Chris Cornell - Carry On

It doesn't really matter what you're talking about. Could be solo, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave or any of the other random things he's done, Chris Cornell's vocal is always one of the best in the business. It's just fact. Cornell is yet another Seattle kid - proud to be in the middle of the grunge movement back in the early 90's. Cornell was born in 1964 and started making music at 20 years old. He was always part of one of the aforementioned groups though, and didn't really go solo until the late 90's after Soundgarden took a hiatus. This album however, didn't come out until 2007 - after the Audioslave disband. I've already talked about his vocal - it's solid and unmistakable. But this album isn't the heavy, guitar riffy Soundgarden type stuff you're used to from Cornell. Sure, there is some of that, and it doesn't stray too far from his alternative grunge roots from time to time - but as a whole, not at all that sort of feel. Some really well done acoustic, drum ballads and an overall feel of just a smooth rock n' roll album without the teenage angst or guitar smashing. This album got a pretty bad rap from critics unanimously. I'm not totally sure why either. Most of them seemed to dwell on the Michael Jackson cover of 'Billie Jean'. To me, it's not even that bad. Certainly not bad enough to base your entire review off of. A track like 'You Know My Name' has that shifty melody and the great vocal that can single handedly save an album. But there are a couple really nice tracks here. Not to say it's mastery in rock or anything, but it's a stable, pallatable rock record. The kind you like to drift off to on a rainy Wednesday afternoon.

TRACK LISTING:
1. No Such Thing
2. Poison Eye
3. Arms Around Your Love
4. Safe and Sound
5. She'll Never Be Your Man
6. Ghosts
7. Killing Birds
8. Billie Jean
9. Scar on the Sky
10. Your Soul Today
11. Finally Forever
12. Silence the Voices
13. Disappearing Act
14. You Know My Name

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. You Know My Name
2. No Such Thing
3. Arms Around Your Love

FINAL RATING:
3.5 out of 5 stars

Disturbed - Lost Children

Tuesday springs forth some new music - and this week it's a little Disturbed. Now, I'm no expert on this band - but I did fall in love with 'The Sickness' - their debut drop back in 2000. That album saw this raw emotion style with a great lead vocal. Dave Draiman's voice is something of magic when you're composing a metal type record. Great "screaming" voice - that doesn't get too over the top. Although this is their sixth studio recording, I don't think I've heard anything start to finish except that first one. And it turns out, this isn't a "new" studio album, but a b-side (YAY that's my name!) record full of compilations of tracks that didn't make other records. The name is in direct classification of the album. Disturbed refers to their songs as their "children" because they can't discern a favorite of the bunch. So the "lost" meaning the ones that got left behind in the fold, but they still liked enough to show to their fans. There are a number of stories behind the songs - which isn't always the way metal type bands work. But 'Hell' is referring to when a person comes in and out of your life - and typically comes back for the worse. 'Mine' is about religion and how it acts as a catalyst for war. Deep stuff here. What I think I really enjoy about this album is - the good old hard, emotional arrangements topped with that same, familiar vocal. While there may be deep meanings to the songs, I don't find myself singing along enough to really follow the lyrics to lead me to any sort of message. But that's okay - I don't look for that in my metal. This album is in no way risky - it's continuing the legacy of what made the band great. And when it comes to certain bands in certain genres - that couldn't be any more perfect. Since it's just a random mix of b-side tracks, there really isn't any sort of amazing flow to the album, it's just 60 minutes of pure metal. And that's just alright by me.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Hell
2. A Welcome Burden
3. This Moment
4. Old Friend
5. Monster
6. Run
7. Leave It Alone
8. Two Worlds
9. God of the Mind
10. Sickened
11. Mine
12. Parasite
13. Dehumanized
14. 3
15. Midlife Crisis
16. Living After Midnight

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Mine
2. Hell
3. A Welcome Burden

