Bob Dylan - His Greatest Songs

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06/01/2008

MANY would agree that trying to fit the best of Robert Allen Zimmerman, or Bob Dylan, into a single CD is like trying to fit the history of the world into a single textbook. It is an impossible feat and no matter how good a job you do, a big chunk of the story is going to be left out.

Knowing this, Columbia Records and Sony BMG has released a sampler, Bob Dylan - His Greatest Songs, which is a starting point for new listeners to choose which songs they fancy and follow it back to the original album.

Kicking things off is the evergreen Blowing In The Wind, which will forever be known as the classic Dylan song. It has been sung in schools, churches and protest marches. Released on his 1963 The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, it poses philosophical questions about peace, war and freedom. The song does not refer specifically to any particular event which has kept its popularity enduring.

Next is The Times They Are a-Changin', taken from Dylan's third album with the same title released in 1964. A self-conscious protest song, it is often viewed as a reflection of the generation gap and of the political divide marking American culture in the 60s.

Subterranean Homesick Blues, a song written by Dylan released on the 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. It was thought to be inspired by Jack Kerouac's 1958 novel The Subterraneans, and is about the Beat Generation. In this song, Dylan goes electric. It is a funny look at the downside of abandoning the straight world for a life underground.

Mr Tambourine Man was also featured on Bringing It All Back Home and was a number one single for The Byrds before the release of Dylan's own version. Here, Dylan zeroed in on the best part of his lyric writing, the cascading imagery and flights of lyrical abandon, all rooted in an
internal logic that let's you know there was substance to a dream. Above all that, it will always be known as the song that brought folk-rock into mainstream American consciousness.

In 2004, based on its poll of 172 music industry figures, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Like A Rolling Stone from Dylan's 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited as one of the greatest song of all time. The drums explode like a thunder crack and the song keeps going and going, breaking the time barrier radio had placed on pop songs.

Positively 4th Street's lyrics are bitter and derisive, founding many different meanings for as many different listeners. Some have interpreted the song to be a general disparagement to the opportunistic and disingenuous people of the world. But the song is generally assumed to ridicule the people of Greenwich Village, who criticised Dylan for his departure from traditional folk style towards the electric guitar and rock music genre.

Just Like A Woman from Dylan's 1966 album Blonde On Blonde, is a love song so elegant and confused it's not clear today, so many years later, whether it is insufferably condescending or startlingly loving.

As with many of the lyrics to the songs on his albums, the words to All Along The Watchtower from his 1967 album John Wesley Harding, contains biblical and apocalyptic references, depicting a conversation between a joker and a thief about the difficulties of getting by in life. But what made this song famous was Jimi Hendrix's definitive cover version of Watchtower, forever known as psychedelic rock's finest moment.

Sung by Dylan in a low, soft voice instead of his familiar high-pitched nasal-sounding voice, Lay Lady Lay was released on his 1969 Nashville Skyline album. It was originally written for the soundtrack of the film, Midnight Cowboy, but wasn't submitted in time to make the final cut.

One of Dylan's most well known songs Knockin' On Heaven's Door was originally recorded as a slow acoustic folksy ballad. Knockin' has since been covered in many tempos and styles by many artistes, most famously Guns N' Roses, The Grateful Dead, Wyclef Jean, Eric Clapton, U2, Avril Lavigne, Bon Jovi, Randy Crawford, Ladysmith Black Mambozo and Australian heavy metal band Heaven. The irony of it all, is that the song only has four chords.

Released on his 1975 album Desire, Hurricane is a protest song by Dylan about the accusation, trial and imprisonment of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. It eventually helped get Carter a new trial and freedom.

Things Have Changed is a song from the 2000 film adaptation of the Michael Chabon novel Wonder Boys and won Dylan an Academy Award for Best Song in a Motion Picture in 2001.

Finally, Someday Baby won the Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2006 and is the fifth track on his 2006 album Modern Times, that won the Best Contemporary Folk/ Americana Album.

From these few songs alone, it is clear why so many musical legends are inspired by this lanky American singer-songwriter, author, musician, poet and, of late, disc jockey who has been a major figure in popular music for more then half a century.

Bob Dylan - His Greatest Songs will be a hit with his fans and is sure to convert many others as well. - NST

Jennifer Lopez: Brave

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11/11/2007

HOW times have changed for Jennifer Lopez. Brave, her second 2007 album and return to English-language recording is leagues better than its immediate predecessor, the abhorrently atrocious Spanish-language Como Ama una Mujer and a return to her R&B-club roots - the kind of grooves that have helped make her a multi-platform superstar.

Combining urban dance pop music and easy to relate lyrics, JLo has once again managed to come up with a brilliant album.

