Revolution Review

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(More customer reviews)This live cd documents Margaret's recent "Revolution" tour and is probably one of the absolute funniest and best comedy albums to be released in recent memory. Someone needs to get Margaret her one TV talk show (preferably on cable!) quickly!! She is so smart, and so funny, and so dead-on accurate in her views about pop culture and world politics.
Ms. Cho is just brilliant. She can be super serious one minute, and then in the next breath can have you crying tears of laughter. Not only is she one of the most important voices in comedy, she is just one of the most important ENTERTAINERS working today. She needs to be on every TV show! She needs to be in every movie! She needs to be everywhere!!!
Following in the footsteps of Margaret's previous shows, "I'm The One That I Want" and "Notorious C.H.O.", another live concert movie is being produced. This movie is going to have a bonus that the other two didn't have: a second movie that is a behind-the-scenes look at Margaret during her "Revolution" tour (it'll be Margaret's version of Madonna's "Truth Or Dare"). This cd will tide us all over until those movies hit theaters in 2004.
Really, the only comment that I have to make about this cd is that unless you have seen the "Revolution" show live, you might get a bit lost in some parts. A lot of Margaret's comedy involves her physically doing things- whether it's a facial expression, or some kind of movement. Obviously, you can't see that when you are listening to a cd. Since I've seen the show, it wasn't a problem for me because I remember what she's doing. Even if you haven't seen the show, you'll still find this cd to be 100% entertaining.
You just can't go wrong with Margaret!

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Revolution

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Hard Candy Special Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)SUMMARY: Madonna's final album for Warner Brothers is by no means her best, but it's a fitting swan song for the artist who anchored the label for the past quarter-century. A lot of the reviews for this album are missing the mark, either overzealous in its defense, or obtusely critical in the hope of shining the spotlight on another artist. 'Hard Candy' is a mixed bag of true gems and questionable choices, but it's quintessentially Madonna.
WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: When Madonna hits the mark, no one does it better, and even her detractors would be hard-pressed to name another artist of her caliber. Despite what others have said, no two Madonna albums are the same, which is why she has remained one of the most relevant artists in the past twenty-five years. While a few of the songs here are reminiscent of earlier works (in a good way), they're also very much current and a part of her ever-evolving musicality. 'Hard Candy' is thus at once an homage and a contemporary statement. There's no shortage of danceable material here, and few artists are willing to take the chances in which Madonna revels.
WHY YOU WON'T: Several of the tracks are overproduced, and Madonna's vocals are all but lost in their delivery. Noticeably absent is the vocal maturation she has consistently displayed since Evita. Her voice is high and thin - as it was in the early days, and which is unfortunately drawing comparisons to Britney Spears (who really is nothing more but a poorly-conceived clone) - but she mostly makes it work for these tracks. 'Candy Shop' is truly an abysmal song, despite its irony, and was a poor choice to open the album. The less said about '4 Minutes', the better, but don't make the mistake of judging the entire CD by its lead single - the whole of 'Hard Candy' has a distinctly different flavor than this disposable track.
BOTTOM LINE: Madonna is not interested in repeating herself, so fans who are expecting 'Confessions II' will be vastly disappointed. Many are proclaiming that Madonna is simply reproducing the recent efforts of the bevy of pop songstresses (Mariah, Britney, Christina, Nelly, Gwen, etc.) currently populating the landscape. Not true. She was here long before them and, in the cases of many of them, will be here long after they fade away; it is they who owe a debt to her. Those who understand Madonna, however, and who get her sense of humor, her irony, her deliberateness, and who know enough to look beneath the deceptively simple lyrics, will be pleased to add this to their collection. Standout tracks include 'Heartbeat' (which should be the next single), 'Miles Away', 'She's Not Me', and 'Devil Wouldn't Recognize You'.

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It is a DVD-sized hinged box containing the CD (with 2 extra remix tracks), a 16-page full-color booklet, and a package of Starlite Mint candies.The package is jewel case width, 8 inches tall, and 1 1/2 inch deep....has hard candy in the package.

