Impressive Rome - Lee Konitz & Martial Solal

Advantages: Great listening
Disadvantages: None

...I received 'its all about the stragglers, for Christmas last year, because I happened to like 'woman trouble' and 'movin too fast', and I have to say I am well impressed with the rest of the songs (by the way, if you have a cd rom there is a bonus track (woman trouble, original version), grrreeaat!) I especially like the fact that there are songs sung by both the men and women in the band. An added bonus is that the woman singing twentyfourseven, sounds like Lauren Hill of Fugees fame, phenominal! This is a must buy, especially for Artful D fans of single releases(and Craig David fans, as he sings the second track!). The cover design could be a little more interesting though!... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Original, intriguing music
Disadvantages: No one has heard of them... no one will buy it

...before I started playing the album) which is not something you see and hear often in these days of constant pigeonholing by the media and by record companies. The liner notes talk of the band as "apocalypctic pop" which is an interesting attempt to describe their work. Apocalyptic it quite possibly is- "pop", however, I'm not sure about. This isn't a particularly inaccessible album, but it has too much of an enigmatic feel to it to really be a "pop" album as such. The only other information in the liner notes, apart from some indication of the imagery the music conveys, is that Nera is the band's debut album, which itself is quite impressive as it certainly feels like a fairly accomplished piece of work. What Rome appear to do is play downbeat, atmospheric gothic-tinged music that sounds a little like Canaan, Miranda Sex Garden and Dead Can... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: well written tracks
Disadvantages: rather short

...I have been impressed with the Stereophonics since hearing the debut album and its heavy rock feel together with the lighter ballads. The classic 2nd album 'Performance and cocktails' continued in the same vain and marked the bands breakthrough into the charts. The 3rd album is good but is nowhere near as heavy as both previous albums. Tracks basically feel more acoustic rather than electric. If you are into heavy rock then this album will dissappoint you. However as chart albums go it is worth buying. Another dissappointing point of this album is that it is rather short at just over 45 minutes. The CD however does contain an enhanced CD rom with videos of acoustic versions of 'Lying in the Sun' and 'Step on my old size Nines' together with band interviews, album lyrics and a 'Mr Writer' songplayer with tuition software... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful