Archipelago - Land

Advantages: Good versions of some less familiar oldies
Disadvantages: Some tracks rather dull

...feel that way about at least four of the remaining eleven numbers. On the plus side, the homegrown, mainly acoustic, bluesy 'The Spider and The Fly' and Willie Dixon's 'Little Baby' have a kind of low-key charm which doesn't sound that much like the Stones we know and love, Mick's inimitable (if occasionally self-parodying) vocal apart. The same goes for 'Love in Vain', an old Robert Johnson number which they cheekily credit as 'an adaptation with new words by Jagger/Richards' (come on, guys, you hardly need the extra composing royalties), with an engaging false start. About 20 seconds in, Keith stops playing his guitar, apologises as he 'didn't get the right archipelago', and they have to try again. I also like the good-time, sort of folksy/country feel of 'Let it Bleed', 'Sweet Virginia' and 'Dead Flowers', and the gospelly 'I'm Free... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great sounds, great music, great band!!!!
Disadvantages: Not so great song writers but hey everyone has a pro and a con

...The first time i listened to the permission to land album i knew i had fallen in love with the darkness. They are so different from all the other bands out there. They're a British band so to break through in America is quite amazing. Permission to land is an album for all you people out there that need to calm down from stress. The tunes are stunning. The lyrics are catchy so don't feel strange if you're waling down the street and you find yourself singing one of the tunes. In my opinion i think the darkness are completely unique in every way and permission to land shows that. Their songs are written by themselves expressing all their emotions. They don't sit back and be told what to do. They do what they want in their songs and that's what'll make them one day a legend... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Good songs sung by a great performer
Disadvantages: None

...If you are looking for the near-perfect tenor solo, the title track is it. McKellar's rendition of "Land Of Hearts Desire" is a lesson in superb vocal technique. Everything from voice, pitch, phrasing - right down to the last perfectly graduated diminuendo is just about flawless. It is rare to find singing of this calibre outside the field of opera. I've got just about everything Kenneth McKellar has recorded but I keep coming back to this song. There is an almost magical quality about it... The other tracks, with the exception of "Think On Me" are fairly standard Scottish folk songs. McKellar does a thoroughly professional job with all of them. Listen to some of them as sung by others, especially "Land Of Hearts Desire" and "Think On Me", and you'll realise just how good McKellar is.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful