THE
WAR OF THE WORLDS - ULLAdubULLA Remix Album (Columbia) The lame copying
of (basically souped-up cover versions) of great tunes of the past by adding a
Housethump and some additional nonsensical vocals seems to be with us for good.
This far more ambitious take on the classic 70’s musical based on the H.G.
Wells tale by Jeff Wayne (also executive producer on this version)
has way more merit that any rip-off littering the radio airwaves. Disc one (ULLAdubULLA)
contains all the basics of the alien invasion tale with original narration by
Richard Burton, David Essex & others in tact. Some of the remix masters include
Hybrid, Torsten Stenzel, Naughty G, Todd Terry, N Trance, Dario G, Hani, Apollo
Four Forty & more. There’s more passion in these tracks, not only because of
its original magical source material, but due to the varied approaches and incapability
of it being turned into fluff & fodder. Disc two (ULLAdubULLAdubULLA) delivers
various remixes , mainly of the unforgettable tracks The Eve Of The War
and Forever Autumn. Listed as 10 tracks, it actually contains 16 in all
(with sub-tracks) making it a whole other album all its own with at times a harder
re-mix edge. Even though this great work gets the modern makeover & facelift,
the original is still one amazing piece of work that should not be overlooked
nor forgotten. - PB 5 / A KIRK
WHALUM - Unconditional (Gallo) It’s hard for those not really into
popular saxophone jazz to distinguish from the Kenny G popcorn bubble gum
and the rest. Here Kirk recruits some fine musicians to back him up. But,
then I just can’t help but to flash back to the music from the porno Elements
Of Desire - not implying his music’s cheap, but more so a matter of the porn
having a pretty descent soundtrack…. In between the ten tracks of highly accessible
jazz sax, there is also a cover version of Macy Gray’s runaway hit, I
Try. - PB 3 / B WINGERDROCK
2 - Squeeze my Tros (Trippy Grape) The Trippy gang never seems
to stop working. This compilation features some old favourites and new hopefuls.
Following on their ever growing Wingerdstok Festival, these are studio
tracks, not live ones taken from the Fest. Some of the bands featured include
The Honeymoon Suites, Dorp, Government Car, Sunfish, 508, The Dennis Brothers,
Raaskopleef, Ras Tamie and Calamity Jane. Ranging from cool, funky and
mellow to loud, obnoxious, all round fun and at times poor & stupid, this
compilation sets the trend for many local labels to put their money where their
mouth is when promoting indigenous talent. - PB 4 / B WOW
1999 (EMI) Christian music has come a long way and it’s not what you’d expect
it to be either. Some of the 30 Christian stars on this double disc include DC
Talk, Jars Of Clay, Out Of Eden, Third Day, Supertones, Big Tent Revival, Veggietales,
Point Of Grace, Avalon, 4Him, Michael W. Smith, Chris Rice, Carman (he’s still
around?), Amy Grant, Bob Carlisle and more. Some fine pop-like, rock-like
and almost-alternative songs are hidden in here with the lyrics not always as
blatant to annoy those of little faith. It’s a great compilation if you’re into
that sort of thing - but overall it’s very positive - and what’s wrong with that?
But, hey, give me the glammy metal of Stryper any day! - PB 3 / B WU-TANG
CLAN - Wu-Tang Forever (Sony) With this mammoth double album, our
9 rap assassins made the world as a whole stand up & listen to the industry known
as Wu-Tang Clan. - PB 4 / A |