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Bring Ya to the Brink (Snys) Review

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(More customer reviews)Cyndi Lauper's career has seen her success fluctuate from dizzying highs to off-the-scale lows, with a startlingly diverse artistic palette and long gaps between albums doubtless accounting for the lion's share of the inconsistency. She flourished as a pop culture ingénue with her eccentric, flamboyant image, but this contrasted with her more inherent identity as a state of the art song stylist and inventive, highly skilled songwriter and musician. Now a quarter century has passed and the average person is still at a loss for words to properly define Lauper. Regardless, she has never sounded more at home on brand new dance floor-ready studio album "Bring Ya to the Brink." The girl who just wanted to have fun is either having the time of her life or doing a damn fine job of making listeners believe it.
A definite nod to her core fanbase in the LGBT community, the theme of "Bring Ya to the Brink" does not showcase the New York native's soaring range as her 2003 chestnut covers collection "At Last" did, for example. Rather, it boasts frenetic, club-ready beats and propulsive, repetitious melodies, replete with disco ball imagery. That is exactly as it is supposed to be. From the funky, loquacious opener "High and Mighty" with its temperamental synths to the sweeping gust of wind that is "Set Your Heart," the album is wall to wall uptempo energy, making it an ideal summer disc.
Some could say that Lauper is aping Madonna, whose last two LPs were aimed straight at nightclubs and dance floors. However, the key difference is that "Bring Ya to the Brink" neither flagrantly tips the hat to the past nor makes an earnest effort to keep things trendy or Top 40 savvy. Instead, Lauper mixes together 80's new wave stylings with easy, effusive beats that are nothing if not indicative of the late 2000s to create a sound neither retro nor modern, but simply the genesis of her atypical artistic vision. The most important thing, however, is that it never fails to entertain.
Hooks run aplenty on "Echo," a bittersweet slice of Eurodance, as well as lead single "Same Ol' Story," a 12"-length gem which is currently climbing the club charts thanks to its fluffy production values reminiscent of ace 70's collaborations between Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder. Indeed, as Lauper declares on the sweaty, propulsive "Give It Up," "I've got to get back to the floor!"
With this new direction she has her cake and eats it too, as she continues to make heady statements and social commentary where she sees fit in spite of the levity that surrounds. "Lyfe," with its memorable chorus ("Lyfe/It can shake ya/It can break ya/It can bring ya to the brink") serves as a prime example, as does "Raging Storm," a meditation on problems inherent in the values of today's cultural landscape:
"Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief/You can fool some people, but you can't fool me/Harbor all the hate and greed/Threaten demise of democracy/There's a raging storm in a troubled sea/But you're clouding my mind with celebrity."
Second single "Into the Nightlife" is the most instantly addicting with its gyrating snyths, stomp-on-glass production values and cheeky, sexual lyrics ("Shirtless wonders wreck my sight under the light"), providing the most potent chance for a crossover to pop radio, while "Rocking Chair," a frothy, mercurial collaboration with Basement Jaxx, provides a mighty hook and eye-popping lyrics. It's a joy to hear Lauper wrap her vocals around its juicy, uncontainable melody.
"Lay Me Down" with its haunting, inescapable melody and evocative lyrics is the album's arguable highlight, while "Rain on Me" closes the disc with a wistful, bittersweet high note that is exemplary of Lauper's unique voice as a songwriter.
"Bring Ya to the Brink" continues Lauper's career with another top notch release. Each track is a gem with no trace of filler. Lauper never fails to reveal new aspects of her unique, thoroughly entertaining talents as both a singer and songwriter, and this new release keeps the bar raised high.

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Explicit Version. Cyndi Lauper's 2008 album, Bring Ya To The Brink,is Cyndi's first album of new material in 12 years. More than 25 years after her debut, Cyndi is still exploring new artistic territory. With Bring Ya To The Brink, she found herself inspired by beat drive music that has filled dance clubs throughout Europe and No. America. Sony. 2008.

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Margaret Cho - Assassin (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)A lot of people are being critical about Margaret "turning" political nowadays, which is ridiculous because all she does is speak about her life and her experience, and everyone is more political these days. If she has anything interesting to say about politics, than by all means she should include it in her act. That said, here's my review-
She is much more connected with the audience here than with Revolution, which I'm sure a lot of people will be happy with, even though I thought she was great before. Most of her new writing is 100% political in nature here, and scathingly funny. Gay marriage, the moron in the oval office, the flavor of Laura Bushes' coochie, the pope's decidedly homosexual lifestyle- are just a fraction of the perceptive and hilarious material seen in this film. You pretty much know what to expect, which is something creative and original.

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Margaret Cho returns to the concert stage with a "killer" one-woman show that has taken audiences by storm. Filmed live at the Warner Theatre in Washington D.C., Assassin features a fresh dose of Margaret’s ground-breaking and controversial brand of humor. Taking aim at the Bush administration and the religious right, she pulls no punches in her assault on the "ever devolving" state of the union. The result is an unforgettable performance featuring Margaret at her raw, irreverent and hilarious best.

