Gal Wine Wine - Chaka Demus & Pliers

Advantages: Two of country music's finest join forces
Disadvantages: It might not happen again

...Epic. That's one way of describing the 2005 collaboration between Florida based alt. country artist Iron & Wine (real name Sam Beam) and Tucson, Arizona country/latin/jazz etc. band Calexico. Wriiten entirely by Beam, this record showcases not just his ear for a melodic winner but also Calexico's ability to wrap their baked desert sound around Iron & Wine's swampy, lo-fi balladry. Here's hoping this isn't the last time these two share a recording studio. 1. He Lays In The Reins: acoustic guitar flourishes and horse clopping in this Spaghetti Western opener. And wait, what's this? An almost operatic Spanish vocal, fuelled by its owner's conviction? That'll be the guy who does the horse clopping then. With his mouth. 2. Prison On Route 41: slide guitar aplenty as Beam's banjo slows things down. A wonderful shared harmonica... Read review

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Advantages: a wide range of r & b styles and some classic tunes
Disadvantages: ballads - yuck!

...the time of release of the soundtrack, the most famous tunes were probably tracks five and six - the Pink hit "You Make Me Sick" and Donell Jone's fabulous "U Know What's Up." You'll be singing along with both these fantastically infectious tracks - the only disadvantage being that the Jones' track is the version WITHOUT the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes' rapping cameo. It seems that a more hiphop version of the tune would be more in place in this album, but it's a small bone of contention. The inclusion of the Chaka Demus and Pliers tune "Murder She Wrote" aims a nod towards the old school and will appeal to all those who remember the reggae pop of the early nineties which spawned such tunes. This is followed up by the equally storming Ice Cube track "You can Do it" - one of the catchiest and accessible hip hop tunes around and one that, when... Read review

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Advantages: chilled-out originality
Disadvantages: a lot of weak tracks

...precious, this album is actually an alright deep house collection. Its different to your usual funky club house stuff, as there is quite a lot of chilled out, down tempo tracks on this album, and just as you are falling asleep to the melodic hum of female vocals (not less than six), suddenly something beatier, although not earth shatteringly, blares out of your speakers. The album kicks off with a great track - "Let's Do It Together" which features the vocals of the lovely Lisa Shaw. the track "Music and Wine" has featured on a lot of other compilation albums, you may have noticed it on the likes of Hed Kandi stuff, and is probably Six's most notable hit. I however love the funky vibe of the original mix of "Pure" and although not the most lyrically astounding album, i think those who are new to house will most likely enjoy it, for those... Read review

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