Firehouse Rock - Wailing Souls

Advantages: Beautiful lyrics, smooth vocals
Disadvantages: Not as commercial as her previous releases which meant less people heard it

...I could never say that I have ever been a huge Sade fan. I will happily listen to her music if it happens to be on, but I would never deliberately go looking for one of her CD's. That was until she came back from a self imposed break of eight years, and released 'Lover's Rock', which was lapped up by her fans who had waited eagerly for her return, and there are few singers who would be able to manage that, especially without bowing down to the present day electronic pop that we hear so often. Sade co-wrote every track on the album, so they all have that personal touch. I don't know if it just came along at the right time for me, or whether I had matured enough to start and appreciate her talent, but whatever it was, this was certainly one of my best albums for 2000, which was also the year I became a mum, and this was the only CD which... Read review

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Advantages: a good kicking rock album
Disadvantages: they have done better

...to reflect on the album without those sidetracks to a music that was already history and enjoys it for what it is. The albums title track opens up in a slow build reminiscent of Sonic Temple's opener Sun King and there are indeed main similarities between that album and this. As the song kicks in the stadium rock credentials that the band carry with them are brought to the fore and what can only be described as glorious dirty kick arse rock is delivered. The medium paced stomp, wailing, razor sharp guitars and grinding back beats are everything that rock and roll was invented for and this is a band that know how to reveal in all of the clichés without becoming parodies of themselves. This is the first of many American Indian references, a theme that has always run through Astbury's writing, going back to his younger days growing up in Canada... Read review

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Advantages: Pure and original
Disadvantages: Long tracks

...Released in 1986, "Planet Rock" is the debut album release for Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force. The title for it comes from the first single, which launched their careers. Obvioulsy, looking at the year we are looking at very early Hip Hop, as the genre only came about as a proper style in the late '70s. Baambataa was a pioneer in making the Hip Hop movement get to the stge where it could be actually be recorded, rather than be listened to at block parties in New York, so he knew what to do to make his music appeal to those who help Hip hop on it's way out of New York, and to a wider audience. 1. "Planet Rock" As the title track from the LP, and breakthrough in many ways (for Hip Hop, Afrika Bambaataa, Elctro-Funk, ect.), "Planet Rock" has to be considered one of few tracks in Hip Hop history which you couldn't dispute... Read review

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