- some more tunes to check out -


DE-LOVELY
soundtrack
De-Lovely

This Cole Porter biopic includes vocals from the cast and some current popstars



PJ HARVEY
uh huh her
PJ Harvey

Still not a totally up-beat gal, regardless PJ delivers


TRAVIS
singles
Travis

All their fave's



AFRONAUT
african experience
Afronaut

A chilled-out blend of African rhythm and electronic precision



THE ZUTONS
who killed the zutons
The Zutons
Something different without being too challenging



RJ BENJAMIN
who am i
RJ Benjamin

SA Project Fame "teacher's" album


THE KILLERS
hot fuss
The Killers

Fantastic new band you gotta hear



NELLY
sweat / suit
Nelly
Two albums from this wise-ass



BRYAN ADAMS
room service
Bryan Adams

One more for the Canadian team



THE CURE
the cure
The Cure

Smith & his boys are still steaming ahead with as much flair as ever



RICKY FANTE'
rewind
Rocky Fante'
a great flow of old-school sounds



R.E.M.
around the sun
R.E.M.
Still showing the world you can make pop flavoured music without being frivolous


KORN
greatest hits vol.1
Korn

A decade on and the boys are still crunching



LUNA
Luna
An SA female vocal debut



SHANIA TWAIN
greatest hits
Shania Twain

All her semi-country pop hits packed into one disc



MOVIE LOVE SONGS
various
Movie Love Songs

A range memorable movie tunes



2PAC

all eyez on me
2Pac

Re-release of this huge album



NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS
abattoir blues / lyre of orpheus
Nick Cave
A double album from the legends


RAY CHARLES
genius loves company
Ray Charles

Gone, but never to be forgotten, Ray duets with a range of singers



THE NARROW
travellers
The Narrow

Cool second attempt from the Gauteng power rockers


SKALLABRAK
kophou internasionaal
Skallabrak

Student flavoured new Afrikaans band



CHUCK MANGIONE
best of
Chuck Mangione
A collection of some of Chuck's best blows


JAZZ CRUSADERS
live in south africa
Jazz Crusaders

Fantastic sounds from these Jazz geniuses


RESIDENT EVIL APOCALYPSE
soundtrack

Resident Evil 2

Hard rocking soundtrack to the second cinematic zombie installment


GREEN DAY
american idiot
Green Day
After a few years in the shadows, the influential pop-punk-rockers hit back



DINO
the essential dean martin
Dino

A huge collection of the smooth man's memorable moments



FLAT STANLEY
of secrets and wine

Flat Stanley
Amazing new Cape Town act with a string of moving songs


RONAN KEATING
10 yrs of hits
Ronan Keating
Ex-boyband hunk bangs his hits together (plus some Boyzone re-recordings)


KEITH URBAN
be here
Keith Urban

Aussie country with wide accessibilty



BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS
roots of a legend

bob marley & the wailers

Great past tunes from the Reggae masters plus a DVD


ALTER BRIDGE
one day remains
Alter Bridge

There's life after Creed


HEART & SOUL OF CAPE TOWN
various
Heart Soul CT

A compilation of P4 Radio favourites, local & international


MARK KNOPFLER
shangri-la
Mark Knopfler

Working selectively, Dire Straits frontman Knopfler offers a good album


NORAH JONES
feels like home - deluxe edition
Norah Jones

Re-release with extra tracks and a DVD


YU-GI-OH!
soundtrack
YuGiOh

Energetic but predictable soundtrack to the big screen version of kids' TV favourite



THE THRILLS
let's bottle bohemia
Thrills

Surpasses expectations by being less than it seems


BOYZ II MEN
throwback
Boyz II Men
Remnants of this popular vocal group pack in an album of covers close to their hearts



THE ROOTS

tipping point
The Roots
One of the few live Hip-Hop bands worth their salt



FAITHLESS
no roots
Faithless

The UK's antidote to mediocrity continue their intriguing audio trip



SWITCHFOOT
the beautiful letdown
Switchfoot
Another new accessible rock outfit



HEINZ WINCKLER
come alive
Heinz Winckler

SA Idols winner jumps in for the 2nd round



ANGELA McCLUSKEY
the things we do
Angela McCluskey
Off-beat slice of female emotion



PRINCE
musicology

Gone is the squiggly symbol, back is the funky Prince



SHYNE
godfather buried alive
Shyne
Pathetic asshole



ANITA BAKER
my everything
Anita Baker
The lady is back with her voice still strong and moving



THE COLLABORATION
various
Collaboration

Long overdue collection of varied SA artist collaborations hooked up with the Popstars TV show



