Folk & Country > 5 GBP to 10 GBP Folk & Country

The Long Way, But Not the Best Way

Advantages: More than just country music
Disadvantages: Not their best effort

It's been a tough few years for the Dixie Chicks since the release of their third album, "Home". Not long after it was released, singer Natalie Maines made comments against President Bush and the war in Iraq. As a result, people started burning their CDs, slinging insults at the group and threatening to boycott their records and gigs. As country fans turned their backs on the Dixie Chicks, they took a new musical direction in an effort to widen ...
...by Rick Rubin, better known for working in other fields, having produced artists as far apart on the musical spectrum as Jay-Z and Slipknot. What he's not known for is producing country music, although he did work with Johnny Cash. It seemed that the Dixie Chicks, having put out their most country music influenced album in "Home", were now following a similar route as Shania Twain did with "Come On Over" and trying to get more fans from other genres. ...

Soho_Black 20.08.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Taking the Long Way - Dixie Chicks

I am stretched on your grave

Advantages: a few truly superb songs
Disadvantages: A few weaker links.

Rather a morbid title I realise, but it is in fact one of the tracks from what has proved to be quite a good album. Being something of a folk devotee, I had approached Kate Rusby with scepticism - she's 'made it' into normal music outlets, which must mean she has sold out and just done an album of easy listening? Well not actually quite true. This is certainly the sort of album that non-folkies might get along with, but its true to some good traditional ...
...'proper' folk - spend any time in a folk club and you soon find that most of the traditional songs are about sex and/or death (except for the ones about fishing, but there it is.) "Sir Eglamore" an old, and rather silly song about a knight and a dragon, set to music by Kate. It has all the 'lanky down dillies' you could possibly ask for in a folk song, (I have no idea how anyone sings anything like that whilst keeping a straight face.) "As I roved ...

Bryn_Pearson 20.06.2002 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Hourglass - Kate Rusby

Hymns Of The 49th Parallel

Advantages: You'll learn perfect singing technique from this album
Disadvantages: More songs on the album would have been great

Haunting voice, haunting songs, almost otherworldly. K D Lang really comes up with goods on this one. Her rendition of the Jane Siberry's "The Valley" is par excellence. The music is restrained yet emotional and seems to ebb and flow in all the right places with perfect timing. Of it goes without saying that on this album K D Lang's voice is the most commanding instrument in the ensemble. She must have had a lot of fun with this one because it truly ...

victorleigh 24.09.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Hymns Of The 49th Parallel - K.D. Lang

The Greatest battle of Rock

Advantages: excellent music, history recorded, Dylan at war with the audience, unique expirence
Disadvantages: addictive, NONE!

...much but you struggle to live for long periods without it and just outright need to hear the music. And hearing a new version or new bootleg of his material is a high that is surely better than any drug can offer. Dylan is widely hailed as a genius for the songs he has written and the social change he has influenced, but there are quite a lot of people who say other people are better performing his material. This shows a lack of understanding on ...
...himself. This feature in Dylan's live ability becomes very important to understand when listening to the 1966 bootleg performance. Perhaps you can only truly appreciate what is happening in the audience if you have sat before Dylan and experienced him. But you can get a very good idea without knowing first hand such is the power of the 1966 recording. I kept putting off buying this album because I thought it was going to be 'special' and I spent ...

pink 04.08.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Live At The Royal Albert Hall 1966 (The Bootleg Series Vol.4) - Bob Dylan

Full of Timeless country classics

Advantages: Bringing old tracks to the modern audience
Disadvantages: Doesn't really give Martina a chance to shine

...I'm looking at Martina McBride's Timeless album. She's another country star I was lucky enough to see in concert this summer, when she visited Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas as part of her Timeless tour. This album is different to the majority of her other work, in that it is entirely composed of Martina's tributes to classic country songs. ~ ~ ~ Martina McBride ~ ~ ~ Born on 29th July 1966 in Sharon, Kansas, Martina McBride ('Martina Mariea Schiff' ...
...and Country charts: (2005) Timeless #3 US, (#1 Country) (2003) Martina #7 US, (#1 Country) (2001) Greatest Hits #5 US, (#1 Country) (1999) Emotion #19 US, (#3 Country) (1998) White Christmas #68 US, (#9 Country) (1997) Evolution #24 US, (#4 Country) (1995) Wild Angels #77 US, (#17 Country) (1993) The Way That I Am #106 US, (#14 Country) (1992) The Time Has Come (#49 Country) ~ ~ ~ The Timeless Album ~ ~ ~ As I said before, this is an 18-track ...

liz1102 12.11.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Timeless - Martina McBride