FINAL RATING:
3 out of 5 stars

DMX - Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood

In the "best rapper to go crazy and not be recognized for his talent" department, DMX would win any sort of gold medal you could offer. Everyone knows about the crime and all the early legal issues. Yes, he was a real life criminal. He stabbed people, had guns, committed identity fraud - pretty much anything you can think of. Aside to that, he still found a way to be a rapper, and drop three really solid albums in two years, 1998 and 1999. After those highlights of years, that's when it all started to go south. I don't want to focus too much on recent DMX - but I saw he tried to put on a show in Vegas a couple years back, and was so intoxicated and under the influence of drugs he couldn't perform and was removed from stage. Terrible and unfortunate. Anyways, the golden years - he was one of the best in the industry. And I know that people will remark about his awful lyrics and very - VERY vivid portraits of crime that he'd paint in his raps. And sure, it's brutal and terrible and makes you sick in some spots - but DMX was speaking real. A track on this album - 'Ain't No Way', you hear him rap, "You ain’t been there or done that, fuck is y’all n***** tellin me. I’m the only n****, walkin the streets with four felonies." Exactly. If anyone is going to rap about crime, DMX should have been that guy. And because of that sick, twisted past and present - you believed him. You thought this guy could be rapping at a show, and literally stab a concert goer for looking at him funny. And nothing makes me love rap more when guys tell their real, true life story. And this album is for the most part 16 tracks of that. There are a couple stinkers, but for the most part, this album is sick beats, sick lyrics and just a well arranged album. I'll probably drop in at least 3 tracks below, and I highly recommend you listen to at least those. But any rap fan will adore this album. It's really that good.

TRACK LISTING:
1. My Niggas (Skit)
2. Bring Your Whole Crew
3. Pac Man (Skit)
4. Ain't No Way
5. We Don't Give a Fuck
6. Keep Your Shit the Hardest
7. Coming From
8. It's All Good
9. Omen, The
10. Slippin'
11. No Love 4 Me
12. Dogs for Life
13. Blackout
14. Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood
15. Heat
16. Ready to Meet Him

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Ain't No Way
2. Slippin'
3. Ready To Meet Him (The prayer and the song are sick)

4. Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood
5. Bring Your Whole Crew

FINAL RATING:
4.25 out of 5 stars

Eli Young Band - Life At Best

It's been a while since I dipped into the Suggestion Box for a review, and so we'll bounce over to JenInTosa for a little Eli Young Band. These guys have been together since 2000 and are based out of Denton, Texas. The name comes from the founders Mike Eli and James Young and when they first met each other while attending the University of North Texas. They dropped their first album in 2002 - it didn't see much play, and their second in 2005, which opened a few doors for them. They opened a few shows for Miranda Lambert, which started to really get the word out. After getting some exposure on the country music cable stations, their shows started catching fire and tickets started flying out the sales window. One incredibly interesting story is, Mike Eli was selected to sing the 'Star Spangled Banner' for an NFL game between the Broncos and Chiefs back in 2010. While singing the track, he was booed by most of the fans in attendance. He was going to try to sing it again, but he forgot most of the words. Not sure if it was nerves or what, but I also can't seem to find any information about how great these guys are live or anything either. Who knows. 'Life At Best' is their fourth studio recording, and it dropped just a couple months ago. It's spawned one Top 10 country charts single in 'Crazy Girl' - but not much fanfare otherwise. This album feels very contemporary country to me. And not only that, the whole thing sounds very flat. Eli's vocal seems to have very little range, and almost comes across as monotone to me after I get to about track 10. The 14 tracks blend into seemingly one big track that's very similarly paced and pitched. I know the strain on country music is to now appeal to the pop crowd, but I don't see any of the songs on here making top rotation in pop stations. It's not anything to write home about lyrically either - which kind of just makes for a long, drawn out hybrid album.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Even If It Breaks Your Heart
2. Crazy Girl
3. Every Other Memory
4. On My Way
5. Skeletons
6. I Love You
7. The Fight
8. My Old Man's Son
9. Recover
10. The Falling
11. War on a Desperate Man
12. Say Goodnight
13. How Quickly You Forget
14. Life at Best

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Even If It Breaks Your Heart
2. Every Other Memory
3. Crazy Girl

FINAL RATING:
1.75 out of 5 stars

Maroon 5 - Hands All Over

Thursday brings a little Maroon 5 to my headphones - and really because of one reason. I can't go anywhere right now without hearing 'Moves Like Jagger'. And I must say, dang it's a catchy song. Even though the single dropped back in late June of this year, and then the album came out in September of last year - the album's radio play is still going strong. Now, some of you may recall my 'Songs About Jane' review a long while back, where I talked about my closeted enjoyment of the band. Something about the combination of Levine's vocals and the solid production values on the album do something that makes me want to listen. Some of their stuff is very pop and some is really a sad, mood type track. I tend to gravitate toward their slower ballads more, but the pop stuff is more than tolerable. 'Hands All Over' is certainly more pop than it is ballady sadness. But that's okay. There are a couple ballads that are still pretty poppy, but overall, the album really works well top to bottom. Then you get to the rereleased album that does contain 'Jagger' and all of the sudden you've got this sick dance track. Not really what I'd expect to hear from a Maroon 5 album. There are plenty of uptempo beaty tracks, like the opener in 'Misery' - but something about 'Jagger' rings a totally different sound than usual. I like it. I think if you're looking for a well produced pop album with great beats, this is definitely the album for you. While some of the ballads don't seem to fit in, there is no denying the band and the producer did a nice job setting a standard. Maybe not the most lyrically gifted effort either, but if you want a new Maroon album to just jive to and drift away with your toes tappin', this is the one.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Misery
2. Give a Little More
3. Stutter
4. Don't Know Nothing
5. Never Gonna Leave This Bed
6. I Can't Lie
7. Hands All Over
8. How
9. Get Back in My Life
10. Just a Feeling
11. Runaway
12. Out of Goodbyes
13. Moves Like Jagger