The flirty lead-off track, Stay Together, produced by Sean Kingston's daddy, J.R. Rotem, is another certified shaker with a live band feel that pulses across the speakers and is the most personal of the 12 tracks as she gives props to monogamy.

The twice-divorced artiste claims she has finally found her happiness and appeals to the listeners to follow her example.

The mid-tempo composition, Forever, is one of the album's standout tracks due to its beautiful melody and her sensual performance.

Fans of Desperate Housewives will surely recognise Miles In These Shoes from the adverts, with its pleasing deep ideas and interesting metaphors in the lyrics.

For those fond of melodious and deep felt ballads, composition Never Gonna Give Up, a ballad driven with over two minutes of her voice weaving in and out of a string orchestra and devoted to the topic of heartbreak, will do perfectly well.

The most likely candidate for a smash hit is the ass-shaking masterpiece Do It Well, which she has wisely chosen as her first single.

However, it sounds dated and recycled thanks to its reliance on a sample of Keep On Truckin, already heavily used in hip-hop, as does Gotta Be There, which uses a sample of Michael Jackson's overused Gotta Be Where You Are.

Wrong When You're Gone shows she can inject some soul when she's adequately inspired, with its softly clapping production sticking in your head for days.

The title track, Brave, is saved to end the album which can be truly valued only after more than one listening.

Overall, Brave isn't one of her best album to date, but she's clearly in love, pure and simple, and the effect is hard to argue with.

Failing that, she can always fall back on her acting career! - NST

Plain White T's: Every Second Counts

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28/10/2007

THIS pop rock band from Chicago, Illinois, which gave you Hey There, Delilah is back with its fourth album Every Second Counts.

There are a few diamonds in this album, other than Delilah. Every Second Counts kicks off with Our Time Now, which finds lead singer Tom Higgenson capturing the euphoria of a new love.

Come Back To Me mixes gentle guitar melodies with power chords and grand vocals from Higgenson, while Figure It Out has a slight Latino flavour and a rolling chorus.

Just when you think things are going to settle down into acoustic sweetness, along comes a song with melodic vocal and blues-metal mashed guitar hooks on Hate, a nice contrast to the aching romanticism of Delilah.

The socially responsible Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk makes a nice change to a lot of the alcohol-driven tracks that bands like to rock. Let Me Take You There seems to be the strongest song on the album while Making A Memory, with a twist of blues, has a chorus that will positively ensure those glow sticks and lighters being waved from side to side.

What Every Second Counts suffers from is a nasty case of inconsistency. About half the album is glorious pop-punk, while the remainder is a combination of lesser rock and uninspired ballads.

But this fourth offering ensures the Plain White T's won't be disappearing into complete obscurity any time soon. - NST

Steve Vai: Sound Theories Vol. 1 & 2

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21/10/2007

GUITAR virtuoso Steve Vai does what most people can only dream of on asix and seven-stringed axe, continually pushing the boundaries of guitarplaying and the rock genre to stratospheric heights.

But ever since the first time he heard an orchestra as a boy growing upin New York, his dream was to "capture and make real the audio vision ofmy mind's eye".

And so comes the release of a double-live CD recording from the47-year-old Grammy-winning guitarist, entitled Sound Theories Vol. 1 & 2, which features his compositions backed by the Holland Metropole Orkest.

But the live tag may be a little misleading.

Culled from five Europeanshows recorded in 2004 and 2005, the songs were studio edited to perfection by the meticulous Vai. The end result is a polished piece of aural art, which also includes the recordings of a studio session and a soundcheck rehearsal jam.

On the first CD, Vol. 1: The Aching Hunger, Vai grinds his trademarkIbanez Jem guitars and lets rip side by side with the orchestra and afour-man band. Songs that feature mind-blowing fret technique like For The Love Of God, a fan favourite from his acclaimed 1990 album Passion And Warfare,sound grand with an added presence thanks to the strings and brass.

This modern classical meets rock dynamic creates interesting moods fromthe foreboding and ominous in The Murder to the moving emotion of GentleWays.

For the second CD, Vol. 2: Shadows and Sparks, Vai takes a breather and let's the orchestra have free reign over his compositions. The man may be absent here but the complexity and hyperactive nature ofthe pieces, twisting and turning with many layers, is typical Vai.

These long lush pieces, eight to 10 minutes in length, take thelistener on a journey, like all great progressive rock pieces past andpresent.

A master shredder with more than 20 years of experience in creating andproducing rock-based guitar music, Vai makes it apparent that he's stillgot the groove. - NST

Raul Midon: A World Within A World

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30/09/2007

BORN premature and blind, the New Mexico-born, New York-based writer-vocalist-guitarist Raul Midon burst onto the scene in 2005 with his audaciously original debut album, State Of Mind. Now he is back with a sophomore offering, A World Within A World.