CLAIRE JOHNSTON

africa blue
Claire Johnston
Still a musical entity in SA after her popular stint with Mango Groove



THE FINN BROTHERS
everyone is here
Finn Bros
The closest you're gonna get to a new Crowded House album



NELLIE McKAY
get away from me
Nelly McKay
Wacky double album with loads of genre variants



DARREN HAYES
the tension and the spark
Darren Hayes

Solo effort from the voice behind Savage Garden



'60s,' 70s, '80s & '90s Collections
'60s - '90s
Check out a whole bunch of retro compilations now available



FEAR FACTORY
archetype
Fear Factory
And we all thought they called it quits, but they're still ripping it up (with a new guitarist)


VAN HALEN

best of both worlds
Van Halen
Brilliant slices of rock history on two discs



AWF
the soundtrack
AWF
Fun collection hooked up with the cheesy SA WWE wrestling equivalent



BADLY DRAWN BOY
one plus one is one
Badly Drawn Boy
One soothing album



PIXIES
best of - wave of mutilation
Pixies
Everyone's favourite indie-alternative band's most memorable tunes



POWER BALLADS II
various
Power Ballads II
The second collection feature some great tracks



BED ON BRICKS
humanarium
Bed On Bricks
Life after Sons Of Trout



THE HOLLIES
premier collection
Hollies
All their hits



THE WINDS OF CHANGE
various
Winds Of Change
Fine selection of SA tracks incl. many speeches marking eras leading up to democracy



FOKOFPOLISIEKAR
lugsteuring
Fokofpolisiekar
SA's first real Afrikaans punk-rock band's first full-length



DIANA KRALL
girl in the other room
Diana Krall
Wonderful album featuring many Costello co-writes



THE RASMUS
into
Rasmus
The album before their 2004 hit



LOCK + LOAD
various
Lock+Load
Coll alterna-rock collection



R.KELLY
happy people / u saved me
R.Kelly
He keeps rolling them out



KEANE
hopes and fears
Keane
Fabtastic trio



THE ANIMALS
premier collection
The Animals
A great selection of their best



OLIVER N'GOMA
best of
Oliver N'Goma
All the man's best known work



BEST OF ACOUSTIC
various
Best Acoustic
A bumper double disc with some great tracks



SHIFTY
happy love sick
Shifty
Shifty's gone solo



NU DIVAS 2004
various
Nu Divas 2004
Another compilation of modern ladies



TOOTS & THE MAYTALS
true love
Toots & Maytals
Fabulous collaborative collection



LUNIK
weather
Lunik

An enthralling listen, but not demented as its title might phonetically hint



BEASTIE BOYS
to the 5 boroughs
Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys rip it like they used to



WATERSHED
wrapped in stone
Watershed
Special bonus disc release



PESTROY
counter attack
Pestroy

The second album from Jo'burg's finest



CAFE D'AFRIQUE
various
Cafe d'Afrique
Moody collection with dance potential



TINSLEY ELLIS
the hard way
Tinsley Ellis
Modern Southern blues



THE ULTIMATE ROCK COLLECTION
second helping
Ultimate Rock 2
Another batch of great classic rock tunes



A2ZEE
outjie
A2Zee

Not very impressive Cape Town duo



DAMAGEPLAN
new found power
Damageplan
Ex-Pantera team's new offering



KATY ROSE
because i can
Katy Rose
Rose's bite seems to match her bark



WICKHEAD
if it hurts it's healing
Wickhead
Another new SA rock band with potential



ZAP MAMA
ancestry in progress
Zap Mama
The off-centre Zap Mama is always fun to hear



DAN PATLANSKY

true blues
Dan Patlansky
New South African Bluesman



THE ATARIS
so long, astoria
Ataris
Energetic rock with a lot of pop underneath



BRUCE HORNSBY
halcyon days
Bruce Hornsby
New Hornsby is a good one



ANDRE SWIEGERS
die sirkels van tyd
Andre Swiegers
Admirable Afrikaans album



THE HIVES
tyrannosaurus hives
The Hives
The boys rock out again



KERI NOBLE
fearless
Keri Noble

Highlu listenable female vocal pop


16 STITCH
beautiful angelic parasite
16Stitch
Well packaged local new-school hard rock



ADAM TAS
my memories in 'n menthol
Adam Tas
One-man Afrikaans acoustic folk-pop


PRIMUS
animals shouldn't try to act like people
Primus
New Primus EP with a bonus DVD containing all their crazy videos



D12
d12 world
D12

More nastiness and disrespect from Eminem and his gang



ELZABE
mooiplaas
Elzabe
One of those albums that wouldn't have been missed had it not been made



YIZO YIZO 3
various
Yizo Yizo 3

Locally flavoured soundtrack to the 3rd Yizo Yizo series



BARBRA STREISAND
the movie album
Streisand

Babs pays tribute to some memorable movie songs



WONDERBOOM
hoekom?
Wonderboom
Wonderboom tries some Afrikaans covers



ANGIE STONE
stoned love
Angie Stone
A soulful old-school R&B groove



BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
essential
Springsteen

The definitive Bruce collection



SHAKIRA
live & off the record
Shakira

Live CD plus an extensive DVD



NELLY FURTADO
folklore
Nelly Furtado
Nelly seems to have matured quite a bit



NEW FOUND GLORY
catalyst
NFG

No real surprises with this pop punk gang



AEROSMITH
honkin' on bobo
Aerosmith

The rockers cover some Blues



VALIANT SWART & MEL BOTES
@ jinx
Valiant & Mel
Questionable soundtrack to 2nd series of Song Vir Katryn



MONA LISA SMILE
soundtrack
Mona Lisa Smile

Nice female driven soundtrack re-doing old classics


DIE NAAIMASJIENE
live
Naaimasjiene

Socio-politically motivated student rockers



STING
sacred love
Stig
Another finely crafted piece of pop from the successful guy
doomed to remain the ex-Police singer to millions



TEEN SPIRIT 2
various
Teen Spirit 2

Though some repetitions from other comps occur,
this double disc contains some great alternative rock cuts



VELVET REVOLVER
contraband
Velvet Revolver

Brand new superband of sorts



SLIPKNOT
vol. 3: the subliminal verses
Slipknot
Brilliant 3rd audio eruption from the 9 metal maniacs



SPIDER-MAN 2

soundtrack
Spider-Man 2
Raimi delivers with the 2nd Spider-Man blockbuster



PIET BOTHA & JACK HAMMER
live at the nile
Piet Botha Jack Hammer
An SA legend doing it the best way he knows how



LIONEL RICHIE
just for you
Lionel Richie
Great new effort from the man who used to Dance On The Ceiling



SUPERGRASS
best of
Supergrass
Impressive stack of hits from this Brit trio



VINCENT VAN ROOYEN
harmonica spectacular
Vincent Van Rooyen

For all harmonica enthusiasts



THE AWAKENING
darker than silence
Awakening
The Awakening continues its expressive journey further into the rock realm



THE PASSION
soundtrack
Passion

Incredible soundtrack to a striking film



MIKE + MECHANICS
rewired
Mike + Mechanics

Radio pop-rock with some modern attempts



ENNIO MORRICONE
movie masterpieces
Ennio Morricone
22 brilliant Morricone movie tunes



LENNY KRAVITZ
baptism
Lenny Kravitz
Lenny & his nu hairdo



NIC STEVENS
jonk bly
Nic Stevens
Somerset West lad trying his luck in the music world



DAVID ABBATE
all the best
David Abbate
Easy listening SA singer now living in the States


DJ TIëSTO
just be
DJ Tiesto

A more progressive album than his previous one



TROY
soundtrack
Troy

Sweeping soundtrack to Petersen's epic



KISS FM VOL. 4
various
Kiss FM 4
Oettl mixes a selection of modern floor charters



FRANZ FERDINAND
Franz Ferdinand
New Euro-rock with some kick



UNDERCOVER
various
Undercover
Dancefloor covers version of older hits across the spectrum



DIRTY DANCING 2
soundtrack
Dirty Dancing 2
Vibrant soundtrack to an unnecessary sequel



HANSON
underneath
Hanson
The anticipated new album from the more grown up trio of brothers



BARRY MANILOW
ultimate manilow
Barry Manilow
Copa, Copacabana! Need I say more?



ALEXKID
mint
AlexKid
2nd album from this DJ-muso contains modern and retro elements



KENNY ROGERS
premier collection
Kenny Rogers
All the lovelorn fuzzy country crooner's hits



SANTANA
ceremony
Santana
Collection of remixes & rarities



KORN
take a look in the mirror
Korn

Another strike from the nu-metal godfathers



BARBIE DANCE PARTY
various
Barbie
Poppy compilation


RYAN ADAMS
rock n roll
Ryan Adams

A mighty fine album



ARCANA XXII
your fatal embrace
Arcana XXII

Nam-Metallers steam forward



THE OFFSPRING
splinter
Offspring
Amid the barage of new punk bands, Offspring remain true to their ethic



THE VINES
winning days
The Vines

Cracker of a second album from these Aussie rockers



EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN

perpetuum mobile
Einsturzende Neubauten

As to be expected, another triumphant album from the German Industrial pioneers



BELBOKS
various

Belboks

Disappointing collection of Afrikaans songs from the shoddy TV show



TOYLAND
with every breath
Toyland

Powerful debut from Cape Town Nu-Metal outfit



'WEIRD AL' YANKOVIC
poodle hat
'Weird Al' Yankovic
'Weird Al' delivers another side-splitting album of parody songs



DILATED PEOPLES

neighborhood watch
Dilated Peoples

Another fine-tuned Hip-Hop effort from the Dilated Peoples



DROWNING POOL
desensitized

Drowning Pool
Metallers return after the tragic loss of their original vocalist



KATIE MELUA
call off the search

Katie Melua
Mature blues touched jazz sounds from this stellar youngster



ZONDI'S ROMANTIC BALLADS III
various

Zondi's Ballads 3
A collection of fine ballads



EZRA
funk 'n roll
Ezra
SA Idols runner-up giving the franchise a little oomph



BIG BLACK
love stories pt.1
Big Black vol.1
Smooth sounds from this Yfm DJ


KURT NILSEN
i
Kurt Nilsen
Norwegian and World Idols winner's impressive debut



SMALLZ SWEET SOUNDZ
various
SmallzSweetSoundz
Another House laced compilation mix



ANKE
by heart
Anke

SA's 2003 Idols winner


EAMON
i don't want you back
Eamon
Wise-ass young dude with his new brand of Ho-Wop



SNOW PATROL
final straw
Snow Patrol
Pleasant addition to the new rock stable



SCISSOR SISTERS
Scissor Sisters
Interesting pop-rock-cabaret blend with modern and retro elements


TRAVIS
12 memories
travis

Good pop album with rock flavours



KEB'MO'
keep it simple
KebMo

Modern guitar blues with a lotta soul




KASHIEF

the best of

Kasief
All his favourite love-laced tracks



KING OF COMPILATIONS
various
King Of Comps
Male-vocal driven House hits



JESSICA SIMPSON
in this skin

Jessica Simpson
Overrated new sensation



DECADENT SOUNDS OF MORGAN
various

Decadent Morgan
A dance collection for the more energetic



NOW 36
various

Now 36
Current commercial hits, no more, no less



BUBBA SPARXXX
deliverance
Bubba Sparxxx
Swampland whiteboy Rap rocks, y'all



BEAUTIFUL
various

Beautiful
A big batch of bubbly love songs



ROBI DRACO ROSA

mad love
Robi Draco Rosa
A rather pleasant surprise



THE ALTERNATIVE ALBUM
various
Alternative Album
A selection of EMI affiliated current Alt bands



NSM
turn it up

A soulful, funky modern groove



THE PUNISHER
soundtrack
Punisher

Hard rocking soundtrack to the second live action outing of this gun toting Marvel comic book character



DEAD CAN DANCE
wake
Dead Can Dance

Total musical brilliance, expanding like an epic movie soundtrack



HUGO
deur die straights
Hugo
Another Afrikaans singer's debut going for a bit more substance than fluff



LOVE AND ROCKETS
sorted
Love & Rockets
All the most memorable tracks from this classic alternative outfit who were especially prolific in the '80s



SKRAPNEL
skurwevoet
Skrapnel

'Langarm sokkie' fest



GOING NOWHERE SLOWLY
tv soundtrack
Going Nowhere Slowly
A double disc collection of South African artists accompanying this TV travel show



BASEMENT JAXX
kish kash
Basement Jaxx

If only all pop-dance albums could be like this



THREE DAYS GRACE
3 Days Grace

This trio may be too emotional for listeners who just want to rock out



THE CULT
pure cult
The Cult
Killer Cult singles collection now enhanced with an extra disc of rarities


ABEL KRAAMSAAL
woorde op 'n wynboks
Abel Kraamsaal
Koos Kombuis fan tries it himself


MONO
...in stereo
Mono
New SA pop-rock artist on the scene


NOTORIOUS B.I.G.
life after death
Notorious B.I.G.
Re-release of Puffy's homey & 2Pac's biggest rival's double album


MUSE STRING QUARTET
my dance
Muse String Q.
Pop Quartet give their strings a stroking


JAMIE CULLUM
twenty-something
Jamie Cullum
Strong jazzy tones from this youngster


ANASTACIA
Anastacia
Powerful pop from this buxom lass includes a DVD


JANET JACKSON
damita jo
Janet Jackson

Michael's little sister shows the young girls how to grow up


TWISTA
kamikaze
Twista

New Hip-Hopper add little to the evolution of the genre


TREE 63
answer to the question
Tree63
Well-crafted rock album from local lads (recorded abroad)



 

all reviews by paul blom
Copyright Flamdrop 2001-2005