Spice Girls - Girl Power (Live in Istanbul) (1997) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This video is very good for any Spice fan who wants to know more about the girls. The video starts out with a 30 minute interview with the girls. It then goes to the good stuff! The Spice Girls first every concert! It was filmed in Istanbul, Turkey on October 12, 1997 infront of 8,000 fans and millions more through pay-per-view! The BIG flaw of this video is that they edited out half of the concert! Songs on the video are If You Cant Dance, Who Do You Think You Are?, Say You'll Be There, Step To Me, Naked, Two Become One, Spice Up Your Life, Move Over, and finishes with Wannabe. Songs that were edited are Something Kinda Funny, Saturday Night Divas, Stop, Too Much, Love Thing, and Mama. Why did they edit so many songs!A plus though is that Geri is still part of the gang during this concert!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Spice Girls - Girl Power (Live in Istanbul) (1997)

Click here for more information about Spice Girls - Girl Power (Live in Istanbul) (1997)

f#a# (infinity symbol) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)"The car's on fire and there's no driver at the wheel, and the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides, and a dark wind blows. The government is corrupt, and we're on so many drugs, with the radio on and the curtains drawn. We're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine, and the machine is bleeding to death. The sun has fallen down, and the billboards are all leering, and the flags are all dead at the top of their polls."
With this harrowing, deep-voiced monologue begins _f#a#00_ (I can't make the infinity symbol so I'm improvising), a cinematic masterpiece lacking pictures but telling a lucid tale. Long, dusty, lonely elegies of smotheringly morose music illustrate a world on the brink of apocalypse. This is Godspeed You Black Emperor!'s first readily available album (forget trying to find their debut...only 33 copies were ever made ::sigh::), and to many it was their first experience to this band's stunning power. Calm but eerie silences can be extremely disarming as crescendos and loud dynamics can creep up unexpectedly, then retreat with equal abruptness. The band has seemingly concretized into a nonet, but here I'm not sure how many musicians actually worked on this record (I've heard numbers from nine to seventeen). Needless to say this is not a conventional rock band at all. I'm not sure I'd call this rock music anyway -- the writing is so structurally unusual, stylistically diverse, and instrumentally the band works more like a mini-orchestra. Each instrument, from violins to guitars to percussion, is an integral part of an organic collective rather than different musicians working together. Erm, those might sound like the same thing but they really aren't.
Each track is a lengthy suite (16-minutes, 18-minutes, and 28-minutes long) languidly flowing through several movements. Taken individually, each section is remarkable in its own right but the full power of the music is the meshing of different passages to splash different undertows of emotion over a general mood. One could easily say the individual passages have nothing to do with each other and feel randomly spliced together, but I couldn't disagree more. Each movement carries on from the last with coterminous emotions, establishing a congruous whole encapsulated within each track. Perhaps the different movements don't make cohering musical sense (though I don't know who would be actually qualified to say such a thing), but they _do_ make emotional sense.
"The preacher-man says it's the end of time...so says the preacher-man, but I don't go on what he says."
For all of GYBE!'s anguished dirges for apocalyptic endings, there is a faint sparkle of hope sluiced somewhere inside that doomed, lonely shell. This dichotomy of tone -- faint-but-defiant hope and crushing despair -- is emotionally twisting, uniquely powerful, and has resonated through me ever since I've started listening to this band. I'm not sure how long the feeling will last, but this stuff cuts deep. The crescendos this band peaks at are nothing less than utterly overpowering -- 11 minutes into track 2, "East Hastings", I come dangerously close to crawling into a dark corner, clutching myself in the fetal position, and whimpering , "mommy..."
"...hungover it's awful, the sound of trains collapsing back behind of here; outside there are distant birds circling in front of 7 miles of heavy cloud falling down, &from where you're lying one of those clouds looks like a hanged man leading a blind, indifferent horse...THIS IS MILE END MY FRIEND, the hollowed out ruins here &a train runs straight thru them... we made a record here in mile End..."
Those familiar with the band's mythic anonymity and vehement artistic credo may call them pretentious, but I'll be damned if they don't write some of the greatest music I've ever heard. Turn off the lights, crank the volume (this needs to be heard LOUD), and become lost in Mile End. It's a despairing, forlorn place, but you may never want to leave.

