Rock & Pop > Contemporary Pop Vocal Rock & Pop > Limited & Deluxe Editions

Advantages: Ronan
Disadvantages: Ronans hair

Well they have reunited after all this time and seem to be doing rather well. I use to be a big fan but had my doubts about them reforming as it may be good for some of them but maybe not so much for Ronan. They had a sell out concert and have released several singles and an album. I would have liked to here more new songs from them on the album rather than just their old songs re done though (they already did this in their Best Of before they split). ...
...but cheesy dancing and clothes. Now Im a huge Ronan fan but what has he done to his hair! If I was his wife I would not let him walk out like that especially as he is now into his 30's! On the whole they seem to be doing very well and Im just happy to be able to see Ronan on tv again! ... Read review

Advantages: Superb thrash & punk throughout
Disadvantages: None

Brasil by Ratos De Porao is a true masterpiece, an ideal mix of punk, hardcore and thrash metal with even the nice occasional melodical touch thrown in for good measure, fast instrumental work and outstanding guitar solos to get your fingers moving (particularly on the track Law of Silence) to, to add to the idealistic guitar solos there is also some amazing bass lines and militant hammering drumming throughout. The vocals are spot on for the genre ...
...on how you look at it - it's either an abominal row from the word go or a classic album of thrash fused punk full of anger and energy. It's very hard to select a favourite track as the Brazilian outfit blast their way through regularly visited punk topics like politics, drug overdoses, alcoholism, law and order but some of the most enjoyable tracks are undoubtedly of a native theme - Brasil, Amazonia Never More and Land of Carnival. There are two ... Read review

Advantages: More eclectic than the first, equally as catchy but not as fun
Disadvantages: Dio's voice despite being good becomes a bit wearing

Last in Line is Dio's 2nd album released in 1984 by Vertigo Records, it retains the catchiness and upbeatness of the 1st album but the only issue here is that to some extent it doesn't evolve a great deal, harder and more recognisable bass lines are added as is Claude Schnell's keyboard playing. Dio's voice occasionally goes into overdrive particularly on tracks like "We Rock" where the fact that is so loud could easily soften the effect of the superb ...
...as "The Last in Line" which is one of those Led Zeppelin going nowhere type smoochies which despite an outburst of metal and chorus eventually materialising, it doesn't rescue the track. One of my personal favourite tracks is "Eat Your Heart Out" which is Dio at their best but also posseses a truly excellent riff worthy of earlier glam rockers. The track Egypt is much acclaimed, initially musically similar to Alice Cooper's Brutal Planet album but ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent songs and vocals, nice unexpected bonus track
Disadvantages: None

Finally after a year of waiting Take That has released their new album. This one is called The Circus which does seem a little strange to me as nothing on the album has anything to do with the circus but hey ho it is still a great album and is packed full of a great mix of tracks. The cover of the album is blue and has a picture of all the men standing on tightropes holding their arms and hands out. The title is above this in white lettering. The ...
...The tracks on this album are as follow:- 1. The Garden - This songs starts off with Mark doing the vocals. The song starts off as a ballad and Gary then joins in with the chorus and it then has more of a pop theme but overall I would say this is a definite ballad. Jason's vocals are great and it is nice to here him singing again when he sings a verse. The others are also heard on this track and all the vocals really work well. 2. Greatest Day - ... Read review

Advantages: Eclectic mix of Latin and Balkan dance music with hints of sadness
Disadvantages: Vocals a bit whingey

DeVotchKa are an intriguing band which sound like a mix of Firewater and Radiohead. I'm not at all a Radiohead fan and therefore the band isn't that far up my list of favourites but I can definitely respect some of their creativity and they do come up with some unique sounding stuff. The most similar thing about the band and Radiohead would be the whiney relatively depressing Thom Yorkesque vocals. The New York based band tend to fuse Russian sounds ...
...alternative music. The accordion playing is immense and sounds rather traditional, the same can be said for the violins. DeVotchKa's music tends to be rather slow and haunting but there are enough mood changes and different styles to keep those who like upbeat music (like me) listening although it will mostly appeal to the thoughtful chill out group (and perhaps the slightly depressive too!), there are some burst of energy but they are certainly ... Read review