Music

Average customer rating:

ABBA was/is Top of the Pops. But did you know these?
Better music
One of the best Swedish imports
Make sure this is what you're looking for.
Awesome

ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits
ABBA
Manufacturer: Polydor / Umgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Best of Simon & Garfunkel

ASIN: B000001DZO
Release Date: 1993-09-21

Tracks:

Dancing Queen
Knowing Me, Knowing You
Take A Chance On Me
Mamma Mia
Lay All Your Love On Me
Super Trouper
I Have A Dream
The Winner Takes It All
Money, Money, Money
S.O.S.
Chiquitita
Fernando
Voulez Vous
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Does Your Mother Know
One Of Us
The Name Of The Game
Thank You For The Music
Waterloo

Amazon.com essential recording

Anyone looking for the key to Abba's enduring appeal should look no further than "Voulez Vous" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" for their answer. There was an innocence to the Swedish quartet, even when they were singing about one-night stands and the invitations to them. Gold establishes that the band, while appreciated as campy, were actually multifaceted in their execution. "S.O.S." has a raw urgency in its chorus, and "Does Your Mother Know" draws its energy from classic '50s rock & roll. Likewise, you don't have to be Priscilla to swoon over "Mamma Mia" or "Dancing Queen." And when it comes to drama, those soaring vocals on "The Winner Takes It All" turn the song into a bitter anthem of every relationship that has ever fallen apart. The much-covered "Lay All Your Love on Me" is practically epic. --Steve Gdula

Customer Reviews:

ABBA was/is Top of the Pops. But did you know these?.......2007-07-05

Nothing in this life has brought me more joy that ABBA. From the first time I heard Waterloo, until the fanatic state began with Fernando, they have had my heart like no other group. GOLD is the best essence of ABBA. It has the best of the best sans Summer Night City, which is on the subsequent More Gold. Their only pop rivals in sales were The Bee Gees and the enormously huge pop/disco group Boney M. Relative unknowns in the US. Check them out. Not so much Abba sounding, but if you like good melodies and irresistable hooks, great purchase. Another big, but short-lived pop group was Clout. Much more like Abba. Highly recommended.

Better music.......2007-06-27

I have tried to get some of thier CDs for some time but this CD was worth the wait, sounds are great and are a "sing along with" mode, great CD.

One of the best Swedish imports.......2007-05-24

Abba's Greatest Hits lives up to its title. This is an excellent comp album. All of the hits are here [I am just old enough to remember Abba's heyday]. This is a very good, very well-rounded collection of Abba's recordings. There's not a lame song on here. The album can be listened to straight through without ever being tempted to hit the skip button. Simply some of the best pop music ever, not just from the 70s. Abba was a bright spot of the 70s, countering a bad presidency and wicked gas prices. Hmmmm, we have those back again, come to think of it. Where's our Abba?

Make sure this is what you're looking for........2007-05-16

Abba was a pretty prolific and popular group in the 70s. For those of us familiar with ABBA, this album is great. Those who aren't might want to give this a try. You've probably heard some of their tunes before without even realizing it was ABBA. Note that there is another greatest hits collection called the Definitive Collection. It's a 2 disc set that contains everything on this album, some lesser hits and a remix or two as well. For the die hard fan you might want to check into the Definitive Collection (or the Complete Studio Collection for you ABBA freaks out there). For the passing fan like myself, all of the great stuff is here.

Awesome.......2007-04-12

This compilation contains all of the biggest hits by ABBA. It starts off with a great 1-2 punch of "Dancing Queen" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You". The hits just keep on coming, "Waterloo", "Gimmie a Man After Midnight", "Voules Vouz", "Fernando", "SOS", "I Had a Dream". There are a couple songs I wish were on here like "People Need Love", "If It Wasn't for the Night" and Frida's solo hit "I Know There's Something Going On".

Average customer rating:

Writers Block-buster!
A little Plain?
I seriously don't get it...
I give it an A
Jay Leno

Writer's Block
Peter Bjorn and John
Manufacturer: Almost Gold
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000NJL4TY
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Tracks:

Writer's Block
Objects of My Affection
Young Folks
Amsterdam
Start To Melt
Up Against the Wall
Paris 2004
Let's Call it Off (Single Mix)
The Chills
Roll the Credits
Poor Cow
Ancient Curse
All Those Expectations (Weak Mix)
Let's Call it Off (Girl Talk Remix)

From Amazon.co.uk Review

As fine an album as this might be (and indeed it is), it serves a much higher purpose for which it must be immediately recognised. The twee Swedish trio have single-handedly tugged whistling out of popular music's pits where it was stuffed by German soft metal granddads The Scorpions back in the early 90s. It's not even particularly proficient whistling - it's a bit skewiff really, a little out of tune - but it's tacked onto the irresistibly bobbing, Velvet-Underground-via-The-Concretes infectiousness of "Young Folks", augmented by the warm-ember vocals of ex-Concrete Victoria Bergsman herself, and by association sounds fairly heroic. Accidentally anthemic, perhaps, but anthemic nonetheless. Result.

Which sets a tone for the rest of this off-kilter lo-fi record. Draw a slightly wonky line from Simon & Garfunkel through to The Shins, making sure you take in the sharp Scandinavian indie-pop of the '90s (Wannadies, The Cardigans) and modern day peers (Radio Dept, Shout Out Louds) and you have a folk album that isn't really all that folk, swimming through its own dreamy washes of ambition. The drumming on tracks like "Let's Call It Off" and "Paris 2004" is so elementary you might as well add your own, but it keeps the intuitive, simplistic 60's beat melodies trickling steadily onwards. The underlying appeal is that things could snap like an elastic band at any moment, that things are beautifully limited. Less writers block, more loving the detail of your first chapter so much you have no inclination to move on. --James Berry

Customer Reviews:

Writers Block-buster!.......2007-06-28

This record is beautiful. It could have been a cd of just "Young Folks" being played over and over and i would have been happy but there are plenty of gems here, and you don't have to dig very deep to find them. I highly reccommend this album to anyone who loves life, girls, boys, The Beatles, the crisp morning air tightening your face as you first step out of your building onto the street as city buses shamble by and you feel like you're just on the verge of a some kind of "happening" but it hasn't fully been realised yet- but soon will be.

A little Plain?.......2007-06-27

In my never ending search for new talents I chose this CD from the best list of whatever year it was released (I am in a constant state of light buzz so small details become meaningless). At a first listen I found their sound somewhat simplistic or plain? On the extra tracks I did come across a simple but very nice song about the material which I did enyoy quite a bit. The one with the catchy whistling that I have heard on a music channel on TV is too plain and uneventful but as a whole so far the CD was okey, nothing to die and go to the moon for, good vocals, accessible melodies with about three songs that stood above the rest. One of the songs in the album was this distorted guitars that did not appeal at all, to its credit it did not last very long. Mixed feelings about Peter Bjorn and John, perhaps is the type of music but I have always believed that in the end Music is Music and either you are the best or up there with the best or not. "Writer's Block" so far (only 1 listen) is kind of a lukewarm affair and that does not qualify them as a "sizzling hot" release exactly. 3.5 Stars would be my take, not quite enough to get a 4 stars but hey, who am I to be so judgemental and critical, if they want their 4 stars they can have it. The half star rating is very important because let's say an album is higher that a 4 star but not quite the perfection of a 5 star, what do you do? Go cry to the local lonely hearts club band? Let's just say that if I was giving a party "Writer's Block" could not make it to the rotation, their sound is too Plain? No disrespect intended, just calling them as I see them. No, it is not a 3 star, it's a 3.5 star but since there is none available I choose 4 stars. It does has its moments but it is not a vital, must have so far. There, I said it, either you deliver thrills or just pay bills!

I seriously don't get it..........2007-06-19

I don't understand the praise this album is getting. I have no idea why "young folks" gets played so often on the radio. I can't stand that song. I got the album, not having heard even one bad thing about it, and I honestly do not hear anything redeeming with this group. People tell me that they get a nostalgic feeling while listening to this, but I don't see it. I've wanted to ask people "what do you see in these guys? why do you like this?!?" but I don't want to be rude. But seriously, why is this so popular?

I give it an A.......2007-05-21

Have been hearing the song "Young Folks" on the radio and like it. Decided to buy the whole CD and I sure am glad I did! This is great stuff. A little bit folk, a little bit rock-and-roll, a little bit electronic. "Amsterdam" is a super-interesting, very different song and is my favorite on the album. "Let's Call it Off" is good too. All in all some catchy tunes and a super album.

Jay Leno.......2007-05-19

These two, whom I've never heard before last night, kind of took me back for a moment. I thought I was listening to a new revived Figurine album which is greatly anticipated from that dynamic trio.

I liked the sound, and although faintly mumbled by the poorest sound engineer in Cali. I was able to get a feel for what this Swedish pop group can do. I suggest, if I may, making it yourself.

If you feel the music, live by it, you know they will come to hear it. This group tends to remind me of the smae hope.

Average customer rating:

makes me want to move to Sweden
Pretty good
Thank god for I-Pods - the cd would be worn out by now
Awesome band
The Sounds

Dying to Say This to You
The Sounds
Manufacturer: Scratchie / New Line Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Living in America
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ASIN: B000E6GC6Q
Release Date: 2006-03-21

Tracks:

Song With A Mission
Queen of Apology
Tony The Beat
24 Hours
Painted By Numbers
Night After Night
Ego
Hurt You
Much Too Long
Running Out Of Turbo

Amazon.com

It all starts with a cowbell, so at least you know it's not going to suck. This is important because, at times, the Sounds' 2003 debut, Living in America felt like a third-generation copy of Blondie's Eat to the Beat and a third-generation of anything usually sucks. But this follow-up shows improvement all around. Singer Maja Ivarsson is starting to find her own voice and the group's melodies now owe less to playground chants than actual verses and choruses. Meanwhile producer Jeff Saltzman, the man behind the Killers' blockbuster Hot Fuss, has given the band's, er, sound some much needed low end. You could accuse them of still sounding a bit contrived (just one word describes the track "Ego"--yikes!) but with thrilling New Wave throwbacks such as "Tony the Beat" and "Running Out of Turbo" pumping on the stereo you might be having too much fun to bother. --Aidin Vaziri

Album Description

The Sounds' 2003 debut, "Living In America" firmly established the band as one to watch. Their second release is an even stronger fusion of their punk attitude and pop savvy. Honed by a sonic brain trust that includes producer Jeff Saltzman (who helmed The Killers' "Hot Fuss"), with additional production from Scratchie Records co-owners James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins, A Perfect Circle) and Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne, Ivy), and mixer Paul Q. Kolderie (Radiohead, Pixies, Hole), the album presents a diversified and deeper version of the sound they established on their debut. It also showcases their growth and captures the attitude that has won over crowd after crowd. Limited first pressing with bonus remixes and video content.

Customer Reviews:

makes me want to move to Sweden.......2007-07-18

Some of the best bands making music today are coming out of Sweden, and The Sounds are no exception. This album is poppy, throwaway excess, but it's really good poppy, throwaway excess. It's an improvement on their first disc (which was still quite good!) in just about every way.

Pretty good.......2007-03-26

I actually preferred the previous effort. But this remains very good new wave influenced pop rock. It has much more drive than most other groups with the same tag.

Thank god for I-Pods - the cd would be worn out by now.......2007-03-11

LOVE the first half of the album, though some of the songs in the second half aren't quite up there with Song With a Mission, Queen of Apology and Tony the Beat...I've also seen interviews with the lead singer and guitarist; they are truly dedicated to giving awesome performances for their audience. Overall, a very catchy album that changes it up enough to keep the listener entertained, and they're a band that I will definitely start to keep track of...

Awesome band .......2007-01-19

Love the band and this CD. You must see them live!

The Sounds.......2006-12-14

I saw this band live at a concert. They were the opening act and i wasn't expecting them to be that good. A lead female vocalist is surprising to see as well. Since then i have been addicted to them. First impression is that they have The killers kind of sound to them but definately with songs that are better and a singer who doesn't sound depressed.

Average customer rating:

Messin' with Success
Nothing Exciting
I agree with Murat
Excellent chronicle of The Flower Kings sound

The Road Back Home
The Flower Kings
Manufacturer: Inside Out Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000QEILLK
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Tracks:

Cosmic Lover
A Kings Prayer
Stupid Girl
Cosmic Circus
Babylon
Paradox Hotel
World Without A Heart
Church Of Your Heart
Vox Humana
What If God Is Alone
Starlight Man
Grand Old World
The Road Back Home
Cinema Show

Tracks:

Ghost Of The Red Cloud
Painter
I Am The Sun (part 2)
Different People
Little Deceiver
Chickenfarmer Song
The Rhythm Of The Sea
Touch My Heaven
Life Will Kill You
Monkey Business
Compassion
The Flower King
Stardust We Are

Album Description

The Road Back Home is the first `Best Of' compilation by the now legendary Swedish progressive rockers. The Road Back Home features 27 classic Flower Kings tracks which have been personally hand-picked and re-mastered by the band's founder and driving force, Roine Stolt, giving the listener a unique and comprehensive front-row look into band's evolution and creative process. The compilation also features a previously unreleased cover version of the classic Genesis song, Cinema Show.

Customer Reviews:

Messin' with Success.......2007-07-03

First off, I absolutely love the Flower Kings and anxiously await their next release. This one though.....
OK, let me get this off my chest first - why, oh why would you play with the perfection that is the original "Church of Your Heart"? When I saw this on the CD's pre-release playlist on the TFK website, I was counting the days until it arrived just to hear a remastering of this song. (I think all TFK fans can agree that while "Stardust We Are" is one of the best albums of all time, it is also one compressed sonic mess). But instead of a nice clean remastering, we get a complete remix, and, gasp - an entire section of the song - a critical section in my eyes - is totally gone! Disappointed hardly covers it.
And therein lies the problem, for me. Most of these songs weren't just remastered, they were remixed as well. Instruments are added or taken away, changing the complexion of the songs in someways good but mostly not. For the most part, the new productions just don't stand up to the old. Several tunes, like "World Without a Heart" sound lifeless, are missing key instrumental parts (where is the lovely piano part in WWAH?) or have had the sometimes rough edges dulled down until they don't have the same impact the originals did.
Roine evidently has disdained the use of reverb for the new mixes, and for me, this new "dry" sound doesn't serve this type of music well.
Overall, it WAS a somewhat fun first listen, and of course the songs are pretty much wonderful anyway, but while there are great moments, I can't imagine listening to this one again anytime soon.
Having said that, thanks Roine for the effort - the liner notes are indeed exceptional, and maybe there is hope that you'll find time to go back and remaster (but NOT remix) the classic TFK albums like Stardust We Are, Flower Power and Rainmaker. Wouldja, please????

Nothing Exciting.......2007-07-02

The Flower Kings (Roine Stolt) take some of their shorter progressive rock tracks and re-mix and remaster them. The chosen list is pretty good and covers their entire career up to this point. The extra, never released track "Little Deceiver" from the Rainmaker sessions is nothing special.

The remixing doesn't seems to improve the songs much and actually seems to make them 'softer.' I word I could use is 'pillowy'....almost giving some of the slower parts of songs a new-age feel to them (not a good thing in my opinion). The punch of the original songs is missing, replaced by a broadening effect to fully take up the sonic range. Another point of dissapontment......should you really mess with "Church of Your Heart?" The classic Flower Kings song has been truncated and the dramatic key change at the last part of the original version is gone. That was the part of the song that got me hooked on the song in the the first place. Also "I am the Sun part II" seems to be truncated as well, and again, the best part of the song, in my opinion, is missing.

Songs picked from newer releases (Adam + Eve and Paradox Hotel) are less affected by the mixing and come off much like the originals.

All-in-all, this is a good collection of Flower King songs, but the remixing doesn't seem that great of an improvement of the originals.

I agree with Murat.......2007-06-28

Thank you Murat, for the fine review. I agree with everything you mentioned. I give the album 5 stars; it's that good.

Excellent chronicle of The Flower Kings sound.......2007-06-26

The Road Back Home is a two-disc compilation album put together by Flower Kings leader Roine Stolt. Not only does it feature the band's relatively more compact and "easy listening" cuts, the songs have also been treated to a new mixing job by Stolt. Add to that several newly recorded guitar solos as well as some backing vocals by Roine Stolt and Hasse Froberg. Some of the numbers have just been remixed whilst some others also feature previously unheard passages, instrumentation, and vocal parts.

The song long-time fans will want to hear the most will probably be "Little Deceiver", a leftover from the band's Rainmaker sessions. It is an interesting experiment where the tune wanders off more into Dire Straits-goes-country territory, bringing forth a true solo statement from Stolt and Froberg who are responsible for everything this song has to offer: unusual harmony vocals, cool loops and sound effects, and steady, straightforward drumming.

Also new on the CD is the band's Genesis tribute "Cinema Show", originally recorded in 1998. Being one of the greatest Genesis songs ever, Stolt says the band was rather nervous while recording it, but the result is nothing short of mindblowing. The acoustic guitar tone, the layered melodies, the awesome vocal parts, and last but not the least, Tomas Bodin's mindblowingly beautiful key solo that not only honours Tony Banks' original work but also adds its own touch to it -- everything is phenomenal about this piece. As noted in the liner notes, that solo is testimony that "great keys can be played with emotion without a trace of blues or jazz".

It would be impossible and meaningless to describe each song on this compilation. After all, they all represent a different era of the band; and they are meant to be enjoyed best in their original context. However, the little nuances brought out in the mixing stage do warrant a mention. "Cosmic Lover", for instance, features new vocal and some clarinet addition as well as a heavier focus on rhythm. This brings out the funky aesthetic and underscores the brilliant Beatles-like vocal harmony. "Stupid Girl" has a brand new guitar solo; and truth be told, I can't choose which one I like better cause the new one is truly sublime. Also, the guitar solo of "A Kings Prayer", one of the greatest Flower Kings songs ever, is different. I love how the deep message is conveyed on this one amidst glimmering acoustic guitar notes and McCartney-like vocal arrangements.

The last few minutes of "Church of Your Heart" have been cut off, and rightly so. The result is a more direct and powerful tune driven by tons of organ work by Bodin and soaring harmonies by Hasse Froberg. The African tribal rhythms merge seamlessly with a gorgeous soprano sax arrangement on "Grand Old World" whilst "Monkey Business" proves once again why everything on Unfold the Future is gold. Jonas Reingold's fretless bass, Hasse Bruniusson's percussion rhythms, and Stolt's unmistakable guitars form the musical aspect of the otherwise tragic lyrical theme. Stolt's vocal part in the intro of "The Road Back Home" has been replaced by Hasse's more fitting singing -- perhaps the best Retropolis song with its melodic hook and blazing Hammond elements.

The songs with Pain of Salvation's Daniel Gildenlow providing backing harmonies have mostly been left untouched, such as "Starlight Man" and "Cosmic Circus", but you can still tell a remix was done on them. The somewhat cluttered soundscape layering of the former piece seems totally gone on the reworked version of "Different People" off of Stardust We Are. Unlike the original version, the piece has a stronger psychedelic centre here thanks to Stolt's meticulous remixing, and the melodious flow is more evocative. The backing voices have enhanced this cut greatly as well.

It doesn't matter whether you're a long-time fan or a new listener. Any Flower Kings fan should pick this up in a heart beat and hear these songs in their new format. If you have never heard any of Flower Kings' studio albums, on the other hand, then, depending on the songs you like the best here, you should go and pick it up impromptu. Once you're hooked, you'll want to have their entire discography anyway.

Kudos to Roine Stolt for not only compiling and remixing all these songs, but also for the detailed song-by-song analysis he offers in the liner notes. He even designed the booklet and cover art himself and added some photos as well. The packaging is superb -- it couldn't be any better.

I wish all compilation albums were this amazing.

Average customer rating:

believe in this record
Silent Shout
Pitchfork, believe it or not, is wrong... a lot! Case in point, this record
One of 2006's bests..
one of the best ever

Silent Shout
The Knife
Manufacturer: Mute U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000FWHVKA
Release Date: 2006-07-25

Tracks:

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Customer Reviews:

believe in this record.......2007-07-11

I am always skeptical but never fail to be blown away by the superb recommendations of the mighty indie music juggernaut Pitchforkmedia. It was only a short time ago that I half heartedly accepted listening to The Knife over a half year after Pitchfork announced it as their number one album of 2006. Initial listens confirmed my apathy, splaying taboo euro-techno drums and synths with awkward, processed vocals. I don't know quite what compelled me to make repeated listens really, but those subsequent listens have absolutely floored me. I have literally had the album on repeat amongst scores of incredible, enticing new music that I could be listening to. It is the first album to do that to me since Joanna Newsom's Ys. I feel like I can't keep listening to Silent Shout or else my 2006 gem (and my #1 of '06), Joanna Newsom's Ys, may be in danger of a retrospective rank toppling. That type of talk may just be from shock but it still isn't verifiably impossible. The Knife's Silent Shout is an absolutely unequivocal modern masterpiece. The difficulty is becoming familiar with and used to instrumentation that seemed to played out even in its hayday of the 80's. As previously experienced, you will likely play the first tracks and be wondering to yourself how anyone got suckered into buying into this Swedish hype. Patience though is the key here. The album must be consumed as a whole - only then will the kitschiness dissipate and the pure satisfaction of the album bleeds through. Slowly, one by one, every element from the seemingly inadequate drum machine to the apparently juvenile vocals will find their place and suddenly there is no turning back- you have already listened to the album 5 times in a row.

Silent Shout.......2007-06-08

Silent Shout~ The Knife is a great album from one of the best electronic bands that I have heard in a very long time. The Knife is a very original band and they certainly go against the grain with their strange lyrics and odd look. This is so refreshing since it really works and does not feel phoney or forced. The book-let is a very strange one with an artsy cover that is quite strange and perplexing. I have no idea what they had in mind to convey with that thing. Highly recommended indeed and I easily give this album 5 out of 5 stars.

Pitchfork, believe it or not, is wrong... a lot! Case in point, this record.......2007-05-22

Album of the Year?!!!? This record is, in places, a perfectly fine electro-pop record. In other places, however, the words 'dry toast' come to mind. There isn't a surprising moment on this entire album, and at it's worst it stinks of past Swedish sins a la Ace of Base with a touch of neo-Kylie Minogue thrown in. Interestingly enough, the record that came in at number 50 is an infinitely more interesting electronic record which manages to avoid the melodramatic plasticity that this one wallows in. Look it up! Bookashade!

One of 2006's bests.........2007-04-19

I'm still suprised to see that so many in the indie scene had the sense to so highly rate an electronic album such as this one.
A inventive electro album that thankfully as a unique sound (as so few electro albums sometimes have), you can see why the good ears of Mute Records picked up on this mysterious sibling Sweedish duo act.
"We share our mothers health" became one of the most bizarrely catchy singles of the year, with a awesome music video to go along with it, if you are in any doubt of buying this album, I recomend checking out the video on youtube, it will convert you.
Overall, the album is dark, filled with chilling background synths layered with wonderfully sharp keyboard lines and bass that makes even the most introverted start doing some foot tapping make it where you can't ignore this disc. The very avant garde vocal style is somehow still very accessable. The production is damn fine as well. This is most defintively not only a album that you will want to have on the dancefloor, but one that will make for a good time while on the headphones at home. The duo will have a hard time topping this one, however with this quality of album work they are sure to have a good career ahead of them if they can keep it up.

one of the best ever.......2007-03-09

I love this album. It is completely refined as compared to The Knife's somewhat disjointed previous album, Deep Cuts, and it's hard to only listen to (or dance to) one track. Karin Andersson's voice is truly individual and delicately intense. Silent Shout is a beautifully constructed, atmospheric sequence of tracks that remind me of the aurora borealis reflected off shimmering snow. After months I still can't stop listening.

Average customer rating:

over-rated
not retro!
That decade you love is back in style.
I'm not Bitar

Tio Bitar
Dungen
Manufacturer: Kemado
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sound of Silver

ASIN: B000O170YO
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Tracks:

Intro
Famlij
Gor Det nu
C Visar Vagen
Du Ska Inte Tro Att Det Ordnar Sig
Mon Amour
Sa Blev Det Bestamt
Ett Skal Att Trivas
Svart Ar Himlen
En Gang I Ar Kom Det En Tar

Amazon.com

Tio Bitar leads off with a wordless guitar scream and a blaze of rhythm section, knocking a hole in the wall of sound just as quickly to let in an otherworldly flute melody that's pure Ian Anderson. As modern rockers go, Dungen makes no bones about reaching back into the past to embrace both Black Sabbath's beefy parallel riffing and Jethro Tull's flights of jazzy digression. This is the second U.S. release for the Swedish band, following 2005's Ta Det Lugnt and as their name implies, Dungen are heavy, metallic, and occasionally impenetrable. Though "psychedelic" is the main reference point that comes to mind, and songs like "C Visar Vägen" and "Familj" display as much structural schizophrenia and loopy, lovely melodicism as a Donovan record hopped up on amphetamines, don't mistake Dungen for an exercise in rose-colored nostalgia--there's more than a twinge of new millennium nervousness in this dense and quite compelling record. --Ben Heege

Customer Reviews:

over-rated.......2007-07-11

Ok, tio bitar, 10 pieces...so what. This is another piece of over-rated swedish rock. The swedish rock scene has allways had some excellent local artists but has usually exported crap ones. This is no exception.

not retro!.......2007-06-20

A window into our own times. This is not retro...it is just pure canniballizm...Like Tropicalia was...I have seen these guys twice live...and they are even better then the records are. When they hit your town to tour this beast, it is a must if you want to see one of the last real rock bands on the planet.

That decade you love is back in style........2007-05-23

I have no idea what Dungen is saying, but somehow it doesn't matter; melody and coutermelody interweave themselves through this psychedelic recording like few have done in recent memory. It's overwhelming at first... like hearing anything reinvented on a grand scale... shimmering harmonies laden with hooks and allusions, all seamlessly integrated... so much energy and hard rocking moments... it's a stratospheric journey through the annals of rock, one that leaves you haunted and reaching for the play button a second time.

I'm not Bitar.......2007-05-15

Personally, I never would have bet for Dungen to break out, outside of Sweden. Their dense psychedelic rock is not poppy even at their poppiest, and the whole thing is sung in Swedish.

But in fact, it did, with 2004's "Ta Det Lugnt," despite the music odds being stacked against it. And for the follow up, "Tio Bitar," Gustav Ejstes mostly sticks to the layered psych-folky hard-rock that has worked before, but gives it a slightly grimier edge.

It opens with a buzzing, screaming riff torn from a hard-rocker's heart, twisting around on itself like a coiled spring. But Ejstes throws in some twists -- around the halfway point, it cycles around a delicate flute melody and some rapid-fire drumming. And that's just the introduction!

He follows it up with the very different "Familj," a pleasant blend of ambient retro keyboard, dancy strings and solid drumming (mostly cymbals). You can't really put your finger on what it sounds like, and you can't really label it. Well, good.

The songs that follow are just as unexpected: intensely psychedelic hard-rockers like "Gör Det Nu," rippling pastoral ballads, fast-moving bass-rockers, gentle acoustic pop songs with spiraling riffs. And in the last three songs, Estjes makes his music even more complex -- the finale "En Gang I År Kom Det En Tår" is a masterpiece of fuzzy piano-folk and ambient synth.

"Tio Bitar" is a bit folkier and a bit rockier than Dungen's previous albums, and at times it seems to be split between those sounds -- first we get a psychedelic hard rocker, then a mellotron-folk song. But the heart of "Ta Det Lugnt" still seems to be there -- complex, strange and often meandering.

And Estjes packs this with even more instruments in his rapid, soaring music -- obviously there's the grimy bass and rampaging electric riffs, solid percussion and keyboards. But he packs in flashes of colourful mellotron, delicate flute, violins, and what sounds like klezmer, woven together into a shimmering psychedelic tapestry.

And I have no idea what Estjes is saying (except that the title means "Ten Pieces"), because I don't speak a word of Swedish. But he has a pleasant, mellow voice, sort of like a rockier Colin Meloy, and he can raise his voice to stand out in any kind of music.

"Tio Bitar" is a little bit folk-country, and a little bit rock'n'roll. But it retains the intense prog-psych-rock that Dungen is known for, and only makes it more entrancing.

Collection of Roxette Hits: Their 20 Greatest Songs

Average customer rating:

Better than I thought
Another Good Greatest Hits Collection but I'd Recommend For Those With No Albums to Get Don't Bore Us Get to the Chorus Instead
Great!
Probably the best Swedish pop/rock band besides ABBA
Blast from the past

Collection of Roxette Hits: Their 20 Greatest Songs
Roxette
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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One Wish

ASIN: B000H5TVO4
Release Date: 2007-01-16

Tracks:

One Wish
The Look
Dressed For Success
Listen To Your Heart
Dangerous
It Must Have Been Love
Joyride
Fading Like A Flower (Every Time You Leave)
Spending My Time
How Do You Do!
Almost Unreal
Sleeping In My Car
Crash! Boom! Bang!
Run To You
Wish I Could Fly
Stars
The Centre Of The Heart
Milk And Toast And Honey
A Thing About You
Reveal

Amazon.com

Imagine a poppier Pat Benatar fronting a more dance-oriented Berlin—big vocals, big beats, big guitars--and you're just about there. Like fellow Swedes ABBA in the 1970s and A-Ha in the 1980s, platinum pixie Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle generate a bright, glossy sound that transcends borders. In 20 years, they've sold 45 million albums and 25 million singles, including four number ones. A Collection of Roxette Hits overlooks their 1986 debut Pearls of Passion and 1997's Baladas en Español in favor of their biggest international triumphs. All told: 12 album cuts, four singles, two remixes ("Dressed for Success" and "It Must Have Been Love"), and two new tracks ("One Wish" and "Reveal"). There are no real surprises, but Roxette has a few tricks up their shiny sleeves, like the harmonica solo in "Dangerous" (1988's Look Sharp!) and the children's chorus on "Stars" (1999's Have a Nice Day). This hook-filled collection is a fine overview for both old and new fans alike. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Album Description

Their 20 greatest songs. EMI. 2006.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered 20th Anniversary Anthology Celebrating that in Spring 1986, Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson Decided to Record a Single Together, "Neverending Love". They Called Themselves Roxette and that was the Beginning of a Fantastic Career with Over 46 Million Albums and 25 Million Singles Sold. "Roxette Hits" features their Greatest Hits and Two New Songs Recorded in Summer, 2006. One of Those Two, "One Wish", was Chosen as the First Single Released from the Album, which also Includes "Joyride", "it Must have Been Love" (Featuring in the Motion Picture "Pretty Woman"), "Fading Like a Flower (Every Time)", "Sleeping in My Car" and Many More.

Customer Reviews:

Better than I thought.......2007-06-08

I wanted to buy something that I would like to listen when I'm not alone in my car. Well, those 20 Greatest songs work. When I'm alone driving, I usually listen to Slayer, Sepultura, Sodom..... but with my wife, well... you know.... the first time that I played this cd with "company" in my car, I saw everyone following the music with their head, hands and legs, so I though "Perfect". If you want some easy-listening music, this cd is the chosen one....

Another Good Greatest Hits Collection but I'd Recommend For Those With No Albums to Get Don't Bore Us Get to the Chorus Instead.......2007-06-03

Another great collection of 20 Roxette Hits but if you've got their other albums or even just their previous greatest hits collection Don't Bore Us Get to the Chorus : Roxette's Greatest Hits there's not much new here for you. The cover insert of Don't Bore Us comes with the lyrics as well to their songs which this album insert doesn't do.

The only difference this album has song wise is that it includes songs from albums released after their album Crash Boom Bang which obviously since they weren't released yet didn't make it onto Don't Bore Us Get to the Chorus. So if you haven't got (or haven't even heard of as they weren't that successfully promoted) the albums Have a Nice Day and Room Service or have bought the song A Thing About You that was the single release on another subsequent greatest hits album called Ballad Hits then this will give you the released songs from those albums. The 20th song (Reveal) is also a new release for this album but none of these songs are as good as their classic songs. I'd get Don't Bore Us Get to the Chorus instead as it has more of their big songs than this greatest hits album if you're only going to buy one Roxette album. Otherwise they are a sensational band and I'd just buy all their independent albums and not worry about buying greatest hits albums at all!

Great!.......2007-03-31

I bought this CD because I loved the songs when I was a kid. What memories they bring back!

Probably the best Swedish pop/rock band besides ABBA.......2007-03-22

I say "probably the best Swedish pop/rock band besides ABBA" because I can't say I know a lot about Swedish music. However, I rate ABBA as one of the all time great bands, and probably the best pop group of all time [I rate The Beatles as the best group of all time and value them for their really weird songs...which aren't particularly pop]...so for Roxette to be compared favourably to them is a big call on my part.

Probably the main reason I bought this compilation was for the song "Fading like a flower". On the odd occasions I've heard this song, I've really enjoyed it. Listening to it for the first time on cd here, I can't say that it grabbed me as much as it did back then. However, before I listened to this cd all the way through, I must have listened to this song around a dozen times, which says a lot for me. I've been listening to it repeatedly since I've listened to the whole cd too. This song is back as an all time great pop classic in my estimation...up there with ABBA's best songs, and songs like: "What have I done to deserve this?" by the Pet Shop Boys and Dusty Springfield; "Clocks" by Coldplay; "Do they know it's Christmas" by Band Aid; "Our lips are sealed" by The Go Gos; and, from Australia, "Chemistry" by Mondo Rock and "Green" by Alex Lloyd.

Roxette, apart from being very melodic and catchy popsters, have a harder rock sound than ABBA in their songs. So, in songs like "Fading like a flower" you get a very cool keyboard melody introducing the song, followed by a momentary rock power chord. The chorus to this song is great and the verses are nice too. The song also features some nice changes of pace and cool guitar rhythym in that slow part as well a really nice lead guitar there too.