Click Here to see more reviews about: f#a# (infinity symbol)

Debut album from this stellar group. Not available for Japan/UK/Europe

Click here for more information about f#a# (infinity symbol)

Live at Texas Stadium Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)For people who like Jimmy Buffett, the world's richest beach bum, springtime brings great anticipation.
Springtime means the Big Kahuna is going on tour and a Jimmy Buffett tour means it's time to break out the flip-flops, tropical party favors, the Margarita machine and Buffett's latest album.
Parrotheads (Jimmy's fans) are lining up for "Live at Texas Stadium," recorded with George Strait and Alan Jackson during their 2004 stadium mega- show in Irving.
During their long careers, Jackson, Strait and Buffett have separately released over "85 number one singles, and sold more than 120,000,000 records," according to a press release from MCA-Nashville, the record's distributor.
Although Buffett is famous for "Margaritaville," he actually got his start in country music, working in Nashville during the late 1960s. It wasn't until good friend Jerry Jeff Walker took him to Key West that Buffett discovered the island point of view, his considerable song writing skills and developed his happy, laid back style of music.
Buffett and Strait team up on three cuts, "All My Ex's Live in Texas," Hank Williams' "Hey, Good Looking" and "Sea of Heartbreak." Strait's smooth vocal styling is the perfect foil for Buffett's world-weathered sound.
If you're from the 50s or even the early 60s and you grew up in the south, Jimmy and King George's cover of the Don Gibson hit "Sea of Heartbreak" might evoke memories of a Saturday night when your parents were going out on the town. They were all dressed up, with Hi-Fi playing the latest dance tune. Cha-cha-cha.
Of course, Buffett and Jackson do a great turn on the Grammy-nominated "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," their huge 2003 hit. The song spent 38 weeks on the top 40 charts, including a five-week stint at number 1. The duet won a limousine full of awards for the song, too.
Strait and Jackson step up to the microphone and deliver some pure country on "Murder on Music Row" and they wail on "Cowboys Like Us."
Strait and his Ace in the Hole band have a rollicking good time with Bob Wills' "Milk Cow Blues" and Jackson proves why he's one of the best voices in country music on his cover of The Eagles' "Seven Bridges Road." The tight harmonies are incredible, especially considering they were done in front of a live audience. The album wouldn't be complete without a visit to "Margaritaville," and Jackson adds a nice dimension to the parrothead national anthem.
One of the more pleasant surprises on the CD has to be Buffett and Jackson teaming up on "Boats to Build." The song was written by Texan Guy Clark and it's a great choice for the two musicians, who first met when they were out cruising around the Caribbean.
Long-time parrotheads will be delighted that Jimmy chose to include Willis Alan Ramsey's song, "Northeast Texas Women," on his set list for the show.
Buffett, Ramsey, a Dallas native, and Jerry Jeff Walker used to hang out together during the early 70s, playing the bars on lower Greenville Avenue in Dallas, struggling to make a living the music business.
Ramsey's self-titled 1972 album has influenced musicians for years, including Buffett and Walker, who have covered some Ramsey' tunes, including "The Ballad of Spider John."
Ramsey's second album, "Gentilly," is due out later this spring, so maybe including the tune on the new CD is Buffett's way of tipping his hat to his old friend.
Here's the first verse from "Northeast Texas Women":
South of Oklahoma, east of New Mexico
West of Louisiana, where all the Cajuns grow.
We've got a little place called Texas,
where the women grow on trees.
They're right there for the picking,
just as pretty as you please.
You're smiling now, right?
Smiling and happiness is what Buffett does best. He's so much more than "Margaritaville" and "Come Monday."
Buffett's been playing happy music for over 30 years and after more than 20 albums, he obviously knows what his fans want. The album from the historic Texas Stadium show is no different. Having George Strait and Alan Jackson on the stage just makes listening to the 15 songs three times the fun.
Buffett and his talented Coral Reefer Band are about to head out on the road. The Bama Breeze Tour takes its name from a cut from Buffett's last solo CD, "Take the Weather with You." Pick up the CD, get out your brightest Hawaiian shirt, put on your flip flops and go to a Buffett show. It's the most fun you'll ever have -- legal.
Hula, hula!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Live at Texas Stadium

Mega-stars Alan Jackson, George Strait, and Jimmy Buffett joined together for the first time ever, Saturday, May 29, 2004, at Texas Stadium in Dallas. Thismust see concert turned into a party that Parrotheads, cowboys and the Lone Star State will never forget. With more than 120 million records sold, over 80 Number One singles and countless awards under their hats (or Hawaiian shirts), the superstars shared equal billing to showcase some of their biggest hits and fan favorites alone and together.The three of us have talked about doing this for some time, admits Strait We’ve had the pleasure of working with each other before and not only do we enjoy each other’s music but we have a lot in common.'--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Click here for more information about Live at Texas Stadium

