, rather than a full band. This is a pretty decent folk album and also worth checking out.
Artist: Above The Law
Album: 100 Spokes
Label: Tommy Boy Records
Rating: $$$
This is a cassette single from "Above the Law" of "100 Spokes" with side one being the Clean Version and side two the Fresh On D's Clean Radio Mix. The song has a pretty good rap going and the backup singers fill the spaces nicely. "100 Spokes" is a medium paced number with very little instrumental backup, but what's there is effective. Probably a decent investment for fans.
Artist: Jocelyn Enriquez
Album: A Little Bit of Ecstasy
Label: Tommy Boy Records
Rating: $$$
This is the review of "A Little Bit Of Ecstasy" with the Radio Edit, the 12" Mix, the Freefloor Mix, the Deeper Mix, the Hard Deeper Mix, the Cibola Mix, the Dirt Mix, the Crunch Mix, Do You Miss Me (X-Mix) and Mr. Bolisario. The song itself is a good song to start with, but after ten different mixes it gets a little bit monotonous. I'm sure this CD is meant for DJ's, more than for the general public, to give some variety to the song when they play it week after week. As a listener, I liked the "Cibola Mix," "Dirt Mix" and "Do You Miss Me (X-Mix) the best, besides the Original Radio Edit. Not much else to say about it.
Artist: Capone -n- Noreaga
Album: T.O.N.Y.
Label: Tommy Boy Records
Rating: $$$
This is another set of different re-mixes of the same song, "T.O.N.Y." Truthfully I didn't catch much difference from track to track on this one. The basic song is done to a slow but powerful beat, and the lyrics are pretty heavy duty. If I had to pick one track out of the four on the CD it would be Track Number Three. It gives a lot of emphasis to the beat and the melancholy nature of the song, but it's mostly instrumental. Again I imagine this is intended for club DJ's and not the general public, to add variety to their weekly performances. It's still a good song though.