The other song that I tend to play a lot, though not nearly as much as "Fading like a flower" is "Dressed for success". It features a cool rock guitar sound, catchy chorus and some cool drums.

Another song I quite like is "Dangerous". This is yet another catchy melody song which Roxette are so good at. Usually the female half of Roxette does all the singing, but here the male half has his share of lines. Hadn't really noticed the weird outro to this song before-the man sings some barely intelligible words.

Rest assured that the rest of the album is chock full of catchy pop/rock, which I won't delve into too much, suffice to say that Americans might rate some of Roxette's ballads higher than I do...songs like "Listen to your heart" which isn't a fave of mine and "It must have been love", which I wasn't expecting to like but on hearing it here it did have a lyrical charm to it.

As for the rest, I'll just mention songs that had me relating them to songs by other artists, e.g. something else that Roxette has in common with ABBA is songs with daggy lyrics, these would include: "Joyride", "Spending my time" [more so for mediations on relationships than being daggy], "Almost unreal" [back to dag central here]. "A thing about you" also features one of those trippy effects that The Beatles were so fond of. It's in the intro of this song whereas The Beatles liked to use stuff like this for outros.

Other songs which remind me of other artists: "How do you do" [The Beatles' version of "Twist and shout" can be heard in this song]; "Crash! Boom! Bang!" [Dusty Springfield]; "The centre of the heart" [Savage Garden]; and "Run to you", which had a guitar vibe which reminded me of Weddings, Parties, Anything's song "Monday's experts", which is, granted, more of a stretch for Roxette to have been influenced by.

The songs towards the end of this cd are not the kind of pop/rock that fills most of the preceding tracks. Best examples of that are "Crash! Boom! Bang!" and "Wish I could fly". The latter has a nice mellow, cool vibe to it. "Stars" is also a more dance orientated song...it features a trippy intro and tinny techno beat.

Another thing to recommend this band are that they widen the musical instruments that they use, e.g. instruments that sound like music box pianos, organs, steel string guitars and violins.

If you like catchy pop songs, you should love this album, so long as you don't mind the band's forays into rock for entire songs or parts of songs.

P.S. One possible criticism of this cd is that it, according to the sleeve notes, I think, does NOT have some of Roxette's songs which charted in Europe. On the upside, the new songs on this cd are surprisingly good...I mean they are not classics, but they are much better than you would expect such new songs lumped together into a best of compilation to be.

I did neglect to mention perhaps Roxette's biggest hit, The Look. Whilst this song has many good hooks/elements to it, the lyric "tasted like a raindrop", sung about a woman, remains a hurdle for me liking this song better! I.e. it sounds a rather naff lyric!

If you like this cd, you might want to read my reviews of other albums with a good pop sensibility, e.g.

Midnight Oil for masterful pop/rock. Politics never sounded so good.
Alex Lloyd-Amazing: The Best Of
The Go Gos
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Skyhooks
INXS

Blast from the past.......2007-03-09

This is a wonderful collection of Roxette Hits. It keeps you moving and is great to work out to.

Average customer rating:

Silent Shout
The Knife
Manufacturer: Mute U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Volta

ASIN: B000N3SSVM
Release Date: 2007-07-17

Tracks:

Silent Shout
Neverland
The Captain
We Share Our Mothers' Health
Na Na Na
Marble House
Like A Pen
From Off To On
Forest Families
One Hit
Still Light

Tracks:

Pass This On
The Captain
We Share Our Mothers' Health
You Make Me Like Charity
Marble House
Forest Families
Kino
Heartbeats
Silent Shout
From Off To On

Tracks:

Pass This On
The Captain
We Share Our Mothers' Health
You Make Me Like Charity
Marble House
Forest Families
Kino
Heartbeats
Silent Shout
From Off To On

Tracks:

N.Y. Hotel
Heartbeats
You Take My Breath Away (I)
Pass This On
Handy Man
You Take My Breath Away (II)
Silent Shout
Marble House (I)
We Share Our Mothers' Health
Like A Pen
Marble House (II)
When I Found The Knife (Short Film)

Album Description

Silent Shout Deluxe Special Package 2CD+DVD. This 3-disc Deluxe Edition includes the SILENT SHOUT album, a DVD containing 'Silent Shout - An Audiovisual Experience' live concert, plus every video they've ever made, and a bonus audio disc of the content. SILENT SHOUT was awarded Pitchfork's #1 Album of 2006, and ended 2006 a critical favorite!

Average customer rating:

Awesome CD
The Vikings are Attacking!
Fortunate discovery
With Oden On Our Side
An Awesome Album from An Awesome Band

With Oden on Our Side
Amon Amarth
Manufacturer: Metal Blade
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Wrath of the Norsemen (3pc)
Versus the World
Fate of Norns
Once Sent From the Golden Hall
The Crusher

ASIN: B000HWXS2S
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Tracks:

Valhall Awaits Me
Runes To My Memory
Asator
Hermod's Ride To Hel-Lokes Treachery Part 1
Gods Of War Arise
With Oden On Our Side
Cry Of The Black Birds
Under The Northern Star
Prediction Of Warefare

Tracks:

Where Silent Gods Stand Guard (Live)
Death In Fire (Live)
With Oden On Our Side (Demo)
Hermod's Ride To Hel-Lokes Treachery Part 1 (Demo)
Once Sent From A Golden Hall (Sunlight Recording)
Return Of The Gods (Sunlight Recording)

Customer Reviews:

Awesome CD.......2007-06-22

original technical brutal noise
this cd just plain rocks
buy it right now

The Vikings are Attacking!.......2007-06-15

I've only seen these guys on Headbanger's Ball. I like their guitars and get a chuckle when they do their synchronized Jason Newsted (from his Metallica black album days) hair spinning in unison. The 2 songs I've heard off this album were good, his vocals sounded somewhat weak, I hope it was just because it was MTV. I do have a surround system, so I hope they sound better on the album.