Make Yourself Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)If you were to ask me, "What CD has left the biggest impression on you over the years?" I would say quite simply, Incubus' Make Yourself. Make Yourself is one of the most diverse pieces of mainstream rock music I've ever heard. Songs such as Make Yourself and Out From Under brings all the intensity you could imagine this band has to the table. Songs such as Privilege and Pardon Me are hard driving rock songs that are completely memorable. Then there's songs such as The Warmth and I Miss You that are just so emotional and carry such a strong message that it's hard not to be a little bit touched. That's why Incubus has remained at the front of my favorites list.
Much has been said about Brand Boyd. Far and away he's my personal favorite vocalist. His vocals are so diverse and he doesn't shy away from experimenting. His lyrics are excellent. Sometimes inspirational, sometimes spiteful, and other times just weird, but you cannot deny he has talent. This band doesn't end at Brandon though. Mike Einzinger definitely knows his way around a guitar. He's also gotten progressively better with each further release. Dirk Lance (now departed) was at his peak on previous releases because he was more upfront but he's still there on Make Yourself and he still plays great. Jose Pasillas II is a great drummer. While not the best you'll ever hear he can hold his own. And then there's Chris Kilmore. He's been less and less a big part of the band since this CD but on here he really does his thing and does it well. Where turntables could overcrowd a song and become bland, Kilmore keeps them tasteful.
In my eyes this is the perfect example of a balanced CD. You have your heavy stuff, you've got the hard/melodic, and then you've got a few ballad-esque songs sprinkled in for good measures. Seeing as how I love all aspects of this band I can't single one type of song out that they play and say that's their best. I like the hard/melodic songs the best but to see them drop all the other types would be a bad decision on their part. Sure the slow sing-along Drive got them popular in the mainstream but songs like Pardon Me and more recently Megalomaniac have kept them relevent. You can't pin Incubus to one type of song, and one listen to Make Yourself is sure to prove that.
Seeing as how this is the Tour Edition, there is a tremendous extra for fans. That being a bonus acoustic CD. Granted it's only four songs and any fan has surely heard at least once. The first three tracks, Pardon Me, Stellar, and Make Yourself actually showed up on When Incubus Attacks Vol. I. And the orchestral live version of Drive is a solid track, much like the original.
My favorite songs are Privilege, The Warmth, Clean, I Miss You, and Pardon Me. Collectors are sure to find more value in this than the casual fan, but that's not to say a casual fan should look this over. If you've yet to buy Make Yourself than making an effort to find this would be a good decision. You get to see that Incubus is good whether they're playing heavy or acoustic. Other than the bonus disc though, nothing is changed. The booklet is the same, the back is the same (aside from the bonus disc part), nothing different. Definitely worth it though.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Make Yourself

Limited two CD 'Tour Edition' of the band's sophomore album, originally issued in 1999 and produced by Scott Litt. The California Alt-Metal band surprised many critics and fans by achieving success on their own terms, which included endless touring. This double disc pressing includes a bonus CD featuring four tracks:'Pardon Me' (Acoustic), 'Stellar' (Acoustic), 'Make Yourself' (Acoustic), and 'Drive' (Orchestral Live Version). Sony.

Click here for more information about Make Yourself

GWAR Limited Edition 4-DVD Box Set (Rendezvous With Ragnarok / Tour De Scum / Dawn of the Day of the Night of the Penguins / It's Sleazy) (2005) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)WOW!!! I just recieved my order of this product. What a sight of gore. I love horror and this collection of dvds was great a combination of theater and shock metal with decapatations a blood fest with live music after watching this I had to write about it and share the experience with all! I could not stop watching them unil I was finished with all 4. I think this is a must have for any heavy metal fan that loves horror. The music is heavy but most of the vocals are hard to understand in these live acts under any circumstances are not boring to watch it was very entertaining with battle scenes and blood squirting everywhere. YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE IT...THIS IS THE STUFF THAT BAD DREAMS ARE MADE OF!!!! HA HA HA HA HA .....IT WILL SLEIGH YOU.

Click Here to see more reviews about: GWAR Limited Edition 4-DVD Box Set (Rendezvous With Ragnarok / Tour De Scum / Dawn of the Day of the Night of the Penguins / It's Sleazy) (2005)

Click here for more information about GWAR Limited Edition 4-DVD Box Set (Rendezvous With Ragnarok / Tour De Scum / Dawn of the Day of the Night of the Penguins / It's Sleazy) (2005)