Showing posts with label No Doubt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label No Doubt. Show all posts

Sunday, October 28, 2012

HOT AND FRESH OUT THE KITCHEN

"THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE" - PINK



Despite Pink recently becoming a mother, don't think for a moment she's about to become soft and start singing lullabies. On her sixth CD, "The Truth About Love", Pink displays that she's still quite able and willing to rock out with the best of them. The singer co-wrote the entire album with Greg Kurstin (the Grammy nominated producer is also one half of the pop duo, The Bird and the Bee) who also produced a large part of the record.

Her clever first single, "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" has reached the top five on the pop charts and there seems to be plenty of other potential hits to come with artists Lily Rose Cooper (the Brit pop artist formerly known as Lily Allen) and Eminem contributing to some tracks.

"Here Comes The Weekend" - Pink featuring Eminem

Here is the sexy music video for the second single, "Try" with Pink performing some impressive interpretive dance moves:



"PUSH AND SHOVE" - NO DOUBT



No Doubt, the Anaheim-based rock band decided to take some time off after their 2004 tour to pursue solo projects with the most visible being lead vocalist, Gwen Stefani's two highly-successful solo albums. The band, which also features Tony Kanal on bass, Tom Dumont on guitar and drummer, Adrian Young, have reunited for their sixth studio album, "Push and Shove".  With this new record, it feels like time has almost stood still as their sound is still heavily SKA punk influenced. Although there are some contemporary touches throughout however not enough to feel truly fresh.

Here is the new single from the album, "Looking Hot":



"RED" - TAYLOR SWIFT


Although the twenty-two year old, Taylor Swift has become a country music superstar in a very short period of time, she has no interest in resting on this success. With her latest CD, "Red", the singer/songwriter has decided to challenge herself by moving slightly out of her comfort zone and collaborating with talent not usually associated with her musical genre. This appears to have been a smart move as the first single (co-written and produced by pop hit-makers, Max Martin and Shellback), "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" has become her first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

I have to admit I've never been much of a fan as I found her a little too precious but she has grown as an artist and I like much of her new work.

"State of Grace" - Taylor Swift

"TWO ELEVEN" - BRANDY


Brandy is finally back with new music after a four year absence with a new label on RCA Records. The title of her sixth album, "Two Eleven" represents the singer's birthday as well as the date of the tragic death of her good friend and idol, Whitney Houston.

This collection has returned to the feel of the classic Brandy sound much like her hit recordings as a teenager but now comes from the prospective of a mature woman. Passionate and sensual, these songs are cutting-edge r&b with production assistance by Rico Love, Bangladesh and Frank Ocean.

"Wildest Dreams" - Brandy

"FREE DIMENSIONAL" - DIAMOND RINGS


Canadian vocalist, John O'Regan who is better know by his moniker, Diamond Rings first came to attention with his first single, "All Yr Songs" in 2009 that he had written, produced and self-distributed. His debut album, "Special Affections" came out the following year and eventually released on a major label, Astralwerks Records. This lead to him opening for the Swedish pop star, Robyn on her "Body Talk" tour.

The out and proud twenty-seven year old has now returned with his exciting new release, "Free Dimensional" that is heavily inspired by the electro-pop music of the 1980's when he was just an infant. It's a really fun record and it's one of my favorites of the year

"All The Time" - Diamond Rings

"RELEASE ME" - BARBRA STREISAND


One of the most popular and successful recording artists in history, Barbra Streisand has released her latest album appropriately entitled, "Release Me". It features a collection of songs she had recorded throughout her almost fifty years in music but just didn't quite make the cut to be included on any album. Now this material is finally seeing the light of day with songs ranging from Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Jimmy Webb and Randy Newman as well as tunes from Broadway shows including "Finian's Rainbow" and "The Wiz".

In celebration of her spectacular career, the veteran songstress is even on the road with a rare concert tour to promote the album throughout North America.

"Home (From "The Wiz")" - Barbra Streisand

Beyonce's younger sister, Solange is back with some new music. "Losing You" is a funky song with a great video shot in South Africa:



Saturday, June 5, 2010

DONE. REDONE.

Songs are open to interpretation and so artists always try and take a beloved song and do their own version of it.

Sometimes, but not too often, a singer can recreate a song and make it even better than the original but usually, we either get a pleasant and harmless take of the song or a really bad and painful rendition.

So, I'm going to present the original version of a few songs and then a remake of the song and say which one I prefer.

Here we go:

Done: "Young Hearts Run Free" - Candi Stanton - (1976)
Young Hearts Run Free.mp3

Redone: "Young Hearts Run Free" - The Swell Season - (2010)
Young Hearts Run Free.mp3

This is really no comparison because nobody could possibly top Ms Stanton's version of this song, which is one of my all-time favorites, but I have got to give props to Glen Hansard. He gives us a passionate, acoustic take of this song and he is secure enough not to feel the need to change any of the pronouns. I think he's a great singer and I really like what he did to the song.
This song was done as part of Levi's Pioneer Sessions and here Mr. Hansard explains why he chose to record this song:



Done: "What a Fool Believes" - The Doobie Brothers - (1978)
What a Fool Believes.mp3

Redone: "What A Fool Believes" - Aretha Franklin - (1980)
What a Fool Believes.mp3

I have always loved how Ms Franklin has taken many songs made popular by other artists and completely re-imagined them and made them her songs. She did it again with the Doobie Brothers' hit song and while she gives it her spin and it is a fun and interesting version, it doesn't really come close to the pure, simple, and soulful quality of the original.

Done: "Don't Speak" - No Doubt - (1995)
Don't Speak.mp3
Redone: "Don't Speak" - Leela James - (2005)
Don't Speak.mp3

"Don't Speak" is one of my favorite songs from No Doubt and Ms James decided to tackle this rock ballad and gave it nice R&B groove. While both versions are very similar in feel and I really admire what Ms James did to the song, but I have to say that I prefer the original by a slight edge. I guess because I know that Gwen Stefani wrote the song based on her personal experience with her ex-boyfriend, bass player, Tony Kanal that I am connecting more with her version.

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