Fortunate discovery.......2007-05-13

Not too long ago I was channel surfing on a Saturday night and had just gotten to "Headbangers Ball" when Amon Amarth came on. I'd never heard of this band before, (and I have to wonder why not??!!!) but they had my attention right then and there! A Metal Band with more than just a roaring lead singer and insane drums?! What the.....??? Wow!! I mean really.... I like Metal anyway, but even if you are not a Metal fan, there is a lot to be appreciated by what these guys bring to the table. It's just very unique! Viking Metal? Unusual, yes, but it makes for lyrics that are not the same old same old you hear a lot from other Metal Bands. Apart from that, the music itself and the true "headbanging speed" of these songs will get you hooked! And since I watched the video....the guys have some awsome "windmilling" skills!! My neck hurt just watching them! :) I bought (and of course listened to) the entire album, and there is not one piece on it that I did not like!

With Oden On Our Side.......2007-04-11

This is definately Amon Amarth's best album to date, and that is saying a lot. I've been a fan of these guys' Viking influenced Death metal for a long time. What really sets Amon Amarth apart from typical Death metal is the fact that they have a lot of melody to their work. There's a lot of high tremolo picking and whatnot. Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of double bass to go around, there's just an overall epic feel to their sound. So what makes this album so special? It just seems as if they pushed their song writing up a few notches. You can pretty much understand their singer and everything he's saying. The solos have gotten alot better. These guys really set it off with this record! This is definately up there for one of the bests of 2006.

An Awesome Album from An Awesome Band.......2007-04-04

I had never heard Amon Amarth until one song came on the tv (Cry of the Blackbirds). I bought the album and was blown away!! I did some research and found their music is based on Norse mythology and other religious beliefs. The lyrics are a bit strange because of that, but that does not take away from the awesome death metal riffs and smooth beat. It's totally deep sounding, dark, evil, and intimidating, yet intense and attractive at the same time. I listen to it and find myself head banging or moving with the rhythm. For a band I had never heard of before now, I am totally blown away by their sound, look, and total devotion to their beliefs. Awesome Band, Awesome Album.

Average customer rating:

I am from Barcelona!

Let Me Introduce My Friends
I'm from Barcelona
Manufacturer: Mute U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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The Reminder
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
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Favourite Worst Nightmare

ASIN: B000MQ55GQ
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Tracks:

Oversleeping
Collection Of Stamps
We're From Barcelona
Treehouse
Jenny
Ola Kala
Chicken Pox
Rec & Play
This Boy (feat. Loney, Dear)
Barcelona Loves You
The Saddest Lullaby (feat. Mathias Alrikson)
The Painter
Glasses

Amazon.com

"We started this journey in the summer of 2005. None of us knew we would become a band," says the liner note in I'm from Barcelona's debut album, Let Me Introduce My Friends. For all their newness, Barcelona loves simplicity, singing about stamp collections, oversleeping, and treehouses--with lean guitars and drums bolstered by glockenspiel, ukulele, and well over 20 voices. Irresistibly sunny and numerically massive, Barcelona intricately weaves single-syllable choruses behind Emanuel Lundgren's chesty lead vocal, dizzying the ears. So many voices come to the fore that songs like "Treehouse" are unabashed tapestries of pop delight, exuberant and magnetic and chiming. The Swedish ensemble doesn't play the French horns and harps that mark Polyphonic Spree, but they do indulge every rock opera (as in Hair) inclination that can fit under their purview. Everyday's mid-summer here. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Description

U.S. EXCLUSIVE BONUS TRACKS! LET ME INTRODUCE MY FRIENDS is a collection of bubblegum classics filled with extravagant call-and-response backing vocals, shimmering pop spirit and youthful optimism.

Customer Reviews:

I am from Barcelona!.......2007-03-20

Fawlty Towers fans are going to recognize the name of I'm From Barcelona -- that's what the waiter Manuel always says to explain odd stuff: "I am from Barcelona!"

But their debut album "Let Me Introduce My Friends" is nothing like Spanish music. Instead, this lovable, enormous Swedish band sounds sort of like a cross between Architecture in Helsinki and the Polyphonic Spree -- sunny, twinkly, shimmery pop music.

It opens with Emanuel Lundgren drawling, "Daaaaaaamn!/Oversleeping again/Daaaaaaaaamn!/I can't believe I did it once again." He then describes what he'll have to do to "make it on time." It's a mundane topic for a pop song, but it's framed with a sparkling pop tune full of catchy guitar, twinkly xylophone and the occasional bell chime.

The songs that follow are in the same mold -- the lyrics are about confusion, chicken pox, broken hearts, stamp collecting, and finding a spot for the perfect treehouse. And the songs wrapped in them are just as charming: folky pop, driving guitars, twee little sugarpuffs, shimmery bell-augmented pop, and the sprawling orchestral sound of "Olakola."

"Let Me Introduce My Friends" is basically pop for people who like bands with a slightly sugary sound, but a pleasant melody as well. "Let Me Introduce My Friends" is basically all sunshine, spring grass and childlike fun -- very charming.

You can't really single out any band members, since there are almost thirty of them, but the instrumentation is nicely polished and solidly played. The songs are wrapped in unstoppable swirling riffs, banjo, solid percussion, sweeps of wobbly and/or sputtering synth, rattling bells and what sounds like a xylophone.

Lundgren has a nice smooth voice, although at times he sounds a bit like he's singing a nursery rhyme. The lyrics are a bit short and simplistic, but they do admittedly sum up the childlike enthusiasm of the music ("You know I can't believe I'm telling everyone that I know/That every stamp in my collection is a place we could go!").

"Let Me Introduce My Friends" has rather simple songwriting, but deliciously twee pop and some solid, catchy tunes. Nice, unpretentious fun.

Music:

Music