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Rocket Man: Number Ones Review

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(More customer reviews)Good old Elton: spats with George Michael, agony aunt to the Beckhams, adopted daddy to Robbie Williams, songwriter on Billy Elliot's stage reinvention, not to mention his birthday's celebration.
It's a wonder the man, born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, has time for a pop career at all.
But what a colourful career it has been. Love him or loathe him, in terms of sales and lasting popularity the singer, with over three decades of back catalogue, has more than earned his superstar status.
Never a conventional looker with his Lily Savage specs and rug bouffant, John's ability to dip into soul, disco and country as well as classic pop and progressive rock on tracks such as "Tiny Dancer", "Rocket Man", "Your Song", "Sacrifice' and "I'm Still Standing", has made him a musical legend.
Through sales slumps and well-publicised fall-outs with lyricist Bernie Taupin, the music maestro has managed more comebacks than Cher's Farewell tour.
To mark the occasion of his 60th birthday, Elton John releases a special edition 2-disc edition that includes a bonus DVD featuring five promo videos spanning the last four decades and five prevously unreleased tracks from his legendary Red Piano Las Vegas show.
The main CD features 18 tracks of hits spanning the likes of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Candle In The Wind", including "Tiny Dancer" (the song that was immortalised by the filmmaker Cameron Crowe in his fictional rockumentary "Almost Famous").
The collection veers more towards his Seventies' work and mixes the ballads with the rowdier numbers such as "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting") and "I'm Still Standing".
Some of the tracks are overly sentimental, particularly the latter stuff, but there's no getting away from the quality of recordings such as "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" and "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time)".
Fans will lap it up as part of the birthday celebrations, even though there's been a better "greatest hits" collection only few years ago.
But it's hard to begrudge such an enduring and popular artist his place in the limelight, particularly now that he's reached 60 years of age.
On the whole this is as solid a compilation as anyone who lacks a bit of Elton in their collection could wish for.

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On March 25, the remarkable Elton John proudly turned 60 years old. To celebrate the occasion, he performed his 60th concert at Madison Square Garden, and two days later released a newly compiled and digitally remastered collection of his greatest hits from past to present. This over 78-minute-long compilation is the first-ever single disc to cover the first 35 years of the great singer-songwriter's career. This limited edition comes with a bonus DVD, containing 5 live performances from the NBC broadcast of Elton's Red Piano concert, including his hits "Bennie and the Jets," "Rocket Man," "Candle in the Wind 1997," "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," and "Your Song." It also features 5 music videos, including "Your Song," "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues," "I'm Still Standing," and "I Want Love"--the latter featuring Robert Downey Jr.--plus Elton's new video for his latest single, "Tinderbox," only available here.

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Confessions Tour (CD + DVD) Review