This is definitely a very special treat, packed with well produced, well written, easy-to-take tunes put across in rhythm & blues, folk groove with lots of Latin soul beats.

Midon lays out the purpose for his music on the album's first song, Pick Somebody Up, with a string section adding depth. His strikingly powerful voice flows over the top of the music which is backed by a solid rhythm section.

He follows this with Save My Life. It's a mellow tune that develops in a big way, with great blues guitar licks accenting the vocals.

From doo-wop (Ain't Happened Yet) to modern urban (All Because of You) to latin (Caminando) to pop (The More That I Know) to Bob Dylan-like folk (Tembererena), Midon combines his distinct voice, strumming, beats, and acappella sounds with his unique style that shows the influence of virtually every musical genre including jazz.

Plus, in place of having a trombone or saxophone, he uses his lips as a harmonic mouthpiece to add a brassy element into his music. His guitar methods utilise a bass-slapping technique for added percussion.

In Midon, one can actually imagine the soulfulness of Stevie Wonder, the inventiveness of Paul Simon and individuality of Bill Withers.

Tembererana, which employs elements of Argentinean music, pits images of the threat of looming annihilation against "the power of creation", while The More That I Know ponders metaphysical questions like Why do the children suffer so?

The culminating Peace On Earth places the radical humanism of John Lennon's Imagine in an unsettling contemporary context.

If you haven't heard of Raul Midon before, then A World Within A World is the perfect reason for you to fall in love with his music. - NST

Wings: Dua Dekad

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19/08/2007

TWENTY-two years ago, Ahmad Azhar Othman (Awie), Rodzane Mohamed(Jojet), Zul and Sham Baharom (Sham) decided to form a school band. They played rock n' roll songs heavily influenced by Scorpions, BlackSabbath and Led Zeppelin. And thus, Wings was born.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Even though the band members came and went, with the current line-up of Sansaidi Ulung Idris (Eddie) replacing Zul as bassist, Azmi Hisham (Black) replacing as drummer and Abd Zamin Abd Kadir (Joe) replacing Sham as guitarist, the group still remains a staple in our country's historyof local rock music industry, selling over 1.5 million albums.

To celebrate 20 years in the local rock music industry, check out itsdouble-cd compilation, Dua Dekad.

It features songs taken from Belenggu Irama (1987), Hukum Karma (1989),Teori Domino (1990), Jerangkung Dalam Almari (1991), Best of Wings 2 (1992), Bazooka Penaka (1993), Orang Asing (1995) and Biru Mata Hitamku (1996).

The masterpieces include Taman Rashidah Utama and Misteri Mimpi Syakilla, that won second and third place for Best Performance Categoryat Juara Lagu 1989 and Sejati, winner of Best Performance and third placefor Best Song Category at Juara Lagu 1990.

Despite the total change in lineup and the initial five-year radio banby RTM that Wings had to endure for Belenggu Irama, and with many more accolades and awards under its belt, many would agree that this band hassurvived the test of time.

And lived to tell the tale. - NST

Kenny Rogers: Kenny Rogers 20 Great Years

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19/08/2007

KENNETH Donald "Kenny" Rogers, the American country music singer,photographer, producer, songwriter, actor and businessman, has charted more than 70 hit singles across various music genres and topping thecountry and pop album charts for more than 420 individual weeks in the US alone.

Two of his albums, the multi-million selling The Gambler (1978) and Kenny are featured in the About.com poll of "The 200 Most InfluentialCountry Albums Ever".

Rogers hasn't recorded any new albums for a couple of years, but nowhe's back with his compilation of greatest hits in Kenny Rogers 20 GreatYears, featuring new versions of some of his best known hit singles from1969 through 1989.

Lucille, that tells the story of an unfaithful wife and mother, was Rogers' first major hit as a solo artiste after leaving the successfulCountry/Rock group, The First Edition, in 1975.

Recorded in 1980, Lady, written and produced by Lionel Richie, proved to be an important record for both of them. It became the first record ofthe 80s to chart on all four of Billboard magazine's singles charts -Country, Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Top Black Singles.

Other songs on this album are The Gambler , She Believes In Me, a country-pop song about a songwriter who has a beloved too good for him, the 1979 hit You Decorated My Life which reached number one on the country charts and crossed over onto the Billboard Hot 100 and Ruby,Don't Take Your Love To Town.

Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer features a duet with GrammyAward-winning singer-songwriter Kim Carnes, while Daytime Friends (AndNighttime Lovers) is the title track to Roger's 1993 compilation album.

If you like Kenny Rogers, you'll love this album. - NST