Premix, The - Rich Boy

Advantages: Different direction makes interesting listening
Disadvantages: Acoustic is not what they do best

....p. The live feel giving the song a new lease of life. The new dittie 'Jacque Cousteau' is an electronic ambient effort, which although pleasant could easily have been a Moby b-side and doesn't quite belong here. Erasure have such a rich and varied back catalogue. Acoustic versions of 'My Heart So Blue' 'Oh L'Amour' or 'Don't Suppose' for example could have really brought the band a new lease of life. Andrew Poppy brought lush orchestral arrangements to tracks on 'The Two RIng Circus' to great effect. I saw them do 'How Many Times?' with just Vince on guitar and a drum machine once on TV and it was awesome. This e.p isn't. But I suppose at least playing with 'real' musicians they will get to appear on Jools Holland. It worked for the Pet Shop Boys. I am still really looking forward to the album 'Union Street' though, which... Read review

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Advantages: Even if you're not a country music fan you'll love this album
Disadvantages: Not long enough

...I discovered Big 'n' Rich purely by accident, I was in the process of downloading some music on a well known legal music downloading site and had put Country Music in to the search bar and this band came up. This album was released on the 5th April 2004 in America but much later here, anywhere between the 17th May 2004 right through to the 6th September 2004 and I doubt many people have heard of them. THE BAND --------------- Big 'n' Rich are John Rich and Big Kenny and originate from the good ole USA. They class their music as 'Country music without prejudice', they got together back in 1998 John Rich had previously been in a band but decided to go solo and try and win a record contract where as Big Kenny managed to secure a record deal but saw his album go nowhere. To add to this delightful pair they have like all good... Read review

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Advantages: Some knockout songs, good production
Disadvantages: No lyric sheet

...REM tried something a little different for their 4th album, getting in Don Gehman to produce. He was mainly famous for his work with John Cougar Mellancamp. Maybe the band wanted to create a more traditional kind of rock album, rather than the distinctly indie / college radio sound of their previous work. Whatever their reasons, I think “Life’s rich pageant” does mark a tendency towards a more mainstream sound, in many respects. The title’s a phrase from Inspector Clouseau (from “A shot in the dark”), but why REM chose it as the title to their fourth album is, like Michael Stipe’s vocals at the time, about as clear as mud. It’s not, for one thing, a mumbling Clouseau-like collection – it is a rich mix of tracks, though, and contains some of my favourite REM songs. At the time... Read review

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