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Never Gonna Leave This Bed
2. Moves Like Jagger
3. Misery

FINAL RATING:
3 out of 5 stars

Duran Duran - Rio

We go all 80's today with a little Duran Duran. Not a band I'm overly familiar with, but willing to give a shot to this morning. These guys formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England. They got their start by working at the Rum Runner nightclub - at first just working the door and then deejaying for side cash. The caveat was if the club wasn't booked, they'd perform and hone in on their craft. There was also a prominent club just down the road called Barbarella's where larger acts performed, such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash. They in fact named the band based on the French film Barbarella, in which the main villain is named Mr. Durand Durand. This album was their second effort, and it dropped in 1982. It is their highest selling album in the US, at a nice 2x platinum. The lead single off the album was the ever-so-popular 'Hungry Like The Wolf'. While this contains the signature eighties snythed out style sound, somehow they've also managed to make that sound feel romantic in a way. I'm not really sure how to describe that, but maybe it's the way the ballads form over the album and the overall tone, it sounds like this was intended to be a love album. Part of the other reason this album might have done well, is it's a record you could dance to, in a very 80's way. Not that I'd call this a dance record by any means, but it's beaty enough in spots that you could easily get your toes tapping and hips swaying. Now, I'll fully admit this isn't my cup of tea. From time to time I enjoy the synth music from back in the day, but this tends to all blend together for me. It lacks any great substance lyrically and even musically to make me believe it's a classic of any sorts. When you think of older records that have similar music properties, the great ones have a 'Come Sail Away' or power track of that nature, and personally, I don't think 'Hungry' fits that same bill. 80's nuts will probably enjoy it, but it's just not for me.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Rio
2. My Own Way
3. Lonely In Your Nightmare
4. Hungry Like the Wolf
5. Hold Back the Rain
6. New Religion
7. Last Chance on the Stairway
8. Save a Prayer
9. The Chauffeur

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Hungry Like The Wolf
2. My Own Way
3. Rio

FINAL RATING:
2.25 out of 5 stars

Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials

What's this? Two New Music Tuesday entries?!?! Hooray music! About a year ago now, I was just some dummy off the street who had no idea who Florence + The Machine was. And you say, "But B Side, the first album came out in July of 2009!" And I say - I know dear reader. I really dropped the ball on this band. But once I listened to them, I was hooked. My loyal readers will recall I went to a show to see her perform this summer, and she was outstanding. Even as much as I loved her before, the show gave me a whole new respect of what she's capable of doing. The backstory for this record was Florence Welch was approached to do this "American pop music" record out in Los Angeles. At first, she was ecstatic, as she's a self described "sucker" for American pop. But when she read through the initial plan for the album, she couldn't do it. She couldn't just give up on all the principles that made 'Lungs' so amazing and true to her style. So back to London she went, working in the studio. This album was set out to be a better version of 'Lungs' with a "more dark, more heavy, bigger drum sounds, bigger bass, but with more of a whole sound". Pretty big shoes to fill. Listening to this for the first time this morning - wow. I'm honestly shocked. It feels so much like 'Lungs' but the songs have this quality, this depth that is almost like 'Lungs' on steroids. I refuse to say this album is "better" or even "worse" because it's too early for me to judge. But I can say this, her vocals and the heavy, dark drums - wow. It's just simply a style that I personally can't ever get sick of. I adore this. And no, it's not the most manly of albums out there, but so what? It's flat out great music. I'm going to have an initial hard time picking out my three tracks, but maybe I'll revisit this one in a few weeks. It's good enough that I'm gonna run out to buy it. So at the very least, you should check this one out.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Only If For a Night
2. Shake It Out
3. What the Water Gave Me
4. Never Let Me Go
5. Breaking Down
6. Lover To Lover
7. No Light, No Light
8. Seven Devils
9. Heartlines
10. Spectrum
11. All This and Heaven Too
12. Leave My Body
13. Remain Nameless
14. Strangeness and Charm
15. Bedroom Hymns
16. What the Water Gave Me (Demo)

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Seven Devils
2. Never Let Me Go
3. What The Water Gave Me

FINAL RATING:
4 out of 5 stars