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(More customer reviews)Despite all the haters out there this was one of the best Madonna tours ever. Madonna described the tour as "turning the world into a giant dance floor". The show is divided into four separate acts with different themes: Equestrian, Urban Bedouin, Glam Punk and Disco Fever. Madonna's Confessions Tour was a concert tour organized to support the album Confessions on a Dance Floor and set the record for the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist. The tour grossed more than $194.8 million with a total of 60 shows and 1.2 million people in paid attendance through North America, Europe, and Japan. Despite the U.S. lack of good taste in music and by refusing to give her radio play for her Confessions CD, she still managed to gross more than $80 million for the U.S. shows alone throughout the summer. In The U.S. her confessions tour instantly became the highest grossing summer tour of the year 2006. The tour has generated international controversy due to its use of Christian religious symbols. While singing "Live to Tell", Madonna hangs from a mirrored cross wearing a crown of thorns around her head. Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups in North America and Europe came together to criticize what they saw as Madonna's exploitation of "sacred" Christian symbols and labeled the show as blasphemous even though they never saw the show. Madonna brought more than just the Devil out in some of these Christians and other religious groups. A 63-year-old Dutch priest was even arrested when he decided to make a confession of his own when he confessed to making a hoax bomb threat in an attempt to stop her concert. In response to the criticism, Madonna personally and publicly invited Pope Benedict XVI to see the show while she was in Rome - insisting that she was doing the controversial act to raise awareness and money for orphans abandoned in Africa (particularly Malawi) due to HIV/AIDS and that "Jesus wouldn't mind." (While she sings "Live To Tell," in the background run haunting images of the devastation in Africa right now. On the top of the screen, a count begins from 0 until it reaches 12 million - the number of orphans created by HIV/AIDS in Africa alone. The tour features songs mainly from her Confessions on a Dance Floor CD which is considered Madonna's comeback album from her previous lowest selling effort American Life. Confessions on a Dance Floor's sales are near 10 million worldwide. It also holds the record for topping the most charts in the world. The single "Hung Up" also holds the record for topping the most charts in the world. With Confessions on a Dance Floor Madonna refused to follow any U.S. chart trends. She decided to release a collection of dance/electronic songs, which did not receive significant airplay in the U.S. but received massive airplay on all other parts of the world, including Europe and Asia. Nevertheless, despite lack of U.S. radio support (boycott because she spoke out against the war and that idiot president bush) all of the singles had a great performance on iTunes and on MTV's TRL Video Music Countdown. Madonna kept her goals of doing what she wanted and establishing trends instead of following them. Even lack of support in her home country didn't stop the album from selling over 1,600,000 units in the U.S. alone. This is one amazing show and one of her best tours. Madonna is still The Most Successful Female Recording Artist in the history of the world and this DVD proves she is far from singing her last song. Below is the Set List
Equestrian Act
1. "Future Lovers/I Feel Love"
2. "Get Together"
3. "Like A Virgin"
4. "Jump"
Urban Bedouin Act
5. "Interlude: Dancers' Confessions"
6. "Live to Tell"
7. "Forbidden Love"
8. "Isaac"
9. "Sorry"
10. "Like It Or Not"
Glam Punk Act
11. "Interlude: Sorry (Remix)"
12. "I Love New York"
13. "Ray of Light"
14. "Let It Will Be"
15. "Give Peace a Chance" (performed only in Moscow)
16. "Drowned World/Substitute For Love"
17. "Paradise (Not For Me)"
Disco Fever Act
18. "Interlude: Roller Dance: Disco Inferno"
19. "Music" (With Where's The Party mid-section)
20. "Erotica"
21. "La Isla Bonita"
22. "Lucky Star"
23. "Hung Up" Madonna will also be releasing a live cd to go along with this Confessions Tour DVD. Below is the CD track listing:
1. Future Lovers / I Feel Love
2. Like A Virgin
3. Jump
4. Confessions
5. Isaac
6. Sorry
7. Sorry (Remix)
8. I Love New York
9. Let It Will Be
10. Music Inferno
11. Erotica
12. Lucky Star
13. Hung Up


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The Confessions Tour, filmed at London's Wembley Arena duringher worldwide sold-out 25-city Confessions Tour (2006's top-grossing tourworld-wide), features songs from throughout the dance diva's career butlargely focuses on Confessions On A Dance Floor. Bonus Footage on DVD: Jesuis L'art, They're naughty children, Rollerskating, Photo Gallery--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Kylie Minogue - Fever 2002 (Live in Manchester) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)During the first half of 2002, Kylie Minogue toured Europe and Australia. This DVD captures it. Live In Manchester is a good concert that explores Kylie's musical catalog rather well from her days as a manufactured pop tart princess to her current status as icon and electro-pop diva.
The concert occurs in seven different acts meant to display Kylie in some of the different manifestaions she has adopted throughout her career. Cultural references are everywhere in this concert. There's a nod to Keith Haring, and many others from Staney Kubrick, burlesque, and sci-fi flicks. It's all hard to catch, but done very well.
Kylie's dancers have a strange look that coincides with the videos from her 'Fever' album. William Baker, her creative director, came up with the ideas for the concert. My only advice is that he should have hired a better choreographer because the dance moves are repetitive at times.
The music is the best thing (isn't that what should be best?) It ranges from latin, hip-hop, trance, euro-pop, funk, to the oddball. Some of her songs recieve heavy reinvention. Her older hits from her days as the 'Loco-Motion' girl are brought into the 21st century and the songs from her artistic, but commercial failure "Impossible Princess" bring an element of darkness to an otherwise frothy, but stylish show. In a great moment, Kylie references Donna Summer incorporating 'I Feel Love' into 'Light Years', songs that are very close cousins.
Kylie's voice sounds great. A definite improvement from her earlier days.
The documentary on this DVD is a fun piece of info about the concert although it was originally cut down from an hour to half an hour.
I don't recommend this to a fan who has only bought the 'Fever' album. The lack of knowledge of the other songs might confuse them. This disc is one for the fans who have been with her for a long time and know the history of this lovely Aussie.

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